ScotRail is embarking on an innovative journey to reduce its carbon footprint by partnering with UK-based company Optimise AI to create ‘digital twins’ of all its stations and depots.
This cutting-edge technology aims to enhance sustainability and improve energy efficiency across Scotland’s railway network.
Digital twin technology creates virtual replicas of physical assets, allowing for real-time monitoring and predictive analysis.
In ScotRail’s case, these digital twins will be comprehensive virtual models of their stations and depots, incorporating data from various sources to provide a holistic view of energy consumption and emissions.
The project has already made significant progress, with digital twins created for 15 stations and depots using Optimise-AI’s patented technology.
These virtual replicas enable ScotRail to monitor and analyse energy usage, emissions, and other environmental factors in real-time, providing valuable insights for decision-making and optimisation.
David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, explained the benefits of this technology:
“By creating digital twins of our stations and depots, we can monitor and analyse energy consumption patterns in real-time. This allows us to identify areas where we can improve efficiency and reduce our carbon emissions, helping us move closer to our net-zero goals.”
The digital twin system works by collecting data from multiple sources across ScotRail’s network, including smart meters and equipment sensors. This data is then transmitted wirelessly to the digital twin via the cloud, allowing for accurate, fine-grained data capture and tracking on a single platform.
The system can monitor various factors such as energy consumption, emissions, water usage, waste management, occupancy, air quality, and transportation data.
One of the key advantages of this technology is its ability to support informed and precise decision-making. By feeding the collected data into AI systems, ScotRail can generate real-time reports on their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, supporting compliance with benchmarking and reporting frameworks.
Looking ahead, these AI-driven digital twin systems are expected to evolve into “cognitive” systems that can learn from existing processes and patterns. These advanced systems will be able to detect anomalies, recommend corrective actions, and predict faults before they occur, further enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of ScotRail’s operations.
This initiative aligns with ScotRail’s commitment to achieving carbon net-zero by 2045, in line with the Scottish Government’s legally binding target. With 75% of ScotRail journeys already made on electric trains powered by non-fossil fuel energy, and stations and depots sourcing 100% of their energy from UK-produced green renewable sources, this digital twin project represents another significant step towards a more sustainable future for Scotland’s railways.
