Engineers and Technology Partners come together for the latest Light Rail Engineering Group Meeting and Best Practice Day

The latest meetings of the Light Rail Engineering Group (LREG) and the accompanying Best Practice Day made for two days of constructive discussion in Manchester on the 20th and 21st of November 2025.

Hosted across Manchester Museum and TfGM offices, the sessions explored current engineering challenges, shared operational insights, and examined how emerging technologies can support long-term network resilience.

The LREG meeting focused on system updates, recent component failures and the ongoing pressures due to supply chain reliability, in particular service and repair of rolling stock and components.

Attendees also heard updates from the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) following a series of recent high profile tram accidents in Europe. Research into driver safety device timings (Deadman systems) has prompted the LRSSB to prepare a technical note for UK systems to support consistent timings across networks and help mitigate the risk of derailment or collision.

There were positive developments, too. Several networks reported excellent outcomes from recent apprenticeships and student placements, including award-winning work by an Isle of Man engineering student within the campaign for “LoveTech” promoting women engineers in STEM roles. UKTram also welcomed engineering representatives from Transport for Wales, who are now fully engaged with UKTram and its functional groups' activity.

Day two shifted the focus to technology partners, examining how data, digital and integrated system design can help operators move from reactive maintenance to future-proof and scalable engineering strategies with long-term support.

Discussions centred on the need to treat networks as whole-system environments rather than isolated components, ensuring technologies employed are compatible, resilient and do the job as intended, and ideally the support contracts should be maintained throughout the life of the technology despite changes in ownership or O&M.

Phill Terry, UKTram Lead Engineer reflects:

"Again, the LREG meeting was very well attended, with 25 joining in person and a further seven online. Attendance at the Best Practice Day was equally impressive, with 19 engineering and supply chain colleagues taking part in discussions on various topics. It was also good to hear about apprentices and students gaining experience within the sector and hopefully building future careers in light rail.”

Follow-up actions include circulating a one-page flyer outlining proposals for a new light rail OLE training course, alongside further LRSSB updates to support broader safety discussions across the sector.