Case Study: Northern

CommencingaSuccessfulPartnership

Apublicly-ownedUKrailoperator,Northernconnectstensof thousandsofpeopletowork,leisureandeducationeveryday.Its fleetoftrainstravelbetweenregionalhubsincludingBradford, Carlisle,Chester,Liverpool,Leeds,Manchester,Sheffield,Hull andNewcastle.

IcomerabeganworkingwithNorthernin2014,supportinga PassengerWi-Fi,PassengerInformationandOnboard Entertainmentsolutionfor24ofNorthernRail’sclassC333,C322 andC321electrictrains,runningonroutesconnectingLeeds, Bradford,DoncasterandSkipton.Serving1.1millionpassengers travellinginandoutofLeedseachmonth,theroll-outgarnered positiveresults;inapost-launchsurvey,87%oftravellersstated thatIcomera’sWi-Fiservicemetorexceededtheirexpectations.

DesigningtheDigitalTrain

In2016,therelationshipevolvedwhenNorthernawarded Icomeraacrucialroleaspartofitsambitiousvisiontodesign andbuildabest-in-classDigitalTrainsolutiontobeinstalledon morethan260ofNorthern’srefurbishedtrainsoperating throughoutitsnetwork.

UtilisingIcomera’spowerfulX-Seriesconnectivityplatform,the NorthernDigitalTraininvolvedarangeofconnectedapplications whichimprovethepassengerexperience,offerenhanced

operationalefficiency,andprovidebettersafetyandsecurity. Taskedwithdeliveringanend-to-endmanagedservice,from systemdesignthroughtoongoingsupport,Icomeracontinuesto bedirectlyinvolvedintheventure.

Atthecommencementoftheproject,Icomeradesignedthe DigitalTrain’ssystemarchitecturetomeetNorthern’sbespoke requirements,supportingeachapplication,andmitigating cybersecurityrisksthroughsecurenetworkdesign.

Certainaspectsofthesolution,suchasPassengerWi-Fiand cybersecurity,werecontractedtoIcomeradirectly,whileother partsoftheDigitalTrainecosystemaredeliveredbyanumberof third-partysuppliers.

Icomeraworkedasanetworkintegrator,consultingwith prospectivesolutionproviders,evaluatingthedifferentoptions andaidingNorthernintheapprovalprocess;oncesuppliershad beenselectedbyNorthern,Icomeraworkedcollaborativelywith eachonetounderstandtheirspecificrequirementsanddesign theonboardnetworktomeetallnecessaryfunctionality.

Hostingasuiteofbusiness-criticalpassenger,operational,safetyandsecurityapplications,Icomerahasdeployeda best-in-classexampleoftheDigitalTrainforNorthern Fromtheinitialsystemdesign,throughtothecommissioningprocess,toprovidingongoingremoteandonsitesupport, Icomeracontinuestoplayapivotalroleintheproject.

BENEFITS

Improved PassengerSatiisfaction

Increased OperationalEfficiency

Enhanced Safety&Security

INSIGHTS

Passenger Wi-Fi

Icomera’sreliable&secureWi-Fi platformopensupavaluable communicationschannelbetween Northernanditspassengers

Driver Advisory System

Keepsthedriverupdatedwithawide rangeofinformation(trainheadcode, callingpattern,speed,journey progressetc.)

Passenger Information System

Screensprovidereal-timeinformation onupcomingstops,service disruptionandonboardsafety protocols

Advanced Passenger Counting

EmpowersNortherntomanagetrain capacitylimits.Providesthepotential tokeeppassengersinformedofbusy /quietareas

SYSTEMS

Digital Video Surveillance

AllowsNorthernandtheBritish TransportPolicetoviewreal-time videofootageand/oroffload historicaldataondemand

Remote System Monitoring

Icomera’scutting-edgecloud-based analyticssoftwareservesasasingle interfacethroughwhichallconnected devices(routers,accesspointsetc.) onthetraincanbemonitored

Cyber-Security

TheIntrusionDetectionSystem(IDS) monitorsforanomalousnetwork traffic,raisingalertsinthecaseof potentialthreats

Energy Metering

Northerncanmonitorenergy consumption-Stepscanthenbe takentomoreeffectivelycontrol energyusage

Remote Condition Monitoring

Northerncanutilisedatatoidentify componenthealthissuesand anomaliesincomponentbehaviour

Passenger-relatedOnboardSystems

ProvidingservicessuchasPassengerWi-FiandReal-Time InformationhelpsNorthern’sDigitalTrainimprovethe experienceofthosetravelling,increasingsatisfactionlevelsand encouragingpassengerstousepublictransportmoreoften.

PassengerWi-Fi –Deemedasanessentialofferingbyrail operatorsnowadays,Icomera’sfast,reliableandsecureWi-Fi serviceallowsthosetravellingtostayconnectedforbothwork andleisure,turningtraveltimeintoproductivetime.

PassengerInformationSystem –Screensinstalledonthetrain providereal-timeinformationregardingupcomingstops,service disruption,andonboardsafetyprotocols(anespecially importantconsiderationintheCOVID-19era).Northerncan dynamicallyupdatethemessagesdisplayedtopassengersina matterofseconds.

OperationalOnboardSystems

Icomera’sconnectivitybackbonehostsnumerousoperational applications.ThesesystemsallowNortherntotakeadvantageof arangeofdatainordertomaintainandenhanceefficiency.

DriverAdvisorySystem(DAS) –TheDASprovidesvaluable informationforthedriverincludingthetrain’sheadcode,calling pattern,speedandjourneyprogress(e.g.whetherthetrainis behindoraheadofschedule).

AdvancedPassengerCounting –Livepassengerfigurescanbe pulledfromeachtrain.Thisisusefulforanalysingdata, especiallyduringthecoronaviruspandemic,whenstricter capacitylimitsareplacedonoperators.Infuture,Northernmay choosetofurtherleveragedatabykeepingpassengersinformed ofbusy/quietareasthroughoutthetrain.

RemoteSystemMonitoring –Icomera’scutting-edgecloudbasedanalyticssoftwareservesasasingleinterfacethrough whichallconnecteddevices(routers,accesspoints,network switches,NVRs,IPcamerasetc.)ontheDigitalTraincanbe monitored.

RemoteConditionMonitoring –Northerncanutiliserawdata suppliedbyonboardsystemsinreal-timetoidentifycomponent healthissues,detectanomaliesincomponentbehaviour,and analysetheimpactanyissuesmighthaveonvehicleand/orfleet behaviour.

EnergyMetering –Theelectricalmanagementsystem empowersNortherntomonitortheenergyconsumptiononeach train.Basedonthedatareceived,stepscanbetakentomore effectivelycontrolenergyusage.

Safety&SecurityOnboardSystems

Fromtheoutset,safetyandsecurityhasformedacentralpartof Northern’sDigitalTrainconcept.Icomeradesignedthenetwork architecturewithsecurityfrontofmind,basedonbestpractice standardsoverandabovetheDepartmentforTransport’scurrent guidance.Utilisingaprocess-based,risk-drivenapproachwhich recognisesthatsecurityisanever-evolvingfield,theIcomera teamworkscollaborativelywithNorthern’spentestersto mitigateanycyber-riskswhicharediscovered.

Cybersecurity –IcomerahasbeencontractedbyNorthernto manageonboardcybersecurityfortheDigitalTrain.Responsible forallnecessaryworktodesign,optimiseandmanagesecurity effectively,theIcomerateamisalertedwheneveranomalous networktrafficorpotentialthreatsarediscoveredviaNorthern’s IntrusionDetectionSystem(IDS)–Icomeratriageeachalertasa matterofpriority,andcontactNorthernimmediatelyintheevent thatanyactionneedstobetaken.

DigitalVideoSurveillance –TheDigitalTrain’svideosurveillance systemallowsNorthernandtheBritishTransportPolicetopull real-timefootagefromthetrainand/orchoosetooffload historicaldataondemand.Aspartoftheproject,Icomera designedaspecialisedwirelessEthernetbridgingsolution,which

allowsanyofNorthern’sdifferenttypesoftrainunitstobe coupledtogethertoformlargertrainunits,extendingtheonboard network.Thisaspectofthesolutiondesignisespeciallyrelevant whenitcomestothedigitalvideosurveillancesystem;since wirelessbridgingconnectsthelocalvideosurveillancesystems betweendifferenttrainunits,thetrain’sdriverisabletoviewrealtimefootageacrossallcarriagesfromthefrontcar.Icomerahas workedincollaborationwithNorthern’steamofdesignersto ensurethattheinstallationpositiononeachdifferentfleetof trainswillcontinuetosupportthiswirelessbridginginthefuture.

analyticstoolswhichprovideenhancedvisibilityofNorthern’s entirefleet,Icomera’steamcanviewreal-timemonitoringand historicalreportsonthestatusofitssystems,trackvehiclesand viewpassengerbrowsingstatistics.

WhenNorthernreportsapotentialissuewithoneofthe connectedapplications,Icomera’sNetworkOperation’sCentre (NOC)reactsquicklytomakesureanysystemdowntimeiskept toanabsoluteminimum.Afterassessingtheseverityofthe reportedissue,anIcomerafieldengineerwilltraveltooneof Northern’sfourdepotstorectifyitdirectly,orwhenappropriate, amemberoftheIcomeraNOCwillcontacttherelevantthirdpartysuppliersothattheymayfixthefault.

Testing,Installation&Commissioning

Giventhecomplexsystemdesign,appropriatetestinginanofftrainenvironmentwasacrucialconsiderationforNorthern’s DigitalTrain.Aspartoftheimplementationprocess,Icomeraset upadedicatedtestbench.Thetestbenchreplicatesa2x4train carandallowsallsupplierkitstobeconnectedandtestedbefore beingdeployedonalivevehicle,aswellasfornewnetwork configurationstobeanalysed,andforsecuritypatchestobe testedbeforetheyareinstalled.

Responsibleforinstallingandcommissioningthecore connectivityhardwareonboardNorthern’sdigitalfleet,Icomera’s teamofskilledandexperiencedFieldServiceEngineers(FSEs) continuedtoworksafelyandresponsiblyontherollout throughouttheCOVID-19pandemic,keepingtheprojectmoving forward.

RemoteMonitoring&OnsiteSupport

SincetheDigitalTraincontainsamyriadofmissioncritical elements,itwasvitalforNortherntohaveawellmonitoredand maintainedsolution.Foreachlivetrain,Icomerahasbeen assignedasNorthern’ssinglepointofcontactfortheonboard systems(whetherthosesystemshavebeencontractedto Icomeraortoathird-partysupplier).Utilisingcutting-edgecloud

WhatNorthernsay:

“Northernareexcitedtobeleadingthewaywithour forward-thinkingvisionofdigitaltrain,andtocontinue workingcloselywithIcomeraandotherindustry partnersonasolutionwhichdeliversadiverserangeof passenger,operationalandsafetybenefits”

MarcSilverwood, DigitalTrainsProjectManager,Northern

Whatwesay:

“Wearepleasedtobeakeytechnologypartnerin Northern’sbest-in-classDigitalTrainroll-out.Icomera’s workwithintheprojectservesastestamenttoour abilitytodeliverbespoke,end-to-enddigitalfleet solutionsforourclients”

PeterKingsland