XXXX
What an exciting industry we are in!
Since its creation the UK rail industry has been a remarkable place for innovation. Many a pioneer has been allowed to fl ourish in their career in the railway because of an array of exciting projects and milestones that have changed the face of the rail industry
What happened in 2013?
In November the green light was given for the UK’s fi rst rolling stock academy, which will help address the future skills shortage in specialist traction and rolling stock roles. The fi rst students are expected in spring 2015.
The High Speed Rail Preparation Bill received a clear majority in Parliament, taking the industry one step closer to delivering the biggest infrastructure projects in the UK for decades.
‘Phyllis’ completed the fi rst Crossrail tunnel, travelling 6.8km from Royal Oak to Farringdon. Another three tunnels are due for completion this year.
The Northern Hub programme of works hit its major stage, with the replacement of the Manchester Victoria station roof along with an ongoing station modernisation project.
The construction of the Hitchin Flyover project was a resounding success. It is expected to cut delays by nearly 30,000 minutes each year as well as creating capacity to run more services in the future.
Siemens achieved a landmark in their 170-year history in the UK, reaching fi nancial close on the Thameslink rolling stock contract in the summer with a 25-year fi nancing package.
many times over and continue to do so.
As we move into 2014, the year that plays host to the inaugural UK Rail Industry Awards, I fi nd myself revisiting some of the highlights of 2013; events and milestones that, for me, confi rm we are all a part of
Main construction works started on the Borders Railway, an investment of £294m to deliver 30 miles of new track, and due to open in 2015.
Cities and operators across the country have united to embrace the benefi ts of smart ticketing with a number of areas introducing their own local travel cards.
The completion of the £100m track and signalling upgrade at Nottingham saw the laying of six miles of track, 143 new signals, construction of a new platform and signalling replacements to eliminate a bottleneck on the network.
And the UK’s rail industry media leader, Rail Technology Magazine, launched the UK Rail Industry Training Trust (UKRITT). The charity promotes the wide range of exciting career opportunities available in the rail industry to 12 – 19 year olds across the country through a national competition ‘Gen Y Rail’. Participants of ‘Gen Y Rail’ are split into teams and given a railway engineering challenge to solve. They will then go on to present their solutions to a Dragons’ Den-style panel of judges. Students will also have the opportunity to visit an exhibition of local and national employers, colleges and universities, as well as listening to presentations from young graduates and apprentices already working in the rail industry.
something very special indeed – a world class industry full of opportunity, inspirational people, and remarkable talent. All are accolades we intend to recognise and reward at the UK Rail Industry Awards on 20th February at the Brewery in London.
Roy V Rowlands, Managing Director of Rail Technology Magazine and Senior Trustee of UKRITT, has made a personal donation of £5,000 and has pledged a further 20% of all revenue generated from the UK Rail Industry Awards to the charity. UKRIA will also play host to a charity casino, with 100% of all revenue generated going directly to UKRITT.
Support for UKRITT and ‘Gen Y Rail’ has been outstanding and has highlighted a real appetite for the work we are doing. We plan to expand our reach through the academic year 2014/15 to a much larger audience of students and have already started discussions with The Smallpeice Trust on how we can do this.
I look forward to meeting you all at the UK Rail Industry Awards, where we will recognise the hard work and achievement of organisations, teams and individuals working tirelessly to deliver an effi cient and robust rail network which continues to be one of the safest in Europe.
Happy New Year
Roy C Rowlands Business Director and Trustee RTM & UK Rail Industry Training Trust
rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 14 | 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112