for members of the railway industry association a new...
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All set for Innovation Conference
A new chapter for RIA
Plans for RIA’s annual Innovation Conference are almost complete, with a line up of key industry figures joining a comprehensive programme of seminars, workshops, surgeries, exhibition and networking.
Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP has agreed to address the conference, which will also feature key speakers from Network Rail, HS2, Rail Supply Group, Rail Delivery Group, Digital Railway and Transport for London among others.
The RIA Innovation Conference has become the leading event of its type and demand is always high, so Members are urged to book quickly to avoid disappointment. Bookings are open now at https://online.riagb.org.uk.
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For Members of the Rai lway Indust ry Associat ion 27 January 2017
RIA Update
Rail Minister Paul Maynard heads a comprehensive speaker list.
See page 5 for more details.
A new chapter has started for RIA with the arrival of new Chief Executive, Darren Caplan. Darren arrives at a key time for the Association, with its role in the Rail Supply Group developing rapidly, the creation by Government of a new Industrial Strategy, major changes at Network Rail and preparation for the railway’s next 5-year financial control period.
In a recent message sent out to Members, Darren explained his determination to develop RIA activity as a major player in the sector, and particularly to focus efforts on adding value to Members by continually improving the services and benefits that RIA provides. Darren paid credit to his predecessor Jeremy Candfield for his “incredible service to RIA over the years”, also thanking David Tonkin as Interim Chief Executive, describing his help and guidance as invaluable.
Darren joins RIA from the Airport Operators Association, bringing considerable trade association, politics and public affairs experience. Darren told RIA Update: “I am now two weeks into the role, and looking forward immensely to the challenges ahead. I have already met several Members to get their take on all things RIA, and it is clear from speaking with them that this is a pivotal time for the rail supply sector, with the Government’s Industrial Strategy, Brexit, and International Trade & Export agendas all providing opportunities and challenges in the months and years ahead.
“We at RIA will do everything we can to help members navigate and make the most of these developments. And I am looking forward to meeting with more members and working with the team here to both deliver on what is clearly an exciting time for the rail industry, and suppliers in particular, and to ensure RIA is the very best trade association it can be for all our valued members.”
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RIA UPDATE 98 GENERAL NEWS 27 January 2017
HS2 Railway Systems Industry Day
With Royal Assent for the HS2 Bill expected shortly, RIA’s Technical Director David Clarke joined many RIA Members in a well-attended event on 18 January which provided a good level of useful detail for potential suppliers to HS2.
We hope to be able to circulate presentations from
the day shortly. If you would like more detailed
information, please contact David Clarke.
UNIFE
meeting
David Wells represented RIA at the December meeting of the UNIFE National Associations Committee meeting, where railway trade associations from across Europe come together to share views and supplier perspectives on their respective markets and the EU institutions. Topics covered included the 4th Railway Package, negotiations for an EU-Japan free trade agreement and access to other markets. Contact David Wells for more details.
Commercial Directors’ Forum (CDF) and the RIA Value Improvement Programme (VIP)
The Network Rail CDF has a Collaboration
Workstream chaired by Kevin Tozer with RIA’s
Peter Loosley as Deputy Chair. At the most recent
meeting of the group is was agreed that we would
set up a programme of VIP workshops on the
Kings Cross enhancements to embed the
necessary collaborative behaviours at the start of
what is likely to be a complex hub and spoke
project. This will form part of the drive to use the
VIP process earlier in the project life-cycle
(previously it had been used as a remedial
intervention tool) to try to minimise any
collaboration issues downstream. Peter plans to
report back on the workshops at the next National
CDF meeting in the Summer.
New RIA Members
Eltek Power www.eltek.com Contact: Steven Pusey
Eltek designs and manufactures compact, high efficiency modular power conversion systems and energy storage solutions for the rail sector and throughout industry. Their power-dense products provide resilient and scalable power supplies and charging systems for signalling, substation power and telecommunications applications globally. Their innovative designs and ground breaking SMPS technology provide fully-monitored, low-loss power solutions, significantly reducing operating costs.
Electrification Solutions
www.electrificationsolutions.co.uk
Contact: Helen Kitchen
Electrification Solutions offer Consulting, Design, Value Engineering, Management and Delivery, in the field of electrification construction management. ESL develop best in class systems and processes, to deliver and assure electrification projects both on Network Rail Infrastructure and on light rail networks, supporting RISQS accreditation and ensuring compliance with industry standards. ESL can produce comprehensive bid submissions for electrification works, advising on price benchmarking, competition and risk.
Rail Products
www.railproducts.uk.com
Contact: Derek Burns
Rail Products is the market leader in supplying MEWPs (mobile elevating work platforms) to the UK rail market.
Rail Products has enjoyed success with the design, development and manufacture of technically advanced road-rail vehicles, including the ART17T and ART17TH MEWPs, which are available with a Pantograph unit that records height and stagger measurements while on the move.
RIA Annual Conference and AGM announced
We are pleased to announce that RIA’s 2017 Annual Conference (incorporating the AGM) will be held on Friday 20 October at Oulton Hall near Leeds. The Annual Golf Competition will be held on Thursday 19 October. Details and booking forms will be circulated in the summer.
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RIA UPDATE 98 GENERAL NEWS 27 January 2017
Future railway financing
Financing of Network Rail’s activities and investment in the national network is divided into 5-year Financial Control Periods. The next period - CP6 - will run from 2019 to 2024, and RIA is actively engaged in the determination process, which is fundamental to Network Rail expenditure and therefore absolutely critical to many Members. We will keep you informed of developments.
Industrial Strategy
The Government has just launched a Green Paper on Industrial Strategy. We are currently considering how best to engage Members in our response to this important discussion and further information will be circulated in RIA Mail.
This is a key issue for the Rail Supply Group also and we will be taking every opportunity to promote the importance of the rail sector.
Annual Network Rail Supplier Survey
Network Rail, supported by both RIA and CECA,
conducts an annual survey of its major suppliers.
The survey for 2017 is about to be launched and,
for purposes of continuity, the questions remain
largely unchanged. Amongst the key concerns
highlighted in the previous survey were uncertainty
around the future workload pipeline and
inconsistencies across NR as a client (both
geographically and by discipline). The current
planning timeline is that the report outlining the
results will be available in May.
CP6 - Initial Industry Advice
The first significant milestone in the determination of the CP6 settlement is the submission to DfT by the Planning Oversight Group (POG - of which RIA is a member) of the Initial Industry Advice (IIA). The purpose of this is to provide DfT with a broad outline of options for CP6 to enable production of its High Level Output Statement (HLOS – what it wants the industry to do) and Statement of Funds Available (SoFA – the money available to deliver those outputs).
RIA has made two significant submissions to POG on drafts of the IIA, in December 2016 and January 2017. Key points mentioned included:
The importance to the supply chain of a stable, reliable and visible work profile
Problems with Control Period Hiatus; Zero Value Frameworks and inadequate initial scoping
The need for whole life costing. ECI and greater use of output specifications.
At the time of writing, the IIA is due to be submitted to DfT by the end of January.
Fall off in workload towards the end of CP5
It is also clear that there is a drop-off in forecast workload at the end of CP5. RIA and CECA (Civil Engineering Contractors Association) are working together to understand why this is happening and will be meeting Network Rail shortly in order to bottom out the issue (there are links between this and the Renewals Unit Cost Workstream - see page 6). The impact to the supply chain of such a downturn, allied to a projected ramp-up at the beginning of CP6, is significant. The likely output of this work will be a submission to DfT.
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Hong Kong Rail Trade Mission 20 – 22 March.
UK railway suppliers are invited to join a Department for International Trade (DIT) trade mission to Hong Kong in March 2017 to meet key players and find out about opportunities in the railway sector. The mission is timed to coincide with the Asia Pacific Rail Conference and Exhibition on 21-22 March. Interested participants should register by 10 February with [email protected]
Ontario Regional Express Rail Programme, Canada
RIA Interim CEO David Tonkin chaired a Department for International Trade and High Commission of Canada seminar briefing at Canada House, London on 24 January for suppliers interesting in becoming involved in the Regional Express Rail Programme, Province of Ontario, Canada. Delegates from Metrolinx Ontario and Infrastructure Ontario presented an overview of the project to upgrade the commuter rail system in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
The Province has committed to investing $21.3 billion to implement Regional Express Rail and to make other improvements to the GO Transit system by 2025. These improvements include: track upgrades, bridge modifications, grade separations and electrification of core parts of the network. Visit www.metrolinx.com for further details.
RIA UPDATE 98 EXPORTS 27 January 2017
Rail Solutions Asia, 24 - 26 May Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We are pleased to advise that RIA currently has space reserved for UK companies wishing to exhibit on a UK Pavilion at Rail Solutions Asia. This fast-growing market is investing significantly in rail and includes High-Speed Rail and three major new MRT lines.
Those interested in exhibiting should contact Neil Walker.
Visit of Rail Baltica Team Continuing RIA’s positive relationship, the Rail Baltica Project Team led by their CEO, Ms Baiba Rubesa, visited London on 5 and 6 January to meet with UK stakeholders with experience of strategies and tools to promote the future commercialisation of infrastructure projects – before, during and after the construction/delivery of the infrastructure itself. At short notice, RIA arranged meetings with Members along with a separate briefing from Crossrail Chairman Sir Terry Morgan for the visiting delegation.
Swiss Federal Railways and Stadler visit Derby, 1 March
An opportunity exists for Members to attend a half-day briefing session and pre-selected 1-2-1 meeting programme with SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) and train builder Stadler. Hosted by the Midlands Engine and the Department for International Trade, UK companies must complete and submit an application form available at http://bit.ly/2jviOsy by 3 February. For the afternoon session, SBB and Stadler will arrange appointments with companies of particular interest.
Middle East Rail 2017, Dubai - 7 - 8 March.
Limited space is still available on the UK Pavilion as well as a few TAP support grants for UK SMEs. Contact Neil Walker.
Sir Terry with Baiba Rubesa.
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The latest brochure for RIA’s Innovation Conference is available to download from the Members’
Area of the RIA website — www.riagb.org.uk/members-area.
RIA UPDATE 98 INNOVATION 27 January 2017
Rail Minister supports RIA Innovation Conference
The 2017 RIA Innovation Conference will be addressed by Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP in a clear recognition of the importance of innovation to the rail industry (see page 1). Once again the conference has a range of high profile and thought-provoking speakers including: HS2’s Beth West, David Waboso of Digital Railway, Graham Hopkins of Network Rail and Gordon Wakeford of Siemens in his role as chair of the Rail Supply Group.
Looking to the future we will also have speakers from the fascinating Hyperloop project, as well as from Mobility as a Service, TfL’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Programme and the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network. Top designer Paul Priestman will be talking about innovation through design.
The presentations will be complemented by a full range of interactive breakout sessions and an exhibition of innovative products and services. This looks set to be another excellent conference.
We are once again encouraging the involvement of the next generation, with a special rate for graduate or apprentice delegates accompanying Members. We urge you to take advantage of this opportunity!
Special thanks go to event sponsors Alstom, Altran, LPA Group and Siemens.
The Conference is on 15 – 16 March 2017 at
Hinckley Island, Leicestershire, and Members
who have not yet booked can do so through
RIA’s online booking service.
Innovation funding
The UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK is currently running the following activities which will interest members seeking funding to progress their innovations:
Innovation in Infrastructure Systems Competition - Round 2 - £15m (register by noon on 15 March): covers a number of priority areas including innovations in connected transport that improve network capacity, balance peak demands, connect different transport modes, reduce logistics problems or offer products and services through greater system intelligence. Submissions from a single mode of transport are permitted provided there is potential to connect with other modes.
Design foundations 2017 round 1 - £1m (register by noon on 15 February): covers early-stage design projects to help businesses identify high-value innovation opportunities and generate ideas for new products, services or business models that align with customer demand. Proposals should use design-led methods from first principles to understand customer motivations and behaviour, inspire new ideas, support decision-making and inform strategy.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (submissions by 8 March): regular call for the well proven mechanism for improving company capability. These three-way partnerships between a business, academia and a graduate can last between 12 and 36 months depending on the project and the needs of the business.
Further information on Innovate UK competitions can be found in their Delivery Plan for FY16/17. Update 97 listed various funding opportunities under Horizon 2020, including €61m for 17
different topics in Shift2Rail.
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RIA UPDATE 98 TECHNICAL NEWS 27 January 2017
Network Rail Product Acceptance and Challenge Statements
Responding to feedback about the lack of visibility of the progress of applications, Network Rail have updated the Product Acceptance page on their website to include a status tracker for applications which can be found under the heading ‘My application status’.
Network Rail also recognises that they could be clearer on what products they want to be developed. To help inform the supply chain they will publish challenge statements on their website setting out specific technical needs.
The first draft statements can be found on the Product Acceptance page through the link ‘If your product has not yet reached TRL 7’.
Digital Railway Early Contractor Involvement Conference
On 12 January Digital Railway hosted a conference at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at which each of the work streams explained their findings in detail.
Many RIA members have been supporting the Digital Railway programme in a collaborative effort to bring supplier expertise to bear on seven key topics: Traffic Management, Cost Reduction, ERTMS Specification, ERTMS Capacity, ERTMS Ready Specification, Working Together and Trans -Pennine Upgrade.
The outcome of this Early Contractor Involvement
(ECI) project was published in summary on 7
December and is available on the Digital Railway
website. One key conclusion is that to deliver
the benefits of Digital Railway and to enable cost
savings of up to 30% it will be necessary to work
much more collaboratively with suppliers. RIA
strongly support these conclusions and
encourages the use of ECI on other programmes.
Renewals Unit Costs Working Group
At a recent meeting with RIA the Office of Road &
Rail mentioned their concern at the increase in
renewals unit costs during CP5. As a result RIA
has taken the initiative to form and chair a
Renewals Unit Cost working group consisting of
ORR, Network Rail and supplier representatives to
investigate the problem.
The first meeting of this group took place on 20
January, chaired by Peter Loosley. The meeting
outputs will be written up, agreed with attendees
and then submitted to Francis Paonessa and Rob
McIntosh who are leading on this work for NR.
There was unanimous agreement that this was a
worthwhile exercise and that the Group should
continue to meet regularly. We will keep you
informed in further issues of RIA Update.
BREXIT
As mentioned in Update 97, the inaugural meeting of the RIA BREXIT Group, took place on 1 November. The Group is chaired by RIA and includes suppliers and representatives from BEIS, DfT, RDG, Department for International Trade and ORR. Terms of reference were agreed and a number of key concern were identified which included:
The industry’s reliance on workers from outside the UK
UK v EU standards – having different standards would generally increase costs
EU-imposed tariffs and other barriers to exporting.
We are liaising closely with RDG who have a dedicated Group looking at BREXIT. The RIA Group next meets on 6 February when we will look to refine these concerns further. We will keep Members informed in future RIA Updates.
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SSSG
RIA’s Safety, Standards and Sustainability Group meeting on the afternoon of 20 February will include a briefing by TfL Sustainability Coordinator Helen Woolston on TfL environmental management activities. A presentation covering the practical application of the TRaCCA research (see Update 85) will be provided by Network Rail’s Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Manager Lisa Constable. We will also be pleased to welcome Paul Russell, Head of the Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System with an update on CIRAS.
The meeting will be held at RIA on 20 February; all Members are welcome and can register to attend at https://online.riagb.org.uk.
Information Management Group
Following on from the RIA workshop held in October 2016 which informed our response to the Rail Industry Cyber Security Strategy consultation (see Update 96), we will be holding a further interactive session at the RIA Information Management Group (IMG) meeting on the afternoon of 28 March.
Responsibility for the strategy has now passed from RSSB to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and we will be joined by RDG Head of Cyber & Technology Simon Holmes, who will share the proposed approach going forward and is keen to engage with RIA members and understand supply-side issues and concerns. Simon will also update members on the Cyber Risk Review.
Other speakers will include Network Rail Professional Head of Asset Data & Information Davin Crowley-Sweet and Professor Clive Roberts, Director of the University of Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (right).
RIA UPDATE 98 INTEREST GROUPS 27 January 2017
RIA Infrastructure Clients Interface Group
A reminder that the next meeting of the Group
takes place in London on 22 February. We expect
slots from Network Rail, TfL (on their latest
Business Plans) and from the National Skills
Academy for Rail. If you would like to register for
this meeting, please use this link: https://
online.riagb.org.uk.
Tax Credits Workshop
RIA is planning a Members’ workshop session with support from HMRC and other government departments, covering the following proposed topics:
Tax credits for Research and Development
activity in the rail sector
‘Patent Box’ tax relief for intellectual property revenues
Innovate UK funding mechanisms
Export finance for the rail sector.
This is the first time that we will have covered these topics in a single finance-focussed forum and we would very much encourage Members to become involved, especially Finance Directors and others involved in patents and financing. Please contact Imogen Wilson if you are interested in participating in this event or joining an information email list.
RIA Consultants Group
We had previously earmarked 8 February for the
next meeting of the Group. Unfortunately, due to
an internal meeting involving the relevant NR
personnel, we are having to reschedule this for
later in February. Peter Loosley will be circulating a
revised date and is also seeking a statement from
Network Rail’s Jo Dunn as to the expected timeline
for her replacement Professional Services
framework.
Neil Robertson of NSAR will speak at ICIG.
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RIA Technical Interest Group meetings are open to all RIA members and provide ample networking opportunities alongside the discussion sessions and presentations from guest speakers. A calendar of meetings is available on the RIA website. Presentations may also be downloaded from the Members’ Area of the RIA website, or contact David Wells for assistance.
T&RS Group
The next meeting of RIA’s Traction & Rolling Stock Technical Interest Group on 9 February will include an important briefing on the latest technical requirements for new and refurbished trains (the “Key Train Requirements”), which are being adopted by rolling stock clients as a checklist of requirements that they can include in their procurement contracts. This briefing will be by Mark Molyneux, Head of Engineering at the Rail Delivery Group, who will also be providing detail on legal requirements from the Health and Safety Executive for the management and handling of radioactive AWS indicators. Wayne Murphy of RSSB will be speaking on legal requirements and good practice for managing change in the railway industry and his colleague Paul Ferraby will give a T&RS standards update.
The meeting will hosted by RIA Member LPA Group at their factory in Saffron Walden and will include a tour of LPA’s design, development, fabrication and assembly facilities as well as a demonstration of their 10Gbit/s Ethernet backbone for rolling stock and inter-car jumpers and LED lighting systems.
All members are welcome and can book on https://online.riagb.org.uk.
RIA UPDATE 98 INTEREST GROUPS 27 January 2017
SigTIG
We will be very pleased to welcome Digital Railway’s Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) lead Stuart Calvert at the RIA Signalling & Telecoms Technical Interest Group meeting on 2 February. Stuart will be sharing insights into the recent DR ECI report and on supplier engagement with the programme. We will also be welcoming Network Rail’s Senior Product Acceptance Specialist Roger Moore (above) for an update on the Network Rail Product Acceptance Process.
The meeting will be held on 2 February. All Members are welcome and can register to attend https://online.riagb.org.uk.
InfraTIG
Stuart Birch, Director Major Projects at VolkerRail will be sharing lessons learnt in alliancing and innovation from the award-winning Staffordshire Alliance joint venture of Laing O'Rourke, Network Rail, Atkins and VolkerRail at the RIA Infrastructure Technical Interest Group meeting on 27 March. Network Rail’s Senior Product Acceptance Specialist Roger Moore will also be giving an update on the Network Rail Product Acceptance Process.
Full details will follow to InfraTIG members – Contact Imogen Wilson if you would like to be added to the circulation list.
Produced by: Railway Industry Association Phone: 020 7201 0777
22 Headfort Place Email: [email protected] www.riagb.org.uk
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PLEASE CIRCULATE TO YOUR COLLEAGUES
InfraTIG Members can expect presentations from Roger Moore and Stuart Birch.