The UK’s leading rail event
21 March 2023 | Hilton Tower Bridge, London
Accelerate: Rail returned in 2023 at a time of significant change: with content focused on navigating reforms, pushing sustainability initiatives, and working towards a better connected, accessible, and reliable journey for passengers.
This year, our rail event brought together the most influential leaders in the industry as we discovered and challenged these critical issues, delivering talks across the GBR transition, digitalisation, sustainability and more. Accelerate: Rail 2023 provided an opportunity to explore this unprecedented time in rail, and to connect with the industry’s biggest infrastructure bodies, TOCs, ROSCOs and more, as we pushed innovation forward.
“Accelerate: Rail is a fantastic forum through which we can come together to truly evolve the rail industry.”
– Chief Operating Officer, Rail Delivery Group
2023 Event Speakers
Simon Moorhead
Chief Information Officer,
Sue Walnut
Product Director, UK & Ireland, Vix Technology
Jenny Hudson
Business Development Director, Transmission Dynamics
Matthew Gorham
Business Lead Mobility Sector, Arcadis Gen
Tom Kinnear
Partner, Advisory & Analytics, Amey
Shamit Gaiger
Managing Director,
Chacasta Pritlove
Head of Transport,
Sian Downer
Director, Public Sector Transport, Salesforce
Key event themes from 2023
GBR reform
As the transition to Great British Railways gets well underway, we unpacked the latest news and updates from the project’s lead Andrew Haines and the CEO of Office for Road and Rail, as well as hosting pivotal discussions from various railway bodies about how this change will impact them.
Sustainable travel
Decarbonsation, electrification, MaaS, freight and more: we deep-dived into the future of sustainable travel with some of the industry’s top green thinkers, including Rail Freight Group and Transport for Wales.
Passenger experience
We explored rail’s progress in putting the passenger first, with invaluable sessions from Chiltern Railways and LNER, and covered a range of topics from customer feedback and information distribution to connectivity and accessibility.
The digital railway
As the boundaries of the digital world keep evolving, we discovered how rail stays committed to pushing progress. We were inspired by insight from HS1 on advances in predictive maintenance, as well as talks on signalling, data integration and technology.
Ticketing and fares
At a time of immense reform, we saw how crucial discussions on the future of ticketing and fares played out – with gripping sessions from GBRTT and Great Western Railway on making rail attractive, affordable, and accessible to the consumer.
The modern workforce
We looked beyond the network to understand the workings and requirements of the modern workforce, with conversations from HS2 and the National Skills Academy for Rail on the future of rail modernisation, skill attraction and achieving diversity in the workplace.
2023 Event Agenda
Accelerate: Rail 2023
Chair's opening remarks
Making reform worthwhile: enacting change under Great British Railways
Fireside chat
Shifting the energy paradigm for the UK rail network
- Rail is one of the biggest energy users in the country, spending over a billion pounds per year on power. The cost of electricity and ever-increasing focus on sustainability and net zero targets means there is substantial pressure to address this. Join Amy and Neil as they unpack these issues against the background of Great British Railways (GBR), which forms opportunities for new business models, including bringing funders and developers together to help meet sustainability targets; opportunities to manage cost and risk exposure; and the creation of new revenue streams.
Amy Marshall
Energy & Utilities Partner
Neil Kirby
Managing Director
SSE UK
Leaders’ forum
Achieving meaningful rail reform
- Pushing for progress: how can the move to GBR break down barriers that stunted previous reform?
- How will collaboration between TOCs be encouraged under the unification of bodies?
- The new age of rail: what are the operational realities of moving to a new network?
- A helping hand: what additional regulatory or governmental input is needed to support reform?
- How will the creation of GBR ensure meaningful change for customers?
- A greener world: how do the GBR reforms fit in with the wider sustainability agenda?
,
,
,
Shamit Gaiger
Managing Director
Chacasta Pritlove
Head of Transport
Refreshments
Passenger experience
Panel discussion
Moving forward in passenger experience: making significant change happen
- From COVID to the cost of living: what changes have been most impactful over the past year?
- What steps can be taken to move passenger experience projects from concept to action?
- How can Rail better support passengers during the cost-of-living crisis?
- In what ways can ticketing reform maximise improving passenger experience?
- How has Rail progressed in making CX and information-distribution technology a reality on trains?
- No passenger left behind: how do we reconcile digitalisation with accessibility?
Sian Downer
Director, Public Sector Transport
Salesforce
The digital railway
Next steps for digitalisation
Chair
Sarah Higgins
Head of Drivers
West Midlands Trains
Presentation
Technology in rail: envisioning the next decade
- Fast forward: what changes and improvements can we anticipate for Rail over the next 10 years?
- How will the growing dominance of data and technology affect projects and investments in rail?
- Reconciling old and new: what methods can we use to connect rail’s traditional structures with pioneering technologies?
- In what ways can future environmental technologies be utilised to supercharge green rail?
Jenny Hudson
Business Development Director
Transmission Dynamics
Panel discussion
Becoming a data-driven railway: integrating insights across the board
- A starting point: how is Rail incorporating the use of data to benefit the network?
- In what ways can pioneering data technologies be utilised within Rail to leverage better passenger insight?
- What are the main barriers that prevent data from being used effectively within the industry?
- How can data be used to improve journeys, scheduling, and maintenance?
- How do we make data accessible and understood in the workplace?
- What are the benefits of utilising the UK’s growing cohort of data experts within Rail?
Simon Moorhead
Chief Information Officer
Tom Kinnear
Partner, Advisory & Analytics
Amey
Devolution & levelling up
Lunch
Track 1
Making rail attractive and competitive
Chair
Sarah Higgins
Head of Drivers
West Midlands Trains
Panel discussion
The future of ticketing and fares: from centralisation to digitalisation
- In what ways will the centralisation of ticketing and fares bring change to the industry?
- How would fully digitalising ticketing impact the passenger?
- Goodbye to fixed fares: is there a future in dynamic pricing?
- From devolved bodies to TOCs: how will ticket and fare reform affect different areas of the industry?
- A new generation: how can Rail utilise changes in ticketing and fares to encourage young people to use trains?
Sue Walnut
Product Director, UK & Ireland
Vix Technology
Track 2
Refreshments
Building the workforce of the future
Chair
Sarah Higgins
Head of Drivers
West Midlands Trains
Interview
Empowering operatives: embracing technology to supercharge maintenance
- Working in a complex world: in what areas do operatives require greater support?
- From scheduling to field work: how can data be utilised to better empower the workforce?
- In practical terms: what tools and technologies are available and where could the benefits be felt?
Matthew Gorham
Business Lead Mobility Sector
Arcadis Gen
“Contemporary and relevant and a great opportunity to network and share ideas with thought leaders.”
– Chief Executive Officer, HS1
Who attends?
Every major TOC and transport group attends this rail event
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