MICHAEL
SCHABA
CURRICULUM VITAE
● Urban ● Passenger ● Freight ● Reform ● CV/Resume ● Contact ● Home
Michael Schabas has broad experience in the development and management of railways and urban transport systems. He advises a wide range of private and public sector clients and has worked on projects in more than 20 countries.
Michael Schabas is a Director of First
Class Partnerships, a strategic management consultancy advising a
wide range of public and private organisations on the development,
management, and regulation of railways and metro systems.
He has particular expertise developing innovative
business strategies, preparing and reviewing business plans and
feasibility studies, and building teams for complex projects. He has a
detailed understanding of the practical, economic and political
opportunities and constraints within which rail and urban transit systems
must operate.
As an advisor, bidder and contractor, Michael
Schabas has extensive knowledge of finance and contractual delivery
structures such as public-private-partnerships, concessions and
franchises.
He has hands-on operating experience, and has served
as a non-executive Director in companies delivering passenger and freight
rail services as well as urban buses in the
Michael Schabas received a Masters Degree with Distinguished Achievement, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Toronto.
As an independent consultant, Michael Schabas provides strategic advice to diverse clients.
● Commission for Integrated Transport (2006-current): Study of bus and rail cost growth.
● FirstGroup Rhein Neckar (2005-2007): On behalf of FirstGroup Plc, acquisition of a company operating 150 buses in Rheinland Pfalz, Germany. Michael Schabas managed all aspects of the acquisition process. He has also identified and explored many other acquisition and bidding opportunities in Germany on behalf of FirstGroup.
● Ost Hannoverische Eisenbahn, German (2006): Led a team preparing a bid to acquire a freight and passenger railway being privatised by the German Federal State of Lower Saxony.
● UK Commission for Integrated Transport (2006-current): Review Panel for a study of bus cost growth.
● Transport for London (2004): Retained to advise on expansion of the Oyster Smartcard fare collection system.
●
Uzbekistan
Railways (2002): Prepared a study of strategies to develop rail tourism in
central
●
Hull Trains, England
(1999-current): Developed business plan for Hull Trains, the first new train company
in the UK since privatisation. Hull Trains now runs seven
regular services daily between
● GB Railfreight, England (1999-current): Developed initial concept plan for GB Railfreight, a new open-access rail freight company. GBRf is now the third largest rail freight operator in the UK with more than 250 staff and 30 locomotives, serving a wide range of customers. Michael Schabas has served as a non-executive Director since 2000. www.GBRailfreight.com
● Malawi Railways (1998): Led the GB Railways team bidding to acquire Malawi Railways, the first railway to be privatised in east Africa.
● Edelaraudtee, Estonia (1998-2000): Negotiated the privatisation of a passenger and freight railway company in Estonia. www.edel.ee
●
Great
Southern Railway,
●
Anglia
Railways, England (1996-2004): Developed the business plan and successful bid for Anglia
Railways, a profitable rail company with turnover of £80m, which provided 160km/h
InterCity services in eastern England.
●
Bristol City Council (1996):
Reviewed proposed light rail scheme and funding options.
● British Telecom (1996): Explored market opportunities relating to British Rail privatisation.
● Angel Train Contracts (1996): Consultation to one of the British Rolling Stock Leasing Companies.
● London Airports Surface Access Study (1995-1996): Led the team developing and evaluating schemes for improved rail access to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, in a study for the UK Department of Transport.
● London CrossRail (1994): Responsible for developing alternative schemes, in a review of proposed £7bn railway across London for the Department of Transport. download
● Channel Tunnel Rail Link (1992-1996): Advisor to Union Railways, a special purpose company established to build the £5bn line. Conceived and developed option to use St Pancras terminal, now built.
●
West Coast Main Line
Modernisation Study (1994-1995): Founder of WCML DevCo. consortium of Babcock
& Brown, Booz Allen Hamilton, Brown & Root and Gibb Consulting.
Retained by
Railtrack to define the
£800m upgrading of the London-Glasgow main line.
●
AMEC Plc (1994-1997): Consultation for various rail
project opportunities.
● London Underground Limited (1992): Development options for the Northern Line.
● London Jubilee Line Extension (1992): Evaluated funding alternatives including premium fare structures for the European Investment Bank.
● BAA Plc (1992): Retained to review revenue forecasts for the privately financed Heathrow Express Railway.
● Docklands Light Railway (1991-1997): Strategy advisor to Brown & Root/Booz Allen Joint Venture on winning contract £100m re-engineering for higher capacity and reliability. Identified requirements and solutions for upgrading the DLR.
● East London Line Group (1991-1994): Advisor to a consortium of five London boroughs promoting extensions to the East London Line, now being built.
●
Urban Transportation Development
Corp., Canada (1983-1986): As Strategic Marketing Manager, Michael Schabas promoted the Skytrain technology
in Bang
1981
Master of City and Regional
Planning (Distinguished Achievement) with specialisation in Transport Planning and Urban
Economics from the John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University; CMHC Scholarship; and Internship with US Department of Transportation, Washington DC.
● Thesis: Planning Suburbs for Public Transportation (download)
1979 Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Architecture, University of Toronto.
● The Stansted Solution, Opinion in the Financial Times, 22 June 2007.
● Paying
for Crossrail, Institute for Economic Affairs Journal, March
2005.
●
Break
Up Railtrack, Personal View (Leader) Financial Times, 22
June 2001. Also published as Railtrack: Heart of the Problem? Modern Railways, April 2001, and Rail Freight Group Newsletter, March 2001.
● New
Railways for London, Planning in London, April 2001
● On Rail Competition: Taking the Biscuit? Modern Railways, April 2001.
●
Competitive
Behaviour in Britain’s Privatised Rail Industry, Privatization and Deregulation of Transport,
Oxford
University Regulatory Policy Research Centre, Macmillan, 2000.
● Charging
for Roads: A Better Way to Ease Congestion, Centre for Policy Studies, London, 1995.
● Burnt Offering:
Jubilee Line The Inside Story, New Civil Engineer, March 1994.
● "Automated Transit
Systems," The Urban Transport
Industries Report 1993, Tony Ridley, editor.
● King's
Cross Project: Review of BR's "Strategic Assessment of Options,"
Recommended a Channel Rail Link to a new terminal
at St Pancras. Presented to the House of Lords Committee on the King's Cross Railways Bill, July 1992.
● Involving
Property Developers, Planning Passenger
Railways, Transport Publishing, London, 1991.
● Light
Rail Transit to Stimulate Development: The Developer's Perspective, Light
Transit Systems, Thomas Telford Books, Institution of
Civil Engineers, London, 1990.
● "High Speed
Underground Links for London Docklands," Electrifying
Urban Public Transportation, Liverpool Polytechnic, 1989.
● Quantitative
Analysis of Rapid Transit Alignment Alternatives, Transportation
Quarterly, Eno Foundation, Westport, USA, July 1988.
● Smart Transit
Systems: How the Software Changes the Hardware, paper presented at American
Public Transit Association conference, June 1987.
● "Modern Transit for
Modern Cities" paper presented at China
Road Federation Conference, Taipei, Taiwan and Istanbul Technical
University Symposium on new rail systems, both 1985.
● Vancouver
Advanced LRT: Breakthrough in the Real Estate-Transit Connection, Proceedings
of the 1982 National Conference of the Canadian Institute of Planners, Ottawa,
1982.
● "Creative Traffic
Control," City Magazine,
Toronto, 1979.
● Planning Suburbs for Public Transportation, Masters Thesis, John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University, 1981.
● House of Commons Committee on the CrossRail Bill, 2006.
● Transport & Works Enquiry on the East London Line Extension, 1996.
● House of Lords Committee on the
King's Cross Railways Bill, July 1992.
● House of Commons Select Committee on Light Rail Transport, 1990.
● Forum 1520, "Human Resources in the New Railway Industry," Sochi, Russia, May 2008.
● BAG-SPNV Annual Conference, "Rail Ticketing in the UK," Berlin, May 2008.
● Inspire East: Planning Sustainable Suburbs, Cambridge University, March 2008.
● Central European Railway Freight Conference, Budapest, October 2006.
● CrossRail: The Challenge and Opportunity, London, June 2005.
● Stagecoach Integrated Transport Conference, Winchester, May 2005.
● Planning New Transport Systems for the Growth Areas, London, April 2005.
● Investing in Railways: Buyer's Perspectives, World Bank, Washington, March 2005.
● Competition and Open Access Rail Regulation Conference, London, October 2002.
● European Transport Conference, "Bidding for Railways on Four Continents," Homerton College, Cambridge University, September 2001.
● TransAfrica Investment Forum, London, May 2001.
● London Rail Conference, March 2001.
● World Bank Railway Roundtable, Vienna, September 1999.
● Africa Rail '98, Johannesburg, September 1998.
● AUSRail '97, Melbourne Australia, November 1997.
● AIC Conference, “London’s Transport Infrastructure,” March 1996.
● AIC Conference, "Rail Privatisation: What Next," February 1996.
● Technology Foresight Panel, Cabinet Office (UK), November 1995-current.
● Waterfront/CIT Conference "The National Transport Debate," November 1995.
● Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors London Chapter, 1995.
● Cities '94 Conference on Urban Regeneration, London, 1994.
● Bow Group Conference, “Burnt Offering: The Jubilee Line Extension,” London, 1994.
● British Council of Offices Annual Conference, London, 1993.
● Juror, London Docklands "Decade of Achievement" Awards, July 1991.
● Guest Lecturer: Transport Economists Group, London 2002; West Midlands CIT Conference, 1990; University of Hawaii, Department of Urban Studies, 1988; York University (Canada), Faculty of Business Administration, 1986 and University of Waterloo, School of Architecture, 1985.
● Citizen Appointee and Chairman, Cycling Committee, Toronto City Council, 1975-1977.
DIRECTORSHIPS
● First Class Partnerships UK: 2008-current www.firstclasspartnerships.com
● FirstGroup Rhein-Neckar GmbH, Germany: 2007- 2008 www.firstgroup.com
● Rail Personnel International, UK/Hong Kong: 2006-current www.railpersonnel.com
● FirstGroup European Holdings Limited, UK: 2006-current
● European Rail Freight Association, Belgium: 2006-current
● GB Railways Group Plc, UK: 1996-2002
● Ofotbanen AS, Norway: 2005-2006 www.ofotbanen.no
● Superlink Limited, UK: 2003-current www.superlink.org.uk
● Rebecca Ezra Limited, UK: 2003-current
● First GB Railfreight Limited, UK: 1999-current www.gbrailfreight.com
● Hull Trains Company Limited, UK: 1999-current www.hulltrains.co.uk
● Great Southern Railway Limited, Australia: 1997-1999 www.gsr.com.au
● GB Railways Group Plc, UK: 1996-2003
LANGUAGES AND COUNTRIES
● English; some German and French; basic Mandarin
● Work experience: Australia; Canada; China; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Germany; Hungary; India; Malawi; Norway; Peru; Poland; Russia; Slovakia; South Africa; Sweden; Taiwan; Thailand; Turkey; United Kingdom; USA; Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.
email michael@schabas.net
TELEPHONe +44 (0)7973 241 214
post 28 Grand Avenue, London, United Kingdom N10 3BB
Updated June 2008
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Proposed use of St Pancras Station for the new London Terminal. Opened 2007.
London Jubilee Line Extension
Conceived and promoted the Jubilee Line Extension to Canary Wharf. Opened 1999.
Vancouver Skytrain
Design Coordinator and managed integration of the system with urban development. Opened on time 1996.
London Docklands Light Railway
Defined and promoted upgrading to train control, vehicles and system infrastructure. Assembled implementation team.