ProRail is responsible for the maintenance, renewal, expansion and safety of the Dutch railway network. They manage 7,000 km of track, regulate all train traffic (160 million km per year) and build and manage stations.
The total cost of delays and disruptions on the track amounts to around €400 to €500 million per year. Any track closure, broken overhead line or other disruption must be resolved as quickly as possible, not only to ensure safety but to reduce unnecessary penalties for delays.
Previously the whole process was very labour-intensive, and ProRail needed to be able to give tailored proposals for each withdrawal that ensured the correct safety measures are in place.
DDIO provides a service that focuses on both planned maintenance and disruption recovery. At a later stage, it will be possible to use 'Data Driven' for maintenance on the track for workplace safety. Other data is then needed for disruption recovery, where the proposals are based on processes that are ongoing. This will lead to withdrawal forecasting which requires data about the future location of the track, as well as forecast data and an extension of the algorithm.
