The Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed that it is funding the launch of twenty-six “cutting-edge projects aimed at improving passenger experience on the railway”.

DfT has worked with Innovate UK, Network Rail and train operators in running the ‘First of a Kind’ competition, which is now in its ninth year. This year’s competition was launched in April.

The competition offers grant funding to develop innovative projects that will be tested on the railway. Should these tests prove promising, it is hoped that this will encourage train operating companies, freight companies and Network Rail to buy them.

The winning projects in this year’s competition focus on improving safety, including on platforms and in cutting the number of incidents where vehicles hit railway bridges.

The winning projects include:

• IntelliPan Network, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect faults on overhead power lines, aiming to prevent ‘dewirements,’ which are dangerous and disrupt services.
• SafeRide 5G, which enables passengers to report incidents using their own devices in a safe and private way via onboard Wi-Fi, which will remove barriers to reporting and so improve response times.

The 26 successful projects will receive £5 million in funding from the Department for Transport. The government hopes that the projects will encourage more people to travel by train.

Some previous winners of the competition are already being used in the railway industry. These include the Portable Track Geometry Measurement System, which passes track information to engineers quickly, enabling line closures and speed restrictions to be lifted more quickly.

The full list of successful projects is available here.

“The winners of this competition are taking cutting-edge technology to address some of the biggest challenges facing the rail industry, making a railway that works better for the people and goods using it.

“These innovations are putting safety, reliability and passenger experience first, like IntelliPan Network using AI to detect faults on overhead lines, reducing disruption caused by dangerous dewirements.

“Through this funding, we are building a platform on which innovation can thrive, giving new technologies a chance to succeed and driving economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.”

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy