UK rail industry personnel news
News about senior railway industry appointments in the UK.
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Rail Business UKAlex Hynes named next CEO of DfT Operator Ltd
UK: Alex Hynes has been named as the next Chief Executive of Department for Transport Operator Ltd, the state-owned holding company for passenger train operators which have passed into the public sector.
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Rail Business UKTrain drivers’ union ASLEF announces next General Secretary
UK: Dave Calfe has been elected as General Secretary of train drivers’ union ASLEF, succeeding Mick Whelan who is stepping down after being in the role since 2011.
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Rail Business UKLaw firm appoints former Elizabeth Line MD as rail sector adviser
UK: Law firm Hugh James has appointed Mike Bagshaw, former Managing Director of London commuter train operator MTR Elizabeth Line, as a strategic advisor to its rail sector team.
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Rail Business UKManaging Director appointed as rail consultancy targets international growth
UK: Rail operations and strategy consultancy InnoRail has announced the appointment of Andy Watson as Managing Director.
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Rail Business UKMark Hopwood named next Chair of the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators
UK: Great Western Railway Managing Director Mark Hopwood is to succeed Iarnród Eireann CEO Jim Meade as Chair of the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators in October.
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail announces Jeremy Westlake as next Chief Executive
UK: Network Rail has announced the appointment of Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Westlake as its next Chief Executive, who will oversee the amalgamation with Great British Railways.
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Rail Business UKCaledonian Sleeper appoints interim Managing Director
UK: Caledonian Sleeper’s Commercial & Procurement Director Graham Kelly has been appointed as interim Managing Director from April 18. He succeeds Kathryn Darbandi, who is to pursue ‘semi-retirement’ after more than four years in the position. Kelly joined the Caledonian Sleeper as Guest Experience Director in ...
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Rail Business UKSingle leadership for GWR and Network Rail control
UK: Great Western Railway and Network Rail have brought their control functions together as a single joint team with the aim of bolstering collaborative working and service delivery. GWR and Network Rail control teams based in Western House, Swindon, already work together to manage day-to-day operations ...
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Rail Business UKNetwork Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines to retire
UK: Network Rail Chief Executive Sir Andrew Haines has advised the board that he has decided to retire from the infrastructure manager in October 2025.
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Rail Business UKUK rail expertise is in demand worldwide, says RIA Exports Leadership Group
UK: The Railway Industry Association has announced changes at its Exports Leadership Group, which enables members to share their experiences and work with RIA’s Exports and Trade Policy teams to gain advice and support on selling their products and services abroad. Andrew Went has stepped down ...
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Rail Business UKEddie Dempsey becomes RMT General Secretary
UK: Eddie Dempsey has been elected unopposed as the next General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers. He will take over from Mick Lynch on March 7. Dempsey has been the RMT’s Senior Assistant General Secretary since April 2022. He originally joined ...
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Rail Business UKRob Whyte appointed Managing Director for Alstom UK & Ireland
UK: Alstom has announced the appointment of Rob Whyte as Managing Director UK & Ireland with effect from February. He was previously Managing Director in the Nordics. Whyte joined Alstom more than 30 years ago as an apprentice in the company’s Transmission & Distribution business while ...
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Rail Business UKHeidi Alexander replaces Louise Haigh as Secretary of State for Transport
UK: Labour MP for Swindon South Heidi Alexander was appointed as Secretary of State for Transport on November 29, following the resignation of Louise Haigh the previous evening. Alexander was MP for Lewisham East from 2010 to 2018, when she stepped down from parliament to become ...
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Rail Business UKShadow Great British Railways Chair appointed
UK: The Secretary of State for Transport has appointed West Midlands Combined Authority Chief Executive Laura Shoaf as Chair of Shadow Great British Railways. Before leading the WMCA, Shoaf was Managing Director of Transport for West Midlands, and has chaired the Urban Transport Group. ‘It is ...
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Rail Business UKRuth Cadbury elected Chair of the Transport Select Committee
UK: Labour MP for Brentford & Isleworth Ruth Cadbury has been elected as Chair of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee for the 2024 parliament. ‘Working cross-party, this committee will continue to champion the sector and consumers across the country’, she said following the election ...
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Rail Business UKActing Chair appointed at Network Rail
UK: Network Rail’s senior non-executive director Mike Putnam has been appointed as Acting Chair of the infrastructure manager, replacing Lord Peter Hendy who has been appointed as Minister of State at the Department for Transport. The process of appointing a successor to Hendy will begin in ...
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Rail Business UKDB Cargo UK to increase use of digital and AI technologies
UK: ‘Greater use of digital and AI technologies is a key aspect of our ongoing transformation plan and will enable us to deliver even better customer service and product innovation, as well as improving our overall efficiency’, DB Cargo UK Chief Executive Andrea Rossi said when the ...
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Rail Business UKBig Rail Diversity Challenge seeks to drive change
UK: Companies from across the UK’s rail industry came together at Newark Showground on June 19 to take part in this year’s Big Rail Diversity Challenge.
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Rail Business UKMark Wild appointed HS2 Ltd CEO
UK: Former Crossrail Ltd Chief Executive Mark Wild has been appointed CEO of high speed line project promoter HS2 Ltd. Wild is currently CEO of gas distribution network SGN. His previous roles have included CEO of Crossrail Ltd in 2018-22, London Underground Managing Director in 2016-19 ...
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Rail Business UKNext East West Railway Co CEO announced
UK: David Hughes has been appointed as CEO of Oxford to Cambridge project promoter East West Railway Co with effect from June 3. He succeeds Beth West, who announced in April that she would stepping down when her contract ended. Hughes joins from Arup, where he ...