AI-enabled trains have started running on Northern’s network – and they’re already calling at Bolton.
Northern has started using artificial intelligence technology to count the number of passengers on some of its services.
Known as ‘Automatic Passenger Counting’, or APC, the system has been deployed to the company’s fleet of eight ‘Class 769’ trains – diesel and electric hybrids which run on routes between Liverpool, Manchester, Southport, Wigan and Blackpool.
From Bolton, the trains run between the town and destinations including Manchester Oxford Road, Wigan Wallgate, and Southport.
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The company says the new AI system is more than 98 per cent accurate.
For now, the data is only being used for operational planning, but the company says it will be deployed to passenger information screens ‘very soon’ – to help passengers choose to get on the emptiest carriage.
Upgrade work was carried out at Allerton TrainCare Centre in Merseyside alongside scheduled heater upgrades and improvements to Wi-Fi and CCTV, in order to minimise the amount of time the train was out of passenger service.
A team of 15 specialist engineers from Northern and technology partners Icomera and DG8 installed 88 cameras and eight computers using five kilometres (three miles) of cables as part of the work.
The new system uses cameras to count passengers on Northern's trains (Image: Northern)
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Jack Commandeur, engineering director at Northern, said: “More than 90 million people step on board one of our trains every year and our fleet of Class 769 trains will now give us more accurate data on passenger volumes than we’ve ever had before.
“This joint collaboration with Icomera and DG8 will help us to improve the overall efficiency of our operations and can inform future service planning.”
Peter Kingsland, Icomera’s senior vice president in the UK, said: “The on-board network on the newly upgraded Class 769 fleet provides Northern with an exciting testbed for future applications of AI video analytics.
“As the rail industry’s digital transition continues to accelerate, these applications can be combined with the passenger services we support to make every journey safer and more time-efficient for passengers, as well as more cost-effective for rail operators.”
Northern’s diesel and electric Class 769 trains were converted from electric-only Class 319 trains, coming into operation in May 2021.
The former Class 319 trains were originally built by British Rail prior to privatisation, from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.
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