Irish technology firm Nexala has signed a contract with French state-run rail firm SNCF.

The contract, which has an initial value of €3.5 million, will allow Nexala to manage critical components and parts on SNCF’s fleet of trains, including train wheels.

Nexala's system then gathers data and measurements from tracks, depots and trains. Not only does this allow companies to make sure the infrastructure is maintained and trains are running safely, it can also improve distance travelled without a service interruption by as much as 60 per cent, reduce train service delay minutes by 40 per cent, and lead to a 9 per cent savings in energy and fuel.

The company is headed by former Norkom chief technology officer Karl O’Connell. “Although the original objective for our customers to use the Nexala products was to improve fleet performance, it has also delivered much wider benefits in areas such as fleet safety, driver performance, time-tabling data, infrastructure and energy analysis.”

SNCF is the latest customer to sign up with Nexala, which has been in operation for about 10 years. The company already works with rail operators in the UK and Ireland, and has recently signed up international customers such as SBB of Switzerland, Eurostar and Finnish Rail.

This article was amended on May 26th, 2014