This free one day event will be a day of learning and networking. It will be a great opportunity for researchers to showcase their research to the people in industry who could put it to use and help fund its development. The conference provides an invaluable opportunity to initiate collaborations that could be of benefit both to industry and academia. The day will be structured around presentations by industry and researchers, followed by an evening reception.

This call for abstracts is open to researchers from industry and academia as well as other institutions that undertake research relevant to railways.

Abstracts are welcome from established and early career researchers. These will be peer reviewed and some selected papers from the conference will be recommended for a special edition of the IMechE’s Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit.

Who should attend?
The conference is targeted at anyone who has an interest in rail research and innovation and how research might contribute to development of solutions for the rail industry. To read the full call document click here.

Your experience of research
We will be selecting speakers from industry to talk about how research has made an impact to their business. If you could share your experience of the impact of research on your business or if you have done research which industry has taken forward; please contact us at secretariat@rruka.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Deadline for submissions of abstracts: 22 June 2012
Deadline for submission of papers: 7 October 2012
Deadline for applications to attend: 30 October 2012

This workshop will try to unpick the myriad of factors that currently do or perhaps should influence train design – from procurement practice, regulatory requirements, European directives, railway structure and train weight, to passenger expectations, obsolescence, introducing innovation and whole life costs. The objective is to identify and characterise these multiple design factors and the interdependencies between them and determine the potential for a commercially-led approach to design and development, to ultimately deliver a 50% reduction in whole life rolling stock system cost.

RRUK-A and ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) welcome applications from a cross-section of participants to contribute to this system-thinking workshop including: economists, policy and procurement experts, railway system engineers, train designers; and those who could apply their experience of the design and procurement process in other industries to the rail industry.

£100k funding for a limited number of feasibility studies will be available, on a competitive basis, exclusively for academic-led consortia formed by workshop participants. All university-based applicants must already be members of / join RRUK-A in order to be eligible for consideration.

Further information and details on how to apply can be found in the call document and expression of interest form below:
Half Cost Train Workshop – Call Document
Half Cost Train Workshop – Expression of Interest Form

The deadline for expression of interest is 14th May 2012.

If you have any queries please contact the RRUK-A Secretariat.

The catapult will bring business and research together to accelerate innovation in order to develop integrated, efficient, and sustainable national transport systems. TSB will be working with UK business and other stakeholders to establish the catapult, with the expectation that it will be fully operational in 2013.

The press release can be found below, for more information please also see the TSB website.

Future Cities & Transport Systems Catapults – Press Release

The university are looking for qualified individuals who specialise in a broad range of aspects of rail engineering and transport, and hope to attract high-quality, rail-focused applicants. The specific areas of desired expertise include: infrastructure and network systems for applications such as efficient and reliable freight and passenger rail transportation. UIUC believe that the success of their rail research and education programs coupled with the recent establishment of the US DOT National University Rail (NURail) Center, (led by UIUC), makes this an attractive academic environment for faculty members interested in rail.

If you are interested in applying, please see the following:
Job Advert: University of Illinois Rail Faculty
Application Instructions

The deadline for submission of applications is 31st March 2012.

The Transport KTN have now launched a competition for 10 free places which will include meals, a networking dinner, and overnight accommodation. If you haven’t had a chance to apply for a place, and would like to find out more about this great opportunity, please find the competition details on the Transport KTN site here.

Andy Doherty led a team of Network Rail experts in giving their experience on the obstacles to achieving the 24/7 railway and their vision for what could be achieved. They stressed to the participants how they were open to innovative solutions and enthusiastically participated in proposal brainstorming in breakout sessions with the researchers. All participants commented how useful it was to hear these issues first hand and have the opportunity to discuss them with the industry.

Those individuals with and without rail experience said that they found the day extremely useful, and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to network – so we were pleased to see lots of consortia forming by the end of the day.

We’d like to thank everyone who attended and are looking forward to reading the proposals for feasibility studies.

We are beginning to plan a programme of events for 2012 – watch this space and join RRUK-A as an individual researcher to be sure you are contacted with all the information.

We are now planning our next events and would encourage you to register with us (see ‘How to Join’), to keep up to date with future events.

Presentations can be obtained from our “Document Downloads” page.

All university-based applicants must be members of RRUK-A or must join RRUK-A in order to be eligible for consideration.

The event will be held on 13th December 2011 at the University of Nottingham, but the deadline for applications is Tuesday 1 November.

For more information and to apply, please download the Call Document and the Workshop Application Form