Blog

Building capability and accelerating innovation across the rail sector

It was a pleasure to host a delegation from Vietnam last week. We were joined by both new and familiar senior representatives from government agencies, rail authorities and the private sector.

In Birmingham, we explored the role of Centres of Excellence and the powerful collaboration between academia, industry and government in building capability and accelerating innovation across the rail sector. A big thank you to University of Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) for hosting us and showcasing the impressive work being delivered through UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN).

During the day, our workshop covered digital engineering and BIM, while our colleagues from CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative shared valuable insights on the importance of transparency and accountability in infrastructure delivery. The day concluded with a site visit and discussion on the scale, delivery and regeneration associated with HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd.

Back in London, we were delighted to be hosted by Bentley Systems. Thank you to the Bentley team for welcoming the delegation and sharing insights on digital ways of working in the design, construction, and operation of complex rail infrastructure.

Our London visit included a tour of the Elizabeth line, where we visited and discussed Transit-Oriented Development along the line

Throughout the week, it was inspiring to hear about the scale and ambition of the rail projects planned across the whole of Vietnam. We look forward to continuing to work together and contributing to the delivery of sustainable, modern urban rail systems across the country.

Thanh Le Minh

COUNTRY DIRECTOR, VIETNAM

Thanh Le Minh is Crossrail International’s Country Director for Vietnam, based in Ho Chi Minh City. He joined CI in July 2026 having completed the successful delivery of the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO’s) Green Cities, Infrastructure and Energy Programme (GCIEP) for Vietnam. During this time, he led the establishment and official launch of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for “BIM for Railway” in Vietnam, as well as the development of key legislative frameworks and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) resolutions for the urban railway networks in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Thanh has over 12 years of industry experience, specialising in digital transformation, information technology, information management, and building information modelling (BIM). He played a key role as a BIM Adviser for the Ministry of Construction’s Institute of Construction Economics (ICE), leading the cross-functional coordination and development of the National BIM Guide which established a standardised framework for the Vietnamese construction landscape. Thanh later fronted strategic planning for the national BIM Mandate, resulting in the official approval of Decision No. 258/QD-TTg (2023) by Vietnam’s Prime Minister.

Thanh first joined the UK’s FCDO as a Programme Manager in 2018. During this time he secured a USD15 million investment for the Global Future Cities Programme in Vietnam, spearheading the architectural design and system specifications for a smart ticketing and geographic information system (GIS) project to advance urban infrastructure.

He commenced his career as a Civil Engineer with the Freyssinet-VSL-Rizzani de Echher Joint Venture (FVR JV) where he worked on the 12.2km elevated viaduct superstructure for the Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1 project.

Thanh holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT). In 2019, he was granted an Australia Award Scholarship, funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), to study at the Australian National University in Canberra where he completed a Master of Project Management programme. Thanh also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certificate from the Project Management Institute.

Mark Morris

DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF ASSET MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE

Mark Morris is an award-winning expert in global asset management, systems integration, safety assurance, and infrastructure operations and maintenance (O&M), with over 30 years of experience gained on major, complex transport infrastructure programmes throughout the Americas, Europe, North Africa, Middle East and South-East Asia. As a trusted adviser, his extensive executive leadership skills span all aspects of high-speed rail, mass rapid transit, and rail systems infrastructure from construction through to O&M, specialising in systems engineering and asset management; Health, Safety, Sustainability and Security (HSSS); risk management; and project management.

Prior to joining Crossrail International in August 2026 as Director and Head of Asset Management, Operations and Maintenance, Mark was General Manager of Metro Operations and Maintenance for all six lines of the Riyadh Metro, based in Saudi Arabia. He also served as Rail Maintenance Director for Riyadh Metro Line 3 (Orange Line), the longest line in the Riyadh Metro network (40.7km), for the FLOW consortium led by Hitachi Rail STS (formerly Ansaldo STS), where he led the successful mobilisation, operational readiness and opening of the line in January 2025.

Prior to spending six years based in the Middle East, Mark was Asset Management Director for High Speed Two (HS2), the UK’s new high-speed rail network connecting London and Birmingham. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, he provided leadership to ensure that long-term operational performance, safety, and value-for-money concepts were embedded form the outset of the project.

Earlier in his career, Mark spent eight years as Engineering Management Systems (EMS) Manager for Eurotunnel’s Rail Operations Control Centre (RCC) in Folkestone, UK and Coquelles, France, which manages all Channel Tunnel rail traffic, including LeShuttle and Eurostar trains.

Mark holds an MSc (Eng) in Rail Systems Engineering from University of Sheffield. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers. Mark has received several industry leadership awards, including the British Safety Council’s Sword of Honour. In 1991, he was awarded France’s highest military decorations – the Médaille Militaire and Croix de Guerre – in recognition of his services in the French Foreign Legion.

Sina Bartley

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR & HEAD OF SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND ASSURANCE

Sina Bartley is an expert in railway systems engineering, systems integration, and systems safety management, with over 20 years of UK and international experience of leading the engineering delivery of complex transport infrastructure megaprojects. She has worked with government agencies and consultancies in the UK, Ireland, Canada and USA under various forms of contract including PPP/P3, NEC3, and Design & Build (D&B), from feasibility study phase through to operations and handover.

Sina was recently Systems Integration Manager for Irish Rail’s new National Train Control Centre (NTCC), a key infrastructure project being developed at Heuston Station, Dublin, aimed at modernising Ireland’s rail network management. Previously, she spent four years in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, initially as Systems Engineering Manager for SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis), where she worked on SoundTransit’s Federal Way Link Extension, a 12.6km light rail extension of the 1 Line in Seattle, Washington, and latterly as Senior Project Manager for Systems Integration and Safety Assurance at TransLink. Her project portfolio included the new, state-of-the-art Operations Control Centre 2 to handle the growing SkyTrain network; the Broadway Subway Project, a 5.7km extension of the existing SkyTrain Millennium Line; and three Operations and Maintenance Centres (OMCs).

Earlier in her career, Sina spent 11 years with Transport for London (TfL). During this time she was Systems Safety Engineering Manager for the Crossrail C660 contract which formed a critical part of the Elizabeth line’s Central Section: the design, integration and assurance of all Station Information and Security Systems (SISS) and telecommunications infrastructure.

Sina holds a BEng (Hons) in Computer Engineering from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Cairo, Egypt. She later gained professional certification in Safety, Risk and Reliability Engineering from Cranfield University and is currently completing (part-time) her MSc at Heriot-Watt University. Sina is also a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner and an accredited NEC3 Contract Supervisor. She is a Member of the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-way Association (AREMA)

Keith Wallace

CHAIR & NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Keith Wallace was appointed Chairman of Crossrail International in June 2021.

A Chartered Director and Chartered Engineer, Keith has over 40 years of experience in the rail industry, including 20 years’ leadership experience at executive board level.

Keith commenced his career with British Rail as a sponsored student and graduate trainee, where he gained a thorough grounding in railway engineering and operations. He then moved into consultancy before joining what was then Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners as its first rail specialist, rising to become Chief Executive of Scott Wilson Railways and serving on the Executive Committee of Scott Wilson prior to its acquisition by URS Corporation, which in turn was acquired by AECOM.

Keith chaired URS/Scott Wilson’s Crossrail Programme Board overseeing the company’s £70m design contracts on Crossrail, including Paddington and Farringdon Stations, as well as leading multi-disciplinary teams in the planning and design of major rail projects that included the East London Line Extension, Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Link and West Coast Route Modernisation (WCRM) in the UK; the Athens Metro Extension in Greece; and the HSL Zuid high-speed railway in The Netherlands. He has visited more than 30 countries on rail business, gaining a keen understanding of differing cultures and practices.

As an independent consultant, Keith performed a Project Representative review, on behalf of the UK Department for Transport, of the proposed £20bn Phase 2 of High Speed 2 (HS2), Europe’s largest infrastructure project. He also served as Programme Director for Govia Thameslink Railway on the Thameslink Project; Managing Director of Serco Caledonian Sleeper; and spent one year as Chairman of Merseyrail (Serco/Abellio JV), adding to his experience and knowledge of railway operations and major rail change programmes.

Keith holds a BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh where he later served as Member of Court, the University’s governing body, and was a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, and the Royal Society of Arts.

Keith is also a non-executive director of Dublin Bus, a bus operator in Dublin, Ireland; and Scottish Autism, a charity organisation dedicated to enabling autistic people to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

Felipe Castro Arenas

COUNTRY DIRECTOR, COLOMBIA

Felipe Castro Arenas is Crossrail International’s (CI’s) Country Director for Colombia. Based in Bogotá, he is responsible for the management of CI’s commissions and the creation of new business opportunities throughout the country, as well as the Latin American region.

Felipe has 20 years of experience in the engineering and construction industries, with recent focus on the development of Colombia’s road and rail infrastructure. Prior to joining CI in April 2023, he spent five years at the British Embassy Colombia in Bogotá as Infrastructure Adviser for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s UK-Colombia Prosperity Programme to support economic development, unlock economic opportunities, and drive growth in Colombia’s regions. Felipe was responsible for delivering the programme’s objectives around rail and urban development in Colombia, managing agreements with development banks, implementing partners, and leading the adaptation and adoption of UK tools for quality infrastructure development, including BIM (Building Information Modelling), HM Treasury’s Five Case Model (for Business Cases), and the Infrastructure and Project Authority’s (IPA’s) Project Routemap for complex, major projects.

Since the passing of Law 1508 in 2012, Colombia’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law, Felipe has specialised in the technical, financial and legal assessment of infrastructure projects for attracting private investment. As Technical Adviser at Colombia’s National Infrastructure Agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura, ANI), he successfully led the appraisals and approvals processes of the first unsolicited PPP proposals under the new law. These included two of the most complex 30+ years highway concessions crossing the Andes Mountains – between Bogotá and Villavicencio, and Ibagué and Cajamarca – which paved the way for these types of schemes to represent almost a third of the portfolio of the country’s transformational Fourth Generation (4G) Roads Concession Programme, a large-scale plan to create a nationwide toll road network with private sector participation.

Earlier in his career, Felipe spent time with a variety of Colombian contracting and manufacturing firms, specialising in innovative civil/structural engineering and construction of buildings and infrastructure.

He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Julio Garavito School of Engineering (Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería ‘Julio Garavito’) in Bogotá and an MSc in Construction Management and Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. In 2013, selected by the US Embassy in Bogotá, Felipe completed the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), a professional exchange program funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Kate Myers

DIRECTOR & HEAD OF CAPACITY BUILDING

Kate Myers is an expert in capacity building, skills employment and education, and social impact. She has over 20 years’ experience in UK government and major rail projects, including stakeholder relations, communications, delivery, policy and strategy.

Prior to joining Crossrail International in November 2021, Kate was Head of Skills, Employment & Education (SEE) at High Speed 2 Ltd, the company responsible for the delivery of HS2, the UK’s new high-speed railway linking London, the Midlands, the North and Scotland, currently Europe’s largest infrastructure project. During her five-and-a-half years on the project, she was responsible for delivering the objectives of the SEE Strategy, ensuring the supply chain met skills and employment requirements, tackling critical skills shortages and leading the HS2 Education programme.

Kate extensive knowledge, skills and expertise in the rail infrastructure sector includes seven years at Crossrail where she led the Young Crossrail STEM programme, established and chaired an industry-wide Transport and Infrastructure Education Partnership, developed a suite of training programmes to drive forward Crossrail’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda, and devised and launched the Crossrail Apprentice Awards.

She had previously served as Crossrail’s Marketing and Communications Manager (Skills), working closely with the Chairman (Sir Terry Morgan CBE), as well as with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL) as joint sponsors. Kate produced the Crossrail Skills and Employment Strategy and chaired the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) Communications Steering Group.

Prior to joining HS2, Kate was seconded to the DfT as a Senior Policy Advisor where she was a key member of the pan-industry team created to deliver the DfT’s Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy (TISS). She has also worked for Transport for London (TfL) and held a number of positions in the civil service.

Kate holds a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford. She later went on to gain an MA in Social and Cultural History from the University of Essex before completing a Crossrail-sponsored Executive MBA at London Business School, focused on Leadership and Management, Influencing and Negotiation, and Behavioural Economics.

David Miller

HEAD OF PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS

David Miller is Operations Director for Crossrail International (CI), responsible for ensuring the operational performance of the company as well as leading CI’s governance framework and relationship with the Department for Transport (DfT) shareholder. He has 14 years’ experience working in UK central government, during which time he has held a series of policy and strategy roles covering differing portfolios and policy areas, all aimed at generating the greatest economic benefit for the UK.

Prior to joining CI, David was Senior Policy Adviser, Export and Investment Policy, at the Department for International Trade (DIT) where he delivered a major government strategy and series of programmes defining the UK’s future approach to exports. He also took the lead for Northern Ireland exports and investment, managing DIT relationships with the Northern Ireland Executive and Invest Northern Ireland, the country’s regional economic development agency.

In 2013, David joined the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop the growth and regeneration programme for High Speed 2 (HS2) – the UK’s new 345-mile, high speed railway line under development, which will run between London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds – to secure wider benefits from this major infrastructure investment. Having established and managed the secretariat functions for the Taskforce report and produced the government’s response, David led policy development and business case production to establish a government-owned regeneration company.

As a member of DfT’s Maritime team, he managed the successful production, launch and implementation of the Maritime Growth Study report in relation to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), an executive agency of the DfT responsible for preventing the loss of lives at sea and for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy.
David commenced his career in the civil service with the National Offender Management Service (now Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service) at the Ministry of Justice. He spent seven years with the Ministry, initially as a Safer Custody Officer and later as an Estate Integration Programme Officer, supporting the delivery of the Ministry’s Estates strategy.

David holds a BA in History from the University of Lancaster.

Achila Mazini

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR & HEAD OF ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

Achila Mazini is an Associate Director at Crossrail International, bringing more than 12 years of international experience across railway engineering, research, innovation, and business development. She combines deep technical expertise with a proven track record of delivering complex projects, securing funding, and building strategic partnerships across industry, academia, and government.

Prior to joining Crossrail International, Achila was an Industrial Fellow at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE), where she led and supported national and international research and innovation initiatives. She is currently finalising her PhD in Railway Systems, focused on improving testing and verification methodologies for modern railway technologies, including moving block signalling and digital railway systems.

Originally from Brazil, Achila began her career with MRS Logística, contributing to the implementation of a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system across one of Brazil’s largest freight rail networks. She later joined Wabtec as a Systems Integration Analyst, supporting the development of advanced train control testing environments before relocating to the UK in 2018.

Throughout her career, Achila has built international collaborations across Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, securing funding and developing programmes that connect research with industry needs. A key focus of her work is establishing rail centres of excellence and fostering partnerships between academia, industry, and government to accelerate innovation, capability building, and knowledge exchange.

At Crossrail International, Achila supports international business development and strategic growth initiatives, while leading the development of academic and research partnerships that strengthen rail innovation ecosystems and support the delivery of sustainable transport solutions worldwide.

Achila holds a BEng in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil, and an Associate Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen Mary University of London. She is currently completing her PhD in Railway Systems at the University of Birmingham.

Building capability and accelerating innovation across the rail sector

Thanh Le Minh

Mark Morris

Integrated Mobility Guidance & Data Framework

Driving Digital Transformation and TOD

Sina Bartley

Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (ECLRT) Bringing Into Service

European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Programme Expert Committee

Rail Master Plan: Establishment of National Railway Agency

Metro Tunnel Project: Route to Acceptance Peer Review Group

Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme (CACR) Expert Challenge Panel

Corridor X Railway Infrastructure Project

Operation Vulindlela: Rail Transformation Scoping Opportunities

Implementation of BIM/Digital Technologies

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Pilot Project: SEED

Roadmap for Establishment of an Independent Rail Regulator

Rail Project Delivery - Digital Transformation Strategy

Mumbai Metro Systemwide Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Strategy

Tel Aviv Metropolitan Metro Network

NEOM The Line Quality Model

California High-Speed Rail Project

Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail Operational Readiness

LRT Jabodebek Operational Readiness

Environmental, Social Sustainability and Governance (ESG) Strategic Framework

Establishment of Systems Integration Authority

Ulaanbaatar Metro - Mass Rapid Transit Project

Metro Express LRT O&M Review

Buenos Aires Metro Modernisation Programme

Michael Kilby

La Dorada-Chiriguana freight corridor

Bandung Mass transit project

Freight Revenue Enhancement programme

Rolling Stock peer review

Suburban rail loop

Tel Aviv Metro

PMO models for public infrastructure

Millennium Line UBC Extension

Toronto Pearson International airport

New transbay rail crossing

Dr David-John Gibbs

Paul Dyson

Jon Loveday

Dr Michèle Dix CBE

Keith Wallace

Felipe Castro Arenas

Simon Bennett

Victoria Drakeford

Victoria Drakeford is Business Manager for Crossrail International, responsible for providing a wide range of business management, marketing, business development and administrative support to the CI team.

Steve Long