Last Thursday, over 400 industry professionals gathered at The Landmark in London for the Railway Industry Association (RIA) annual dinner, celebrating innovation and excellence across the sector. The evening features live entertainment, a silent auction in aid of Railway Children, and a keynote speech from Sir Andrew Haines OBE, CEO of Network Rail – culminating in the announcement of the 2025 Railway Industry Supplier Excellence (RISE) Award winners.
Transmission Dynamics was honoured to attend the event as a finalist in both the ‘Innovation’ and ‘Application of Digital Technology’ categories – and proud to walk away as the winner of the prestigious Innovation Award.
This award recognises our ‘Rail Anomaly Detection and Reaction’ (RADAR) project – a 12-month initiative supported by Innovate UK, in collaboration with Angel Trains and Network Rail. RADAR represents a significant leap forward in pantograph and overhead line (OLE) monitoring, building on the multi-award-winning PANDAS-V® solution to deliver a new standard in real-time fault prevention.
Smart Detection, Real-Time Reaction
With as many as 50 train passes per hour on some parts of the network, infrastructure anomalies can escalate quickly, turning minor faults into major incidents. PANDAS-V® addresses this challenge, using powerful, onboard AI and Machine Learning capabilities to detect, classify, and report anomalies in real-time before they cause service disruptions.
One of the project’s key breakthroughs is the development of on-the-fly dropper wire detection – the first real-time AI solution capable of autonomously identifying and classifying dropper wire faults while the train is in motion. Unlike traditional methods, which rely on delayed video processing and slow alert times, PANDAS-V® provides instantaneous notifications, allowing teams to prioritise and respond to high-risk faults in seconds.
We are incredibly grateful to our partners Network Rail, Angel Trains, and the supporting Train Operating Companies, including Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains, whose commitment to innovation continues to shape the future of this technology. This achievement reflects the strength of collaborative innovation, and a shared vision to make the railway safer, smarter, and more resilient.