Rail Forum set to mark 30th anniversary in style

The Rail Forum has announced it will be holding a series of celebratory events to mark its 30th anniversary.

Originally established as the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum in 1993, today the Rail Forum is a respected national industry body, with 360 members, from several major global players to numerous SMEs.

It was created following privatisation of British Rail Engineering and as the remainder of the industry prepared for privatisation.

It was established by a range of businesses housed in the Rail Technical Centre, BREL’s successor.

With support from local government, it quickly widened to incorporate rolling stock owners and companies outside of the local area.

The original focus of the Rail Forum was to help the supply chain during a time of major upheaval as British Rail was split into various successor companies and suppliers needed to maintain and make new contacts in these companies.

Rail Forum chief executive Elaine Clark said: “Back then there was real concern that the world-renowned expertise that existed locally would be lost during the privatisation process.

“Some of that original focus, helping members to make contacts and understand their customer’s needs, is still core to what we do and arguably needed now more than ever as we face up to the latest reform agenda.

“But we do so much more than that to support our 360 members; from advocacy and influencing policy to supporting the skills agenda and delivering a wide range of events.”

Chair of the Rail Forum, Will Rogers said: “I am especially proud to be chair during our 30th anniversary year.

“All those years ago we began life as a not-for-profit organisation focused on supporting the supply chain and wider industry and that remains the same today. Our members are at the heart of everything we do.

“During this next 12 months we will be hosting several events and driving more new initiatives alongside our continued advocacy for rail, and we look forward to celebrating our 30 years with members and key stakeholders.”

Elaine said: “Over the coming weeks and months we have a number of exciting activities, initiatives and events to launch to mark our 30th year.

“These will be aligned to our members’ and the industry’s priorities.”