Putting emerging technologies to work for rail
At SCNF, we’re harnessing new technologies—artificial intelligence, cyber security, robotics, new materials and more—to transform our industry. Find out how we’re exploring the future to bring you rail service that performs better, costs less and is even more eco-friendly.
Science and competitiveness
Did you know that our workforce includes physicists, energy engineers, artificial intelligence specialists and even cognitive scientists?
Their mission is to identify tomorrow’s most promising technologies and adapt them to meet the challenges facing our industry. In practice, that means applying a wide range of sciences to make rail more reliable, less costly, and less energy-intensive. As we become more competitive, we’ll give passengers and shippers even more reasons to choose trains over cars and trucks.
Working together
The scientists in our Technology, Innovation and Group Projects Division (DTIPG) are on the cutting edge of this effort. They’re the force behind our Research4Future programme, which studies emerging technologies with innovation potential for the rail industry.
They also contribute to Synapses, an internal network of over 500 science and technology experts who drive research and innovation in every area of SNCF.
The power of cross-pollination
The experts in the DTIPG and Synapses network rely on complementary skills across multiple disciplines—a vital source of cross-pollination. Research in cybersecurity and decision science builds on advances in artificial intelligence, for example, and there are links between composite materials and additive manufacturing. And our robotics work draws on progress in complex systems engineering.
Partners in academia
Another key component of this exploratory work is our partnerships with elite graduate schools and cutting-edge universities. These take the form of joint research projects and some 20 chairs across many fields of study.
Leading research topics
Our main areas of research include AI, robots to support our employees, innovative materials, new engineering methods, cyber security, rail system physics, 3D printing, and cognitive and decision science. Learn more about this exciting work below.
Artificial intelligence
With AI, we can use data to predict how a situation will evolve, improving the passenger experience and making it easier for our employees to do their jobs. Anything that can be digitally stored is collected, analysed, organized, scrubbed and fed into self-training algorithms that can learn to carry out tasks automatically. By letting us visualize the past, AI helps us project the future. In some areas this includes meeting requirements for trust and explainability. We’re working on that too.
Robotics
We’re developing robots to help our employees work more efficiently with optimum safety. There are many possible applications, including:
- inspecting tunnels
- weeding track
- removing snow from platforms
Realizing their potential will require a well-defined business model, commitment, and hard work. To succeed, we must pave the way for a majority of Europe’s rail players to adopt the same middleware, and encourage the robotics market to focus on our industry.
Composite materials
Composites—lighter, less energy-intensive, and stronger than traditional materials—are well suited for manufacturing large, complex parts. Used primarily in aviation until now, they offer many benefits for the trains of tomorrow. For SNCF, the challenge is finding ways to scale up production and cut manufacturing costs.
Complex systems engineering
To keep pace with the complexity of the rail system and incorporate innovations such as self-driving and light trains, we need new engineering methods to describe and manage the interfaces between sub-systems. Developing them requires a common language, method and tools that can be shared by experts in rolling stock, network and operations.
Telecommunications
Developing 5G and other new telecoms technologies is essential to enhancing the rail system’s performance. These technologies have a wide range of applications, from connected installation maintenance to support for train drivers to digitalized signalling for small local lines.
Rail system physics
To monitor track geometry and predict when cracks will appear, our researchers use both mechanical testing and digital modelling and simulations. Their work in mathematics and physics lets us manage network maintenance operations more effectively.
Decision science
Algorithms boost our performance by helping us take the right decisions. These include determining how many trainsets we need to serve our customers, making the right choices to transport freight, and regulating and prioritizing trains to minimize the impact of disruptions on our passengers.
Cognitive science
We rely on the human sciences—cognitive psychology, sociology, anthropology and more—to analyse our customers’ perceptions and tailor our service more closely to their needs. Focus areas include passenger information and orientation, crowd flow management, onboard comfort, and how people perceive time when they use mobility services.
Cyber security
Because tomorrow’s trains will be highly connected, artificial intelligence is fast becoming a critical weapon in detecting and neutralizing cyberattacks. We’re already working to create a system with maximum resilience, able to detect and eliminate an invading virus by itself.
Additive manufacturing
Industrial 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, makes industrial maintenance of our trains and rail infrastructure faster and cheaper. How? By cutting delivery time for spare parts, accelerating repair of mechanical parts, making replacements for obsolete components, and more.