THOUGHTPIECES
The Rail Innovation Group advocates improvements to help diversify rail's supply chain
Recent reports, scroll down to read more
SMALL VOICES ASK FOR BIG CHANGES...
IMPROVING THE INNOVATION FUNDING ECOSYSTEM
PARCELS AS PASSENGERS...
AN EXPLORATION OF THE RAIL NETWORK'S ROLE IN THE SUSTAINABLE DELIVERY OF PARCELS
SMALL VOICES ASK FOR BIG CHANGES...
IMPROVING THE INNOVATION FUNDING ECOSYSTEM
Innovation is all about considering new ideas & ways of working, at the Rail Innovation Group we strive to make sure that our work streams reflect this. Our members are micro, start up & SME businesses, who enter the rail supply chain - or try to enter it - by bringing approaches & products to market through the support provided by various (mostly public) funding streams.
This snapshot report is the result of conversations we’ve had with our members, its purpose is to start a discussion between industry & government/funders.
The Rail Innovation Group set out to consider some of these issues, speaking to a cohort of our community to explore:
Why small businesses have not found the ‘funding ecosystem’ easy to navigate?
Why funding doesn’t necessarily result in new products & processes being brought into the market as expected?
PARCELS AS PASSENGERS
AN EXPLORATION OF THE RAIL NETWORK'S ROLE IN THE SUSTAINABLE DELIVERY OF PARCELS.
Ahead of COP 26, we've launched our exploration into the potential for expanding the use of the existing rail network to facilitate the faster & more sustainable delivery of smaller & medium sized parcels.
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Passenger trains must be part of the move to sustainable parcel delivery
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The move could support passenger train revenues
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Parcels arriving into stations close to where people live & work - meaning that cargo bikes can be used for the last mile
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We must all work better together to decarbonise
The Rail Innovation Group believes that there is the opportunity for rail to provide long distance routes, which are much faster than the road network, which could then be complimented with the use of e-cargo bikes at each end point for the last mile/ first mile delivery & pick up/ returns in towns & cities. This is already being done in some areas of the country, but there is potential to expand this approach across the wider rail sector.