Industry seminar to highlight light rail expertise and collaboration

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.

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