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EVENTS
The Railway Industry Association and the British Aviation Group will be hosting a joint partner theatre session exploring seamless connectivity between airports and rail at Interchange 26. The organisations’ Darren Caplan and Jane Thompson explain more
‘All transport modes rise together’
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ext month, the British Aviation Group (BAG) and the Railway Industry Association (RIA) will be discussing and debating the challenges of linking up airports with the railways. The two organisations are teaming up at Interchange 26 at Manchester Central on March 3 to explore a topic titled ‘Transportation hubs – seamless connectivity between airports and rail’. “You can’t view air transport in isolation,” said Jane Thompson, Deputy Chair at BAG. “Passengers must get from their home destination or to the destination they are visiting somehow and there is much we can do to improve this surface access connectivity in the UK compared to our peers in Europe. “In Europe, where there is more public ownership, there is inevitably more joined up thinking between modes of transport. With the more privatised aviation model we have in the UK we have less ability to be agile in our political decision-making. “We’re also a small island with a lot of legacy transport, and it’s often physically quite difficult to build infrastructure that connects when you’re restricted on space.” The panel discussion at Interchange 26 will include Darren Caplan, Chief Executive, RIA; Hannah Godfrey, Senior Surface Access Manager, London Gatwick; Alan Corner, Deputy Chair, British Aviation Group; Sue West, Director of Landside Operations, and Manchester Airport; Tim Leech, Head of Surface Access Strategy, Heathrow Airport. They will debate the physical, political and delivery challenges in linking up aviation with rail. Moderator will be Robert Courts. The recently announced Northern Powerhouse Rail project, including linkage to Manchester Airport, will no doubt feature in the discussions. Darren said: “Having more linked-up transport hubs and connecting different transport modes is crucial, and we’ve historically not been as good at it as other countries. “But hopefully that’s something we can work on going forward, and in places like Interchange 26, it is an opportunity to discuss the issues. “I firmly believe that all transport modes rise together. So if one transport mode is bringing more passengers and there’s more activity generally, then they’ll use other transport modes as well. It’s very rare you have a journey involving one transport mode! If aviation is doing well, rail will do well and vice versa.” Jane says the topic is particularly important considering upcoming expansions to many UK airports, including Gatwick and Heathrow “Surface access is going to be hugely important
as a facilitator of that growth and features as a key element in securing planning permissions. “For Heathrow, for example, it will be essential to find ways to move cars off the M25 in particular. One of the solutions to achieving this will be to enhance rail connectivity to the west and south,” she explained. Since launching in 2023, Interchange has become a go-to event for those shaping the future of transport. This year’s event feels particularly important with major changes under way, from devolution and integrated settlements to bus and rail reform; the Integrated National Transport Strategy; planning reform; and the growing role of AI. This year’s event is co-located with the ITS UK Annual Conference and the new Infrastructure Client Group Live event, and will feature an extensive programme of roundtables, Partner Theatre briefings and a new Tech Start-up Zone. Darren said: “Interchange is a really good way of bringing together the different modes of transport, whether it’s planes, trains, automobiles, ships or active travel, and that’s the main purpose. “The kinds of people who are there are really important as well. You’ve got policymakers, suppliers, local government, devolved government, different stakeholders, and the clients. It brings everyone together for a discussion on the transport issues of the day. “It’s really important that all the different transport modes have a voice there, to see how they integrate and fit together, and not in isolation – something I’m really passionate about.” It is free to attend the two-day event. www.interchange-uk.com
February 2026
Interchange is a really good way of bringing together the different modes of transport, whether it’s planes, trains, automobiles, ships or active travel, and that’s the main purpose