14th January 2021 9:34 am 14th January 2021 9:40 am Lightweight composite grab-poles with an embedded anti-microbial property are being developed in a collaboration that could help restore confidence in travelling safely on public transport. Retrofittable anti-microbial grab poles could be used on London Underground trains (Image by Klaus Fedorow from Pixabay) Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have been hesitant about taking public transport due to the perceived risk of acquiring germs from areas such as the grab-poles on trains, buses and trams, which are the principal point of contact. A team including researchers from WMG at the University of Warwick, product designers Transport Design International (TDI), anti-microbial additive developers BioCote and Promethean Particles and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), led by Derby-based manufacturers Composites Braiding Ltd (CBL), will produce lightweight composite grab-poles with an embedded anti-microbial property in their project