Brian Large Bursary Fund

Katie Lewis has won the 2024 Voorhees-Large Prize for her Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, dissertation The Benefits of ‘Running for the Train’: A Review of the Effects of Active Travel on the Business Case of the Transpennine Route Upgrade’.

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In her dissertation, Katie explored how walking and cycling to and from train stations impact the overall benefits of railway upgrade projects. While active travel is widely recognised for its health and environmental benefits, it is currently overlooked in transport planning. She focused on the Transpennine Route Upgrade to develop a method for measuring these benefits and incorporating them into railway appraisals. Her findings showed that including active travel could improve a project’s value for money assessment by 9%, helping justify investment in railway upgrades.

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Katie, who has a first degree from Manchester in Physics, has been working with Network Rail for eight years, specialising in large-scale rail infrastructure projects. She currently leads the cost and efficiency workstream on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which is improving the rail connection between Manchester and York. In this role she has developed and implemented a process which has been recognised as best practice in peer reviews and has successfully embedded £2bn in efficiency improvements to date, explaining that this was critical in achieving a successful business case and securing funding for the programme. She also manages relationships with key stakeholders, including senior Network Rail and Department for Transport colleagues.

Katie thrives in fast-paced environments, leading teams through complex challenges while ensuring strategic transformation and operational success, and is passionate about delivering impactful change and innovation within the rail sector. Balancing studying while working full-time was a challenging but rewarding experience.

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When told she had won the Voorhees-Large Prize, Katie said winning the Prize means a great deal to me.

Crucially it has validated the hard work and sacrifices I made while completing this degree and it has given me confidence that my ideas matter in the field and that I am capable of driving real, meaningful change throughout my career.