One year after taking over from Arriva Trains Wales, TfW Rail Services have inaugurated the Lab by Transport for Wales, an open initiative for the benefit of passengers in Wales.
In partnership with Alt Labs and funded by TfW, the Lab by Transport for Wales opened its doors last week.
The project, based in Newport, wil see 8 start-up businesses given advice and coaching to develop their product or service.
For the first promotion, startups will focus on customer experience, a theme chosen by TfW.
What did the officials say?
Head of Customer Experience and Innovation Barry Lloyd said:
“There are so many great ideas out there that, if developed in the right way, could transform the way we do things on our railway.
“Our Lab project is attracting both home-grown talent and that from further afield right here in Newport.
“We are really excited to be working with these brilliant, talented people and we are confident that the Lab project will help make Wales a rail and technological centre of excellence.”
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Transport for Wales is also to order new trains including Class 197, Class 231, Class 398 and Class 756.
Does rail need that much innovation? Surely what most passengers want was established decades ago. They want trains long enough to accommodate walk-up travel, enough space for luggage and bikes to meet demand, spacious, comfortable seats lined up with windows and mostly around tables. Apart from charging points and free wifi, these requirements haven’t changed for 60 years. No amount of appery and techery will address these requirements.