Railway Industry Magazine - Spring 2023

RAILWAY INDUSTRY MAGAZINE THE

magazine of the Railway Industry Association

EAST WEST RAIL CEO

BETH WEST

Challenges the supply chain to deliver on sustainability and cost control.

Jenny Gilruth MSP

Scotland’s Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, answers questions from The Railway Industry magazine.

Dyan Crowther OBE

HS1 CEO pledges that the company will continue to provide “a testbed for rail innovation”.

SPRING

The official

DARREN CAPLAN

Welcome to this edition of the RIA members’ magazine, The Railway Industry, which is being published on the first day of our two-day Innovation Conference in Nottingham.

The theme of the conference, “Realising the benefits of innovation”, is addressed in several of the articles in this issue, including an interview with Network Rail’s Chief Technology Officer, Robert Ampomah. We also have Beth West, CEO of East West Rail, Dyan Crowther, HS1 CEO and Shamit Gaiger, MD of West Coast Partnership Development, as well as a host of other articles.

As we debate how we can build a bigger and better railway, it is striking to note how rail passenger numbers are already bouncing back strongly from the pandemic. A year ago those numbers were at barely 50% of pre-Covid levels. By last month they surpassed the 100% milestone on Friday 10 February and hit or exceeded that level five days in a row. By Wednesday 22 February they hit 103%. Revenues are also coming back, hitting

90% of pre-Covid levels, with every prospect of growing in the months to come.

So the need for more capacity in the railway network is clear. This is certainly not a time to be talking about managed decline either in the rail network or the railway industry. Rather we should be embracing and promoting growth and accelerating plans to deliver the bigger and better network that we will need in the future. Remember too that this passenger recovery has been taking place at a time of regular industrial action and poor service levels on some lines. Imagine how much higher the numbers would have been if we hadn’t had these challenges.

We all know the importance of rail to the economy, whether jobs, GVA or catalytic benefits. The other reason why we have to push ahead with a bigger and better rail network is the need to help the Government achieve its decarbonisation ambitions. The Government wants to see diesel-only trains off the network by 2040 (2035 in the case of the Scottish Government) and it has set an overall goal to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

This just won’t happen unless we do three things – firstly, massively ramp up electrification on intensively used lines. The Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan envisages around 13,000 kilometres of electrification works carried out by 2050, yet we are nowhere near the rate required to deliver this. Office of Rail & Road data shows, incredibly, that there was actually a decline of 7km of electrified track between 2020 and 2022. Secondly, we need to provide greater support on battery-

Milda Manomaityte • Innovation Director

Neil Walker • Exports Director

Robert Cook • Policy Director

Rose Garber • Member Relations Director

RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

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and hydrogen-powered trains for less intensively used parts of the network. And, thirdly, government, Network Rail and other rail clients need to work with rail suppliers, so they never lose out for offering lower carbon solutions but are incentivised to reduce emissions.

This is why RIA has launched a new campaign on decarbonisation. In 2021 we delivered an award-winning campaign called Rail Decarb 21, which successfully fixed the need for more electrification and hydrogen and battery trains in Government plans. However, it is now clear that these plans are not being delivered at the rate required. So earlier this month during Transport Decarbonisation Week we launched Rail Decarb 23, calling for faster adoption of electrification, hydrogen and battery as well as ensuring rail suppliers never lose out financially when offering lower carbon solutions. We will announce more details in the weeks and months to come. Meanwhile, please support the campaign and provide us with case studies and examples. By engaging together with Government and rail clients we can raise this agenda up the Government’s list of priorities and accelerate decarbonisation across the railway network.

Enjoy the conference and The Railway Industry magazine

Darren Caplan Railway Industry Association Chief Executive

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Jenny Gilruth MSP

“I LOVE THE RAILWAYS”

Scotland’s Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth MSP, answers questions from The Railway Industry magazine.

1. How are the railways in Scotland different from those in England?

I think the first thing that struck me following my appointment as Transport Minister last year, was the natural interconnectivity across Rail – and that’s no different in Scotland than in England, in my experience. There is a railway family approach; that solidarity is important.

What is undoubtedly different are the ideologies of the Scottish and UK Government in relation to the role that we consider our railways can have. I’d highlight how we resolved industrial disputes in Scotland in comparison to the UK Government’s approach in recent times. I spend a great deal of my time listening to and working with our trade union partners – indeed, they campaigned long and hard for public ownership of ScotRail. I’m pleased we’ve been able to deliver that in Scotland and only recently I announced we’d be doing similarly with the Caledonian Sleeper. Compare and contrast with the UK Government’s approach to our trade unions – threatening to ban democratic action, ideologically focused on leveraging in more private sector in the railways and

with no apparent political focus to resolving the ongoing Network Rail dispute.

2. Does the overall financial settlement from the UK Government allow Scotland to spend enough on rail?

The Scotland funding settlement from the UK Government for Control Period 6 was based on the amount required to cover the costs identified by Network Rail, although this was less than the share of the previous cost base and the relative value of the Regulated Asset Base.

Funding for Control Period 7 will be retained at that level with the Barnett formula applied, which will give the Scottish Government a Barnett share of around 8.9% of annual changes to the equivalent funding allocated to the Department for Transport (DfT). Given that the Barnett share is lower than Scotland’s share of Network Rail costs, this will mean that the Scottish Government would need to reallocate existing funding to account for any change not covered by the Barnett consequential funding adjustments.

The overall funding that DfT will receive from HM Treasury to cover the amount reflected in the DfT Statement of Funding Availability for CP7 is still not clear, due to the element of that which will be covered by track access charges payable by train operating companies – a position which is clearly unsustainable.

The Scottish Government has therefore had to make prudent assumptions as to the level of funding that will be available to cover the amount allocated to Network Rail, which is reflected in the increased funding allocated in the Scottish Statement of Funding Availability.

“I spend a great deal of my time listening to and working with our trade union partners – indeed, they campaigned long and hard for public ownership of ScotRail”.

Jenny Gilruth MSP, Minister, Scotland’s Transport

3. Mark Harper, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, spoke about plans for Great British Railways on 7 February. What did you make of his speech?

I think if the UK Government really wanted a conversation with the Scottish Government that they might have picked up the phone. UK Ministers rarely, if at all, see the need to engage with their Scottish counterparts. That sends a message – we are not in a partnership of equals. The plans for Great British Railways have always struck me as something of a UK Government vanity project. Undoubtedly, we need reform, but wrapping things up in a Union Jack badge says more about the UK Government’s real political priorities than anything else.

More broadly, there is a general unease across the industry in relation to GBR and the pace of planned change. The lack of political urgency in resolving the ongoing Network Rail dispute should be Mark Harper’s resolute focus at the present time – not painting Union Jacks over Network Rail signs.

We have consistently presented a clear case for the full devolution of rail powers. So far, the UK Government’s plans for rail will not deliver this and, indeed, there was not a single mention of Scotland in the Secretary of State’s speech. You might have thought something badged as ‘British’ would have sought to mention the component countries of Great Britain.

Irrespective, we will not accept a position where the devolved position with rail in Scotland is in any way eroded or undermined. Full control of rail powers for Scotland becomes more important now that ScotRail is in public ownership and our key aim in bringing ScotRail into public sector control is to put the passenger first.

4. Rail funding plans for Scotland for the period from April 2024 to March 2029 were announced earlier this month. From your perspective, what are the most important elements in those plans?

The High-Level Output Specification, as funded by the Statement of Funds Available, provides for £4.2 billion for operations, maintenance and renewals investment. Most importantly this record investment continues our commitment to delivering a railway focussed on safe and efficient performance, which delivers benefits for communities across Scotland and supports an inclusive and sustainable economy. Providing value for money in the context of the whole Scottish rail network is also a top priority for me, as we continue to emphasise decarbonisation and modernisation

of the network, which are fundamental to the future of the railway.

5. You recently opened the new railway station at Inverness Airport. Does the Scottish Government do enough to promote joined-up thinking across different modes of transport?

I was delighted to open the new station at Inverness Airport recently and was pleased to see how active travel had been built into the design and how the new station acts as an interchange between the rail, bus, air, and active travel modes. I look forward in the future to the communities at East Linton, Levenmouth and Cameron Bridge benefitting from the improved connectivity the railway can provide as part of a more integrated public transport system.

“Full control of rail powers for Scotland becomes more important now that ScotRail is in public ownership and our key aim in bringing ScotRail into public sector control is to put the passenger first”.

I absolutely want Scotland’s Railway to drive forward an integrated approach as most railway stations are an integral part of local communities. The East Kilbride route improvements and Levenmouth are exciting examples of where rail improvements have stimulated a more holistic approach to public transport and active travel and brought together rail and local authority partners, and I want more of this.

Our second strategic transport projects review includes a range of projects that we demand brings about better integrated public transport and our rail partners will play a key role in delivering our vision.

6. Is rail electrification in Scotland being delivered quickly enough and cheaply enough?

Our ambitious plans for rail electrification in Scotland are set out in our rail services decarbonisation action plan. Since its publication in 2020, we have placed orders for six new feeder stations across the country and have begun electrification of the Barrhead Route, and the line from Haymarket to Dalmeny. We are clear that we are not proceeding with electrification at any cost; to deliver our plans we need our rail industry partners to continue to drive down cost, drive innovation, find new more efficient ways of working and reduce the time taken for electrification works.

7. What roles do you see for battery electric and hydrogen in Scotland’s future railways?

Not all our railway lines naturally lend themselves to being fully electrified, because of their remoteness and patronage, nor can we achieve full electrification all at once on those routes which do justify it. So, both battery electric and hydrogen have a role to play in transition and potentially for the longer-term on

the more remote lines. There are still some challenges over the logistics and maturity of the hydrogen supply chain to refuelling points and the capital and operational costs of the trains. These will need to be worked through before we will know how, where and when it can be deployed, and where battery electric is the better answer.

8. What are your impressions of the rail supply industry in Scotland? Do you see it as an effective part of Team Scotland?

I recognise the rail supply industry’s important and effective contribution to Scotland’s Railway. Its work to drive positive change in the rail sector, on areas such as innovation, equality and diversity, and supporting small and medium enterprises is appreciated.

The rail supply industry is central to delivering Team Scotland’s ambitious investment and enhancement plans for a socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable Scotland. It keeps the railway running daily, delivering for passengers and freight and keeps Scotland moving.

9. Do you enjoy working on railrelated issues or do you find it frustrating?

Quite honestly, I love the railways. I take the train to work most weeks and it is one of the best parts of my day. I love to speak to the people who work on our trains; they are the bread and butter of Scotland’s

Railways and without them the whole system just would not work.

10. What difference would Scottish independence make to the railways in Scotland?

It would make a huge difference. A fully devolved railway - which is public sector controlled and operated in the service of the public, and which is fully integrated and truly accountable – will deliver better and more efficient services for Scotland’s communities. But our full potential to create the rail network, services and infrastructure that will help make Scotland fairer, greener, and wealthier will only be realised with full control of all relevant rail powers and resources through independence.

11. Are there other rail issues on which you would like to comment?

Our railways are not just about trains. They have the power to change lives – to widen opportunities, to bring investment and even to tackle poverty. We need to think more about the wider societal benefits investment in rail can bring; if we want to shift people out of their cars then we need to ensure there is rail capacity to meet that need. Leven’s new railway in my constituency is going to be a game changer for our local area – I look forward to being able to point in five to ten years’ time at the difference our new station has made, not just to connectivity, but more broadly to improving life chances and opportunities for all.

“I recognise the rail supply industry’s important and effective contribution to Scotland’s Railway. Its work to drive positive change in the rail sector, on areas such as innovation, equality and diversity, and supporting small and medium enterprises is appreciated”.

VETERAN BBC TRANSPORT JOURNALIST SAYS THE RAIL SUPPLY CHAIN NEEDS CERTAINTY TO INVEST FOR THE FUTURE

Paul Clifton, the BBC’s transport correspondent for southern England for nearly 30 years, says that rail could be a thriving industry at the centre of decarbonisation with appropriate political backing.

Paul Clifton

Speaking to The Railway Industry magazine, Paul Clifton said that a change in the structure of the railways is needed to create the right conditions for a brighter future. Clifton declared, “We have currently got an unworkable structure. Everybody will tell you this. This is not a personal opinion. This is what the whole industry thinks”.

Reflecting on the implications of this for the rail supply industry, he said “I think currently it is facing existential problems. RIA’s members crave certainty, and they haven’t got it. We have had a degree of political paralysis over the structure of the industry. The recent speech by new Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, confirmed the creation of Great British Railways, but it’s still quite a long way from actually taking control. Meanwhile, we have a Treasury that wants to trim expenditure on rail”.

He said that “If train operators can’t invest, if they have practically to ask Government permission to order more toilet paper for the loos on Platform 1, if Network Rail has to trim its maintenance and renewals budget by billions, then the supply chain faces both short- and longterm problems. It can’t recruit. It can’t invest in training for the next generation of staff. It is going to lead to short fixed-term contracts, instead of long-term commitments. It can’t buy kit that might take a decade or two to pay back. A lot of people tell me that the industry is being driven towards a period of managed decline”.

THE GREENEST FORM OF MASS TRANSPORT

Clifton said “Until that structure is changed, it is hard to see how the railway can plan ahead properly – and all this is in an industry that ticks all of the climate change and decarbonisation boxes. This really ought to be a golden age

for rail, the greenest form of mass transport”.

Turning from structure to people, he said “The railway has some extremely high calibre leaders. They are hugely well regarded. There is nothing to suggest that the industry is being led by the wrong people. There is a lot to

suggest that the political decisions to enable them to do their job effectively have not been taken”. Clifton said he “loved going to the big industry meetings and spending time with people who are transparently clever, who have obviously got a really good grasp of this industry. There is no reason

“Until that structure is changed, it is hard to see how the railway can plan ahead properly – and all this is in an industry that ticks all of the climate change and decarbonisation boxes”.

Paul Clifton, transport correspondent, BBC

why they shouldn’t be able to run a thriving industry, but they haven’t got the political capital behind them for that to happen”.

Asked which industry leaders had particularly impressed him, Clifton said “You can’t fail to be impressed by people like Lord Hendy and Andrew Haines. Their grasp of the industry is immense. Andrew’s working life must be like living in a pressure cooker. He is trying to provide strategic leadership whilst fighting fires every single day. Peter Hendy knows everyone”.

There are, he said, “many others who consistently make a strong impression – Alex Hynes in Scotland, Angie Doll at Govia Thameslink, Neil Robertson at NSAR (The National Skills Academy for Rail), Tim Shoveller at Network Rail and Rob Morris at Siemens Mobility. I would add to that the people whose names you will never hear – the drivers, the guards, the signallers, the supply chain people, many of whom kindly keep me quietly up to speed, often off the record”.

Speaking about skills, Clifton said that, although NSAR is a small organisation, Neil Robertson’s role is to “shout a lot about skills. He shouts very effectively, and he backs it up with good hard evidence, good research. They punch well above their weight”.

AN ISSUE WITH YOUNG TALENT

He said that rail clearly has an issue with attracting and retaining young talent. The supply chain needed political certainty and clarity about investment “so that they can recruit, train and upskill their staff, things that cost money and take years to bring a return. If they don’t get long-term contracts, they can’t make those investments and we end up with the sort of skills shortage we have now. It is one of the issues facing the industry that has to be resolved”.

Clifton has worked at the BBC for 35 years, starting as a transport correspondent just as the privatisation of the railways was being planned. Of his role today, he said “in a rational world, rail would be about a quarter of my work, but with the railway’s administrative structure in such a mess and with a succession of serious performance and infrastructure issues across the train operators and Network Rail, it is currently closer to three quarters”.

He has also written for every issue of Rail Review since its launch. He describes the publication as “a

quarterly journal by and for the people who sit at the industry’s top table, and I relish the conversations with these people. The articles aren’t about generating headlines. They are about stimulating debate and sharing best practice. It is an opportunity for longform journalism for a specialist readership, alongside the day job serving a large television audience. For Rail I write news, features and analysis. For both, I am writing for people who often know far more about the subject than I do, and I like that challenge. It keeps me fresh”.

“A change in the structure of the railways is needed to create the right conditions for a brighter future”.

Crowther OBE

CEO PLEDGES THAT HS1 WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE “A TESTBED FOR RAIL INNOVATION”

Dyan Crowther OBE, CEO of HS1, has said that the company, which operates both St Pancras station in London and the UK’s high-speed rail link to Europe, will continue to act as a testbed for railway innovation.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Railway Industry magazine, Dyan Crowther emphasised that “one of the beauties of HS1 is we are small, and we can make decisions, so being agile helps us to innovate fast and then move on to the next thing or succeed quickly and then implement the benefits”. We are ready to embrace different things. We can move through the approvals process quite quickly, but we can also capture the success criteria and understand where things have worked well and where they haven’t and then we share that with other stakeholders in the system”.

Examples of HS1 innovation she described include station and track digital twin augmented reality projects, the use of groundbreaking technology to pinpoint

where passengers are at St Pancras and trials with Eurostar of facial recognition technology and a digital queuing solution to eliminate postBrexit border congestion at the terminal.

HS1’s digital twin augmented reality projects have involved the creation of digital representations of station and track assets and the development of interactive experiences, combining the real world and computergenerated content.

Crowther said that the station trial, involving lifts and escalators, “allows us to predict failure so that we can make an early intervention and also understand, if we don’t make that intervention, what impact that can have on customer experience”. Similarly, she said, the digital twin

of a set of points outside St Pancras “gives us a representation of how the asset performs and potentially reduces trackside interventions. Predict and prevent reduces intervention with the asset, so that you get safety, productivity and reliability improvements”.

Dyan

“One of the beauties of HS1 is we are small, and we can make decisions, so being agile helps us to innovate fast and then move on to the next thing or succeed quickly and then implement the benefits”.

Dyan Crowther OBE, CEO. HS1

AT THE START OF OUR JOURNEY

She stressed that both are trials –“We are at the start of our journey, not the end of it. What we have done so far will allow us to better plan the next phase of our asset management strategy. We are planning for that now, and it gives us a better idea of how we can challenge further efficiencies within the supply chain so that we can deliver real cost-benefit to our train operators”.

HS1 has also signed a three-year contract with a supplier to use innovative technology that allows it to see the location of all the passengers at St Pancras. “What that does” she said “is give us a realtime digital view of where people are on the station, which means that when we have got congestion, queues, we can deploy staff, we can do things to make an earlier intervention before things get out of hand or it starts to negatively impact the customer experience. It is still early days, but certainly we are quite excited about it”.

Crowther said that HS1 is working closely with Eurostar on what she described as “a smorgasbord of ideas” to speed up the passenger journey through border controls at the station, which have been slowed by post-Brexit requirements for physical stamps in passports. “That means queues and the customer experience at St Pancras diminishes, so finding a seamless and frictionless way for passengers to be processed through the border is fundamental. We have been trialling with Eurostar a facial recognition system that can be accepted by both the borders and really move passengers through very quickly”. Another idea that has been looked at is to use a passenger app to implement a digital queueing system that would effectively use the whole of St Pancras as a waiting lounge. The

app would call customers down at the right time for their departures, negating the need for them to stand in queues.

Crowther said that improving capacity at St Pancras is one of her key strategic objectives, both to improve the passenger experience and to make it feasible in future for HS1 to extend the number and range of its international services. One of HS1’s challenges is that, while the 109-kilometre HS1 line was the first new railway to be built in England for over a century, enabling trains to run at 300 kilometres an hour, St Pancras station itself is over 150 years old. Grade 1 listed, it offers limited options for significant physical changes. Comparing it to similar grand terminals in continental Europe, Crowther said “These railway stations are old, Victorian. They weren’t built with international passengers in mind, so it’s about using your imagination”.

AN UNDER-UTILISED ASSET

For now, the HS1 line continues to be what Crowther describes as “an under-utilised asset”, operating at about 45% of its capacity. Filling that asset with trains is another “fundamental strategic objective for us”, she says. HS1 has just launched a domestic recovery plan and it is continuing to work on plans to grow international travel. Frankfurt is seen as a strong candidate to be a future destination, while Geneva and Bordeaux are also in the company’s sights. Growing the markets for Paris and Amsterdam is also seen as fundamental, with a recent study suggesting that it may be possible to cut current journey times between London and Amsterdam by up to 40 minutes.

At the start of this year HS1 rebranded its logo to emphasise

HS1 is working closely with Eurostar on what she described as “a smorgasbord of ideas” to speed up the passenger journey through border controls at the station, which have been slowed by post-Brexit requirements for physical stamps in passports.

its image as “the green gateway to Europe”, stressing the benefits of high-speed international rail travel, and setting modal shift at the heart of its strategic goals and objectives. In 2021 it was one of the first UK rail companies to move over to 100% renewable energy, though the big energy price increases that resulted from war in Ukraine have forced a temporary switch back to fossil fuel source. Now the switch to renewable energy sources is being restarted, with HS1 signing a tenyear contract with a Scottish wind farm and, shortly, another contract with a solar farm in Kent. On the energy use front, the introduction of regenerative braking on the South Eastern fleet is expected to reduce

energy usage by up to 8%, as well as saving “a lot of cost” for South Eastern. The next stage will be to start looking at also introducing that on Eurostar’s fleet.

Reflecting on her 36-year career in the UK rail industry, Crowther, who is also a member of the Great British Railways Board of Directors and a Non-Executive Director for East West Railway, said she had initially been attracted to the sector as a graduate trainee by the opportunities for a lot of accountability early in her career. Within a year of joining a management trainee scheme in 1986 she was running ten stations in London and had 60 staff. “That was fabulous”, she said. “What has kept

me there? – variety. I have worked

In HR. I have run a big project in freight. I have run a couple of train operating companies and major stations in the UK. It is a dynamic industry. It is always changing and in the role that I do now, I have got that great blend of providing a public service, but I also have that commercial challenge as well, working with private equity. That is really what has kept me there”.

EAST WEST RAIL CEO CHALLENGES THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO DELIVER ON SUSTAINABILITY AND COST CONTROL

Beth West

Beth West told The Railway Industry magazine “One of the things that I am going to keep challenging the supply chain on is ‘how do we do less’? How do we get the same outcomes, but with less waste, less earth movement and less concrete, because it is really important that we do take our environmental responsibilities very seriously”.

Asked how receptive the supply chain is to this argument, she replied “I think we probably have a way to go. People say, ‘if I am more sustainable, it will cost me more money’. I don’t buy it. If you think about it at the outset, you will both be able to save money and be more sustainable, because you are having less of an impact on the environment and that will save you money”.

West said that East West Rail is not about finding the cheapest solution, but it was really important to be able to demonstrate “that we can deliver things much more cost-effectively, so that we can demonstrate that we can deliver a railway that is a lot cheaper than what we have done in the past”.

Reflecting on what characterises a successful relationship between an infrastructure company and a supply chain company, West emphasises the importance of objectives being

aligned. She said it is “exhausting to have conflictual relationships all the time, which is par for the course in construction. So really whenever we have a contractual relationship the first thing that I am interested in is ‘are we trying to get to the same place’? Does success look like the same thing for both of us?”

I WANT PEOPLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL

While West said she is “personally driven by cost savings”, she also stresses that she is “keen for people to make a good profit because that is how they reinvest, not an absurd profit, but I want people to be successful and make money. I don’t want to squeeze people down, so they are not making a return, because that also gets into some really weird behaviours.”

Asked about innovation, West, who has previously held senior roles at both HS2 and London Underground, calls it “a very long-standing passion of mine”. Describing East West Rail, she says that “what is the great opportunity is that we are small, yet perfectly formed. We can be a lot more selective in how we bring technologies on and really focus on how we deliver the innovation and be the change that the industry wants to see”.

“I look at what we have got as a really great opportunity to help drive the industry forward” she said “We are trying to be much more agile. This is the beauty of being a relatively small organisation. What I am trying to do is get into a culture where we form ‘Task and Finish’ projects and they are cross-functional teams, rather than having the silos that you get in other bigger more mature organisations. Cross-functional teams enable us to deliver much more quickly and try to get it right first time”.

Commenting on innovation in the supply chain, West agrees with the

suggestion that it often comes from smaller companies. “Construction is a tricky one” she said “They are on very thin margins, so it is actually really difficult to put the money into research and development. So it is the smaller companies that often have more budgets for research and development, or they are set up to deliver something that is different”. She said it was also about deploying good ideas from other industries into the rail sector “because a lot of innovation today is happening with the synergy of different things coming together, rather than a brand-new idea”.

Looking back on her first year at East West Rail, West said she was amazed to discover that it was “a much more diverse group of people than she had seen in the industry. There are a lot more women, which I am delighted about. It is, she said “really important to me that we are able to bring in the best talent that we possibly can and get diverse voices both from a background perspective but also where people have come from in terms of their technical capabilities”.

GREAT SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT

Also, when she joined, she said “it wasn’t clear that we were going to be progressing between Bletchley and Cambridge. I am delighted to say that we have got great support from the Government now and therefore we are able to progress the full route”. Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed in November that the Government is committed to the entire East West Rail route from Oxford to Cambridge.

Asked if the timetable for the delivery of East West Rail might be delayed by rising energy and construction costs, West is firm in saying that it would not be.

Construction of the line between Bicester and Bletchley is already under way. An announcement is expected in the first half of this year

“How do we get the same outcomes, but with less waste, because it is really important that we do take our environmental responsibilities very seriously”.

“I want people to be successful and make money. I don’t want to squeeze people down, so they are not making a return, because that also gets into some really weird behaviours”.

Beth West, CEO, East West Rail

on the Bedford to Cambridge line of route and on upgrades to the section of line between Bletchley and Bedford - though a possible link to Aylesbury is still the subject of discussion with Network Rail and the Department for Transport. East West Rail is also moving ahead as quickly as possible with the planning process and will be looking at its capital spending requirements once planning approvals have been secured.

The first trains between Oxford and Milton Keynes, expected to be in operation by 2025, will be diesel trains. On this, West says “It is a decision that was made before I joined. It is a short-term solution because of the train availability and the desire to make sure that we had the service running sooner rather

than later. It is not the aspiration for the long-term solution, and we are looking at a variety of different options that are either with overhead lines or battery-operated trains. I feel very strongly about it personally and it something the company is working on very hard – to make sure that diesel is only a short-term solution”.

West’s concluding comments focus on the importance of East West Rail engaging with its local communities.

“It is about being an engaged rail company that wants to work with our local communities to get the best outcomes” she said. “I spend a fair amount of time on this, and I joke with the team that I like to have lots of cups of tea because it is really important to have those cups of tea in person. It is a very good way to hear people’s perspectives and to make sure that we are on the right track”.

On the importance of East West Rail engaging with its local communities “It is about being an engaged rail company that wants to work with our local communities to get the best outcomes”.

SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED COMPANIES VITAL FOR RAIL INNOVATION AND CAN FLOURISH WITH THE RIGHT SUPPORT FROM BIG CLIENTS

Small and medium sized businesses are “absolutely vital” for rail innovation in the UK and will flourish with appropriate backing from Network Rail and other big clients according to Lucy Prior MBE, the Chair of RIA’s SME Group.

Speaking to The Railway Industry magazine, Lucy Prior said that the Group’s engagement with Network Rail and the Great British Railways Transition Team is focussing on ensuring that top-level investment, operational development and maintenance spending plans for 2024 to 2029 and long-term strategy plans translate into both trickle-down visibility and cashflow.

Striking an upbeat tone throughout,

Prior emphasised the importance of constructive dialogue to find solutions to challenges and the positive role being played by a wide range of SME advocates and allies at Network Rail, the GBR transition team, the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Transport and RIA itself.

Speaking ahead of RIA’s 2023 Innovation Conference in Nottingham, she said it was not surprising that SMEs are always seen

to be hotbeds of innovation because “we are smaller by nature. We are closer to the problem or certainly closer to creating the solution. Because we are not these big, unwieldy organisations who have to go through layers and layers of bureaucracy, we can see or respond to a problem, we can tackle it, we can provide that solution. It has been proven time and time again that that SME innovativeness is what helps”.

However, she said, too often SMEs –

especially digital companies, digital start-ups and micro-SMEs – find themselves contemplating a “valley of death” between developing an innovation and making a first rail sale. “We can bring innovations to the marketplace”, she said, “but it is the next step where business can falter. We have got this product or service approved and tested and trialled and ready to go. It is then the actual pushing it into market. It can take an awful lot of legwork. So it is something that does need looking at”.

CASH FLOW IS CRUCIAL

Prior said she had heard an anecdote of Network Rail telling an SME that they liked and had approved a product and would start buying it in 18 months’ time. For the company, that would mean an unsustainable wait for income, she said. They are thinking: “We have got this thing to sell now. Our company can’t survive 18 months waiting for that revenue to come in”. Cash flow is crucial to a smaller company’s survival rate, Prior said, and it is a lack of cash flow that can be what stymies innovation. The decision makers might like what is on offer, but if they can’t get it through the process quickly enough, that could kill the companies that have created the innovation in the first place or result in them seeking trade in other sectors.

Reflecting on plans for the creation of Great British Railways, Prior said that it could have a positive impact on SMEs, if GBR achieves all its aims. However, she noted that GBR will be a much smaller entity than Network Rail, which would mean that a whole lot of work that Network Rail would have done for itself until now would in future be handed over instead to big contractors and “they have got to work out how they are going to do that”.

She emphasised “We need not only visibility of pipeline. All these big infrastructure headline projects are

there on the horizon, but what does it mean to the supply chain? What is the future for the Rolling Stock market under a new entity that seeks to bring track and train closer together? How will those projects be broken down amongst different contractors and how will sub-

contracts be apportioned to SMEs? What projects are happening when and how can we know about them so that we can get ready for them? It is all about having that foresight and that certainty of income so that SMEs can invest in their people and overheads and make sure that they are there in the long term to provide into that market”.

Prior is keen to stress that RIA’s SME Group is not about “moaning”, but rather about engaging constructively with others to find solutions to mutual challenges. She name-checks a long list of advocates and allies with whom the Group works to develop solutions.

At Network Rail, she said “there are some amazing figures”, mentioning Clive Berrington, Group Commercial & Procurement Director, and Robert Ampomah, Chief Technology Officer, both of whom, she said, “excel at working with the supply chain at all

“SMEs are always seen to be hotbeds of innovation because “we are smaller by nature. We are closer to the problem or certainly closer to creating the solution”.

Lucy Prior MBE, Chair, RIA’s SME Group

levels”. On the Great British Railways Transition Team, she referenced Rufus Boyd, Programme Director, Passenger and Freight Services, (“he is really good at actively participating in SME sessions”) and Ingrid Norman (“she is very much looking at the supply chain and how it engages with the SME community”). The GBRTT also has a Commercial Partnerships Sounding Board, where Nina Lockwood represents SME businesses, and Prior will continue to engage with her and others in that group during their tenure.

THREE FANTASTIC GUYS

Within Whitehall, Prior described the Department for Business and Trade as the supply chain’s conduit into the Department for Transport. At the Department for Business and Trade, she praises the rail team –Mike Noakes, James Brewer and Ivan Youd – as “absolutely committed” to SMEs, adding “those three guys are fantastic at liaising with the supply chain and understanding their needs and actively working with them to achieve progress and deliver worthwhile support and advice”. Wendy Richards and her investment and trade team, now in the same department, following Rishi Sunak’s recent Government reorganisation, “also live and breathe helping SMEs”. Over at the Department for Transport, she says that Rob Vaughan “actively and consistently connects with the wider SME community and makes sure that that they are aware of ways in which the DfT can help and how to loop that into what the Department for Business is doing as well”.

Last but not least, at RIA itself, Prior says that she relies heavily on the support of the SME Group’s Vice Chair, Paul McSharry, Managing Director of Kilborn Consulting, and its 12-strong Leadership Team, who represent a diverse range of SMEs and meet regularly to drive the Group’s agenda forward. Within the RIA secretariat, the SME Group is

supported by Senior Policy Executive, Isabella Lawson (“a policy expert, she is brilliant”), who is currently developing SME-focussed thought leadership material.

In her day job, Prior is Business Growth Director at Doncaster-based, Trough-Tec Systems, part of the Hird Group of companies, which is a distributor and manufacturer of cable management and walkway systems, operating in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.

She said that all the company’s products are manufactured from recycled household waste, diverting tonnes of plastic year-on-year from landfill or incineration. Because of their lightweight nature and long design life of 50 years the product range offers the client efficiencies in terms of cost and carbon savings, whilst contributing to a safer rail environment, Prior said. She explained that the company is actively looking at manufacturing in

the UK and is taking a multi-pronged approach to this to ensure that its circular economy principles can be observed throughout.

Asked how she manages to balance all her commitments, Prior said “Since lockdown I have made a firm stance that I only travel on the nights that I don’t have kids. I am a single mum, a co-parent with my ex-partner (“who is a brilliant dad”). Between us, and with help from my mum, we manage the balance perfectly. But, yes, it can be interesting sometimes juggling school runs at either end of the day with a full-time job that can have you anywhere in the country and at times overseas. So I am quite the advocate for working parents and I am really lucky that TTS from the off have accommodated all my needs for flexible working and we have proved that it does work and it doesn’t impact on the success of the business”.

“RIA’s SME Group is not about “moaning”, but rather about engaging constructively with others to find solutions to mutual challenges”.

Ampomah

NETWORK RAIL TECHNOLOGY CHIEF SAYS DRONES, ROBOTS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL MAKE THE RAILWAY

“MORE EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE AND SAFER”

Robert Ampomah, Chief Technology Officer at Network Rail, has described drones, robotics and artificial intelligence as “a very exciting opportunity” for UK railways.

Speaking to The Railway Industry magazine, Robert Ampomah outlined how Network Rail has been making increasing use of drones for inspections over the last three to four years and plans to do more

with robots eventually, including repairing rail defects.

He said that Network Rail’s “biggest challenge, particularly with artificial intelligence, is how we are able to harvest the data and then use it

numerous times ‘to play different tunes for different assets’. I feel that is where we need to move to now. We are beginning to develop that capability and effectively take people from doing inspections, when we can automate that process

Robert

and redeploy our people onto other critical work activities”.

Ampomah said that Network Rail has trained drone pilots across the country to use them for non-intrusive checks on the track and lineside, particularly of sites that are difficult to access, and also developed a drone fitted with lasers to scan mines and tunnels. “Rather than sending people into confined spaces” he said “we can drill a tiny little bore hole into the ground and then put the drone inside. It scans and captures the data, and we can use it to make decisions, rather than sending people into high-risk areas”.

Similarly, he said, “We have developed some drones able to scan through a tunnel. Rather than putting up a lot of scaffolding and having people clambering up and down, in some cases over a number of days, we are able to do that in a matter of hours using a drone”.

A ROBOT CALLED FELIX

With robots, he said “We are probably not quite as advanced, but we have recently started trialling an inspection

vehicle called Felix, which is a kind of robot, for switches and crossings. You set it off from a starting point and programme where you need it to finish. You don’t have to touch it when it moves. So there is a level of robotics, and it may also be useful to assure some of our construction activities. We are also working with some of our universities, Cranfield being one of them, developing a robot that can inspect and repair rail defects”.

Ampomah said that innovation, including the use of satellite

imagery and artificial intelligence, could also help Network Rail to detect in advance problems caused by unusual weather patterns and severe weather, like some of the clay embankment landslides, for instance the one that recently happened at Hook. With a huge asset base of over 20,000 miles of track to monitor, he said that Network Rail is adopting innovative ways to proactively identify asset failures and overlay the effects of extreme weather to map these high-risk potential areas across different parts of the network.

“With robots, we are probably not quite as advanced, but we have recently started trialling an inspection vehicle called Felix, which is a kind of robot, for switches and crossings”.

Robert Ampomah, Chief Technology Officer, Network Rail

The goal would be to use innovation to be able to predict better and therefore respond faster before a failure happens.

Speaking after Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, had confirmed the Government’s intention to proceed with the creation of Great British Railways, Ampomah predicted that this would present “a fantastic opportunity” for innovation across the whole of the rail system. At present, he said, investment in rail innovation is being taken without enough consideration of the benefits across the whole track and train system together. GBR would make it easier to make “railway system decisions” on investment that would add value for both passenger and freight customers.

He was keen to stress that there is already some collaboration across the system, as people seek to anticipate the future structure. “We know GBR is coming” he said “so we need to start behaving and acting in a more collaborative way and recognising opportunities to deliver value for rail as a whole, rather than wait for GBR to happen. We are doing it in small pockets, which is good, but there are big strides we can make, and I believe transition into GBR will enable that”.

DRIVING DOWN COSTS

Emphasising the importance of driving down costs, Ampomah said “In large part the research and development and innovation strategy in Network Rail is about reducing cost to attract more passenger and freight customers. If we continue to spend at the rate that we have and our costs keep increasing year-on-year, as they have for the last 20 years, there is going to be a ceiling, where passengers will turn around and say, ‘I really can’t afford to go by rail’ Noting that, postpandemic, many commuters are no longer using rail five days a week, he said that Network Rail’s spending

would inevitably have to be within a lower funding envelope.

Speaking about Network Rail’s supply chain relationships, Ampomah said that the organisation is seeking to become more agile and collaborative and to work with suppliers by focussing on outcomes and outputs, rather than being overly prescriptive. That should help provide more visibility of the pipeline, he said, and, hopefully, unlock the potential for innovators in rail.

He also said that Network Rail needs to do more to help small and medium-sized enterprises, noting that they are sometimes frustrated by the length of time it takes the organisation to move from an expression of interest in a product or service to actually realising the commercial opportunity. Earlier identification of what Network Rail wants and closer working with regions at the end of a process

could help to reduce the time it takes to move from an idea to a sale. Another key area where Network Rail could help SMEs, he said, would be by showing more flexibility, for instance in relation to some of the high liability indemnity clauses. Some small businesses are not able to afford these costs or absorb some of the risks, so may not be able to progress their innovation, he said.

Asked about how Network Rail could help the supply chain as a whole, Ampomah said “transparency is key”. Over the next two months the organisation will be partnering with RIA and the Rail Safety and Standards Board to explain its activities and focus areas for the next Control Period, 2024 to 2029. He said that would help businesses of all sizes to focus on where Network Rail is seeking improvements and where there would be opportunities for the supply chain.

“Transparency is key”. Over the next two months the organisation will be partnering with RIA and the Rail Safety and Standards Board to explain its activities and focus areas for the next Control Period, 2024 to 2029.

WORKING TOGETHER TO DELIVER TOMORROW’S RAILWAY

WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH COLLABORATION, WE CAN CREATE A BETTER WORLD, TODAY.

ENGINEERING A BETTER FUTURE FOR OUR PLANET AND ITS PEOPLE.

SHADOW OPERATOR FOR HS2 WILL ASK THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR ADVICE ON FUTURE CHALLENGES

West Coast Partnership Development (WCPD), the shadow operator for HS2, will ask for support from the supply chain to resolve “some significant challenges”.

Shamit Gaiger, WCPD’s Managing Director, told The Railway Industry magazine that her organisation plans to consult the supply chain on complex challenges they are facing including in developing the customer proposition, for example, how high-speed services can deliver a consistent customer experience on both HS2 infrastructure and the current rail network.

Gaiger said “We already work with so many in the supply chain and we get invaluable advice. I am currently working with the business to define the key challenges we are facing in the business around technology, digital and modelling, and then we are going to bring them to the

supply chain and say ‘These are the challenges. Do you want to partner with us in resolving them’?”.

While the focus of HS2 is on construction, WCPD seeks to act as “a champion for customer experience”. Gaiger said that HS2 is “incentivised, quite rightly, to deliver against schedule and budget. When you work in an infrastructure environment,” she said. “You are driven by planning, by budget, by schedule. It is very easy to forget the customer because you are really trying to progress your project. I need to make sure that the customer is not forgotten. I am absolutely championing the customer because I really believe that the high-speed service should

put the customer at its heart and set new standards for customer experience. We have an opportunity to do something different and we need to capitalise on that.”

Shamit Gaiger

“We already work with so many in the supply chain and we get invaluable advice. I am currently working with the business to define the key challenges we are facing in the business around technology, digital and modelling”.

THE ROLE OF WCPD

Gaiger said that the role of WCPD, as the shadow operator of HS2, is to provide advice to Government on how best to design and mobilise high-speed train services that will run both on the high-speed line and then from Crewe onwards on the current network. Issues that it is examining include customer service, fares, branding, timetables, capacity, rolling stock interior design, catering and loyalty programmes.

She said that she sees her job in two ways: “It is giving Government return on investment. It is my job to realise the business case in terms of customer revenue, but also to start moving the debate from construction and cost into the value and benefits that high-speed provides to connectivity and levelling up.”

Acknowledging that the first high-speed trains won’t begin to operate until 2029 at the earliest, Gaiger emphasised that delivering

the benefits of the high-speed rail infrastructure will be the result of years of advance planning. She points out that rolling stock is already in design and that recruiting, and training drivers will take three to four years. “The task we are talking about here is significant” she said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the biggest infrastructure project in Europe. We need to make sure that taxpayer and government get a return on that investment and that we capture the benefits of connectivity whilst providing new standards for customers.”

Gaiger said that as HS2 carries on its work, it is important that decisions about future customers are taken at

the right time. “Customer needs may change so we need to be pragmatic,” she said. “But the principle on which we are working is making a decision at the last responsible moment, so that ministers don’t make a decision unless and until they have to. We are trying to leave the decisions open as much as possible.”

A SHARED VISION

Reflecting on her arrival at WCPD last July, Gaiger said “One of my missions was to create a much closer partnership with HS2, the Department for Transport and Network Rail, which we are really getting to. We are working towards integrating our work and in several

The role of WCPD, as the shadow operator of HS2, is to provide advice to Government on how best to design and mobilise highspeed train services that will run both on the high-speed line and then from Crewe onwards on the current network.

Shamit Gaiger, WCPD’s Managing Director

areas, we have co-ownership. The other thing that I wanted to do was to set out a shared vision for the customer proposition, to try at a cross-industry level to have agreement on that. Right now, we are at the heart of developing that and I am hoping that by the end of April we have a high-level proposition for what the shared vision should be. We are going to have a shared vision with and across GBR, Network Rail, Euston Partnership, HS2, DfT and Transport Focus.”

Beyond the customer vision, WCPD is also developing an integrated plan with HS2 and Network Rail and setting up a strategy. Learning from Crossrail, she said, “there is quite a lot we need to do, together with HS2 and Network Rail, in terms of integrating our activities and later systems to deliver the end state.”

By the end of March 2024 the intention is to have developed a clear picture of what the first day of operations will look like.

Like Avanti West Coast, WCPD is owned 70% by First Group and 30% by the primary train operator in Italy, Trenitalia. Gaiger said that she and her colleagues have learned a great deal from both shareholders about their hands-on experience of diverse rail operations.

She will be visiting Italy with HS2 ltd next month and with Network Rail in May to see for themselves the operations of Frecciarossa, the trains that run on the highspeed line between Turin and Salerno, linking Milan, Bologna, Rome and Naples. Gaiger said that because these Italian trains run on both the high-speed line and the conventional network, they face

integration issues like those that HS2 services in the UK will confront. Describing the Italian services as “fantastic and brilliant”, she said she was struck by a recent consumer survey rating Frecciarossa as one of Italy’s best loved brands – hinting at how she hopes customers in the UK might come to see future HS2 services.

Beyond the customer vision, WCPD is also developing an integrated plan with HS2 and Network Rail and setting up a strategy.

Seetru Safety Valves for the Rail Industry

Seetru is a market leading supplier of safety relief valves for compressed air/gas, liquid & steam

About our Safety Valves

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Seetru products are recognised globally for their exceptional quality and reliability, in recent years Seetru has worked hard to maximise the efficiency of our manufacturing processes, to ensure that we’re able to meet demands for supply and distribution.

Same Day Despatch: We offer competitive lead-times for our range of safety and relief valves. Popular types of our valves are available from stock, allowing customers to purchase certain quantities and see them despatched on the same day. Seetru also offer three-daydespatch across our entire range of safety relief valves.

Huw Merriman MP announced as Rail & HS2 Minister

Huw Merriman was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Transport on 27 October 2022. Before his ministerial career, Merriman sat on the Transport Select Committee, and served as its Chair between 2020 and 2022.

UK kicks off process to negotiate new trade deal with South Korea

The Department for International Trade launched a consultation on an enhanced trade deal with South Korea. The consultation requested input from businesses and the public on which aspects of our current trading relationship with South Korea should be improved.

Levelling Up Investment in rail

More than 100 projects have been awarded a share of £2.1 billion from Round 2 of the Government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund.

Midlands Rail Hub plans announced

Midlands Rail Hub plans, announced by Midlands Connect, have set out more rail services for the region as part of an upgrade package dubbed ‘the biggest step possible in levelling-up the Midlands’. These plans will reduce journey times, increase rail journeys and supercharge the economy by bringing the East and West Midlands closer together.

RIA respond to the publication of the HLOS and SOFA

The Department for Transport (DfT) published the High-Level Output Specification (HLOS) and Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) for the railway in England and Wales for Control Period 7 (CP7) in December. This new funding settlement appears to allow for a small increase in expenditure on Operations, Maintenance and Renewals of the railway in real terms.

Scottish railway suppliers welcome the publication of rail funding for CP7

RIA Scotland welcomed the publication of the HLOS and SoFA

for Scotland’s Railway infrastructure for CP7. On a like-for-like basis, the funding allocated for CP7 is broadly in line with the previous five years, CP6, which is positive news for the supply chain.

Plans to reform Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime announced

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have published plans to reform the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime. This will include a ‘fast-track’ service to support early meaningful engagement and potential resolution of differences between key parties.

Government action to supercharge competitiveness in key UK industries and grow the economy

300 businesses across the UK will benefit from the British Industry Supercharger which provides targeted measures to ensure the energy costs for key UK industries are in line with other major economies around the world –levelling the playing field for British companies across Europe.

The George Bradshaw Address

The Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, gave his first speech on rail at the George Bradshaw Address on 7 February 2023, during which he committed to Great British Railways and set out the next steps for industry reform. The clarity around GBR, which the Secretary of State

was clear will be a strategic guiding mind rather than a controlling mind, is essential to ensuring that rail projects are delivered costeffectively and efficiently by the rail supply chain, providing value for money to both the fare payer and the taxpayer.

HS2 announces hundreds more apprenticeships

HS2’s commitment to creating ‘Skills for Life’ was reinforced as it confirmed 300 more apprenticeship jobs. Over 1,100 people, of all ages and backgrounds, have already secured a HS2 apprenticeship and are on track to boost their career. HS2 confirmed 300 more apprenticeships during National Apprenticeship week. This puts HS2 within reach of its 2,000 apprenticeships target before civils works even begin on the northern extension of the network.

Five-year strategy for Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales has published a five-year Corporate Strategy outlining how they’ll improve public transport and encourage more people to travel sustainably. The not-for-profit organisation, which is wholly owned by the Welsh Government, is delivering a transformational programme that will enhance rail, bus, and active travel routes.

Transport Focus publishes survey findings

Independent watchdog, Transport Focus, has spoken to more than 15,000 people to understand their priorities for the railway, and help

the industry target its investment on the improvements that matter most to passengers.

Passenger figures on the national network reached their highest weekday level since before the pandemic

Department for Transport figures published show that UK rail passenger figures on the national network reached their highest weekday level since before the pandemic, reaching a post-Covid high of 100% on Friday 10 February. On Wednesday 22 February they hit 103%.

Transport for London has published its latest Business Plan, which sets out how it will support London’s economic recovery

Transport for London (TfL) has published its latest Business Plan. Across the plan, £8.1bn will be invested in London’s road and rail network, as well as funding to boroughs provided for investment in their streets.

Energy storage backed with over £23 million in government funding

Over £32 million of Government funding has been awarded to UK projects developing cuttingedge innovative energy storage technologies that can help increase the resilience of the UK’s electricity grid while also maximising value for money.

Major rail projects get the green light in the Autumn Statement

At the Autumn Statement in November, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, gave the green light to several major projects, including HS2 to Manchester, “core” Northern Powerhouse Rail and East West Rail. Hunt also committed to increasing the capital budget over the next two years, but then maintain it in cash terms for the following three years.

RIA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

Q1 2023 - Q4 2023

Natural Cement

Natural Cement manufacture a range of mortars, grouts and shotcretes based on an environmentally friendly Natural Cement binder which has been in use for over 200 years. The unique products are used primarily for Concrete Repairs, Waterproofing, Grouting, Screeding and Sprayed Concrete in a range of markets.

Enable My Team

Enable My Team are a team of Engineers, Surveyors, Building Information Modelling Specialists and Software Developers. Enable My Team provide two main services: AIMS and ATLAS. The team is based in London but operate on major infrastructure projects around the globe.

Softech Rail

Softech Rail are a leading consultancy, project management and engineering company. They have delivered rail solutions, healthcare solutions, IT services, consultancy and training in the UK for nearly three decades.

Arthur D Little

Arthur D Little helps clients overcome today’s most pressing challenges and seize tomorrow’s most promising opportunities. With a powerful blend of creative thinking and scientific rigour they link people, technology and strategy to find original and pragmatic ways to accelerate performance, innovate through convergence and digital, and make a positive impact on the world.

Reinforced Earth

Reinforced Earth® concentrates an unequalled combination of expertise and accumulated experience in the fields of soil-structure interaction and engineered backfills. Their expansive portfolio of techniques applies to a wide range of structures for an extended array of market segments: roads and motorways, environment, railways, hydraulic works, mining, industry, energy, commercial, housing and military.

MPI Limited

MPI Limited specialises in rail, aviation, defence, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, construction and automotive industries. We are experts in our field and so much more than ‘just an agency’. With years of experience in support, professional, technical and engineering recruitment, we know what works and what doesn’t.

Assignar

Assignar was founded in 2014 to serve self-perform general contractors and subcontractors executing work in the field. They’re proud to serve over 600 contractors across the globe on thousands of infrastructure projects.

Railsy

Railsy are a rail specialist training provider, based in the UK, leading on railbased programmes. By working with our global partners, Railsy pioneer sand innovates, allowing us to impact the way businesses and people work around the world.

Rail Sense

Rail Sense’s flexible solutions sit at the heart of infrastructure monitoring, continually measuring and reporting on key infrastructure assets such as track, cabinets, cranes and bridges for parameter changes.

Global Reach Technology

Global Reach Technology are the leader in seamless Passpoint (Hotspot 2.0) authentication and a specialist in secure identity and access management. They deliver high-performance Wi-Fi software, services, and analytics to help global operators, venues, and organisations to connect millions of people, customers and devices safely and automatically to Wi-Fi.

AARC Professional Services

AARC Professional Services is a railway consultancy, committed to providing its clients with outstanding outcomes.

Quest Global

Quest Global brings deep industry knowledge and digital expertise to deliver end to end global product engineering services. They bring together technologies and industries alongside the contributions of diverse individuals and their areas of expertise to solve the problem better, faster.

RIA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

Q1 2023 - Q4 2023

Plowman Craven

Plowman Craven has spent more than 50 years providing a range of measurement and surveying services to the property, rail and infrastructure markets. Their independence enables them to adapt quickly and remain agile to safeguard the future growth and success trajectory of the business as they continue to deliver market leading measurement survey and consultancy services on an unrivalled scale.

RCC Ltd

RCC Ltd, looks after your rail-based training, assessment and competence management. They have extensive experience in designing, developing and implementing training and systems to ensure your rail engineering staff are compliant and safe.

Sensat

Sensat is a visualisation platform enabling better collaboration and decision-making for all project teams involved. By collecting and delivering infrastructure data our platform translates the real world into a digital version. This enables physical industries to analyse and understand their built environments and make smarter decisions.

Comms Design

Comms Design is a high-tech design and manufacturing organisation specialising in electronic products for the rail industry. Based in the UK, they’re highly regarded as a reliable partner for safe, low-cost signalling and communication equipment.

Winder Phillips Associates

Winder Phillips Associates is a specialist, independent management consultancy established in 1999 with the aim of providing clients with high quality rail operations advice. In this time, they have worked across every part of the rail industry in the UK and have undertaken several international commissions.

Modux

Modux was founded in 2008, initially delivering research, software development and consultancy services within the UK defence sector. Since then the company has expanded and now employs select elite technical experts, each having worked on some of the world’s largest technology and digital security programmes.

Henderson & Taylor

Henderson & Taylor brings together three separate operating companies, collaborating across multi-disciplinary projects. All our UK companies; Henderson & Taylor (Public Works), Henderson & Taylor Facilities Management and Henderson & Taylor Building Services have a long and successful heritage. Each founded by entrepreneurs, they have gone on to achieve success through hard work, innovation and the excellence of their business teams.the world.

Zicron

Zircon is a provider of complete, tailored, technical software solutions. Their focus is on high integrity and reliable systems based on embedded, desktop, and machine learning platforms. From conception through to implementation, our teams are there to work with and support our clients and ensure they achieve their project goals.

Aluminium Lighting Company

The Aluminium Lighting Company is a family business of nearly three decades supplying the rail, highways and private development sectors with high-quality aluminium solutions for minor structures. With both standard and bespoke solutions on offer from their facility in South Wales, they supply both domestically and internationally.

Newsom Consulting

Newsom Consulting is an executive search firm specialising in providing diverse leadership talent to clients in the transport, infrastructure and built environment sectors. Our team of expert consultants bring a wealth of experience and industry knowledge to every search, enabling us to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

SPX Flow

SPX Rail Systems provides the railway sector with highly effective solutions that improve network efficiency and protect lives. These solutions are applicable to both conventional and next-generation high-speed rail services.

Ray Chapman Ltd

Ray Chapman Ltd provides consultancy and professional services. With a career spanning over 30 years, Ray has worked on several tourist and economic projects such as the revitalisation of Hastings Pier.

The Maine Group

The Maine Group was created to partner with London businesses in providing them with their secretarial and admin support staff.

Siderise

Siderise has been creating and manufacturing acoustic, fire and thermal insulation solutions for the UK and overseas markets for over 45 years. The Siderise brand and range of insulation products is now renowned internationally.

Kwik-Step

The Kwik-Step Modular Stairway System was invented in 1997 and patents have been granted in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada and Hong Kong. We operate on a ‘supply only’ basis and our systems are designed for simple assembly by the customer or their contractor, aided by our standard instructions, together with a site-specific set of notes and diagrams.

Black Diamond

Black Diamond focus on the military values on which they were founded: integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment, 365 days a year.

Abi Broadley

Abi Broadley are a business consultant service, supporting managing directors and executive teams to help improve business development and build robust sales pipelines; to advise and guide on leadership, to empower people to create a culture of trust; to assist navigating businesses through challenges when growing a company to create a sustainable business; and to help introducing innovation into rail.

DigiSig Rail

DigiSig Rail are experts in railway signalling design, project development and project delivery to enhance the life of train control systems and related equipment. They utilise the most cost-effective design and assurance strategies, whilst delivering problem solving solutions to the rail industry.

Creactive Design Transport

Creactive Design Transport are established and highly regarded designers who work effectively with all the people involved in the design process. With over 30 years’ experience their team is continually re-invented and developed with bright people to ensure fresh and innovative ideas.

Enigma Seven

Enigma Seven will increase sales for suppliers looking to enter or grow their share of the UK rail market. With our extensive market knowledge and contacts, we know who to speak to, when to speak to them and how to pitch to convert opportunities into sales.

Gaynor Pates Operations Director

JUST TWO WEEKS LEFT TO MAKE A SUBMISSION FOR THE UK RAILWAY INDUSTRY SUPPLIER EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Companies in the UK rail supply industry have just a fortnight left to make a submission for the Railway Industry Supplier Excellence (RISE) awards.

The deadline for submissions is 21.00 on Friday 14 April and the shortlist will be announced a month later. Winners will be announced at the RIA Dinner and Awards on 29 June at the London Park Lane Intercontinental Hotel.

For the first time entries are open to non-RIA members. The ten categories for which any UK rail supply company can enter are:

• Safety

• Wellbeing

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Environmental, Social and Governance

• Partnership

• Innovation

• Application of Digital Technology

• Employer of the Year

• SME Exporter in Rail (below

£50m turnover companies)

• SME Growth in Rail (below £50m turnover companies)

In addition, there are three award categories for which individuals can be nominated, with no charge for these nominations. They are:

• Employee of the Year

• Rising Star

• Client of the Yea

This year we are delighted to announce that a dozen senior executives from across the rail sector, regulation and Government have agreed to act as RISE Award Judges. The 2023 judges are:

∙ Robert Ampomah, Chief Technology Officer, Network Rail

∙ Dyan Crowther, CEO, HS1 Ltd

∙ Gareth Evans, Head of Rail Technology, Network Rail

∙ Rachel Fullard, Service Analyst at Rail Delivery Group and EDI Charter Working Group Chair

∙ Shamit Gaiger, Managing Director, West Coast Partnership Development

∙ Jo Lewington, Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer, Network Rail

∙ Klara Ludinova, Innovation Lead – Rail, Innovate UK

∙ Toufic Machnouk, Director, Industry Partnership for Digital Railway, Network Rail

∙ Justin Moss, Head of Business Development, Electrification at Siemens Mobility, Rail Infrastructure and Chair RIA North

∙ Ian Prosser CBE, HM Chief Inspector of Railways and Director of Railway Safety, Office of Rail and Road

∙ Wendy Richards, Railways Infrastructure Lead, Department for Business and Trade

∙ Fi Westcough, Chair, Young Rail Professionals

Previous company award winners provide a flavour of the breadth and variety of the UK’s rail supply chain. They include Dura Composites and XRail Group (Growth in Rail SMEs), Atkins, Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (Environmental Sustainability and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), Porterbrook (Collaboration), Asset Insights (Safety and Wellbeing)

and One Big Circle (Unlocking Innovation).

Looking at the awards to individuals, previous winners include Fi Westcough, Atkins, Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (Future Leader) and Kris Kinnear, Network Rail Scotland (Client of the Year).

For more information on the RISE awards visit www.riagb.org.uk/RISE23

Submissions for this year’s awards can be made by e-mailing rise@riagb.org.uk

Robert Cook Policy Director &

Isabella Lawson Senior Policy Executive

PROGRESS ON EDI – THERE’S SOMETHING EVERY COMPANY CAN DO

The RIA Policy team’s Rob Cook and Isabella Lawson jointly assess how Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) continues to remain near the top of agendas across the industry – and for good reason. Good EDI practices lead to more effective and integrated teams, and better employee retention. With efficiency and skills shortages at the top of everyone’s minds across the economy, there has never been a better time to focus on making your organisation a more inclusive place.

Late last year, the RIA and Women in Rail EDI Charter ran its first annual progress check, where we asked signatories to let us know about how they are progressing against the commitments of the Charter. As part of this, we also asked them to let us know their greatest successes, and their biggest challenges.

Unsurprisingly, the three main challenges that cropped up were a lack of time, resources, and money. Overcoming these barriers requires a commitment from the top down, and leaders being willing to take the necessary steps to promote EDI and make a real difference.

Another challenge to positive movements on EDI is often a lack of understanding – and people not having the time to learn. EDI work can sometimes be boxed into certain characteristics, but covers a whole

range – including parental status, hidden disabilities, and mental health.

So what can companies do? There are many small changes that you can make to help your organisation become more inclusive:

1. Encourage diversity in hiring: Companies can make an effort to diversify their hiring process to attract a wider range of candidates, including those from underrepresented groups.

2. Foster open communication: Encouraging open communication and feedback, creating a culture where

employees feel comfortable expressing their opinions, and promoting active listening can improve inclusivity in the workplace.

3. Celebrate differences: Encourage employees to share their diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences and celebrate them within the organisation.

4. Provide training and education: Provide training and education on unconscious bias, diversity, and inclusion to all employees.

5. Promote diversity in leadership: Companies can work to ensure that their leadership team represents the diversity of their employees and the communities they serve.

6. Encourage employee groups: These can provide a platform for employees from underrepresented groups to connect, network, and share experiences, which can help to improve inclusivity in the workplace. There are also preexisting industry groups if your organisation is small – such as Women in Rail, Archway (LGBTQ+) and Muslims in Rail.

Some of the success stories from Charter signatories included reducing the gender pay gap by 11% and parental leave for all employees. Signatories also undertook small but effective ways of celebrating their employees, such as hosting a ‘bring a bowl’ day, where employees brought in food reflective of their background.

No matter the size of your organisation, there is still work you can be doing – and it doesn’t necessarily have to be internal. If you are a much smaller company with a limited workforce, you

could look into speaking with local communities or supporting a child as a mentor. Charities such as Big Brothers Big Sisters link up adult volunteers with children who need a guiding voice to help them succeed.

If we understand and respect the people that we work with across supply chains and projects, then it makes it easier to collaborate, have difficult conversations, and understand different approaches.

David Clarke Technical Director

MARKET OUTLOOK - TAILWINDS OR HEADWINDS?

Should the UK rail supply chain be ‘glass half empty’ or ‘glass half full’ or do we have a quantum glass which is both half full and half empty at the same time? RIA Technical Director David Clarke looks into the crystal ball for the next few years.

It is clear that rail investment continues to be supported by GB governments. For the national network the level of funding in England, Wales and Scotland for the next five years is broadly similar to the previous five years which was itself a historic high. Also, the accompanying ‘High Level Output Specifications’ say some encouraging things about the importance of consistent pipelines of work and collaboration with suppliers. So, we can have some confidence around renewals volumes on the mainline provided Network Rail delivery doesn’t get distracted by the industry reforms which intend to make it part of Great British Railways (GBR).

The stunning Elizabeth Line has opened and is already exceeding its passenger forecasts and may break even as soon as 2023-241 . We are also progressing well with delivery

of HS2 Phase 1 and East West Rail, both huge programmes which once complete will be just as stunning as the Elizabeth Line. On the national network huge programmes like East Coast Digital, Transpennine Route Upgrade, Midland Mainline Electrification are progressing positively, and we see Midlands Rail Hub, Cardiff Core Valley Lines and the Scottish Decarbonisation Programme all moving forward too. These projects are helping to restore the industry’s delivery reputation which was severely dented in 2015 by major cost and programme overruns on several high-profile projects.

The concern for enhancements is the lack of visibility of the next tranche of projects. In England and Wales the ‘Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline’ hasn’t been seen for 3 years. Against a current background of reduced railway revenue and industrial action we are told this is not a good time to

be making the case to His Majesty’s Treasury that rail deserves additional funding. However this part of the economic cycle is arguably the best time to invest in rail so that projects are ready to support the economy in moving back into growth. The evidence is that passenger numbers are growing, and revenue will inevitably follow, especially if revenue incentives are given back to train operators. So, whilst a reluctance to commit to major projects is understandable given the current cost of living crisis, what is not understandable is the reluctance of decision makers to engage in an open discussion about the pipeline, the growth benefits of investing in rail and the disbenefits of not making a decision.

The proposed reforms set out as a result the Williams Review have been generally supported across rail and Mark Harper MP the Secretary

of State for Transport has recently recommitted to the programme to establish Great British Railways (GBR), with a helpful emphasis to the importance of the role of the private sector.

RIA set out five tests for the success of GBR the first of which was that there should be no hiatus in current work. Whilst the recent five-year funding settlements for infrastructure are welcome, unfortunately, we already have a hiatus emerging in rolling stock decisions which is of concern to RIA and its members. In recent years the refurbishment or replacement of rolling stock has been driven by franchise renewal. Because the franchise process has stopped, the rolling stock orders have stopped. This means that there is no visibility for the rolling stock refurbishment and manufacturing sectors beyond their current projects. Worse, it is unclear when this situation will change and there is a real concern it could persist until several years after GBR is established which will be no earlier than 2025.

There are however potential winwin mitigations for this situation. There is the opportunity to improve reliability and passenger experience by replacing or upgrading some of the oldest rolling stock which, in the case of diesel trains would have the added benefit of decarbonisation. All of this could be privately financed quickly without any upfront capital cost to the taxpayer.

It is already clear that the current rate of railway decarbonisation is inadequate to achieve the legal target of net-zero by 2050 with the noble exception of Scotland which has a plan (albeit not yet fully funded) to achieve net zero by 2045. This is another lost opportunity, not just for future generations, but also for today’s generation because an electrified railway provides a better service as well as reducing carbon

RIA’s Five Tests for GBR

1. No hiatus in current work: More than 70% of Network Rail’s spend is with the private sector - and there cannot be a pause in this work.

2. Transparency: Be clear and transparent with rail suppliers, to allow them to deliver.

3. Partnership: Be an open and accessible client, and partner with the private sector for the best results.

4. Productivity: Ensure the rail industry is able to thrive - financial sustainability will ensure rail delivers for UK plc; and

5. Ambition: Leave a positive legacy, including in safety, decarbonisation, exports and the economy.

and again there is the potential for private finance to reduce the upfront cost.

So, in summary there are some challenges, there needs to be clarity on enhancements, on decarbonisation and on rolling stock.

The continuing commitment to the national network is very welcome and rapid practical progress now needs to be made on industry reform, taking on board the five RIA tests, so that the next few years continue to move the rail industry forward positively.

1. https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/2023/02/15/elizabeth-linereaches-millionth-passenger-milestone

The stunning Elizabeth Line has opened and is already exceeding its passenger forecasts and may break even as soon as 2023-241 .

Milda Manomaityte Innovation Director

DID AI WRITE THIS?

WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION WITH AI

You might have seen the flurry of news about ChatGPT, a natural language processing tool driven by AI and launched by OpenAI in November 2022. The news ranged from the ban to list the chat as a co-author on papers, to concerns about using it to pass exams and the race of various investors to get their hands on this versatile tool.

Since then, AI has continued to make headlines with Google Bard giving bad responses and Bing chatbot having emotional meltdowns.

In 2021 the UK Government has released the National AI Strategy aiming at supporting the transition to an AI-enabled economy, capturing the benefits of innovation in the UK, and ensuring AI benefits all sectors and regions.

The Government committed to continue to publish open and machine-readable data on which AI models for both public and commercial benefit can depend and consider what valuable datasets the Government should purposefully incentivise or curate that will accelerate the development of valuable AI applications.

AI applications are already being

used in a variety of railway solutions, such as for predictive maintenance, train control optimisation, passenger experience, and safety, with many more opportunities yet to come.

It is difficult to predict how exactly the AI enabled future will look like, so we have asked the infamous ChatGPT to share its own views on the role of AI in railways.

The chat bot was given the following parameters “write an opinion article about the role of AI in the future railways for freight and passengers” and below are the results!

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise the railway industry, both for freight and passenger transportation. With the increasing demand for faster, more efficient, and safer transportation, the integration of AI can provide significant benefits.

In the freight sector, AI can help optimise the routing of trains, reducing travel time and increasing the efficiency of the transportation network. By using predictive analytics, AI can help companies anticipate maintenance needs and schedule repairs in advance, minimising downtime and increasing productivity. AI can also play a vital role in improving safety, by monitoring track conditions, identifying potential risks, and alerting operators in real-time, reducing the risk of accidents.

For passenger transportation, AI can enhance the overall experience, from ticketing and boarding to in-transit amenities and entertainment. By using predictive analytics, AI can provide real-time information on train schedules and delays, allowing passengers to adjust their plans accordingly. AI-

powered virtual assistants can help passengers with their queries and make recommendations for food, entertainment, and other services based on their preferences.

However, the integration of AI in railways also raises concerns about job displacement and privacy. The use of automation and AI can potentially replace certain jobs that are currently done by human operators. It is important to ensure that the implementation of AI does not lead to widespread job losses and that affected workers are provided with adequate support and retraining.

Moreover, the use of AI in railways raises concerns about privacy, as the collection of data on passengers and their travel patterns could potentially be misused. It is important to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect personal data, and that transparency and consent are given to passengers.

In conclusion, the integration of AI in the railway industry has the potential to transform the way we transport goods and people. However, it is essential to consider the ethical, social, and economic implications of such integration. We must ensure that the implementation of AI in railways is guided by principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability, and that its benefits are shared equitably. Only then can we build a truly smart and sustainable transportation network for the future.

It seems that AI sees itself as an enabler and a partner to humans and it is clear that to achieve its own vision of the future, it will need a lot of support from its human colleagues.

There are still barriers to overcome, with the main one being having a team of people with the ability to build, use and be inspired by AI, as highlighted in the National AI

Strategy. According to ChatGPT, there are five barriers yet to overcome:

1. Cost: Implementing AI technologies in railways can be expensive, as it requires significant investment in hardware, software, and infrastructure.

2. Resistance to change: The introduction of AI can disrupt established practices and work patterns, leading to resistance from employees and stakeholders

3. Lack of data: AI relies on large amounts of data to learn and make predictions. In some cases, railways may not have access to sufficient data, or the data may be incomplete or of poor quality.

4. Technical challenges: Implementing AI in railways can present technical challenges, such as integrating AI systems with existing infrastructure and legacy systems.

5. Regulation: The introduction of AI to railways may be subject to regulations and standards that can vary between different regions and countries.

In our Data and Digital Capabilities for Rail paper we discuss the groundwork that needs to be done to enable better access to and

improve the quality of data, which in turn will enable adoption of future technologies. Our members also give examples on how, when it is done right, digital solutions deliver significant benefits to our railways and its users.

“There are still barriers to overcome, with the main one being having a team of people with the ability to build, use and be inspired by AI, as highlighted in the National AI Strategy”.

The images were created by DALL-E, an AI developed by OpenAI that generates digital images from natural language descriptions.

Rose Garber Member Relations Director

RIA AND RAIL BUSINESS DAILY COMMUNITY JOIN FORCES TO OFFER A COMBINED MEMBERSHIP OFFER

Recognising the complementary strengths of both Railway Industry Association (RIA) and Rail Business Daily Community (RBDC) membership, last year in November 2022 we announced a brilliant new collaboration, to provide a complete end-to-end membership offer.

This is an exciting time for us to work together and to enable UK SMEs to benefit from this offer. By joining both organisations, RIA and RBDC members will benefit from a wider variety of networking events, profile enhancement opportunities, commercial opportunities, and the ability to access the latest market intelligence, which can be used to inform campaigns and to make the supply chain bigger and better. This all comes with the benefit of a saving.

The RBD Community is part of the Business Daily Group of Companies, which includes Rail Business Daily (RBD) the UK’s biggest rail media platform. RBD also provides specialist business support, networking opportunities and profile enhancement services to organisations working in the rail sector. Members benefit from a brand new proposition for 2023, which includes subscription to Rail Director magazine, an invaluable profile enhancement package, SEO optimised microsite, informative

weekly newsletters, invitations to member only events and webinars, and access to the “One Place” portal that contains a wealth of rail industry intelligence and analysis. The newsletter is distributed to more than 70,000 railway professionals and RBDC members are featured on a rotational basis, they can also tell their story by publishing up to two stories a year in the newsletter. If you choose to join RIA and the RBD Community as a new member, you will save £350.

So, what does this mean for RIA and RBD Community members?

As a member of RIA, you can join RBDC at a cost saving of £100 on a 12-month membership. As an RBDC member you can join RIA at a £250 discount on a 12-month membership, then take advantage of the following benefits from both organisations:

∙ Invitations to RIA and RBDC joint run / supported events;

∙ Access to a greater variety and number of organisations for networking opportunities;

∙ Wider support from both organisations with expertise in technical, innovation, business, marketing, exports, policy and public affairs; and

∙ The resources and efforts of RIA and RBDC to promote and support the interests of businesses supplying the UK and international rail market.

This combined membership offer gives businesses access to the valuable membership benefits of being part of RIA; whilst receiving all the profile raising and business support benefits provided by the RBD Community.

Our joint members are already seeing the benefit, with One Big Circle who shares their views.

“RIA and RBDC have been instrumental in establishing presence in the Rail community, and enabling us to grow our sectoral and social media profile. Attending their jam-packed calendar of events – including the RIA Conferences and Unlocking Innovation programme, meetings and roundtables with Network Rail, ROSCOs, Operators and supply chain companies, whilst benefiting RIA & RBDC’s rail expertise and knowledge sharing resources – has incepted invaluable connections

with industry-leaders and supply chain collaborations. Both RIA and RBDC teams are fantastic to work with and together are a passionate support network, eagerly showcasing their members’ achievements and progress; we have full assurance that our combined membership will only maximise our story within the sector.”

If you would like any further information or details about this joint membership offer, then please do get in touch!

RIA membership key highlights

This is normally the time where we will be contacting all our member companies to confirm their latest known UK Rail Turnover, so membership subscription fees can be calculated for our new subscription year, 1 April – 31 March.

We hope you’ve had a good membership year and just to recap that as a RIA member, you would have enjoyed some of the many RIA key highlights with a few noted, here:

1. Campaign Wins

RIA campaigned for major projects - such as HS2 to Manchester, Northern Powerhouse Rail and East West Rail - and these were confirmed in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement;

2. Funding and Pipeline Visibility

RIA called for CP7 spending to be at least the same level as CP6, and this was confirmed in December 2022; and we sought better collaboration and pipeline visibility to drive efficiency and investment in skills and innovation – these were recognised in the CP7 High Level Output Specification;

3. GBR Five Tests

RIA promoted five tests for Great British Railways (GBR), which were endorsed by the GBR Transition Team;

4. Nations & Regions

RIA established a strong presence in the Nations and Regions, engaging with key stakeholders, including Minister of State (Rail and HS2) and former Transport Select Committee Chair, Huw Merriman MP in Midlands & Eastern, Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP in the North and Scottish Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth MSP in Scotland;

5. Member Satisfaction Increases

RIA hit its highest ever independent member satisfaction pulse scores since polling began in 2017, with 59% in the highest ‘satisfaction’ category (up 16%), and 89% in the top two categories, (up 7%); and

6. Award-Winning

RIA won three awards in 2022, voted on by peers in other sector trade associations, for its EDI work, trade association leadership, and rail decarbonisation campaigning.

Neil Walker Exports Director

UKRAINE RECONSTRUCTION - IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES

I was somewhat surprised when I was called to a briefing arranged by the Department for Business and Trade on the topic of Ukraine Reconstruction, set around infrastructure and was pleased to learn that much has been going on, with more to come. If interested, then please read on.

Firstly, I wanted to acknowledge the tremendous effort that Ukrainian Railways are undertaking by keeping their railways running, in what must be one of the most challenging railway operations and maintenance regimes on the planet.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in enormous damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure requiring a huge response from the international community to help Ukraine restore, recover and build back better and the British Government is involved in this effort.

The cost estimates for the reconstruction based on a joint report by the World Bank, Government of Ukraine and European Commission in September 2022 set an initial figure at £287bn.

However, given the widespread attacks on civilian infrastructure since autumn 2022, this figure will be much greater.

The Department for Business and Trade is keen that organisations such as RIA highlight the work that the Department is doing and the opportunities that may arise for UK industry to support Ukraine’s reconstruction, and to get ready to be involved!

The Department has created a Ukraine Reconstruction team. Its objective is to provide global leadership for reconstruction efforts in support of the Government of Ukraine by providing UK expertise, insight and commercial models to expedite reconstruction efforts, and to coordinate and unlock long-term infrastructure opportunities for UK

The cost estimates for the reconstruction based on a joint report by the World Bank, Government of Ukraine and European Commission in September 2022 set an initial figure at £287bn.

businesses, aligning with HMG’s Ukraine Reconstruction Plan.

That leads nicely into how UK companies export to Ukraine currently? With all sorts of

questions coming to mind, especially around insurance, the practicalities of getting the equipment to market, getting paid and much more, it’s nice to know that this is being addressed.

The Department is preparing an Industry Guide to Exporting to Ukraine – this will help UK businesses better understand Ukraine’s reconstruction needs and the opportunity for UK businesses to support; highlight information on the funding and procurement processes; and provide guidance on accessing the Ukrainian market and the current business environment. It will include information on UKEF, the Government’s export credit agency, support to the Government of Ukraine, with £3.5 billion of financial capacity available for UK exporters and Ukrainian buyers.

Additionally, the Department for Transport has also been active in supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction – establishing a UK-Ukraine transport partnership when the UK signed a historic pact in August 2022 with Ukraine that commits to sharing engineering expertise and pledges a new package of support to help rebuild its war damaged infrastructure.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) highlighted the EBRD procurement route for UK business. They currently have a portal https:// www.ebrd.com/ukraine.html that provides further information and projects and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in December 2022, launched a US$2 billion response package (Economic Resilience for Action for Ukraine, or “ERA”).

Aside from sourcing current opportunities, outlining the route to market, next steps include on 21-22 June 2023, the UK will jointly host with Ukraine the international Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC

2023) in London, which will ensure UK industry plays an important role in the conference. The goal of URC 2023 will focus on mobilising international support for Ukraine’s economic and social stabilisation and recovery from the effects of war, including through emergency assistance for immediate needs

and financing private sector participation in the reconstruction process.

RIA will let members know more details about the URC 2023 and how to attend, so look out for our weekly Exports news, as we will share further details when known.

The Department is preparing an Industry Guide to Exporting to Ukraine – this will help UK businesses better understand Ukraine’s reconstruction needs and the opportunity for UK businesses to support.

RIA Annual Conference 2023

Promoting the case for rail and investment in uncertain times

1 and 2 November

London Kensington

Early Bird tickets now available!

2-day conference with inspiring keynotes, interview sessions and panel discussions

Large interactive exhibition area with spotlight pitches presenting services, products and solutions

Evening programme including networking drinks, dinner and entertainment

Scan the QR code to register today Or visit riagb.org.uk/AC23

Millennium Gloucester Hotel