Centres of Excellence
The technical success of the railway and our ability to make technologies deliver for our existing and future customers depends on how we work together: improving innovation pathways, ensuring decisions are data driven and developing a technically talented workforce.
The UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) brings together facilities and expertise, under four Centre of Excellence: in digital systems, rolling stock, infrastructure and testing.
These fill capability gaps in the UK, where investment in facilities and equipment has provided a step-change to enable innovation and accelerate new product development in the rail industry.
The University of Birmingham led a consortium of universities, partnered by leading supply chain collaborators and major UK rail industry clients including Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, Transport for London, to develop a £90 million proposal to create and operate the UKRRIN centres of excellence.
This included £28 million of capital grant funding from central government which provided the facilities and equipment, now available for founding partners and new collaborators to use.
We now have a powerful network of academic capabilities and facilities for collaborators to work at the cutting-edge of technology. Explore academic capabilities and facilities to find out where you can collaborate and benefit from new technologies. Explore SPARK – the rail knowledge hub to find out about the latest academic research
Explore Our Centres of Excellence
Find out more about our centres
“Existing technology is insufficient; we are moving into a technology-led decade of change and innovation. That means both faster implementation of existing technology, and a relentless drive to spur greater innovation and new technologies.”
Rail Supply Group: Fast Track for Growth (Jan 2015)