PEOPLE
26 | RailStaff | February 2014
Richard Returns to the Metals The railway man who once faced down the Kray twins in a railway yard has been appointed chairman of the Delay Attribution Board (DAB) at Network Rail. Richard Morris, who joined British Rail as a graduate trainee after reading a degree in Classics at the University of Exeter, caps a 44 year career with the new role. Morris is the fourth generation of his family to serve the rail industry. After training, Richard Morris worked mainly in operations. Rising through the ranks he became regional operations manager for Anglia and eventually Operations Manager at the British Railway Board HQ. In 1992 he joined Eurotunnel, as Safety Director and was promoted to Operations Director following the Eurotunnel fire. In 1999 he moved to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA) and once it lost its shadow status, he was appointed Executive
Director for London and the South East. He worked as Operations Director at both London Lines and Chiltern and later went on to take up a new role as managing director of Crossrail (Delivery). His involvement consisted in running the value management exercise, resulting in the project being accepted by the Government. In 2009 Richard was the Director of Business Continuity for Eurostar. After three years at Eurostar, he retired. He was enticed back to the railway, as a consultant, advising on the operational content of specifications, for the Department for Transport. Richard is the co-founder and a Fellow of the Institute of Railway Operators. He is married and is the
Richard Morris with RailStaff’s Paul Curtis.
father to four children. He runs an antiquarian book business and is a published writer. His book ‘Iron in the Blood’ is well worth reading. Among many anecdotes Morris recalls the case of scrap dealers next to a railway yard encroaching on railway property. Richard marched round and very politely confronted the chap who
McLoughlin heads Spencer Rail
Abou-Rahme Joins Mott MacDonald
David McLoughlin is leaving Network Rail to head up the Spencer Group’s rail business, as CEO Spencer Rail. McLoughlin, 51, is currently Finance and Commercial Director for Infrastructure Projects at Network Rail, a position he has held for three years. He has over 30 years experience in the rail industry, in finance, procurement and operations. Spencer Group CEO, Charlie Spencer said, ‘David has a vital role to play in setting the strategic direction of the business and the delivery of our key outputs. We need a strong talent base from the rail industry and beyond to help us meet that challenge and David will play a pivotal role in this.’ David is a CIMA qualified accountant, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Surveyors, an associate
appeared to be in charge. Scrap metal near a railway line is always a recipe for disaster. After a tense few moments the man nodded and said, OK, it’ll be sorted. Richard Morris later discovered the man was the infamous London gangster, Reggie Kray. Iron in the Blood is a figurative title and Morris was never troubled by the Krays again.
Mott MacDonald has appointed Nabil Abou-Rahme as director of transport technology services.
member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply and a member of the founding board of the Institute of Collaborate Working. David will be based at Spencer Group’s HQ in Hull overseeing 300 staff in Scotland, Hull and London.
In his spare time David keeps fit in the gym and is a keen yachtsman. He has sailed across the Atlantic and is a keen mountain climber. He will join Spencer Rail in the summer, formally taking on his new role in July.
Nabil is a chartered engineer who has worked in transport for over 17 years. Prior to his appointment, he was managing director of engineering and design consultancy, Rapp Trans UK and has also worked for Mouchel Highways. He has been involved in several projects including the National Smart Ticketing Programme in South Africa and the M42 Active Traffic Management Programme. Abou-Rahme read BEng (Hons), Civil Engineering and took an MSc in Transport Studies at University College London. He has a PhD in Bayesian Statistics from the University of Southampton. Nabil Abou-Rahme spent the first seven years of his career with TRL Limited, Transport Research Laboratory as Principal Scientific Officer.