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Gareth Dennis

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Gareth Dennis
Born
Gareth Aled Dennis

February 1991
Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Years active2013–present
Children1
Websitewww.garethdennis.co.uk

Gareth Aled Dennis (born February 1991) is a Scottish-Welsh rail engineer and writer based in York who specialises in transport systems and policy. He also lectures at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE).

Dennis is often cited as a "rail expert" by the British press.[1]

Early life

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Dennis was born in Edinburgh to a Scottish father and a Welsh mother and grew up in Inverurie[2] until the age of 16, when he moved to Aberystwyth. He attended Inverurie Academy and completed his A Levels at Penglais Comprehensive School. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2013 with a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering with Construction Management.[3]

Career

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After graduating from University, Dennis joined Atkins as a graduate civil engineer; later in 2016, he became an assistant engineer at Atkins as well as a permanent way engineer at Arcadis. From 2014 to 2020, Dennis served as founding director of Permanent Rail Engineering, a sustainable transport consultancy.[4] In 2018, Dennis began lecturing at the National College for High Speed Rail in Doncaster[5] and the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) at the University of Birmingham.[6]

In 2020, Dennis started the podcast #Railnatter.[7] In addition to his own Medium column, he has written for publications such as The Independent, CityMetric, Railway Gazette International, Left Foot Forward, Wiley Online Library, and Jacobin,[8] and appeared on networks including Sky News, BBC News, ITV Tonight, and Novara Media.

Dennis is a strong supporter of HS2 and increasing capacity on the UK railway network, and was highly critical of the Conservative government's approach and persistent watering down of the new system.[9][10][11] He has also advocated for more metros and tram systems in British cities.[12][13]

In early 2024, Dennis became a principal engineer and UK professional head of track at SYSTRA and received the company's Distinguished Service Award for a Young Rail Professional.[14] In November 2024, Dennis will publish his debut book How the Railways Will Fix the Future: Rediscovering the brilliance of the iron road via Penguin Random House.[15]

Selected publications

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  • How the Railways Will Fix the Future: Rediscovering the essential brilliance of the iron road (2024, Repeater: ISBN 9781915672483)

References

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  1. ^ Lancefield, Neil (25 September 2023). "Rail experts say downscaling HS2 would be 'commercial and operational mess'". The Independent. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  2. ^ Beattie, Kieran (3 November 2020). "Rail expert on how to address consumer confidence as line reopens months after Stonehaven tragedy". The Press & Journal. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Contact us". University of Edinburgh School of Engineering. 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  4. ^ Guardado, Elmer (20 August 2018). "Sustainable Public Transport: Is it Possible? with Gareth Dennis of Permanent Rail Engineering". Market Scale. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  5. ^ Dale, Tim; Ingall, Tom (6 June 2023). "Doncaster HS2 college closure kick in the shins says business group". BBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  6. ^ Cordero Sapién, Josephine (16 September 2020). "Franchising is Dead: A Conversation with Gareth Dennis". Railway News. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Biggest influencers in railways in Q3 2020: The top individuals to follow". Railway Technology. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Gareth Dennis' Profile". MuckRack. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  9. ^ Cowen, Ailsa (18 January 2021). "Ep. 25 The industry needs to take matters into its own hands, Gareth Dennis". Rail Technology Magazine. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  10. ^ Green, Kathy (4 October 2023). "Scrapping northern leg of HS2 would be bitter blow - York campaigner". Rayo. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  11. ^ Bartlett, Charlie (20 October 2023). "Mourning the demise of HS2 extension, with RailNatter's Gareth Dennis". The Loadstar. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  12. ^ Wilks, Rebecca (2 May 2022). "Gareth Dennis on HS2 and how we could fix the railway and train system in Wales". Western Telegraph. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Time for a rail revolution: We ask transport expert Gareth Dennis to design a new rail network for South Yorkshire". Sheffield Tribune. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.(subscription required)
  14. ^ "Gareth Dennis wins Young Rail Professional Distinguished Service Award 2024". SYSTRA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  15. ^ "How the Railways Will Fix the Future by Gareth Dennis". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
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