Britain Department of Transport announced that £3.6 million (EUR 4 million) funding has been offered to 10 projects that will transform rail passenger travel.
Under the programme, the projects will develop and demonstrate technologies that will improve the passenger experience on country’s railway network. They include a design for train carriages that will increase peak hours seat numbers, a carriage design that can quickly switch from carrying passengers to carrying goods, beacons that guide visually-impaired passengers through the station and to their seat, technology enabling disabled passengers to seek real-time assistance with their journey and an augmented reality application that highlights a journey’s landmarks.
“While we have introduced real-time platform information, taken big strides on safety and improved how we manage our railways to accommodate more services on existing tracks, the pace of change can sometimes be slower than we would like to see. [The] funding is part of a wider programme of activities to speed up the delivery of new ideas and high-value innovations, which can have a big impact on passengers’ journeys,” Rail Minister Jo Johnson said.
The funding was offered through a First of a Kind competition run by Innovate UK, part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) scheme to improve the passenger experience on rail.
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