News

There are so many factors involved in people’s decision to use or not use trains. Cost, station location, ease of journey/number of stops, speed of journey, ease of access to facilities. As a technology company there is a limit to our ability to impact these factors since we don’t set the prices and we can’t […]

KeTech is thrilled to share that the team has successfully secured a contract with Alstom in Brisbane. KeTech is excited to be designing a bespoke system for Queensland Rail’s NGR fleet, and for the first time, deliver real-time information to the passengers of QR. KeTech is well known in the UK rail industry for its market leading real time information systems and it seems the news has travelled overseas, 9443 miles to be exact.

A successful collaboration between Porterbrook and the BCRRE has resulted in a revolutionary, green technology project that is central to decarbonising the railway by 2050. The UK’s first hydrogen powered train, dubbed as ‘HydroFLEX’, will be showcased at COP26 in November this year to demonstrate some of the best of British low-carbon train technology.

The UK has committed to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and rail travel will play a monumental role on that journey to decarbonisation. Decarbonisation has never been higher on the agenda in rail, and although 2050 is a generation away any decisions made today will have a direct impact on the UK’s ability to meet its target in the most cost-effective way. The abandonment of the UK rail franchising system, technological progress and the declining costs of renewables means that green power can now be coupled with innovation and investment. The franchising system in UK rail could be seen as one of the reasons we haven’t seen implementation of measurable innovation, why? Because train operating companies (TOCs) with short-term contracts were simply never going to have the incentive to invest for the long term.

Since March 2020, the world has wondered when we can return to normal. The kind of normal that includes face to face meetings, discussions over a coffee, exhibitions showcasing the best and brightest innovations. Employees and organisations adapted during the pandemic and the digital world has been embraced, from 5-year old’s participating in virtual lessons to Grandparents using facetime and technophobes doing their weekly shop online. The pandemic has been a catalyst for technological development because it became a necessity.

The answer is simple, although the background is technical and quite complex. Our systems are different because they have been engineered to actually create the real-time information that is updated and presented dynamically to the traveller (operators and staff). At best, competitor systems might be able to ‘take a feed’ from an operator or local authority, whereas our system harnesses data from multiple sources to create a dynamic and situationally aware provision of highly accurate information. It’s because we have decades of experience providing systems to rail operators and have accurate train prediction algorithms that we can do this.