Welcome to the Railway Division South East Centre

Known as the RDSE, the centre is responsible for coordinating learned society activities in the southeast region of England on behalf of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division. Each year we organise a programme of events on rail-related subjects for those working, or have an interest, in rail.

Chair's Address

Hello and welcome back to events after the summer break. I hope that you were able to enjoy some good weather ready to reengage with Railway Division Southeast centre events. I am looking forward to getting back to hearing from our industry expert speakers and networking with existing and new colleagues.

We have three remaining events in the 2024 calendar year, which I am really looking forward to. Kicking off the Autumn season we have David Horton, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Fast Charge Battery Train Trial (FCBTT) at Great Western Railway talking about the latest project updates on Wednesday 18 September. In October we have the reorganised talk on improvements being delivered to the Central line trains. Scott Butcher and Edward Hird will be presenting on 16 October. Rounding out the year we will be hearing from Network Rail, as Martin Mason talks about intelligent infrastructure. I am sure all the talks will be highly interesting and informative, and I think that there will be something for everyone. You won’t want to miss any of them! These events are to take place at The Helicon, 1 South Place, London EC2M 2RB with light refreshments served at 17:30. Full details shown below. 

The committee has been hard at work organising our calendar of events for the forthcoming year. In 2025 will we be organising more superb talks from industry experts. Highlights include hydrogen traction for rolling stock, bus versus train powertrain, vehicle dynamics modelling, freight research, and the challenges of leaf fall season. As usual we will be hosting the southeast heat of the Future of Rail presentation competition and planning a summer technical visit. We plan to host 2025 events at the Rail Safety and Standards Board’s new office at 25 Fenchurch Avenue.

We have also refreshed the look of our emails which I hope will make them more engaging and easier to read. Please continue to engage with us through our LinkedIn page, IMechE Railway Division South East Centre (https://www.linkedin.com/company/imeche-se-rd/).

Thank you to the committee who work incredibly hard in their spare time to help make all these activities possible. I look forward to seeing on 18 September.

Toby Johnson

Centre Chair

Railway Division South East Centre

Current and Future Events

Please click the event heading for further information.
  • Event Type: Technical lecture
    18 September 2024 18:00 to 19:00
    RSSB - London
    Talk on the Fast Charge Battery Train Trial at GWR
    Industry: Railway
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Committee Vacancies

The South East centre of the Railway Division is currently seeking volunteers to join our active and friendly committee. Volunteering is a great way to show your commitment to the profession, make new contacts and develop new skills.

Young Members' Representative 

Responsibilities include: liaising with Young Members committee, organising the South East Heat of the Future of Rail presentation competition.


Interested volunteers should contact Toby Johnson, Centre Chair (toby.johnson@member.imeche.org) 

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