​Minister for Public Works presents Transport and Infrastructures Innovation Plan 2017-2020

The Spanish Minister for Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna, presented the Transport and Infrastructures Innovation Plan 2017-2020, which seeks to promote Spain's global leadership in transport and infrastructures through innovation, with end users at the heart of the process and participation from society as a whole.

This plan defines a roadmap and seeks to integrate and coordinate all activity in terms of innovation by the companies and institutions that make up the Grupo Fomento [Public Works Group]. With this approach, the goal is to foster the creation of an innovative ecosystem involving all sectors of society and build a network of connections between them. A major role will be played by interaction with start-ups to enable a faster integration of technology into these projects, as well as a clear commitment to digitalisation, energy efficiency and sustainability.

It also seeks to raise the economic and social profitability of investments by increasing the effectiveness of public and private investment.

Content of the plan

Four strategic key areas have been identified in the plan: user experience; smart platforms; smart routes; and energy efficiency and sustainability. In turn, these key areas are based around 21 strategic lines of action focusing on 67 initiatives. An estimated budget of 50 million euros has been allocated over three years.

Under the key area of 'User Experience', it is worth highlighting such initiatives as the definition of a National Model for Mobility as a Service, which includes the creation of digital platforms capable of integrating data from the various operators to offer integrated multi-modal transport solutions. It also includes the creation of new accessibility and payment systems that will remove barriers and physical elements, such as tickets, based on systems that use mobile telephony and biometrics. Cutting-edge technologies will be implemented for electronic payment of transport passes (blockchain, mobile devices, etc.) that further develop cyber-security and reduce fraud.

A Universal Accessibility to the Transport System Plan will also be drawn up, which will bring about new opportunities such as improved quality of service and functionality, increase transport safety and foster industrial competitiveness in the sector.

Big Data will be another key element for improving the user experience, as it allows information on user preferences to be gathered and thus adapt the portfolio of services to meet those preferences. In this regard, a Citizen Participation Portal will be created to involve users in planning processes, new lines and services based on social media, as well as a Marketplace within Grupo Fomento to enhance the overall portfolio of services in combination with travel passes.

Ministerio de Fomento

As regards the second key area, a special focus will be placed on developing an ecosystem of smart platforms for railways, airports and ports. This will be integrated with city platforms to offer relevant information to users about their journeys. A smart goods platform will also be integrated. This innovative logistics, inter-modal, efficient and automated system will combine the delivery of goods by rail and the last mile via a global fleet management system.

One of the fundamental aspects in this regard will be the application of BIM (Building Information Modelling) at smart stations, airports and ports, elements that play a structural and integrating role in our cities. Another important line of action within this key area is the Single Sky project, which seeks to promote the evolution of air navigation towards interoperability by optimising airspace and new management paradigms to generate national projects that can be exported at an international level. These new paradigms should be aimed at enabling the inclusion of unmanned aerial vehicles by promoting the creation of new business models based on these vehicles (drones), which will be managed by smart platforms.

'Smart Routes' relate to the digitalisation of roads and railways, as well as the development of modelling and forecasting systems capable of building smart regions that adapt to traveller demand by improving accessibility in rural environments and launching a pilot scheme for dynamic public transport routes. In this context, the plan fosters connectivity between vehicles, infrastructures, organisations and users to build an efficient and safe transport system.

'Connected vehicles' will become the sensors that monitor roads, enabling the implementation of predictive automatic learning models. Dynamic traffic control, the early identification of traffic congestion conditions and dynamic driving management are a few examples of the benefits to be obtained from developing such applications.

The Ministry of Public Works will develop a National Multimodal Transport Model for Passengers and Goods that, when integrated with other smart platforms, will provide all stakeholders with a tool containing up-to-date and unified information. The plan demonstrates a clear commitment to the new transport paradigms, such as the Hyperloop system, reflected in the future creation of a commission to foster public-private initiatives that can analyse the opportunities arising from implementation of this system.

Increasing the use of renewable energy generation systems, storage systems and distribution systems for surplus energy to self-consumption or reinvestment in the grid is one of the initiatives forming part of the fourth key area - 'Energy Efficiency and Sustainability'. Furthermore, a National Infrastructure Plan for Electric Cars and other Alternative Energy Vehicles will be developed. This will study the implementation of a network of public recharge points on roads, in public spaces and at major transport hubs to guarantee full autonomy for these vehicles. Furthermore, the necessary standards and regulations will be defined to govern the implementation of driverless vehicles, to ensure that the introduction of this new technology takes place safely.

Open innovation

The Ministry of Public Works cannot forget its duty to foster innovation at the various public companies and institutions, as well as in the private sector. Having cutting-edge technologies requires an ecosystem to be built in which large companies and SMEs can invest in innovation, and universities, technology centres and entrepreneurs to get involved and participate in this process. This plan aims to foster and facilitate an innovative network to integrate and connect all sectors of society.

Such initiatives as the Railway Innovation Hub, which seeks to promote technology and knowledge from the railway sector at an international level by creating collaborative R&D projects, the commercialisation of technology and know-how, and the promotion of entrepreneurship and the provision of specialised services are just a few examples in this regard.

Non official translation