Collaboration and innovation in the spotlight at ‘Focus on Light Rail’ event

Representatives from across the light rail sector gathered in Leeds this week for the Focus on Light Rail event, jointly hosted by Rail Forum and the UKTram, to explore opportunities and challenges across the evolving public transport landscape.

The event, which followed the closer working relationship established under the Memorandum of Understanding between UKTram and Rail Forum earlier this year, brought together sector professionals for a day of sector insights and discussion.

Speakers included senior representatives from West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Keolis, Stadler, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Network Rail, London Trams, Nottingham Trams (NET) and the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board, alongside UKTram Managing Director James Hammett, who highlighted the shared goals of the light and heavy rail sectors.

James spoke about the organisation’s Unified Rail Vision, developed through collaboration with the Rail Forum to jointly address issues common across both sectors. He also emphasised the progress made in ensuring light rail’s visibility in recent funding announcements, the importance of long-term government stability for strategic planning toward the sector’s 2040 goals and the introduction of the ‘Rising Stars’ initiative to help retain knowledge and develop future talent.

Across the sessions, speakers explored a wide range of priorities shaping the future of the sector. City transformation, integrated networks, digital safety systems and modular track innovation were hot topics.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority shared its ambition for regional mass transit, while Keolis emphasised the value of a national framework for light rail delivery. Contributions from the LRSSB and NET Nottingham Trams placed safety innovation and human factors at the forefront of sector learning, with Network Rail and TII outlining forward-looking plans for expansion and connectivity across rail and tram systems.

The event was supported by event partners Sika, Mainspring, Rowe Hankins, Diamond Rail Services, Stadler and Keolis, with discussions ranging from safety technology and digital innovation to city transformation and workforce development.

Reflecting on the day, James said:

“Events like this demonstrate the value of dialogue and shared ambition across the industry. The future of light rail depends on collaboration between operators, suppliers and government to really bring out the benefits of light rail and its long-term growth.”

Cat Appleby, Rail Forum's Membership & Engagement Director, reflected:

"We were delighted to curate such an exciting programme of expert speakers and bring together our collective memberships from Rail Forum and UKTram. Having speakers from across the light rail landscape produced a hugely valuable opportunity for the supply chain to understand and identify opportunities, challenges and routes for innovation. Given the growth within the Irish market, having the Head of Light Rail for Transport Infrastructure Ireland provided an invaluable contribution. Initial feedback from delegates suggests that a significant degree of new connections have been made, which we look forward to seeing develop over the coming months. "

The Focus on Light Rail event marks another important milestone in the growing partnership between UKTram and Rail Forum, reaffirming a joint commitment to building a more integrated, forward-looking transport sector for the UK and Ireland.