Rail Industry Focus

Ordsall Chord delivery needs certainty as work starts to progress

16.03.16: Martyn Angus, LNW route senior programme sponsor at Network Rail, talks to RTM about how work is progressing on the Ordsall Chord. Delivering the much-delayed £85m Ordsall Chord by December 2017 is achievable but certainty over the pr...

Deterring cable theft through DNA

14.03.16: James Brown, managing director at Selectamark Security Systems plc, discusses the successful work of the rail industry in reducing cable thefts. The use of DNA markers and warning signs saying it is in use have been key factors in ensuring...

Japanese knotweed an ‘unknown’ quantity for rail

09.03.16: Will Sillar, founder and managing director of National Knotweed Survey, talks to RTM about the impact Japanese knotweed could have on rail assets in the UK. Japanese knotweed is a highly invasive, non-native plant found in the UK, which is...

A series of firsts for the Victoria line

07.03.16: David Waboso, capital programmes director at London Underground, reminisces about the 13 years’ worth of works that made Victoria Line one of the most reliable in the capital, and previews what its future could look like. Luana Salles repo...

Our holy grail is to provide a pantograph that reacts to the environment

04.03.16: Lee Brun, development and WPS manager at Brecknell Willis, a Wabtec Company, updates RTM on the work to deliver an active pantograph. Last year, RTM reported on the demonstration of a new monitoring system which has been developed to delive...

Personalisation is the future – but how do we get there?

23.02.16: Joanne Thompson, CEO at Penrillian, discusses one of the key topics covered at this year’s Transport Ticketing & Passenger Information Global Conference: personalisation. One of the buzzwords on everyone’s lips at this year&...

Thameslink transformation taking effect at London bridge

12.02.16: Mark Somers, rail systems project director on the Thameslink programme, updates RTM on the latest developments taking place in and around London Bridge station. The London Bridge station redevelopment is a key part of the mammoth £6.5...

LSSE: Network rail entering a new era of station design

10.02.16: Penny Gilg, Network Rail’s project manager on the Leeds Southern Station Entrance (LSSE), discusses how the infrastructure owner is changing its approach to station design. The opening of the new Leeds Southern Station Entrance (LSSE)...

Rail companies heading down wrong track when sourcing supplier financial information

02.02.16: Suzanne O’Keane, community manager in rail and transport at Achilles, asks why rail companies aren’t doing everything to protect themselves from financial risk. It seems not a week goes by when rail companies are not the subject...

Unlocking innovation across the supply chain

01.02.16: Neil Ridley, technical director at the Railway Industry Association, explains how innovation is being fostered across the supply chain. The UK rail sector is seeing greater growth in passenger numbers and freight levels than at any point in...

How smart technology is helping station staff do their jobs better

07.01.16: RTM speaks to LOROL’s customer service director David Wornham and customer service project manager Matthew Bromley about the new devices and software that customer service staff now have at their fingertips. London Overground has grow...

The women behind the Northern Powerhouse

06.01.16: RTM’s Luana Salles talks to the women who are helping make the Northern Powerhouse a reality. The newly coined ‘Northern Powerhouse’ has been all the rage of late – as a concept, a political venture and, admittedly...

Depots must be seen as ‘key strategic assets’

05.01.16: Christian Roth, engineering director for South West Trains, discusses the importance of investing in depots to deliver increased outputs for a more reliable railway. Delivering a punctual and reliable railway will require depots being seen...

RDG must not use public money for ‘pro-privatisation publicity drives’

05.01.16: The Department for Transport (DfT) has insisted that public money is not being used to help private train operators make the case against renationalisation via the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). In response to Labour fears that the cross-indust...

Revolutionising track fault recording

01.01.16: Mark Swift, technical design director at Infrastructure Measurement Solutions Ltd, describes how a new innovation could lead to a revolution in monitoring changes in rail vehicle performance and identifying track faults.  Around 60% of...