Railfuture now holds one major national conference each year, in late summer/early autumn (in addition to its AGM for members). We aim only to cover our costs. The conferences are competitively priced, to be within rail users' price range, and are open to everyone. Railfuture members are usually offered a chance to attend at a discounted rate. We also produce free-to-attend Webinars.
Speakers come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of the organisations who have spoken at conferences and webinars include Anglia Railways, Arriva Cross Country, Arriva Trains Wales, Association of Train Operating Companies, Cardiff International Airport, Centro, Chester-le-Track, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry Trains, Delta Rail, East Coast, East Midlands Trains, East West Rail Consortium, Eurostar, First Capital Connect, First Great Western, First Transpennine Express, Furrer + Frey GB, Grand Central, Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT), Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Heathrow Southern Railway, Hitachi Rail Europe, HS2, London Midland, London Overground Railway Operations, Merseytravel, MyTestTrack.com, Network Rail, Northern Rail, Northern (Arriva Rail North), Nottingham Express Transit, Parry People Movers, Port Of Sunderland, Rail Delivery Group, RSSB, ScotRail Alliance, SLC Rail, Southeastern, South West Trains, Thameslink and Great Northern, Transpennine Express, TramPower, Transport for Wales Rail, Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, UK Rail Leasing, Virgin Trains, Virgin Trains East Coast, Vivarail and West Midlands Trains.
Click HERE to see a list events and speakers for each organisation.
To follow Railfuture's conferences and webinars on Twitter use the hash-tag shown against the event.
Note: this hash-tag is not exclusive to Railfuture.
Future Events
Click HERE For a list of rail-related events including free-to-attend Railfuture branch meetings
Additional Railfuture National Events - Dates for your diary
- Sat 12/07/2025 - Details to be confirmed (AGM)
Sorry but there are no future events available to book yet - please re-visit this website later.
Selected past event
2023/Leeds - ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE [link]
- Thu 30/03/2023 Turning Point for the Railway
- The railway needs to understand and influence what politicians want from it, including how to structure it to make it much more effective. Where should the focus of campaigners for a bigger, better, railway be? The railway can be a highly effective contributor to decarbonisation, to levelling up and as part of many wider initiatives — but only if it is successful in attracting passengers and freight to use the railway. The post-Covid railway can no longer rely on commuters who 'have' to travel to work each day — who can replace them? Our conference provided an opportunity to pause and reflect on this.
- This conference was dedicated to the memory of William Whiting, who helped to organise this event and was a widely respected rail campaigner
- 'What do we want the railways to look like in the future?'
- It was held at St George's Centre
- Read an [Article] about the conference — Railfuture's Annual National Conference still coming to Leeds despite strikes (Rail Business Daily on 17/03/2023)
- About the speakers: [Read Speaker Biographies]
- Nick Flynn
and Abby Taylor
- Stewart Palmer, Vice President and Director, Railfuture
(talked about: Railfuture's view on whether the railway is working for passengers)
- Stewart was previously Managing Director of South West Trains
- Karen Bennett (talked about: How young people can be engaged in the railways)
- Phil Smart, Assistant Policy Manager, Rail Freight Group
- Phil is also Councillor at Ipswich Borough Council with a strong knowledge of transport matters
- Dr Manuel Ojeda Cabral, Senior Research Fellow in Transport Economics and Appraisal, University of Leeds (talked about: The value of new railway lines and stations)
- Craig Alexander, replaced Alison Smith, Head of Accessibility and Inclusion, Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT)
(talked about: where GBRTT is currently) - Conference Chair: Brian Barnsley
- The above speakers have confirmed their availability for the new conference date, although they may provide a substitute in their place
CONFERENCE MATERIALS:
CONFERENCE SPEAKERS (AND THEIR PRESENTATIONS):
Past events for each year
Up to three national events are held each year. Click on the location to see the details.
Click HERE to see a full list of past events. Looking for something else? Check the LIBRARY