Siemens, Atlanta Streetcar ink digital services pact

Siemens has formed a long-term technical and digital service partnership with the Atlanta Streetcar.

Under the agreement, Siemens will provide technical support and materials for preventive and corrective maintenance on streetcars. The company also will use its Railigent™ digital rail services platform to analyze data to help improve streetcar operations, Siemens officials said in a press release.

This could include using data to help identify high-risk failures before they occur, they said. The effort is aimed at reducing maintenance-related service interruptions, improving vehicle availability and reducing costs.

Siemens will use the Railigent platform to conduct digital analysis of the streetcar operation through data captured via on-board systems. The company also will embed personnel on-site for service and customer support.

Siemens didn't disclose financial terms of the agreement.

The company launched its Digital Rail Services division in spring 2017. Siemens placed a "Mindsphere Application Center for Rail" on the Georgia Tech campus near the Atlanta Streetcar. That center will develop new software platforms that will utilize data gathered from intelligent sensors on rail systems across the United States.

To learn more about ways that railroads are leveraging "Big Data," read this feature from Progressive Railroading's February issue.