“Ava” is a new concept in footbridges being developed via an innovative collaboration between the railway, architectural, construction and manufacturing industries. The first glimpses of Ava and its many benefits are revealed in this new video [link].
Small and medium sized railway stations are the starting point for almost a billion journeys every year in the UK. Upgrading station footbridges helps to improve access and use of the railway by local communities. However, this is no small task and so Network Rail is working on new ways to significantly reduce the time, cost and the carbon impact associated with designing and installing footbridges.
Introducing Ava, Network Rail’s Professional Head of Buildings and Architecture, Anthony Dewar stated “Our aim with the Ava project is that we’ll revolutionise the way that we approach station footbridge design, manufacture and installation.”
The Ava system is being developed and demonstrated as part of the “TIES Living Lab” programme led by NSAR and funded by Innovate UK and the Department for Transport. Living Lab is driving the uptake of new ways of working in transport infrastructure, to improve productivity and benefits to passengers and the taxpayer.
To unlock the many opportunities associated with digital design technologies and offsite manufacturing processes, the Ava project involves a collaborative partnership spanning the railway infrastructure, construction and manufacturing industries. The project partners include Network Rail, Walker Construction, Expedition Engineering, X-Treme Systems and the Manufacturing Technology Centre with project management provided by Quantum Infrastructure.