We at the VAP have been working more inten­si­ve­ly on the topic of data eco­sys­tems for some time. In 2022, we initia­ted the deve­lo­p­ment of a data plat­form at the Coor­di­na­ti­on Unit for Sus­tainable Mobi­li­ty (KOMO) and are pushing ahead with the fur­ther deve­lo­p­ment of the Mobi­li­ty Data Infra­struc­tu­re (MODI). With this blog post, we would like to con­ti­nue the dia­lo­gue and show why data eco­sys­tems should be part of the visi­on of all freight rail­way actors.

Here’s why:

  • Com­ple­xi­ty sets the bar high
  • Small steps to the big vision
  • Exploi­ting the inex­haus­ti­ble poten­ti­al of data
  • We should stay in the conversation

 

Complexity sets the bar high

Data eco­sys­tems are high­ly com­plex and encom­pass diver­se sub­ject areas (see Figu­re 1). If they are to be made usable and eco­no­mic­al­ly via­ble, we must take into account all the wis­hes and needs of the actors as well as any restrictions.

Figu­re 1: The visi­on of digi­tal and ope­ra­tio­nal inter­con­nec­ti­vi­ty covers high­ly chal­len­ging topics

On the occa­si­on of our Freight 2023 Forum, Dr Mat­thi­as Prandt­stet­ter, Seni­or Sci­en­tist and The­ma­tic Coor­di­na­tor at the AIT Aus­tri­an Insti­tu­te of Tech­no­lo­gy AIT, and Moni­ka Zosso Lunds­gaard-Han­sen, Co-Sec­tion Head Direc­to­ra­te Ope­ra­ti­ons at the BAV, pro­vi­ded insights on the cur­rent sta­tus of initia­ti­ves and con­side­ra­ti­ons. The experts agree: pro­gress in the rail sec­tor will be a long and dif­fi­cult affair.

In small steps to the big vision

The tar­get image of an intel­li­gent and pos­si­bly self-deci­ding data eco­sys­tem could be rea­li­sed through the fol­lo­wing deve­lo­p­ment pha­ses as examp­les (not exhaustive):

1. pro­vi­de basic data (e.g. with MODI)

  • Gua­ran­teed quality
  • “Uni­que­ness” of the data set (i.e. clear definitions)
  • Accessibility/transparency for all those involved
  • Mar­ket-based deve­lo­p­ment of apps and exten­ded func­tion­a­li­ties possible

2. acti­va­te hub for exch­an­ge of data (e.g. DX Inter­mo­dal by Hupac)

  • Exch­an­ge bet­ween 2 or more com­pa­nies ope­ra­ting on the hub
  • Addi­tio­nal data sets (with or wit­hout rest­ric­tions for indi­vi­du­al actors/companies)
  • Boo­king pos­si­bi­li­ties for indi­vi­du­al or enti­re relations

3. crea­te data ecosystem

  • Ensu­re access to his­to­ri­cal data for initi­al ana­ly­sis possibilities
  • Con­nect data­ba­ses (basic data and/or data sets available with restrictions)

4. use block­chain technology

  • Data and data sets are opti­mal­ly networked
  • Abso­lu­te cost and price transparency
  • Increased secu­ri­ty in data exchange
  • More effi­ci­ent over­all deve­lo­p­ment and processing

5. rea­li­se the visi­on of a phy­si­cal internet

  • Open glo­bal sys­tem based on phy­si­cal, digi­tal and ope­ra­tio­nal interconnectivity
  • Appli­es pro­to­cols, inter­faces and modularisation
  • Cer­tain decis­i­ons are made by the eco­sys­tem – not by indi­vi­du­al players

Curr­ent­ly, the rail sec­tor is in phase 1 and 2, even if only sel­ec­tively. With the Fede­ral Act on Mobi­li­ty Data Infra­struc­tu­re (MODIG), the FOT is addres­sing all rele­vant topics. DX Inter­mo­dal is alre­a­dy ope­ra­tio­nal in com­bi­ned trans­port (CT) and takes up points from phase 2. An over­all bene­fit for rail freight logi­stics can only be achie­ved if all forms of freight trans­port pro­duc­tion and the enti­re trans­port chain (“door-to-door”) are taken into account. To this end, ele­ments of arti­fi­ci­al intel­li­gence must be integrated.

Exploiting the inexhaustible potential of data

Big Data has trans­for­med from hype to mega­trend; the poten­ti­al of coll­ec­ted data is almost infi­ni­te. This enables dis­rup­ti­ve, inno­va­ti­ve, digi­tal busi­ness models and bet­ter pre­dic­tions for cor­rect busi­ness decis­i­ons. Howe­ver, this only appli­es to data that is available in the right qua­li­ty and gra­nu­la­ri­ty. In addi­ti­on, the actors must be able to extra­ct the right infor­ma­ti­on and thus the desi­red know­ledge from the data and to inter­pret and use it cor­rect­ly. This poses a num­ber of chal­lenges for the eco­sys­tem partners:

System benefit vs. self-benefit

Some com­pa­nies alre­a­dy have in-house data sys­tems. They coll­ect data from devices on loco­mo­ti­ves and wagons and use it for opti­mi­sa­ti­on or pass it on to third par­ties. This gives them a com­pe­ti­ti­ve advan­ta­ge and addi­tio­nal sources of reve­nue. Why should such com­pa­nies par­ti­ci­pa­te in data eco­sys­tems? Becau­se opti­mi­sing their own sys­tem does not neces­s­a­ri­ly serve the sys­tem as a whole or the end cus­to­mer. If, for exam­p­le, various indi­vi­du­al play­ers sell the same data to third par­ties for a fee, the sys­tem beco­mes more expen­si­ve becau­se money flows for each data trans­fer. In addi­ti­on, indi­vi­du­al actors can com­bi­ne their data sets within the frame­work of a data eco­sys­tem and thus pro­mo­te the effi­ci­en­cy of the enti­re sys­tem, for exam­p­le the esti­ma­ted time of depar­tu­re or arri­val. In this con­text, ques­ti­ons of data sove­reig­n­ty need to be clarified.

Obligation vs. voluntariness

The state is and remains the big­gest finan­cial back­er of the rail sys­tem. It should have an inte­rest in reli­e­ving its own cof­fers and thus the tax­pay­ers. The pro­vi­si­on of non-pro­fit data can impro­ve effi­ci­en­cy. Again, ques­ti­ons remain: Should eco­sys­tem part­ners be obli­ged to pro­vi­de data­sets? Should it be pos­si­ble in a data eco­sys­tem to off­set pre­vious, indi­vi­du­al invest­ments or to con­trast sub­si­dies recei­ved? Or should par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on in a data eco­sys­tem remain vol­un­t­a­ry, with the risk that too few par­ti­ci­pan­ts feed the plat­form with data?

Data vs. data

Not every data ele­ment is equal for a data eco­sys­tem. Thus, it must be cle­ar­ly defi­ned from the begin­ning with which goal and over­all bene­fit an actor should depo­sit its data ele­ments on a data plat­form. In addi­ti­on, a distinc­tion must be made bet­ween ope­ra­tio­nal, tech­ni­cal and com­mer­cial data in order to avoid emo­tio­nal dis­cus­sions. Final­ly, the qua­li­ty ensu­red by the data owner or a newly crea­ted qua­li­ty body deter­mi­nes the cre­di­bi­li­ty and sus­taina­bi­li­ty of a data ecosystem.

We should stay in the conversation

We at the VAP want to make the poten­ti­al of data eco­sys­tems available to the enti­re rail sec­tor and increase its com­pe­ti­ti­ve­ness. That is why we are com­mit­ted to various initia­ti­ves, rese­arch pro­jects and estab­lished pro­ducts in this con­text, name­ly the following:

  • Fur­ther deve­lo­p­ment of the mobi­li­ty data infra­struc­tu­re MODI, tog­e­ther with the BAV.
  • Com­mon Euro­pean Mobi­li­ty Data Space (EMDS), an EU initiative
  • Logi­stics Working Group (AKL), in which we have taken over the leadership

 

If you too would like to help shape the digi­tal future of the rail sec­tor, Jür­gen Maier looks for­ward to hea­ring from you.

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