Network Rail has teamed up with McLaren Applied to help with the connectivity of its maintenance fleet.
McLaren Applied will install their F1-derived Fleet Connect software and 5G Active Edge Antenna hardware on 14 of the operator’s infrastructure monitoring trains, including the famed New Measurement Train, fondly known as the ‘Flying Banana’.
The technology on board the New Measurement Train will offload a huge amount of data quicker than ever before from across 60,000 miles of data each year that it records.
Network Rail will benefit from a significant boost in connectivity and performance with data speeds of up to 1,000 times faster than previous systems, reaching 70MB/s per train. This improvement will help Network Rail’s monitoring trains transfer data much more efficiently than before across the 20,000 kilometres pf track it regularly monitors.
The application of the new technology will also mark the first time the Active Antenna technology has been adopted in the U.K.
The improved connectivity will enable Network Rail to perform remote and automated monitoring, targeting maintenance work more effectively and ensuring a safer and more reliable railway for passengers and goods.
Pablo Garcia Lopez, director, Connected Intelligence Business Unit at McLaren Applied, said: "Network Rail has demonstrated an open, collaborative mindset in bringing Formula 1-derived software to the rail industry, and we expect further gains over our five-year partnership.”
The patented Fleet Connect software, originally developed for Formula 1, splits data across networks in real time and reassembles it in the cloud, eliminating blackspots and providing a consistent connection for moving vehicles.
“The roll out of Fleet Connect software and cutting-edge Active Antenna hardware is a great example of how British ingenuity and engineering, along with cross industry knowledge, can solve prominent challenges in the transport sector.
“The combined technology ensures that infrastructure monitoring trains can quickly and reliably transmit data throughout their journeys up and down the UK.”, Garcia Lopez added.
Photo: Network Rail
