The UK government is funding AI developer Purple Transform to develop a way to monitor level crossings and reduce the number of safety incidents across the rail network.

The project – called Levelling Up Crossings – will receive support from Innovate UK. It will leverage Purple’s proprietary intelligent platform, SiYtE, to scan CCTV footage in real time, alerting personnel if the AI model detects dangerous or unexpected behaviour. Because it works with legacy cameras, it can be a cost-effective approach to boosting safety.

With nearly 6000 along the UK railway network – many of which are unmanned – level crossings pose a serious threat to individual safety. Between April 2022 and March 2023, there were five fatalities at mainline level crossings, while there were 298 near-miss incidents involving pedestrians at level crossings from April to October 2023, a 31 per cent increase on the previous year.

Purple’s technology supports the oversight of level crossings and flags potential incidents before they develop. Not only does this have the potential to reduce the number of safety incidents, it should also help deliver an uninterrupted rail service, saving costly financial penalties for rail operators.

By training an AI model to differentiate between typical and abnormal behaviour, the technology makes it possible to detect objects or debris blocking crossings, people loitering or trespassing, or children playing on or close to the tracks. Once a potential incident is identified, it can automatically issue alerts to designated personnel, who can swiftly respond to investigate or deescalate the situation. These could be railway employees, the emergency services, train drivers or guards.

“Level crossings are a major safety concern for the entire rail industry,” said Gregory Butler, CEO of Purple Transform. “Not only do they represent a serious risk to the public, they are often the root cause of costly and frustrating service delays. As it’s simply not feasible for rail employees to monitor all of these crossings all of the time, radical new options are required. That’s where AI comes in. Our Levelling Up Crossings project will help identify safety incidents before they develop, empowering relevant personnel to rectify the situation, keeping the railway moving and people out of harm’s way.”

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Oxfordshire, UK, Purple (www.purpletransform.com) uses a combination of AI, machine vision and learning, and human intelligence to enhance human decision-making capabilities.

Innovate UK (www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk) provides targeted sectors with expertise, facilities and funding to test, demonstrate and evolve their ideas, driving UK productivity and economic growth.