The journey for innovation in Network Rail Empowering you to transform our industry
How do I know what needs solving?
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Our priority challenges are included in the Rail Technical Strategy with further information in our challenge statements and corporate strategies. Our most pressing challenges are promoted as part of our procurement pipeline. You can also find a broader long-term view of the transport technology market with Innovate UK’s Transport Vision 2050.
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What is Network Rail’s R&D Portfolio? How do I know what technology is already being developed or used?
How can I discover what is happening in wider industry?
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The Rail Technical Strategy website includes a snapshot of recent projects and projects underway from across the sector. We have also developed a proof-of-concept interactive tool to provide up to date information on Network Rail projects – the Explorer.
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How has innovation been deployed?
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Are you aware what work organisations such as the Catapults, the Infrastructure Industry Innovation Partnership (i3P), the international union of railways (UIC), Shift2Rail and its successor Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking are already doing or planning to do and the current State-of-the Art? Connect with the European rail sector and consider applications to sectors outside of rail.
How do I contract to innovate? How could my innovation progress?
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We adopt the Rail Industry Readiness Levels developed a few years ago by the rail industry and based on those used in other engineering sectors to give a common understanding of the state of development of an innovation. Where mature technology is being applied we have an accelerated innovation process.
Our R&D Portfolio brings together research, development and innovation across Network Rail. It enables us to provide central portfolio management whilst delivering through our functions, regions and partnerships involving suppliers and universities. The portfolio coordinates projects and programmes, industry and international innovation opportunities and collaborations, commercial and procurement expertise, tools and processes.
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Who do I approach first?
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Understanding the broad range of innovation opportunities requires research and is helped by discussion and collaboration, so getting involved in a community is important. We participate in a wide range of industry events including Unlocking Innovation promoted by the Railway Industry Association (RIA) under UKRRIN. We can advise on first steps at RDI@networkrail.co.uk
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Requirements are mostly incorporated in standards. You can access our standards free of charge in association with IHS Markit. You’ll need to register and, if accessing our standards for the first time, you’ll be verified for eligibility before receiving a link to any standards ordered.
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How can I demonstrate my product?
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We offer two testing and trialling facilities to help you do just this – our Rail Innovation and Development Centres at Melton and Tuxford. The sites are connected to the railway and include many characteristics and capabilities found on the mainline railway. Other facilities are available across UKRRIN.
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How can I get financial support? How can I prove my product is fit for purpose?
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We control critical products through Product Acceptance before they can be deployed or trialled and can help you understand how to navigate this process. Product Acceptance ensures products comply with the requirements of technical standards, specifications and legislation. An associated procedure, Design for Reliability, provides a systematic means to achieve reliability for products.
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How do I influence and change requirements?
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Financial support depends on what you want to do, cost, timescales, priority, risk and maturity of your idea. We directly fund, contribute and simply sponsor depending on these considerations. We welcome opportunityled proposals particularly where these bring investment including grants as well as ideas. Funding sources include Innovate UK, Research Councils and Horizon Europe.
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We recognise that standards can constrain innovation so, in partnership with RIA, we run a process where you can submit a challenge and we review to ensure capabilities, performance, environment and safety aren’t compromised. Your idea may also fit with the ‘high street environment’ standard, which allows you to use less restrictive, construction industry good practice.
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We operate several routes to procure innovation that are pragmatic, flexible and share risk and reward. Once you have developed a solution most routes require you to compete to sell the solution. Some routes are operated with Innovate UK and Connected Places Catapult who advertise opportunities on the government innovation competitions website.
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We have innovated across the railway infrastructure bringing automation, digital transformation, off-site and pre-manufacture to get things done faster, more safely and more efficiently. We have achieved this in different ways reflecting the unique opportunity from each innovation journey. All achieved through collaboration with our industrial and academic supply chain.
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How do I find out the current requirements?