Helen Ursell

Helen Ursell is a Chartered Transport Planning Professional with extensive experience in connecting city regions through integrated rail, road and mass transit systems. As Transport Appraisal Lead at Transport for West Midlands, she leads the development of strategic and economic cases to secure major investment, ensuring that decisions are underpinned by robust, future-focused evidence.

Helen brings strong cross-sector leadership experience, having held senior secondments with the Department for Transport, Network Rail and the Great British Railways Transition Team. In these roles, she has provided expert advice on long-term rail strategy, led strategic analysis functions, and supported industry-wide approaches to demand forecasting and investment planning.

With expertise spanning rail demand forecasting, multimodal modelling and economic appraisal, Helen specialises in translating complex analysis into clear insight for senior decision-makers. She is passionate about enabling sustainable growth by aligning transport investment with regional development priorities and delivering integrated, evidence-led solutions for city regions.