First of Kind competition aims to revolutionise British rail travel

Listen to this article

Self-charging trains could make their way onto Britain’s railways after receiving Government funding, says the Department for Transport.

As part of the First of a Kind 2022 competition, in partnership with Innovate UK, top innovators and inventers have won prize money to bring their innovations to life. This year’s competition focused on new concepts that will transform rail travel for passengers and decarbonising the network.

The competition saw 24 innovators receive a share of more than £5 million with grants of up to £400,000 each. From technology making our railways greener than ever before by removing harmful emissions from train exhausts to research into powering our railways with renewable energy, this year’s successful bidders will revolutionise the future of train travel for generations to come.

“The UK has a long history of leading the way in railway innovation and the First of a Kind competition is getting the great brains of today to create the trains of tomorrow,” said Transport Secretary, Mark Harper. “Through millions of pounds worth of Government funding, we are breathing life into ideas that will revolutionise our railways and make them greener than ever before.

“This is just the beginning and, as Transport Secretary, I am determined to support British innovation and create a cutting edge, green rail industry that delivers even more benefits for passengers and freight.”

This year’s winners include Varamis who, working closely with DHL and Fedex, is revolutionising parcel delivery in the UK by repurposing former passenger carriages and putting rail right at the heart of the online shopping boom to create high-speed, non-letter delivery services.

Echion Technologies, another successful bidder, is developing batteries that will charge from overhead wires and use that charge to ‘leapfrog’ across unelectrified section of track and, effectively, create self-charging trains.

Thales Ground Transportation Systems have developed new sensors which will detect people approaching tracks, pin down their location, and give an early warning to staff –technology that will reduce disruption and save lives.

Other winning projects include:

  • Automatic systems that detect and stop track flooding
  • Cutting edge electric drivetrains that replace polluting diesel engines
  • New tech to instantly relay  track information to improve and modernise rail safety
  • Winners with a track record of success will have the opportunity to progress for further funding next year as projects move from concepts to realisation.

The First of a Kind competition has already helped launch over 100 projects that are having a transformative effect across the entire industry. Previous winners have included Riding Sunbeams, which power railways with sunlight, and 4Silence’s sound bending walls which cancel out noise pollution from the railway.

Image credit: istockphoto.com

Latest Rail News

ORR review leads to 50% reduction in maximum fees for ticket refunds

New rules will mean that from 2 April the maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can charge...

More like this...