A Digital Twin of the Transport System Developed by Sirius
The Sirius Federal Territory has launched the development of a digital twin of its transport system and urban infrastructure. The project is designed to improve road safety and support the long-term development of the road network.
Improving Road Safety Through Data
A digital twin is a virtual model of real-world objects, processes, or systems. It is built on large-scale data, modeling tools, and simulation technologies. In the case of Sirius, the model is intended to address several challenges at once. It will help forecast when current development reaches its capacity limits and when transport infrastructure expansion becomes unavoidable. In addition, the system is designed to optimize traffic flows, passenger transport, and residents’ mobility. Its core objective is to improve road safety, with a long-term target of reaching zero road fatalities.
The project integrates heterogeneous data streams. The platform combines micromobility monitoring, with up to 90% accuracy in detecting violations, smart bus stops equipped with Wi-Fi, and the Unified Digital Profile used for fare payments and real-time vehicle tracking. Together, these components enable informed, real-time decision-making.
Why the Project Matters
The initiative has significance on several levels. For the Sirius Federal Territory itself, it opens a path toward becoming the safest location in Russia in terms of road traffic. For the Russian IT sector, the project serves as a demonstrative case of applying digital twins not at the level of individual assets, as is typical in industry, but across the entire urban environment.
For the transport sector, the development provides clear evidence of how modern technologies can improve the management of urban systems and raise safety standards.
Domestic Scale and Global Potential
From an export perspective, digital twins for transport systems are in demand worldwide. Cities and regions across the globe are searching for effective ways to optimize traffic, reduce accident rates, and integrate artificial intelligence into urban mobility management. The Russian solution has the potential to be adapted for international markets, particularly in regions actively developing smart city projects.
Within Russia, the project could become a reference model for replication in other cities and territories. A successful rollout in Sirius may accelerate the development of domestic tools for simulation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, strengthening the country’s digital ecosystem in infrastructure software.
Beyond this, a digital twin can evolve into the core architectural element of a smart city. By integrating data from sensors, vehicles, traffic lights, infrastructure assets, and predictive models, it enables more flexible and adaptive urban systems capable of responding quickly to changing conditions.
In Retrospect
In recent years, Russia and other countries have implemented projects similar in both spirit and technological scope. In the Leningrad Region, the company Simetra developed a digital twin of the transport system aimed at road optimization and traffic management. Rostelecom created a digital twin for Perm Krai, designed to manage territorial data. In 2023, a digital twin was implemented for a section of the M-11 Neva highway, producing a high-precision model that enables real-time monitoring of road conditions.
Within Sirius itself, a digital twin of elevator systems was previously developed as part of the Bolshie Vyzovy educational program.
Internationally, comparable technologies are also being actively deployed. In the United Kingdom, Transport for London uses the Surface Intelligent Transport System, where digital twins help prioritize routes and improve traffic organization.
Context and Outlook
The Sirius project represents a large-scale infrastructure initiative. Its goal is tangible improvements in transport management, higher safety levels, and more effective urban planning. It reflects a broader trend in which digital twins are moving beyond traditional industrial modeling into critical urban systems.
Over the next three to seven years, digital twins are likely to become a standard tool in smart city design both in Russia and globally. Growing demand for domestic digital modeling platforms will help create new market niches in software and data processing.
The convergence of digital twins with intelligent transport systems and integrated safety platforms is expected to generate a strong multiplier effect for urban infrastructure projects. A successful implementation in Sirius could act as a catalyst for the wider adoption of digital technologies in city management across Russia.
