NEXT GENERATION RAIL


Next Generation Rail highlights industry commitment to collaboration


A greater commitment to innovation and collaboration were two of the key messages taken away from Next Generation Rail in Manchester. RTM’s Adam Hewitt and David Stevenson were at the conference.


especially in terms of our teams representing a range of industry stakeholders, N


ext Generation Rail got off to a great start at its inaugural conference last year in


London, and this year came to Manchester’s Museum of Science & Industry (Mosi), aimed at early-career researchers and young professionals looking to enhance their career in the rail industry.


The three-day event in June was organised by RRUKA (the Rail Research UK Association, which brings together railway businesses and universities), FutureRailway and the Young Rail Professionals (YRP), with almost 200 delegates attending from 55 different organisations.


while Andrew Coombes, head of specifi cation and assurance at HS2, also gave an interesting talk.


Awards


There was also an opportunity for young professionals to talk about some of the most recent rail research and present their case studies, with four awards being presented.


Best Academic Research Presentation (presented by Umar Saleem, special projects manager at Alstom Transport) went to David Connolly, of Heriot Watt University, for the development of ScopeRail, a production tool for in-door noise and vibration on high speed rail lines.


Best Collaborative Project (presented by Keith Rudd, director of Arup) was awarded to David Kirkwood, University of Birmingham, and Dan Grew, of Graffi ca, as part of a one-time collaboration to improve railway capacity by reducing delays and improving traffi c fl uidity.


Skillshops and site visits


Attendees heard keynote speeches and participated in


‘skillshops’ to learn about


communicating like a leader, developing better work relationships and staying ahead of the game through inventive problem solving. There were also site visits to the nearby First TransPennine Express/Siemens Ardwick depot, Metrolink depot, Lucchini RS and the University of Salford’s labs.


A group activity – looking at creating a new high speed line, HS3 – also tested the negotiation and collaboration skills of the participants, with


86 | rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 14


Best Industry Case Study (presented by Peter Mellor from South West Trains) went to Cencen Gong of Interfl eet Technology Ltd, for a case study focusing on pantograph sway risk assessment.


Best Poster Competition (presented by Helen Viner, chief scientist and research director of the infrastructure division at TRL) went to Jonathan Goodwin of University of Sheffi eld, for his work on multi-train trajectory optimisation.


A vibrant and dynamic event


David Clarke, director at FutureRailway, told RTM: “This event shows what a vibrant industry the rail sector is, and what good hands it is in –


young people. So it is really good to


see the enthusiasm and the attitude that people show with new ideas.”


Colin Dennis, industry co-chair at RRUKA, added that he believes everyone will have picked up some new skills during the event through the skills workshops and group activities.


“During the course of the three days I’ve heard words like ‘exciting’, ‘fun’, ‘dynamic’ and ‘diverse’ being used to describe the industry. But there is still the reality that lots of things need fi xing – and that is our challenge going forward.”


He said later that the event had “more energy than any other I’ve ever been to”.


‘The rail industry is like Narnia…’


Other attendees seemed to agree. Edward Bilson is on the TfL graduate scheme, after graduating a year ago in mechanical and manufacturing engineering from Warwick University. He praised the quality of research and debate at the conference. He said: “It’s


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