EUR ING Richard East

Richard East is Chief Engineer for the Transportation sector within SNC Lavalin Atkins.

He joined British Rail in 1977 and was sponsored through university. He then worked in Scotland and, later, the Midlands gaining experience within British Rail as a service organisation. Richard transferred to Atkins on privatisation and undertook a variety of management roles in the organisation understanding the relevance of financial contracts.

Richard’s engineering experience began with maintenance operation in Scotland but he became more interested in how his engineering knowledge could contribute to improving new rolling stock.  He was responsible for all engineering issues associated with delivering the first passenger train after privatisation.  He diversified into railway systems to understand the challenges across the railway network including station modernisation for London Underground. 

Richard has also worked full time in Denmark on a number of projects including introducing a new train control system across the country and producing a technical specification for new electric locomotives. 

Richard has been involved with the Railway Division of IMechE for over 30 years and has performed all roles (Secretary, Treasurer & Chair) for the Midlands Centre with links to the Regional panels.  He joined the Railway Division Board in 1995 with a specific responsibility for communications which provided an understanding of the challenges of communicating with engineers.  He has also worked with other Professional Engineering Institutions as part of the Railway Engineering Forum which facilitates understanding how the Institutions can work together within the railway industry to promote engineering. Richard served as the Chair of the Railway Division during 2016/7.  He has since been able to contribute to the IMechE Technical Strategy Board which provided experience of other Divisions & Groups within IMechE.

Find out about our Trustee Board.