Rail Forum, the national trade association representing almost 400 rail related businesses, has moved to Paul Duval House in Derby’s ‘Station Quarter’.
The new Rail Forum HQ, next door to East Midlands Railway’s station, is also located at the heart of Derby City Council’s ambitious plans to regenerate the area. The new location offers easy access to industry colleagues and stakeholders visiting Derby by rail, whilst also being within walking distance of members based on Pride Park or within the city.
The new Forum HQ is also well placed to support industry teams and local stakeholders in line with work happening in advance of Great British Railways (GBR) to better integrate the rail industry. This includes ongoing work to identify the GBR HQ location. Derby won the competition to become the new HQ of GBR in March 2023. In October last year, industry and regional leaders came together with the Secretary of State for Transport to launch Rail Campus Derby, which will accelerate cross industry collaboration in Derby, in advance of the legislation that will establish GBR and deliver the new HQ.
Elaine Clark OBE, CEO Rail Forum said: “I’m enormously grateful to the former team at GBRTT, Network Rail East Midlands Route colleagues and Shadow GBR for recognising the role that the supply chain can play in delivering an integrated railway. Our objectives may occasionally not align, but our passion for the railway and the difference it can make to the communities we serve is shared.
“We look forward to playing our part in unlocking new opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and revenue growth, so that together we can deliver a truly Great British Railways.”
Laura Shoaf CBE, Chair of Shadow GBR said: “I’m thrilled to see this positive step towards a more integrated rail industry as we move closer to the formal stand-up of GBR. The work Rail Forum does in bringing together stakeholders is vital to our ambition of delivering a simpler and better railway for our passengers and freight users”.