Railway Industry Association launches its award-winning Annual Conference – “Building customer-focused rail, at home and abroad”

7 - 8 November 2019

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has launched its award-winning Annual Conference to be held at Hilton London Bankside on 7-8 November. The Conference will see a number of high profile industry leaders speak, including:

  • Transport Secretary Chris Grayling MP (invited)
  • Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald MP
  • Andrew Haines, Chief Executive, Network Rail
  • Keith Williams, Independent Chair, Rail Review (invited)
  • Mark Wild, Chief Executive, Crossrail
  • Ruth Hannant and Polly Payne, Directors-General for Rail Group, Department for Transport
  • Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Transport Focus
  • Barry White, Chief Executive, Transport for the North
  • Philip Hoare, President, SNC Lavalin Atkins and Rail Supply Group Chair
  • Noel Travers, Managing Director, Unipart Rail
  • Anna Ince, Chief Executive Officer, Resonate 
  • Caroline Murdoch, Director Corporate Communications, Network Rail
  • Kaspars Brisken, Head of Business Development, Rail Baltica
  • And many more!

This year’s Conference focuses on the theme of “Building customer-focused rail, at home and abroad”. For the first time, RIA’s Annual Conference programme will run over two days, combining keynote speeches, panel discussions, interview sessions and unique networking opportunities as well as providing the chance to meet with key industry leaders. We are inviting several international speakers, including representatives from the Baltic States, Sweden and Turkey, to introduce a stronger global approach.
 
There will also be an Awards Dinner & Entertainment evening on 7 November, hosted be the well-known travel writer and broadcaster Simon Calder. The inaugural RISE Awards, celebrating Railway Industry Supplier Excellence, will showcase the achievements of RIA’s supply chain members in a range of categories.
 
Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, said: “Now is a particularly critical time for the UK railways. With the UK preparing to leave the EU in October 2019, a turbulent political environment ahead, the Network Rail devolution plan being implemented, the Williams Rail Review underway, and challenges from the Government to decarbonise and digitalise the rail network, there is clearly much for the rail supply sector to discuss.
 
“So this year’s RIA Annual Conference will come at a particularly apposite time, as we look to build customer-focused rail, both at home and abroad. We hope all those with an interest in building a bigger and better rail supply industry in these interesting and controversial times will join us, for what promises to be two days of keynote speeches, debates, networking, and entertainment and awards to recognise the achievements of rail suppliers. It certainly isn’t one to be missed!”

 

Notes to Editors

  1. Press passes are available to journalists on request. Please contact Snr Public Affairs & PR Manager Max Sugarman to request a pass ([email protected])
  2. More information about the Conference can be found here
  3. More information about the Railway Industry Supplier Excellence (RISE) Awards can be found here. 
  4. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. We promote and represent our members’ interests to policy makers, clients and other stakeholders in the UK and overseas. RIA has 280+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double over the next 25 years and freight set to grow significantly too. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry.