Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, speaks to Global Railway Review

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At InnoTrans 2018, Craig Waters, Editor of Global Railway Review, spoke with Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, regarding the potential within the UK rail industry, the challenges it faces and the benefits that are available with new technologies. 

Chris labels this era as “a period of unprecedented investment in the UK rail sector,” discussing the opportunities that are available to the industry in regard to playing an active role in the rail revolution. 

The Secretary of State for Transport plans to reshape the industry and the review that has been announced “is designed to deliver the biggest change to the railway since privatisation”.

“Partnership between the public sector and the private sector” is key for Chris’s vision of the railway and he confirms “technology is going to be a really important part of dealing with the capacity challenge”.

Other elements that are identified as essential for the success of the railway are smarter approaches to maintenance, digital signalling, better reliability and “what passengers really want – dependable journeys”.

Chris highlights how the train companies fail in one main area – communication – and deems improving this imperative for the future of rail.

The video above covers our whole conversation with Chris Grayling, in which Global Railway Review asks:

1. What are the greatest opportunities for continued partnership and investment in the UK rail sector?
2. In what ways do you think the UK rail sector needs to change and embrace modern technology and new intelligent solutions to benefit the railways?
3. What must the UK rail sector do to ensure it retains a large share of the transportation market?
4. What more must train operators do to meet and surpass passenger expectations?
5. To what extent will the construction of High Speed 2 solve the challenges around network capacity and economic growth?
6. What are the greatest challenges or opportunities for the UK rail sector as it enters Control Period 6?