Civil engineer Simon Wright OBE has been appointed to support the development of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM).
He will work part-time on a consultancy basis and join the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority in providing strategic input into the development of a ‘one CAM’ strategy, integrating the programme’s component projects into one scheme.
Simon brings experience as Programme Director for Crossrail between 2014-2018 and as Director of Infrastructure and Utilities at the Olympic Delivery Authority for six years, leading into the 2012 London Olympic Games. He was Network Rail Project Development Director between 2013-2014, responsible for the £3bn redevelopment of Euston Railway Station.
On his appointment, Simon says: “This is a highly innovative, bespoke transport concept for the region and there are few other systems in the world quite like it. But the method of delivery, through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), is very familiar and my job will be to challenge how the CAM develops in a positive way.
“That means asking the right, and sometimes difficult, questions to ensure that the assumptions that the scheme are based on are always sound and that the innovative thinking required also leads to cost effective and efficient delivery of a reliable system.
“I have been very impressed by the ambition for the CAM to spearhead a new wave of economic growth and innovation in the region and I’m excited to get started.”
