Station Innovation Zone 2023 Cohort 1 Guide
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Three innovators selected for Bristol Temple Meads trials
Passengers passing through one of the South West’s busiest rail stations are set to experience new ideas and technology at the station this spring.
Three technology companies with clever ideas to make railway stations safer, easier to navigate and more social for passengers have been selected by Network Rail and Connected Places Catapult to trial their systems this spring at Bristol Temple Meads.
The trio of firms – Createc, Jnction and WorkfromHub – have been chosen as part of the Station Innovation Zone programme that aims to test new ways of improving the rail passenger experience.
Createc offers a LIDAR based crowd monitoring system called Situate which uses artificial intelligence to alert operators to incidents in real time and warn of concerning activity. A single sensor can cover large distances and be alert to people running or standing too close to the platform edge.
Jnction has developed a passenger assistance app known as Aubin designed to help neurodiverse passengers and others who may find travel difficult. It provides journey information, accessible station detail and direct communication with carers and customer experience staff.
WorkfromHub looks to install a remote workspace pod at the station which is bookable via a dedicated app. The remote workspace offers a quiet and private space to enable people to join a virtual meeting or get some deep work done during their time at the Station.
I am pleased to welcome Createc, Jnction and WorkFromHub to the next stage of the Station Innovation Zone programme, where they will trial their technologies at Bristol Temple Meads.
“We look forward to working with each company during the installation of their systems, and to monitor feedback from members of the public and the station team. This next stage is when their technologies will really come to life.Alan Peters, Ecosystem Director – Rail and Stations at Connected Places Catapult
Installation of each new technology or system is set to take place by the end of next month and be trialled by the public until July. Later in the summer the impact of each intervention will be assessed. The Station Innovation Zone programme is delivered by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Network Rail and is supported by Innovate UK.
The programme chose its first cohort of nine technology firms in January to begin discussions around their ideas. The group met twice at industry showcase events in Bristol earlier this year, before judges whittled the nine companies down to three for the forthcoming trials. To find out more about the nine companies in the first cohort, download our Station Innovation Zone 2023 Cohort 1 Guide.
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