A real-life version of the West Midlands Regional Transport Coordination Centre (RTCC) will be built within Birmingham’s NEC at next year’s Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress to show how integrated transport is a matter of routine for passengers in the area.
The “Operations Centre” zone at the major global event in October 2027 will feature staff from the 24-hour nerve centre, which coordinates traffic and incident response across the region’s roads and transport network. This will include video screens showing CCTV and live data feeds featuring local and strategic road management, public transport operations, emergency services and roadworks management through the seven metropolitan borough councils.
“Every city of note in the world has traffic management, but what we’ll be showing next year in Birmingham is how the whole transport network can be effectively co-ordinated under one roof using the latest technology,” explained Colin Wilson of Arcadis, who is working with the Congress’s Technical Advisory Group Lead, Andy Graham, for hosts Transport for West Midlands. Mr Wilson added: “We’ll be showcasing the West Midlands’ ingenuity and innovation in bringing together all transport modes so that the entire travelling public in the region enjoys more efficient journeys thanks to joined-up thinking.”
This replication of the RTCC (pictured) will be one of many exhibits in the “Operations Centre”, designed to demonstrate the real-world deployment of cutting-edge technology to improve transport in the country. An estimated 15,000 visitors will experience for themselves how the West Midlands and wider UK are embracing ITS as a way of making their networks safer, cleaner and more efficient.
The exhibit will also include a large rolling screen of “the UK and West Midlands in motion” with live data about the strategic road network, roadworks and bus and train movements showing just how informed and connected the transport network now is, and there will be extensive examples of the latest solutions using digital twin technology.
A range of innovations from across the country will also be showcased. “We realise we can’t bring every clever thing the country does into the NEC, so we’ll also have a large map of the UK and Ireland with QR codes where people will be able to interact with the map and see content from all across the country,” explained Bradley Taylor, Head of Markets for Ordnance Survey, who is leading the map initiative. “This allows Congress delegates to immerse themselves in the fantastic impact this community delivers. From Dover to Dundee, Swansea to Sunderland, our Congress will be a truly UK-wide experience.”
The Congress will also feature a large exhibition of ITS innovators from around the world, hands-on demonstrations of the current and future technology and five days of plenary, technical and special interest sessions.
Mr Wilson concluded: “I’ve been in the industry long enough to have experienced the last time the UK hosted the World Congress, in London back in 2006. Then the groundbreaking ideas we showed off included satellite navigation incorporating live traffic information, or the ability to buy a train ticket online, the sort of thing we now take for granted. I’m looking forward to seeing things next year that will be commonplace in a decade or so – some of them are so new, we don’t even yet know we’ll be showing them, and that’s what makes this whole event so exciting and unmissable.”
The 33rd ITS World Congress takes place at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham from 25 to 29 October 2027. It is organised by ERTICO – ITS Europe and hosted by Transport for West Midlands with support from the Department for Transport.
You can find out more about visiting, exhibiting and speaking, plus a range of specific commercial opportunities on the #ITSBirmingham2027 website. For additional information or to make enquiries and bookings, contact Jordan Cowley – [email protected], Jasvinder Sidhu – [email protected], or [email protected]
Can’t wait until 2027 to see ITS in action? Visit the TfWM RTCC operations dashboard online.
(Picture – TfWM)
