InMotion_Summer 2025

Railways Reimagined: Embracing AI for a Safer and Smarter Future in Automated Transit Technologies

demand, incidents, or weather disruptions. This can improve throughput and reduce energy consumption. Another advantage is that AI can offer significant potential to enhance passenger safety. Computer vision tools can detect track intrusions, unattended objects, and hazards on platforms in real time, enabling faster response by control centers and station staff. When combined with platform screen doors, these technologies create an integrated safety ecosystem that may significantly reduce the risk of accidents and improve operational efficiency. Advanced analytics can also track crowd movement and congestion patterns, allowing operators to optimize passenger flow and reduce dwell times. Lea+Elliott’s experience writing specifications and overseeing integration of platform screen door systems and video analytics on fully automated systems helps clients deploy these solutions effectively, ensuring that safety systems work seamlessly with train control and station operations. Lea+Elliott has been at the forefront of helping transit agencies and airports adopt, adapt and transition to innovative technologies. As trusted advisors in automated transit and rail systems technologies, we support clients in evaluating AI capabilities and defining requirements for new procurements and system upgrades. By bridging the gap between suppliers and owners, our Lea+Elliott team ensures advanced technology is deployed confidently, safely, and cost-effectively. As excitement grows around the transformative potential of AI in the transportation industry, Lea+Elliott looks forward to collaborating with owners, suppliers, and consultants to explore AI applications in our industry. These include opportunities to optimize operations and service delivery while proactively addressing potential risks and ethical considerations associated with AI adoption.

It is hard to imagine that Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged as a formal field way back in the mid-1950s. Yet, it is only in the last 3-4 years that AI has advanced at an unprecedented pace. Its veritable explosion is driven by powerful computing hardware, increasingly sophisticated algorithms, and substantial investments from both private corporations and governments. As AI is reshaping the way work is done across various industries, the transit sector must carefully examine the implications and opportunities of AI integration. A key question facing the sector is whether or not AI should eventually replace fully automated fixed block signaling systems or even modern Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) systems. If so, how soon might this transition occur, what benefits could it offer, and what challenges must be addressed? Would such a shift mirror the earlier transition from conventional fixed block signaling to CBTC--or will AI be considered only in an augmentative role? Regardless of whether AI can fully transform Automated Train Control (ATC) technology, it is already augmenting transit technologies in meaningful ways by enhancing safety, operational efficiency, and system resilience. One of the most promising applications is predictive analytics. By collecting and analyzing data from onboard sensors, track equipment, and control systems, AI can detect patterns that precede failures. This allows maintenance teams to intervene before breakdowns occur, reducing delays and extending asset life. For example, algorithms can continuously monitor the health of signaling system equipment and vehicle components, predicting when parts are likely to fail. AI also enables smarter scheduling and traffic management. In complex environments like driverless airport people movers and urban CBTC networks, AI-powered tools can dynamically adjust train movements in response to real-time

Singapore Changi Airport has officially broken ground on Terminal 5. All the buildings in Terminal 5 will be connected via an APM system. There will also be an extension to Terminal 2, where passengers can connect to the rest of Changi Airport. Image credit: Changi Airport Group

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Vol. 32 No 1