Projects per year
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16 from 719 citations
Last updated 8th April 2025
Biography
After graduating in 1996 with a first degree in Mechanical Engineering, Paul joined a research group at Manchester Metropolitan University developing automotive safety systems. In 1998 he embarked upon a PhD programme studying contact mechanics and wheel-rail interaction on a scaled railway roller rig. During this time he became a founder member of the Rail Technology Unit (RTU), a group which specialised in railway vehicle dynamics and wheel rail interaction.
The RTU became a successful and well respected research and enterprise group and in 2012 transferred to the University of Huddersfield to form the Institute of Railway Research (IRR). Paul joined UoH as the assistant director of the IRR and held a central role in developing the group from 9 to over 30 full time staff with an annual expenditure of £3m.
As Principal Investigator for the £22m RGF funded Centre for Innovation in Rail (CIR) project, its £4m capital grant facilitated his work in leading the design and delivery of the £2.5m HAROLD test facility which has been core to the IRR's bogie dynamics, adhesion and braking research activities since its launch in 2016. The CIR project was a catalyst for growth of the IRR, generating 13 research staff posts and establishing a successful model for SMEs to work in partnership with academia. The CIR project met its contracted grant targets, creating a total of 50 new jobs, and safeguarding a further 40 with our partner Unipart Rail Ltd.
Paul's professional standing has been recognised through Fellowships of both the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and the Chartered Management Institute. He is a member of a number of railway industry research and advisory panels and has been called upon to provide advice to support directorate level decisions for HS2 and contributed to governmental responses to the DfT and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for BEIS. He has provided expert witness depositions both nationally and internationally and commented on behalf of the University via BBC television evening news and written press articles in the Mail on Sunday, the Huddersfield Examiner, Modern Railways and Railway Strategy magazine.
Paul’s enterprise and research activities inlclude over 100 technical reports for industry and 50 academic papers, with research and consultancy funding in excess of £10m. He has led the initiation of many new University relationships and funding streams with key railway sector partners including Network Rail, HS2, Crossrail, Unipart Rail Ltd and Alstom.
Paul became Director of the Institute of Railway Research in July 2022 and Associate Dean (RIKE) within the School of Computing and Engineering in January 2023.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research Expertise and Interests
- Wheel-Rail Contact
- Computer Modelling of Railway Vehicle Suspensions
- Remote Condition Monitoring
- Data Analysis
- Train Braking System Optimisation
- Railway Vehicle Pantograph Interaction Dynamics
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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A comparative study of WSP control methods: Effects on wear and RCF evolution in railway wheels
Wang, R., Yang, Y., Liu, P. & Allen, P., 1 Jul 2025, In: Wear. 572-573, 18 p., 206049.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Advanced vibration control strategies for Electro-Hydraulic testing systems focus on sinusoidal Swept-Frequency techniques
Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Wang, R., Allen, P., Lyu, L. & Feng, J., 1 Mar 2025, In: Measurement. 246, 18 p., 116711.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A product envelope spectrum generated from spectral correlation/coherence for railway axle box bearing fault diagnosis
Chen, B., Cheng, Y., Allen, P., Wang, S., Gu, F., Zhang, W. & Ball, A., 15 Feb 2025, In: Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 225, 24 p., 112262.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Enhancing Fault Detection in High-Speed Train Dampers with Auxiliary Task Learning
Wu, Y., Yan, P. & Allen, P., 20 Jan 2025, 2024 12th International Conference on Control, Mechatronics and Automation, ICCMA 2024. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., p. 427-431 5 p. 10843880. (International Conference on Control, Mechatronics and Automation, ICCMA).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review
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A Comprehensive Review of Convolutional Neural Networks for Defect Detection in Industrial Applications
Khanam, R., Hussain, M., Hill, R. & Allen, P., 17 Jul 2024, In: IEEE Access. 12, p. 94250-94295 46 p., 10589380.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access26 Citations (Scopus)
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5th International Conference on Railway Technology (Event)
Joao Pombo (Member of editorial board), Paul Allen (Member of editorial board), Hamid Alturbeh (Member of editorial board), Pedro Antunes (Member of editorial board), Yann Bezin (Member of editorial board), Xiaocheng Ge (Member of editorial board) & Hugo Pacheco Magalhaes (Member of editorial board)
22 Aug 2022 → 25 Aug 2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Conference Peer-review
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Condition Monitoring of Motorised Devices for Smart Infrastructure Capabilities
Pritesh Mistry (Speaker), Phil Lane (Speaker), Paul Allen (Speaker), Hussain Al-Aqrabi (Speaker) & Richard Hill (Speaker)
Nov 2019Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Mathematical modelling of a full-scale roller rig to improve predictions of vehicle curving behaviour
Simon Iwnicki (Speaker), Paul Allen (Speaker) & Philip Shackleton (Speaker)
11 Jul 2017Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Wheels v Rails: Applying New Techniques to Optimise Rail Maintenance
Paul Allen (Speaker)
7 Dec 2016Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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Application of In-track Vertical Wheel Load Measurement Data for the Early Indication of Derailment Risk and Wheel Tread Damage
Paul Allen (Speaker), Philip Shackleton (Speaker) & Adam Bevan (Speaker)
21 Nov 2013Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
Press/Media
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University of Huddersfield Institute of Railway Research hosts Transport for the North in key visit
5/12/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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This is why Britain can’t get anything built (and how we might fix it)
18/02/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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£120,000 project to eliminate freight train carbon emissions
12/06/19
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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UK rail decarbonisation: £1 million awarded to sustainable solutions
24/04/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other