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RESEARCH
Professor Paul Plummer has been appointed as the new Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education. He explains more about the journey ahead
Solving the long-term challenges and tapping into opportunities T
he University of Birmingham was a new world to Professor Paul Plummer and not one he expected to enter before joining over two years ago. But it is a role he has thrived in, so much so that he has recently taken over as the Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) and academic lead for the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN). “It is very exciting to be the new Director at such an important, but challenging, time for the industry and to have the opportunity to build on the amazing things that have been achieved over the last 50 years,” said the Professor of Railway Strategy. “There is amazing talent here and I think we can do more to focus on some of the big challenges the industry is facing and create a platform to do more to help innovation across the industry. “When I first joined the university it was a bit of a different world to me, but now I understand how this world works. One of the things that really struck me initially when I joined was that having been in the industry for many years, I had very little awareness of what went on in universities supporting the world of railways. That is a pity. Subject matter experts obviously engage in it and know about it, but business leaders had very little exposure to it directly and I think that is an opportunity that has to be built on.” An example Professor Plummer gives is the Rail Technical Strategy, which sets a clear direction for the development and uptake of existing and new solutions that are essential for industry to deliver against the challenges it faces. The latest edition was created collaboratively by a working group comprising representatives from RSSB, Network Rail and both academic and industrial UKRRIN partners. “It is something I’ve been involved in as part of all my roles in the railways and I think it is a really powerful way of articulating the challenges that industry faces in order to enable people to innovate and address some of those challenges,” he said. “The strategy has been very good in many ways, but the level and ownership and awareness of it right across the industry isn’t as good as it should be and without that I don’t think it achieves its full potential. “That is one example where I think we can do more
and it will be better to help join up even more than it is now. With the academic work in universities and the work that goes on in the industry, UKRRIN as a network is powerful in that respect, so enabling collaboration across universities into industry and building further on that is something I am excited to help with.” BCRRE is Europe’s largest academicbased group delivering railway science and education, featuring over 145 academics, researchers and professional support staff who provide world-class research and thought leadership within railways. It also offers an expanding portfolio of high-quality education programmes including Rail and Rail Systems Level 6 and 7 degree apprenticeships. Five years ago, BCRRE became a lead partner in the £92 million UKRRIN and a year later it absorbed the activities of the Rail Alliance into its offering, increasing its breadth of support for innovation and growth in the rail industry. “At BCRRE I want us to be clear about the areas where we can have the biggest impact in the railway and to direct resources to those priority areas,” he said. “We do a lot of really good stuff and now we need to look to focus on the things that really matter to the industry. Personally, I would also like to work more across different parts of the university, for example collaborating with the business school, economics and geography. “There is a great platform to build on that. UKRRIN has been powerful for the industry as a way of getting into universities and getting access to
February 2024