Richard is a chartered electrical engineer who has worked in rail vehicle systems for over 20 years, following some 20 years in the fire detection and security industry. Over the last six years he has been involved in the system integration design for the Class 230 train of various train safety systems (TPWS, GSM-R) and developed many of the other system schematics for the Class 230 train. He has recently been a part of the team developing the next generation battery-hybrid versions of the Class 230 and has been closely involved in system design, safety, and testing. Currently the plan is to have a working fast-charge battery demonstrator train by the end of 2021 with a view to conducting real-life trials on a suburban branch line in 2022.