The Department for Transport (DfT) is investing £30m in trials of digital twins across local transport networks as it considers how to help councils adopt artificial intelligence more effectively.
The Integrated Transport Digital Twins trial programme, launched in August, will fund between four and six local authority-led programmes through a Section 31 grant. Fourteen authorities were invited to bid, and DfT officials said the response had been stronger than expected after applications closed the previous week.
Testing digital twins in live networks
Speaking at LCRIG’s Strictly Highways conference in Blackpool, DfT Integrated Transport Digital Twins Engagement Lead Chris Brown said the programme would test digital twin capabilities in real local transport environments.
The trials are intended to explore applications including transport planning, disruption coordination, network resilience and day-to-day network management. DfT also wants to capture evidence from the projects so that successful approaches can be shared more widely.
Brown described a digital twin as a link between a physical asset, system or process and its digital representation. Data from the real world can then be used to analyse conditions, assess potential outcomes and test interventions before they are introduced.
Examples cited by Brown included digital tools supporting environmental and emissions objectives in Oxford, digital models and analytics being used for safety and network management in London, and digital engineering supporting the planning and delivery of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
For highways authorities, potential uses include coordinating responses to disruption, targeting asset inspections and assessing the wider effects of planned works.
“Digital twins should not be judged by how impressive the visualisation looks, but rather whether they help people act earlier, coordinate better, and deliver improved outcomes,” Brown said.
The DfT is also relaunching the Transport Research and Innovation Board’s digital twin community of practice. The department is encouraging authorities to bring operational challenges, share evidence and help identify barriers to adoption.
DfT sets out early AI support plans
DfT Public Sector AI Engagement Lead Dr Hannah Parker said the department was considering three roles in supporting councils’ use of AI: enabling local innovation, developing shared capabilities where appropriate, and building skills and confidence.
Parker stressed that the work remained at an early stage and that feedback was being sought from councils and the wider industry. She said DfT did not want authorities to procure multiple products to tackle the same problems without sharing evidence of their effectiveness.
“Success isn’t 150 authorities buying 150 different AI products all trying to solve the same problem,” she said.
The department’s existing Connectivity Tool maps access to opportunities and essential services by public transport, walking and cycling. Parker also highlighted TRACE, the Transport AI Carbon Evaluator, which compares the carbon impact of an AI application with a realistic alternative, and TAGbot, an AI tool being developed to help users navigate Transport Analysis Guidance.
Potential support for councils could include guidance on governance and procurement, case studies, professional networks and peer learning.
Both officials said the benefits of digital twins and AI would depend on skills, data and collaboration as well as technology. The value of adoption, they said, should ultimately be measured through better transport decisions and outcomes.