The Rail Innovation Group and Energy Garden Summer Gathering 2026

Our annual Summer Gathering returns on Wednesday 15 July, 16:00 to 19:00, hosted by the Energy Garden at their Westminster sustainability hub.

This forms part of our wider tenth anniversary activity, bringing together rail leaders, infrastructure partners, sustainability practitioners and innovators from operators, suppliers, public bodies and the SME community for a relaxed, networking-led evening focused on practical delivery, lessons learned and future opportunities.

From Innovation to Impact

Rail innovation has matured over the past decade. The shift has been from pilots and proof-of-concept activity into delivery at scale. The focus now is on how to embed innovation into the operational railway in ways that deliver measurable environmental, social and economic value. This includes scaling successful approaches, strengthening the link between innovation and operations, and ensuring the supply chain and wider ecosystem can support long-term delivery.

The Railway as a Living System

Alongside this, the evening will explore the railway as a living system, where infrastructure interacts with energy generation, biodiversity, land use and communities. From this perspective, rail assets are environmental and social infrastructure as well as transport infrastructure. Innovation therefore extends beyond technology into how the railway is designed, managed and experienced as part of place.

Why this venue

The choice of venue is deliberate. The wider UK conversation has shifted significantly toward activating public assets, rooftop solar, community benefit models and rail infrastructure for the energy transition. Energy Garden has been delivering exactly this in practice for over a decade. Their work spans community-owned solar on rail infrastructure, green corridors across London, youth training pathways, biodiversity programmes and a working circular model where energy revenue funds long-term community resilience.

This is the model in action. Patagonia and GTR have been part of the story since 2022, with Energy Garden supplying community-generated electricity to GTR trains and Patagonia's UK retail stores. Rail-based organisations including Network Rail and RSSB are increasingly engaged on the integrated sustainability agenda.

Format

Light, informal, and weighted toward open networking. Expect a short welcome and a brief Energy Garden case study moment near the start, then refreshments, drinks and conversation through the rest of the evening. There will be a chance to sample Energy Garden's pale ale, brewed using community-harvested hops grown in their gardens. The evening will also feature interactive case study exhibits and informal discussions covering:

• rail solar and infrastructure delivery
• biodiversity and stewardship across the rail estate
• circular economy and reuse
• social value frameworks and partnerships
• community engagement and volunteering
• lessons learned from approvals and implementation

Speakers

• Deb Carson, Head of Initiatives, Rail Innovation Group: Introduction and 10-year reflection
• TSGN (Thameslink): an overview of an operator perspective
• Ben Warren, Emissions Principal, RSSB: solar guidance and industry lessons-learned
• Sam Szczurek, Innovations Lead, TfL / Places for London: operator perspective
• Agamemnon Otero, Founder and CEO, Energy Garden: Community-owned delivery, biodiversity and social value

Why attend

Visit and network with rail professionals and peers on a working sustainability site, at the moment when the conversation is moving from policy to delivery. Confirmed attendees include senior figures from operators, infrastructure owners, safety and standards bodies, and public land custodians.

Listen before you come

Energy Garden recently recorded a long-form podcast covering rail infrastructure, community energy and urban resilience. Listen on Spotify and Apple.

Open to All: This event is open to members and non-members.

Sponsor this event

Sponsorship is still available and the timing has rarely been stronger. The confirmed room includes senior figures from operators, infrastructure owners, safety and standards bodies, and public land custodians. Sponsoring this event puts your organisation in front of a curated audience of senior rail decision-makers, on a site that demonstrates exactly the kind of community-benefit infrastructure model the wider conversation is now calling for. Speaking slot, sponsor stall, joint guest curation and pre/post event promotion included. Get in touch via railinnovationgroup.com.