RSSB and Network Rail have announced funding for 15 new research projects through the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), targeting some of the railway industry's most pressing operational and strategic challenges.
The initiative is designed to strengthen the link between academic research and industry implementation, ensuring that innovations developed within UK universities have a clearer pathway towards practical adoption across the rail network.
Earlier this year, RSSB and Network Rail invited proposals focused on a wide range of industry priorities, including improving traction power performance, enhancing railway communications, optimising vehicle-track interaction, and developing new approaches to infrastructure monitoring and maintenance.
The successful projects, involving nine universities and supported by a wide range of suppliers, train operators and infrastructure stakeholders, will begin mobilising ahead of a planned November start date.
Luisa Moisio, Director of Research at RSSB, said:
"This is an important step in the evolution of UKRRIN.”
“Naturally, research is inherently exploratory, and not every finding progresses to industry adoption. Working jointly with Network Rail and the UKRRIN community, we want to raise these odds. This is building on the impact UKRRIN has made to date and bringing public funders together to agree on the most important challenges and opportunities that academic-led research needs to address. This research will draw on the deep expertise and fresh thinking within UKRRIN’s world-class universities and involve UKRRIN industrial members from the outset, so the supply chain is ready to pick up the baton in their solutions. The quality of the proposals received, and the level of industry funding and support secured by the successful projects is truly encouraging."
Phil Doughty, Chief Technology Officer at Network Rail, added:
"We are pleased to continue our partnership with UKRRIN through this pilot programme. Working closely with RSSB, universities and industry partners, we will explore new ways to address some of the rail sector’s most important challenges. We look forward to the opportunities and insights this collaboration will create, and its potential to deliver lasting benefits for the railway and its customers."
Research Focus Areas
The 15 projects have been grouped across three key themes: electric traction power, vehicle and track interaction, and communications and positioning.
Driving Innovation in Railway Electrification
Five projects will focus on improving the performance, resilience and efficiency of the UK's electrified railway.
Research areas include:
- Improving voltage stability through leading power factor control for next-generation AC electrification systems.
- Enhancing reactive current control to address power supply limitations.
- Developing rapid and reliable pantograph systems for dynamic power changeovers.
- Creating a standardised framework for battery traction modelling and route assessment.
- Investigating bird strike risks affecting pantographs and overhead line equipment through the SafeSky Rail project.
Leading institutions include the University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, University of Huddersfield, Cranfield University and the University of Hull, supported by organisations including Alstom, Hitachi Rail, Transport for Wales, Porterbrook, Eurostar and Network Rail High Speed.
Improving Track Performance and Asset Reliability
Seven projects have been selected to address vehicle and track interaction challenges.
The work will explore:
- Enhanced guard rail designs capable of supporting higher-speed operations.
- Advanced methods for ride comfort optimisation.
- Predictive approaches to identify fatigue-related rail squat defects before they become critical.
- Augmented reality tools to extend crossing life and improve maintenance interventions.
- Data-driven decision support systems for rail grinding and milling activities.
- New techniques for measuring stress-free rail temperatures and monitoring buckling risks.
- Improved understanding of ballast settlement and track quality degradation.
Universities leading these projects include Huddersfield, Southampton, Sheffield and Leeds, working alongside industry partners such as British Steel, AtkinsRéalis, Progress Rail, Vossloh, RailSense and Network Rail.
Future-Proofing Railway Communications
The communications and positioning programme comprises three projects focused on the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) and railway positioning technologies.
The successful projects will investigate:
- Maximising the capacity and application of FRMCS across Britain's railway network.
- Developing proactive lifecycle management frameworks to address future FRMCS obsolescence.
- Enhancing the assessment of high-integrity positioning systems used to protect track workers and on-track plant operations.
These projects are being led by the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham, with support from Siemens Mobility, Govia Thameslink Railway, FirstGroup, Great Western Railway, Hitachi Rail GTS and several Network Rail business units.
Strengthening the Research-to-Railway Pipeline
The programme represents a significant shift towards more targeted, industry-led research, ensuring that academic innovation remains focused on solving real operational challenges facing the railway.
By bringing together universities, infrastructure managers, train operators and the supply chain from the outset, RSSB, Network Rail and UKRRIN hope to accelerate the journey from research findings to practical deployment across the UK rail network.
Image credit: iStock
