Британдық теміржол кеңесшілік компаниясының тарихы

British rail industry consultancy company

SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit, formerly Interfleet Technology, is an international rail consultancy company. Headquartered in Derby, England, it is a subsidiary of AtkinsRéalis

Interfleet was established in April 1994 out of the former InterCity Fleet Engineering division of the British Rail engineering and technical headquarters. In March 1996, Interfleet was privatised in a management buyout. It pursued international consultancy opportunities, participating the technical analysis, certification, and provision of technical assistance to organisations such as rolling stock manufacturers, engineering companies, infrastructure owners, operators, and research institutes. The British government has contracted its services to act as an operator of last resort should any train operating company (TOC) forfeit their franchise mid term. By April 2011, Interfleet operated from 22 offices spread across the globe to serve its international customer base. During October 2011, the company was acquired by SNC Lavalin; in January 2016, Interfleet was renamed SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit to better integrate the firm under the main SNC Lavalin brand. Major regional subsidiaries have been setup in the United Kingdom, North America, Scandinavia and Australasia.

Interfleet Technology was formed during April 1994 as part of the wider privatisation of British Rail. Interfleet originated from the former InterCity Fleet Engineering division of the British Rail engineering and technical headquarters, which managed the rolling stock operated by the then InterCity sector of British Rail. Its first Managing Director, David Rollin, opted to organise its multi disciplined resources into various different service groups to serve its three main markets: rolling stock, railway systems, and strategic solutions. Interlink's day to day operations emphasised the speed and effectiveness of communication with its varied client base.

During October 2011, it was announced that Interfleet would be acquired by SNC Lavalin. During May 2013, it was announced that Interfleet had been appointed to provide various services for the Intercity Express Programme, including direct technical support to Hitachi, assessment and certification services for compliance to relevant European and British legislation, as well as inspections and a production quality management audit in both Britain and Japan. In January 2016, Interfleet Technology was re branded as SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit. In conjunction with this rebranding, it was also integrated with other entities, including SNC Lavalin's Transit Engineers in Vancouver and Toronto along with the Transport Systems team in Montreal; these became a single organisation that operated under the new brand.

The company logo for Interfleet has also changed throughout its history as shown below.

The international SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit divisional unit has regional subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, North America, Scandinavia and Australasia. The divisional unit has offices in Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney), Canada (Burlington, Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Norway (Oslo), Sweden (8 locations including Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm), the United Kingdom (Derby (HQ)), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Manchester) and the United States (Philadelphia & New York City) and 1,000 staff.

SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit provides services across the railway system, the major elements of which include rolling stock, infrastructure, signalling, communications, testing, and software development. The company works throughout all stages of the asset lifecycle, from feasibility, specification and procurement, through operations, maintenance and renewal. Services offered range from strategic railway management through to engineering and detail technical services. Around the same timeframe, Interfleet also shaped the bogie design of the new British Rail Class 185 diesel multiple unit; roughly one decade later, it designed the modifications for the mid life refreshes of the similar British Rail Class 444 and British Rail Class 450 electric multiple units. During September 2010, Interfleet was appointed to perform technical and safety analysis in support of the design of envisioned high speed railways being planned in Norway. During November 2015, SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit, in partnership with Arup Group and Ernst & Young, was appointed by the Department for Transport as its operator of last resort to takeover the operations of any train operating company in the United Kingdom at short notice should it be required. This function had previously been handled by Directly Operated Railways. In June 2018, the partnership trading as London North Eastern Railway took over the InterCity East Coast franchise from Virgin Trains East Coast. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, SNC Lavalin Rail & Transit has been heavily involved in Australia's Inland Rail programme; activities have included project management and the production of a framework for information management, contract compliance and resource management. By late 2021, the company had secured a key role in European Train Control System (ETCS) deployment in Britain, providing both consultancy and signalling systems integrator functions; it has also been appointed as the Railway Systems Integration Partner for the East Coast Digital Programme as well as to deliver and operate the National ETCS Test Verification Validation and Integration Laboratory.