New tech to tackle leaves on the line and automatic de-icing platforms set to revolutionise travel on Britain’s railways

Wednesday, 17 June 2020 00:01

25 projects across Great Britain win share of £9.4million in fourth round of First of a Kind competition Projects including innovative 5G Wi-Fi infrastructure, hydrogen-powered freight trains and speedy new seat switching app awarded funding Government backed fund aims to bring new technology onto the railways to make them cleaner, greener and safer, as the UK leads the way to net zero carbon emissions Automatic de-icing concrete on platforms set to banish...Request free trial

25 projects across Great Britain win share of £9.4million in fourth round of First of a Kind competition
Projects including innovative 5G Wi-Fi infrastructure, hydrogen-powered freight trains and speedy new seat switching app awarded funding
Government backed fund aims to bring new technology onto the railways to make them cleaner, greener and safer, as the UK leads the way to net zero carbon emissions

Automatic de-icing concrete on platforms set to banish slippery surfaces in winter, and a rapid seat reservation swapping service to guarantee a seat could soon make journeys easier, following a national competition to make the railways cleaner, greener and more passenger-friendly, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced today (17 June).

The Department for Transport, in partnership with Innovate UK, has awarded 25 pioneering projects a share of £9.4million in the 2020 First of a Kind (FOAK) competition which encourages innovation in the rail industry.

Inventors have come forward with a host of ambitious projects to transform rail travel including low-energy concrete slabs which automatically heat up in freezing conditions to help prevent passengers from slipping on icy platforms, and the Seatfrog Train Swap app which will allow passengers to quickly and remotely update their seat reservation to another service.

Several winning projects will also help deliver the Government’s ambition to reduce the railway’s environmental impact and support decarbonisation, including a world first zero emission machine for removing and replacing rails, and hydrogen-based steam turbines to provide zero-emission, low-noise rail freight.

Other schemes supported by the competition include next generation lightweight composite poles to provide passengers with faster, more reliable 5G Wi-Fi and the development of safer and more resilient glazing for train windows, to help prevent glass windows being smashed and protect passengers.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

“I am delighted to announce the winners of this year’s First of a Kind competition which will support better, more environmentally friendly journeys. Crucially, these pioneering projects will also ensure that passengers have a more efficient, reliable and responsive railway, making their journeys simpler and easier.

“From clever technology on platforms to prevent icy surfaces, new ‘seat-switching’ apps and improved 5G Wi-Fi connections, harnessing innovation will be crucial to modernising the network and making our railways greener and cleaner, as we build out of COVID-19 and look to the future.”

Ian Campbell, Executive Chair of Innovate UK said:

“These high quality projects illustrate the appetite of UK organisations to develop new and exciting innovations for rail transport that improve customers’ user experience, that optimise railway efficiency, and are environmentally sustainable.”

Now in its fourth year, the competition was open to organisations of all sizes and sectors whose technologies could help to create a greener, more cost-effective and customer-friendly railway with greater capacity.

Previous winners include new technology from Porterbrook in partnership with emissions specialist Eminox, which successfully reduces harmful emissions from diesel trains by over 90%.

South Western Railway completed a six-month trial in March of the technology which saw an emissions reduction system fitted to the exhaust of a Class 159 train used by passengers between Waterloo and Exeter.

The trial delivered immediate reductions in pollution from nitrous oxides by over 80% and hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter by more than 90% and is the first successful transfer of proven automotive technology to a rail environment.

OpenSpace Thameslink also received funding for its plans to provide station management with a set of next-generation tools to help with crowd management at London St Pancras International. The project, in conjunction with Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd, immediately found this helped with easing crowds to help maintain social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Contact Information

Freya Smith
freya.smith@dft.gov.uk

Notes to editors

Editor’s notes

The Department is developing a strategy for decarbonising the transport network, in which rail will play an important part. Earlier this year, Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge was published, which is the first step in developing a holistic approach to transport decarbonisation.

The full list of winners are:

Project	Lead Organisation	Summary
Customer Experience
Train Swap	Seatfrog Ops Limited	Train Swap allows passengers to quickly and remotely update their seat reservation to a new service.
Dynamic Capacity Management	Esoterix Systems Ltd	Dynamic Capacity Management introduces utility-style ticketing that adjusts to travel patterns and rewards particular choices, using a monthly subscription that will help customers to save money on a large upfront fee.
Next generation composite poles for a 5G enabled railway	Hive Composites Ltd	Installation of lightweight composite poles along railway lines, to improve wi-fi speed, consistency and connection on the rail network for all rail passengers.
Illumin-heated concrete platform coper slabs	Sheffield Hallam University	illuminated and heated low-energy concrete slabs that will be used on railway platforms, which automatically switch on in freezing conditions to help prevent passengers from slipping on ice.
LAMINAR	iProov	The project will demonstrate how biometrics can dramatically enhance the passenger experience, reduce congestion, improve safety and enhance security.
Track to Train communications to Transport for Wales	Ingram Networks Ltd	Lab-based study into new very high speed communications technology for railways demonstrating very cost effective trackside to train communications infrastructure over the whole 8km length of the heritage railway in Leicestershire, at speeds of 10Gbps+.
Environmental Sustainability
Prototype zero emissions Trac Rail Transposer (TRT-e)	Unipart Rail Limited	A zero-emissions machine which removes and replaces rails.
LoCe: Less oil, Cleaner exhaust	Porterbrook Leasing	Transferring novel retrofit technology onto one of Porterbrook's Class 170 Turbostar vehicles to enable mid-life diesel engines to rapidly become more environmentally sustainable.
Zero emission rail freight power	Steamology Motion Ltd	A hydrogen-based steam turbine system that delivers zero emission power solutions for existing rail freight locomotives.
Daybreak	Riding Sunbeams Ltd	Riding Sunbeams Limited focuses on decarbonisation of the railway industry. It has developed direct connection between renewable energy generation and overhead lines of the railway systems.
Resi-Glaze	Far-UK Ltd	The project aims to develop an innovative resilient glazing solution to ensure passenger safety on trains and potential CO2 emissions saving.
HydroFLEX Raft Production	BCRRE	A power pack design to enable a hydrogen train to work in service, minimising the loss of passenger saloon space.
A novel, low environmental impact, composite railway footbridge	Associated Utility Supplies (AUS) LTD	The project will demonstrate a low environmental impact footbridge which will be the first railway footbridge made entirely from fibre reinforced polymer. It will be significantly easier to install than the equivalent steel bridge, greatly reducing network disruption and local environmental damage.
Optimised and cost-effective maintenance
Integrated Optical Fibre Sensing (OptRail-PRO) to	rcm2 limited	Optical fibre sensors which monitor the condition of switches and crossings on railway tracks.
Train Axle Crack Monitoring	TAMON - Perpetuum Ltd	TAMON will help to reduce returns to depot, by using sensors and pattern-recognition technologies to monitor for cracks in train axles.
High Speed Cryogenic Blasting for Rail Cleaning to Alleviate Low Adhesion	The University of Sheffield	High speed cryogenic cleaning system for tracks to prevent low adhesion and slow running of trains.
InnoTamp	Fugro	Data gathering to ensure the maintenance of optimum rail alignment.
Thermal Radiometry for the Remote Condition Monitoring of Railway Vehicles	Rail Innovations	The project uses thermal radiometry camera technology to measure temperatures of mechanical systems on moving trains. This enables automatic alarms to be sent over the Internet in the event of an over-temperature occurrence.
Optimised railway operations
Minimising disruption of overhead line renewals via novel headspan assemblies	Associated Utility Supplies (AUS) LTD	Span wire clamping system to enable rapid, low-cost overhead line equipment headspan renewals with minimum network disruption.
Trainserv Software User Trial and Preparation for Commercialisation	Cogitare Ltd	Trainserv integrates multiple sources of real-time data for use by rail workers to help them improve services and respond to incidents.
Cleartrak on Train Testing (CoTT)	Garrandale Limited	Innovative and efficient system for processing toilet waste, reducing cost and maintenance requirements.
IRIS: Information system for railway station staff	Liverpool John Moores University	A new kind of information system for frontline station staff to enhance communication and enable them to help passengers in making travel decisions/planning more effectively.
Railway Optical Detection and Obstructions-Tunnel & Station Monitoring	Vortex IoT Limited	Sensors and data analysis tools to detect and identify intrusion and obstructions on the track, and send real time situational alerts to the rail control centre to prompt further investigation.
Improving resilience through a surface water flooding decision support system	JBA Consulting	This project seeks to develop a first of a kind surface water flood forecasting and early warning system for Network Rail using technology and data to map the surface water flood likelihood in real time, ahead of the event and forecast rainfall intensity.
Improved railway operations through train-mounted water addition	CoCatalyst Limited	Spraying a small amount of water from the train when slippery rails are detected to improve train traction and braking, and prevent subsequent services from being affected.