Thought Leadership

Here we share our news, views and expertise on the rail industry.
Can we reintroduce quiet and comfortable?

As the railways of Great Britain continue to change to entice passengers back to rail after Covid-19, is it time to consider changing interior layouts …

Who sits in the middle seat?

The change in working practices, which has brought about the change in travelling habits, of the people of Britain during and following Covid-19, has provided …

Express parcels – can we remove the blockers?

It was great to see Varamis Rail launch their express parcels service from Birmingham to Scotland in January, after successful trials in late 2022, utilising …

Yes, no, when, where – the tram-train conundrum

In this three-part series, we discuss some of the key factors that steer decision making for tram-train schemes. Part one considers when to use tram-train systems, and some factors and risks that drive the decision making around usage.

Fleet replacement in the Williams-Shapps era

This thought leadership paper sets out IPEX’s ideas for how the creation of Great British Railways could enable a new model for the development of …

Rail Technology Magazine interviews IPEX

IPEX is delighted that our thought leadership article, ‘Decarbonising the Railway’, developed with Arcadis, has been published in the latest Rail Technology Magazine, page 76. …

Discontinuous electrification – Decarbonising the Railway

For the fourth of IPEX’s Industry Insights on decarbonising the railway, we have teamed up with Arcadis to provide a system-wide view of the opportunities …

Discontinuous electrification – repurposing existing rolling stock

In the third in our series examining the opportunities for discontinuous electrification, this paper discusses modification of existing rolling stock to provide a discontinuous electrification …

Discontinuous electrification – electrification hubs

On 12 February 2018, the Rt. Honourable Jo Johnson, then Minister of State at the Department for Transport, announced a new ambition to “take all …