27 March 2015
RSSB and EPSRC to jointly fund £2m into research on the reduction of
railway asset costs
RSSB and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are set to jointly fund
three academic research projects on new materials which aim to reduce the whole-life costs of
railway assets.
In October 2014 a £2million joint call for research was launched, supported by the Department
for Transport, seeking cutting edge research on the topic. A high number of good quality
proposals were received from a number of universities across the UK.
The final funding decision was made by a panel of key industry and academic experts, which
included representatives from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), Railway
Industry Association (RIA) and RSSB, as well as a number of academic experts.
The three projects set to receive funding include:

Whole-life cost Assessment of Novel materials Railway Drainage Systems, University
of Nottingham:
This project will look at the use and whole-life cost of new lightweight and string
materials within rail-track drainage systems. ‘New materials’ includes those recently
developed and materials that can be newly applied within drainage systems. The
potential advantages of lightweight materials for drainage systems relate to the ease of
transport, handling and installation, as well as whole-life costs.

Rail-energy knowledge exchanges on emerging materials (ALCHEMy), University of
Sheffield:
This project aims to enable a step change in the life of high-value track components,
initially to include switchblades, crossing noses, and insulated block joints. This will be
achieved by developing techniques needed to understand, optimise and design
functionally graded materials through a large-scale additive manufacturing process
(laser cladding) for application on these components.

Designing steel composition and microstructure to better resist degradation during
wheel rail contact, Consortia involving University of Huddersfield, Cranfield University,
University of Cambridge and University of Leeds:
This project aims to provide a better understanding of the response of various
microstructural constituents of steels to the loads imposed on them during wheel-rail
contact, identify the characteristics of the steel which are important to resist the key
degradation mechanisms and develop a methodology for optimising steel grade choices
at a granular level based on cost-benefit analysis.
Further information on the initiative and the projects funded are available via SPARK.
-EndsT: +44 (0)20 3142 5300
F: +44 (0)20 3142 5663
Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited
Block 2, Angel Square, 1 Torrens Street
Registered office:
Block 2, Angel Square, 1 Torrens Street
www.rssb.co.uk
London EC1V 1NY
London EC1V 1NY
Reg No. 04655675
For further information in general, please contact RSSB’s press office on 020 3142 5331/2 or
email pressoffice@rssb.co.uk or visit the website at www.rssb.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
About RSSB
The railway is a complex system with multiple interfaces delivered by many different
organisations. At RSSB, we bring these different organisations together to make collective
decisions.
Through research, the understanding of risk, and analysis, we help the rail industry in the areas
of safety, standards, knowledge and innovation. We support the railway too across a wide range
of cross-industry topics requiring our knowledge and independence. And we provide a constant
point of reference in a changing environment.
Our work involves close collaboration, but as technical experts, we’re also able to step back and
provide an informed view. And because we can see both the big picture and the detail, we’re
able to furnish the industry with the information and tools it needs to continuously improve.
We’re an expert body with a wide compass of knowledge, skills and experience. We’re owned
by the industry but are non-profit-making and independent of any commercial interests. We
span the whole system, including in our membership infrastructure companies, train and freight
operators, rolling stock owners and suppliers to the industry.
Our activities involve:
• Understanding risk – Using safety intelligence from across the rail industry and elsewhere
with the latest risk modelling to inform members and support safe decision making.
• Guiding standards – Creating, reviewing and simplifying GB standards to align with
European requirements; managing the Rule Book and making it easier for the railway to
deliver efficiently and safely.
• Managing research, development and innovation – Undertaking, commissioning and
managing research and innovation programmes to address current needs, provide
knowledge for decision making now and for the future, and promoting step changes to
deliver the Rail Technical Strategy – including the Future Railway Programme.
• Collaborating to improve – As an independent cross-industry body with a critical mass of
technical expertise, supporting activities which require collaboration. These range from
supplier assurance schemes (RISQS, RISAS) to confidential reporting (CIRAS), from health
and wellbeing strategies to sustainability principles.
We are run by the industry, for the industry, with member companies from across the mainline
system. The demand for our services comes from the industry itself, and from the involvement
of cross-industry groups. Website: www.rssb.co.uk Twitter: @RSSB_rail
T: +44 (0)20 3142 5300
F: +44 (0)20 3142 5663
Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited
Block 2, Angel Square, 1 Torrens Street
Registered office:
Block 2, Angel Square, 1 Torrens Street
www.rssb.co.uk
London EC1V 1NY
London EC1V 1NY
Reg No. 04655675
About Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK’s main agency for
funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800 million a
year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of
technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural
engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future
economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone’s health, lifestyle and culture.
EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research.
The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK.
www.epsrc.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)20 3142 5300
F: +44 (0)20 3142 5663
Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited
Block 2, Angel Square, 1 Torrens Street
Registered office:
Block 2, Angel Square, 1 Torrens Street
www.rssb.co.uk
London EC1V 1NY
London EC1V 1NY
Reg No. 04655675