WALES’ leading rail-dedicated innovation programme is about to see its second batch of ambitious and creative candidates pitch their ideas.

The 12-week accelerator programme looks to stimulate growth in Wales, offering an exciting opportunity for business innovators to develop their ideas which look to enhance the railway experience for customers.

The pioneering scheme’s second cohort have been working closely with Transport for Wales (TfW) over the course of the 12-week programme. The 11 start-ups – some of the brightest tech talent from across Wales and the UK – have received dedicated mentoring from business experts to develop their products, ideas and innovations.

The start-ups have passed through phase one – known as Cohort 1 – by getting to this stage and are now gearing up to pitch their products to leading Transport for Wales decision-makers during a virtual demo day on Friday, November 13. The winners will be awarded funds to develop their products further.

Anyone interested in watching the demo day can register their attendance via Eventbrite.

During the demo, each start-up will share a video presentation to pitch their final product. Attendees will then be able to ask questions and network with each start-up in break out rooms.

Some of the innovative ideas being developed include revolutionary wearable technology for staff to help reduce manual handling injuries, a ‘travel assistant’ service that will provide customers with a personalised rail-optimised journey plan, and real-time passenger counting and seat occupation detection to help customers make more informed decisions around how they travel.

The demo day will look to inspire innovation within businesses, offering an insight into some of the cutting-edge developments coming to the Wales and Borders rail network.

Barry Lloyd, head of customer experience and innovation at Transport for Wales Rail, said:

“I’m really excited for the upcoming second Demo Day so that the fantastic start-ups we’ve had in Cohort 2 can showcase the exciting work they’ve been doing over the last 12 weeks.

“It’s not quite been the experience we wanted to deliver due COVID-19 restrictions, but this hasn’t dented the enthusiasm and engagement we’ve seen. In fact, it’s brought a whole new dynamic to the programme.”

Cohort 1 of the programme proved to be extremely successful, with Transport for Wales Rail advancing with three businesses chosen as the winners.

Brite Yellow Ltd, Passage Way and CleverCiti were each awarded funds to develop their products further.

You can find out more information about each of the start-ups and the products they will be presenting on demo day here.