Station Innovation Zone Competition

The Station Innovation Zone Competition is part of Connected Places Catapult’s Station Innovation Zone programme. The programme’s vision is to use trials to pave the way towards the ‘station of the future’. Connected Places Catapult aims to do this working with innovators to develop solutions that improve various aspects a passenger’s experience when travelling through stations by focusing on safety, seamlessness, sustainability, and sociability.

This year’s challenges give applicants the opportunity to categorise their solution as one of two specific types of innovation:

• Front-of-House Innovation – consists of solutions that directly improve the station user experience, these are innovations people will experience (see, hear, feel, interact with) in the station environment.
• Back-of-House Innovation – consists of solutions that make rail better, simpler, and greener, these innovations improve the effectiveness of rail by better understanding issues and improving operations.

Solutions should help address any of these four challenge areas:  

• The Accessibility Challenge
  • Front-of-House: Solutions to improve navigation, assistance confidence, and inclusive design.
  • Back-of-House: Solutions to maximise the impact of accessibility improvements and better engage with users.
• The Personal Security Challenge
  • Front-of-House: Innovations to enhance lighting, maintenance, bystander intervention, and surveillance.
  • Back-of-House: Solutions to facilitate easier reporting of safety concerns and better understand safety issues.
• The Green Challenge
  • Front-of-House: Creating green, calm spaces, supporting active travel, and showcasing local green businesses.
  • Back-of-House: Using data-driven solutions to track and improve resource usage and sustainability.
• The Open Challenge
  • Novel solutions aligned with Network Rail priorities that enhance station safety, seamlessness, social experience, and sustainability.