The Department for Transport (DfT) is funding the development of pioneering, tech-led projects aimed at improving safety and reliability on the rail network.
In partnership with Innovate UK, the First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) competition offers £4.8 million grant funding to new projects so innovators can bring their ideas to life and present them to industry, boosting their chances of being rolled out on the network.
The competition aims to address persistent issues on the railway, such as safety concerns, service reliability or anti-social behaviour. This year, applicants will put forward ideas to help deliver major projects on time and in budget, improve the passenger service performance and reduce the industry’s impact on the environment.
Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said:
“Innovation is central to bringing Britain’s railway into the 21st century and our funding for the First-of-a-Kind competition puts this principle into action, helping turn creative concepts into real-life solutions.
“Supporting new ideas is all part of our plan to modernise track and train under Great British Railways, designing and adopting world-leading technology that improves passenger experience while supporting jobs, growth and homes.”
Now in its ninth round, the FOAK competition has been backed with £62.5 million in government funding to date. Previous winners include Transmission Dynamics Ltd, one of seven project entrants from 2025, who developed intelligent roadside warning and analysis systems designed to prevent disruption following collisions between large goods vehicles and low-clearance bridges or tunnels.
Trials of the technology are underway, including in Northumberland, where the detection system alerted Network Rail when a bridge was recently struck, enabling the team to quickly assess damage and minimise the likelihood of disruption for passengers travelling on the East Coast Mainline.
Claire Spooner, Director of the Innovation Service at Innovate UK, said:
“Since 2017, Innovate UK has delivered the Department for Transport-funded First-of-a-Kind competition to accelerate the development, demonstration and adoption of breakthrough technologies into rail innovation.
“FOAK26 marks the next step, introducing more focused, industry-led challenges aligned to DfT priorities and supported by strong sponsorship across the sector. By working closely with industry partners and stakeholders, FOAK26 will maximise the impact of public investment, support the commercialisation of innovation and drive economic growth by helping new solutions reach the rail network faster.”
Another of the FOAK competition winners from 2025 developed an automated monitoring system to track deliveries to an HS2 development site. The cameras worked by integrating AI software, alerting site workers to the delivery of time-critical supplies, helping to keep projects on track.
Hao Zheng, Co-founder and CEO of Robok Limited, said:
“Innovate UK’s FOAK funding allowed us to develop SiteFlow with EKFB on a live HS2 site, turning existing CCTV into supplier-assurance and safety insight. That foundation is now enabling us to take the product to the wider HS2 community and to scale this practical AI across UK infrastructure.”
Noel Dolphin, GB Managing Director of Furrer+Frey, said:
“The FOAK competition has allowed us to take risks and innovate further and faster than we otherwise would. We’ve taken sound, but commercially risky concepts and used FOAK funding to develop and demonstrate them, working with a broad range of partners, into real-world products.
“Developing Lineform AI in the FOAK 2025 has already delivered cost savings to Network Rail and UK infrastructure.”
Organisations have until 24 June 2026 to submit their applications, with successful projects starting on 1 September 2026. See the contracts for innovation: FOAK26 to apply.
