UKTram Owners and Authorities Group outlines priorities for year ahead

The UKTram Owners and Authorities Group has outlined a series of priorities designed to deliver tangible benefits for the light rail sector, following its latest meeting on 14 October 2025, held online.

Chaired by Chris Hopkinson, Head of Metro Operations at Transport for West Midlands and supported by Vice Chair Stuart Lowrie, Public Transport Manager for the City of Edinburgh Council, the meeting brought together representatives from across the UK’s light rail networks to share updates and shape a forward plan for 2026.

The session included an insightful presentation from ITS Leeds, who provided an update on ongoing work around new service and station appraisals, demonstrating the value of robust data and evaluation in future planning.

Members also discussed the integration of the Urban Transport Group (UTG) and its members into upcoming meetings to strengthen collaboration and knowledge exchange across related transport sectors.

Looking ahead, the group will focus on producing tangible outputs that capture best practice and support both existing and developing light rail systems. Reflecting on the session, Chris Hopkinson comments:

"New to the role of Chair, I want to make sure these meetings deliver value for the sector and capture the many great things happening across light rail, helping established system owners and those in the early steps of developing their schemes to deliver the best they can."

The next meeting will include a discussion around KPI regimes used across the UK, exploring how these can be standardised into a sector-wide best practice paper.