Simon Babes of Movement Strategies joins RIA Board as SME representative

Simon Babes, Managing Director of design and operations consultancy Movement Strategies, has been appointed to the Railway Industry Association (RIA) Board.
Simon joins the Board, which includes Chief Executives and Senior Directors from across the rail industry, as Chair of the SME Group where he leads activities promoting the role of RIA’s small and medium sized members.

Speaking on his appointment, Simon Babes, Managing Director of Movement Strategies said: “It’s great to join the RIA Board, particularly in my capacity as SME Group Chair. SMEs in the rail industry are leading the way in terms of innovation and collaboration, but are also often the first to be hit by issues like skills shortages and inconsistent rail funding and can find it difficult to engage directly with clients through procurement frameworks.


 “I look forward to working with RIA to ensure the voice of SMEs are heard by industry leaders and decision makers across the rail sector.”

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA) said: "We are delighted that Simon Babes, Managing Director of RIA member Movement Strategies, has taken up the appointment of RIA SME Group Chair and a place on the RIA Board, as SME representative.

"More than 60% of RIA members are SMEs, and they are vital to a successful and growing UK rail sector and supply chain. So Simon's involvement will be crucial to both ensuring SMEs inform RIA's agenda and in making sure SME members are aware of RIA's work on their behalf too.

 “It's great to have Simon on board!"

Notes to Editors

1. About Simon Babes: Simon has delivered a wide range of transport projects in UK, Asia and Middle East. He began his career at London Underground, sponsoring station capacity schemes, followed by almost a decade in Asia, setting up and growing consultancy teams delivering transport infrastructure projects. Movement Strategies is an SME delivering design and operations consultancy advice to transport asset owners, operators and contractors, as well insights derived from a range of big data sets.
2. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the representative body for UK-based suppliers to the UK and world-wide railways. It has more than 200 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.