In the railway industry, real-time communication and information for front line staff are critical for ensuring the safety, efficiency, and reliability of operations.

With thousands of passenger services running daily, even a small delay in communication can have significant ripple effects on schedules, passenger experience, and safety protocols.

Real-time communication allows railway staff to stay connected and informed about the latest developments, ensuring they can respond swiftly to incidents, adjust schedules, or provide accurate updates to passengers.

Solano, is Mistral Data’s staff engagement mobile application, providing effective communication between dispatchers, on train and platform staff, maintenance and office teams, enabling seamless coordination of activities such as train arrivals, departures, and any potential service disruptions. It also plays a crucial role in time sensitive situations where the immediate relay of information is essential to prevent further disruptions or mitigate their impact.

Solano offers on-train staff a powerful suite of tools to streamline daily operations and enhance passenger service. The app allows staff to track real-time train running information, ensuring they are always up-to-date on schedules, delays, and potential disruptions. Additionally, it provides access to reservation and occupancy levels and onward travel information, enabling staff to assist passengers with their connections and travel plans.

With an integrated view of berth maps, Solano allows staff to view precise train locations, aiding in the smooth coordination of train movements, location and context for potential delays or service alterations. The app also includes a ticket validation feature, giving staff the ability to quickly and efficiently verify passengers’ tickets, improving the boarding process while collecting data to improve fraud prevention processes.

The app also allows staff to view their personal schedules for the day, providing a clear overview of scheduling and turnarounds, leading to a better service, and smoother journey for passengers.

By providing real-time data on train positioning, schedule adjustments or passenger assistance requests, Solano can help optimize the customer experience and overall operational efficiency. By leveraging up-to-date information, railway staff can make informed decisions that improve service punctuality, reduce costs, and ensure that safety and performance standards are maintained at the highest levels.

Solano provides on-train staff with a quick and efficient way to report incidents or defects directly to the teams that need them – be that the control room, safety teams or fleet maintainers.

The app allows users to categorize the type of issue, provide detailed descriptions, and even upload photos or videos for visual context. This immediate reporting capability helps reduce response times, allowing maintenance teams or emergency personnel to be deployed swiftly, minimizing service disruptions and enhancing passenger experience and safety.

Solano enhances collaboration between back-office operators and frontline staff by ensuring that critical information flows between users without delay. It provides an intuitive platform for on-train staff to share updates, receive instructions, and coordinate more effectively with operations teams. Control room operators, in turn, have access to real-time data, allowing them to make informed decisions faster, adjust schedules, and deploy resources more effectively.

Solano ensures consistent, timely and targeted messaging to any staff, at scale. To send a message, users define the audience, timing window and message content. Messages can be sent to specific crew, or more broadly to crew based on certain services, at stations, depots, calling points or linked to on-the-day passenger assistance requirements.

Each message can be tailored to identify if an action is required by the recipient – either acknowledging receipt, or if task based, confirming completion. Once sent, all messages, and recipient actions, can be viewed and monitored from a dashboard.

Ensuring that messages are received only when they are relevant, Solano manages distribution by holding and releasing messages based on crew schedules. If a crew member is on duty, and the message is specific to a service currently running, the message is sent immediately. If a staff member has not yet started their shift, the message will be delivered one hour prior to their shift starting. Similarly, if a staff member is on shift but the message is not relevant until later in the day, Solano holds the message until one hour prior to the issue window.

In addition to manually generated messaging, Solano also facilitates automated messages, prompting on train staff to provide context for delays or notify scheduling changes like cancellations or calling point alterations.

Keith Hawkins, On Train Depot Manager, Strategy and Projects (SWR) said: “Solano is a complete game changer, providing focused and timely information directly to those who really need it. It will transform our approach to messaging, ensuring front line colleagues are not inundated with network-wide information, only getting messaging that is relevant to keep their trains on time and customers informed.”

The seamless communication capability provided by Solano leads to a more integrated and responsive railway operation, ultimately improving both operational efficiency and passenger experience.

Real-time communication and access to accurate, timely information is indispensable for railway staff to operate trains safely and efficiently, maintain customer satisfaction, and ensure the smooth functioning of rail networks.

By using Solano, on-train staff play an essential role in maintaining operational standards, ensuring that technical faults are quickly reported and any incidents onboard are managed efficiently. The integration of real-time reporting improves communication between train staff and control room operators, leading to faster resolutions and more effective train management, ultimately enhancing the overall service quality and safety.

Mistral Data’s mobile application serves as a vital communication bridge between back-office teams and frontline staff. It streamlines the flow of information, ensuring that both on-train staff and control room operators remain synchronized in real-time.