Hitachi Rail strengthens its digital transformation of rail offer through purchase of Omnicom
Hitachi Rail has acquired digital rail monitoring business Omnicom from Balfour Beatty, in a strategic move to further grow HMAX, Hitachi Rail’s digital asset management platform.
HMAX in essence creates a digital twin, supporting operators to predict issues and optimise their networks. The purchase of Omnicom means Hitachi Rail can now integrate data from a wider range of track monitoring tools into its HMAX digital twins.
Launched in September 2024, HMAX is a comprehensive digital asset management solution which seamlessly integrates a vast array of live data from the train and the surrounding rail infrastructure into a single platform. The platform uses AI and machine learning to process the data and extract knowledge and apply it to achieve operational and service enhancements including traffic optimisation, energy consumption reduction, and an on-condition/ predictive maintenance process.
The monitoring technology is often installed on trains and HMAX uses edge computing and machine learning to provide near real-time anomaly detection on rail tracks. The technology can enable the collection of trillions of bytes of images per day, allowing rail operators to optimise their trackside maintenance planning and the asset lifecycle.
Commenting on the announcement, Hitachi Rail Executive Director and CTO, Koji Agatsuma, said, “This strategic acquisition complements our existing cutting-edge proprietary technology. Our HMAX platform is driving the digital transformation of rail, and the addition of Omnicom’s track monitoring tools further strengthens our global offer to optimise our customers’ railway systems.”
Sanjay Razdan, Managing Director of Omnicom, said, “From today our technology will complement Hitachi Rail’s existing digital asset management solutions, enabling HMAX to deliver even more for customers around the world. This acquisition will also enable us to benefit from the unique digital capabilities of the wider Hitachi Group, enabling us to continue to innovate and deliver AI-enabled systems that can optimise the management of railway infrastructure.”