Next Generation Rail Technologies (NGRT) this week agreed a deal to bring its cutting-edge technology to the Global Centre of Rail Excellence site.
In Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) announced at InnoTrans in Berlin, the Spanish company has agreed to use GCRE for product development and to demonstrate its real-time monitoring systems at the site.
The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is a facility for world class rail and mobility research, testing and innovation of rolling stock, infrastructure and cutting-edge new rail technologies currently being developed in South Wales.
NGRT is a technology and innovation company based in Malaga, focusing on improving railway safety and efficiency through real-time monitoring equipment for tracks and infrastructure
The agreement will allow NGRT to showcase its patented infrastructure monitoring system on the GCRE site. The system provides a low cost and real-time vibration detection system that identifies problems within railway infrastructure, including broken rails, flat wheels, rockslides and tail-side intrusions.
Announcing the agreement in Berlin, GCRE Ltd Chief Commercial Officer, Kelly Warburton, said: “It’s great to get our partnership with NGRT underway, a company that have a huge amount of experience working on rail systems across the world.
“The agreement will allow NGRT to utilise the GCRE for product development as well as showcase its cutting-edge monitoring system. The technology is a great example of rail’s future – offering more intelligent and data-rich ways to better monitor and manage vital rail infrastructure.
“Such solutions offer the chance to develop more cost-efficient ways of operating the network and help in the decarbonisation of our railway.
“Installing the system at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence also offers the opportunity for NGRT to showcase its versatility to a larger commercial audience, with customers able to see the system in-situ and operational on a live site.
“Partnerships like this highlight the again the commercial momentum behind GCRE as customers from across Europe and internationally see in our unique facility the opportunity for innovation and sales growth that cannot be achieved anywhere else.”
Richard Aaroe, CEO & President of Next Generation Railway Technology said: “NGRT has for long searched and looked for places like GCRE in Europe as its absolutely fundamental for driving innovation in the railway industry that locations such as GCRE open their doors to game changing technologies driven by innovation.
“NGRT will use GCRE with its railway experts, enthusiasts and connections to invite international railways to come and see the NGRT technology and systems in full operations as GCRE will facilitate real-time operations which are detected and monitored by NGRT.
“Working hand in hand with GCRE it will help NGRT to have an independent location for demonstrating the unique technology, and together GCRE and NGRT will provide statistics and reports for any railway who are interested in innovation and game changing technologies.”
