Alstom Launches Its Largest Digital Experience Centre For Next-Generation Signalling Solutions Development In India

Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility on Wednesday launched India’s first digital experience centre ever built by a rail OEM (original equipment manufacturer).

Located in Bangalore and spread over 5000 sq ft, the digital experience will be the hub for executing urban, mainline, freight and mining (specific market) projects along with the integrated cybersecurity, security and telecom and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) features.

With this centre, Alstom has its largest signalling lab infrastructure spread over 60,000 sq ft in India which will aid the company’s vision of making India a global hub for technology and innovation.

The dedicated experience centre will support more than 7 million hours of engineering work for Indian and global projects.

Commenting on the digital experience centre, Olivier Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India said, “The rail network in India, both urban and mainline is becoming highly modernised and complex, this makes it more important than ever to develop advanced signalling solutions to drive safety, efficiency, and improved passenger experience.

"In addition to our excellent manufacturing and engineering capabilities, we are proud to be now leading the charter of rail technology innovation with the launch of this centre in India. As the leaders in sustainable mobility, we look forward to developing modern signalling solutions by harnessing the country's vast talent pool, moving forward the innovation goalpost in our industry.’’

As per a study by GII (Global Innovation Index), the market for railways signalling systems is expected to witness significant growth, and the global railway signalling systems market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5 per cent over the forecast period from 2022 to 2030.

Alstom’s signalling lab infrastructure in India today addresses more than 40 per cent of its worldwide R&D needs.

Highlights about the Digital Experience Centre:

The centre will facilitate learning, adaptation, experimentation, simulation, and validation of Alstom’s new signalling solutions advanced industry hardware and software innovations. It will conduct complete simulations of world-class signalling technologies, including the one developed for the NaMo Bharat, India's first semi-high-speed regional train.

Moreover, the centre will leverage IoT, IoB for Security and Telecom-related domains, GenAI applications (OpenAI-based), and blockchain for innovation projects in railway applications. These initiatives aim to enhance Alstom's business capabilities, and efficiency, and inspire a culture of innovation within the organisation.

The centre's extensive infrastructure will speed up localisations of solutions and R&D programs, drive innovation in India, and support the 'Make in India' initiative of the government.

Other key highlights include:

Centralised demonstration of operation control centre depicting all train movements in a project.

Remote system monitoring and troubleshooting.

Display of safety-critical hardware, trackside equipment, innovation booths, and interactive information on all signalling gears.

Complete end-to-end tests for projects and R&D software delivered from India.

Built leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, big data, intelligent maintenance, LTE, and cybersecurity and mobile app-enabled solutions.