Transport UK Group

Brilliant to see Transport UK supporting World Engineering Day. Naturally, it is a subject close to my heart. We need to attract the brightest and the best engineers if we’re going to build for the railway of tomorrow. And speaking of the brightest and the best, it’s a great interview with Adam Ferguson MIET, who I think is best described as a force of nature! We’re genuinely lucky to have him.

For our February and March 2025 Spotlight piece we are highlighting some of the brilliant engineers in Transport UK group to mark the launch of our partnership with UNESCO that kicks off on UNESCO World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (4 March 2025). This month, we interviewed Adam Ferguson MIET, a Senior Commercial Manager and Joint Project Manager at Greater Anglia. Following a decade working as an engineer in the United States Air Force, Adam is now managing rolling stock contracts and engineering commercial for GA’s North Fleet, alongside studying for an MBA. #GreaterAnglia #WorldEngineeringDay #Engineering #TransportUK https://lnkd.in/eyCgPzMB

We are delighted to announce our success at the Rail Business Awards on Friday, with three wins and one highly commended across the group! 🏆🚆 Greater Anglia was named Train Operator of the Year, with West Midlands Trains highly commended in the same category.   West Midlands Trains’ University Station won in the Infrastructure Project & Station Excellence category.   Greater Anglia’s Stansted Express Campaign won in the Marketing & Communications Excellence category.   These awards highlight our ongoing commitment to providing world-class transportation services that meet the needs of our customers and communities.    We continue to invest in our trains and infrastructure to ensure reliable and sustainable transportation. West Midlands Trains is currently halfway through its £1 billion transformation programme, while a transformative £1.4 billion fleet upgrade at Greater Anglia has made it one of the best-performing operators in the country.   A huge thank you to all our teams across our networks involved in making these successes possible!  

We are proud to announce that University station in Birmingham received a prestigious infrastructure award at last night's Rail Business Awards. The new-look station opened its doors in January 2024 following a complex rebuilding project. The scheme, which involved bridging a canal to provide a new access point for customers, has transformed the travelling experience for the millions of passengers who use the station every year. Our team at University have already welcomed more than three million passengers through the station since it opened, many visiting the nearby University of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital campuses. Last night's success in the Infrastructure Project & Station Excellence category follows University's achievement in being named Best Medium Station at the National Rail Awards in 2024, along with other design awards. Also at last night's Rail Business Awards we were honoured to be Highly Commended by the judges in the Train Operator of the Year category. Our submission focused on our £1billion investment programme under which we are rolling out hundreds of brand new carriages, upgrading depot facilities and enhancing our stations to improve journeys for passengers right across our network. Thank you to all our partners for your support, in particular to everyone involved in the University construction project, which included West Midlands Combined Authority, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, University of Birmingham, West Midlands Rail Executive, Birmingham City Council, Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom, Network Rail, CrossCountry Trains, Canal & River Trust, Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, RPS, SLC, AECOM - Transportation and VolkerFitzpatrick Ltd. Transport UK Group | Rail Business UK

Alex Rigby is taking on the Merseyrail Ultra Marathon 🏃 , running 107 miles through all 69 stations in a day to raise money for one of Merseyrail’s Charity of the Year, Centre 56 🌈, who do vital work with families and children affected by domestic abuse and crisis situations. Donate now: https://lnkd.in/eK2BnCWb 🔗

For our latest Spotlight piece, we interviewed Melissa Clarke, a Train Driver at East Midlands Railway (EMR). Melissa is following in her father's footsteps working on the railway and shares insights into life as a working mum through her popular social media accounts. She spoke to us about some of her viral posts, how she has overcome challenges in her role, and her advice for women considering a career in the rail industry. #EastMidlands #WomenInRail #WorkingMum #TransportUK https://lnkd.in/eR3DkaiV

For our latest Spotlight piece, we interviewed Melissa Clarke, a Train Driver at East Midlands Railway (EMR). Melissa is following in her father's footsteps working on the railway and shares insights into life as a working mum through her popular social media accounts. She spoke to us about some of her viral posts, how she has overcome challenges in her role, and her advice for women considering a career in the rail industry. #EastMidlands #WomenInRail #WorkingMum #TransportUK https://lnkd.in/eR3DkaiV

Wonderful to attend the #greatestgathering with Perry Ramsey at #Alstom Litchurch Lane factory today. The event was part of the #Railway200 celebrations and saw the naming of a Pendolino as 390 200. Exciting for me personally to see two of Transport UK Group fleets on display with gleaming Greater Anglia and London Northwestern Railway units in the shed.

An insightful op-ed in The Telegraph by former Labour Transport Minister Tom Harris highlights the key challenges surrounding the government’s rail reform plans and argues for a balanced approach to rail nationalisation.   At Transport UK Group, we support rail reform but recognise that it’s not a silver bullet. Scotland's experience shows us that simply changing ownership does not guarantee improved outcomes. Higher costs, fewer services, and lower customer satisfaction are concerns the government must be mindful of during the transition to Great British Railways.   Public ownership is only one piece of the puzzle. To truly improve the rail network, we need effective leadership, long-term investment, and to retain the industry’s significant accrued expertise in managing services. I hope the government takes the time to listen to the industry and learn from those who have been delivering services for decades.    We all want a rail system that works better for everyone, but that goal requires thoughtful planning, not quick fixes.   https://lnkd.in/eRc3qU86

As we move into 2025 we are continuing to make great strides on delivering our £1billion investment in new trains and infrastructure. With our two brand new train fleets already carrying passengers, we're pressing ahead with an extensive programme of depot upgrades to support the maintenance and day-to-day operation of the units. Today our Engineering Director John Doughty and the team at Coventry North Yard depot welcomed representatives from Coventry City Council and the wider rail industry to view our £5million package of upgrades on site. The facility is one of the homes for our popular Class 730 electric fleet which entered service in the West Midlands last year and has already carried millions of passengers, enhancing capacity on some of our busiest routes. Major upgrade work is already under way at a number of other sites including Soho and Tyseley in the West Midlands and Bletchley on the West Coast Main Line as we continue delivering our investment programme - we'll be sharing more detail on these projects as the year goes on. More info > https://lnkd.in/eNRfVwQj Transport UK Group | Coventry City Council | Rosie Coyle | Dave Ellis | Edward Hughes | Rail Forum | NSAR | Rob Watts