Interviews

Women in rail - is the industry on the right track?

12.03.19: RTM sits down with Samantha Smith, sole female member of the TransPennine Route Upgrade Alliance Leadership Team, to find out more about encouraging more women to enter rail. Improving gender diversity in the rail industry is firmly on the...

TfN Strategic Transport Plan: not just for transport's sake

22.01.19: Peter Molyneux, Transport for the North’s (TfN’s) strategic roads director, has been leading on the development of the seven economic Strategic Development Corridors – a key part of the organisation’s Strategic Transport...

Exclusive: Midlands Connect and WMRE talk collaboration and investment in the Midlands' railway

22.01.19: In the jigsaw puzzle of regional transport decision-making, there must be collaboration and compromise. Midlands Connect media lead James Bovill speaks to Maria Machancoses, director of Midlands Connect, and Malcolm Holmes, executive director of...

Rail Ombudsman interview: RTM sits down with CEO Kevin Grix

20.12.18: In November, the first ever Rail Ombudsman was established in a bid to give passengers a free independent service to allow passengers to claim compensation by appealing unresolved complaints. But how will one of the driving forces behind the new...

HS2 train race: making the case

20.11.18: Bombardier and Hitachi’s commitment to providing the best HS2 rolling stock pitch to the government was signified with the launch of their new bid centre in Birmingham in September. With other transport giants Alstom, CAF, Talgo and Siemen...

Finding positives in negative short-circuiting devices

09.11.18: Sponsored interview  Anything that brings about safety and time-saving benefits is a valued improvement for the rail industry, which is why the introduction of Negative Short-Circuiting Devices (NSCDs) to make isolations safer and faster...

Taking to the skies

30.10.18: Network Rail’s commitment to driving innovation is best encapsulated by its latest scheme involving high-definition imagery drones, or UAVs. RTM’s Jack Donnelly sat down with the Thameslink Programme Network Rail project sponsor, Pau...

Going global: an interview with Network Rail’s Leevan Finney

29.08.18: RTM’s Jack Donnelly sat down with one of the leading minds behind Network Rail’s most advanced and innovative rail maintenance technology so far. Director of fleet and engineering Leevan Finney (pictured) talks about the project, the...

Male, muddy and manual?

03.07.18: Sponsored interview Sean Hebden, rail director at Kier Group, tells RTM’s Luana Salles what the company is doing to change the perception of the built environment sector from ‘male, muddy and manual’ to one that can attract...

Transforming travel in the north west

06.02.18: RTM’s Josh Mines talks to Robin Davis, head of new trains at TransPennine Express (TPE), about the huge rolling stock change journey the company is currently embarking on. Last year was, in some ways, marked by disappointment for rail...

Thameslink: Nearing the end of the line

23.01.18: RTM’s Josh Mines catches up with Mark Somers, project director for Thameslink, on how the final stages of the programme are progressing and what lessons the industry can take away from its success. Network Rail’s mammoth £...

Modernising journeys in north east England

09.11.17: First Hull Trains is about to embark on the biggest fleet overhaul it has delivered since being set up in 2000. Managing director Will Dunnett tells RTM’s Josh Mines about how the new rolling stock will benefit passengers in the region. ...

Ian Prosser: Safety by design

02.11.17: Ian Prosser, the ORR’s chief inspector of railways and director of railway safety, outlines to RTM’s Josh Mines the key challenges facing rail organisations in improving health and safety standards. Keeping passengers and worker...

A complete step change for sleeper travel

26.10.17: Ahead of the roll-out of new Caledonian Sleeper rolling stock next year, the company’s chairman, Peter Strachan, tells RTM’s Josh Mines about how the trains will transform long-distance travel in the UK. For most passengers, tak...

Taking the alliance to the next level

26.10.17: Source: RTM Oct/Nov 17 Five months after taking over the top job at ScotRail Alliance, managing director Alex Hynes speaks to RTM’s Luana Salles about his perceptions of the organisation’s modus operandi and his ambitious plans...