UK: The ideas selected at this year’s HackTrain hackathon event on November 15-17 are to receive funding from Network Rail to accelerate the development of their concepts.
River Tamoor Baig of HackTrain organiser Hack Partners said it had worked with NR to create a process that works within existing procurement rules.
‘I am determined that Network Rail becomes a company that can rapidly deploy new technology and innovate ideas, especially to keep people safe, improve services for passengers and provide better value for money for the taxpayer’, said NR Chief Executive Andrew Haines when the funding was announced on September 17. ‘Working with HackTrain gives us a unique opportunity to put this into practice and I can’t wait to see what we come up with this year.’
This year’s Hack Train will be the sixth, with small teams working to build products in a short time to tackle challenges relating to rail performance. Previous successes have included Hubble for artificial intelligence-assisted lineside inspection and maintenance planning, and Busybot which helps passengers to find a seat.
