Richard Harper

Director
Richard Harper
Profile

Richard is a Director at Steer and a respected industry leader with over 30 years’ experience driving change through collaboration. He delivers value for shareholders, public bodies and Authorities through developing, contracting, sponsoring and delivering complex change projects in the railway industry. His skills in assessing risks and blockers, alongside his strengths in communicating and negotiating, unlock solutions across industry interfaces.

At Steer, Richard leads a portfolio of rail projects. They include the award winning Manchester Recovery Task Force, which Richard has led since its inception three years ago, delivering high-performance solutions to the problems of May 2018’s timetable and unlocking DfT funding for a programme of incremental investment. Richard leads on operations and end state for DfT’s Project Representative team for HS2, delivering critical programme-wide assurance. He has directed operations, performance, service change and reform projects for Network Rail, DfT and operators.

Richard joined Steer after 17 years working for train operators and TOC owning groups. He gained extensive rail bidding experience in leadership roles, including Bid Director for Wales & Borders, and leading timetable and rolling stock teams for the successful Northern and London Overground bids in 2014/15. Richard was a key member of Chiltern Railways’ business development team, promoting and delivering the unique Evergreen enhancements, including the Oxford line.

Articles and insights by this expert

19 Jun 2024

Navigating the future of rail: Insights from 30 years of experience

As Steer continues to drive innovation and excellence in the rail industry, it is essential to reflect on the experiences and lessons that have shaped our journey.  

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14 Sep 2023

Taking stock – the crisis and imperative for change in Britain's railways

UK rail is struggling across a number of fronts. Passenger numbers and revenues have not recovered post-Covid.

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10 Jul 2023

Steer wins big at the Railway Innovation Awards 2023

Steer has once again won big at a major awards ceremony, proving our continued excellence in the rail sector.

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15 Feb 2023

Developing projects with an eye to the future

The recent works to expand Banbury depot is great news and also offers a great lesson in project development with the future in mind.

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14 Feb 2023

...and then there's statistics

Something made me uneasy about the Bradshaw Address - I couldn't work out what it was, until I read it again for the third time yesterday. 

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We are Steer

Yes, you are in the right place. After 40 years, we have changed our name from Steer Davies Gleave to mark our growing international footprint and our expanding portfolio into sectors beyond transport.

Explore our new website to learn more about Steer: who we are, how we work and what our future holds.