£3.6 million funding has been offered to 10
projects that will transform rail passenger
travel.
The projects will develop and demonstrate technologies
that will improve the passenger experience on UK
railways. These include:
- a design for train carriages that will increase
peak hours seat numbers
- a carriage design that can quickly switch from
carrying passengers to carrying goods
- beacons that guide visually-impaired passengers
through the station and to their seat
- technology enabling disabled passengers to seek
real-time assistance with their journey
- an augmented reality application that highlights a
journey’s landmarks
The technologies will be showcased through real-life
demonstrators, enabling passengers to experience and
feedback on the innovations.
Supporting innovation in rail
Rail Minister said:
We are investing in the biggest rail modernisation
programme since Victorian times, introducing the
changes that passengers want to see - more frequent
services and quicker, more comfortable journeys.
While we have introduced real-time platform
information, taken big strides on safety and improved
how we manage our railways to accommodate more
services on existing tracks, the pace of change can
sometimes be slower than we would like to see.
[The] funding is part of a wider programme of
activities to speed up the delivery of new ideas and
high-value innovations, which can have a big impact
on passengers’ journeys.
Improving travel
The funding was offered through a First of a Kind
competition run by Innovate UK, part of the Department
for Transport’s (DfT) scheme to improve the passenger
experience on rail.
Ian Meikle, Director of Infrastructure Systems at
Innovate UK, said:
The UK railway is carrying more and more passengers,
and they rightly demand improvements to their
journeys. What we are announcing today are tangible
innovations, which each in their own way will make
train travel better.
