Introduction:
After more than a decade of ambitious investment in rail infrastructure—the so-called “Big Build” era—Australia’s major transport networks are entering a new phase. As megaprojects like level crossing removals, metro expansions, and high-capacity signalling systems near completion, a new question is emerging among asset owners and operators: What comes next?
The answer is clear but complex: transitioning from construction to optimisation. In this next generation of rail projects, the focus shifts from laying track to managing it—safely, efficiently, and sustainably. Maintenance, upgrades, and asset lifecycle management are stepping into the spotlight, and the tools that will define this phase aren’t heavy machinery—they’re digital.
Across the sector, rail operators are rethinking how they manage inspections, data, and safety compliance. They’re turning to technologies like LiDAR, digital twins, AI-powered analytics, and automated reporting to bridge the gap between design and day-to-day operations. These tools promise to increase visibility across vast networks, reduce manual labour in high-risk areas, and create a digital thread that connects field data to long-term asset strategies.
This repositioning will require a shift in funding away from capital intensive projects into new capability areas that place data at the core of the modern railway business. New policies will be implemented to contextualise and operationalise the digital shift required and align efforts across complex bureaucracies.
New Pressures on Existing Assets
Despite big build projects, Australia’s rail assets continue to age even in newer Metro systems. As safety standards and customer expectations continue to evolve, demands on asset performance are increasing. The pressure on assets is accompanied by an increase in the cost of almost every input that goes into operating and maintaining a railway including people, equipment and safeworking resources. Tighter restrictions on accessing the rail corridor also adds to the pressure on existing assets to always perform and never fail.
The Maintenance Digital Twin
To move from construction to optimisation a fundamental rethink is required on asset management and maintenance. A digital link between field operations and asset strategy must be established and then carefully nurtured. The concept of a Maintenance Digital Twin – a focused application of digital twin technology that addresses key routine maintenance and safety challenges on a railway network – is one way that this digital link or thread can be achieved.
In today’s cost-constrained environment, railway networks are turning to solutions that automate measurements traditionally performed manually. This shift not only frees up critical maintenance resources for higher-value tasks but also significantly reduces safeworking costs.
A Maintenance Digital Twin must encompass the following five capabilities to be effective:
- A capability for high-resolution LiDAR dataset acquisition at scale and at high frequency.
- A capability for high volume processing to published accuracy standards.
- A visualisation capability to view, interact and measure from corridor data.
- An analytics capability for rapid report generation to published engineering standards
- An integration capability with legacy formats and network reference information such as assets and equipment.
Only when these five capabilities are available will a true Maintenance Digital Twin exist that can deliver tangible outcomes to a railway.
Adoption
The successful adoption of Maintenance Digital Twins hinges on two factors. First, early and ongoing engagement with subject matter experts ensures a deep understanding of current manual workflows and supports a considered transition to automated processes. Second, reliable and complete network reference data is critical to enabling automated workflows and ensuring the system’s success. By adopting a Maintenance Digital Twin, railway operators can achieve tangible efficiencies and improvements without the prohibitive costs and complexities associated with larger, overly complex digital twin initiatives.
About Agonics
We enhance safety and efficiency with data and automation. We combine decades of rail domain knowledge with sophisticated at-scale LiDAR and imagery capture, processing, and analysis.
Our specialist LiDAR and imagery visualisation software XERRA allows rail users to perform everyday field activities from the safety of an office environment, reducing field visits and supporting fully auditable digital work practices.