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Annual Conference 2021 4-5 November, London
REVIEW
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Tier 3 Approved
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Tier 2 Approved
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Tier 1 Approved
Annual Conference 2021
CONTENT About the Conference
4
Day 1 summary
5
Day 2 summary
10
RISE Awards
14
Evening Programme
18
Our Sponsors
20
4-5 November
Annual Conference 2021
4-5 November
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
“Thank you for a professionally delivered and enjoyable conference. I enjoyed the event and the evening do, and the line-up of speakers and networking opportunities were worthwhile. The continuous messaging your team deliver also seems to be reaping some benefit with the politicians.” James Howles - Director, Rail, BakerHicks
4-5 November 2021
349 attendees
24 Speakers
8 RISE Award categories
Our host
Sameena Ali-Khan anchors national bulletins for ITV at weekends, and throughout the week on Central Tonight in the Midlands, covering a wide range of stories across daily news and documentaries.
Sameena Ali-Khan
Journalist and TV Presenter
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Day 1
Annual Conference 2021
Thursday 4 November
4-5 November
Darren Caplan, RIA’s Chief Executive, began by welcoming members to our first in-person Conference since the pandemic, and thanking our fantastic sponsors. Darren set out new polling showing that confidence in the rail industry has returned to pre-2019 levels, in a positive sign of growing optimism about the future. He also set out RIA’s key ‘asks’ for Government, including visibility of upcoming work, ensuring no hiatus as the industry restructures, decarbonisation, digital signalling and promoting rail as an export.
UK’s Nations and Regions The first panel saw an impressive line up of speakers from across the UK’s Nations and Regions. Maria Machancoses, Director at Midlands Connect set out the importance of Midlands Engine Rail. She highlighted how Midlands Engine Rail can add 736 extra passenger services per day, 72 more freight trains per day and be fully integrated with HS2. She highlighted the importance of the Midlands speaking with one voice to decision makers. Tim Wood, Northern Powerhouse Rail Director at Transport for the North, was clear on the need for Northern Powerhouse Rail and Transport for the North’s rail plans, which he said would help create 76,000 jobs and add £14.4bn in value to the economy by 2060. He urged the Government to get on and publish the Integrated Rail Plan. James Davies, CEO at Industry Wales, explained how he was passionate about moving people in an accessible, affordable and sustainable way and that too often the industry was focused on the ‘what’ and not on the ‘why’ of what the real opportunities are that rail brings to communities. Speaking next, John Dickie, Chief Executive Officer at London First gave a stark warning on the need to get rail fares right following the pandemic, calling a rise in fares of RPI+1 “bonkers”. He gave three priorities – supporting people that want to come back to London, navigating the complex labour market and public transport leading the recovery. David Barnett, General Manager – Engineering at Translink then highlighted what they’re doing in Northern Ireland. He said
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Annual Conference 2021
Day 1
4-5 November
Thursday 4 November
they’d seen 60-63% of 2019 passenger volumes, but that the market was shifting from commuters to much more leisure travel. In this context they are reviewing their offering, he added.
Justin Moss, Head of Sales, Electrification at Siemens Mobility and Chair of Northern Rail Industry Leaders ended the panel by highlighting the work NRIL has done to bring northern companies together to share knowledge and lobby on behalf of the north, setting out how it provides a platform for RIA members in the region.
Caroline Donaldson, Managing Director of the West Coast Partnership provided the first keynote of the Conference. The Partnership, she explained, is currently making recommendations to DfT about the business case and feasibility of certain solutions for operating HS2. She explained that it was important that the WCP’s work is founded on evidence, looking at what the customers will actually want from it, and what they’re prepared to pay, so they get maximum benefit. She said they were working closely with HS2 Ltd and there was still a lot more to be procured over the next 2-3 years, providing many opportunities for the rail supply chain. The Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris MP was next to the stage. He began by highlighting the important role of the rail supply community during the pandemic and thanked the industry for their efforts in keeping the railway moving. He said the industry now needs to drive the economic recovery and build a new economy. The money spent on rail generates a high level of income and supports thousands of jobs, he added. Heaton-Harris then highlighted areas he wants to focus on to “build back rail” in a more sustainable way. First, investment and ensuring rail infrastructure is delivered. He praised the work done by the industry on Rail Project SPEED, in particular. Secondly, the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail and restructuring of the industry. He said he believes that the private sector is best placed to deliver the future of our railways and that Great British Railways stops us from blindly following a model that doesn’t work. And on the issue of the day, when the Integrated Rail Plan will be published, the Minister promised it will be “very soon”. On electrification, the Minister thanked RIA for its work to help cut costs, learning lessons from previous projects.
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Day 1
Annual Conference 2021
Thursday 4 November
4-5 November
Finally, turning to decarbonisation. He said said that DfT’s message is that rail has a great story to tell already. However, commuters and freight customers still overwhelmingly choose road – and “this has to change. So our offer has to change.” He ended by highlighting the net zero rolling stock that delegates at COP26 can experience, including Vivarail’s battery train and Porterbrook’s hydrogen train.
Crossing to the other side of both a lunch break and the House of Commons, we heard from Shadow Rail Minister Tan Dhesi MP. He set out Labour’s vision for the railways, emphasising its importance for the economy and communities. Crucially, he stressed we cannot go back to how things were pre-pandemic. The “1990s franchise model does not work and must be replaced.” Turning to decarbonisation, he said that under a Labour Government the absolute priority would be to deliver a large programme of electrification. Dhesi said rail must be “clean and green” with the electrification the first choice. On the Integrated Rail Plan, he said it must come out soon to help suppliers and the industry plan for the future. Dhesi also set out Labour’s view on public ownership in the sector, saying “public ownership is a reality around the world.” He added their view is not a return to British Rail and their is an important role for the industry. In particular, he said: “Innovation will come from below, from start-ups and SMEs.”
Net Zero Carbon and Efficiency panel The next panel session turned its attention to zero carbon and sustainability, with Angel Trains’ Malcolm Brown chairing a fantastic lineup of speakers. First, George Davies, Director Sustainable Development at RSSB said we should be proud of what’s going on around the industry. He continued by outlining a series of good examples from across the industry, including Porterbrook’s HybridFLEX, Revolution VLR, Lumo and Skanska and HS2 work recycling old wind turbine blades. Next up was Steven Hart, Lead Strategic Planner at Network Rail who gave a frank assessment that we need to make rail easier to deal with and “sexier” to attract passengers and freight. Importantly, Steven added that during the transition to Net Zero we must not demonise diesel, but rather clean it up - “diesel is not evil”. Will Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens highlighted how industry is good at picking up in adversity and
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Thursday 4 November
making things happen. He stressed that “reducing costs is the main barrier between us and decarbonising our railway. Rail has to remain the travel mode of choice in-between cities.” Maggie Simpson, Chief Executive of the Rail Freight Group (RFG), was positive that modal shift is happening – people understanding rail is a way to be sustainable,she said. She emphasised that in the short term we need to be “low-carb”, joking that she wasn’t refering to a diet but to the need to be low-carbon during the transition, including the use of longer trains and HVO diesel. To wrap up, Andrew Wolstenholme OBE, Group Technical Director of Laing O’Rourke outlined the scale of the challenge: “Construction contributes between 35-40% of the problem in terms of CO2 – there is a huge opportunity, duty, task and challenge.”
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) Chief Executive John Larkinson OBE then presented on the work his team are doing. He revealed that once Great British Railways (GBR) has been set up, ORR will take responsibility for regulating the organisation. Describing the Spending Review, he said there is a real need to give trust to people who fund rail - “Delivering volumes is crucial to trusting the system and Network Rail has done that.”
Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2, was the final speaker of the day. He began by lauding the role of the supply chain in advocating for the project during the Oakervee Review. Mark also challenged the industry to do more on diversity and create a skills legacy from major projects. Looking ahead, he said the Bill for Phase 2B West will land in Parliament in the New Year, and they will be looking to appoint a design partner for Phase 2A in around a year. Mark also challenged the industry to do more on diversity and create a skills legacy from major projects. He wrapped up by stressing the opportunity HS2 has to innovate, improve the way we build railways, to be sustainable, work with local communities, and opportunities for employment - “Let’s not let the opportunity pass us by.”
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Engineering Together
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Annual Conference 2021
Day 2
4-5 November
Friday 5 November
Day Two of the Annual Conference started with a celebration, with Women in Rail and RIA marking a year since the rail EDI Charter was launched. The occassion was marked at a Trailblazers networking breakfast, supported by Linbrooke.
The Conference was launched with opening remarks via video from Business & Industry Minister Lee Rowley MP. The Minister thanked the industry for their work during the pandemic and set out the need to focus on infrastructure, skills, innovation and decarbonisation. He also highlighted the Rail Sector Deal, speaking about the upcoming refresh of the document, and highlighted Government’s support for the Global Centre for Rail Excellence (GCRE) which received £30m of funding last year.
The importance of collaboration panel Led by Ceri Evans, Head of Business Development Rail UK & Ireland at Bechtel, the first panel of the day explored the importance of collaboration for rail projects. Stuart Calvert, Capital Delivery Director at Network Rail spoke first. He set out his work on Rail Project SPEED and the key findings of his work on the Okehampton Line. He said it was vital that we move from just compliance to creative problem solving and the need to focus on delivering a minimum viable product. He urged the industry to collaborate with communities to deliver better. Simon Blanchflower CBE, CEO at East West Rail, then highlighted the importance of taking an enterprise approach to projects. “Enterprise is everything we need to create the railway service and deliver outcomes, brought together in an integrated way”. John Lawrence, Rail Development Specialist, Viper Innovations, gave the SME perspective and mentioned the importance of collaboration needing to be at the highest level (Government). He
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Annual Conference 2021
Friday 5 November
4-5 November
also mentioned the funding and delivering properly, making sure it’s there for the long way. The session concluded with Alex Warner, Managing Director of Tracsis Transport & Non-Executive Chair of the West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration. He said that the Grand Rail Collaboration was a virtually integrated body to deliver railway improvements in the West Midlands. Many projects were involved, including looking at re-timetabling, ensuring a ‘one team approach’ to Birmingham New Street and planning for the Commonwealth Games. His message: Collaboration should not just be a buzzword. “If I look back at my career, I have enjoyed it immensely, but in a lot of meetings I have been in, customers were not even mentioned. Luckily we are moving away from that”, he concluded. Anna Ince, Vice Chair of the Rail Supply Group (RSG) and Chief Executive Officer at Resonate set out the progress of the Rail Sector Deal. She highlighted the strong progress the Sector Deal has made, in the four pillars of digital railway, mobility & data, a sustainable railway and exports & inward investment. There was also a lot of work done by the Rail Supply Group after the Coronavirus outbreak, with the ‘Act Now’ initiatives setting out how the industry can be supported through pipeline visibility, improved railway access and better utilisation of data. She explained that the Rail Sector Deal would be refreshed in the coming months, with a renewed emphasis on the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, levelling up, Build Back Better and Net Zero. She said they’d be running another survey to examine the priorities soon - watch this space!
International opportunities for the UK supply chain panel Things took an international turn, with a panel session looking at the opportunities for rail abroad. Joining from Canberra, Australia, via Zoom, Caroline Wilkie, CEO of the Australasian Railway Association spoke about rail activity taking place Down Under. Caroline set out how the ARA represent 170 companies across a $30bn (AUS) industry. She said the industry in Australia could be complex - there are both private and state-owned operators and a federal state structure. She added that there was a significant pipeline of work, with $155bn of projects coming through, including Inland Rail, Sydney Metro, Cross River Rail, Melbourne Metro and Metronet amongst others. She also highlighted the skills shortage in the industry and the need to get more people into the sector.
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Annual Conference 2021
Day 2
4-5 November
Friday 5 November
Munir Patel, Chief Executive Officer at XRail Group gave his view as the new Chair of RIA’s Export Leadership Group and as an SME exporting across the world. He urged rail suppliers to get to know their market and to attend a trade show to explore what opportunities are out there. Kaspars Briškens, Head of Strategy & Development at Rail Baltica, spoke next - dialling in from Latvia. He said Rail Baltica was a major project in terms of scale and complexity, so they’re keen to work with businesses on delivering something smart and sustainable. He urged UK rail businesses to come on board and find out more about the project. The final speaker was David Priestley, Head of Export Finance Managers at UK Export Finance. He set out the opportunities for businesses of using export finance, highlighting projects where it had been used, including on Alstom’s Cairo Monorail project. He said the organisation was there to support the industry and can offer advice for suppliers looking for help. The final session of the Conference was an interview with Network Rail Chief Executive Officer Andrew Haines OBE. He began with an honest statement that the industry could not simply rely on passengers to return. He said it was positive to see leisure travellers return in force after the pandemic, but that commuter numbers were still down, and that the industry needed to adapt to the new customer model. When asked about his priorities for the coming year, he highlighted four points: welcoming passengers back; not losing sight of safety; driving a leaner cost base; and transitioning successfully to Great British Railways On upcoming projects, he said that, structurally speaking, there may be fewer, bigger projects over the coming years, but that’s because some of those projects are massive, there would be an unprecedented level of investment going into the rail network. He also promoted Network Rail’s work with SMEs and their aim to get more smaller companies into their supply chain. A real win to bringing people back to the railway could be created through reforming the ticketing system, he added, to make sure its simple and accessible. And on the creation of Great British Railways, Andrew said you could expect moves to bring track and train closer together in 2022, although primary legislation would be needed to set up the organisation itself. He urged RIA and RIA members to ensure the industry does not turn inward during the restructuring. The final question to Andrew came in two parts - what frustrated him most and what enthused him most. On the former, he said the speed of change was sometimes slower than he would like and on the latter, he spoke about decarbonisation, and the role of rail as a green, sustainable mode of transport.
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withersrogers.com
Rail innovations: Keep the value in your business through Intellectual Property
Talk to the head of our Rail sector group Nicola Anderson +44 114 273 3400 nanderson@withersrogers.com
Annual Conference 2021
4-5 November
RISE Awards 2021 Winners
SME Growth in Rail Award
SME Growth in Rail Award Sponsored by:
Dura Composites Xrail Group
Picture of joint winners
Safety and Wellbeing Award
Safety and Wellbeing Award Sponsored by:
Asset Insights
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Annual Conference 2021
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Award
4-5 November
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Award S ponsored by:
Atkins, Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group
Environment and Sustainability Award
Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by:
Atkins, Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group
Collaboration Award
Collaboration Award Sponsored by:
Porterbrook
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Unlocking Innovation Award
Unlocking Innovation Award sponsored by:
One Big Circle
Future Leader Award
Future Leader Award Sponsored by:
Fi Westcough, Atkins, Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group
mpro5 Client of the year 2021 Award Kris Kinnear, Network Rail Scotland
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HALF TERM FAMILY FUN 23-31 October London Transport Museum
From
STEAM to
GREEN
Enjoy interactive STEM inspired activities with real-world engineers
With thanks to our Climate Crossroads coalition partners:
EVENING PROGRAMME
Networking drinks
Ian Moore, Comedian Networking dinner
Matt & Marcel live band
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SPONSORS Many visited the stands of the Platinum and Gold sponsors including Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris MP.
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Annual Conference 2021
4-5 November
WE THANK OUR SPONSORS Platinum
Gold
Silver
Badge
Dinner
mpro5 @railindustry
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16th International Exhibition of Railway Equipment, Systems & Services
14th International Railway Infrastructure Exhibition
Coming together for the first time in London!
10 - 12
MAY 2022
t a u o y See
Olym
KEEP UP TO DATE:
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Annual Conference 2021 4-5 November, London
For any queries regarding the Annual Conference 2022, please email katherine.anchorena@riagb.org.uk or call 020 7201 0777
Kings Buildings, 16 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HQ +44 (0) 207 201 0777 ria@riagb.org.uk www.riagb.org.uk