Network Rail and its Norwegian equivalent Bane NOR, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to drive new value from the railway to improve safety, reliability, cost efficiency and growth with a key area being asset sustainability.
Initial topics in the scope of the MOU include smart maintenance and advanced data analytics topics, digitalisation in asset management and the usage of drones in an asset maintenance context.
Sverre Kjenne, Chief Technology Officer at Bane NOR, said: “Signing this agreement with Network Rail is a clear statement of intent for Bane NOR’s ambitions in international Research & Development (R&D) collaboration. The decision to work with Network Rail is an exciting one, opening up plenty of opportunities to access Network Rail’s world-class testing facilities and engineering expertise.
“Meeting the transport challenges of the future, such as the threats posed by climate change and delivering for an increasingly urbanised population, requires international thinking and today is the start of that commitment.”
The topics included in the scope of the MOU are aligned with Network Rail’s 5 year settlement CP7 (2024-2029) R&D priorities. Ultimately, the intended outcome of the cooperation is to jointly deliver technology demonstrators for each agreed project that support first in class deployments which lead to new ‘business as usual’ capability, driving new value from the railway to improve safety, reliability, cost efficiency and growth, with a key area being asset sustainability – improvements which will eventually be enjoyed by the passenger.
Projects developed as part of the partnership will be jointly funded with the responsibility for resources, testing capabilities, and best practices shared between both parties – initially in the form of workshops both in person and online.
Robert Ampomah, Network Rail’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “Bane NOR’s future-proof development and digitalisation priorities, and their strong focus on cost efficiencies and collaborative innovation inspire us at Network Rail, to provide the best returns for our passengers and freight customers.
“I welcome the opportunity to jointly collaborate with Bane Nor and to share our collective extensive expertise and experiences through research, development and innovation in operations and engineering. This partnership shows our continued commitment to working closely with European infrastructure managers to address common challenges and developing our railway for the future.”
The MOU came from Network Rail’s International Research and Development Partnerships team led by Programme Manager Felicity Wakefield, Project Manager Oliver Clamp, along with Anna Gjerstad, Project Manager (Digitalisation) for Bane NOR.
