First of a Kind competition – creating a greener rail system and stations of the future
Could your innovations improve rail customer experience, or cut rail emissions and costs?
A competition has been announced where businesses can apply for a share of £3.5m to develop demonstrators for customer experience in stations and the decarbonisation of the railway.
The First of a Kind (FOAK) competition aims to stimulate innovation in the rail industry and successful projects must consider cost reduction, increasing capacity, cutting emissions and improving the customer experience.
KTN is hosting a series of events to outline the competition scope, and a webinar for those unable to attend the events in person.
- York – 9 October.  Book here.
- London – 11 October.  Book here.
- Webinar – 11 October, 10:00-11:30.  Book here.
- Cardiff Р17 October.  Book here.
The aim of the competition is to demonstrate how proven technologies can be integrated into the rail environment for the first time (First of a Kind).  There are two themes:
- Decarbonisation of the railway – this could be innovations in stations, rolling stock or infrastructure.
- Customer experience in stations Рintegrating an innovative technology in a railway station for the first time. The goal is to fit out a single ‘station of the future’ with several innovative solutions to enhance the passengers’ experience.
The competition will fund integration and direct user testing and solutions will be field-tested and ready for use with an end-customer by the end of the project.  Ideas from any other sector will be considered, for example automotive, energy, digital or aerospace.  Priorities are wide-ranging and include creating a station with zero carbon footprint, alternatives to fossil fuels, the use of wireless technology instead of ticket barriers, digital signage and influencing behaviour through nudging techniques.
More information can be found on the SBRI competitions page. The application deadline is 22nd November 2018.