Industry seminar to highlight light rail expertise and collaboration
- Apr 13
- 2 min read
Light Rail: Making City Rail Travel More Sustainable
UKTram will participate in an industry seminar bringing together leading organisations from the rail and light rail sectors to discuss the future of urban transport. The event will take place at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on the 14th May 2026 and will be hosted by RailEI (formerly the Permanent Way Institution).
The seminar builds on the growing partnership between UKTram and RailEI, following a mutual membership agreement that reflects a shared commitment to collaboration, cross-sector learning and closer alignment between the UK’s light rail sector and the wider rail industry.
The event Light Rail: Making City Rail Travel More Sustainable - RailEI follows the Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, published in June 2025, which allocated £15.6 billion to transport systems, including light rail. The strategy reinforces the role of light rail in supporting economic growth, improving connectivity and enabling more sustainable, integrated transport networks.
The seminar will provide a platform for stakeholders to share insight on current projects and sector challenges, while also emphasising the importance of engineering expertise in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of light rail systems.
UKTram Managing Director James Hammett will provide an update on sector activity and reflect on the opportunities and challenges facing light rail.
Ahead of the event, James commented:
“It’s encouraging to see the sector come together and to have the opportunity to understand challenges and opportunities across projects, while connecting with colleagues from different parts of the industry. This exchange of experience is important for the sector’s development.”
The seminar programme also includes contributions from infrastructure providers, operators, academia and the supply chain, reinforcing the close links between organisations supporting sector growth and innovation. It is also positive to see participation from several UKTram members, alongside Rail Forum as a UKTram strategic partner.
UKTram continues to support knowledge sharing and collaboration across the sector, helping to ensure light rail is well positioned to meet future transport needs.
This is absolutely the gold standard for content about industry seminars. I genuinely walked away from reading this feeling much more informed about the landscape of light rail expertise and collaboration, so hats off to you for that. It's precisely the kind of insightful discussion I've been looking for. What really stood out to me was the solid introduction; it immediately drew me in https://oma.org.au/ I would have loved a bit more detail on specific collaborative projects, perhaps a case study or two, to really solidify those points. This is exactly the type of content I save and revisit when I need a refresher or inspiration. Just last week, I was dealing with a similar challenge in my own work,…
This was such a thought-provoking read, and it really got me reflecting on how much the landscape of industry seminars has shifted recently. I've attended a few myself, and it's fascinating to see the evolution from purely lecture-based formats to more interactive and collaborative experiences. The way you've highlighted the focus on light rail expertise and collaboration in this particular seminar really resonates with me. It reminds me of a time I went to a workshop on sustainable urban planning; I went in expecting a dry presentation, but it turned into a dynamic brainstorming session that actually led to a project I'm still involved with today https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/ That investment of time truly paid dividends, much like I imagine yours will.…