10085867National Request StopClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKRequest Stops are rural railway stations where passengers have to request a train to stop by making themselves visible to an approaching service whilst putting their hand out to indicate a wish to board. All passenger trains passing these stations have to slow to low speed to be able to stop safely in case passengers are waiting, which can be infrequent at lightly used stations. Sometimes passenger's requests are not successfully acknowledged causing a major inconvenience to the travelling public, and disruption to the operation of the railway through station overruns or 'failure to call' incidents. National Request Stop (NRS) is a novel system designed to eliminate these problems. From the perspective of a passenger, NRS provides a platform kiosk displaying service information and a push button to request a service stop, offering a simple to use system with improved travel information. NRS also improves the safety of waiting passengers by removing the need for them to stand near the platform edge to flag down the train manually. This issue is of particular concern at unsighted stations (stations that are on a bend, in cuttings, bridges obstructing the platform etc.) where the driver does not have a clear view of the platform on approach. NRS gives the train crew advance notice of waiting passengers meaning the service can pass through at line speed when no one wishes to board. This leads to reduced delays and better timetable resilience, reduced fuel use and brake wear by trains and better passenger information, interaction and safety as passengers now only need to press a button to request the train to stop. NRS does not need additional equipment installed on trains and uses existing data feeds and communication channels to determine the position of the train in relation to the station and to alert train crew of an upcoming stop. NRS is a game changing upgrade to the service provided to passengers at request stop stations as it can potentially enable the reopening of closed stations, due to the low timetable impact that NRS offers. The system is designed for lightly used stations in remote or rural areas and offers an extremely cost effective intervention which re-affirms a commitment to support rural communities by enhancing the travelling experience in these areas.