Rory Peverell is Senior Business Manager – Rail, UK&I at SEGULA Technologies. He joined the company four years ago to establish its UK rail presence, bringing a decade of experience in rail recruitment across infrastructure, rolling stock, and digital projects. He is responsible for developing SEGULA’s customer relationships and service offerings in the UK market, focusing on design, verification and validation, testing and commissioning, and modifications and overhauls across the rail sector.
Sam Sherwood-Hale spoke to Rory Peverell, Senior Business Manager – Rail, UK&I at SEGULA Technologies, about building the engineering consultancy’s UK rail presence from scratch, the benefits of integrated project delivery across the V-Cycle, and why the industry desperately needs a clear rolling stock plan.
SSH: Can you tell us about your background in rail and how you came to join SEGULA Technologies?
My journey into rail was quite unconventional, really. I didn’t have a clear career path mapped out when I was younger. After sixth form, I started working in sales for a small construction company that made traffic signs. My father suggested I look into recruitment, which led me to discover the rail industry about a decade ago when I joined a recruitment agency doing infrastructure recruitment.
I spent the best part of ten years working in rail recruitment, covering everything from infrastructure and rolling stock to digital projects. My last role before SEGULA was in recruitment, where I spent six and a half years. I’d reached a point where I’d taken as much as I could from that business, and there wasn’t an obvious next step.
That’s when SEGULA’s Managing Director, someone I’d actually approached about recruitment work, turned the tables and asked what I was doing with myself. SEGULA was essentially starting fresh in the UK at that time. The opportunity to build something from scratch, particularly with a brand that wasn’t well known in the UK market despite being huge globally, really appealed to me. It’s been four years now, and it’s been quite a journey.
SSH: How does your experience at SEGULA differ from your previous roles?
RP: There’s considerably more depth to what SEGULA does in terms of the services we offer to customers. We’re in a strong position as an engineering services business because we can provide everything from individual engineers on six-month placements to taking complete ownership of projects and delivering them end-to-end.
The real learning curve for me has been understanding how to bring all the pieces together, not just people but entire projects. SEGULA Group is a billion-euro turnover business, and our rail division has 1,500 people across 15 countries worldwide. I’ve had to develop internal relationships with colleagues in Spain, France, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Germany, bringing in expertise from around the world to deliver projects. That’s opened up opportunities I wouldn’t have had previously.
SSH: What were the key challenges in establishing SEGULA’s presence in the UK rail market?
RP: When I joined four years ago, people didn’t really know who SEGULA were. I’d worked in the industry for nearly a decade and had never come across them. So there was a dual challenge: not only building something from scratch but also establishing a brand that wasn’t well known in the UK market.
The rail industry is quite insular. Sometimes it’s a case of “better the devil you know than the one you don’t.” When you’re bidding against bigger, more established players who have that extra level of experience and trust within the industry, you’re going to face challenges. But over the last couple of years, that’s changed considerably. We’re now competing effectively, and people are taking notice.
The key was focusing on what we do well. For the first year, I was essentially telling everyone we could do everything, which wasn’t particularly effective. We needed to narrow our focus to what we genuinely excel at and can confidently deliver: design work for new builds and upgrades, verification and validation, testing and commissioning, and supporting modifications and overhauls.
SSH: How has your role evolved over the past four years?
RP: Initially, I wanted to make an immediate impact. I knew people in the industry and quickly learned what SEGULA had accomplished internationally, so I could demonstrate our capabilities to potential customers. I didn’t need to follow anyone around; I had stories to tell and case studies to share.
Now, the situation has changed considerably. I’ve got four or five customers in the UK where departments are proactively sending me opportunities without me having to chase them. That’s a significant milestone, but it’s also created a new challenge. I’ve reached the point where I need support. I’ve told my manager that I need a small team to help with account management and resources because there’s too much for one person to handle. It’s a good problem to have.
SSH: Can you explain the range of services SEGULA offers across the rail V-Cycle?
RP: Within the V-Cycle of a rail project, we can support at virtually all levels. We’re not a safety assurance company, but if you need to design a new train or modify an existing one, we can help. The European Train Control System is obviously a major focus at the moment, and we’ve got extensive experience helping customers with design, systems integration, installation, and testing.
We can take complete ownership of projects. We’ve got programmes in the UK right now where we have a team that includes quality engineers, production managers, and health and safety all reporting to a project lead who takes full ownership of our deliverables to the customer.
Our main focal points in the UK are: design work for new builds or upgrades and modernisation of vehicles; verification and validation across projects; testing and commissioning; and supporting modifications and overhauls. These align well with current market conditions, where life extension and modifications are significant priorities.
SSH: How does SEGULA’s integrated approach benefit clients compared to working with specialists in each area?
RP: We’ve done work with Stadler and CAF where we’ve helped design vehicles for the UK out of one of our centres of engineering excellence in Spain. We then have conversations with those manufacturers about continuing that support when the trains are being built in the UK or even when they go into service. If there are engineering issues on site or modifications that need to be done, surely it makes sense to utilise the UK team that has direct links to our engineering team in Spain and has already done the design work?
That offer of continuity has been really well received. We’re not just delivering one phase and handing over to someone else; we’re continuing the support throughout the project lifecycle. For us, it makes perfect sense to use a consistent supplier across the manufacturing process and beyond.
I think UK manufacturers sometimes prefer to manage things internally, which is understandable. But there’s only so much capacity they have, and that’s when they might reach out for support. The feedback has been positive, and customers are increasingly open to this approach.
SSH: Is this integrated approach common in the UK market?
RP: I think the UK struggles with that concept more than other markets. Manufacturers often want to do things in-house, which makes perfect sense. But they can become quite focused on immediate issues rather than looking at things more holistically.
It may simply be that the offer hasn’t been on the table before. We’re very fortunate that we’ve delivered projects in the UK that were designed in other countries, so we can offer that continuity. When we say we can pick up where our teams in other countries left off whilst keeping them involved across the lifecycle, that’s now a genuine option that perhaps wasn’t available before.
Recently, we had an opportunity to bid on design work for ETCS, but it transpired there was a larger element involving installation of the kit onto trains. When we said we could do both the design and the installation, the procurement and project teams were genuinely interested. It’s a proper turnkey solution, and I think having that on the table is making people more open to it.
SSH: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing rolling stock manufacturers and operators today?
RP: The rail industry is going to be around long after our time. It’s only going to get bigger, better, faster, and more efficient. But what the industry desperately needs is clarity. There hasn’t been a proper rolling stock plan for a long time.
New projects are discussed all the time, but there’s so much uncertainty. Government changes can affect everything from major infrastructure projects to manufacturing to network operations. As a supply chain, that clarity is really needed. We’re fortunate that because we can operate across both new build and overhaul upgrade work, we’re in a relatively good position. That’s been demonstrated over the last few years, and our pipeline for the next year or two looks quite positive.
But the industry would benefit enormously if there was more transparency about what’s planned and what’s actually happening. Even acknowledging uncertainty would be helpful. It would help businesses plan for budgeting, growth, and development. Things are probably quite stunted at the moment because we don’t have all the information we need.
SSH: Do you think recent changes, such as the move towards Great British Railways, are helping to provide that clarity?
RP: There are definitely some positive signs, and I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom. Things like the progress towards a more unified structure give us a better steer. But there are still significant challenges, particularly around funding delays.
I’m seeing companies that are struggling because of delays and uncertainty. It’s difficult to watch, particularly when you’ve worked with these businesses for over a decade. The supply chain is being hit quite hard with projects being moved back all the time.
We’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to adapt, but many companies that do quite specialist work within infrastructure, or supply specific equipment that’s no longer in high demand, are really struggling. Some are disappearing entirely. You want to see more SMEs coming through and developing, not going the other way.
SSH: What would you like to see happen over the next five to ten years that would support SEGULA’s work and benefit the industry more broadly?
RP: We work primarily with manufacturers, so there needs to be clarity around the new build programme. There just needs to be a plan that shows: in five to ten years, which operators will need new trains, when the bids are expected, when they’re being awarded, when delivery will happen.
Almost like a plotted project plan showing the future scope of projects expected in the UK. That would be fantastic and would really help all businesses involved with rolling stock. Then you can plan for growth, you can budget effectively. My manager asks me what I think we’ll achieve next year, and I’ve got a relatively good idea, but looking further ahead is really difficult.
Just having some level of understanding of where the industry is going for the new build piece would be really important for everybody. It comes down to financing at the end of the day. If a new train costs significantly more than upgrading existing vehicles, they’re going to extend the life of those vehicles. But having that visibility would make all the difference.
SSH: What was the mood like at recent industry events?
RP: There’s always a sense of people listening and hoping for something concrete, something to really energise the discussion. But it never quite seems to transpire. People are more interested in networking and discussing challenges than hearing presentations that can feel a bit vague and don’t really address what’s actually happening.
Everyone’s waiting for substantive information, and it doesn’t always materialise. A few years ago, there were some excellent events where customers were showcasing their plans and talking about what they were doing. That seems to have declined, probably because there’s less certainty to communicate.
But despite that, I remain optimistic. The railways have longevity. They’re going to be here for a very long time, and SEGULA is well positioned to support the industry through whatever comes next. We’ve built strong foundations over the past four years, and with the right market conditions and clearer direction from government and industry leaders, there’s tremendous potential for growth. We’re ready for it.
SSH: What are the unique engineering challenges when retrofitting modern systems like ETCS onto existing rolling stock designed for conventional signalling, and how does SEGULA’s independence from OEMs help navigate the complexities of working across different manufacturers’ platforms?
RP: Within SEGULA Group, we have the chance to have strong Centers of Excellence for Rolling Stock like in Zaragoza and Vado Ligure. Through the years, they have been able to support most of the OEM (RS as Signalling) for such project. We have developed strong knowledge on each type of vehicles (from LRV to Loco up to VHST) in most of the European Countries. This really helps us to support our customer for their challenges.
We can for example mention the upgrade of a Chinese loco with a Spanish ETCS in New Zealand.
The main limitation we could face are for recent fleet and the IP regarding TCMS. In that case the original OEM could be needed.
SSH: With the industry increasingly looking at refurbishment and life extension, what’s the strategic advantage of combining mid-life overhauls with major modernisation work, and what additional considerations does this create for project planning and authorisation?
RP: When you look at the backlog of the main OEM’s and the leadtime to get a new fleet, the business case between New Built and Refurbishment has changed. Like in other industry (we can think for example at Nuclear Plants), we are trying to optimise the management of our Asset and life extension is part of this.
But such projects have to be thought about from a systems point of view, it means immobilisation of the asset for a long period, investment to upgrade and it could lead to some new authorisation required. Consequently, this is an opportunity to combine new functionalities, improved maintenance plans, new offers for the customers. And this has to be studied has a whole to optimise the availability of the assets and also the reliability.
In addition to the classical mechanical activities required in a mid-life refurbishment, it is more and more common to change also the TCMS, to add a new signalling system, to green the traction to add some connected service.
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