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The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) are pleased to announce the appointment of Anson Jack to Director of the Birmingham International Railway Academy (BIRA) and Professor of International Railway Benchmarking.

Anson will work closely with the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education to promote international railway benchmarking and other research, and to develop the extensive international relationships the University has already established across the globe. 

Anson brings with him to Birmingham a wealth of knowledge and expertise from the rail industry. He began his career at British Rail where he joined as a graduate trainee in 1979. He also worked at Railtrack and Network Rail, before joining RSSB (the Rail Safety and Standards Board) in 2003. Anson continues to work at the company as Director of Commercial and Strategy. His credentials also include membership of: the Technical Advisory Board of the International High Speed Rail Association, based in Tokyo; the Transportation Research Board Committee for the review of the Federal Railroad Administration research and development programme; the Organising Committee for the World Congress on Railway Research, and the UK rail industry’s Technical Strategy Leadership Group.

Anson said: 

I am delighted to be joining the University at such an exciting time for the city, for railway investment and for research. Birmingham is already one of the pre-eminent academic centres of excellence in railways and has many inspirational people within the BCRRE. The experience I have had with railways, international relationships and research, and my continuing role at RSSB will enable me to bring an external perspective to many of the opportunities facing the centre, and I really look forward to developing the Birmingham International Railway Academy toward having a worldwide profile in both research and education.

Professor Clive Roberts, Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education said:

I am pleased to welcome and work alongside Professor Anson Jack. At the BCRRE, we are developing important ties with partners across the Globe to enhance the future success of railways as a safe, fast, high capacity and environmentally and customer friendly transport mode. His appointment will ensure key strategic leadership and help further develop the BCRRE’s international profile. The Birmingham International Railway Academy (BIRA) delivers world class railway research and education through partnerships with leading international academic institutions and industrial organisations leveraging the knowledge, skills and leadership of BCRRE in key locations around the globe. It will bring an international focus to the work of the team at the University of Birmingham.

Notes

• The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCCRE) is a research centre of the University of Birmingham and a leader in railway science and education. The Centre looks at railways as whole systems, as well as having particular strengths in traffic management, power and energy, data integration, climate effects and aerodynamics. It embodies the University of Birmingham’s traditions of purposeful and pioneering research and is able to draw on a diverse group of experts from around the University to take a multi-disciplinary approach. The Centre is truly international and collaborates closely with overseas universities, welcoming undergraduates and post-graduates from around the world.