Paul Plummer, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, will now formally open Railtex 2017 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on 9 May.
He has kindly agreed to take on this role following the withdrawal of Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP due to the recent announcement of a June general election. Parliamentary protocol restricts the activities of ministers and civil servants during the pre-election ‘purdah’ period.
Established in response to the 2011 McNulty Report, the RDG provides leadership by focusing on industry-wide issues, including contributing to a strategy and long-term vision for the railway. It is tasked with informing key choices facing government and the industry’s development of plans in response to government output specifications. Integration within the RDG of the functions of the former Association of Train Operating Companies was completed in October 2016
Paul Plummer took up his role as Chief Executive of the RDG in November 2015. He began working in the railway sector in 1999 as Chief Economist and Director of Economics and Finance at the Office of Rail Regulation (now the Office of Rail & Road). He joined Network Rail in 2002, and in 2008 he was appointed to the Network Rail Board as an Executive Director and Group Strategy Director at Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd. In 2011 he became one of two Network Rail members of the RDG.
After opening Railtex, Paul Plummer will deliver a keynote speech. He will then undertake a tour of the exhibition accompanied by Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, and Stephen Brooks, Chairman of the Mack Brooks Group, organisers of the event.
Exhibition Manager Kirsten Whitehouse says: “We are very pleased that Paul Plummer has agreed to open this year’s show at short notice. The Rail Development Group plays a pivotal role in the future development of the rail industry and we are confident that those attending Railtex will be very keen to hear what he has to say.â€
By mid-April the number of companies exhibiting at Railtex 2017, which takes place in Halls 3 and 3a at the NEC from 9 to 11 May, stood at 476. More information is available at www.railtex.co.uk.
For further press information contact:
Ken Harris
Tel: (+44) (0)1273 300 434
Email: ken.harris@mackbrooks.co.uk
For general enquiries contact:
Kirsten Whitehouse, Natalie Parker or Emma Preston
Tel: (+44) (0)1727 814 400
Fax: (+44) (0)1727 814 401
Email: railtex@mackbrooks.co.uk
Railtex 2017
Railtex is the essential showcase for products and services for the all sectors of the rail market in the UK. The show is held biennially and has successfully served this market for more than 25 years. It is organised by Mack Brooks Exhibitions (www.mackbrooks.com), which also runs the Infrarail series of railway infrastructure technology shows. Outside the UK, the company’s regular rail industry exhibitions include SIFER in France and EXPO Ferroviaria in Italy.
