HomePeopleExpansion at telent heralds digital revolution

Expansion at telent heralds digital revolution

Listen to this article

As the Rail Delivery Group unveiled plans to progress the use of digital technology in the rail industry, digital communications pioneer telent is expanding its rail business to meet the challenge.

Kevin Bonanno has joined telent as business development director. Drawing on over 20 years’ commercial experience in wireless, digital and fixed telecom solutions throughout the UK and Europe, Kevin will lead and develop the team to meet the unrivalled opportunities presented by the rail industry and its adoption of new technologies.

Steve Pearce has been appointed as programme director for rail. Steve has been with telent for nearly 40 years and brings a wealth of experience to the role. Steve will be responsible for the overall delivery of all rail projects for Network Rail, train operating companies and supply chain partners. As well as ensuring the successful and safe delivery of projects, Steve will play an active role in helping develop and implement telent’s forward looking Rail Strategy.

Sean Birrane has been appointed head of EHS Rail Projects. Sean is a long-serving railway safety manager, having joined the industry in 1979. He
has considerable experience in managing large-scale projects including the West Coast Main Line Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) upgrade and GSM-R deployment. In Sean’s new role, his focus will be on meeting health and safety obligations in the most pragmatic way.

The moves follow the appointment of Steve Dalton as managing director of telent’s rail business in autumn 2016. Says Dalton, ‘telent shares the aspirations of passengers, government and industry for a world class railway. We are a committed long-term partner to the rail industry with a long-term Rail Strategy that is aligned to our key customers and industry stakeholders.’

‘The increasing use of digital technology in the UK rail industry means the needs of our customers are rapidly changing. As designers, suppliers and maintainers of these new technologies, we have grown from a telecom and support integrator to a full-service data network and service provider, offering whole of life, 24/7 asset management and support.

‘Over the last two years, we have significantly expanded our capabilities in digital technology, cloud solutions and secure networking with several strategic acquisitions, including Telindus, Arqiva Secure Solutions and most recently Richardson Eyres. We have continued to forge technology partnerships with world-leading companies, such as Cisco and Juniper to further underpin telent’s technology strategy and long-term delivery capabilities.

‘Whilst the evolution of a digital railway will fundamentally change many rail systems, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to support our customers’ legacy systems. Our business is continuing to evolve to best meet the ever-changing needs of the rail industry and these appointments mark another step forward for telent Rail.’

Recommended