UK: The Railway Industry Association board has appointed XRail Managing Director Noel Travers as the next RIA Chairman, following a competitive interview process.
Travers will succeed David Tonkin, who is standing down after seven years in the post, on June 3.
Travers began his career as a British Rail sponsored Engineering Management Trainee in 1988, later holding engineering and management posts in Chiltern Railways, Intercity West Coast, Freightliner, Bombardier Transportation and Unipart Rail. He served on the RIA Board in 2018-21 and chaired the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division in 2022-23. He intends to split his time between his roles at engineering and services company Xrail and as RIA Chairman.
‘It is a great honour and privilege to become Chairman of the UK’s oldest and most distinguished railway trade association, especially as it approaches its 150 year anniversary in 2025’, Travers said when his appointment was announced on May 13. ’Both the start of a new Control Period, CP7, and a new post-election government, whatever its colours, this year are real opportunities to restate the hugely important role the UK rail supply sector plays in creating jobs and GVA across the national economy, as well as supporting innovation and skills in rail’.
