TRL Technologies – a Joint Venture between TRL Software, UK, and Experion Technologies Pvt Ltd, a 16-year-old IT services and solutions provider based in Kerala, offers TRL Software’s world-leading traffic management systems and consultancy services in the Indian market.
Headquartered in Trivandrum, Kerala, the JV company – TRL Technologies – brings close to 100 years of transport research expertise to Indian roadways. It will support India in future-proofing its road systems using local talent and the latest international research. Experion Technologies has worked closely with TRL Software for over a decade, helping them modernize their solutions that reduce congestion, optimise road asset management costs, deliver on clean air targets, and make the road network safer, enabling TRL to contribute to solving these problems in the global market.
TRL’s strength lies in its leading-edge research into infrastructure, vehicles, and human behaviours underpinned by data sciences. With partners from government and industry, TRL has also created the Smart Mobility Living Lab: the world’s first physical and virtual testbed in London, that lets companies test the latest transport products and services safely on live public roads. The company has worked in over 145 countries, with many projects funded by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and UNDP. TRL has been a significant partner to the Department for Transport (DfT), UK Government, for over 40 years, and its intervention designs have helped the UK to sustainably reduce crashes, deaths, and injuries caused by road accidents.
“This is India’s century, and products and resources from India will deliver the mobility requirements of the world in the foreseeable future. While our association with India goes a long way, TRL is excited to enhance our commitment to India by bringing in solutions to support and deliver a safe and efficient road network and to help India become a world leader in exporting mobility solutions across the world capitalizing the unique advantage of the depth and breadth of resources India has”, said Tony Mathew, Head of Delivery and Operations at TRL Technologies.
“India is abuzz with activities in modernising its infrastructure assets, and the Central Gov. has been quite aggressive in its quest to take India to global standards. It is the right timing for TRL to focus its operations in India. Experion is extremely glad to be its partner to build software products that will make a significant difference in the way transport assets are managed not just for India but for the whole world where TRL technology products and research is revered and recognized”, said Binu Jacob, MD & CEO of Experion Technologies and Director, TRL Technologies.
India builds road assets that run into billions of US dollars but still follow a very ad-hoc approach to road asset management. The current approach to road asset maintenance and management has a significant economic impact – higher vehicle operating costs from roads deteriorating earlier than expected is one example of the impact this approach can have. A data-led or evidence-based approach to road maintenance is the more pragmatic way to solve this challenge. By collecting and then analysing data available on the level of deterioration of roads, the necessary maintenance can be performed at the right time. This technique can be applied to other road assets as well with the help of the right processes and systems.
TRL Technologies brings to India state-of-the-art software aligned with emerging technology challenges and tried and tested processes to manage one of the most valued road assets in the world. TRL launches three of its tried and tested solutions in India – iROADS, road asset management, iMAAP, an accident management system, and UTC, an urban traffic control system that enables better planning of traffic movement in cities and highways.
iROADS – manage and maintain the road network
TRL’s solution iROADS will ensure road agencies in India don’t just build roads but also have processes and systems to manage and maintain the road network, providing value for money for citizens and governments. The solution has already been successfully deployed by the State Government of Kerala. It has seen extraordinary levels of success in both reporting maintenance issues as well as the turnaround time from the state government in getting them resolved.
Urban Traffic Control (UTC) – Traffic control system for better planning of traffic movement
Due to the high population in India, congestion on the road network, especially in cities, leads to poor air quality, inefficient movement of people and goods, and a poor-quality urban living environment, ultimately leading to a decline in the city’s economy. Poor layout of road networks is often the cause of these problematic congestions.
TRL’s Urban Traffic Control (UTC), powered by the world-leading traffic signal control system SCOOT®7, combines the latest connected technologies and cutting-edge algorithms to monitor multiple junctions across road networks and keep everything moving as efficiently as possible. The UTC platform provides a highly visual and intuitive interface designed to work equally well on desktop and tablet devices – giving authorized users a simple-to-understand, real-time overview of how well their transport systems function at any given time.
iMAAP – The accident management system saving lives from road accidents
Nothing is more critical for the roads than safety, and that is especially true in the case of India, where accident and fatality rates have traditionally been among the worst in the world. Many State Governments in India recognize the gravity of the situation and focus on reducing casualties on their networks with various interventions. But these interventions are not effective, evident from the fact that deaths and serious injuries continue to rise every year. One of the key reasons is that many of the interventions to improve road safety lack an evidence or data-based approach.
TRL’s road safety management system iMAAP has saved over 25,000 lives across the globe. It has enabled transport authorities and police departments to identify crash risks in specific locations on the network, allowing these agencies to design and implement engineering, enforcement, and emergency response measures that tackle the specific problems which lead to crashes.
The implementation of iMAAP will help road agencies, police, transport, and health departments to identify the factors that lead to road accidents – whether it be road engineering, vehicle, or a lack of personal protection equipment. This evidence can then lead to the design of appropriate interventions that reduce crashes and injuries, avoiding a ‘shooting in the dark’ situation.
iMAAP is used in more than 30 countries across the globe and has 15,000+ individual users, with a proven record of reduction in road accidents. In India, it has been successfully implemented in Himachal Pradesh, gaining endorsement from a top government official who went on record to state that the implementation of iMAAP led to a 20% reduction in road accidents in the state.
The solutions from TRL also have the added benefit of aligning with the Make in India campaign. These solutions are built by local talent, providing opportunities for young software engineers to work with leading global research while contributing to improving their own nation’s road safety.
