Transport For London moves Tube data to Microsoft’s Cloud platform

Transport For London (TfL), local government body responsible for most of London’s transport system, will be moving its new Trackernet data feed to Microsoft’s Windows Azure Cloud platform, a platform that will better support the millions of requests for TfL data each day.

TfL currently allows developers to create applications and services that can be used by the public. All of the feeds are accessible via its Developers Area, which provide locations of cycle hire docking stations, public transport timetable data, real-time traffic and roadwork information throughout London.

The part of the Developer Area moving to Azure will be “Trackernet” feed, a new realtime display of the status Tube network that shows the locations of the trains, their destinations, signals and the status of each train on TfL’s network.

If you use an iPhone or Android application that delivers Tube data, it is likely powered by these feeds.

For those that don’t know what Windows Azure is, it is a completely storage platform that provides a set of services that allows development, management and hosting of applications outside of a companies premises. By moving its data to Azure, TfL will be able to scale development of future applications and utilize the platform to compute and deliver complex data at low cost.

Mark Taylor, Senior Director, Developer and Platform Evangelism is delighted to have TfL onboard:

TfL asked for a system able to handle in excess of seven million requests per day, as well as being able to scale to handle unpredictable events like snow days. Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Windows Azure is ideal for this kind of task and provides a great basis for the programme of innovations that TfL has planned over the coming years, such as Trackernet. We look forward to continuing to work with TfL and other organisations seeking a secure, trusted cloud computing experience.”