UKRRIN launches call for new Centres of Excellence 12 February 2021: The UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), the £92 million partnership between academia and industry, has opened a call for expressions of interest to establish two new Centres of Excellence, in ‘Inclusive Passenger Experience’ and ‘Rail Economics, Policy and Operations’. UKRRIN […]
The 13th World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR) is coming to the United Kingdom, proudly hosted by RSSB and the University of Birmingham. The WCRR Organising Committee is now inviting the submission of abstracts for presentations at the 2022 Congress in line with the theme: Reshaping our railways post-pandemic: Research with an impact […]
Dr Sam Bemment, Technical & Innovation Manager, Railway Industry Association Assisting our members and, by extension, the wider industry to innovate has long been a core activity of the Railway Industry Association. That is why RIA was a founder member of the UK Rail Research & Innovation Network (UKRRIN), formed in 2017 to bring together […]
A new purpose-built centre designed to deliver specialist research in digital railway engineering has been opened at the University of Birmingham. The Centre of Excellence for Digital Systems showcases successful collaboration between academia and industry, as the university has partnered with the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) to commission the facility, with £16.4m […]
PRESS RELEASE: 13 October 2020 The Rail industry is committed to prioritising innovation to meet present and future challenges. Britain’s railway must increase the speed that research, and innovation is conducted and put into action to improve performance and reduce costs. This will be vital to attract customers back to the railway in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The requirement to invest in forward–looking technical solutions from development to successful deployment is more prominent now than ever before. Senior rail leaders from across the industry have reaffirmed their commitment for the shift needed in innovation set out in this latest […]
The first ever hydrogen powered train has run on the UK mainline as part of a project being delivered in partnership with the University of Birmingham – signalling a major step forward towards the UK’s net zero targets. The trials of the train, known as HydroFLEX , which have been supported with a £750,000 grant from the […]
The UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) is set to expand its core capabilities with a new immersive Centre of Excellence focused on Inclusive Passenger Experience (IPEC). The UKRRIN IPEC will provide a physical space for the development and testing of innovations across four thematic areas of: Inclusive design, passenger digital connectivity, passenger experience […]
The UK’s first hydrogen-powered train (HydroFLEX) is moving closer to commercial operation after the University of Birmingham has been awarded new funding by the Department for Transport. The grant, worth £400,000, is part of InnovateUK’s First of a Kind (FOAK) Programme. It will enable the HydroFLEX development team at the University of Birmingham and industry partners Porterbrook to develop the detailed final […]