The George Stephenson Lecture 2026 will be delivered by Jeremy Westlake, CEO of Network Rail.

Jeremy Westlake has served as Chief Executive of Network Rail since October 2025, following a successful nine‑year tenure as Chief Financial Officer. His innovative thinking and commercial acumen have underpinned major initiatives such as Project Reach, (telecoms and passenger connectivity), Bloy’s

Grove Solar Farm (renewal energy supply) and Platform 4, (property development) each focused on improving outcomes for passengers, commercial returns, and industry development.

Over his career, Jeremy has held senior roles spanning government relations, regulation, product development, manufacturing, engineering and supply chains across the transport sector — from global rail projects to aviation.

As CEO, Jeremy is committed to delivering on the trinity of safety, reliability and performance and sees the transition to Great British Railways as a significant opportunity to unleash the potential of the organisation to deliver a better railway.