Centre for Innovation in Rail wins first contract for HS2 project
Fri, 17 Oct 2014 11:40:00 BST
Huddersfield researchers will provide the HS2 team with vital information on vehicle and track performance and design
The University of Huddersfield’s new Centre for Innovation in Rail (CIR) 1, which forms part of the Institute of Railway Research (IRR), has won its first contract under the UK government’s HS2 high speed rail project 2.
The CIR’s research and enterprise team, led by Dr Paul Allen and Dr Adam Bevan, will embark on an exciting project to model the vehicle-track interaction of a number of high-speed vehicle concepts, which will run at speeds of up to 360km/h.
“The study will require detailed mathematical modelling and dynamic simulation of the vehicle and track system,” explains Dr Bevan (pictured right), the IRR’s Head of Enterprise. “This will provide the HS2 team with vital information on system performance and help guide the ongoing design and procurement process for both the vehicle and track.”
The simulation work will investigate aspects of the system performance, such as ride quality, the forces generated between the vehicle and the track and the likely wheel-rail deterioration mechanisms and rates which might be expected during operation on the new high speed network.
Dr Allen (pictured left), IRR Assistant Director, will lead the project and emphasises the importance of such projects to the research group: “We are looking forward to working with the HS2 team, providing input to the vehicle and track design process and helping HS2 to deliver a world-class passenger experience on both the HS2 line and the existing West Coast Mainline sections of the route.”
The work provides the newly-formed CIR and the University of Huddersfield with an opportunity to showcase its railway research expertise and support an important project in the development of a new era of high speed rail travel in the UK.
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1 The Centre for Innovation in Rail is supported by a Government Regional Growth Fund in collaboration with University of Huddersfield, Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), Unipart Rail, Omnicom Engineering and the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE).
2 The HS2 rail project is Europe’s largest infrastructure project providing high speed rail travel between London and Birmingham (Phase 1) and on to Manchester and Leeds (Phase 2).
