Project TRACK launched to understand the risks of COVID-19 public transport transmission

A new study, Project Transport Risk Assessment for Covid Knowledge (TRACK), has been launched by Leeds University to understand the risks of COVID-19 public transport transmission, as well as to identify the best measures to manage it. The eighteen-month study will carry out fieldwork on trains and buses in London, Newcastle and Leeds, including the Tyne and Wear light rail system.

TRACK, led by Prof. Cath Noakes, will include taking surface and air samples of transport network segments to test coronavirus background levels, with the assistance of the Department of Transport and several transport organisations.

The researchers will create extensive models of how the virus might spread by airflow, by being close to someone infected with the virus, as well as touching contaminated surfaces.

The team expect to gauge the effectiveness of interventions, including ultraviolet air-disinfection units on trains and buses, anti-viral coatings on high-touch surfaces and cleaning compounds.

The study will establish models that calculate the level of risk posed by transport workers and passengers to help transport operators and the government determine if additional mitigation measures are needed.

In addition, to find out more about who is travelling and their travel habits, the team will use a variety of methods, including online surveys, existing databases and data collection using digital proximity measurement techniques.

The data analysis will include specialists from the universities of Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, as well as the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

An expert in the transmission of pathogens inside buildings and a member of SAGE, Prof. Noakes, stated: “The CFD modelling will be carried out using a Large Eddy Simulation finite-element CFD software Fluidity developed at Imperial College. In the case of UV disinfection, we will look at the modelled effectiveness of UV-C and would consider the practicalities of deploying such devices. It is likely that there would need to be some further development of UV-C products if the modelling shows they are likely to be effective. Controlling transmission requires a layered approach that addresses all the mechanisms of transmission, aerosol, close-range droplets and via surfaces. We hope that the research will enable transport operators to identify the best selection of measures to optimise the reduction of risk on their services.”