Thales is delighted to announce that one of its GTS teams has won the award for ‘Big Data Innovation of the Year’ at the Digital Leaders 100 Awards on the 23rd of June. 

The team was awarded for their work on the Automated Rail Geospatial Observation System (ARGOS) which uses data from the Thales Next Generation Positioning System used for other on-board solutions to identify track geometry faults and their locations.

Led by Technical Solutions Architect Guilherme Beirao, with support from GTS apprentice Jasmin Robbins and two of Thales’ graduates Saikiran Karadi and William Harper as well at Thales RTI in reading, ARGOS has shown good results with possibility for  a considerable impact in the field of big data through its trial deployment with Network Rail on a GWR in-service train.

While deploying sensors on train is by no means new, ARGOS’ implementation on in-service vehicles seeks to allow earlier detection of track geometry faults and validation of post-work condition, allowing rail traffic to return to normal quicker and at a more regular pace.

By enabling ARGOS to provide Network Rail with data about the track and its conditions, UK passengers and freight can move on time more often, reducing passenger delays while increasing the frequency of detection of geometry faults, even in areas not serviced by current NR track recording vehicles
Internal data analyses have shown that ARGOS has the potential to reduce delay minutes caused by faults by 75%.

The potential impact of ARGOS’ incorporation onto British mainlines is especially significant in rural areas, where inspection trains are less likely to visit and where passengers experience frustrations with delayed services, resulting in missed connections. More reliable rural services will also help reduce road traffic in these areas, further reducing CO2 output.