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, Green Signals, Heathrow Southern Railway, Hitachi Rail Europe, HS2, Independent Rail Retailers, London Midland, London Overground Railway Operations, Merseytravel, MyTestTrack.com, Network Rail, Northern Rail, Northern Trains, 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
2025/Newcastle (AGM) [link]
- Sat 05/07/2025 20th Railfuture Ltd AGM
- 44 days until AGM
- Hosted by Railfuture North East branch
- Social media hashtag (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) for this event: #rfconference
- Registration from 10:00 with refreshments from 10:30. AGM starts at 11:00. Afternoon session with guest speakers from 13:30 (open to all). Close at 15:30
- Speakers:
- Simon Walton, Journalist and the Head of News and Digital Content at news titles in the northeast (talking about: Railfreight in the North)
- Jason Wade, Director North East, Northern Trains
(talking about: logistics behind the reopening of the Northumberland line from the operator's view point) - Dennis Fancett, Chair, South East Northumberland Rail User Group (talking about: campaign to reopen the Northumberland Line)
- The above is the full list of speakers in the afternoon (the morning will be the business part of the AGM)
- Venue: Great North Museum: Hancock [map]
- Room: Exhibition Hall 2
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Postcode: NE2 4PT
- Phone: (0191) 208 6765
- Email: info at greatnorthmuseum.org.uk
- The museum is free to enter, but the exhibitons are only open from 10:00 to 16:00 on a Saturday
- Venue location 'return.juror.lobby' on map using 'what3words': https://what3words.com/return.juror.lobby
- Route: The museum venue is an eight-minute walk from the Haymarket Metro station (via Northumberland Street, Barras Bridge and Claremont Road) ir a 25-minute walk from Newcastle station (via Grainger Street, Blackett Street, Brunswick Street and the Northumberland Street, with the same route from Haymarket Metro). See '[map]' link above for other transport information
- Enquiries about the AGM: please email conferences at railfuture.org.uk.
- The AGM is open to all current members or their proxy - there is no fee to attend.
- All paperwork was completed on Thu 27/02/2025. It is now too late to include anything for the AGM in the standard mailing with Railwatch.
- Proxy voting and registering your attendance is now open (click HERE to do so online) and paper forms must be received by the Membership Renewals officer, Lloyd Butler (see details on AGM notice) by Thu 03/07/2025
- Motions must be received by the Railfuture Ltd Chair, Chris Page (see details on AGM notice) by Sat 21/06/2025
- Information about how Railfuture is run, including a copy of the Articles of Association, can be found at Railfuture+organisation.
- Lunch arrangements
- On this occasion Railfuture is not offering lunch.
- The meseum has its own cafe, which sells hot food including pizza. See menu.
- We have advised the venue's cafe that many Railfuture members may use it at lunchtime. It could be busy!
- We had intended to offer lunch, but bookings were insufficient for our caterers - if you had booked lunch then we will contact you about a refund
- The venue does not allow people to eat their own food on the premises.
Sorry but there are no other future events available to book yet - please re-visit this website later.
Selected past event
2015/Bristol [link] - [View / Download Conference Report]
- Sat 07/11/2015 Rail Resurgence in the West of England
- Plus presentation of 2015 Rail User Group Awards - co-presented by Railfuture Honorary President Christian Wolmar
- Reason for Bristol: Bristol Metro and other rail expansion in the area
- Hosted by Railfuture Severnside branch
- It was held at Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel and Spa, Redcliff Hill, Bristol BS1 6SQ
- Begins at 10:45, registration from 10:00, finishes by 17:00
- Further Info: Click [Download] or [Display] for the AGM notice and agenda, including map (PDF format)
- Read a [Press Release] about the conference
- Listen to a [Radio Interview] about the conference
- Matthew Golton, Bid Director, Great Western Railway (talked about: plans for the franchise Direct Award)
- James White, Transport and Rail Co-ordinator, West of England Local Enterprise Partnership
(talked about: the MetroWest project)
- James Freeman, FirstBus (talked about: Bus/Rail integration)
- John Parry, Parry People Movers (talked about: the intermediate mode - the gap between heavy rail and bus)
- Peter Wakefield, Chairman, East Anglia branch, Railfuture (talked about: how a consistent voice can drive progress between councils, LEPs etc.)
- Gerard Duddridge, Chairman, Devon & Cornwall branch, Railfuture (talked about: speed and resilience in the South West)
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.
There are 12 events above where we do not know the date it was held. Can you help us fill in the dates? Email: info at railfuture.org.uk
The events without dates are: 2001/Poole, 1995/London, 1994/Clitheroe, 1994/Lincoln, 1993/Maesteg, 1990/Manchester, 1989/London, 1988/Leicester, 1985/London, 1983/London, 1983/Crewe, 1981/London.
Click HERE to see a full list of past events. Looking for something else? Check the LIBRARY