TRL Limited, trading as TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) is an independent private company offering a transport consultancy and research service to the public and private sector. Originally established in 1933 by the UK Government as the Road Research Laboratory (RRL), it was privatised in 1996. Its motto or tagline is 'The Future of Transport'.

History

TRL was originally established in 1933 by the UK Government as the Road Research Laboratory (RRL) under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), and later became the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) in 1972. During the Second World War, the Laboratory contributed to the war effort. Among its contributions, under William Glanville, were research that aided the development of plastic armour, the bouncing bomb and the Disney bomb. During governmental reorganisation in the 1970s, the TRRL moved from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to the Department of the Environment (DoE). At the TRRL,

Frank Blackmore Frank Blackmore Order of the British Empire, OBE Distinguished Flying Cross (UK), DFC (16 February 1916 – 5 June 2008) was a British airman and traffic engineering (transportation), traffic engineer. He led the development of the offside prio ...

developed the

mini-roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

and its associated 'priority rule', which was adopted in 1975. With the encouragement of the UK Department of Transport, TRRL was instrumental in promoting cooperation with other European laboratories. In 1989, TRRL's initiative to create a Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories led to its hosting of the inaugural meeting. It became an executive agency of the UK

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

(DfT) in 1992, and changed its name to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). It was privatised in 1996, though earlier plans in 1994 for a proposed privatisation were criticised at the time, notably by former Transport Minister Barbara Castle.

Operations

TRL is based in Crowthorne, Berkshire, with additional offices in Edinburgh and Birmingham. TRL's key areas of work include road, network and vehicle safety; traffic management; planning and control; investigations and risk management; transport infrastructure; and environmental assessment, including work on climate change, noise and air pollution.

Software

TRL has produced industry-standard software including

Junctions Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

, TRANSYT, SCOOT 7 an
UTC, Powered by SCOOT 7

Site redevelopment

The extensive Crowthorne site has been substantially scaled back, with many of the original buildings disused, creating an opportunity for redevelopment. In 2012, Bracknell Council identified the original site as a strategic area, suitable for a new mini-town of 1,000 homes.

Corporate affairs

To maintain its commercial independence and

impartiality Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another ...

, TRL is owned by the Transport Research Foundation (TRF), a non-profit distributing foundation, overseen by 80 sector members from the transport industry. The TRF is classed as a

non-profit distributing organisation A non-profit distributing organisation (NPDO) is a form of business structure where, although profit is still sought, any profit is reinvested in services or business growth rather than being distributed to shareholders. NPDOs are often used for d ...

(NPDO), a form of business structure where all profits are reinvested in services or business growth, rather than being distributed to

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s. TRL's profits are invested in its own research programmes, selected by the TRF to enhance knowledge in critical areas such as safety, environmental impact and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

References

External links

https://TRL.co.uk
— TRL Limited official website
TRL Software
— official outlet of TRL Limited
Transport-Links.org
— contains many developing country RRL/TRRL/TRL documents, manuals, for free download {{authority control 1933 establishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 1933 Transport research organizations Transport in the United Kingdom Engineering research institutes Laboratories in the United Kingdom Privatised executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Research institutes in Berkshire Wokingham Companies based in Berkshire Private companies limited by guarantee of the United Kingdom