Deadline: 28-May-25
Submissions are now open for the FOAK Programme focused on the theme Platform Train Interface.
Innovate UK and the Department for Transport (DfT) are collaborating with the rail industry to accelerate and increase the adoption of innovation to improve UK railways. This is through the DfT’s First of a Kind (FOAK) Programme.
The FOAK Programme addresses industry challenges by running innovation competitions. The competitions focus on collaboration with industry and deliver high maturity demonstrations, enabling efficient integration into the railway system. This competition aims to support innovative suppliers for market readiness.
Specific Themes
- The competition theme focuses on the Platform Train Interface (PTI). They are seeking innovative solutions to enhance the PTI, making it more accessible, safer, and more efficient for all passengers.
- The transition from train station platforms to trains presents significant challenges in accessibility, safety, and efficiency. Existing technologies often fail to provide a seamless experience, particularly for passengers with reduced mobility.
- In 2023, there were over 1 million mobility related assists involving the transition from train station platforms to trains. Assistance requests have increased annually since 2021 and are expected to pose a greater challenge as resources become stretched. The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) reports that incidents at the Platform Train Interface (PTI) account for nearly half of all passenger fatality risks on the mainline railway.
- While the industry develops a long term strategy to mitigate the impacts of the PTI, there is still more that can be done in the meantime.
- They encourage applicants to focus on innovative solutions which:
- are low cost to install and cause minimal disruption
- integrate with existing train and platform infrastructure
- are inter-operable between different stations and trains
- can be easily operated by station staff, train staff or customers
- assist in notifying staff on platforms that a PTI incident has occurred
- maintain current dwell times
- improve the overall process and experience of accessible boarding
- can be trialled and evaluated in a live station environment to get feedback from staff and customers
- are at Rail Industry Readiness Level 5 or above and capable of delivering an immediate impact
- They discourage applicants from focusing on solutions which:
- are complex and difficult to operate
- require high capital expenditure
- require significant modifications or investments to signalling systems, platform nosings or train fleets
- duplicate existing technologies
Research Categories
- Prototype development and evaluation
- This can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. The primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set.
Funding Information
- A total of up to £4.7 million, inclusive of VAT, is allocated to this competition across all four themes.
- Contracts of up to £200,000, inclusive of VAT will be awarded to develop a prototype and undertake field testing between three to seven months and must be completed by 31 March 2026.
Ineligible Projects
- They will not fund projects that:
- are not original in scope and duplicates someone else’s work
- are not likely to be successfully exploited by the rail industry to deliver benefits to rail or light-rail organisations and their customers
- are not at Rail Industry Readiness Level (RIRL) 5 or above
- are unable to deliver a demonstration event and trial within a representative environment, offering potential customers a chance to use the innovation and give feedback
- do not include an evaluation and a plan to collect information to inform a cost or benefit analysis
- would directly duplicate other UK Government or EU funded initiatives you have already been funded to deliver
- are covered by existing commercial agreements to deliver the proposed solutions
Eligibility Criteria
- Your project
- Projects must:
- start by 1 September 2025
- end by 31 March 2026
- last between three to seven months
- have total costs of no more than £200,000, inclusive of VAT
- Projects must:
- Applicant
- To lead a project, you can:
- be an organisation of any size
- work alone or with the subcontracted skills and expertise of others from businesses, research organisations, research and technology organisations or the third sector (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups)
- Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. The majority of the project work and key deliverables including the project demonstration and trialling must be completed by the applicant and be carried out in the UK. Subcontractors can be used, but only for specialist skills.
- To lead a project, you can:
For more information, visit Gov.UK.