Effective 29 January 2021, Alstom completed the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation. Click here for more information
Innovating solutions for safe and healthy rail travel
Safety has always been the rail industry's top priority, and now more than ever it is essential to develop new solutions that go beyond expectations and meet evolving challenges.
Global demographic shifts like urbanization and demands for improved comfort must be balanced with operators’ responsibility to keep passengers moving and safe from pandemics like COVID-19. That’s why we are developing solutions to maintain social distancing with adjustable vehicle layouts and smart tools for passenger flow and crowd control, to facilitate increased sanitation measures with innovative surface treatments, to install contactless interfaces, and to filter harmful pathogens from vehicle's internal atmosphere.
These are some of our latest solutions that give passengers the confidence they need to continue choosing reliable, safe, and sustainable rail travel as their preferred mode of transport for their daily commutes as well as long-distance travelling. At the same time, we are raising the bar on rail safety without compromising on efficiency, performance or the premium travel experience that passengers have come to expect from our vehicles, systems and services.
Optimizing passenger flow and capacity planning
Our cloud-based, data-driven solution helps rail operators maintain social distancing for their passengers while at the same time improving operational efficiency. By delivering accurate real-time data, we empower operators with the information they need to adapt their fleet’s operations and accurately predict train occupancy and demand in an environment of limited space.
In turn, mobile apps put this information at passengers’ fingertips, giving them the ability to better plan their journeys and respond to travel changes or disruptions with confidence.
One-stop shop for optimized passenger flow
- Facilitates accurate operations and travel planning
- Increases operational efficiency and reliability
- Forecasts occupancy and avoids overcrowding
- Enables social distancing and passenger comfort
Benefits for operators
- Full transparency of real-time data in one suite
- Predictive analysis and smart decision support system
- Efficient planning for fleet and staff deployment
- Optimized delay and disruption mitigation
- Increased profitability through smooth operations
Benefits for passengers
- Increased passenger satisfaction
- Easy journey planning and on-route adjustment
- Trust in punctual and reliable service
- Optimized passenger distribution anytime, anywhere
- Safe distancing ensures comfortable ride
Cloud-based solution with real-time data for smart decision-making and healthy travels
Bombardier Transportation’s passenger flow and crowd-control solution equips operators with the necessary information to make informed decisions about their fleet’s operation.
It removes the guesswork from fleet management by systematically consolidating and analyzing key information from a range of sources including rail vehicles, station infrastructure, ticketing and open-source data, to give operators both the big picture and granular data they need to stay ahead of challenges.
Operators can also leverage this data to improve the passenger experience. By providing real-time info on capacity, arrival and departure, passengers can manage their own social distancing and travel comfort by moving to a less-crowded car or choosing an alternative route.
Analyzing passenger flow and capacity demand to support smart decision-making
In the control room, our digital solution gives operators real-time access to all the necessary fleet information and statistics needed to predict and respond to fluctuating passenger flow.
Equipped with this insight, operators can adapt train schedules, increase frequency, adjust capacity, manage dwell times and reduce delays.
In addition, the integrated task manager acts as an enhanced decision support system for the operator. By offering recommended actions, this feature helps maintain control during peak hours, periods of heavy activity, disruption or manage challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mobile app with up-to-date passenger flow information
Our tool also supports train staff with real-time journey information via a mobile app.
For each journey, the app can display the current passenger occupancy level for individual train cars as well as predictions for upcoming stations. This helps estimate the time needed for passenger boarding and exit so operators can efficiently manage dwell times and avoid delays.
In addition, the data can be used to maintain an even occupancy level on the train by enabling the train attendant to make announcements as to how, when, and where passengers should relocate.
Mobile app to easily plan trips
The mobile app provides passengers with easy access to all necessary travel information. It presents passengers with the best travel connections, up-to-date departure platforms and times and even helps them maintain social distancing by showing the real and anticipated occupancy of the various cars. It also supports mobile ticketing.
Featured video
Want to easily understand how our cloud-based, data-driven solution for optimized passenger flow and crowd controls works? Watch this short video on the key functionalities and main benefits.
Clean air with antiviral filter for HVAC systems
Our antiviral filter for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is a smart and efficient solution for rail transportation that is immediately available. Its quick, easy and safe installation makes it ideal for newly designed trains and retrofitting existing fleets.
The filter does not only capture the virus carriers, but also eliminates the virus. This makes our air filtration solution unique on the market. The effectiveness of the filter has already been tested in laboratory environment.
Smart and efficient solution for rail transportation
Our antiviral HVAC filter catches and kills viruses, including the coronavirus (99.9% effective against coronavirus).
It follows a two-step approach:
- First, the filter captures the virus carrier, e.g. water, dust, aerosol.
- In a second step, the virus is eliminated thanks to a special impregnation.
Additional benefits for operators
- Immediate availability for new and existing Bombardier and non-Bombardier fleets
- Safe for maintenance personnel when installing / changing the filter as virus gets eliminated, not just blocked
- Quick and easy installation that does not require additional training as the changing process is the same as for basic filters
How is the filter composed?
It is a dual laminated foam filter with double coating:
- prefilter for larger particles
- inner layer for finer particles
- first impregnation for fire and smoke protection
- second impregnation for coronavirus elimination
99.9% effective against coronavirus
Our filter has been rigorously tested in third-party laboratories (certified International Organization for Standards (ISO) 17025), proving it is 99.9 per cent effective against the coronavirus. Performance and efficiency are sustainable over the lifetime of the filter, as per ISO 18184 version 2019.
Pilot projects in the UK
Bombardier is currently testing its antiviral HVAC filter on two ELECTROSTAR train fleets in the UK:
- Govia Thameslink Railway
- London & South Eastern Railway
Social distancing
Vehicle design and layout
- Designated doors for entry and exit, with clearly visible signs to help reduce person-to-person contact and control passenger flow.
- Many of our passenger vehicles are already designed with modular interiors that enable operators to easily re-arrange seating, tables and multi-purpose areas depending on needs. Our trains also have adjustable summer and winter layouts to better facilitate passenger activities and luggage, while creating more space for social distancing.
- To allow passengers to keep a safe distance while travelling, we have developed plastic dividers that are easily fitted between and behind seats; even on existing fleets.
Train frequency
To ensure social distancing on mass transit lines with high ridership, operators must increase train service. With automatic train operation technologies, trains can run more frequently, while ensuring maximum reliability and availability. Our advanced CITYFLO 650 CBTC solution enables headways as short as 75 seconds and is proven to increase capacity up to 50%. We are continuously investing in our signalling technologies to upgrade the frequency on train lines even further, and thus accommodating increased passenger numbers.
Sanitization & surface contact
Contactless door opening
To reduce the chance of spreading the virus via surface transmission, we have designed automatic doors that operate hands-free. Door controls are replaced with motion sensors. This allows passengers to get on and off the train without touching a door button.
These automatic doors also help optimize the passenger flow at stops, and thus reducing dwell times at stations.
Surface treatment
To stop the growth of microbes throughout the train’s interior, we also offer antibacterial surface treatment as well as hand sanitizer dispensers that can be mounted throughout the train.
Cleaning
- Maintaining cleanliness is even more important during a viral outbreak. Our dedicated Services teams are trained to deliver deep and thorough disinfection routines to remove viral contagions from danger areas like handrails, seats, and doors.
Related information
Our smart sustainable mobility solutions
Learn more
Our response to the global COVID-19 crisis
Learn more