Motion Rail awarded Network Rail principal contractor licence

Award-winning specialist rail systems engineering company Motion Rail has been accepted as a Network Rail Principal Contractor.

The Gwent-based SME has been awarded a provisional Principal Contractor Licence permitting the company to tender for rail communication and electrical services projects.

The provisional licence, obtained after passing a rigorous audit process, recognises Motion Rail’s appropriate and robust Health & Safety, Quality and Environment management systems to effectively carry out work under the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015.

“Obtaining our Principal Contractor Licence opens up exciting new opportunities for Motion and means a more diverse supply chain for the benefit of the rail sector,” comments company Founder and CEO Emma Dymond.

“In common with all businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges but it has also provided an opportunity to review our processes and strategy to improve our service offering.

“Thanks to the commitment and hard work of the entire team, Motion Rail continues to grow and thrive.

“We remain committed to delivering innovative, safe designs and building multi-functional resilient solutions, future-proofing infrastructure across the UK rail network.”

Last month Motion Rail was named 2020 Blaenau Gwent Business of the Year in addition to winning the Small Business of the Year title.

The wins are just the latest in a catalogue of achievements notched up by the company in recent months.

Motion Rail has been named the seventh fastest growing company in Wales and won the Joint Growth Award in the 2020 RIA Rise Awards.

Motion Reality, the company’s not-for-profit arm which designed innovative virtual reality and gamification technology to educate school children about level crossing safety won the Safety Achievement of the Year title at the 2020 National Rail Awards, the Rail Business Awards Education and Training Excellence award and was highly commended in the RIA Rise Awards safety category.

While Emma was named as Inspirational Woman of the Year 2020 in the Women in Rail Awards.

Founded in 2009, SME Motion Rail specialises in integrating and modifying legacy and digital rail equipment, with solutions considering whole-life costs

from design through to implementation and maintenance, ensuring value for money and delivering effective engineering.

Telecommunications engineer Emma launched the business from home, aged just 28, and now employs 25 full-time staff. The team has worked on several high-profile national projects including Crossrail, Thameslink and The Greater West Electrification.

In 2018, the company developed a pioneering virtual reality railway in partnership with the Centre of Excellence in Mobile and Emerging Technologies, based at the University of South Wales, designed to educate about the dangers posed by railways.

Endorsed by Network Rail, not-for-profit Motion Reality was originally used to train railway workers how to manage the hazardous environments while working on or near the tracks. The VR and gamification technology was then adapted to be taken into schools and, to date, has educated more than 300,000 youngsters about level crossing safety – using real-life scenarios in a safe environment.

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