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The UK Department for Transport, in partnership with Innovate UK, has awarded a total of £9.4m to 25 projects under the 2020 First of a Kind competition (FOAK competition), which aims at bringing in innovation in the rail industry.
The funding competition is supporting innovations such as automatic de-icing concrete on platforms and a rapid seat reservation-swapping service that can soon make journeys easier by eliminating slippery surfaces in winter and ensuring passengers a seat.
The Sheffield Hallam University is leading the Illumin-heated concrete platform coper slabs project. The project calls for the use of illuminated and heated low-energy concrete slabs on railway platforms that switch on automatically in very cold conditions to help stop passengers from slipping on ice.
The rapid seat reservation-swapping service to be offered by the Seatfrog Train Swap app is being developed by Seatfrog Ops.
A company called Hive Composites is another winner of the funding through its project that uses next-generation composite poles for a 5G-enabled railway.
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I am delighted to announce the winners of this year’s FOAK 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.”
Other winning projects of the FOAK competition will also help the government bring down the environmental impact of the railways besides supporting decarbonisation. Some of the ideas that have been rewarded are a zero emission machine for removing and replacing rails, and hydrogen-based steam turbines that will help in zero-emission, low-noise rail freight. |
