Rail Link Talks: Atrium, 12:30-16:30

Hosted by - Breda McCague

Global Motivational TED Speaker, LeanIn Ireland CoFound, Transformation Expert, ExLieutenant, CEO, Leadership Coach, Woman of Yr, Board Member of BITA, Lioness Author

Bio:
Breda McCague is an inspirational, high-energy speaker and MC who leaves an unforgettable impact on an audience. An award-winning Global TED Keynote Speaker, Breda enjoys hosting events, raising morale, energy, and motivation across a packed room.

Breda was a Lieutenant in the Irish Reserve Infantry for 20 years on the border, She co-founded Lean In Ireland which is an Empowerment Mentoring foundation, she is CEO of a Leadership Programme and Talks company called AIMING4 AWESOME and has recently joined the Executive Board of the British Irish Trading Alliance, Dublin Chapter.

She also ran a Global Corporate Transformation Career across the Finance world, plays with a trad and a Celtic rock band and was a first time author in the Lioness Book Series this year that went straight to the No 1 Best Seller Spot.

Breda’s dynamic style, her passion for fuelling Audiences with Dopamine and her entertaining stage presence make her a sought-after speaker and MC worldwide.

Neil Walker

Exports Director
Railway Industry Association

Bio:

Neil has been RIA’s Exports Director since April 2014, having previously worked in the now Department for International Trade (DIT)/Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Aerospace sector.

He was the Head of the Rail Sector team at DIT from 2005 to 2009 before spending five years at the British High Commission in Singapore where he managed several successful RIA missions and lead on Rail, Infrastructure, Aerospace and Defence & Security Sectors. Prior to this, he served in the British Embassy Washington for five year and also spent seven years working in the private sector, based in the Middle East.

Neil has used his strong contribution of experience, skills and knowledge of working overseas to actively develop RIA’s promotion of exports helping Members to unlock international rail opportunities worldwide.

Talk Time: 12:35 - 12:40

Talk Title: Introduction to RIA

Talk Description: Introduction from RIA - Our Event Partner

Alex Stewart

Business Development Lead for Scotland & Ireland - Siemens Mobility Rail Infrastructure, UK&I.

Bio:
Alex has a diverse skill set. After leaving school, Alex ran an award-winning advertising agency, grounding their expertise in marketing and graphic design. This background helped Alex successfully sell mobile app ticketing solutions in the UK and Europe, leading to Bytemark winning the 2018 Mobile Ticketing and Technology of the Year award.

Alex now supports the Siemens' Glasgow office in his role, overseeing business development in Scotland and Ireland, strategizing, reporting, and marketing the business. As a commuter, Alex is always looking for ways to improve the passenger experience and address challenges related to decarbonization, cost, and safety in their daily work.

Talk Time: 12:40 - 13:00

Talk Title: None provided.

Talk Description: None provided.

Andy Finn

Principal Engineer - Babcock Rail

Bio:
Specialising in Engineering Management and Integration of multi-disciplinary projects. Andy is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the IRSE.

Andy has over 40 years industry experience starting his working life as an S&T Trainee Technician in Leeds with British Rail. Movement to the regional signalling engineering office at York saw him involved in a number of projects including the East Coast electrification programme and the introduction of IECCs at York and Tyneside.

A change to focus on the opening telecom market followed involving both rail and commercial projects with BRT, Racal Telecom and Thales. With Babcock he has led multi-disciplinary engineering teams in integrating a number of projects including the successful Belfast Grand Central Station and NIROC projects for Northern Ireland Railways.

Talk Time: 13:10 - 13:30

Talk Title: An Introduction to Babcock Rail and the Belfast Grand Central Station Project

Talk Description: Insight into Babcock Rail and the multi-disciplinary delivery of the flagship Northern Ireland rail infrastructure project Belfast Grand Central Station. Featuring engineering highlights, innovation, collaboration, quality and safety performance, along with the making of this once in a lifetime project.

Emma Porter

Practice Director for Transport Advisory

and Consulting - AtkinsRéalis

Bio:
Emma Porter is an accomplished leader in the rail and construction industries, known for her strategic vision, authentic leadership, and commitment to diversity and inclusion. With a strong background in operations management, strategic planning, and business development, Emma has successfully led teams and organizations through significant transformations. She is a Chartered Manager and holds a psychology degree and an MBA from INSEAD. Emma is also a passionate advocate for sustainability and community engagement, having founded the award-winning social enterprise, The Rebuild Site CIC. Her dedication to fostering inclusive, high-performing teams has earned her recognition as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Engineering by the Financial Times.

Talk Time: 13:40 - 14:00

Talk Title: Leadership and what the future of rail needs from its leaders

Talk Description: In her upcoming talk at Rail Link in Dublin, Emma Porter will explore the future of rail and the critical role that leadership plays in driving collaboration, developing high performing teams and delivering outcomes. Drawing on her experience in a number of sectors, Emma will discuss the importance of psychological safety, authenticity, diversity and inclusion in building resilient and high-performing teams. She will highlight the need for leaders to embrace new ideas and foster collaborative environments to navigate the complexities of modern rail systems.

Tuvshen Morgan

Technical Sales Engineer - Frauscher

Bio:

Tuvshen has fulfilled many roles within Frauscher. He joined as a graduate product engineer, and quickly began working with customers around the UK. He became increasingly involved with the development and adoption of new products, from advanced axle counter functionality to new wheel sensors. As Technical Sales Engineer for the market, Tuvshen is uniquely placed to have productive and in-depth technical conversations with partners. Tuvshen is excited by the recent explosion in demand for the Insights Diagnostic platform; he is primarily responsible for its roll-out.

Talk Time: 14:10 - 14:30

Talk Title: Frauscher Insights - Data Platform for Diagnostic and Maintenance in Successful Railway Operations.

Talk Description:

Frauscher Insights is a web-based platform that displays the real time state of all axle counter elements. In previous diagnostic systems, this information had been difficult to access and involved no further processing. Insights analyses the abundance of data produced and informs users of faults, as well as flag suspected issues before they manifest. This talk will look to explain the benefits of intelligent diagnostics, as well as look ahead to what is achievable when data is effectively exploited.

Derek Finlay

Operations & Sales Director - Wood Communications

Bio:
Over 25 years experience in the IT Infrastructure sector. Responsible for the growth, project management & strategy at Wood Comms. A proven track record in the area of all IT Infrastructure solutions including formulating & managing Collaborative Relationships.

He has created and managed key strategic partnerships with various Telecom/Data Communications manufacturers to deliver solutions on behalf of various clients across all market sectors. Such as Data Center Solutions, Telco, Structured Cabling , Fibre Optic, Cooling & IP solutions. CMI College of Management & DCE Qualified in Data Centre Design & Data Centre Operational Management including various Fibre and Telecommunications qualifications.

Talk Time: 14:40 - 15:00

Talk Title: Intro to Wood Communications, Dublin

Talk Description: Brief introduction to Wood Communications, with a short overview to the reasoning why we partnered with LOC. We have been asked continually by our customers in our industry to research a better way to manage & help manage their assets, which could be fixed or even cables. Additionally, how we can move this forward to be digitised in some way, thankfully now we have that option with LOC.

James Canty

James Canty

Chief Technology Officer -

KelTech IoE Networks Ltd, c/o Wood Communications

Bio:
A dynamic and strategic technology leader, over 25 years of experience delivering large-scale international technology and infrastructure projects. Over a decade in senior roles in energy and communication infrastructure. Serving as CTO at Keltech IoE, executing large-scale deployments of next-generation energy and communication infrastructure. With a strong focus on emerging technologies, system architecture, and scalable solutions, he is leading Keltech IoE’s efforts to revolutionize connectivity and smart infrastructure.

Talk Time: 14:40 - 15:00

Talk Title: The innovative & game changing Asset Identification software Platform

Talk Description: LOC: The Future of Smart Infrastructure Management. Imagine a world where infrastructure management is instant, intelligent, and effortless. LOC (Label on a Cable) is revolutionizing the way organizations track, monitor, and maintain their assets—bringing digitization, automation, and real-time intelligence to the forefront. By combining a powerful web platform, an intuitive mobile app, and rugged, IP68-rated NFC tags, LOC eliminates outdated labelling methods and replaces them with smart, durable, and interactive asset tracking.

Noel Dolphin

Head of UK Projects - Furrer+Frey

Bio:
Noel Dolphin started his railway career at London Underground in 2000, ultimately managing operational performance on several lines. From 2007 to 2012 Noel moved to Network Rail, the mainline rail infrastructure owner in the UK. Whilst at Network Rail, Noel managed mainline electrification renewals. Noel joined Furrer+Frey in 2012, managing their UK project teams, currently with rail electrification projects in India, Australia, the Netherlands, and the UK. Noel is a Fellow of the Permanent Way Institute in the UK, and sits on the Electrification Engineering Committee of the Permanent Way Institute as well as sitting on standards committees at BSI.

Talk Time: 15:10 - 15:30

Talk Title: Efficient Electrification

Talk Description: Using Artificial Intelligence to support engineering decisions and lower costs. Exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming rail electrification by optimising engineering decisions and reducing costs, through real-world case studies. How AI-driven analysis helps identify the most cost-effective electrification strategies, from selecting overhead line systems to integrating battery-electric operation. AI can assess multiple factors—including infrastructure costs, operational efficiency, and energy consumption—to determine the optimal balance between electrification and battery deployment. By leveraging AI to map out costs, engineers can make informed decisions on where to install overhead lines and where to rely on battery charging.

Eddie Nolan

Managing Director - Dynamic Electrical

Bio:
Previously employed as Contracts Manager with a leading Dublin Electrical Contractor for over 16 years. Eddie Nolan served his time as an electrician in the commercial/industrial electrical sector, before working his way up to become an operations director with a large electrical contractor. He has gained vast experience working on various healthcare, pharmaceutical and heritage projects and he now owns Dynamic Electrical who specialise in electrical distribution fire suppression, some of their clients include HSE, NHS, Pfizer and many more. Drawing on from his extensive industry and management experience Eddie Nolan has gained the required knowledge to understand the challenges faced on electrical installations and the critical nature of electrical distribution systems and the importance of their resilience.

Talk Time: 15:40 - 16:00

Talk Title: Fire Suppression in Electrical Distribution Boards.

Talk Description: Faulty electrics remains the leading cause of fire incidents within buildings. These fires can cause severe disruption to business operations and are a constant threat to buildings and human safety.

The topics that will be discussed at the webinar include the following:

Protecting Electrical Enclosures from Fire, including real life experiences
Reasons for fires in electrical enclosures
Advantages of fire suppression and inadequacy in other methods
Principal of operation and fire suppressant material
Damage caused and emergency works required from an electrical enclosure fire
Sample Installations

Paul Whitnell

President and Founder - British and Irish Trading Alliance (BITA)

Bio:
Paul is the President and founder of BITA (the British and Irish Trading Alliance), and a native of Cork, currently residing in Kent. With a background in politics and sales, he brings a wide range of skills to address any challenge that arises. His passion for connecting people and encouraging business led him to create BITA in 2012, and continues to drive his efforts to expand this thriving community of businesses.

BITA is a continuously growing networking organisation known for its fun atmosphere, while also maintaining a strong focus on serious business.

BITA launched a new rail division, created specifically for our members involved in the rail industry, including construction, recruitment, supply, and more! The rail sector, with its unique challenges, is now a key focus for us, and we’ve already begun hosting engaging, rail-focused events for our rail and infrastructure members.

This division marks our strategic pivot into the rail sector, bringing together relevant members from our construction sector and driving growth and development within the rail industry.

Talk Time: 16:10 - 16:30

Talk Title: Matching Buyers to Suppliers