TfL accelerates net-zero goals with start-up partnership
Transport for London (TfL) is accelerating its net-zero goals for railway by partnering up with London-based start-up Spinview to provide digital monitoring of tracks and tunnels as well as data on CO2 and noise levels.
Funded by the UK Government as part of the UK Government’s ‘smart grants’ scheme, the project will initially be trialled on the Piccadilly line, one of the ‘deepest’ lines on the underground network.
“By establishing a visually intelligent ecosystem for TfL, Spinview hopes to not only help TfL in tracking its environmental goals, but also to support in facilitating better decision-making, driving forward business efficiencies, saving costs and future-proofing the network in the long-term,” said Spinview’s chief executive Linda Wade.
By using Spinview’s technology, TfL will access data to better manage ‘deep’ Tube lines and track the network’s current carbon emissions.
“Not only will using digital-twin technology support the smarter, more efficient maintenance of the railway, it will also enable us to more accurately monitor environmental challenges such as carbon emissions, noise levels and heat as we strive to do more to lessen our carbon footprint and help tackle the climate emergency,” added Paul Judge, director of TfL’s director of the Piccadilly Line upgrade project.
The partnership comes on the same day TfL announced an increase in fines for road contravention from £130 to £160 on London’s network of red routes. Managed by TfL, red routes make up 5 per cent of the capital’s road system but carry 30 per cent of the everyday traffic.
“Increasing the penalty charge for contraventions on our road network in line with inflation will provide a more effective deterrent to drivers and improve the safety and reliability of the network,” Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of compliance, policing, operations and security, said.