RIA announces Network Rail, HS2 Ltd and South Western Railway Chief Executives as headline speakers for its award-winning Innovation Conference

1 February 2019

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has announced details of its Innovation Conference, which will take place on 19 & 20 March 2019 at the Telford International Conference Centre. The line-up of speakers includes:

  • Andrew Haines OBE, Network Rail Chief Executive;
  • Mark Thurston, HS2 Ltd Chief Executive;
  • Andy Mellors, South Western Railway Managing Director;
  • Toufic Machnouk, Network Rail Route Programme Director;
  • And more speakers to be announced shortly.

The Conference is now in its eleventh year and was awarded the Trade Association Forum’s Best Conference Award in 2018. It will contain an exhibition,  interactive workshops, elevator pitches and table sessions, covering areas like the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) route to market, Network Rail’s CP6 research portfolio, the Government’s Decarbonisation Challenge and how the industry can deliver the Rail Sector Deal. 

There will also be a number of thought provoking speakers from the automotive, aerospace and construction sectors, on how lessons from different industries could be applied to rail, and there will be sessions expanding on RIA's Unlocking Innovation theme of  ‘M.A.D.E in Britain’, where M.A.D.E stands for Materials, Automation, Data and Energy.  

David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) said: “It’s great to announce our awarding-winning RIA Innovation Conference is back for its eleventh year.

“Every year we examining a range of fascinating, inspiring and sometimes challenging issues and this year will be no different. The Conference will have senior speakers from across the industry, including Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines and HS2 Chief Executive Mark Thurson, and we will also be hearing from other industries, where learnings could be applied to rail.

“I look forward to welcoming the industry to Telford for two days of thought provoking talks, discussions and networking”.

Notes to Editors

  1. If you would like a press pass for the Conference, please contact RIA’s Snr Public Affairs & PR Manager Max Sugarman at [email protected]. Accommodation can be provided on an individual basis.
  2. More information about the Innovation Conference can be found here
  3. 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 250+ 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.