2023/12/15
London, 15th December 2023 – In a significant step towards the deployment of zero-emission mass transit, leading tech mobility firm, Urban.MASS has announced its collaboration with respected engineering partner, SEMP to define the system and service design for Floc® Duo Rail™. The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bring their combined expertise to the planning, risk reduction and deployment of the innovative autonomous system.
As part of the scope of the collaboration, SEMP will define a multi-stage design process and draw on industry-leading expertise in transit infrastructure to capture key design and service delivery principles. These will underpin a baseline Concept of Operations and a hierarchy of design requirement specifications for each strategic component. These critical programme design inputs will be adopted by each of Urban.MASS’ strategic partners and suppliers to realise a coherent end-to-end design for pods of various types as well as the modular overhead track, delivering capacity for both passengers and cargo, designing for efficient through-life maintenance, and enabling a safe, efficient and resilient operation.
The scope will not only cover the physical assets, but also the definition of the service itself, ensuring connectivity with other modes such as mass transit and surface-based shared shuttles. In future, subject to agreement, the collaboration could be extended to delivery models.
The autonomous Floc® Duo Rail™ transit system aims to enable transport operators to deliver high quality urban passenger and cargo services at lower cost and with a lower carbon footprint than comparable guided solutions. The system’s ability to operate in some of the world’s densest urban settings, as part of integrated transport systems, depends on a robust understanding of these sociotechnical systems holistically and demonstration of compliance with the toughest regulatory regimes and safety standards. These are the environments in which SEMP has its sole focus; the team will use highly structured and auditable systems engineering processes to reduce the key risks that are evident in delivering new build infrastructure projects anywhere globally.
“The whole Urban.MASS team is delighted to be partnering with SEMP. Their contribution to the design and delivery process will achieve a critical step in enabling the acceleration of our Floc® Duo Rail™ system. Their expertise in mitigating infrastructure risk through compliance and systems engineering is world class, and brings the deployment of zero-emission mass transit in our cities significantly closer.”
- Co-founder, Ricky Sandhu
“We’re excited to partner with Urban.Mass to support development of the innovative Floc® Duo Rail™ system and their mission to deliver zero emission, accessible and affordable mass transit solutions. Through applying our transit systems engineering expertise, together with our digital platform for infrastructure systems engineering, we will enable Urban.Mass to demonstrate a robust operations and service delivery concept, mitigate risk and deliver a safe, resilient, operationally ready and compliant transit system.
- Stuart Gilbey, Executive Director, SEMP.
Notes to Editors:
About Urban.MASS: A UK-based mobility business focused on the design and delivery of innovative, zero-emission mass transit solutions. Urban.MASS was founded to create affordable, accessible and connected mass transit for all, and to reduce congestion and pollution from passenger and cargo transport. Products include the Floc® Duo Rail® system, a flexible transit system that can match capacity with demand via high frequency ‘platoons’ of passenger and/or cargo logistics pods. Its narrow and flexible footprint minimises the need for earthworks, costly tunnels and large stations.
https://urbanmass.co.uk/about-us.php
About SEMP
SEMP is a professional services consulting business, providing integrated systems engineering and system assurance services for infrastructure projects, from concept through to design and delivery. Our mission is to ensure the delivery of safe, secure, resilient, and operationally ready infrastructure that meets the needs of all stakeholders, leading to the successful outcomes of complex projects and programmes. Partnering with government, infrastructure owners, and delivery organisations, SEMP has supported the successful delivery of projects in the UK, North America, the Middle East, and Australia.
https://www.sempltd.com
Urban.MASS head office
Urban.MASS Limited
The Smiths Building
179 Great Portland Street
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