Digital technology, the web and data analysis for predictive maintenance have come together in a new services agreement between Saudi Railway Company (SAR) and smart and sustainable mobility company Alstom.
This five-year technical support and spare part supply agreement (TSSSA), valued at about US$80,000,000, aims to enhance SAR's east-west freight corridor, essential for the country's economic growth.
Under this agreement, Alstom will provide SAR with comprehensive support, encompassing technical assistance, a steady supply of spare parts, and tailored staff training programmes.
In specific technology terms there will be a drive to digitise the maintenance process and encourage more efficiency. As part of this effort locomotives will be continuously monitored in real time by Alstom’s digital solution HealthHub.
HealthHub is a web-based platform solution that analyses and displays all the data captured from trains, signalling and infrastructure – covering location, speed temperature and more.
Using this data HealthHub enables predictive maintenance. The data is processed with algorithms from Alstom’s data scientists, then displayed in a way that anyone can understand.
This means it should be instantly apparent if something is wrong with a train, and there should also be better understanding of how a failure occurs. This means it can be prevented from happening again in the future.
This proven technology, says Alstom, will enable a predictive maintenance approach for SAR, reducing downtime and optimising fleet availability. These measures will ensure the long-term efficiency and reliability of the diesel locomotives operating on the vital east-west freight corridor connecting the key ports of Dammam and Jubail with the Riyadh dry port, facilitating the seamless flow of goods across the country.
Alstom says that this enhanced efficiency directly supports Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy and strengthen its position as a global logistics hub.
