Grab your name badge, breakfast and start your networking early

This panel will explore current and future opportunities for light and urban rail across England, drawing on active projects and global best practices. It will emphasise how local government can be supported at every stage, from funding to delivering integrated transit systems, and highlight the importance of connecting light rail with buses and active travel to build sustainable, adaptable communities.

Panellists:

• Becky Wood, Chief Executive Office, National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority
• Luke Branwell, Head of Rapid Transit Development, Transport for Greater Manchester
• Simon Warburton, Executive Director, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  
  

Grab a coffee, mid morning snack and a fist full of business cards during the first networking opportunity of the day

From predictive maintenance and digital twins to smarter timetabling and real-time customer comms, AI is moving from buzzword to backbone across the railway. This panel brings together operators, infrastructure owners, suppliers and policy voices to explore how data and automation can unlock step-change efficiencies, smoother journeys, and sustainable growth.

We’ll cut through hype to show where AI delivers today—reducing delays, optimising energy, sweating existing assets—and what’s next as connectivity, sensors and edge computing scale across the network. Expect candid discussion on governance, skills and safety, plus practical lessons from pilots and full deployments. We’ll look at how to build the business case, measure ROI, manage cyber risk, and keep the passenger at the centre of every decision.

Key themes

• Operational efficiencies: predictive maintenance, timetable optimisation, energy management
• Passenger impact: accurate information, accessibility, personalised services, safer stations
• Economic upside: capacity gains without concrete, productivity, supply chain innovation
• Enablers: data standards, procurement, regulation, interoperability, workforce skills
  
  

The North of England is poised for a mass-transit step change. This session explores how light rail, tram-train and rapid transit can unlock growth, reduce congestion and emissions, and connect people to jobs, housing and education.

We’ll focus on near-term upgrades and extensions, pragmatic first moves (e.g., BRT as a fast start), and the roadmap to new tram and tram-train corridors. Speakers will share what’s working—from business case development and funding blends to public engagement, design for accessibility, and delivering visible benefits early.

Key themes

• Funding & delivery: devolved settlements, private finance/LLPs, value capture, developer contributions, and long-term OPEX.
• Digital & assets: data-led operations, condition-based maintenance, energy optimisation, and fleet renewal.
• Governance & risk: role of Mayoral Combined Authorities, collaboration with TfN, procurement routes, utilities and consents.
  

Grab your lunch, talk to the speakers about how you can help with their challenges and network with new customers.

Northern Mayors are setting a bold rail agenda—prioritising reliable, frequent services, integrated fares, and stations that catalyse regeneration. This session brings together Mayoral leaders, transport authorities and operators to explore how devolution can turn ambition into delivered capacity, better passenger experiences and regional growth.

We’ll examine near-term wins (timetable reliability, station upgrades, accessibility, electrification infills) alongside long-lead transformations (new corridors, network modernisation, freight–passenger pathing, and mass-transit interfaces). Expect practical discussion on building robust business cases, aligning city-region priorities with national policy, and sequencing schemes to show visible benefits early.

Key themes

• Passenger outcomes first: punctuality, frequency, simpler fares and capping, real-time info, universal accessibility.
• Network growth & capacity: targeted electrification, passing loops, digital signalling, and interchange hubs with tram/BRT.
• Economic development: rail-led regeneration, station area masterplans, and transit-oriented development unlocking jobs and housing.