Cordel inks level crossing safety partnership in Australia

Cordel Group announced a partnership with the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) of Australia on Monday, to automate rail level crossing safety assessments.

The AIM-traded firm said the agreement came as part of stage two of the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM) optimisation project, aimed at implementing technology to replace manual inspection methods for assessing rail crossings.

It said the first stage of ALCAM, led by the Department of Transport and Planning Victoria in collaboration with the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation and Australian Road Research Board (ARRB/NTRO), focused on identifying appropriate technologies to replace manual inspections.

After reviewing various solutions with industry experts, Cordel was awarded the contract for the second stage , focussed on demonstrating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of technology-assisted assessments.

Cordel said its role would be to assist ARRB/NTRO in conducting thorough virtual assessments of level crossings.

The process would involve collecting and analysing data from multiple sources, to evaluate different aspects such as safety, overall feasibility, and cost-effectiveness.

To speed up the virtual assessment process, Cordel said it was planning to use existing Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) LiDAR, or light direction and ranging, data, among other third-party sources.

Additionally, the NTRO project team would gain access to Cordel's specialised visualisation software, aimed at facilitating effective data analysis and interpretation during the assessment process.

The trials for the technology were expected to run until 28 June 2024.

If deemed successful, further stages would follow, potentially leading to a broader implementation of automated safety assessments across Australia’s rail network.

“We are proud to have been selected for this important paid trial, which builds on our long-term success with ARTC,” said chief executive officer John Davis.

“Since 2020, we have delivered automated scanning and AI technology for cost effective, efficient and low risk inspections, now extending to the interface of rail and road safety.

“Level crossing safety assessment is a challenge for railways worldwide and is one of our key opportunity areas.”

At 0945 BST, shares in Cordel Group were down 8.33% at 5.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.