Rail industry leaders will converge at a new exhibition dedicated to the future of Britain’s rail network – Modern Railways EXPO 2022

Held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on 22-23 November, the show is organised by leading industry journal Modern Railways, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Registration is FREE to all in the rail industry.

Appropriately for a show held at Milton Keynes – the location of Network Rail’s headquarters – the infrastructure manager has a major presence. Its Commercial and Procurement, Intelligent Infrastructure, SPEED and Research and Development teams will all be exhibiting, with visitors able to meet with representatives from the sectors and discuss the latest developments and collaboration opportunities.

The success of the recently opened Dartmoor line in Devon last year using the SPEED approach is a compelling demonstration of how major projects can be delivered faster and more efficiently than ever before, while the R&D team is focussing on harnessing the latest technologies to make the railway more affordable to run and maintain. The Commercial and Procurement arm will show how it is making it easier for companies to supply the rail sector and support small to medium sized enterprises, while the Intelligent Infrastructure programme is using digital technology to create applications which turn data into applicable insight, helping maintenance teams take a more active approach and fix infrastructure before it fails in service.

Plans are also being developed for dedicated speaker and panel sessions featuring members of all four teams.

Dedicated zones
To make Modern Railways EXPO 2022 easier to navigate for visitors, dedicated zones bring companies and organisations together so visitors can easily find areas of interest.
These zones include:

  • Infrastructure and on-track plant.
  • Professional advice, consultancy and services.
  • Rail vehicle enhancement.
  • Recruitment.
  • Rolling stock manufacture, supply and delivery.
  • Signalling and telecommunication.

As the first day finishes, exhibitors and visitors will be able to enjoy a dedicated networking reception to reinforce existing business relationships and make new ones.

Modern Railways Editor Philip Sherratt says: ‘With challenges and opportunities around decarbonisation, modal shift and a raft of technological developments whose impact will be as anything seen since at least the 1960s, Modern Railways EXPO 2022 is the place to explore these changes and how they will affect the railway.

‘Modern Railways has always celebrated the very best innovation in the railway, and in our 60th anniversary year, we’re tremendously excited to be hosting a show and conference which puts that front and centre.’

To register your attendance for FREE, visit: http://www.modernrailways.com/expo/visitor-registration

Future of Britain’s Railways Conference
Running alongside the Modern Railways EXPO 2022 exhibition is a FREE two-day conference with leading industry speakers outlining their vision for the future of Britain’s railway.

A keynote address on progress with rail reform and the major changes to the industry’s structure on Tuesday 22 November will be given by Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) Lead Director Anit Chandarana. Mr Chandarana’s role involves overseeing the whole operation of the GBRTT working with Network Rail Chief Executive and GBRTT Lead Andrew Haines and team on the interim arrangements for the railway following the publication of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail in May 2021. He was Chief of Staff at Network Rail, where he led Network Rail’s involvement in the creation of the white paper. He has worked in the rail industry for more than 18 years.

The opening conference session on the show’s second day, Wednesday 23 November, will shine a spotlight on the important issue of rebuilding revenue, fares and ticketing. It will be chaired by Transport Focus Rail Contracts Manager Sharon Hedges.

The keynote speech at this session will be given by GBRTT’s Director of Passenger Revenue Suzanne Donnelly. She is on secondment to the GBRTT leadership team as the director responsible for the passenger, revenue and marketing team, which has been formed from and builds on the Rail Revenue Recovery Group (RRRG) set up in early 2021. Revenue recovery and growth is critical to the financial sustainability of the railway both now and for the future. Her twin focus is of a short-term acceleration of demand/revenue and designing Great British Railways in a way which puts customer and revenue management at the heart.

She has 16 years of rail experience in various commercial roles (most recently as Commercial Director for LNER) and eleven years before that in the airline sector.

Leading software company Resonate is sponsoring a session on Train Service Delivery, focusing on the key operational tools needed to run an efficient and reliable railway. The company will present alongside speakers from Network Rail and a train operating company, with this session taking place on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 November.

At lunchtimes on both days, Network Rail will hold panel and speaker sessions to discuss the latest issues around the rail network. Further speakers will be announced closer to the show.

Rail Forum focuses on supply chain and digital
Industry body Rail Forum continues its longstanding and successful relationship with Modern Railways by hosting a dedicated Rail Forum area offering a number of short sessions for industry visitors.

First up is a short workshop on supply chain sustainability. This will be the second instalment on this topic following an online event which took place in October – although both events will stand alone so you won’t need to have attended the first to come along to the second. The workshop will be delivered by Rail Forum members Alliance Procurement Solutions and Wylde Connections – an organisation which specialises in sustainability.

The Rail Forum is also planning a couple of short sessions with a digital focus. A presentation featuring some of the latest AI-powered image processing software from Rail Forum member CrossTech will provide the opportunity to provide your input into future needs and developments and a brief look into cybersecurity issues in rail from Rail Forum member Complete Cyber.

Pre-registration is encouraged for all the workshops using the events pages on the Rail Forum website at www.railforum.uk/events.

Throughout the two days, Rail Forum team members will be on hand to catch up with members old and new.

KEY INFORMATION
Dates – 22 to 23 November 2022
Location – Marshall Arena, Stadium Way, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK1 1ST
Opening times – 10.00 to 16.00
Website – www.modernrailways.com/expo
FREE visitor registration – www.modernrailways.com/expo/visitor-registration
Exhibitor enquiries – Nimble Media at 01780 432930 or www.nimblemedia.co.uk