China's AI solutions drive South Africa's railway transformation

Transcript

00:00With a history of over 100 years, the South African railway network has seen recent improvements

00:11with the help of Chinese technological advancements.

00:14To address issues like theft, intrusion, high maintenance costs, and delayed emergency responses,

00:21the country's passenger rail agency partnered with a Chinese tech firm for a smart transformation

00:27of its aging network.

00:29Under the overhaul includes an AI-powered visual monitoring and response system that uses

00:34video recognition and sensor data to detect intrusions, foreign objects, and risks in real

00:41time.

00:42Along one particularly scenic route linking Cape Town to Simonstown, commuters say the updated

00:48services have helped keep train travel affordable and reliable.

00:53It's actually cheaper and it's actually more reliable than a taxi.

00:57Because with where I work, I always have to be in the office before 8am, whereas when

01:02I was taking a taxi, I'd be like 5 minutes late, 10 minutes late.

01:06But with the train consistently, I would arrive before 8.

01:09train officials say the AI upgrades have also aided in passenger flow predictions and

01:14dynamic ticket sales and dynamic ticket sales adjustments.

01:17from another guide to some very specific device, coming in on a journey to a new driver.

01:23And then I was going to walk right to a new driver.

01:25Can you read that in the process?

01:27It's all about three minutes late.

01:28And that's a yacht.

01:30I just wanted to jump right into the track.

01:32You can read that in the office later.

01:35I want to be in the office later.