Why is this award important to us? D2 is a growing and independent SME. Formed in 2011 with 3 construction planners supporting a single rail project, we now provide the full suite of Project Controls services to several of the …
Read moreAt D2, we believe that fair pay is fundamental to a thriving and sustainable workplace. That’s why we’re proud to be an accredited Real Living Wage employer, ensuring that every member of our team receives a wage that truly reflects…
Read moreLearning from the past Significant investments in electrification have been made over the last decade, with varied success which was a topic of discussion at a Western Gateway Rail Electrification Workshop, held in partnership with RIA W&W in May 2024….
Read moreAs the Chief Operating Officer, my recent trip from the UK to Toronto was a whirlwind of meetings, events, and invaluable networking opportunities. The vibrant energy of Toronto, lively sporting scene and the chance to meet both old and new…
Read moreWe proudly join the global community in celebrating International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) and the vital contributions women make to our industry. INWED provides a platform to highlight the contributions of women engineers and to inspire the next generation of female…
Read moreWe are thrilled to announce that D2 has been shortlisted for the APM Educational and Research Awards, in the category of Developmental Programme of the Year. This recognition highlights our unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of project management…
Read moreIntroduction During a career spanning more than 30yrs’ within the construction, civil engineering, utilities and wider infrastructure sectors, our Utilities Manager Graeme Clarke has experienced countless occasions where abandoned and uncharted underground assets have caused delay and/ or cost overrun…
Read more8th March 2024 marks the global celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), a day dedicated to honouring the achievements of women, raising awareness about gender-based discrimination, and advocating for gender equality. IWD has a rich history, dating back to the…
Read moreAround this time last year, I made the decision to leave the large consultancy I worked for and to join a small to medium sized enterprise (SME). The opportunity to join former colleagues and friends at D2 proved to be…
Read moreOur journey Since formation in 2011 and under the guidance of founding Directors David Diesbergen and Simon Blair, D2 Rail & Civils has strived to add value to our clients by de-risking delivery of projects and to leave a lasting…
Read moreWe have some very exciting news; we are now a signatory for the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter! The Race at Work Charter asks businesses to make a public commitment to improving equality of opportunity in the…
Read moreEvery October, there is an annual celebration of the history, achievements, and contributions of black people in the UK. To celebrate this year’s black history month, we are honouring six important black Britons, from those who broke race barriers, to figures…
Read moreAt D2 our people are at the core of everything we do, we pride ourselves in hiring the best talent and investing in their development and career path. We are proud to announce that Lohith Vaddi and Jed Stoker from…
Read moreMore exciting news from our D2 Teams! D2’s Data Analyst Arpit Raghav has been shortlisted for the “UK Project Controls Apprentice of the Year” at this year’s Project Controls Expo awards. The Expo awards are designed to honour the people…
Read moreD2 has been shortlisted for the “Best Use of Digital Technology in a Project” award at this year’s TechFest awards. This recognizes our work leveraging games development software to create innovative and interactive site inductions in partnership with Network Rail. Over…
Read moreOn Saturday 15th July 2023, our D2’s Information Management team took on the challenge of completing an 11 mile hike in the Peak District to raise money for Marie Curie . Rebecca Mercer, Sarah Lomax, and Clare Haigh accompanied by…
Read moreD2’s graduate Utilities Engineer Vaidik Jain recently took part in a TRU West volunteering day at Xaverian College in Manchester, with their year 12 BTEC students. It was a fully packed day with skills challenges, games, and interviews. The first…
Read moreAt D2 the health, safety, and wellbeing of our teams is of the utmost importance to us. We provide a safe working environment for all and support our people through our community and employee assistance line. As part of our…
Read moreAs Pride month 2023 comes to a close, we want to take time to honour and commemorate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, asexual, non-binary and pansexual people. Pride began after the Stonewall riots with a series of gay liberation…
Read moreD2 is embracing the Office of the Future after opening an Innovative Office Space in Swindon’s former Brunel’s Railway Carriage Works at the Workshed. D2, has opened its second UK D2 office located in Swindon’s Workshed—a unique workspace nestled within…
Read moreLast month, D2 worked with Network Rail to deliver a new digital sign-in and induction system. The goal was to replace the existing paper-based process with a new digital solution that is currently being trialled on seven depots. You can…
Read moreD2 Rail has joined The Foundry cohort 3 which is based in the, former Brunel’s Railway Carriage Works, Workshed Swindon. This will help accelerate D2’s Engineering and Design’s growth in the Wales, Western and Wessex region. The Foundry has been designed to help…
Read moreOn Thursday 24th November our D2 colleagues attended the 2022 Rail Staff Awards in support of Louis Szymanski who was nominated for the Graduate or Newcomer of the Year Award, and Russell James who was nominated for Recruitment and Talent…
Read moreLast week, D2 was excited to open it’s new office at 111 Piccadilly. Take a tour of the new office below, and hear from David Diesbergen, CEO. ‘We are delighted to bring everyone together into one place, and are excited…
Read moreOn Saturday the 22nd October our D2 colleague Louis Szymanski took part in the Mustard Tree’s Tough Mudder fundraiser event in Manchester’s Heaton Park. He worked as a team with some of his colleagues from the Transpennine Route Upgrade West…
Read moreD2 Rail has been engaged to support leading engineering and construction company Murphy across a range of schemes, on their CP6 renewals frameworks in the Anglia, Southeast and Wessex regions. As a specialist delivery partner, D2 Rail are currently providing…
Read moreD2’s Louis Szymanski has been nominated in the Graduate or Newcomer of the Year category in this year’s RailStaff Awards. The RailStaff Awards are designed to honour the people and teams in the industry that go above and beyond to…
Read moreAs a key Supply Chain Partner within the TRU West Alliance, D2 Rail has been proud to support the alliance team with the development and delivery of a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) for Transpennine Route Upgrade between Huddersfield…
Read moreIn July, D2 delivered an interactive animation to Murphy Group, aimed at finding better ways to engage staff when looking through lessons learned and safety briefs. D2 was approached by Murphy to support with several safety briefs and animations that…
Read moreThe D2 Programme Management Team have recently celebrated having two graduations within their ranks. Tom Mansbridge and Jed Stoker have completed their qualifications and graduated from their respective Universities. Over the past 4 years Tom has undertaken an MSc in…
Read moreAs the D2 team continues to grow, a recent social event gave new starters and staff the chance to get together and explore our home city of Manchester. Held on July 7th, the team building session saw our staff take…
Read moreAt D2 we have worked hard to build a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to ensure all of our people feel included and are treated with the respect they deserve in the workplace. To demonstrate our commitment to…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome James to the D2 Rail Team, in the position of Senior Planner from March 2022 James joins us from CAF where he gained 2 ½ years’ experience of planning rollingstock projects. He was involved in the successful…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome Dan to the D2 Rail Team, in the position of Senior Project Manager from March 2022 Dan joins us from Network Rail where he gained 13 years’ experience of Project Management in the Railway. Starting…
Read moreD2 is excited to announce a research project that will explore bringing Digital Innovation to the Canadian rail sector. During the 3-month project, spearheaded by Innovate UK and the Department for International Trade, D2 Rail aims investigate and develop a digital…
Read moreThe past 12 months have been hard on everyone and in some circumstances, due to the loss of jobs, many have plummeted into homelessness. The Mustard Tree are a homeless charity based in Manchester that focus on tackling both the…
Read moreNetwork Rail’s fleet of RM900 Ballast Cleaners are helping them to increase the sustainability of the UK’s railways. This summer, D2 worked with Network Rail training experts to deliver a new system for training operators of the Ballast Cleaner using…
Read moreD2 is proud to welcome Troy Lancaster as its Head of Programme Management. The appointment comes as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary…
Read moreManaging Director David Diesbergen talks about the first decade of successful planning for the railways.
Read moreAt D2 Rail our employees physical and mental health is paramount. We have a Health and Safety working group that make sure we work safely, and understand how to assess situations, and challenge anything we deem to be unsafe. We…
Read moreAfter the great success of the ‘Fill a Crate for Christmas’ campaign, the Mustard Tree decided to continue to spread some joy during the Easter season. After discovering that many families relied on the Mustard Tree community shop as a…
Read moreLast week, Neeraj Ajit Sukumaran form our Project Controls team attended a Teams call with Salford University to present to MSc Construction Management and Building Information Modelling students. The presentation focused on the benefits of project management tools in construction…
Read moreD2 Rail recently took on it’s first apprentice within the Utilities Team. We will be posting regular updates about Tom’s progress and experiences. Over to Tom… My name is Thomas Maksymowicz and I have recently started work at D2 Rail…
Read moreAs we prepare for what we believe will be the toughest winter to date for the homeless in the UK, D2 Rail are doing our bit to help raise funds for our chosen charity the Mustard Tree. Throughout the COVID-19…
Read moreD2 Rail is pleased to welcome Senior Planner Scott Weir. Scott is highly regarded in the railway industry for his extensive technical expertise and meticulous approach. We welcome his process driven methods in support of our projects, which underpin D2’s…
Read moreD2 Rail are pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Pepworth to head up its new Capacity Planning team. D2 Rail have been recognised as a trustworthy and innovative programme management provider of Planning, Planning Controls, Information Management and Visualisations,…
Read moreDave Harwood’s Project Controls team has appointed Louis Szymanski. He has joined in the position of Junior Project Controls Assistant. A Graduate of the University of Leeds, Louis comes from a Civil Engineering background with a Masters in Structural Engineering….
Read moreD2 Rail has recently recruited Graduate Kathrine Lennon. Kathrine has joined us in the position of Junior Operations Consultant, having completed a 4-year Masters’ Degree in Maths and Physics from Durham University. As part of her degree, she completed courses…
Read moreWe welcome experienced Information Management professional Steff Hurst to our D2 family, joining us in the position of Document Controller. Steff was recently involved in the roll out of eB within Network Rail Eastern’s Renewals and Enhancements team, assisting projects…
Read moreArsalan Rehman has joined D2 Rail’s Planning and Scheduling team. He joins us from Parsons International. He has considerable civil and planning experience from within the Highway and Civil/Structural sectors of the Construction Industry and during a varied engineering career,…
Read moreD2 Rail are pleased to welcome Jake Brown to the D2 Rail Team. Jake joins us in the position of Junior Software Developer and will be based at our Central Manchester HQ, where he will report to our Visualisation lead,…
Read moreD2 Rail’s Planning Team are pleased to welcome Mark Beecroft-Stretton. Mark joins us in the position of Planning Manager and will report to Planning Director, Simon Blair. He will be based from our King Street HQ but also work remotely,…
Read moreD2 Rail are pleased to welcome Kate Cook to the D2 Rail team, in the position of Commercial Manager. As a growing Programme Management Consultancy, D2 Rail are delighted that experienced commercial professional Kate, has joined our leadership team. She…
Read moreD2 Rail’s Planning Director, Simon Blair, has been helping his local Covid-19 Mutual Aid community in Marple, which has a high population of people aged 70 and over, by providing technical support to help in the efficient management of the…
Read moreD2 Rail is pleased to welcome Andy Pepworth to our Planning and Scheduling Team, in the position of Capacity Planning Manager. Andy’s role as Capacity Planning Manager, will focus on timetable development and performance modelling, which is a new area…
Read moreWe are pleased to confirm the appointment of Matt Sykes to the D2 Rail team, in the position of Software Development Manager. Matt will be based at our King Street, Manchester HQ, and will manage and oversee the development of…
Read moreD2 Rail are pleased to welcome Sarah Lomax. She will be based at our King Street HQ, to provide support for our Information Management team on current and future projects, and will report into Rebecca Pratt, Information Manager. Sarah has…
Read moreIn these uncertain times, it is important that you know D2 Rail are open for business and have put in place all appropriate measures to remain that way. We are actively monitoring the Coronavirus (Covid-19) situation. Our top priority is…
Read moreD2 Rail are pleased to welcome Patricia Rogers to the team in the position of Systems Administration Manager. She joins us from Energy Company, British Gas and having previously worked for D2 Rail, we are very happy to have her…
Read moreAustralia is facing one of its biggest challenges in decades and for a native and one of our own – Alesha Hancock – this is particularly devasting. Being thousands of miles away and feeling helpless, whilst bushfires burn out of…
Read moreLast week, our Project Controls Team attended a Business Enterprise Day at Parrs Wood High School, Manchester, on behalf of one of our current projects at the Transpire (West of Leeds). This was arranged by the schools own “Future Choices’…
Read moreThe D2 Rail team have been busy baking a selection of sumptuous cakes to raise money in aid of homeless charity Mustard Tree. An amazing array of treats has been laid out for this bake sale including tray bakes, sponge…
Read moreWe have released our latest edition of D2 News. The last six months has seen D2 Rail winning new rail work at a rate of knots and hence a large part of that period has been filled with the recruitment…
Read moreWe are pleased to have completed a recent update to our website by adding a new Case Study area to our site. Successful projects are a great way of showcasing our capabilities and we are delighted to have a wide…
Read moreD2 Rail are pleased to announce the appointment of two new team members to our growing rail programme management consultancy. We are pleased to welcome Utilities Manager, Graeme Clarke and Planner, Richard Riding to the D2 Rail family. Graeme is…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome Lorissa Walker to the D2 Rail Team, in the position of Executive Support. Lorissa will be based at our King Street Office and will be providing support to the managers and other colleagues in the…
Read moreD2 Rail is delighted to announce that our four brave members of staff; Chloe Brown and Rebecca Mercer from our Information Management Team, Neeraj Ajit Sukumaran from our Project Controls Team and Rick Webdale from our Visualisations Team, have successfully…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome Dave Crowe to the D2 Rail Team, who joins our business from Volker Rail. Dave has joined us in the capacity of Planner and will be based at our King Street Head Office in Manchester….
Read moreD2 Rail is pleased to announce the appointment of Jill Dyson to the position of Senior Planner. Jill will be based at 111 Piccadilly, Manchester – the offices of our Transpennine Route Upgrade West of Leeds Project – and will…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome Danny Boyle to the D2 Rail Team, in the position of Train Operators Interface Manager. Danny will be based at 111 Piccadilly, Manchester, in order to interface with all Train and Freight Operating Companies who…
Read moreD2 Rail Continue Their Support For Mustard Tree Charity As we mentioned at the end of 2018, D2 Rail is supporting Homeless charity Mustard Tree, to support them in their work, helping people across Greater Manchester in poverty and facing…
Read moreD2’s BIM Manager Ashley Williams, was invited by Salford University to present to students reading their MSc in Construction Management on the implementation of 4D in BIM. 4D is the concept of taking a 3D model and assigning tasks to…
Read moreD2 Rail is pleased to announce that we have successfully passed our Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS) audit, achieving the maximum 5 stars for another year. Administered by Achilles on behalf of Network Rail, our management systems are audited…
Read moreThe last six months has seen D2 Rail adding to its capabilities with its new Utilities arm delivering successfully under the guidance of Steve Cooper and also the recruitment of some further industry specialists as our project workload has increased…
Read moreIt’s been a great start to the year for the D2 Rail team, our Planning lead Alesha Hancock has been awarded with employee of the period on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) West of Leeds Alliance project. Alesha has been…
Read moreIt has been a busy start to the year for D2 Rail, with many business updates and news stories. Our Consents Management offering has been added to our BIM, Information Management and Visualisations areas of the website, allowing us to…
Read moreAs a forward thinking company that always looks at how we can improve our way of working and maintain a happy and healthy team, the D2 Rail leadership team decided to take their teams away from their busy project work…
Read moreD2 Rail’s BIM Manager Ashley Williams, recently presented at Network Rail’s P3M away day in Leeds, joining discussions on the ongoing IPNP P3M Improvement Programme. Ashley’s presentation looked at innovation within the rail industry and how we can ensure that…
Read moreD2 Rail is partnering with Homeless charity Mustard Tree, to support the amazing ways in which they help people across Greater Manchester in poverty and facing homelessness. As a member of the corporate business community in Manchester, we are delighted…
Read moreD2 Rail is delighted to welcome a new Project Controls Assistant to the team. Neeraj Sukumaran is a versatile and results driven professional, with over 5 years of experience in planning, managing and delivering projects on time and to budget….
Read moreD2 Rail is proud to have been involved in the successful opening of Liverpool Lime Street Station. Our resource has been sought to provide Information Management support to this logistically complicated project. We joined the DPE (Designated Project Engineer) team…
Read moreThe first half of 2018, has seen D2 Rail building on its previous successes and these have been captured in this exciting second edition of our newsletter.
Read moreD2 Rail is very pleased to announce the appointment of accomplished Utilities professional Steve Cooper, who joins our leadership team. Steve will be heading a new Utilities Division that will be focusing upon the management and co-ordination of utility diversions…
Read moreAt D2 Rail, we have all been thinking about Mental Health this week and in particular the effects of stress. Our senior team have of course been heavily involved and to round off a thought provoking week, here’s our Managing…
Read moreD2 Rail’s Senior Team continue to share their own personal experiences for Mental Health Week, which this year is focusing upon stress. Here’s Planning Director, Simon Blair’s… “Like Sarah, mental health has affected my close family and friends; it is…
Read moreThis year for Mental Health Awareness week the Mental Health Foundation are focussing on stress. Research has shown that 16 million people experience a mental health problem each year, and stress is a key factor in this. By tackling stress,…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome Joe McClements to the D2 Rail Team, in the position of Construction Planner. Joe will be based at the Water Street office and will be assisting with the day-to-day planning on the North West Electrification…
Read moreD2 Rail is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Hunter to its Visualisations Team as a 3D Specialist. Reporting to BIM Manager Ashley Williams, Richard enhances our capabilities further in this field and will be supporting a number of…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome John Flight to the D2 Rail team. He has joined us in the position of Civils Planning Manager. John will work out of the Water Street Office in Manchester as required and will supporting be our John…
Read moreD2 Rail is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a 5-Star RISQS accreditation – the highest possible rating, following its recent audit. RISQS requires rail suppliers to undergo a rigorous assessment process to verify that they have the…
Read moreFollowing a successful 2017, D2 Rail has launched its first newsletter for January 2018. The senior team have been working hard to develop their Programme Management consultancy offering and have added Information Management and BIM divisions to compliment their existing Planning…
Read moreIn recognition of her work with the team working on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) Becky Pratt recently received an ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Team’ award, after receiving nominations from her project colleagues. They spoke of Becky’s ‘Best For Programme’…
Read moreD2 Rail is delighted to announce its early involvement with the TRU West of Leeds Alliance, helping create the programme and support constructability through the design phase of the infrastructure option selection process for this route. The project, which covers…
Read moreD2 Rail’s vital role in a major project has been praised in a feature to be published in Rail Engineer Magazine’s upcoming edition. The firm’s Planning, Building Information Modelling (BIM) and 4D Visualisations work on the Ordsall Chord project in…
Read moreDid you know that while the UK rail industry and its supply chain employs over 200,000 people nationwide, currently only around 16% of employees are female?* Alesha Hancock is testament to the wealth of global opportunities available in the rail…
Read moreD2 Rail’s Sarah Barnes has been featured in an article in the November edition of RailStaff Magazine. Sarah was appointed earlier this year as D2 Rail’s programme information manager, and has been responsible for developing our Building Information Modelling (BIM),…
Read moreOur BIM Manager Ashley Williams recently attended Digital Construction Week 2017 at the ExCel Centre in London. The exhibition featured an array of presentations, showcasing industry leading technology and its implementation on projects. The key features from the exhibition for…
Read moreWe are pleased to welcome Chloe Brown to the D2 Rail team in the position of Document Controller from September 2017. Chloe will be based at D2 Rail’s HQ at King Street, Manchester, and will be making regular visits to…
Read moreD2 Rail were delighted to be invited along to the RailStaff Awards 2017, not only was it a superb evening celebrating the best in the industry, but we were also there to cheer on and support our colleagues Simon Blair…
Read moreVisualisation services are a widely-used tool in the delivery of engineering design. From the use of visual imagery and photomontages in public consultations, to the insight 4D construction sequencing provides at the planning stage, visualisations have a strong impact and…
Read moreTwo members of D2 Rail’s programme management team have been made finalists in this year’s RailStaff Awards. Simon Blair and Alesha Hancock are both finalists in the Rail Person of the Year category, having been nominated for the key roles…
Read moreTwo of D2 Rail’s key employees, Simon Blair and Alesha Hancock, have been nominated in the Rail Person of the Year category in this year’s RailStaff Awards. The RailStaff Awards are designed to honour the people and teams in the…
Read moreDave Harwood has recently joined the D2 Rail team as a Project Controller and will work closely with our Planning Director, Simon Blair. He joins us from Mott MacDonald where he has spent seven years working in the rail and…
Read moreD2 Rail has recently been involved in aiding the understanding of a major track installation as part of the Ordsall Chord project. With the new Ordsall Chord structure in Manchester now nearing completion, the final Switches & Crossings (S&C) units…
Read moreA team of adventurous walkers from D2 Rail has taken on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in support of two rescue charities. Led by Rebecca Mercer, the team took on the gruelling 24-mile route with a 5,200ft ascent. The challenge…
Read moreJohn Taylor, a specialist in project planning, has recently been interviewed to highlight some of the great animation work D2 Rail has been undertaking on rail projects such as the construction of the Ordsall Chord…
Read moreD2 Rail is delighted to have been part of Railtex – a UK Rail Industry Exhibition – giving us the opportunity to showcase our fresh new brand and service offerings for the rail industry. As a Programme Controls company specialising…
Read moreD2 Rail has been appointed as the Document Controller/Technical Clerk for the Liverpool Lime Street Station rail rejuvenation project.
Read moreD2 Rail is delighted to announce the appointment of Rebecca Mercer as a Document Controller. She is joining the Information Management team working closely with Information Manager Becky Pratt.
Read moreThe team at D2 Rail got into the sprit of Red Nose Day; setting up a cake stand and selling their goods to donate to this brilliant charity.
Read moreIn celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD), D2 Rail has taken part in the celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women.
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