Furrer+Frey has developed Lineform.AI, an AI tool for planning railway electrification projects, which uses various datasets and Airbus satellite imagery to generate electrification options, including rough cost estimates and data on carbon emissions. The system identifies existing infrastructure such as culverts, signals, bridges and level crossings on satellite imagery and combines these constraints with a database of electrification standards, weather models and average construction costs. On this basis, the software calculates options and optimises overhead line systems, taking into account interdependent parameters such as wind speeds, spans, cable forces and contact wire heights, for technical evaluation by infrastructure specialists. Analyses of the Perth – Aberdeen corridor led to changes in the electrification design by the UK infrastructure operator. In Scotland, the Barrhead – Kilmarnock and Troon lines were also examined for preliminary planning, with upgrades provisionally scheduled from Control Period 8 onwards, starting in 2029. Outside the country, the tool was used for the early design strategy of the DART+ programme in Dublin. Funding was provided by the UK Space Agency and the UK Department for Transport (DfT).
