With three new pilot projects with railway companies in France, Spain and Belgium, Konux is further expanding its international business.
With SNCF Réseau from France, FGC from Spain, and Infrabel from Belgium, three European railway companies are relying on a Munich-based startup. As Konux announced, three pilot projects with the aforementioned companies are currently underway. The sensor systems from Konux enable — in conjunction with artificial intelligence — railway companies to improve the availability of their assets and thus punctuality through predictive maintenance planning.
From Paris to Lille
On behalf of the French railway company SNCF Réseau, Konux the condition of switches along two high-speed lines. The Munich-based startup's system is installed there with the goal of detecting signs of wear early enough to prevent costly breakdowns. One of the two projects is on the Ligne à grande vitesse Atlantique ("LGV Atlantique") high-speed line between Paris and Le Mans/Tours. The second monitored high-speed line concerns the "LGV Nord" line, which connects Paris and Lille.
The Catalan railway company FGC has commissioned Konux to monitor the switches on the 340-kilometer-long railway network in the greater Barcelona area. FGC Infrastructure Director Albert Tortajada says:
"In the future, maintenance of railway assets will be managed primarily through predictive models rather than traditional preventive maintenance. Railway infrastructure still lags behind other applications, such as communications networks or rolling stock. We expect systems like the ones we are currently testing on our network to help close this gap."
The Belgian railway infrastructure company Infrabel has also commissioned Konux to digitally monitor a number of switches in the Mons region, around 50 km south of Brussels. Infrabel's switch manager Annelies Stevens:
"Infrabel is constantly striving to increase the punctuality of all trains and reduce the impact of maintenance on operators. Predictive maintenance has a positive impact on both goals. The challenge, however, is developing the right parameters or measurement methods for a trustworthy predictive model and efficiently analyzing the large amounts of available data. One thing we really want to monitor is track bed stability at switches and crossings: Traditional tamping is a typical cyclical maintenance activity that is expensive, and its effectiveness—whether positive or negative—is difficult to assess without continuous measurements. That's why we are pleased to be collaborating with Konux, which has developed these monitoring tools and predictive models and already has experience in several countries."
The goal: to shape the digitalization of international railway systems
Munich is also pleased about the international collaboration. Konux co-founder and CEO Andreas Kunze says:
“We are delighted that SNCF Réseau, FGC and Infrabel have chosen us to support them in their challenging projects.”
He continues:
"Our AI/IoT solutions are now in use in many European countries, with other international regions to follow soon. This enables railway companies to plan their maintenance in a timely manner and thus avoid train delays. This reduces operating costs for the railways and makes rail travel significantly more attractive for passengers through increased punctuality. Our goal is to play a decisive role in shaping the digitalization of international railway systems."
