The Leading Transport Consultancy Behind 40+ Major Projects Across UK & Middle East

From supporting winning bids for the Elizabeth Line and  projects such as RedSea Global transport advisory work - I help our clients from transport operator and suppliers to secure and deliver the contracts that matter across the UK and the Middle East. I also help my clients to deliver sustainability and social value initiatives to deliver business benefits.

Let us help you to win new business in the transport and infrastructure sectors, keep your customers happy and be sustainable.

40+ Large-Scale Projects

15+ Rail Franchise Projects

20+ Bus Bids Completed

18 Years Experience

UK and Middle East Experience

Industry recognition through speaking and moderating at global conferences

Oxford Geography Degree and inaugural Carbon Management Masters

Rachel Hughes, Founder & Director
Rachel Hughes, Founder & Director

I’ve delivered major transport projects across rail, bus, and infrastructure sectors throughout the UK and the Middle East. Myu advisory and mobilisation expertise spans successful bids for Elizabeth Line, leading demobilisation and wind down of Virgin Trains West Coast rail franchise, and Manchester bus franchising.

With over 18 years of consulting experience and recent focus on social value strategy, we bring in-depth sector knowledge to every project. Our market expertise combines UK headquarters operations with our Dubai office established in 2017, providing an offering to Middle East markets and clients.

As UITP member and lead trainer, I provide training including webinars on public transport topics to public and private sector clients. I am also a Chartered Fellow of Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Learn More

Client Success Highlights

Joe Parrish
Head of Programme Management, CMAC Group, 2025

"I have worked with Rachel in her role as Mobilisation Manager across several projects, where she consistently played a key role in the successful mobilisation and launch of complex transport operations. She brings clear leadership, strong commercial awareness, and a deep understanding of the regulatory and operational realities of the transport sector.

Rachel works with credibility and professionalism at senior stakeholder level, providing confidence and practical solutions in fast-paced, high-pressure environments. Her structured, detail-driven approach was critical to delivering controlled, on-time mobilisations, often against demanding and compressed timelines.
 
If you are looking for someone who will genuinely get the job done, I would strongly recommend Rachel for senior mobilisation or transformation roles within the transport sector and would not hesitate to work with her again."

 

Craig Speed
MD, EnPro Group, 2025

"On behalf of the team at EnPro Group, we recently had the pleasure of working with Rachel on a significant bid where she delivered an exceptional package of work focused on Social Responsibility. Rachel’s insight and expertise in this area were invaluable, and her ability to create a clear, compelling, and compliant bid contribution was a great addition to the strength of our submission. We will not hesitate to engage with Rachel again and we highly recommend her services.."

Greg Ritt, Group Head of Sustainability
Stagecoach Group

"During my time at Stagecoach Group Limited, as the Head of Sustainability, I had the pleasure of working with Rachel on several projects related to Social Value and program development and delivery. Rachel’s expertise in the Social Value space is second to none. She has a genuine passion for the transport sector and is a highly motivated, approachable individual who focusses on delivery to the highest standard and within timelines. She is a wealth of knowledge, valued partner and someone that I look forward to working with again in the future. I cannot recommend her highly enough."

Stephen O'Brien, Programme Director, AtkinsRéalis
Safety Workstream Lead, GTS's successful bid for Elizabeth Line, 2024

"I had the great good fortune to work with Rachel on two concession bids. Rachel’s knowledge in her area of expertise is second to none. More important to that is the manner in which she applies that knowledge, demystifying Sustainability and Social Value, creating bid contributions that achieve the bid requirements.
Rachel is also an exemplar of collaboration, always ready to support other team members, ensuring that areas of synergy were identified and leveraged."

Gautrain Management Agency (South Africa), 2025

"We would like to express our sincere appreciation for your valuable contribution as a guest speaker at our Public Transport Knowledge Seminar. Your insightful inputs on Transit-Oriented Development: Growing Ridership added significant depth to the conversation and was greatly appreciated by all attendees. Furthermore, your presentation brought deep insight and practical perspective to the discussion, helping participants and ourselves as knowledge practitioners to better understand the opportunities and challenges of implementing TOD strategies to enhance ridership for the Gautrain. The clarity and relevance of your ideas resonated strongly with our audience and sparked meaningful reflection and dialogue."

Norman Courts
Group Stations Director, Network Rail, 2020

"In my role as Director of Stations at Network Rail, we engaged Rachel of Surbon Consulting to support us on reviewing a range of management topics and to update associated processes.  Rachel has an encyclopedic knowledge of transport in the UK and abroad which helps inform best practice.  She is able to juggle multiple workstreams whilst successfully progressing and delivering outputs to agreed budget and timescales.  Rachel is intelligent, proactive, positive, and willing to work with colleagues at all levels to understand the issues and find workable viable solutions.  I have no hesitation in recommending Rachel to the transport industry."

Charley Wallace
Director for National Passenger and Customer Experience, Network Rail

"I had the pleasure of working with Rachel on three projects; Wales and Borders mobilisation, Virgin Trains demobilisation and more recently at Network Rail Customer Services Directorate.

She has proved to be invaluable covering contract management, customer experience, stations and franchise management and I have no hesitation in recommending her."

Our Transport Consultancy Services

We offer expert transport consultancy across public transport (e.g. rail, bus, ferry), and infrastructure sectors. From winning bids, successful mobilisation and actionable sustainability strategies, we deliver results that matter.

Service Area What We Do Our Expertise
Bid Strategy & Tender Support• Transport bidding strategy and preparation
• Contract mobilisation support
• Compliance and submission management
40+ large-scale tenders
Recent wins: Elizabeth Line, Manchester franchising, Guernsey bus, Caledonian Sleeper
Franchise Advisory Services• Rail franchise advisory and mobilisation
• Bus franchising expertise
• Customer experience optimization
20+ rail franchise projects
Manchester & Dubai experience
Sustainability and Social Value• Sustainability and social value strategy and delivery plans
• Public transport training and development
Dubai office since 2017
UITP Lead Trainer leading on the development of training courses
Social value expertise since 2018 for a number of winning bids.

Industries We Serve

✓ Rail operators and franchises ✓ Bus operators and transport authorities ✓ Transport supply chain ✓ Infrastructure developers and contractors ✓ Government and transport agencies ✓ Private investors and developers

 

Ready to explore how our transport consultancy can help your next project succeed?

Free Digital Resources to Help Win Bids & Become More Sustainable

Discover Surbon Consulting's extensive collection of downloadable resources, featuring both complimentary and premium ebooks.

Our digital library offers a wide range of publications tailored for transport professionals and organisations. Enhance your expertise in transport bidding strategies, learn about cutting-edge sustainability practices in the sector, and gain insights into incorporating social value in transport projects. These resources are designed to keep you at the forefront of industry trends, offering practical guidance on subjects eg. optimising transport bidding processes and integrating social value considerations into transport projects.

Whether you're looking to refine your bidding techniques, enhance your sustainability initiatives, or maximise social value in transport, our downloads provide invaluable insights to drive your success in the evolving transport landscape.

Free Downloads

  • Getting Started: 16 Proven Processes to Win Work With the UK Public Sector
  • 3 Focus Areas to Optimise Electric Bus Procurement
  • Social Value & Public Transport: Getting Started Guide
  • 10 Pieces of Advice from 17 Years as A Consultant

Industry eBooks

For those seeking more extensive and detailed expertise, check our ebooks!

  • 50 tips to improve your next transport bid
  • 100 tips to improve your next transport bid (English & French)
  • How to Include Sustainability Cost Effectively in Public Transport Procurement

Read on for answers to our frequently asked questions. If you can't see the answer please get in touch!

What transport sectors do you work in?

I work across a wide range of public transport sectors, including rail, metro, bus, bikes and e-scooters. My recent experience includes major UK rail franchises such as the Liverpool City Region and Southeastern, urban mobility projects for TfGM and Merseytravel, and bus network enhancements in the West Midlands. I typically support transport operators, public authorities, and infrastructure owners to win work and deliver meaningful change—whether developing sustainability bid strategies or improving operational performance. My deep sector expertise enables me to create practical, tailored solutions for complex challenges, to deliver results.

Practical Insights to Strengthen Bids, Improve Delivery, and Enhance Passenger Outcomes

Insights from 18+ years delivering winning bids, major mobilisations, and social value strategies across rail and public transport.

How To Write A Tender Proposal For Public Transport

  • Learn how to structure a compliant, high-scoring transport tender that meets every buyer requirement and clearly demonstrates your operational capability.
  • Get practical tips and tools to improve your proposal quality and boost your public transport win rate.

How to Integrate Sustainability Into Your Transport Bid Proposals

  • Learn how to embed environmental, social, and economic sustainability into every section of your transport bid.

  • Discover proven methods to align your proposal with authority priorities and stand out in green procurement scoring.

How to Implement a Social Value Strategy For Public Transport

  • Learn how to design and embed a measurable social value strategy that meets new UK procurement standards.
  • Discover frameworks to align social, environmental, and economic outcomes within your transport operations.

A 2025 Guide to Bidding and Winning Major Public Transit Tenders

  • Learn a go/no-go framework to avoid “bid fever,” assess fit, risk, and margins, and focus resources on winnable tenders.

  • Get a pre-bid playbook: early client engagement, capability gaps to close, and how to build winning consortia/alliances.

Let's get started! Send us an email to book a Free 30 minute Consultation

Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid phone number.
Please type your message.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information