Research interests
My research interests are centred on understanding and modelling the interdependencies between transport and other human and natural systems. I am a geographer by background and have made extensive use of geographical information systems and spatial modelling techniques in my research. My work initially focused on rail transport, but I have subsequently carried out research relating to nearly all major transport modes. My research aims ultimately to make a practical contribution to policy-making in the transport and climate domains, by creating outputs that will be of direct use to stakeholders, and I have extensive experience of collaborating with non-academic partners to achieve research impact.
I am currently leading a major FCDO-funded project on ‘Decision Support Systems for Resilient Strategic Transport Networks in Low Income Countries’ which aims to provide transport decision makers in LICs (and LMICs) with support tools which enable them to prioritise interventions that will deliver sustainable and resilient long-distance transport networks. I am also a Co-I on UKCRIC Strand 3, the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI), which will enable unprecedented understanding of complex cities and infrastructures to inform planning, design and management. I am also co-leading work on whole life cost and carbon modelling for railway track systems (with Prof. John Preston) as part of the EPSRC-funded Track to the Future project, having previously worked as a researcher on the earlier Track 21 project. I have recently been involved in research developing transport decarbonisation pathways for England’s Economic Heartland. I previously acted as a Co-I on the EPSRC-funded Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC) MISTRAL project, and led the development of the national transport element of the ITRC's National Infrastructure Systems Model, which has being used by key stakeholders such as the National Infrastructure Commission.
I have extensive experience in rail research, and recently led RSSB-funded work on predicting and mitigating small fluctuations in station dwell times. I have established a reputation domestically and internationally as an expert in rail demand modelling and appraisal, providing peer review and guidance to government bodies in the UK and overseas. I led a research project which delivered a semi-automated stakeholder focused tool for forecasting demand for new railway stations, hosted on DAFNI. I have also carried out rail demand forecasting projects for clients including the Association of Train Operating Companies, the Welsh Government, the Department for Transport and Transport for London, as well as EPSRC-funded research. This research has covered a number of different topics, focusing particularly on making use of innovative techniques such as GIS and Geographically Weighted Regression to explain and forecast the use of rail networks.
I am also interested in researching the factors and barriers which may exclude some people from accessing rail services, and in the implications of changing working and living patterns for travel behaviour, transport networks and land use.
Research group
Transportation Group
Research project(s)
There is a common perception (even amongst some transport professionals) that the rail network is in a state of decline, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth. UK passenger rail use is currently at record levels and, despite the recent economic downturn, growth in rail travel seems likely to continue. This growth will be accentuated by the need to reduce carbon emissions to meet government targets, which will necessitate considerable mode shift from private to public transport.
Expansion in capacity will be required to accommodate these additional rail passengers, and there are a large number of schemes proposed for new railway services, stations and lines. However, only limited funds are available to implement such schemes, and it is therefore important to ensure that this money goes to the projects which will deliver the greatest benefits to passengers in the most cost-effective way.
In order to achieve this, a range of work has taken place at the University of Southampton Transportation Research Group to develop modelling and appraisal procedures for assessing the likely performance of schemes to improve rail services.
Research work in rail capacity at Southampton was initiated with the OCCASION project (2010-2012), followed-up with a Knowledge Transfer Secondment with Arup (2013-14) and continues with the DITTO project (2014-2017).
Research work on rail demand forecasting at Southampton was initiated with Rail Research UK (2003-2010) and has continued with a series of grants, contracts and consultancy studies.
The key objective of this project is to develop a software tool capable of providing forecasts of the demand impacts of new railway stations sited at any location in Great Britain.
This project will contribute to the High Volume Transport (HVT) research programme by developing and delivering what will be (to the best of our knowledge) the first multi-state transport infrastructure decision support system in a developing context. The system will aim to support investment decisions and option selection for long distance strategic land transport projects by providing a fast and consistent methodology for comparing the advantages and disadvantages of different project options with respect to a range of sustainability indictors. As well as covering infrastructure investments, the system will be sufficiently flexible to also allow assessment of changes to the management and operation of long-distance road and rail systems.
The research is taking a regional approach, focusing on two Low Income Countries (Tanzania and Uganda) and two neighbouring Lower Middle Income Countries (Kenya and Zambia) in East Africa. The project is led by the University of Southampton’s Transportation Research Group, in partnership with the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, and supported by a range of stakeholder partners in the case study region.
Dr Simon BlaineyEngineering, University of Southampton, Southampton Boldrewood Innovation Campus, Burgess Road, Southampton, SO16 7QF
Room Number: 176/4005
Facsimile: (023) 8059 3152
