I recently travelled to England to attend the IMechE Railway Challenge, with the support of Austraffic and the ITE-ANZ through the Worldwide Learning Opportunity award.
The Railway Challenge in Stapleford, England attracted professionals and students representing universities, railway network operators and rollingstock manufacturers from across the UK and Europe. It was a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the train-side dimension of rail transport while meeting and learning from others as both passengers and professionals in their respective countries’ transport systems. Following the competition proper, I also had a chance to visit Parliament to see a debate on the Railways Bill and a committee hearing on the UK’s Better Connected strategy.
Some thoughts from throughout my trip include:
- Batteries are an increasingly viable energy source for railway vehicles, and can provide flexibility as temporary backup power when uninterrupted overhead electrification is difficult.
- Vehicle technology continues to progress, especially autonomous systems, and will require the infrastructure side to innovate and keep up. Human-controlled vehicles in the environment present uncertainty and risk so how do we reconfigure our network to optimise for autonomous vehicles? The cybersecurity implications of interconnected autonomous systems also need attention, with the failsafe nature of railways posing a unique challenge.
- Ensure that consistent and comprehensive data, especially live data, is available to third party applications to empower users – and make it easy for operators to submit data in natural formats.
- Can AI and digital models be applied in planning and timetabling complex networks? How about for real-time decisions with ripple effects, such as whether to hold a bus for a late train?
Throughout the Railway Challenge, the theme that arose repeatedly in experiences and perspectives across different countries was the challenge of incentives – how to induce the public and private organisations running our transport system to maintain infrastructure, operate reliable and accessible services, and expand coverage and frequency of the network, all for public benefit.
Many of these issues are inextricable from political questions such as privatisation or nationalisation, with the UK no exception amidst the ongoing consolidation of the train operating companies into the publicly owned Great British Railways. Consequently, it is vital that the transport profession, represented by its professional associations, engage closely with governments.
During the London leg of my trip, the proximity of the engineering institutions to the centres of political power and policymaking in Westminster stood out, with the Institutions of Civil and of Mechanical Engineers headquartered on the doorstep of Parliament.
The physical proximity, even in the modern digitalised world, continues to facilitate the visibility and influence that these institutions can exercise to direct political and policy discourse towards the profession’s priorities – for example, IMechE views were referenced in the Railways Bill debate advocating for accessible transport to increase participation in the economy. The British engineering institutions provide a template to cultivate policy influence through both the engagement and representation of professionals as well as relationships with politicians and governments.
Experiencing the UK through this trip, the numerous learnings and connections formed with some of the best up-and-coming rollingstock engineers in the world, was deeply rewarding for my professional development. I have come out of it with more knowledge, more skills, and many ideas that I am excited to explore and share. Thank you to Austraffic and the ITE-ANZ for supporting this opportunity.
