Location intelligence solves rail network challenges

Efficiency and safety are fundamental to our large transportation client, as they manage a rail network that provides freight services to key markets and facilitates the trade of essential goods. Their GIS analysts collect and analyse data sets to gain visibility into the train’s network, keeping operations running smoothly. However, the team that assists with emergencies and ad hoc projects experienced constraints to their internal resources. This challenge led to the need for external support in bolstering the in-house GIS team’s capacity to respond to time-critical situations.  

The client’s environment team needed a GIS portal built to their specific data needs in managing derailments and long-term remediation initiatives as well as meeting regulatory compliance requirements. A train that derails could impact freight services, risk compromising the health and safety of communities and polluting the environment with chemical spills.  

GHD Digital’s location intelligence team partnered with the client’s GIS team to create a portal, with its own data and applications, for their environmental team. The organisation’s assets and infrastructure are spread across different locations. Our team consolidated their data from disparate and asynchronous systems and integrated them into a core spatial environment.  

As the administrator, the internal GIS team trusted us with access to their system, enabling the analysis of their data ecosystem and the development of a custom portal housed within the organisation’s Esri ArcGIS enterprise portal.  

Esri ArcGIS enabled users to visualise and analyse geographic data in near real-time and provided the ability to create high-precision maps and dashboards to uncover spatial patterns and unique insights. This solution equipped the environmental team with a secure and private portal for location intelligence and mapping and facilitated data sharing and collaboration.   

Swift data collection and analysis are crucial in the client’s railway operations where every minute counts, especially during emergencies requiring prompt investigation and corrective action. Leveraging location intelligence streamlined information sharing within the client’s rail network. The custom GIS portal has enhanced the environmental team’s capability to investigate their data and spot spatial patterns to facilitate better decision-making and problem-solving.  

This solution helped free up previously constrained resources, enabling the client to direct capacity to more urgent and critical projects, such as train derailment emergencies. With security embedded in the Esri ArcGIS portal, the client’s sensitive datasets remain safeguarded within their spatial environment. 

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