Transport Thematic Group event
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the operations and maintenance of subways (and railways) worldwide. Its applications are already influencing cost-efficiency, staffing requirements, and the integration of accounting, asset management, maintenance, and operations. For subway operators, AI adoption raises important questions about the scale and timing of investments, the redesign of workflows, and the institutional changes needed to harness and expand the potential of subway services towards improving the passenger experience. The seminar will explore how AI applications—from predictive maintenance algorithms to real-time traffic management and automated fare collection—are reshaping the way urban (subway) rail systems are designed, operated, and maintained. Special attention will be given to the institutional, financial, and human resource implications of these technologies, as well as the opportunities and challenges they present for improving service quality, operational resilience, and sustainability. Case studies from various cities will illustrate how AI is already being used to define operational and maintenance strategies, as well as the integration of digital solutions into a wide range of areas, such as fare collection and safety inspections.
To present the topic, we are fortunate to have Jorge M. Rebelo, a former World Bank (WB) Lead Transport Specialist who, since his retirement from the World Bank in 2010, has worked as a mass transit and railway consultant. During his tenure at the WB, he led and managed several WB-financed metro, suburban rail, and BRT projects in Brazil, India, China, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Chile and served as advisor in PPP programs involving metros in Brazil and Colombia. Among an extensive set of WB-financed projects, he led and managed São Paulo’s Lines 4 and 5, the decentralization and concession of suburban rail systems in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the rehabilitation and modernization of the Belo Horizonte, Recife, Fortaleza, Salvador rail systems, and the initial launching of the Transantiago project in Chile. He has worked in more than 40 countries on heavy rail and freight logistics and prior to joining the Bank was in the private sector with Canadian Pacific and Bombardier. He also worked in government (Portugal and Mozambique where he was born and raised) and in academia lecturing at Aalto University in Finland, McGill University in Canada and Universidade de Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. He has written extensively on urban transport and freight logistics. Mr. Rebelo is an honorary member of the Latin American Association of Metros and Undergrounds (ALAMYS). He holds a M.S. in transport systems from MIT, a Dip. in Business Adm. (Mcgill University) and a Civil Eng. degree from Universidade de Lourenço Marques, Mozambique.
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