RIA London & South

Long-awaited transport network upgrades including Bakerloo line extension, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension and West London Orbital have been included as actions for the next 10 years in the new London Growth Plan Full story:

TfL Commissioner Andy Lord has requested a five-year financial commitment to replace aging infrastructure - including 53-year-old Bakerloo line trains, the oldest carriages in service in the UK.   A multi-year settlement isn't just needed for TfL. It's needed for national roads and national rail. For industries and supply chains to properly invest in equipment, technology, apprentices, and skills, they need reasonable assurance of sustainability.   What our transport networks need is a predictable "heartbeat" of funding that's adjusted for inflation year after year. Short-term settlements prevent this stability, leading to inefficiencies and higher costs in the long run.   We've seen this with a raft of major projects, where capacity constraints in the UK supply chain forced international outsourcing, creating delays when overseas suppliers place us low on their priority list.   TfL has achieved operational self-sufficiency, covering its day-to-day costs. But without long-term capital investment, our transport network will struggle to plan ahead - a losing deal for everyone.   What are your thoughts on long-term funding for our transport infrastructure?   https://lnkd.in/d3BeFree

((⏰)) ONE WEEK TO GO ((⏰)) Don't miss out on the chance to share your views about our draft transport strategy. 🤔 The consultation closes a week today so don't delay - we'd love to hear what you think ♥️ https://ow.ly/Kwi450V7San

We’ve had a great response to the launch of Railway Industry Association's Training Services in the past few weeks! 📅 There are a few spaces left on the first 'Introduction to UK Rail' course on Tuesday 4 March. And you can visit our training services pages to find out more about this and our other two courses: 'Work Winning In Rail Masterclass', and 'Accelerating Success – ESG-Driven Growth Strategies for Rail' led by the brilliant John Downer Find out more at the links below! #RIATraining #Rail #UKRail #Training #IntroductionToUKRail Rose Garber Milda Manomaityte Neil Walker Annabel Parker Robert Cook Eli Rees-King Matt Taylor Ross Walker, C.Eng, M.Eng, M.Sc Bob Docherty Richard Carr Isabella Lawson Neal Blackman Sarah Hopton

Long-term investment is essential to keep London moving. 🚂🛤️ Our commissioner, Andy Lord has called for a multi-year funding deal to update the Bakerloo line trains, upgrade infrastructure, and expand services, such as extending the DLR to Thamesmead in south-east London. In the interview to the Financial Times, Andy said “You can’t run the world’s largest integrated public transport authority without a long-term capital funding settlement, in my view,” Check out the full article: 👇  https://lnkd.in/dRN4vFRi 

Network Rail's ENRICH project team are carrying out a stakeholder survey on NR's approach to open data usage. Here's the link to the survey, we'd be delighted if you would like to provide some feedback to help shape our future strategy. The survey closes on Friday 21st February. https://lnkd.in/ej-k5vuK

📅 Join us in London on 4 March for the first RIA Training Course - Introduction to UK Rail. This course provides attendees with an in-depth understanding of the UK rail industry, including its governance, structure, operations, and supply chain, as well as guidance and resources for building a professional network within the sector. It is ideal for anyone who is new to the industry - from apprentices and recruiters to business development managers, and established professionals transitioning from other sectors. The trainers on this course are: 🔉 Nigel Wordsworth, Course Lead: rail industry journalist and commentator, former Production Editor at Rail Media and former Managing Editor of Rail Business Daily. 🔉 Robert Cook, Course Trainer: Policy Director at RIA since 2022, having formerly worked at the Office of Rail and Road and National Audit Office. 🔉 Fiona Broomfield, Course Facilitator: experienced business-to-business communicator and trainer across rail, PR and content, with over 12 years in the rail industry. 🔗 RIA members receive a discounted rate - sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e-_82cEc #RIATraining #IntroductionToUKRail #RailIndustry #Training

Recently, RIA issued its submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) 2025, detailing how the rail network remains one of the UK's most valuable assets, with huge potential to support both economic growth and skilled jobs for communities across the UK. Within it, we urged the Government to take into account the following five principles: 🟢 Investing in rail grows the economy, boosting productivity through better connectivity within and between key cities.   🟢 Rail plays a key role in delivering wider Government objectives e.g. rail connections are one of the most efficient ways to connect housing developments.   🟢 A smooth and predictable investment profile is needed to give companies the confidence to retain staff and invest, reducing the costs of rail projects to taxpayers.   🟢 To unlock private investment Government will need to set out clear policies on the use of private finance and funding and actively facilitate investors engaging with the railway.   🟢 Avoid making cuts for minor short-term savings, and prioritise long-term sustainable growth 🔗 Read the full submission here: https://lnkd.in/eUPFvCp7 #ComprehensiveSpendingReview #CSR #RailInvestment

Welcome to London St. Pancras Highspeed🚅🗺️   Previously known as HS1 Ltd, our new brand signifies an important shift and a desire to play a much more active and supportive role in driving the growth of sustainable travel by high-speed rail.   We are passionate about making your journeys better and bringing people together. The Journey Ahead starts here 🌐 https://lnkd.in/e6GpmGqy

📣The second event in RIA's Future of Rail series, focusing on Reform, has been a great success, with over 100 people in attendance. This morning we heard from the Chair of Shadow Great British Railways, Laura Shoaf, CBE, who provided insights into GBR's priorities whilst Paul Harwood, Director of People & Places at Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT), presented the current thinking around GBR design. Paul then chaired a panel discussion which looked at how to get the best value out of the supply chain and how GBR can unlock new ways of working in the future. Panellists included: 🔹 Olivia Perkins, Managing Director of Rail at Morgan Sindall Infrastructure 🔹 Mick Rayner, Managing Director at Balfour Beatty plc 🔹 Emma Porter, Practice Director for Transport Advisory & Consultancy at AtkinsRéalis 🔹 David Jordan, COO of Angel Trains The afternoon Nina Lockwood (Chief Executive of Intuitive Talent Solutions), hosted a panel addressing how to implement a change in culture throughout an organisation and the impact contracts and commercial models have on culture through the supply chain, with: 🔹 Marie Daly, Chief Customer & Culture Officer at Transport for Wales 🔹 Abu Siddeeq, Customer Experience Director at c2c (Trenitalia c2c Ltd) 🔹 Paul Ebbs, Head of Lean Deployment at SMP Alliance 🔹 Barry Barrington, Head of Professional Development at Network Rail's Rail Investment Centre of Excellence Elisabeth Cuthbertson (Director of Policy - Rail Transformation Programme at the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom) delivered an update on the legislative process of GBR and the progress made. Emily Wallace (Managing Director of Inflect Partners), chaired the final panel of the day, which discussed the differing priorities and requirements of industry stakeholders and the potential trade-offs that may have to be made during reform. Panellists include: 🔹 John Larkinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) 🔹 Jason Prince, Director of the Urban Transport Group 🔹 Rob Catherall, Transport and Public Policy Principal Economist at Oxera Consulting LLP Consulting 🔹 Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General at the Rail Freight Group Thank you to all the speakers and panellists, as well as everyone who attended. 📅 The next event in the Future of Rail series will focus on decarbonisation and climate adaptation on 11 March in London, in collaboration with RSSB. More information is available here: https://lnkd.in/ej9dqHbK #FutureOfRail #RIAFutureOfRail #RailReform #RailIndustry #GreatBritishRailways #GBR