Doctor Tundo, new digital technologies represent a revolutionary change affecting various sectors. Is this also the case for transport?
“Absolutely yes. Today our sector is no longer limited only to infrastructure management and transport activities in the strict sense from point A to point B, but is evolving according to a “servitization” logic: that is, it is increasingly aimed at the offer – by specialized suppliers – of 360 degree mobility services; services that are based on the activity carried out by transport operators, which in turn is based on the activity of those who manage the infrastructure. Well, it is not at all conceivable today to provide efficient and customer-friendly mobility services without the support of technology and digital.”
One of the key recurring concepts in communication in the transport sector is that of “intermodality”. What interest does a railway group like yours have in improving the mutual connection between road and rail transport?
««Let's clear up a misunderstanding. The fact that we call ourselves Ferrovie dello Stato may make non-experts think that we only deal with rail transport, but we also manage road infrastructure and road transport services. In the passenger sector, for example, our Group operates with the Busitalia company. And through the Trenitalia app the customer can already have access to integrated road-rail travel solutions. In the goods sector, road transport in Italy, also due to the specific characteristics of our country, plays a very important role: it is therefore not antagonistic but complementary to rail transport. What is fundamental, therefore, is to understand when it is most appropriate and convenient for everyone to use the right mix of road transport and rail transport in order to thus integrate the solutions, becoming, overall, an efficient integrated system”.
Fs has a significant amount of data: from information on trains and timetables to information relating to railway and road infrastructures. How is this data a valuable resource for the Group today?
«Allow me to make a quick premise: it is one thing to possess data, another thing is to know how to obtain information that has value from it. This is an important point: today many companies have an enormous wealth of data at their disposal but struggle to extract valuable information from it. And do you know why? Because their data assets have grown without the definition of a common semantics and ontology of that data, which means – trivially – calling the same object with the same name within any area of the company. As the Ferrovie dello Stato Group, we are structuring ourselves in this sense by making use of the acceleration capacity for these objectives given by artificial intelligence systems. Operations that in the past the Group, for various reasons, had no place in, are now made possible – in times that are a fraction of those required in the past – thanks to these new tools”.
The use of Bim and Digital Twin technologies also fits into this perspective.
«These are fundamental tools for a Group like ours, which manages 17 thousand kilometers of railway line, 32 thousand kilometers of roads, 2,200 railway stations and thousands of bridges, overpasses, both railway and road viaducts. BIM, compared to this wealth of infrastructure, is used to digitally manage an asset from its conception to its disposal and not only for construction planning, but also for control, verification and reduction of errors during the execution phase . The Digital Twin complements BIM models by allowing virtual interaction with the assets and is therefore typically used during the asset monitoring and management phases to dynamically monitor a work by simulating the changing of certain conditions. Ferrovie dello Stato has invested extremely significantly in these technologies. It is clear that tackling projects of this type on a national scale involves a significant effort both in terms of cost and commitment of human and material resources: to deal with it, it could be useful to resort to public-private partnerships, so as to be able to make use of the best experiences of private companies while maintaining governance in the hands of our Group”.
In an increasingly open and interconnected world – and above all in a sector, that of mobility, which now embraces various fields, from artificial intelligence to renewable energy – it is essential to create a system with other realities.
«Today it is simply impossible to provide mobility services without simultaneously addressing the issues of energy, connectivity and digital solutions precisely because they are strictly and inextricably linked to the infrastructures themselves. I'll give you some examples, starting from connectivity: in the last two years we have worked closely with the main national telecommunications operators to implement a total review of connectivity on trains and in stations precisely because they are indispensable for mobility services. Moving on to the energy theme, we will create the first photovoltaic systems within the Group that will directly power railway electric traction. And again: on the Verona-Venice regional line we have activated the possibility of traveling without having a traditional paper or digital ticket with you: just a “tap” with your credit card on the special machine on the platform, as happens today for the subways . A mobility service of this type cannot be achieved without taking into account the issues of digital payment, connectivity and energy. In short, today more than ever, we need to have a holistic vision that takes all these factors into account.”
In essence, artificial intelligence can improve the quality of service offered to passengers.
“No doubt. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to offer optimal integrated mobility services, both in passenger transport and in freight transport. And we are talking not only about generative artificial intelligence, but also about already tested tools such as machine learning algorithms. They are tools already in the field, but we are expanding them further.”
Can you give an example of how artificial intelligence can make freight transport more efficient?
«I can mention the agreement we recently signed with Amazon. The collaboration relies heavily on artificial intelligence tools. For example, the international consignment note, a document that until now was filled in manually, in which information provided by the transport companies involved in the shipment is reconstructed, is now totally automated thanks to artificial intelligence. This reduces costs and eliminates the risk of human error. But let me add a reflection that I care about.”
Please.
«On the topic of artificial intelligence, I generally see that everyone tends to proceed for themselves and it is difficult to create a system. I think it would benefit everyone to share skills and knowledge (for everything that is not of direct commercial competition) in a sort of “common toolbox”, in order to make the country system more effective and competitive overall.”
To conclude, what role does the FS Group aim to play in an Italy grappling with the digital and ecological transition?
«It wants to confirm its role as a system company that supports the evolution of the country. The role we are already playing is as a leader in the field of mobility, not just national mobility. We believe we can provide Italy with significant value creation. This is why we look to the future with great optimism.”
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