Application Deadline: 15 January 2026
Details
Building a climate-ready UK railway system – A fully funded PhD opportunity to participate in the world-leading research undertaken by the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award at the University of Sheffield.
Railways sustainably connect major cities and regions, but they face growing challenges. Climate change brings more frequent and extreme rainfall, putting drainage infrastructure under increasing pressure. When drainage systems fail, the impacts are serious: flooded tracks, landslips, and signalling or power failures. These incidents cause costly disruption, damage, and in extreme cases, loss of life (e.g. the 2020 Carmont derailment).
Network Rail manages the UK’s rail infrastructure and needs evidence-based, climate-aware tools to plan infrastructure improvements. With limited budgets and the challenge of reducing emissions while adapting to climate change, it must prioritise investments that deliver the greatest long-term sustainability.
The research challenge
Most current operational approaches are reactive (fixing failures after they occur) or periodic (based on historical schedules). This often means missed opportunities for earlier, more efficient intervention. The goal of this PhD is to change that by developing a data-driven framework that helps predict, prioritise, and prevent operational failures before they happen, minimising resource use and carbon emissions.
The project will provide the science behind the UK’s first digital twin for railway drainage infrastructure – a powerful tool combining data, simulation, and sustainable decision-making. This framework will balance the resources for maintenance and renewals with wider impacts such as passenger delays, safety, environmental harm, and service reliability. It will help engineers and managers identify where best to act, from an individual pipe to an entire rail route, providing the evidence for proactive investment to meet long-term climate challenges.
What you’ll do
You’ll carry out research at the intersection of engineering, data science, and sustainability, applying cutting-edge probabilistic modelling and multi-criteria decision analysis. Your models will link physical processes (rainfall, catchment runoff, drainage performance) with the financial and societal consequences of failures. The result will be a decision-support framework that helps balance risk, cost, and performance – forming the intelligence core of a groundbreaking digital twin.
Working closely with Network Rail’s Drainage and Lineside team, you’ll have access to real operational data (incident reports, design drawings, route utilisation) and during two industrial placements you’ll help shape how these tools are used in practice.
Beyond strategic planning, your work will support climate resilience, allowing railway systems to be stress-tested against future extreme rainfall, and assess the value of new sensing and monitoring technologies as part of an emerging “digital railway”.
Why this project matters
This PhD offers the chance to work on a major national infrastructure challenge with global relevance – helping make railways safer, more reliable, and more sustainable. The knowledge you create will have broader application across transport, water and environmental engineering, contributing directly to the UK’s journey towards climate adaptation and digital transformation.
Why this project is an excellent career step
You’ll join a thriving interdisciplinary research community at Sheffield, home to the Rail Innovation and Technology Centre and the Sheffield Water Centre. You’ll gain sought-after skills in data analytics, digital twin development, and sustainable infrastructure management – skills in high demand across government, consultancy, and industry.
You’ll work directly with Network Rail engineers as part of a long-term collaboration, gaining hands-on experience and detailed insight into one of the UK’s most complex and vital engineering systems, while connecting with international researchers and rail infrastructure managers.
This is an exceptional opportunity to work in a leading research group and inclusive researcher community while making a tangible impact. You’ll develop expertise that will set you apart in the growing fields of digital infrastructure, climate resilience, and sustainable engineering. You’ll emerge with a powerful combination of technical, analytical, and sustainability skills, making you highly competitive for roles across consultancy, government, and industry.
The University of Sheffield is one of the leading Russell Group universities in the UK. We carry out cutting-edge research with strong links to industry. When you enrol to do a PhD with us, you will be working with world-leading academics and have access to top of the range facilities. As a PhD student you will have the opportunity to gain skills not only to conduct research, but also to take your career to the next level, whether you want to stay in academia, go into industry or the public sector, or set up your own company. You will have access to a range of training and support services to help you excel in your studies and beyond.
How to apply
Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the project supervisors to discuss your interest in and suitability for the project prior to submitting your application.
Please refer to the EPSRC DLA webpage for detailed information about the EPSRC DLA and how to apply.
Funding Notes
The award will fund the full (UK or Overseas) tuition fee and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI rate (currently ÂŁ20,780 per annum) for 3.5 years, as well as a research grant to support costs associated with the project.
