Norman’s predecessor, Graham Owens, handed over the President’s badge prior to Mr Train delivering his Inaugural Address to an audience of 100 people at the Institution’s HQ.

A baton, representing the ongoing relay of Presidents and a tradition that was started by Sam Thorburn over 10 years ago, was then passed to Mr Train at a welcoming dinner at Forbes House.

Mr Train’s Inaugural Address entitled 'Opportunities within change: looking beyond the immediate' focused on the Institution’s objective to be more outward facing, Eurocodes and the need for an external perspective for both individuals and the Institution.

He commented of his presidency: “The opportunities are there, we just need to grasp them. They will not all come to fruition with my presidency; some will take time, and are not immediate. I will however endeavour to progress opportunities that arise during my presidency”

Mr Train graduated in Architectural Engineering from Leeds University in 1974 and gained experience with Mitchell MacFarlane and Partners in Hong Kong, and with West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council prior to joining W G Curtins and Partners in 1978.

He opened Baynham Meikle’s London office in 1982, becoming a partner four years later. It was in 1992 that Norman formed Train and Kemp Consulting Engineers.

His principal structural interests are in foundations and refurbishment and he has lectured on ground movement, cracking and defects in buildings. He has also used his geotechnical experience in investigating a number of foundation failures.

Refurbishment and repair projects have included Somerset House and Waterhouse’s National Liberal Club in Whitehall.

His other principal interests in health and safety and the environment stem from 1975 when he was an assistant to the Flixborough Disaster Court of Inquiry and assisted in the initial contamination investigations in Docklands.

He has since completed a number of contamination remediation schemes and was awarded the Institution of Structural Engineers’ Sir Arnold Waters Medal for his paper on contaminated land in 2004. His presentation on 2007 CDM Regulations was awarded a branch prize in 2009.

He has undertaken expert witness instructions in both engineering and contamination and won the President’s Prize for the highest mark in the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Award exam in 1995.

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