PRESS RELEASE

21 January 2020

Costain, the smart infrastructure solutions company, has appointed Simon Ellison as rail sector director.

In his new role, Simon will be responsible for shaping and expanding the Group’s rail infrastructure delivery expertise to meet the current and future needs of UK rail clients, delivering strategic national infrastructure upgrades, regulatory commitments and essential business performance improvements. 

Key focus areas for growth will be digital signalling, electrification programmes, strategic professional services frameworks and technology integration to complement current leading edge complex delivery on stations and rail system upgrade programmes.

Simon is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He joined Costain in 1997 and has performed several senior leadership roles, most recently, as technology capability director and prior to that as highways sector director.

Ian Parker, managing director, transportation, said: “Throughout his 22 years at Costain, Simon has made a real difference in shaping the UK’s future transport infrastructure, leading numerous infrastructure programmes, sector improvement initiatives and significant sustained business growth. I am excited to welcome Simon back into the transportation leadership team as we expand our business in rail and wish him every success in his new role.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

About Simon

Simon has recently led the ‘Digital Technology Solutions’ element of Costain's leading edge strategy, developing and establishing a leading edge in-house digital technology solutions capability to address critical national needs such as network capacity, customer experience, and performance efficiency.  Simon led the acquisition and successful integration of SSL in 2016 and recently opened Costain’s new digital technology centre in Bristol.  Simon will extend the range of technology-led capabilities the group currently provides to its rail clients, such as the enhanced warning technology Meerkat and implementing Rail Automated Infrastructure Design (R:AID).

Prior to this role, Simon was highways sector director at Costain from 2012-2018 leading service transformation and business growth across advisory & consultancy, technology integration, complex programme delivery and asset optimisation and maintenance. Simon established Costain as a leading supplier to Highways England designing and delivering some of the largest and most challenging UK infrastructure schemes including the Smart Motorway Programme and Highways England's flag ship £1.4bn A14 Scheme. Simon led Costain’s involvement in the pioneering A2M2 Connected Corridor Testbed project, which saw Costain responsible for delivering the UK’s first connected corridor for the European TestFest trial, a key catalyst in accelerating connected automated mobility and smarter infrastructure solutions to market.