On 17th October 2024, approximately two years after their first event, delegates from across the rail sector gathered for the twelfth ‘Supporting the Rail Supply Chain’ event. Held at the RaisE Business Centre in the Goole Rail Village in East Yorkshire, the theme was ‘Making Our Railways Better’ and covered track to train. Collaboration, transformation, change management, improving skills, Artificial Intelligence (AI), rolling stock procurement, developments in Goole, and exporting opportunities were all discussed.
Delegates came from a broad range of businesses from the rail supply chain and the client side, as well as those wanting to get into rail. Alan Mason, Head of Innovation, Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) who attended the event said that: “That there was a real buzz in the room. Each BCRRE Supporting the Rail Supply Chain event offers the opportunity to meet new people and see new ideas. It is a great place to engage with innovative companies and solutions that have the potential to improve transport and mobility.” With plenty of time for Q&A and networking, delegates also had the opportunity to do their own elevator pitch in the form of a ‘Show, Tell and Ask’. This part of the event enhances participants experience by helping to supercharge the networking. “We always aim for each person who joins us on the day, delegates and speakers alike, to experience diverse, worthwhile engagement, and to have useful and impactful conversations which truly accelerate their company’s growth in the rail and the wider mobility sectors. It is fantastic to receive positive feedback from those who participate in the BCRRE Supporting the Rail Supply Chain events.” commented Abi Broadley, Rail Engagement Consultant who organises these events on behalf of the University of Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE). “Furthermore, we are always delighted to hear when delegates win new business because they attended our events.”
Opening the event, Amanda Hoggart, Business Centres Manager for all nine East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) business centres in East Yorkshire, including RaisE, started proceedings by sharing with pride the success stories of the Invest East Yorkshire team, in particular the companies who call RaisE Business Centre their home. RaisE tenants include technology, engineering, recruitment, wealth management, transportation, logistics, training, and rail companies. Stephen Silvester, Inward and Infrastructure Manager, ERYC Invest East Yorkshire, presented via a prerecorded video sharing the success of developments in Goole including Siemens Goole Rail Village and the launch of the new Freeport Site with tax incentives for investors. Concluding with plans for the next twenty years, with further investment in infrastructure and the proposed new £400 million Metsa tissue factory, he said that there are fantastic opportunities to invest and grow your business in this part of Yorkshire.
Giles Peacock from Weston Analytics gave an insightful presentation; an introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), explaining how it can help or hinder productivity in rail. The topic of collaboration was brought to life with a special game of bingo orchestrated by Lesley Cheeseman, Organisational Development Lead at the Transpennine Route Upgrade, who highlighted the importance of working together to deliver successful project outcomes and great places to work.
With education and exporting on the agenda, Robert Hopkin, Industry Collaboration at BCRRE, covered these topics. Explaining how BCRRE can support with training and development including Postgraduate programmes in railway engineering and utilising the apprenticeship levy via Level 7 Degree Apprenticeships. Robert also highlighted the timely exporting opportunity to collaborate with German companies on the Bilateral UK – Germany (Round 4) Innovation Competition.
Martin Ould, Head of Rolling Stock and Logistics for Rolling Stock UKI at Siemens Mobility, who has recently taken up the post in Goole, shared an update on how to engage with the UK Rolling Stock procurement team, and how this works with the German procurement activities, with the aim of strengthening local UK content in the future train manufacturing in Goole.
Change Management in Rail was the topic for Laura Smith, Lead Business Change Manager for Network Rail Eastern Region. Discussing the roll out of electric vehicle charging, the newly announced Network Rail training facility in Doncaster and opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage with Network Rail.
The Rail Forum, RIA North and RBD all supported, giving a two-minute pitch highlighting their recent endeavours and how they support the UK rail supply chain.
Robert Hopkin, Industry Engagement for BCRRE co-hosted the event adding his humour and sense of fun, helped to create a warm welcome and friendly atmosphere. “Each of these events has been slightly different. It was fantastic to see the high levels of interaction at this one. In an industry where collaboration is key to improving our transport sector, we are very pleased to have excellent support from our industry partners and delegates. These are always enjoyable to host. We look forward to further engagement at our next Supporting the Rail Supply Chain Event in December.”
