TRUE NORTH RAIL

True North Rail was formed in 2018 by rail engineers on a mission to bring the rapidly growing technology used in computer gaming to the rail sector. After period of research and development it initially focused on signal sighting, and in 2020 secured its first competitive tender to deliver the signal sighting model for a major re-signalling scheme.

You can read the full article here (page 84) https://issuu.com/railpro/docs/rp_uk_july_20240624_issuu?fr=xKAE9_1E-Og

What is Truesight™

TrueSight™ Is a collection of tools and software running on the Unreal Engine Platform that enables efficient creation of visualisations for Railway Infrastructure projects. The creation of ‘Intelligent’ 3D assets aligned to the project’s linear chainage and survey grid. The ability to model multiple scenarios and quickly change asset type and form ‘live’ in stakeholder reviews.

How did you get started in the industry?

I was fortunate enough to be accepted onto the apprenticeship scheme for Trainee Signalling Technicians. Working in the Rail Industry was not something I had ever envisaged.

What is your role within True North Rail?

I am the Co-founder and a Director, focusing on the Engineering Management and Business Planning side of things.

TrueSightTrueSight™ Is a collection of tools and software running on the Unreal Engine Platform that enables efficient creation of visualisations for Railway Infrastructure projects. The creation of ‘Intelligent’ 3D assets aligned to the project’s linear chainage and survey grid. The ability to model multiple scenarios and quickly change asset type and form ‘live’ in stakeholder reviews.

What was the inspiration behind starting True North Rail?

I collaborated very closely with my Co-Founder James Furlong on the Liverpool Lime Street Re-moddeling project. He is one of the top Rail specialists in the UK for applying 3D CAD technology in Rail Engineering projects. We were both frustrated by the quality of the Visualisation tools at our disposal and thought we could do something better.

What is your Unique Selling Point?

As Rail Engineers we understand the problems that our clients face. We would say that our tools have been ‘design by Rail Engineers for Rail Engineers’. Having a deep knowledge of the industry combined with great technology means we provide a highly effective service to our customers.

How have the products and services you offer developed over the years?

We continuously re-invest into improving and developing both the technology and our processes. Starting from a functional but basic Signal Sighting tool and a process

that was only suitable for large Re-signalling projects we can now deliver a high volume of small projects quickly and efficiently. Extensive upgrades to the user interface enable us to model multiple scenarios with the stakeholders in the room ‘on the fly’ which has great benefits for projects that are often working to tight timescales.

What types of companies do you collaborate on projects with?

We frequently partner with SME Signal Sighting companies so the clients can have a turnkey solution for both the 3D Visualisation and formal Signal Sighting.

Our other main collaborators are companies that specialise in providing driver briefing materials to the TOCs and FOCs.

What kind of challenges did you face in the early days?

Being self-funding we had to be incredibly careful about investment into the initial tool development I.e. we could not afford to throw money at the situation. We were

fortunate enough to be able to demonstrate various iterations of the development to key people and build on the feedback. Getting our first project was the biggest challenge but eventually we succeeded in a competitive tendering process.

What are your plans going forward to ensure True North Rail services are still around for years to come?

We will continue to reinvest in product and process development. This is the only way we can keep pace with technology developments and continue to be relevant to our current and future customers.

How can we get more use of the rail assets and what is your vision of rail in the next 10 or 20 years?

From our perspective we are frustrated by the fragmented nature of information and data that we use to provide our services. A more streamlined approach for projects to be able to access, provide and share 3D survey and design data would help everyone. We also have a responsibility to improve the efficiency of importing and processing data on our side of the fence. I think digitisation of the Rail Industry over the next ten years will result in a more coherent digital twin solution in whatever form that takes. This will benefit everyone who is responsible for maintaining and operating the Railway as well as those planning and implementing new infrastructure.

If you were in charge of the UK rail industry, where would you target investment and/or look for improvement?

I would improve the contracting environment for SMEs. These are the companies most likely to provide innovative and flexible solutions to help the industry. It should be both possible and desirable for the infrastructure owner to contract with and collaborate with SMEs rather than seeing everything through the lens of large Framework Contracts.

In terms of technology, how do you anticipate things might change in the next five to 10 years?

There are rapid advances currently in survey technologies to capture ‘Reality Data’ and the way this feeds into Visualisation tools. The challenge for Infrastructure owners is to remain in control of their data and avoid becoming locked in to a single ‘Big Vendor’ solution. Continued innovation requires some degree of democratisation of the technology to allow for the competition of ideas and solutions