More than £6 million of presidency funding has been made obtainable for firms with modern concepts to enhance Britain’s railways as Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, launched the newest First of a Kind (FOAK) competitors at this time (14 June 2023).

Under the themes of value effectivity and rising worth for cash, the competitors – now in its seventh 12 months – is inviting candidates to place ahead proposals for expertise that may supply a greater buyer expertise, extra dependable companies and improved strategies to put in high-speed rail techniques that would slash set up instances.

For the primary time, this 12 months’s competitors is in partnership with HS2 Ltd, which is providing £1 million of funding for improvements to hurry up or lower prices of excessive pace rail techniques installations.

Rail Minister Huw Merriman stated:

This is an unbelievable alternative not only for companies however for all the rail trade. Every 12 months, this competitors brings collectively one of the best and the brightest whose expertise and ingenuity assist to unravel issues we’re going through and drive our railways ahead.

This 12 months, we’ll be bringing much more trailblazing tasks to life by funding concepts that profit the passenger, encourage effectivity and rework our rail community for the higher.

This 12 months’s competitors follows on from 6 profitable rounds and a complete of virtually £50 million in funding, which has seen a spread of modern tasks hit the market and enhance the day-to-day operating of the railways. This contains:

• Seat Frog’s Train Swap product, used throughout 8 operators, which permits passengers to swap practice tickets with out having to buy a brand new one, in addition to bid for last-minute first-class upgrades
• Hack Partners’ Hubble expertise, which makes use of train-mounted cameras to establish and tackle lineside upkeep points, reminiscent of faults with overhead traces, lowering delay instances and dear repairs
• Transreport’s expertise, which allows passengers with disabilities to request help shortly and simply whereas on the transfer, in addition to retaining them up to date on any disruption on their journeys

There are additionally quite a few profitable tasks within the pipeline, that are set to turn out to be industrial within the coming years. This contains the University of Birmingham’s challenge growing hydrogen-powered trains, which might be essential to decarbonising the railways and attaining the UK’s web zero plans.

Further funding can be being awarded to 2 of FOAK’s 2022 winners, in order that they might enter the second section of testing, giving them a greater probability of being introduced into industrial use. The 2 tasks – one which makes it simpler to cost practice batteries and the opposite, which makes use of kinetic power to chop emissions from diesel trains – have been granted nearly £1.5 million in extra funding between them as they characterize probably the most promising tasks as a part of the ‘low emissions and a greener railway’ theme.