La Comunidad de Madrid se The Community of Madrid joins forces with IE University to advance innovation in the railway sector al IE University para avanzar en la innovación del sector ferroviario
The Regional Minister of Transport and Infrastructures has today signed an agreement with the academic institution. The aim is to promote initiatives in the field of research. The regional government will sign agreements with public universities to promote the development of mobility.
The Community of Madrid has today signed a collaboration agreement with IE University to advance innovation in the railway sector, as well as to promote initiatives in the field of scientific research and technological development. This was signed by the Regional Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, David Pérez, and the Executive Vice-President of IE University's IE Foundation, Gonzalo Garland.
The agreement, which has a duration of one and a half years, establishes programmes aimed at improving the planning and operation of train traffic, transport capacity and energy efficiency, or the analysis of new technologies, processes, methodologies and technical disciplines that may lead to a better passenger experience, among other aspects.
The project will be implemented through the IE Centre for Transport Economics and Infrastructure Management and is a further demonstration of the Madrid underground's commitment to innovation.
In fact, "Metro de Madrid is implementing a multitude of initiatives aimed at the optimisation it offers users, as well as at sustainability and energy saving. One of them is the reversible cells, electrical equipment that reuses braking energy produced by the convoys for auxiliary services in stations or for other types of installations, such as vending machines, lights, escalators or fans. With this project, the company saves the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 500 people per year," Pérez said.
Another initiative of the Madrid underground is the smart ventilation manager to achieve greater efficiency of this equipment, so that each device is controlled individually and it decides the best programming every 8 hours, balancing the parameters of air quality with the electricity tariff.
The Regional Minister of Transport and Infrastructures pointed out that Metro de Madrid has also inaugurated Station 4.0, as part of the company's digital transformation. It is based on Artificial Intelligence and predictive maintenance to enhance the passenger experience and offer new functionalities that increase quality of service. The innovative turnstiles at Gran Vía station are just one example.
Finally, Pérez recalled that the Community of Madrid is working on several agreements with public universities -Complutense, Autónoma, Alcalá, Politécnica, Carlos III and Rey Juan Carlos- to collaborate in the promotion and development of innovation projects in the fields of mobility, transport and training. "An agreement was also signed with the Francisco de Vitoria University, identifying several areas of common interest for the development of studies and research on the behavioural habits of public transport users. The aim is to promote and increase its use, especially among young people, and also accessibility for people with reduced mobility to support them in their mobility and access to the university campus," he concluded.
