Eight innovators selected for Bristol Temple Meads testbed

20.11.24 BRISTOL, Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s Innovation Accelerator for cities, transport and place leadership has today announced the latest organisations to join the Station Innovation Zone programme. Eight organisations with concepts aimed at enhancing accessibility, sustainability, personal safety, and overall passenger experience have been selected to develop proposals to trial their innovations at Bristol Temple Meads.

In the coming months, Connected Places Catapult will support the selected organisations as they progress through the Station Innovation Zone —a multi-million-pound programme hosted at Bristol Temple Meads in partnership with Network Rail. Early next year, three will be selected to move forward to live trials with their ideas being tested at the station.

This initiative breaks down barriers to innovation, creating a platform where rail technology innovators, buyers, and investors can collaborate to shape the stations of tomorrow. The programme has already supported 20 innovators with 6 conducting trials over the past two years.

The latest organisations welcomed onto the Station Innovation Zone programme and their innovations are:

WeWALK – Supporting visually impaired passengers to travel independently with WeASSIST, a real-time navigation tool within the WeWALK app. Co-designed with RNIB (Royal National Institute for Blind People), trained agents will guide users through key station tasks, offering a scalable accessibility tool for all rail networks.

Therapy Box Ltd – Developing an intuitive, location-aware communication aid to help passengers with communication needs to navigate their rail journey confidently. This web-based AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) tool gives users access to helpful vocabulary for each station area.

Journey Alerts– Offering a friendly ‘virtual companion’ to guide anxious passengers with real-time, step-by-step instructions from start to destination. This tool eases the most anxiety-inducing aspects of rail travel for a smoother journey.

Ampetronic Limited – Ampetronic’s AURI system is designed to make audio accessible for everyone. It streams high-quality sound straight to hearing aids, cochlear implants, smartphones and any Auracast-enabled devices (e.g. earbuds), so users won’t miss the last call for their train again!

Transport Direction – Pioneering a targeted lighting and sound system to help passengers move around the station with ease. Using projectors and a focused speaker system, it will display key information and guide passengers to platforms, facilities, and help points.

Binit Group Ltd – Turning stations into cleaner, more sustainable spaces for passengers and the environment. Using data, analytics, and new, patent-pending hardware to track and manage waste more effectively.

Dewhurst Ltd – Creating a lift emergency communication system to make stations safer and more accessible for passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing and non-verbal. With a text screen, audio phone, and camera, passengers can be confident that help will be there when they need it most.

VM Systems Ltd – Bringing the outside in, this living wall will boost biodiversity, help with temperature control, attract more insects, and create a greener, more inviting space for passengers. It’s an eco-friendly step towards transforming stations into vibrant hubs for all living creatures.­­

The companies in this cohort are participating in the third year of the Station Innovation Zone, building on previous testbed and trial activity achieved since 2022.

"I’d like to congratulate this latest group of businesses selected to join the Station Innovation Zone programme at Bristol Temple Meads. By embarking on this journey of innovation, these innovators are not just trialling new solutions but helping shape the future of stations and the wider rail experience"

Dr Alan Peters, Ecosystem Director – Rail and Stations at Connected Places Catapult

“We are really excited with our recently selected SME cohort on the third year of our Station Innovation Zone in partnership with Connected Places Catapult. Along with GWR and the wider industry, we will be supporting them to develop their ideas into trial proposals that could be selected to enter live testing later in the year. This year's selected cohort offer exciting innovations that have the potential to provide passengers with a more accessible, inclusive and sustainable environment and enhance the station experience for all customers at Temple Meads.”

Brian Wortman, Programme Sponsor at Network Rail

Find out more about the Station Innovation Zone programme here.

The Station Innovation Zone programme is being delivered by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Network Rail and is supported by Innovate UK.