Digital Twin Technology in the Rail Industry: A Dutch Qualitative Case Study on Success Factors, Challenges, and Future Use Cases

Abstract

Assets in the rail industry are progressively being equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Digital Twins (DT) are increasingly being applied to manage those (critical) assets and the data they generate. One main problem area to which DTs could contribute is that of station management. However, few implementations are studied in-depth and empirically reported upon. This study focuses on qualitative exploratory research to uncover success factors, challenges, and future use cases regarding a DT implementation of a large station operated by a rail operator in the Netherlands. Results show that, in this case, most success factors and challenges are considered non-technical, i.e., most focus on internal and external collaboration within the project. We also identified consensus about how a DT would elevate station management maturity in the future, featuring (critical) asset monitoring, maintenance, crowd control, and safety management.