A UK-first digital transport pilot has successfully slashed delays on some the Tees Valley’s most traffic-hit roads.
The Tees Valley Traffic Digital Twin Project has covered a range of routes to offer the country’s first region-wide, , real-time, -driven for traffic management.
And the results have revealed the six-month pilot slashed all delays by 13.7% on roads where the cutting-edge system was deployed.
By continuously monitoring live data from roadside sensors, sensors embedded in the road surface, and GPS-tracked buses to simulate and predict traffic conditions across the entire region, the system pinpoints bus delays and traffic jams to adjust traffic signals and paths to get vehicle journey times down.
Buses also recovered more than 11mph in their speed within 15 minutes of the project’s .
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Nobody enjoys sitting in traffic, and this project shows how serious we are about backing motorists, easing congestion, and making everyday journeys quicker and simpler.
“We lead the way in so much of our country’s pioneering technology – and this is another brilliant UK first we can add to our list.
“We’ve got plans in place for some big projects to improve road connectivity in the coming years – and while it might go unseen, the work we’re doing to harness the power of AI and technology to make journeys faster and smoother is a big part of our vision.”
Areas the pilot project targeted included the A68 Woodland Road, in Darlington, York Road, in Hartlepool, and the Portrack Interchange.
The Digital Twin has built on more than £3.5million of earlier investment in the Urban Traffic Management and Control system (UTMC) to enhance the Tees Valley’s roadside .
The UTMC, in Middlesbrough, is the nerve-centre for the region’s busy road network which co-ordinate signs, cameras and signals to make our network as efficient as it possibly can be.
Using cutting-edge technology, the Aimsun Digital Twin system can operate with full – with no human in the loop – to detect disruptions and deploy its responses in real time to helping get traffic and buses moving faster.
The project, backed by the , has harnessed advanced software through Aimsun Live, AI, real-time data from the roadside and Bus .
Cllr Steve Harker, for Transport and Infrastructure, added: “We’re making our transport network smarter, faster, and more reliable.
“The Digital Twin shows what our region can do when use the best of technology to improve our network – and make a material difference to everyone on our roads.
“I’m interested to see how the expansion of the project will cut more delays for bus users across the Tees Valley to make it a more reliable choice for thousands of local people.”
The success of this first pilot has laid the ground for Phase Two, which will extend automation, integrate new routes, roads and data , and introduce more trials to measure the impact of interventions more precisely.
Dr Gavin Bailey, Regional Head of Business Development for the UK and Nordics at Aimsun Ltd, said: “Tees Valley’s commitment to deploying the TVCA Traffic Digital Twin places them at the forefront of operational digital twin technologies in the UK.
“Specifically, at the time of deployment it was the first traffic digital twin in the UK to connect to on-street infrastructure enabling actuation of strategies identified by the data-led and simulation supported insights from the system.
“It is great to see that the breadth of benefits the system is delivering so early on. The collaborative approach to deployment of the system, fostered by TVCA has been key to the successful delivery and operation of the traffic digital twin system. Their ambition continues to support us to push the art of the possible and integrate increasingly innovative solutions within their digital transport system.”
To read about the Digital Twin in more detail, a paper on the project can be found here.
Archive source: Originally published by Tees Valley Combined Authority on 2025-11-25. The original publication date and featured image have been preserved.