Charles Calvert, PhD student in the BCRRE Power and Traction research group and Lead Systems Engineer for HydroFLEX takes us through the history of HydroFLEX and some of the key technical challenges the team resolved in order to take the train successfully onto the UK mainline – the first Hydrogen train ever to run on … Continue reading “What did it take to get HydroFLEX onto the mainline?”
HydroFLEX: decarbonisation and innovation
Alex Burrows, Director of BCRRE, comments on Hydrogen-based transport, the decarbonisation agenda and the value of collaboration to realise and prove innovation. Earlier this week we successfully took HydroFLEX, the UK’s first hydrogen train, onto the mainline railway – the first run by a hydrogen-powered train on Network Rail infrastructure. The HydroFLEX project is a … Continue reading “HydroFLEX: decarbonisation and innovation”
The end of rail franchising: what will replace it?
Alex Burrows comments on Monday’s announcement about the end of rail franchising and sets out a series of challenges which we, here in BCRRE and the Rail Alliance, would like to see considered, coming out of this new approach. In news that will have not come as a shock to most readers, the UK Government … Continue reading “The end of rail franchising: what will replace it?”
Education and ambiguity
“His priority seemed to be not to teach them what he knew but rather to impress upon them that nothing […] was foolproof.” [Harry on Firenze’s Teaching, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]. Dr Holly Foss talks about the future of education and how ambiguity and the unknown is a necessity for our … Continue reading “Education and ambiguity”
The railway is full; how can we increase its capacity?
Mohamed Samra, Research Fellow in BCRRE, introduces how Moving Block and Virtual Coupling gives us the opportunity to increase the capacity of the railway. Rail transport is already an efficient mode of transport that brings great economic, social, and environmental benefits. The railways around the world are facing growing demand to transport more people and … Continue reading “The railway is full; how can we increase its capacity?”
The value of collaboration in innovation
Dr Jenny Illingsworth is Deputy Director of BCRRE and spent many years in product development and product management in the manufacturing industry before she joined the University of Birmingham. She shares some of her thoughts around the benefits of working together. I’ve found, over my career – which is longer than I care to think … Continue reading “The value of collaboration in innovation”
Distance Learning at BCRRE: The Digital Platform
Zena Green, a Teaching Fellow (International Programmes) talks about the shift to the digital platform when it comes to teaching and what this entails. When I raised the possibility of creating a digital version of BCRRE’s MSc courses in the autumn of 2019, nobody could have guessed that six months later we would be discussing … Continue reading “Distance Learning at BCRRE: The Digital Platform”
Automating data into useful information to support decision-making
Dr Chris Morris answers our questions on the new Network Rail Acumen Platform Docker, to which he and PhD student, Richard Horridge, contributed heavily on software development. Both provided consultancy on appropriate technologies to choose. What’s the project? It’s known as the Network Rail Acumen Platform Docker. It’s a real-time information tool for signallers and … Continue reading “Automating data into useful information to support decision-making”
Stay Connected with Digi Rail
Alec Gillham, Business Engagement Manager with the Digi-Rail project, outlines why it’s important to stay connected as we emerge out of the Covid-19 lockdown, and how SMEs in the Midlands region can take advantage. Here in the Digi-Rail team we have been making efforts to keep in touch with the SME community so we can … Continue reading “Stay Connected with Digi Rail”
Sustainability Reporting in the Field of High-Speed Railways: Towards a Unified Framework
Dr Labib Azzouz talks about sustainability reporting in the field of high-speed railways and the related research at BCRRE. High-speed railways (HSRs) are often bracketed with sustainability in the transportation literature; they are capable of meeting many individuals’ and societies’ mobility needs in a safe, clean, reliable, efficient, and environmental-friendly manner (Leboeuf, 2018). Sustainability reporting … Continue reading “Sustainability Reporting in the Field of High-Speed Railways: Towards a Unified Framework”