Interviews

Ready for take off

02.03.12: Heathrow Express’s new managing director, Keith Greenfield, talks to RTM about attracting more foreign visitors to the UK onto the service, and how the operator benchmarks itself against airline business travel standards rather than other...

Cash flows

01.03.12: The way in which local rail and light rail schemes get funding could change comprehensively under Government plans. RTM gets a view from Jonathan Bray, director of the Support Unit at the Passenger Transport Executive Group (pteg). The DfT...

Cutting cable theft

01.03.12: Lee Armson, London North Western route performance manager for Network Rail, has waged war on cable theft – and has managed to reverse the upward trend. The rise in cable theft has been matched by a plethora of options available both...

Freight ready

01.03.12: The GNGE route linking Peterborough and Doncaster via Spalding, Lincoln and Gainsborough is undergoing a largescale upgrade to make it suitable for modern freight containers and relieve pressure on the ECML. RTM found out more from senior sponso...

From 'average' to 'excellent'

01.03.12: Ian Prosser, director of railway safety at the ORR, talks to RTM about advances in passenger safety and driving improvements for the future. Safety on the railways is improving year on year, but there is still much that needs to be done to...

Making connections

01.03.12: Getting young people to choose careers in rail is a challenge for the whole industry. Paul Cooper, the new chairman of the Young Railway Professionals, explains how to provide vital support to this demographic. The Young Railway Professiona...

Remaining vigilant

01.03.12: Safety may have improved, but maintaining it in the face of whole-industry change is a challenge. RSSB’s director of policy, research and risk, Anson Jack, talks to RTM. No single factor or improvement can be credited with the gradual...

Setting the standard

01.03.12: When RTM talked to ITSO chief executive Michael Leach a year ago, there were tentative signs that, with Government support, a wider switch to smart ticketing was finally underway. The rapid increase in operators making the leap has meant that 20...

The restrictions of renewals

01.03.12: Clive Woods, programme manager for the Great Eastern OLE renewals project, discusses the vast task of replacing overhead cables with minimum disruption. The Great Eastern overhead line renewals project involves the replacement of cable equi...

The route ahead

01.03.12: The long-awaited Government confirmation that HS2 is to go ahead did not deter the project’s opponents, who are convinced it is a waste of money with few environmental benefits. RTM asked Julie Mills, of pro-HS2 research company Greengauge...

The wait is over for Wolverton station

01.03.12: John McLaughlin, Milton Keynes Council’s transport project manager, talks to RTM about the new station building in Wolverton. After years of campaigning for a new station building at Wolverton, its backers are now just weeks away from...

A new depot for Derby

01.01.12: The rail industry in Derby has not fully recovered from Bombardier’s loss to Siemens for the Thameslink rolling stock, but Network Rail is determined to invest in the city, with plans for a new depot which will become its regional headquar...

Costs and assets

01.01.12: Asset management and monitoring has long been a concern of freight operators, due to the structure of rail freight access charges and the need to pay to offset the costs of freight’s use of the track. Poor asset management can lead to...

'Even the best performing companies can still have things go wrong'

01.01.12: RTM discusses risk management in the rail industry with Office of Rail Regulation deputy chief inspector Allan Spence. Network Rail has been improving its management of health and safety risk – and management more generally – he...

Heavy lifting

01.01.12: The reconstruction of four rail bridges in north east London in the autumn required some deft lifting work, the relocation of some residents, and an awful lot of engineering prowess across four tight possession windows. RTM speaks to Network Rai...