Events

The National Rail Awards will take place September 14 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Park Lane. Once again hosted by RAIL's Managing Editor & Events Director Nigel Harris .

To find out about more, please contact Sandra Evitt, Events Manager, 01733 468 123, [email protected]

Rail Live returns to Long Marston on June 21 and 22 2023 and will be bigger and better with many more features, demonstrations and exhibitors. More announcements will be be made in the next few weeks.
Don't miss the opportunity to take part in the most successful event for the rail industry in the UK. Contact Tom Staggs for more information on sponsoring or exhibiting

https://www.raillive.org.uk

RAIL’s much anticipated new webinar series will began in February with a focus on the key changes that need to be made to ensure the railway’s success in the next two, 10, and 30 years. The relevant outcomes and action points from the three webinars will be delivered to Rail Minister Huw Merriman as part of an associated supplement in RAIL 982.

The three-part series follows on from RAIL’s successful Creating a Simpler, Better Railway webinar series late last year, for which more than 1,500 people registered.

Making it happen: How rail needs to evolve in the next two, 10, and 30 years reflects the different time horizons of the workstreams within the Government’s rail reform package and the ongoing work of the Great British Railways Transition Team to implement it. As such, senior members of the GBRTT and other industry leaders will once again join RAIL’s Managing Editor Nigel Harris on the virtual sofa.

The second webinar will focus on the next decade across CP7 and beyond as the industry continues to make strides towards reaching key cost efficiency targets, creating a more accessible railway and building a diverse workforce. With two out of every three disabled passengers reporting at least one problem when travelling by rail, improving accessibility is one is one of the biggest opportunities for GBR. But what does this look like in practice, how can this be achieved cost effectively and where best to start? Meanwhile, rail is not reaping the benefits of having a diverse workforce and is compounding a considerable skills shortage if it cannot attract candidates from different backgrounds. How do GBR and other key industry players plan to address this?

And what can we start implementing now that will make this transition to a more inclusive railway possible?

Speakers include: 
Mike Muldoon, Business Development Director, SYSTRA 
Steve Maslin, Technical Authority for Inclusive Design, Atkins 
Alan Benson MBE, Co-Chair of Trustees, Transport for All 
Russell Jackson, Global Transit Director, AECOM 
Alison Smith, Head of Accessibility and Inclusion, GBRTT

Register at - bit.ly/3y2kH4T 

Apply to join

The well-respected RAIL 100 Breakfast Club is relaunching in 2022 with a new venue, a new focus and a refreshed membership offer.

Launched originally in 2003, the Breakfast Club meets quarterly in London and is known for providing an unrivalled opportunity to hear from topical speakers in a Chatham House setting, while networking with a select group of your industry peers.

In 2022/2023, the Breakfast Club will continue to offer all those things, but with a couple of important improvements:

·      Responding to the new ways of working brought about by the past 2 years, registration and networking will start at the more civilised time of 8:00am, with breakfast served at 8:30am.

·      Themes and speakers will be announced for the meetings in advance to give you more notice of what to expect from the meetings. Where appropriate, we will still arrange topical speakers closer to the time to join the discussion and provide updates on developing events.

·      Membership to the club will be by invitation only. Members can suggest colleagues and peers to be invited to join the club. This is to ensure the membership remains a group of senior industry professionals and will facilitate useful networking opportunities for members.

Our annual membership for the Rail 100 Breakfast Club 2022/2023 is £350 

Please contact Hayley Bradshaw for futher details

With a focus on Great British Railways (GBR) and its mission to create a simpler, better railway for everyone, the webinars are supported by RSSB, Aecom, Trainline, Independent Rail Retailers and Atkins.

In this series, RAIL Managing Editor and Events Director Nigel Harris will be joined by senior members of the GBR Transition Team, representatives from our supporting organisations, and other industry leaders, to discuss and explore some of the main areas of the Government's rail reform package.

The Future Role of the Private Sector

To create a better, simpler railway for everyone, GBR has committed to harnessing the best of the private sector, which accounted for 80% of the railway’s pre-pandemic spend. In this episode, GBRTT will reflect on the progress it has made to-date and share an update on plans to reinvigorate competition, create sustainable and collaborative partnerships and encourage more innovation in rail.

Speakers for this second episode will include:

Paul Harwood, Programme Director, GBRTT

Vaibhav Puri, Director of Sector Strategy & Transformation, RSSB

Russell Jackson, Global Transit Director, AECOM

Cara Murphy, Client Director, Atkins

Andy Bagnall, Chief Executive, Rail Partners 

Registration to attend the December 13 webinar and future episodes is free.

Confirm your attendance here – http://bit.ly/3g243gi

In this series, RAIL Managing Editor and Events Director Nigel Harris will be joined by senior members of the GBR Transition Team, representatives from our supporting organisations, and other industry leaders, to discuss and explore some of the main areas of the Government’s rail reform package.

The second event of the series will take place on November 15 (1030-1200) and it titled Placemaking and rail’s role as a social and economic driver.

The Government’s five strategic objectives for rail, including contributing to long term economic growth and levelling-up, are providing the framework for the long term strategy for rail. GBRTT will provide an overview of the latest thinking on the high level strategy, including the role rail has to play in wider economic growth, employment and placemaking.

Speakers for this second episode will include:

- Elaine Seagriff, Director of Strategic Planning, GBRTT 
- Geroge Davies from RSSB 
- Ian Baxter, Strategy Director, SLC 
- John Davies, Vice-President of Industry Relations, Trainline 
- George Hazel, Director, E-Rail

The past two years have shaken the very core of society and fundamentally changed the public’s relationship with the railway, while also highlighting the immense value of rail freight to the fabric of our lives.

Not only has the railway had to contend with a pandemic, but it was already embarking on a new structure following the Williams Review. As such, every part of the industry needs imagination, invention, and a reboot to ensure that the whole is fit for purpose for a post-pandemic world under Great British Railways.

The conference brings together the rail industry including:

Train Operators, Executives and Strategic Heads

Contractors and Suppliers

Regulators/DfT and Regional & Government Bodies and Consultants (RPSCO’s)

Infrastructure Managers 

Hear from top-level keynote speakers and industry experts, participate in live Q&A sessions and tailor your experience to the topics of most interest to you through the daily breakout sessions

Following the success of the RAIL Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail webinar series we ran in 2021 – and in response to your requests that we stage more webinars – we are delighted to announce a new three-part series for 2022, focusing on Reimagining & Rebooting our passenger railway…

As the country continues to wrestle with one of the greatest upheavals to everyday life in recent memory, passenger numbers have had a turbulent ‘snakes and ladders’ journey - and continue to lag well behind pre-pandemic levels.

Life both on and off the railway has changed dramatically, from the increase in home working to the more urgent focus on building a greener and more sustainable society in the future. The climate change emergency is a major consideration here. 

For rail to both maintain and increase its relevance and fulfil its potential as a key driver of green transport, the whole passenger offering needs to be reimagined and rebooted – and quickly. Passenger expectations have changed on the emerging leisure-led railway and the industry must change with them.

The railway is also entering a new phase with the creation of Great British Railways, now is the time to consider what can be done quickly that will set the passenger railway on the right course for a bright and prosperous future under GBR.

In this series of webinars, we will explore different aspects of the passenger experience when they travel on the railway and look at what rail must do to meet changing passenger needs

Although now firmly on the agenda, wholesale fares reform could be years away - a challenge for GBR once it is in place. But we must act urgently in the meantime to fill empty seats on our trains and boost revenues.

•  How do we boost passenger numbers and bring in revenue in the shorter term?
• What role does marketing play in this?

Speakers:
Sharon Hedges, Senior stakeholder manager – rail contracts programme, Transport Focus
Shashi Verma, Director of Strategy and Chief Technology Officer, Transport for London
Andy Bagnall, Director General, Rail Delivery Group
Alistair Lees, Chairman, Independent Rail Retailers
Paul Oxley, Head of External Engagement, RSSB

December 3 (10:30-12:00)

Great British Railways and the 30-year strategy

Sir Peter Hendy CBE (Chairman, Network Rail)

Andrew Haines OBE (Chief Executive, Network Rail)

Elaine Seagriff (Programme Director, Strategic Planning & Whole Industry Strategic Plan, GBRTT)

Mary Grant (CEO, Porterbrook)

Mark Phillips (CEO, RSSB)

Hannah Moxon (Chief of Staff and Head of Public Affairs, RDG)

John Larkinson (CEO, Office of Rail and Road)

• Creation of the new public body – Great British Railways
• Developing a 30-year strategy for rail
• The role of devolution
• Regulating the railway

November 17 (10:30-12:00)

Unleashing private sector potential

Calvin Lloyd, Strategy and Planning Director, Whole Industry Strategic Plan, Great British Railways Transition Team

Rob McIntosh, MD Eastern Region and Executive Sponsor, Project SPEED, NR

Helen McAllister, Strategy and Planning Director, System Operator, NR

George Davies, Director of Sustainable Development, RSSB

Representative from RDG to be announced shortly

• Electrification and the place for alternative technologies
• Rail’s role in the green recovery
• Project SPEED’s role
• Enabling innovation

October 28 (10.30-12.00)

In the next episode in our Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail webinar series, we are focusing on the all-important subject of railway people, including: 

Loraine Martins OBE, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Network Rail

Jon Fox, Strategic Advisor, GBR Transition Team

Nina Lockwood, Founder & Director, Intuitive Interim & Executive Search Ltd

Andy Bagnall, Director General, Rail Delivery Group

Ann Mills, Head of Health & Safety, RSSB

• A cross-sector training and skills offer
• A sector-wide workforce plan
• Supercharging diversity
• Productivity and pay

You can watch this event on catch-up here

RAIL brought together experts from the industry to discuss how we can learn the lessons of the pandemic and ensure that we are looking after the mental health and wellbeing of the rail workforce in the future.

Special Guests:
John Halsall, Chairman, Rail Wellbeing Alliance & Managing Director - Southern Region, Network Rail
Joana Faustino, Senior Work Psychologist, RSSB

Hosted by:
Nigel Harris, Managing Editor, RAIL magazine

You can watch this webinar on catch-up here.

September 8 (10:30-12:00)

The passenger railway

Suzanne Donnelly (Programme Director, Rail Revenue Recovery Group, GBRTT)

Patrick Verwer (Chief Executive Officer, GTR)

Anthony Smith (Chief Executive, Transport Focus)

Jacqueline Starr (CEO, Rail Delivery Group)

Johnny Schute (Chief Operating Officer, RSSB)

Champa Magesh (President, Trainline Partner Solutions)

• Ticketing
• A simplified fares structure
• The role of technology
• Customer service
• Accessibility

You can watch this webinar on catch-up here.

July 27 (10:30-12:00)

Unleashing private sector potential

Keith Williams (Independent Chairman, Williams Review)

Rufus Boyd (Programme Director, Passenger & Freight Services, GBRTT)

Harriet Hepburn (Corporate Finance & Business Development Director, NR)

Johnny Schute (Chief Operating Officer, RSSB)

Andy Bagnall (Director General, Rail Delivery Group)

• Enabling freight’s success
• Private sector investment
• Train leasing in the future
• Infrastructure partners

You can watch this event on catch-up here.