12.07.17
RSSB partners with eight universities to drive £92m research programme
The RSSB will partner with the rail supply industry and a consortium of eight universities to drive research aimed at making the UK the world leading centre of rail excellence.
The partnership is also being supported by £92m worth of funding, with £28.1m of this figure coming from the UK Research Partnership and £64m coming from partners in the industry including Alstom, Siemens and Bombardier.
Part of the newly created UK Railway Research and Innovation Network, the cash will be put into creating three world class centres of excellence which will be the base for the network to innovate.
The three centres will each focus on a particular technological area. At the University of Birmingham, new digital systems with a focus on railway control and simulation, data integration and cybersecurity, condition monitoring and sensing and improved methods for technology introduction will be researched.
And at the University of Huddersfield, in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and Loughborough University, rolling stock innovations like high-value rolling stock systems, whole-life asset optimisation and through-life management as well as energy management will be studied.
Finally, the University of Southampton with the University of Sheffield, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and Heriot-Watt University will lead research into infrastructure.
“The world-class centres of excellence along with the UK rail supply industry will be able to develop world-leading new technologies and products for trains, railway systems and infrastructure to deliver a better, more reliable and efficient railway,” a spokesperson for the RSSB said.
More information about the research can be found here.
Top Image: a high speed train driving simulator, copyright RSSB
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