DB E.C.O. North America’s Post

Register now to attend the Railway Industry Association "Engineering and Climate Action Conference: Driving Performance, Unlocking Innovation  Scotland" on 19 November 2024 at Glasgow's Technology & Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde. This event offers a unique opportunity for everyone involved in the UK's railways to come together, share new ideas, and discover tools that enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the railways. Network Rail Scotland is seeking innovative solutions to transform railway infrastructure management, specifically focusing on three key areas:   •          Improving Train Performance •          Delivering Climate Action •          Reducing Net Cost

Really interesting piece of analysis work commissioned by Western Gateway recently. Looking at the economic future of the area, it points to the potential for South Wales to play a critical role in supporting the UK's path to net zero by by growing the decarbonisation and innovation strengths that are emerging. The Global Centre Of Rail Excellence is an important part of that potential - the opportunity to develop a world class magnet for rail research, testing and innovation in South Wales. A facility unlike any other in Europe which can support faster net zero technology development. Report: https://lnkd.in/ewgy53Ng #Innovation #NetZero #Economy

Great to be able to share a supply chain perspective at this forum.

'The rail industry stands on the cusp of a pivotal transformation, driven by the urgent need for sustainability in the face of global environmental challenges.' Really good feature from Global Railway Review on the opportunities and imperative for decarbonisation in rail on the path to net zero. Link: https://lnkd.in/ejDD3F9J The Global Centre Of Rail Excellence is a new, purpose-built facility for world class rail and mobility research, testing and innovation that is currently being developed in South Wales that aims to be critical part of this work over the next few years. GCRE will support the development of next generation rolling stock, infrastructure and cutting-edge new mobility technologies that will provide a range of services unique across the continent. It will become the UK’s first ever net zero in operation railway, supporting the innovations needed to decarbonise the UK and European rail network and, crucially, helping to lower the costs of major infrastructure. You can find out more about the GCRE development at www.gcre.wales or by watching our overview video here: https://lnkd.in/eMVtZHZX #NetZero

Thanks for the invite! Really enjoyed speaking about freight decarbonisation, and also the insights from other speakers. A few points that everyone seemed to agree on: - Freight transport can sometimes feel like passenger transport’s less pampered second cousin — but it’s integral to our lives, and we’re looking forward to a renewed focus on it by the new government (in today’s budget and the months to come). - A whole range of policy objectives need to be balanced when thinking about freight - e.g. the need to drive economic growth and productivity alongside mitigating negative impacts on the environment. - In this context, it’s great to see the focus on expanding rail freight and the rail freight growth target of 75% by 2050 (currently it accounts for 10% of journeys). Again, looking forward to supporting GBR and the government in this mission. - Intermodal integrated transport is key to both efficiency and environmental objectives, and “road” and “rail” are not in conflict. Indeed, expanding rail freight will benefit the roads and port sectors. Strategic rail freight interchanges and multimodal logistics hubs will enable integration. Digitalisation and automation can reduce and remode freight journeys to be more cost and carbon efficient for everyone. - Reducing operational emissions is of course essential if the UK is to reach its legally binding 2050 net zero target since the freight sector accounts for 19% of domestic emissions. Transitioning away from fossil fuel vectors to cleaner modes (e.g. battery electric trucks, battery/bimodal rolling stock, electrified ports, and sustainably fuelled aircraft) is recognised as the end point. But it’s expensive and the government, industry, finance, and even customers will all have to come together to pay. - Something that doesn’t get talked about enough is the capital carbon that goes into the manufacture and maintenance of vehicles and infrastructure. Taking a whole lifecycle view of carbon emissions and adopting circular economy principles (of reducing, reusing, refurbishing, recycling) will help cut carbon, costs, and material use simultaneously and also regenerate nature. - I was glad to bring up behaviour change in my comments because people sometimes get left out of the conversation about freight. The decisions we make about what to order and when to order impacts all of this, but government and industry need to empower us to make the right choices. Please do reach out to me and my team at KPMG UK #futuremobility if you’d like to talk about any of this. Ben Foulser Chris Hillcoat Jenny Millard Max Rouse Juhi Verma Michael Bunker Rachel Bleetman Daniel Perreira Ben Dimond

Over 450 attendees joined the Engineering and Climate Action Conference: Unlocking Innovation Improving Train Performance event today at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow. Network Rail Scotland’s Managing Director Liam Sumpter set the scene around the challenges faced by Scotland's Railway and the importance of innovation to driving improved reliability and performance. Director of Engineering and Asset Management for NR Scotland Alan Ross drew lessons from historic engineering innovation on the North Highland Line as an approach the modern railway can learn from today. RIA Technical and Innovation Director Richard Carr gave an overview of the Unlocking Innovation programme nationally and explained how the association champions the supply chain in Scotland and across the UK. A series of well-attended breakout sessions are taking place, covering topics including digital twin technology, product acceptance, biodiversity and more. Thanks to Paul Tallett for hosting and partners Network Rail, Telent Technology Services Ltd and UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN). RIA Scotland, Bob Docherty, Penny Gkika, Robin Hay, James McGowan, #Innovation #UnlockingInnovation #RailIndustry

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced seven transportation plans to build a more resilient, affordable, and globally competitive transportation system. The action plans—covering key modes of the transportation sector including maritime, rail, trucking, aviation, and off-road—were developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with industry and other stakeholders.    The action plans were showcased this week at the 2025 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., where more than 10,000 policymakers, government and industry leaders, and members of academia convened to discuss all transportation modes.    Learn more about the action plans and their impact.

As the deliberations end and we await the arrival of Cohort 2 of the Clean Futures programme – and so the range of exciting innovations their new SMEs will bring to the rail sector – we reflect on where the sector is at the moment in terms of the challenges and opportunities it faces and so, most importantly, the track it’s on.   In mid-July our Strategic Business Partnerships Manager delivered a talk to the Rail Industry Association (RIA) North’s Light Rail Member Interest Group in West Yorkshire on the business case specifically for very light rail… core to BCIMO’s mission in our home at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre. With the rail’s re-emergence as a cleaner, greener form of transport in the face of climate change, and innovative potential across all aspects of the sector, there is a clear vision being defined within the UK for multi-modal, low-carbon end-to-end services of which VLR is part.   As an even more financially and environmentally sustainable solution, with a range of significant technological advancements, the VLR niche is now differentiating in terms of innovative sustainable infrastructure and vehicle design. BCIMO is proud to be part of this journey as the test bed for both aspects of the first UK-based system being developed by Coventry City Council, and there remains significant potential for further innovation – including through Clean Futures – as the sector continues to develop apace.   To read more about challenges and opportunities within rail ➡ https://lnkd.in/ewPaiCwA To explore the Rail Development & Test Site facilities at the VLRNIC ➡ https://lnkd.in/eJHk8Rf4 To find out more about BCIMO’s organisational Areas of Focus ➡

I am looking forward to speaking at this conference about the pragmatic strategy RIA has developed to achieve a net-zero railway by 2050. https://lnkd.in/eDhmDxaY

🧭 ”Europe has everything it needs to succeed in the race to the top” said President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. CER welcomes the Competitiveness Compass and the announcement to strengthen EU cross-border rail connectivity and a plan for an ambitious European High-Speed Rail network. CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola: “Studies clearly demonstrate the socio-economic and environmental benefits of such a High-Speed Rail network, connecting all EU capitals and major cities, and it is crucial to prioritise investments in cross-border rail connections, ensuring a more integrated and efficient European railway system. For swift and effective improvements, we emphasize the need for a regulatory framework that facilitates the integration of an Open Sales Distribution model (OSDM), thereby enhancing ticketing processes across Europe.” Facts about the High-Speed Rail (HSR) Network: 👉 With a HSR network connecting all EU capitals and major cities, rail market share on long-distance traffic could increase above 50% and bring about true and lasting modal shift. 👉 European oil dependency would decrease, saving 11.6 billion barrels worth €750 billion. 👉 More than 100 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved per year thanks to shifting traffic to HSR from 2025 to 2070; 👉 this would have a value of €10 billion/year which could finance a very ambitious HSR network of 31,849 km. #EuropeByTrain #HighSpeedRail #EUTransport