Piers Connor, MSc, CMILT, MIRO
Senior railway professional with wide ranging management expertise and front line experience in maintenance, operations, design, planning, manufacturing, project development in Europe, USA, South Africa and Asia. MSc in Railway Systems Engineering, with professional membership of Chartered Institute of Transport and Institute of Logistics and Transport and Institute of Railway Operators. Researcher, advisor, consultant, writer, lecturer and expert witness. Lead tutor for IRO degree course engineering module and senior lecturer for University of Birmingham.
July 2004 to present, PRC Rail Consulting, Managing Director
International railway system consultancy with capability for new line development, rail systems integration, interface management, train operations planning, rolling stock maintenance, systems design and modelling, expert witness provision, training at all levels, project management, rolling stock production, organisational change, business development, due diligence.
- Train operations advice, with Driver, for Gautrain (South Africa) system train service;
- Advisor, with Atkins, for development of rolling stock manufacturing facility;
- Expert witness for contractual dispute in Macau;
- Expert witness for case involving train collision in Washington DC;
- Engineering Assurance Advisor for Crossrail with Aecom
- Technical advisor to Al Rajhi International Group for Saudi Landbridge and Mecca-Medina Railways
- Expert witness for Alstom Canada in court proceedings of Alstom vs City of Montreal
- Expert witness for case in Australia;
- Provision of training for London Underground with University of Birmingham
- Technical advisor on London Rail Concession bid for Govia
- Review of Piccadilly Line services to Heathrow new Terminal 5 for BAA with Faber Maunsell
- Development of High Speed Rail in the UK - Special study for Birmingham University/ICE
- Provision of training for inspectors of Rail Accident Investigation Board
- With Strategic Lines as Operations Advisor for Arriva Trains premier class study
- With Strategic Lines as Technical Advisor for Metronet project study
- Lender's technical advisor - railway operations, Gautrain High Speed Train Project, South Africa with Faber Maunsell.
- Development of Train Protection in the UK - Special study for Sheffield University/HMRI
- Station Ventilation System Study - with Fifth Dimension Associates for London Underground cooling project
April 2003 to July 2004, Bombardier - International Railway Equipment Manufacturers
Director, Capital Projects Co-ordination, London Underground Projects, Derby, UK
Part of a new senior management team set up to run the company's £3bn London Underground manufacturing and maintenance projects. Responsible for all technical and system interfaces between the Bombardier contracts and other Metronet projects for infrastructure, stations, communications, power supplies, system performance and engineering standards.
- Set up new focus group on systems engineering to encourage the customer to integrate engineering contracts to reduce project delays
- Responsible for the management of engineering and technical co-ordination with the Metronet Projects (BCV and SSL)
- Responsible for sensitivity analyses of performance models to determine commercial and technical risks
August 2001 to April 2003, Bombardier, Derby, UK
Director, Engineering, London Underground Projects, Derby, UK
Following the takeover of Adtranz by Bombardier, appointed to lead the engineering team responsible for the management of engineering and technical resources to the London Underground Projects (BCV and SSL)
- Head of engineering for team which secured two new Public Private Partnership orders worth £3bn
- Introduced new assessment focus into early proposals to secure preferred bidder status
- Managed technical due diligence for contracts
- Managed rolling stock and signalling proposals to ensure technical compliance.
July 2000 to August 2001, Bombardier (then Adtranz) - International Railway Suppliers
Director, Engineering, Total Rail Systems, Derby, UK
Appointed to this position in the UK following the decision to close the Adtranz TRS office in Singapore. Responsible for the provision of engineering and technical resources to the Total Rail Systems business unit of Adtranz worldwide, working from the UK base of the company.
- Managed engineering staff of 66 for light rail and metro projects in the US, UK, Turkey, Philippines, Malaysia and Portugal.
- Responsible for detailed studies of commercially based, cost effective technical solutions to improve profitability.
- Developed review system for a wide range of railway systems and the different technical, financial and political circumstances in Europe, Asia and the Americas to allow focus on most profitable projects.
1997 to 2000, Adtranz - International Railway Equipment Manufacturers
Vice President, - Asia Pacific, Total Rail Systems, Singapore
Took up new position with Adtranz in Singapore responsible for systems engineering and business development in the Asia Pacific region.
- Technical, operational and financial reviews of projects in the Asia Pacific region to test viability of business proposals.
- Introduced vetting process for different types of railway systems leading to bid or no-bid decisions for company.
- Carried out engineering design reviews and cost assessments.
- Travelled extensively, dealing with senior government and business officials in various countries in the region to develop contacts and increase company exposure.
1996 - 1997, Bechtel Civil Engineering - International Consultants and Project Managers, Hong Kong
Railway Operations and Maintenance ManagerTook up position for Hong Kong KCRC West Rail project as part of consultancy services for Bechtel.
- Developed cost effective solutions for rail systems, operations and maintenance to meet contractual requirements
- Defined system operational design requirements
- Wrote Operations and Maintenance Plan.
- Responsible for liaison between engineering and operations departments and for operational interfaces with external bodies such as the railway and government agencies.
- Re-evaluated and verified civil, mechanical, electrical and control system designs.
1992 to 1996, Piers Connor Associates - Sole Trader Consultancy
Carried out various projects around the world as self-employed railway consultant as follows:
- for Union Carriage & Wagon in South Africa as Senior Projects Manager setting up computerised project management and rolling stock design and production planning systems.
- for Kennedy & Donkin as operations and maintenance advisor for Bangkok Metro project planning and tender assessment. Totally redesigned rolling stock depot to fit new site and the Siam elevated station complex to reduce size, complexity and cost of original design.
- for Brush Traction carrying out on site maintenance staff and driver training and computerised documentation preparation for the Channel Tunnel locomotives.
- for Kennedy & Donkin Group and British Rail as project manager appraising the traffic, revenue, operating, engineering and environmental costs of a route in the Network SouthEast area.
1990 to 1992, London Underground Ltd
Development Manager (Train Services)
Responsible for the planning, appraisal, implementation and financial control of major systems projects for the Underground and for the improvement of the safety, efficiency and quality of train services.
- Prepared and implemented new IT based financial management system for the £700m Central Line modernisation project to eliminate overspend whilst maintaining project scope.
- Introduced economic appraisal of safety projects to increase cost effectiveness of capital spend and to prioritise projects.
- Carried out strategic review of rolling stock contracts to introduce half-life modernisation for trains to improve customer image and increase revenue.
- Introduced new computerised train service simulations to prove best options for improvements and correction of poor service performance.
- Reduced investment and planning staff by 25% while capital spend increased by 30% using IT based solutions.
1986 to 1990, Channel Tunnel
Railway Operations Manager
Employed, first by Kennedy Henderson Ltd, then by Eurotunnel, to manage transformation for £10bn international railway from civil engineering project to operational business.
- Redesigned terminals to place maintenance facility in France and control facility in England to reduce UK land take and capital costs.
- Reduced planned on-train staffing levels by 50% to increase profitability of operations.
- Responsible for design of new computerised operating MIS plan.
- Drafted first rules and regulations database for railway.
1982 to 1986, London Transport International - International consulting arm of London Transport
Employed as resident consultant on various overseas metro projects including New York, Los Angeles and Taipei.
- Project managed the design, testing and manufacture of inter-car safety barriers on the New York Subway to eliminate passenger deaths running at 2-3 per annum.
- Set economic operational and maintenance standards to reduce capital and revenue costs of Los Angeles Metro.
- Designed train services and rolling stock maintenance facilities of Taipei metro system to ensure match with traffic levels and infrastructure.
1963 to 1982, London Transport
Joined LT in 1963 as platform staff. Subsequently took promotion to train crew and later gained Operations Instructor's and Station Supervisor's certificates. Became rolling stock Maintenance Instructor 1975 and, in 1979, Chief Instructor. Became Training & Safety Manager, Acton Works 1981.
1962 to 1963, Canadian Pacific Railway
Junior office clerk dealing with rail, shipping and air finance and the mechanisation of the offices.
Education and Professional Status:
MSc in Railway Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield. Member UK Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport; Member UK Institute of Railway Operators; Safety Engineer's Training, Further Education Teachers Training, Various railway training courses for technology, supervision and management.
Published several books, articles and papers on rolling stock and railway systems.
Born 1st October 1945, Godalming, Surrey, UK
Status - Single
Nationality - British,
Interests - Golf, Skiing, Riding, History
Residence - Melton Mowbray, UK.
Phones: Office +44 (0)1664 810118, Mobile +44 (0)7720 805741