Tube Lines on upgrade journey

Tube Lines wants to put IT into the hands of staff

The company responsible for maintaining the busiest lines on the London Underground is updating its computers and mobile devices to create a more flexible IT infrastructure.

Tube Lines will spend nearly £2.5m replacing and upgrading desktop, laptop and mobile systems to provide more technology to staff working on the tracks.

The firm has invested heavily in new technologies recently, such as asset management, mobile computers and radio frequency identification (RFID) for remote monitoring of assets.

These initiatives have increased the mobility and flexibility of maintenance staff, but overhauling the IT infrastructure will go further, says Tube Lines.

‘We have done a lot of work in putting IT into the hands of staff on the tracks and this is the next step,’ said a spokeswoman.

‘We want to enhance the technology and reduce the need for staff to carry multiple devices.’

Tube Lines will refresh 2,500 desktop computers and 500 laptops, including thin-client devices and servers. The company is also looking for a supplier to support more than 1,400 mobile devices that provide a direct link to central systems.

‘We must ensure our IT infrastructure is up-to-date. New mobile devices linked to central systems will allow us to see how assets are working,’ said the spokeswoman. ‘This will assist in the long-term maintenance of the London Underground.’

Flexible IT is essential because Tube Lines staff have just a few hours each night to complete work on the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Northern lines.

‘With so little time each night to do maintenance and upgrade work, we welcome any technology that can make the environment more efficient and enable more to be done,’ said a Transport for London spokeswoman.

London Underground is a significant capital asset and a mobile IT infrastructure will allow Tube Lines to maintain it efficiently, says Ovum principal analyst Jeremy Green.

‘For any organisation with a lot of field staff, a mobile infrastructure allows staff to be more productive by replacing old paper-based processes. It also makes it more responsive in reacting to problems,’ he said.