Indra joins the “green” mobility of Brisbane, Australia: its technology will manage Brisbane metro’s new clean and green vehicles

Following a ten-month tender process involving leading technology companies in the urban transport sector, Brisbane City Council has awarded Indra, a leading global technology engineering company for the aerospace, defence and mobility sectors, the contract to implement state-of-the-art public transport management technology in the new green and clean metros for the Brisbane Metro. The project also includes ongoing technical support and maintenance services.

Together with Council, Indra will seek to transform mobility in the city and link the city to the suburbs. Brisbane Metro will operate along 21 kilometers of dedicated busways, with turn-up-and-go services. The battery electric metro are the first of their kind in Australia, with the capacity to transport a large number of passengers and operate at a high-frequency service. The aim is to improve accessibility, reduce congestions, improve reliability and increase the use of public transportation in Brisbane.

More specifically, Indra, in partnership with SYSTRA, its local partner, will implement its Operational Support System (OSS) and on-board technology on the new metro fleet, which will provide constant information on the situation and status of the service of each metro, manage the information and communication with drivers, network controllers (voice and messaging communications) and passengers through the audio and video channels included in the information systems, analyze the status of the vehicle systems and facilitate the decision-making for the service management in real time. The system will also allow for dynamic route deviations to accommodate operational changes due to incidents.

This will be possible thanks to the geographical information systems, the equipment on board the metros, the system’s central platform and the mobile communication infrastructure used by Indra’s solution, as well as the integration of other systems, including those for the passenger information, public address, video surveillance, passenger counting and intercom and the CAN Bus/FMS and Scada systems that manage the infrastructure in tunnels, stations and the flash and slow charging bays of the bus recharging control system.

SYSTRA will work with Indra in the development of the training plan, analyzing the needs of the different types of users and the materials required for the training, as well as the development of the content and duration of the courses.

SYSTRA will also assist Indra in the design of the human-machine interface and all the aspects related to usability and accessibility and the associated testing.

Integrated mobility platform

“Indra’s solution provides a sophisticated cloud-based platform for the management of the entire mobility ecosystem. By integrating data from many different sources, it provides a comprehensive view of the service, facilitating more efficient transportation management and improved passenger experience”, explains Juan March, Rail&Transit Global Director in Indra’s Mobility market.

Thanks to this integration, Indra’s solution will make it possible for the Brisbane Metro’s operators to, for example, ascertain the real-time status of vehicles on the busway to improve decision-making in the event of an incident or alarm and provide drivers and passengers with updates through automated announcements and multimedia information displays. It will also provide information on the charge state of the electric vehicles and status of the charging infrastructure to optimize energy use.

Finally, the new platform will be able to generate reports, statistics and charts to improve knowledge of the service, and facilitate the measuring of the quality parameters so as to adapt them to the real demands of citizens, increase performance and reduce operating costs.

Cybersecurity is essential throughout this connected ecosystem, so a specific module is included to guarantee the security of the communications and data exchanges.

Indra’s solution will support Brisbane City Council to deliver a high-quality Metro service with greater capacity and higher frequency for its citizens.

A growing presence in Australia

This project for Australia’s third most populous city opens up significant opportunities for Indra in Brisbane, which has been chosen as the host city for the 2032 Olympic Games, leading to a government plan to improve the infrastructures and transport system in the metropolis.

It will also reinforce Indra’s presence in all the areas of transportation in the country, with rail, road and sustainable public transport management projects. Indra has already successfully modernized the smart video surveillance network used by Sydney Trains and implemented a new integrated management system for Transurban’s roads in the Australian state of Queensland. It has also undertaken important projects for Airservices Australia, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Army.

The company has operated in Australia since 2007 and has offices in Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane that employ over 150 professionals.

15,000 buses worldwide

Indra has a unique track record in the transportation industry, with over 2,500 projects completed in more than 50 countries. Its smart technology manages more than 15,000 buses for more than 100 operators all over the world. More than 100 cities around the world, including London, Sydney and Dublin, have placed their trust in Indra’s different solutions to make their mobility more efficient, connected, secure and sustainable.

Indra offers the transportation industry Indra Mova Solutions, which cover the entire life cycle of its clients’ projects and combines new digital capacity with the integration, specialization and innovation the market demands. And it does so through reliability, knowledge of the business, its own transportation technology and the unique experience of its team of professionals.

About Indra

Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers worldwide. It is a world-leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defence markets, and a leading firm in Digital Transformation and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value, end-to-end focus and with a high innovation component. At the end of the 2021 financial year, Indra achieved revenue totaling €3.390 billion, with more than 52,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries.