What local authorities should be asking now about digital twins

Digital twins are now firmly on the agenda for local authorities. With up to £30 million available through the Department for Transport’s Integrated Transport Digital Twin programme, the key question for eligible authorities is not whether the technology sounds promising, but what a practical, deliverable project actually looks like in the real world.

From my perspective, that is where the conversation needs to start. Not with technology in the abstract, and not with grand claims about the future, but with the operational challenges an authority is trying to solve. That could be proactively managing congestion on a key corridor, the impact of planned roadworks, the need for better resilience, or a more joined-up view across an increasingly complex transport network. DfT’s own guidance points in that direction, focusing on projects that are deliverable, collaborative and capable of improving network performance, resilience and user experience, while also contributing to learning, data sharing and interoperability across the wider sector. 

That practical lens also helps explain what a digital twin is, and what it is not. In transport, a digital twin is a live digital representation of assets or systems that can be used to model, forecast, test and improve decisions in a virtual environment before changes are made in the real world. It is not a replacement for traffic management systems, and it is not a substitute for operational expertise. Used well, it is an enabling layer that helps authorities better understand current conditions more clearly, anticipate near-term impacts and test interventions with greater confidence before acting on the live network.

In my view, the best starting point is to ask a few simple questions early. What are the problems we are trying to solve? Which decisions would benefit from better forecasting or scenario testing? What data and systems do we already have? Which partners need to be involved to make the project workable? And what would a credible first step looks like, rather than trying to solve everything at once? The strongest digital twin projects are likely to be those rooted in operational need from the outset, not those built around technology-first ambition. 

This is also why live operational examples matter. SWARCO’s deployment in Landau in der Pfalz, Germany is useful here as evidence of what a digital twin can do when it is built around existing infrastructure and real operational use. Serving a city of around 50,000 people, the deployment covers approximately 40 signalised intersections and roughly 2,000 modelled road segments. Using existing traffic-signal and loop-detector data, it provides real-time insight, short-term forecasting and scenario-based decision support across the network. 

The real significance of that example is not simply that the model exists, but that the digital twin is being used as a live operational tool. In Landau, it is helping operators understand what is happening now, looking ahead by up to an hour, and testing potential changes before making them on the live network. That is a meaningful proof point because it shows how existing infrastructure data can be turned into practical intelligence for both day-to-day traffic management and longer-term planning.

For authorities looking at the current funding window, that mindset matters. DfT is clear that bids must be led and submitted by local transport authorities, with one authority acting as the lead accountable body for its consortium. It is also looking for strong partnership working, clear integration potential and a credible path to delivery. In other words, this is not just a technology exercise. It is about shaping a proposition that is practical, collaborative and deliverable. 

For local authorities, the challenge is not just understanding the opportunity but finding a partner that can help translate it into something practical and deployable. Authorities must lead their own applications, but they should not have to start from a blank sheet. SWARCO combines live digital twin experience, a mature operational approach and an experienced in-house engineering team, helping authorities shape projects that are grounded in existing infrastructure, realistic delivery and meaningful operational improvement.

With clarification questions closing on 10 August and applications due on 1 September, the window for action is short. For eligible authorities, the priority now is to move quickly from interest to a clear proposition. That means focusing on the problem to be solved, the data already available, the partners who need to be involved, and the operational value a digital twin could bring from day one. In my view, that practical starting point is far more likely to lead to a credible application than broad claims about technology alone. 

If you are exploring an application and want to understand how a digital twin could work in practice, SWARCO can help you assess scope, data readiness and delivery considerations. Please get in touch with Mike Guerin, our Head of Business Development, at [email protected]. We’d be happy to help.