Meet Marilena Papadopoulou - Chair of the UKTram Light Rail Engineering Group (LREG)
As Renewals Manager at Edinburgh Trams, Marilena Papadopoulou plays a leading role in shaping how one of the UK’s newest light rail networks plans, delivers and manages long-term asset renewals. Appointed Chair of UKTram’s Light Rail Engineering Group (LREG) in May 2023, she brings a strong operational perspective grounded in hands-on engineering delivery and collaboration.
Marilena’s work at Edinburgh Trams includes delivering infrastructure projects, introducing new safety processes and overseeing a long-term renewals programme that supports network resilience and performance. Ahead of the group’s latest meeting earlier this month, we caught up with Marilena to discuss her journey through the sector and her priorities as Chair of LREG.
Q: You’ve progressed through a wide range of roles at Edinburgh Trams, from frontline customer-facing positions to leading projects and renewals. How has that journey shaped your perspective as Chair of the Light Rail Engineering Group?
Marilena: Working across various departments at Edinburgh Trams gave me a unique, rounded perspective on how engineering decisions can affect operations and balance priorities with the needs of customers, operations and maintenance. My hands-on experience delivering strategic projects has enabled me to adopt a more realistic, collaborative approach. As Chair of the Light Rail Engineering Group, I am focused on encouraging light rail systems to support one another and work together to deliver real benefits for our customers and improve our cities.
Q: Engineering renewals are becoming increasingly critical as networks mature. What do you see as the key challenges facing light rail systems over the next few years, and where can collaboration make the greatest difference?
Marilena: Managing asset renewals with minimal service disruption and funding and prioritising projects, have been and will continue to be the main challenges for light rail systems. Especially when most tramways run through busy parts of the city, shutting down the network to undertake rail or overhead line equipment renewals will not only affect commuters but also the city's general traffic. I genuinely believe that collaboration between the light rail systems can make a massive difference. If we start working on joint procurement frameworks by building long-term partnerships through UKTram, we can achieve efficiencies and share lessons learned that could improve project delivery.
Q: Skills and knowledge retention are growing priorities across light rail. How important is structured collaboration, such as LREG, in supporting future engineers and sharing expertise across networks?
Marilena: LREG is a forum that, in my opinion, allows us to share our successes, challenges and lessons learned. From personal experience, having access to wider industry knowledge has helped my team keep critical skills alive, reduce mistakes and adopt best practice. Structured collaboration is vital for retaining skills and strengthening the future light rail engineer and it is very important that the Light Rail Leaders continue to encourage their Engineering teams to actively participate in LREG and all the other groups that UKTram is hosting.
Q: Looking ahead, what would success look like for LREG during your time as Chair? Are there particular areas where you’d like to see the group have greater impact?
Marilena: As the Chair of LREG, I want us to continue sharing knowledge, proactively support new engineers, and drive greater consistency in how networks approach renewals and standards. Success can be measured in many different ways, but for LREG, it would mean becoming a more influential technical voice for the sector. If we make the industry more connected, aligned, and confident in its future skills, that’s a huge win.
Q: What’s one moment in your career that made you particularly proud to work in light rail?
Marilena: One of my proudest moments was being part of the Trams to Newhaven project. It was a complex and challenging project with huge expectations from the city. Being involved from the design phase to construction and ultimately to a fully delivered, operational extension was incredibly rewarding. Our team worked very hard, and being part of such a strong-performing team that delivered an improved customer experience reminded me why I love working in a light rail system.
In addition to her experience, Marilena’s commitment and enthusiasm continue to be key to driving forward the work of a group that, in addition to helping operators overcome day-to-day challenges, also plays an important role in making light rail an even more attractive solution to the UK’s future transport needs.
That commitment is reflected not only in her professional achievements but also in the way she leads. Feedback from across the sector consistently highlights her enthusiasm and clarity in chairing the group, creating an environment where open discussion and practical knowledge sharing are evident.
As networks mature and engineering challenges grow more complex, that combination of technical expertise and positive leadership continues to strengthen LREG’s role within UKTram and the wider light rail community.
In the next of our Meet the UKTram Group Chair/Vice Chair series, we will be catching up with Tony Marsden, Vice Chair of the Light Rail Engineering Group (LREG) and Tram Engineering Manager at Blackpool Transport services. Sign up for updates via the subscription form in the footer.