Towards a collaborative digital platform for railway infrastructure projects

TL;DR

This paper identifies stakeholder needs for a collaborative digital platform in railway infrastructure projects through interviews, leading to a conceptual model with five core functionalities to improve collaboration and project management.

Contribution

It presents a detailed stakeholder needs analysis and proposes a conceptual model with key functionalities for a collaborative railway infrastructure platform.

Findings

Stakeholders require access to infrastructure data and task automation.

The platform should support decision-making and stakeholder coordination.

Five core functionalities are essential for effective collaboration.

Abstract

The management of railway infrastructure projects can be supported by collaborative digital platforms. A survey was carried out to identify the needs and expectations of the various stakeholders involved in the design and construction of railway infrastructure projects regarding collaborative platforms. These needs and expectations can then be translated into functional specifications to be included in the digital platforms. A total of 21 interviews were conducted between October and December 2022, during which 35 individuals were interviewed. Key roles were represented across the different project phases: engineers from design and construction firms, project managers, infrastructure managers. And various engineering fields were represented: civil, electrical, telecommunications, tracks, systems. These interviews were carried out by CentraleSup{\'e}lec | Universit{\'e} Paris-Saclay and by SNCF R{\'e}seau using a structured protocol designed to collect the specific needs of the interviewees for collaboration, as well as the guiding principles that shape both individual work practices and collaboration between professions. The resulting material was analyzed and then synthesized into a conceptual model of a collaborative digital platform for supporting the design and construction phases in a railway infrastructure project. Also, from these interviews emerged five core functionalities that the platform must offer: Providing access to existing infrastructure data; Accelerating repetitive tasks; Verifying essential project requirements; Supporting decision-making; Facilitating coordination among stakeholders.