“We are seeing significant expansions of the rail system in many areas as populations continue to migrate to cities and these urban centers attempt to reduce congestion and pollution.”
Etienne Guerou,
vice president of industrial in Asia for Vertiv
Virtually every stage of air transportation, from reservations to air traffic control to flight control systems, is heavily dependent on technology. Even small delays at one airport can ripple across the entire network, leaving passengers stranded hundreds of miles from home.
The chaos that can ensue from a disruption in air travel was evident when a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 2010 grounded hundreds of flights across Northern Europe, creating a ripple effect across the air transportation system that had passengers stranded for days.
Rail transportation is similar to air in the impact of downtime, although it tends to be more localized and more immediate, with greater angst and societal disorder among commuters dependent on rail for basic transportation
Mass Transit was ranked highly by panelists based on the risk downtime introduced to human health, societal order, the ripple effect, and public outcry.
