RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
Unlocking Innovation M.A.D.E. for Rail How newmaterials, automation, data and sustainable energy sources are improving UK’s railways
the same goal. There is no single solution for decarbonising our rail network. It will require the electrification of intensively used rail lines, with a rolling programme to extend the frontier of electrified railways. For less used, commuter and rural lines, new technologies like battery and hydrogen can help replace diesel passenger trains. Developing these technologies further will be vital, with consideration of how they can be applied to freight and passenger rolling stock. Ensuring our stations and depots are optimised to reduce energy usage will also be essential. After further development work with Network Rail, which confirms these as the key technologies for their own R&D programme, we have decided to look at M.A.D.E. from another angle and to see how each technology maps to the sectors of our industry. Therefore, we are currently planning the 2020 programme along the lines of our upcoming pilot event – M.A.D.E. for Rolling Stock, which will focus the industry on the UKRRIN Centre of Excellence at Huddersfield University on 10 December 2019. The series will also cover M.A.D.E. for Infrastructure and M.A.D.E. for Signalling.
Materials Unlocking Innovation – Composites in Rail event was hosted by the National Composites Centre in Bristol on 27 Sept 2018. 96 attendees from 78 organisations joined the event to discuss the innovative use of composite materials for railway infrastructure and rolling stock. The construction of new structures, tunnels, platforms, track and ballast, as well as the manufacturing of rolling stock, mean that the rail industry is a significant user of materials and resources. It is increasingly important that the industry considers how it uses these materials to ensure it is delivering both environmentally and cost-effectively. Composites are one example of the potential use of new materials, offering lighter, stronger and more durable solutions compared to traditional materials. Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRPs) composites are already being used in track and station infrastructure, as well as rolling stock manufacturing, interior furniture and platform systems. Automation Unlocking Innovation – Automation in Rail event took place in Sheffield on 30 May 2019 at the AMRC Factory 2050. 111 Attendees from 72 organisations joined the event to discuss how automation can benefit the rail industry and what exciting new opportunities will come out of it. Maintaining and monitoring the UK’s vast network of railway infrastructure requires a lot of manual work, which, can often be in a dangerous environment and can mean reduced or no service on railway lines, with the potential costs and disruption this brings. Instead, rail businesses are increasingly exploring automated systems that can allow for
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, innovation is both a process and an outcome and the Railway Industry Association (RIA) has been working with its members to understand how to improve the innovation process through a series of Unlocking Innovation events. RIA is a founder member of the UK Rail Research & Innovation Network (UKRRIN), which was formed in 2017 to bring together the leading Universities in Rail with industrial collaborators, along with funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), to create a step-change in innovation. RIA has looked at the needs of the industry for practical implementation of innovation, and following the work on technologies which deliver this, we have arrived at four key themes – Materials, Automation, Data and Energy, or M.A.D.E., to give our members and the rail industry an opportunity to have a first hand experience with these technologies and its potential implementation in rail. Each Unlocking Innovation event is hosted in an iconic location, highlighting the work that is being done on each theme.
maintain our rail network and those who operate it to those who use it. Data includes everything from passenger-facing interfaces to rolling stock and station design, scheduling, disruption management, and track maintenance benefits from intelligent use of data. Ensuring we keep data secure, however, is of vital importance. Energy Unlocking Innovation – Energy in Rail event took place on 26 March 2019 in Coventry at RIA member Schneider Electric. 74 attendees from 54 organisations joined the event to discuss practical solutions for efficient energy use in rail. In 2017, the Government set out a challenge to the rail industry to decarbonise the network by 2040. Since then, the Rail Industry Decarbonisation Taskforce has set out how we can achieve this goal, made all the more pertinent by the UK’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with Scotland targeting 2035 to achieve
monitoring key assets with minimal disruption to passengers and freight services. Using innovative robotic platforms, augmented and virtual reality, machine learning, the ‘Internet of Things’, data gathering and analytics tools mean the industry can now automate many of these tasks, leading to improved safety for passengers and employees, and improved services on our railways. Data Unlocking Innovation – Data in Rail event took place on 08 January 219 at Birmingham University. 176 attendees from 120 organisations joined the event to discuss opportunities created by rail digitalisation to utilise data. The UK rail network generates an immense amount of data every day. New digital tools that collect, understand and present this data opens up an array of possibilities to improve our railways, helping everyone from those who build and
In 2020 we also want to look at processes, which will play into our current work on Major Projects, so there will be a M.A.D.E. for Major Projects event.
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