Rail Operator
Challenge Competition
Rail Operator Challenge Competition (ROCC)
A competition for innovation co-funding
Summary
FutureRailway intends to invest up to £3.5m in collaborative R&D to help passenger
and freight train operators address their business challenges through innovation with
their partners and suppliers.
This initiative has the support of the cross-industry Technical Strategy Leadership
Group (TSLG) and the Department for Transport.
The aim of this competition is to identify specific business issues that are affecting the
rail operating community and their customers and use them as a focus for developing
innovative solutions and services. We are seeking proposals that apply novel
technologies and/or processes to these business issues working closely with the rail
operating community (train operating companies and freight operating companies).
We will help applicants to engage with the rail operating community and to identify
relevant challenges.
Proposals must be collaborative and include business(es) with innovative capabilities
and a passenger or freight rail operator(s) licensed as a railway undertaking to operate
on the GB network. In particular consortia that are looking to apply technologies,
processes and approaches from other industry sectors in collaboration with rail
operators and other rail sector expertise are welcome.
We expect to fund innovations that are between Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3
– 7 these are likely to be classified as either industrial research or experimental
development projects. These will attract different percentages of public funding,
usually between 25-60% for project costs dependent on appropriate factors. We
expect the total cost of projects to range from £250k to £1.5m, although we may
consider projects outside this range. This is a two-stage competition that opens for
applicants on 31 March 2014. The deadline for expressions of interest is noon on 13
June 2014.
Following the launch on 31 March 2014, a further briefing, networking and consortia
building event for potential applicants will be held in late April 2014.
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Rail Operator
Challenge Competition
Background
Over the next 30 years the rail industry has a number of key challenges to face.
These have been broadly summarised as the 4Cs:

Capacity – increasing demand for both passengers and freight

Customer experience – increases customer satisfaction and improve customer
experience

Cost – reduce the costs of running the railway

Carbon – further reduce the carbon footprint of the industry
In order to address these issues the rail industry is currently transforming the way that
it manages innovation and introduces new technologies, and a rail innovation fund,
managed by FutureRailway, has been established to stimulate the demonstration and
deployment of step-change technologies in the sector and develop and promote a
more innovative culture within the rail industry. TSLG published the Rail Technical
Strategy (RTS) in December 2012 that provides a 30-year vision of the technology
requirements of the industry.
A key challenge is enabling the rail operating community to engage with the
innovation process, given their operating environment and commercial arrangements.
This competition is aimed at helping rail operators become more familiar with
innovation processes and, more importantly, demonstrating that investment in
innovation can make a positive difference to their businesses.
The overall aims of this competition are to:

Encourage innovative collaborations between the supply chain and the rail
operating companies

Identify and address key business challenges for the rail operators through the
use of innovative solutions

Demonstrate that investment in innovation can provide positive benefits for the
rail operating community
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Rail Operator
Challenge Competition
Scope
We invite collaborative applications from the supply chain and rail operator
communities for collaborative R&D projects that apply innovative solutions to specific
rail operator challenges. Proposals must:



Address one or more specific challenges faced by rail operating companies
o Challenges which address any, or all, of people, process or technology
innovation
o Challenges which address any, or all, of operations, engineering or
retail
Combine a range of capabilities to develop a solution that could yield significant
business benefits for the rail operating community
Where appropriate include consideration of human behaviours in the potential
solution, to ensure that it will be acceptable by rail industry employees or
passengers
The focus of proposals should be on showing how their approach can help meet the
specific, high level objectives of the rail operating companies, which include:

Increasing revenues and identifying new revenue opportunities
o Increasing the patronage of the railway

Improving the customer experience

Improving the level and consistency of train operations performance

Enhancing the efficient delivery of services
o reducing energy use and carbon emissions
o reducing the cost of train operations
Applicants should clearly identify the challenge, or challenges, that will form the
focus of their projects.
Proposals must be led or supported by a passenger or freight rail operator licensed as
a railway undertaking to operate on the GB network. We therefore encourage
suppliers, from the rail or other sectors, to consider working in consortia/partnership
with operators. In particular we envisage existing and potential rail suppliers and
perhaps research organisations with relevant expertise being involved in this
competition.
This support may take the form of a formal collaboration or letters of
endorsement/support from operators. The ‘level’ of support from the operator
community will be used in the competition evaluation.
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Rail Operator
Challenge Competition
Out of scope

Full implementation: it is assumed that the project will be a demonstrator or
pilot to inform the business case for a potential implementation if successful
 Proposals addressed by other active FutureRailway initiatives: see
http://www.rssb.co.uk/future-railway-programme/funding-opportunities
Funding allocation and project details
We have allocated up to £3.5m to co-fund innovation projects that meet the criteria
outlined in the scope.
Projects should last less than two years. We expect the total cost of projects, i.e. the
combined contribution from FutureRailway and industry, to range from £250k to
£1.5m. We may consider larger projects, but potential applicants should discuss this
with us before making their application.
The funding is subject to state aid rules. Successful applicants can attract funding
towards their eligible project costs. The percentage of costs that we fund varies,
depending on the type of project being carried out and the type of organisation
involved. We expect to fund innovations that are between TRL 3 – 7 these are likely to
be classified as either industrial research or experimental development projects.
Further details on state aid rules are provided in the Guidance for Applicants.
Application process and key dates
This is a two stage competition that opens for applications on 31 March 2014.
Stage 1 – applicants submit an expression of interest which is assessed
Stage 2 – we invite selected applicants to submit a full application
All potential applicants must first register their interest with us by emailing
Innovation@rssb.co.uk. Following registration you will be provided access to all the
supporting information you need to read before you apply, including the Guidance for
Applicants and the application form.
All applicants must register by noon on 6 June 2014. The deadline for the submission
of expressions of interest is noon 13 June 2014.
The second stage deadline, for invited applicants, is noon on 22 August 2014.
Second stage applicants may be invited to present their proposals to a panel of
judges.
Applications are assessed on individual merit by an independent panel of experts. We
may, subject to applications meeting the required quality thresholds, apply a portfolio
approach across the competition to ensure that we meet a range of challenges within
the sector.
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Rail Operator
Challenge Competition
Key Dates:
Competition opens
31 March
Consortia Building Event
Late April
Registration Deadline
6 June 2014 noon
Expression of Interest (EOI) deadline
13 June 2014 noon
Stage 2 opens (for involved applicants)
Deadline for invited applications
14 July 2014
22 August 2014
Publicity
As part of the application process all applicants are asked to submit a public
description of the project. This should adequately describe the project but not
disclose: any information that impacts on intellectual property; is confidential; or
commercially sensitive. The titles of successful projects, names of organisations,
amounts awarded and the public description may be published once the award is
confirmed as final. This will be at the discretion of FutureRailway. Information about
unsuccessful project applications will remain confidential and will not be made public.
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Rail Operator
Challenge Competition
About FutureRailway
The FutureRailway team has been set up by the rail industry to accelerate research,
development and innovation to help ensure we can deliver the Rail Technical Strategy
(RTS).
FutureRailway is a collaboration between Network Rail and RSSB working with
industry and the supply chain to deliver the RTS. We manage a cross industry
research, development and innovation programme and incorporate the former
Enabling Innovation Team.
FutureRailway helps innovators navigate the complex rail industry landscape and
identify the most appropriate route to market. FutureRailway supports the rail industry
and its supply chain developing long term technical strategies and delivering the
research, development and innovation needed to deliver these strategies.
The focus is on de-risking business solutions and technologies by helping move them
from research through prototype to demonstration and eventual implementation.
FutureRailway’s work is about:

Supporting the rail industry’s ownership and application of the Rail Technical
Strategy and the vision for the future railway through TSLG

Understanding the challenges industry faces

Supporting the development of the UK rail supply chain

Addressing industry challenges by seeking out innovative ideas and proposals

De-risking the adoption of innovative ideas and proposals through providing
support for research and demonstrator projects

Providing advice and guidance to innovators

Supporting the industry in developing capabilities to innovate effectively

Overseeing a range of funding options and competitions for industry and
innovators to access

Collaborating with other innovation funding bodies to make the case for the rail
industry.
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