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Passenger expectations in today's connected world - an interview with Brian Foskett

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Brian Foskett 11 Jun 2019

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An interview Spotlight brought to you by Global Railway Review where our Head of Product Management , Brian Foskett explains how passenger expectations are developing in today’s connected world and what digital solutions are available to train operating companies as they strive to enrich the passenger experience.

What evidence is there that passengers want an intelligent journey experience?

The continued growth in adoption of on-train WiFi and the proliferation of over-the-top transport aligns with the trend towards Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). The underlying requirement for MaaS is a comprehensive suite of applications that facilitate the planning and payment for the door-to-door journey.

The current approach remains fragmented, with few players truly providing an integrated view of the journey.  As an example, taxi booking applications generally, are not integrated into live train schedules.  Therefore, delays to one leg of the journey are not automatically pushed along the service pipeline (i.e. journey segments remain in silos).  As passenger expectations develop, so must service implementations.

Reliable connectivity is an ‘expected norm’. Being constantly connected is simply expected. Now, it is not just passengers we need to connect, but a wider base of stakeholders as this plays a valuable role in enriching passenger experience.

To what extent have train operating companies had to adapt to meet modern day passenger expectations?

Expectations have continued to grow since the first on-train WiFi service was introduced.

Reliable, high-speed connectivity is the baseline that passengers require.  Train operators continue to invest in next generation hardware platforms and upgrades to the on-train network, including migration to a 10Gbit/s backbone.

This continued investment in infrastructure enables a new raft of entertainment services to be deployed.  These include on-train media systems providing a library of movies and TV shows, as well as more recently, the introduction of live TV streaming for popular sporting events.

Finally, the insatiable appetite for information is being addressed through multiple channels.  These include, Passenger Information Systems (PIS) screens being deployed throughout trains and stations, as well as train operating company branded mobile applications that, provide continuous journey updates and access to premium services such as, in-seat refreshment ordering.

WiFi

What are the main intelligent digital technologies and solutions that train operating companies want to deploy? (this box needs to be mint colour)

Train operators are looking beyond raw connectivity, towards more advanced passenger services and the migration towards MaaS, and the leveraging of highly granular telemetry and analytic applications to understand the on-train historic and real-time quality of experience.

Secondly, as the proliferation of systems continues to grow and cabinet space on trains has become a critical factor in the introduction of new services. It is now a major focus of train operating companies to build a roadmap of virtualised applications that can be deployed on a common set of shared hardware resources.

With the introduction of GDPR and NIS during 2018, security remains top-of-mind for train operating companies. Establishing visibility to system and passenger behaviour is an essential part of a cyber security framework, therefore security tool chains are now a key discussion topic with all train operating companies.

Applications as a Service
applications as a service graphic

What is unique about your technology and how do you ensure you stand out among competitors?

Nomad Digital’s focus is on the decomposition of traditional on-board platforms, decoupling software from hardware, and routing software from applications.  In conjunction with a standardised message brokering solution, train operators can benefit from an on-train data centre architecture and the exposure of open APIs to drive new innovative services.

With the introduction of virtualised applications that can be deployed and managed remotely, Nomad are breaking the dependency between hardware and software facilitates. Transitioning train operator’s business models with the velocity of the Internet by facilitating the rapid building and roll out of applications and services.

Exploitation of comprehensive telemetry data to provide full insight of the behaviour on, on-train systems is delivered through Nomad’s big-data analytics and reporting solutions.

Finally, with our ecosystem-led approach to new services, Nomad is working with best-in-class partners to bring unique integrated solutions to market.

Real Time Reporting

Eurostar, helping passengers track their journey and plan destinations

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Eurostar, helping passengers track their journey and plan destinations

In 2012, Eurostar announced a £700 million investment in its fleet, with the purchase of state-of-the-art new e320 trains and the complete upgrade of a number of its existing sets. The investment would add new digital capabilities, including electric sockets, Wi-Fi and an on-board entertainment system to offer customers an ever better experience. As part of the project, it asked its customers what would most improve their travel experience.

CrossCountry – a WiFi upgrade

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CrossCountry – a WiFi upgrade

CrossCountry is geographically the UK’s largest train operator, delivering long distance and inter-regional services between, South West England and Scotland, the South Coast, the North West, the North East and from Wales to the East Midlands and East Anglia.

Headquartered in Birmingham, CrossCountry runs over 7,000 train journeys each 4-week period, has 1,800 employees and carries 38 million passenger journeys a year. CrossCountry also operates the longest train service in the UK, from Aberdeen to Penzance, a journey of 785 miles.
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