150 Rail suppliers were welcomed to the launch of the new Industry SPEED Partnership by the Rail Industry Association and Network Rail

Wednesday the 19th of October saw the SPEED Partnership launched with an event which saw suppliers informed of the initiatives aims to develop Rail’s SPEED programme by increasing supplier involvement.

The partnership is focused on creating cross-industry participation and will see Network Rail, rail suppliers and rail stakeholders work together in order to combat inefficiency, providing improved outcomes for all concerned.

The event saw an array of keynote speakers such as

• Christian Irwin – Director, Network Rail Investment Centre of Excellence
• Rob Brighouse – Non-Executive Director, Network Rail
• Rob McIntosh – Managing Director, Network Rail Eastern region
• Cavendish Elithorn – Director, Department for Transport
• Paul Harwood – Programme Director, GBRTT
• Sue Millington – Head of Programme Management, Network Rail – Rail Investment Centre of Excellence,
• Jeremy Gerlis – Strategic Business Advisor, TCFB Ltd
• Rob Cairns – Capital Delivery Director, Network Rail Eastern region.

Attendees also enjoyed a number of workshops which provided the chance to start off the initiative in good form by sharing ideas on barriers to saving both time and money. The ideas collected at the event will be worked on further by the new partnership in order to discover possible improvements. 

The event was hosted by the Rail Industry Association (RIA) and the Network Rail Investment Centre of Excellence and saw David Clarke – Technical Director at RIA and Mike Wright – Programme Director at the Rail Investment Centre of Excellent lead attendees through the day’s events. 

Network Rail representative Rob McIntosh, said: “Rail SPEED has already had a significant impact in streamlining the client activity in developing investment projects and renewals. We are already seeing practical examples of a new and better way of working, which is driving improvements in the cost and delivery timescales of our projects. This is very welcome news for passengers, taxpayers and government and demonstrates our commitment to being good custodians of the public purse. The opportunity and necessity now is to engage with the wider supply chain to bring in their knowledge and expertise and so I thank all those who contributed today and look forward to building an ongoing and deeper collaboration with suppliers.”

David Clarke, Technical Director at RIA, said: “I am sure all of Network Rail’s suppliers will join me in welcoming this important next step towards delivering on Rail SPEED. Suppliers of all sizes have huge expertise and innovative ideas which can be brought to bear on this challenge and so it is hugely encouraging to see Network Rail actively reaching out to the supply chain and seeking to establish an ongoing cross-industry collaboration. RIA is delighted to support this important initiative as it is vital for the health of the whole rail industry that we deliver as efficiently as possible”

Suppliers who weren’t able to attend the launch and would like to be involved in the Industry SPEED Partnership can register to find out more about opportunities in the future.