Surfing the Tube
As the world’s first and oldest underground railway, the London Underground – affectionately known as the Tube – serves 270 stations, 2 billion annual rides taken and 249 miles of track. It has long been hailed as a model for urban transport as well as a cultural symbol of design and innovation, its slogans and station names splashed across coffee mugs and t-shirts worldwide.
Of course, with so many riders the Tube historically suffered from overcrowding at peak hours, forcing temporary closures of stations to accommodate passengers.
Enter a real-time monitoring system launched in April 2014 combined with predictive analytics housed in the cloud. Before its launch there was less than a fifty per cent chance that an incident could be located, diagnosed and repaired on the first try; predictive analytics enables the team to ensure that most-frequently needed parts are on hand before something breaks, instead of having to shut down a portion of the station to wait for components. Other parts needed in pairs are being stocked differently, too; all of this adds up to more Londoners on the go, shuttling back and forth between work and play, all built on the invisible cushion of cloud and insights.
Transport for London will be one of more than a dozen innovative organisations presenting at Future Decoded on how they’re using technology to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Discover the full line-up of speakers and register to attend this unique, free event on 10th November at ExCel London.