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”

How can we innovate our way out of recession?

Steve Mills, Senior Industrial Fellow, will be speaking about innovation and the funding landscape at our Stay Connected round-table event on 25th June. In today’s blog he outlines the opportunity our current situation offers and gives tips on maximising your chances of success. As our colleague, Rachel Eade, mentioned in her earlier blog, Innovation as … Continue reading “How can we innovate our way out of recession?”

HydroFLEX one step closer to commercial operation, a debate on removing diesel trains from the railway and championing SMEs to dominate the rail industry!

We have had a busy morning across BCRRE and the Rail Alliance with our Rail Online event taking place and a big project announcement breaking cover. Firstly, we are delighted to be able to share the news that our HydroFLEX project is now moving into a final development phase supported by Innovate UK funding.  We … Continue reading “HydroFLEX one step closer to commercial operation, a debate on removing diesel trains from the railway and championing SMEs to dominate the rail industry!”

How to survive train rides in crosswinds?

Syeda Anam Hashmi, a Doctoral Researcher in the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham, discusses how windbreak/acoustic barriers for railway lines can provide passenger safety and comfort. We can already see, as outlined in David Soper’s blog, why aerodynamics is important. High-speed passenger trains are associated with a number of challenges where large … Continue reading “How to survive train rides in crosswinds?”

‘DriveSmart’: Humans, not machines, create meaning

  Dr Ning Zhao, Research Fellow with BCRRE and an expert in train control, explains about how to use DriveSmart to enhance train operation performance. Rail systems use a considerable amount of energy in day-to-day operations, with the whole-life cost of the energy used to operate a train potentially amounting to about as much as … Continue reading “‘DriveSmart’: Humans, not machines, create meaning”