<p>International rail expert David George will be the inaugural chief executive of the new Rail Cooperative Research Centre, the CRC for Rail Innovation, Rail CRC chairman John Fullerton said yesterday (Thursday, June 28).</p> <p>Mr Fullerton said that with broad interdisciplinary railway experience, including business, operations and network management, Mr George was widely regarded as a railway industry leader with more than 30 years experience in the sector in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. </p> <p>Mr George comes to the new post in August after almost three years as chief executive of Ontrack, New Zealand’s rail infrastructure company, </p> <p>During that time, he worked to reinstate and rebuild the previously rundown rail network. </p> <p>The revitalisation of rail in New Zealand had included recent government commitments of over NZ$1.3bn of network investment. </p> <br />