From turbines to train delay prediction, tech start-ups showcase innovative solutions to the rail industry

Hosted by technology journalist and presenter, Lara Lewington, a packed audience of rail experts learnt about cutting-edge solutions developed by the start-ups through an intensive 12-week accelerator programme.

Selected from nearly 500 applicants, the nine finalists received unique industry insight from experts from the four publicly owned, DFTO (DfT Operator Limited) train companies, LNER, Southeastern, Northern and TransPennine Express. This mentorship enabled the start-ups to design, test and develop ideas based around key challenge areas of enhancing customer experience, improving performance and operational excellence and developing people and talent.

There was special recognition for two of the finalists at Future Labs EXPO.

PotentialU, which developed a digital solution designed to help frontline leaders understand the strengths and areas for improvement of their teams received a Collaboration Award and Treeva, which develops solutions to capture renewable energy from turbulent airflow won an audience vote to be named as ‘People’s Choice’.

Richard Harrison, chief financial officer of DFTO, said: "Future Labs is a great example of how operators are working together to drive forward innovation to improve performance and provide a better experience for customers.

"Our railways play a vital role in supporting the UK's economy. I'm delighted this programme has been able to support nine start-up firms and I've been inspired by the wide range of work delivered over the past 12 weeks."

Daniel Saunders, chief executive of L Marks, which facilitated the programme, said: “LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Southeastern worked closely together and with the start-ups and scale-ups enabling them to test the cutting-edge technologies that may develop their people, leverage renewable energy, enhance operations, and deliver better customer experiences.

"At L Marks, we’ve been proud to serve as the innovation partner for this transformative initiative.”

The nine finalists were:

Chata.ai’s solution enables organisations to harness their data through proactive self-service analytics, allowing users to access real-time insights by asking simple questions.

Cleancore Intelligence offers a solution for tracking cleaning compliance and footfall that removes manual record-keeping by highlighting where cleaning is needed.

1Huddle is a recruitment, engagement and development platform that uses games to train up, onboard, and attract talent. Games range from one to two minutes with high-impact games that can be played anytime, anywhere, on the go. Managers can build games quickly and staff can get rewarded.

iqast provides fully automatic forecasting solution with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning. It can be adapted to a company’s unique needs and can work independently, avoiding the need to integrate within the company’s infrastructure.

Cognition24 offers a mobile app designed for individuals with Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other hidden disabilities. The technology gives real-time travel information in an accessible format before leaving home, at the station, and onboard. It provides information such as finding the quietest coach and receiving announcement messages, even while wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

Zing Data has developed a platform offering Artificial Intelligence-powered, business intelligence and visual data analytics solutions. It offers natural language querying that can figure out complex calculations and relationships automatically.

Treeva offers a solution which captures renewable energy from the turbulent airflow of passing transport. The modular design is easy to install and maintain on the side of roads or railways and makes use of readily available land and could power infrastructure to support net-zero transport systems.

PotentialU offers a solution designed to help frontline leaders get an understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement of their teams. It provides insights and helps leaders engage more effectively with their teams.

Moonbility is a digital twin company, specialising in predicting and simulating asset failures in the transport sector, helping companies to plan and mitigate any possible impacts.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.