Government-funded competition drives innovation in UK railways

A railways tech innovation competition has opened to help boost the safety and dependability of the UK’s rail network.

The First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) competition, funded by the Department of Transport and delivered by Innovate UK, will offer £4.8 million in grants to the candidates who put forward the best ideas to deliver major projects on schedule and in budget, improve service standards for passengers, and reduce the industry’s impact on the environment.

Lord Peter Hendy, the Rail Minister, said that this kind of innovation was “central to bringing Britain’s railway into the 21st century”.

He said: “Supporting new ideas is all part of our plan to modernise track and train under Great British Railways, designing and adopting world-leading technology that improves passenger experience while supporting jobs, growth and homes.”

The FOAK competition has been running since 2017 and is now in its ninth round. It seeks to find technological solutions to address persistent challenges, such as safety issues, inconsistency of services, or anti-social behaviour.

Among last year’s winners were the British Transport Police, who developed ‘Falcon Outpost’, a rapidly deployable drone-in-a-box intended to maintain public safety, and Transmission Dynamics Ltd, who developed AI warning systems to prevent avoidable disruption when large good trains collide with low clearance bridges.

Transmission Dynamics Ltd’s technology is now being trialled, including in Northumberland, where it helped Network Rail workers enact a rapid response after a bridge strike.

Other winners included Juice Immersive Ltd, which developed immersive VR training to address violence against women and girls within the rail network, and Rinicom Limited, who developed Yellowline AI - a platform video feed intended to nudge certain behaviors.

Claire Spooner, Director of the Innovation Service at Innovate UK, said that this year’s competition would represent a shift.

She said: “FOAK26 marks the next step, introducing more focused, industry-led challenges aligned to DfT priorities and supported by strong sponsorship across the sector.”

The Department for Transport hopes that the winning projects will contribute to improving the rail service for passengers as the nationalisation of the railway continues as part of the ‘Great British Railways’ project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2027.

Applications are open until 24 June 2026, and the projects which are successful begin on 1 September 2026.