Things are changing fast in the rail supply chain.  With £35 billion expected to be spent on new services and equipment in the United Kingdom (UK) alone – a supply chain expansion of 140 percent – the market looks set for a steady period of growth.

This investment comes at a time when the British rail network is being transformed by technologies like cab signalling and the digital rail ecosystem. With things changing so fast, rail supply businesses need to become more adaptable to compete.

There is a huge amount of investment to be won right now, but in rail every feast will cost you a famine.  Ill-considered long-term investment in your engineering capabilities can leave you exposed when the good times stop.

Improved technology is driving a lot of current growth, but with this comes pressure to look to the bleeding edge and make difficult decisions about unproven innovations.  Which technologies are going to make the most progress toward decarbonisation?

Is the industry going to be ready to embrace the full potential of augmented reality and automation?  Will the pace of change in smart cities, the Internet of Things and 5G be so fast that rail suppliers will have to embrace them now?