University of Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE)

Ready? *Restoration work starts on £1 train once ridden by royalty* Over a decade ago, Stuart Hillmansen and his team collaborated with Tom Camps on a project to enhance the MerseyRail network’s efficiency. Since then, the reliable 507 and 508 fleets have been replaced with modern battery electric units. Stuart and his team contributed to the CONCEPT design of these NEW trains, advising on battery technology's potential. With 507001 now preserved, BCRRE's team will use it in future projects, including developing a traction battery module and using it as a 'living lab' to bring UG and PG Railway Education to life. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ex9Ja7RP

This is what happens when we keep in touch with #apprentice graduates - they continue their amazing careers and allow us to being current students and apprentices for a site visit! Many thanks to Aidan Morland for arranging with Zena Green and Bruce Elliott for today's rewarding visit.

We've just enjoyed another of our favourite kind of days: welcoming people from the #railway #industry. Today was the turn of the latest #ConnectedLeaders cohort brought here by Sarah Law - 25+ senior leaders from across the industry, sharing thoughts on all-things #innovation. Many thanks to today's team Jenny Illingsworth Marcelo Blumenfeld John Easton Joe Preece Holly Foss Lei Chen Xinnan Lyu David Kirkwood Rachel Fisher Sarah Greenham and student helpers, all of us supported by Katherine Roberts. Looking forward to following up conversations and #opportunities

Today we're welcoming Rail Freight Group headed up by Maggie Simpson OBE for a day all about transporting #Hydrogen by Rail. Starting off with our own Stuart Hillmansen introducing us and his work on #LowCarbonTraction. Great to see so many friendly faces and looking forward to having a chat with many!

Our MSc and Level 7 Degree Apprenticeship programmes have completed their Systems Engineering and Ergonomics module with two days of labs where they were designing station improvements for adults with small children. Some amazing ideas were shared, together with full-scale mock-ups in some cases. Check out this family "air lock" where adults and small children enter, the gate closes one side and, upon confirmation of the ticket, opens again on the other side. No more worrying about getting the whole family through that fast-closing barrier again! Here is our own Chris Phillimore and the students demonstrating the concept. Find out more about our Level 7 rail & rail systems engineer degree apprenticeship here https://lnkd.in/eaqcUesK and postgraduate programmes here https://lnkd.in/eSCUst5F #ergonomics #design #inclusivity

Join the next ERCI European Railway Clusters Initiative ASBL webinar on "AI - A Game Changer for Railway Operations and Maintenance" on March 12! Don't miss this insightful session on how AI is transforming the railway industry.

*Opportunity Alert* Join us at our International Conference on Innovative Power Systems for Railways (IPSR) from the 10 - 11 March 2025. This is a fantastic opportunity for 10 individuals from India to join the conference, *funded*. Organised by University of Birmingham, (UK) and the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Bennett University located in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The conference will cover: * Railway Systems and Infrastructure * Rolling Stock and Automation * Light weighting of railways using composites * Power Systems and Electrification * Energy Efficiency and Sustainability * Digital Transformation and Smart Technologies * Power Generation and Renewable Energy * Energy Storage and Battery Technologies * Hydrogen and Alternative Fuels * Transportation Electrification and Mobility * Future trends in railway, power, and energy sectors * International collaborations for sustainable rail and power systems The event is co-funded by the Royal Society through the Silicon Carbide-Based Power Electronic Traction Transformers for High-Speed Trains project. Complete the form below to express your interest: https://lnkd.in/eVfbP_Af

Today's the day of our first BCRRE PGRNet(work) research seminar ably organised and led by Chimeta Mulambia, Aliya Kassen, Liu YANG and Chris Davis. What a terrific opportunity to get together, share research and projects, and learn from each other - fostering #collaborative #research #community

High-speed rail is coming to the UAE – Are you ready to lead the future of rail innovation? With the recently announced high-speed railway project connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Blue Metro Line being under construction, the demand for skilled railway engineers has never been greater. Join us for an exclusive webinar on 25 February from 6pm to 7pm Dubai time (2-3pm UK time), delivered by our Programme Director, Dr Melody Sameni, to explore how the MSc Railway Systems Engineering and Integration programme at the University of Birmingham Dubai equips you with the expertise to drive innovation in modern railway systems. Special Guest Speaker: Ms. Amal Abdullatif Omar, Chief People Officer, Keolis MHI (Official Operator of Dubai Metro), will share insights into the future career opportunities and workforce development set to boom in the rail industry. More details and booking are at https://lnkd.in/eTwcgnU8

We are so super-proud of Kimberley Harding who doesn't ever seem to stop having brilliant ideas and #initiatives! Now Chair of Human Factors in Rail with Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors where she will be holding meetings and workshops looking at shaping the future of rail safety and efficiency from a Human Factors perspective. If you are interested, please join the meeting - details in Kimberley's post, below.