Media centre

Monday 6 Dec 2004

MARLIN REELS IN AWARD FOR NETWORK RAIL

Region & Route:

National

Network Rail is celebrating today after scooping a major technology award for its Marlin computer mapping system. The company beat competition from the Forestry Commission, the AA and Welsh Water among others to win the GIS Project Award for the most innovative and successful project using geographical information systems at the IM2004 Information Management Awards. The Marlin system gives Network Rail instant desktop access to digital mapping of the entire railway network. It details the ownership and status of the company’s 160,000 acre estate using regularly updated digital mapping products from the Ordnance Survey as well as Network Rail’s own data. Deborah Richards, Director, Railway Estates, Network Rail, said: “Marlin has revolutionised the way we gather and use information on our extensive asset base. The information is used to aid decision making at all levels and supports our key business activities. “This is an impressive achievement for Network Rail. Marlin plays an important part in enabling us to get the best value from our estate and is important in helping the company generate revenue for investment in the nation’s rail infrastructure.” Over 5,000 Network Rail employees use Marlin regularly to access information from all over the country including details about leases, boundaries, heritage sites and conservation areas and staff can search by postcode, OS grid reference or street name. The system has helped Network Rail’s planning processes, bringing rail projects to fruition earlier, which benefits millions of railway passengers each year. The project was delivered over four phases, exploiting new technologies to give extra benefits to the user. In one instance, an interface was developed to provide digital images of the estate so if a problem is reported in a specific area, the system can be interrogated to investigate the claim, saving both time and money.