Sector

Rail & Stations

Railways connect society together and enable economic growth in the regions they serve. Connected Places Catapult is working to accelerate innovation in the UK rail ecosystem - addressing technology and market barriers – bringing supply chain and challenge owners closer together

Our achievements
30+
rail ecosystem projects
delivered to date
40
SME partnerships
to accelerate activities
2-3
Technical Readiness Levels
increased per project

Projects, Opportunities & Case Studies

Opportunity
HS2 Accelerator
Connected Places Catapult, in partnership with HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport, has launched its search for six small businesses to develop new technology ideas for the rail scheme; to be selected for trial and funded by HS2 and its main contractors.
Opportunity
Transport Research and Innovation Grants 2023
Applications now closed - Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) provide early-stage funding for innovations in science, engineering, or technology delivered by The Department for Transport's (DfT) project delivery partner, Connected Places Catapult.
Case Study
Geofencing: innovative technology to improve trackside worker safety
Network Rail and Connected Places Catapult won the Safety Award at the Railway Industry Association’s Railway Industry Supplier Excellence awards on 29 June for their work to take forward a new piece of technology known as ‘geofencing’.
Programme
Freight Innovation Fund
The Freight Innovation Fund is a multi-faceted programme funded by the Department for Transport, focussed on accelerating the adoption of commercially ready solutions to address challenges in the UK’s freight sector.
Project
Station Innovation Zone
Bristol Temple Meads has been established as UK’s first ‘Station Innovation Zone’, trialling new technologies designed to upgrade passengers’ experience.
Project
Decarbonising the Rail Freight Estate
Connected Places Catapult, in collaboration with Department for Transport (DfT) are publishing this notice to explore the state of the market in relation to the business challenge described below.
Case Study
Innovation on the Eurotunnel
Even large and iconic rail companies can sometimes use a hand when it comes to navigate an innovation market. We were asked by Eurotunnel to help them tap into the UK ecosystem.
Case Study
Using data to manage rail capacity
UK train passengers are very familiar with the difficulty of finding seats on crowded trains – whether it’s rush hour congestion, delays and cancellations, or a major event and surges in passenger numbers.