Delivering a NetZero Railway

I studied forestry and ecology as an undergraduate (Edinburgh) and a post-graduate (Portsmouth).  After a brief foray in to the furniture industry manging European funded research projects, I joined the railway in 2001 as the its first arboriculturist.  20-odd years later I am biodiversity strategy manager providing expertise and support on sustainable management of the whole estate necessary to improve the safety and biodiversity of the rail network.  My early railway roles worked on management of lineside assets including vegetation and boundary measures.  My current focus is delivering guidance and tools to integrate the management of biodiversity on the rail network into existing practice.  This work has to take account of environmental and social obligations on an estate where trains pass at up to 125mph.

Jonathan Brown is Strategic Rail Lead at Transport for the North, the sub-National Transport Body for the North of England.  Transport for the North is a partnership of Mayoral Combined Authorities and local authorities across the North and our role is to support and add value, particularly on cross-cutting issues like rail. Jonathan’s role involves supporting delivery of the Strategic Transport Plan including through the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme. Jonathan is a transport planner and has worked at Transport for the North since 2016 having previously worked in local transport and economic development agencies. He has led work on improving local and regional rail services through increased frequency and capacity and supported development of Transport for the North’s rail strategy which recognises the need for further electrification in the North.

Luisa Moisio joined the Rail Safety and Standards Board in 2005 to improve how changes to standards were assessed. She moved to the research department in 2008 and was appointed Director of Research in 2017. In this capacity she leads the programme of research run by RSSB and funded by the Department for Transport. This provides new knowledge and solutions spanning a broad range of engineering and operations topics in which cross-sector collaboration is vital.

Since 2014 Luisa has been a member of the organising committee of the World Congress of Rail Research, and led the hosting of the last Congress in Birmingham in 2022.

She also sits on the Steering Committee of the UK Innovation and Research Network (UKRRIN) which fosters closer collaboration between academic centres of excellence in rail research and supply chain.

Garry is a career electrification engineer with 34 years’ experience in the industry. Garry joined BR’s graduate training scheme in 1991 and since then has delivered a wide range of AC and DC electrification designs on projects in the UK and overseas including major multidisciplinary projects. He has been involved with many of the UK electrification projects in the UK, including Great Western and Midland Mainline.

Garry is Technical Director for Atkins and acts as Atkins' Professional Head for Electrification. He is also responsible for all Atkins OLE design in the South West. He is the author of the standard reference book on electrification, “Overhead Line Electrification for Railways” which is available as a free download.

20 years ago, Dan began his railway career in a planning role working for a railway renewals company.

After many years working in the freight world, Dan started a new role supporting the Express Freight market in a Business Development role. He has been focused on building Network Rail's knowledge of this sector, which has huge potential for growth on rail.

He has supported the latest FOC to join the network, Varamis Rail, who have successfully launched a Midlands to Scotland Express Freight service. He has helped to establish relationships with the potential users of rail in the courier, express and parcel sectors as well as major supermarkets, and continues to work with them to help design the right railway solutions for both express freight and more traditional users of rarilfreight, such as aggregates and intermodal operations.

Phil joined the Rail Freight Group in April 2021, having spent 16 years with Essex County Council’s education service and prior to that in the fertilizer industry.

His passion for transport policy developed through his 39 years as an elected member with Ipswich Borough Council where he drew up the proposal for the Ipswich Freight Chord for the local plan and helped to initiate the East West Rail Consortium of local councils in the 1990s.

Since joining RFG, Phil has been working with Sub National Transport Bodies in helping them develop their transport strategies and priorities for investment as well as preparing policy responses on behalf of RGF members. He has written articles on Rail Freight for magazines including Modern Railways and the Scotsman.

He is a member of the Railfuture campaign group.

Toby develops rail policy and strategy for both West Midlands Rail Executive and Transport for West Midlands.  This includes assessing the feasibility of new stations, responding to rail industry consultations and producing briefing papers and presentations for technical, political and public audiences.

He had a key role in producing “West Midlands Rail Investment Strategy” and works closely on strategic rail issues with both Network Rail and Midlands Connect..

Toby is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a Tutor for the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators and has an MSc in Transportation Planning & Policy from Newcastle University, a BSc in Railway Operations Management and a BA degree in German & French (which he now only really makes use of on holiday).

Joshua Jordan-Boddey is a Business Manager for Freight at Knorr-Bremse, with over a decade of experience in the UK rail freight sector. Beginning his career at GB Railfreight managing major clients like Tarmac and Hanson, he later advanced intermodal growth at Freightliner. Since 2023, he’s played a key role in promoting innovative solutions such as the FC Sentinel (VTG iWagon) and expanding Knorr-Bremse’s freight profile in the UK. With a background in advertising from the University of South Wales, Joshua brings a unique, customer-focused approach to rail innovation and industry improvement.

Tawhida Yaacoub Programme Lead at Midlands Connect joined since 2022 as part of the Rail team. Following a career “on the ground” working on the railway as a Station Manager, a Senior Conductor Manager with London Midland and West Midlands Trains and as a Station Alliance Lead with West Midlands Rail Executive. Prior to her career in the railway, Tawhida worked abroad for the United Nations and before that for a number of years in television news production.

During her time at Midlands Connect, she spearheaded the rail corridor infrastructure improvement projects on the Nottingham to Lincoln rail corridor and the Black Country-Shrewsbury corridor. As well leading on Multimodal projects to do with Network Resilience and Multimodal Interchange in the Midlands.

After gaining a Masters in Meteorology Julie embarked on her career by working at the Met Office’s Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, firstly in climate research, and later in climate impacts consultancy. She then went on to work for Network Rail in operational weather resilience followed by a variety of project roles including as senior sponsor of the enhanced sea walls at Dawlish in Devon. She now leads the Climate Resilience and Sustainable Growth team for Network Rail’s Wales & Western Region, aiming to deliver a simpler, better, greener railway fit for the future.