Greener, more resilient travel modes and networks will be explored through the finance package.
Birmingham City University has received almost £50,000 to lead on the new project, which aims to examine key transport corridors across the UK. Real time data, international best practices, and AI will help make recommendations for expansion and improvement works, mapping out the future of travel throughout the country.
Currently, 27% of British emissions output comes from transport, with 90% attributed to road-based modality such as cars, vans, buses, and lorries. The Department for Transport needs to bring this rate down in order to meet its targets. The funding announcement follows a record-breaking summer in which the country endured four periods of heatwave conditions which impacted the transport network. At various points road and airport runway surfaces melted, and train lines had speed restrictions imposed.
‘This is cutting-edge research which will harness AI to safeguard our transport infrastructure against the growing challenges of climate change,’ said Dr. Syed Attique Shah, Senior Lecturer in Smart Computer Systems at BCU and the project’s Principal Investigator.
‘We can use this technology to anticipate vulnerabilities, optimise maintenance, and guide low-carbon investments, our project will help protect commuters, freight operators, and local businesses from service interruptions and financial losses,’ Dr Shah continued. ‘Communities will benefit from more reliable, cleaner transport options, while policymakers and industry can prioritise cost-effective resilience measures.’
The team will now begin work on strengthening the UK transport network’s ability to mitigate the increasingly problematic impact of climate change.
Image: JJ Jordan / Unsplash
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