Why city’s rail sector is on the brink of an exciting new era

In the latest edition of Marketing Derby’s Innovate Magazine, we look at the developments which will be shaping the future of Derby’s rail sector.

The city has a long and proud association with the rail industry – and Innovates finds out why it is now on the brink of an exciting new era.

Towards the end of last year, the industry came together for a major conference to unveil Rail Campus Derby, an ambitious plan to leverage the opportunity presented by the Government’s decision to make Derby the home of Great British Railways.

The organisation’s new HQ in the city is being seen as much more than just a building which will house civil servants.

Instead, it is envisaged as a home for the industry as a whole, where all those with a stake in the future of rail can come together and collaborate more easily.

The headquarters anchors the wider Rail Campus Derby vision, with efforts now underway to encourage companies within the sector who thus far haven’t had a presence in the city to consider locating here.

And, at the same time, Derby City Council has unveiled a masterplan showing how the area around the railway station could also be regenerated with new offices, homes and public open space.

Rufus Boyd, lead director of Great British Railways Transition Team, said the Rail Campus Derby project will capitalise on the city’s heritage as a pioneering global centre for rail research and development.

He told Innovate: “At its heart, Rail Campus Derby is about Great British Railways and the rail industry taking advantage of what already exists to help grow Europe’s largest rail cluster even further and contribute back to UK Plc.

“Our aspiration is that GBR HQ will be the anchor for the campus, enabling cross-industry collaboration in a high-quality environment.

“It will have industry partners, the supply chain, government bodies, universities and colleges, as well as other key players, coming together to tackle the challenges we face, grasp the opportunities ahead and drive improvement for our passengers and freight customers.

“Bringing the sector closer together and offering the chance to co-locate, share knowledge, and experience work across different businesses will embed the practices, culture and behaviour Britain’s railway must embody to succeed.

“We want GBR to be an accelerator. We want GBR to be a supporting part of a thriving ecosystem.

“We want to help create the best possible environment for success.”

To read the feature in full visit https://heyzine.com/flip-book/09140571b9.html#page/55.