[Article] Irish times article on business analythics "analyse this"

[ThomasJ]

From The Irish Times on Business Analythics. There is an extract from this article that refers to how this impacted on the netherlands rail system, and having travelled by rail there recently I would agree! Indeed Irish Rail take note!

Another practical example of business analytics in use was a recent project implemented by Netherlands Railways who were finding themselves overwhelmed by growing passenger numbers. The Netherlands is unusually reliant on its rail system to bring its commuters to and from work. More than half of the country's 16 million citizens use the train as frequently as daily to get to and from work, while more than 70 per cent of people who commute from one city to another do so by train.

Unfortunately, the system became a victim of its own success and demand began to overwhelm available capacity, causing delays, cancellations and significant economic and social problems in the process.

Netherlands Railways turned to analytics to address the issue and came up with a plan to increase the number and configuration of trains, rebuild important sections of track, reschedule crews and, critically, revamp the timetable. The results were a dramatically improved service within a short period of time followed by international acclaim and awards for the rail company. Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus take note.

Copyright Irish Times
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...250001304.html