Adopting new technology

2025-26 Commitments

Tech-powered: Innovating rail's future

To accelerate technology adoption, we'll enhance tools like PRIMA, develop AI/robotics frameworks, standardise data, support research adoption, and deliver health/wellbeing and sustainability platforms. We'll also provide tools for low-carbon infrastructure design. View the roadmap and scroll down to see our technology-driven plan.

The problem and our approach

New technologies including AI are developing all the time. Technology is a gateway to unlock efficiencies and benefits for rail. But it can be difficult to know which to choose or how best to use them.

We are already leading industry in finding and using cutting-edge technological solutions, such as AI and robotics. Through the expertise of our in-house digital team, we will continue to provide innovative solutions to help tackle complex challenges.

2025-26 Commitments

We will:

enable a high-performing railway through a more scientific approach to optimising the balance of immediate and secondary risk. We will support safe and effective speed restrictions by enhancing the PRIMA tool for industry by adding extreme wind to it.
deliver a faster adoption of AI and robotics while still ensuring that risks are understood and managed. We will develop frameworks, guidance, and tools. Our help will give decision support, safety-related advice, predictive maintenance, and disruption management.
facilitate data standardisation and collaboration. This includes exploring the development of standards focused on identifying unique train services and interfaces between traffic management, and crew and stock systems. We will re-establish and support the Systems Code Industry Review Group to help the industry use and manage shared systems.
drive improvements in safety, reliability, and efficiency by supporting early adopters of our research findings. Our support will include working with industry to introduce portable dispatch technology, and helping industry to adopt differential speed limits, to minimise journey times without capital investment.
deliver evidence-based health and wellbeing interventions to reduce sickness absence across the industry. This is projected to save over £65m within five years. We will develop a health and wellbeing insights platform, standardising data collection and enabling benchmarking across the industry.
direct the industry towards an even more sustainable railway. We will deliver Sustainable Insights, enabling reporting and monitoring of progress against the Sustainable Rail Blueprint. This platform will provide insights and benchmarking to support industry decision-making and action, using data collected through the newly-launched Reporting Tool. A visual dashboard will allow users to track industry performance.
reduce the whole life carbon of rail infrastructure, by supporting the industry to make design decisions that reduce these emissions. Emissions associated with rail infrastructure contribute to around half of the industry’s carbon footprint. We will deliver the Rail Carbon Tool to help rail organisations with these design decisions.