£6m Rail Competition Launched to Boost Customer Experience

The government sponsored innovation competition aims to encourage customer experience and innovation in the rail industry.

UK Rail Minister Claire Perry launched the new competition this month to meet the challenges of growing demand for rail travel and to drive up standards.

She said: "Innovation is vital to the rail industry as passenger numbers and customer expectations continue to rise. Harnessing the latest technology and being creative in customer service hold the key to staying competitive."

Funded with £6 million from the Department for Transport, the Train Operator Competition (TOC’15) is organised by FutureRailway, which is an expert body set up by the rail industry to accelerate research, development and innovation.

TOC’15 is now open for submissions and proposals are invited which train operators and their supply chains will fund, along with government financial support.

The proposals should be aimed at finding solutions that will address current and future challenges identified by the railway industry:

• Enhancing customer experience;
• Expanding capacity;
• Reducing costs; and
• Reducing carbon.

"We are providing £6 million this year to encourage train operators to collaborate with each other and their supply chains to come up with projects that will transform the industry and make it ready for future challenges," Rail Minister Claire Perry concluded.