Best RSSB Podcasts (2025)

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Putting sustainability and social value ‘front and centre’ 9:55

Play Pause

14d ago9:55

9:55

With us for this episode is Rachael Everard, our Director of Sustainable Development at RSSB. We explore some of the sustainability challenges the industry is up against and how we’re planning to help overcome those. We also revisit the Sustainable Rail Blueprint, showcasing some positive member stories from its implementation. Find out more at: ht…

1
Ensuring reliable rail services: How RSSB makes a difference 16:04

2M ago16:04

16:04

In this episode, we're joined by Chris Knowles, RSSB's Director of System Safety and Health. We’ll explore some specific challenges to rail reliability and resilience, why it’s vital to address them, and some of the solutions that RSSB is offering in this space. Find out more at: https://www.rssb.co.uk/our-business-plan…

1
Investing today for tomorrow's success 16:13

4M ago16:13

16:13

In this episode, we're joined once again by Johnny Schute, RSSB's Chief Operating Officer. Together, we'll explore what rail needs to be thinking about in terms of driving cost reduction, some of the complexities around investing today for benefits tomorrow, and how we at RSSB are committed to supporting industry in this challenge. Find out more at…

1
Navigating technological change in the evolving rail industry 14:29

5M ago14:29

14:29

In this episode, we're joined once again by Vaibhav Puri, RSSB's Director of Sector Strategy and Transformation. Together, we'll explore some of the issues inherent in the adoption and implementation of new technology, our initiatives in this area, and some of the most promising new technological advancements. Find out more at: https://www.rssb.co.…

1
'The future of freight is bright': Boosting safety and growth 12:06

6M ago12:06

12:06

In this episode, we're joined by Andrea Rossi. Andrea is the CEO of DB Cargo UK and a non-executive director on the RSSB Board. Together, we'll explore the current rail freight landscape, what the future might hold for the sector, and how RSSB fosters collaboration and innovation to ensure continued safety and growth in this area. Find out more at:…

1
How industry is coming together on trespass and suicide prevention 14:36

6M ago14:36

14:36

In this episode, we're joined by Rich Godwin. Rich is the Chair of industry's Trespass and Suicide Prevention Working Group. He's also a Suicide Prevention Co-ordinator at Network Rail, North West and Central Region. Optimising safety and satisfaction for passengers is vital for both RSSB and Network Rail. So, today, we're discussing how industry h…

1
Revisiting the Sustainable Rail Blueprint: Milestones, member adoption, and more 15:20

7M ago15:20

15:20

Welcome to our first podcast of 2025! With us today is Stacey Head, our Sustainability Manager. She’ll be speaking with us about some of the initiatives the Sustainable Rail Blueprint has prompted in its first year, how RSSB supports members to embed the Blueprint, and what the future holds for it. Find out more at https://www.rssb.co.uk/sustainabi…

1
Reflections and resolutions with RSSB Chair, Mike Brown 10:30

9M ago10:30

10:30

In this episode, we're delighted to be joined by Mike Brown, Chair of the RSSB Board. He's with us for the final episode of 2024 to round up the year the rail industry has had, discuss the changes it might see in 2025 and beyond -- as well as how to navigate them -- and reflect on what the festive season means for many rail workers. Find out more a…

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Road Safety Week special: Police tips on keeping your drivers safe 10:01

9M ago10:01

10:01

This is the third and final episode in our Rail Industry Road Safety Week miniseries. This episode, we're joined by Rik Wenham, an investigator in the Commercial Vehicle Unit of the Metropolitan Police. Rik discusses the important processes of responding to and investigating road traffic accidents, covers how the police work with the parties involv…

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Road Safety Week special: Supporting a line report through an RTC 7:42

9M ago7:42

7:42

This is the second episode in our Rail Industry Road Safety Week miniseries. This episode, we're joined by Jamie Mills, a Section Manager at Network Rail. He speaks with us about his experiences of managing an employee who experienced a road traffic accident in the line of work. Jamie discusses what he did in the immediate aftermath to support the …

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Road Safety Week special: How the ‘perfect storm’ led to this survivor’s RTC 12:12

9M ago12:12

12:12

This is the first episode in our 2024 Rail Industry Road Safety Week miniseries. In this episode, we're joined by Dave Whelan, a train manager at GB Railfreight and someone who experienced a work-related road traffic accident. Dave speaks with our host, RSSB's Principal Health and Wellbeing Specialist Joana Faustino, about what led to the accident,…

1
Unlocking value for industry in 2025 and beyond 12:40

10M ago12:40

12:40

This month, we're speaking with Helen Costello, RSSB's Director of Business Management and Performance. She’ll be speaking with us about the biggest hurdles rail is facing at the moment, some of the solutions that RSSB has developed to help overcome these, and the value they’re generating for industry. Find out more at https://www.rssb.co.uk/strate…

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Why industry-wide collaboration will 'forever be valuable' 13:26

11M ago13:26

13:26

This month we're joined by Vaibhav Puri, RSSB's Director of Sector Strategy and Transformation, to speak about the value of industry-wide collaboration for the rail sector. As well as the benefits, Vaibhav touches on how RSSB facilitates this collaboration, what 'good' looks like, and some challenges and misconceptions. He also discusses the role t…

1
Our place at the heart of the rail industry 11:26

12M ago11:26

11:26

We're joined this month by Johnny Schute, our Chief Operating Officer. Johnny speaks with us about RSSB's unique whole-system perspective and what that means for the GB rail industry. He touches on the value it generates, the efficiencies it enables, and how it helps us strive for safety while also ensuring cost reduction, revenue growth, and impro…

1
Health and safety data: quality information drives quality decisions 14:49

1y ago14:49

14:49

This month we're joined by Marcus Dacre, RSSB’s Head of Risk and Safety Intelligence. He talks with us about the importance of having good quality health and safety data in the rail industry. Marcus also covers the work that got us to this point, what the future holds, and the improvements we're making to SMIS to aid better data capture. He finishe…

1
Rail freight: meeting the 75% growth target safely 9:33

1y ago9:33

9:33

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! This month we're joined by Dougie Hill, who is Chair of the National Freight Safety Group. He talks about the freight landscape in 2024, what it'll take to safely meet the government's rail freight growth target, and what RSSB is working on to make this happen. Find out more about the NFSG here: www.r…

1
Getting health on par with safety 8:31

1y ago8:31

8:31

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! This month we're joined by Tracy Orlandi, who is Head of Wellbeing and Occupational Health at East Midlands Railway. She talks about the progress being made in rail employee health and wellbeing, areas where gaps remain, and what it'll take to elevate health to the same level as safety in the rail ind…

1
Sustainable Rail Blueprint: its impact so far and where we go from here 11:34

1+ y ago11:34

11:34

This month we're joined by Thom Rawson, RSSB's Sustainable Rail Principal, to talk through the impact the Sustainable Rail Blueprint has had so far. He also covers how we're helping rail organisations embed it, how we're facilitating industry collaboration on sustainability, and what's next. Find out more at https://www.rssb.co.uk/sustainability/th…

1
Introducing our 2024-25 Annual Business Plan 15:13

1+ y ago15:13

15:13

Welcome to another episode of the RSSB podcast! Today, join four members of our Executive Committee — Johnny Schute (Chief Operating Officer), Keith Hanlon-Smith (Chief People Officer), Hannah Kingsley (Chief Finance Officer), and Paul McLaughlin (Chief Commercial Officer) — as they outline industry's current challenges, discuss RSSB's priorities i…

1
What to expect from our Strategic Business Plan 13:48

1+ y ago13:48

13:48

Welcome back to a new season of the RSSB Podcast. In this episode, we’re joined by RSSB Chief Executive Mark Phillips. Mark takes us through our five-year Strategic Business Plan covering 2024–2029, pulling out some of the key priorities along the way. He’s particularly excited to see how rail can leverage some of the technological and digital adva…

1
Challenges and opportunities for net zero carbon rail 20:20

2y ago20:20

20:20

Rail has been the most environmentally-friendly form of long distance transport for many years, and now needs to reduce its carbon emissions even further. George Davies, director of sustainability at RSSB, and Martin Watt, counsel at global law firm Dentons, discuss the challenges and opportunities of net zero carbon for rail.…

1
Highlights of the Annual Health and Safety Report 2022-2023 8:38

2y ago8:38

8:38

The significant trends in safety risk from 2022-2023, and what's being done to keep our railway one of the safest in the world. 01:19 About Robert Sigrist 01:55 The work of the RSSB Risk and Safety Intelligence Team 02:55 The significant safety findings for 2022-2023 04:03 Changes in public behaviour, trespass and sitting on the platform edge 05:09…

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Asset Integrity - A systems management approach to deliver value 13:57

2y ago13:57

13:57

Are you getting the best value from your assets? Could your asset management approach be improved? In this episode we look at ISO 55001 as a possible framework for better asset management. 00:53 Asset management in today’s economic context 01:59 What to include in an asset management approach 02:15 Which framework to use for asset management 03:23 …

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20 Years of RSSB – Level Crossing Safety 13:59

2+ y ago13:59

13:59

As RSSB celebrates its 20th year, this episode looks at the work that it has done to help improve safety at level crossing, one of the biggest sources of risk for the railway. 00:57 About Michael Woods 02:00 The Ufton level crossing accident described 03:32 How Michael got RSSB involved 04:56 RSSB directors brief ministers and help secure RSSB’s fu…

1
Rail Social Value - The Pathway to Filling the Skills Gap 26:19

2+ y ago26:19

26:19

Finding the right people to fill vacant roles can be difficult. Steve Womack of Amey Infrastructure Wales talks about how he has found workers with transferable skills. He's also contributing social value to his local area by employing ex-offenders. Hear about lessons from a steep learning curve and the benefits to be found. 01:41 About Steve Womac…

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Safety Culture - the RAIB perspective 16:57

2+ y ago16:57

16:57

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch does what it says on the tin. It looks at both accidents and incidents to find their underlying causes. No blame is laid, but recommendations for mitigations are made; some of which may be around organisational culture. Here, two of RAIB’s accident investigators talk about a company’s safety culture, learning …

1
Health and Wellbeing - Dealing with prostate cancer 8:53

2+ y ago8:53

8:53

This is the first in a series on specific health conditions. In this episode, recorded in Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, an RSSB employee talks with one of our health and wellbeing specialists about his experience of diagnosis, and the support received during treatment. 00:43 About Deb Archibald 01:04 About Tavid Dobson and discovering his cancer…

1
Coping with our third pandemic winter 13:29

2+ y ago13:29

13:29

Colds, flu, and other respiratory illnesses always increase over the winter period. That list now includes Covid-19, which is still with us. So, how can we best protect ourselves from it and the others in the coming weeks and months? Claire Shooter, our Public Health Manager, explains what we can expect and do to stay as healthy as possible. 00.44 …

1
An introduction to standards in rail 21:57

2+ y ago21:57

21:57

Standards are talked about very often within rail, so this podcast provides an introductory overview. It describes what standards are, when rail started using standards, what the different types of standards abbreviations mean, how standards development is triggered, and where to find out more. 00:37 Introducing Tom Lee, Director of Standards at RS…

1
Developing the Whole System Risk Model 19:12

2+ y ago19:12

19:12

The railway is a very complex system. RSSB has developed tools for the industry to assess and target some hazards, but not all of them. Much of our risk analysis knowledge is based on the Safety Risk Model (SRM), now in version 9. One response to some identifiable hazards is to impose a blanket speed restriction. These can cover wide areas, and may…

1
Simpler, lower cost AC electrification standards 21:59

2+ y ago21:59

21:59

Achieving net zero carbon by 2050 will need more electrification of the GB railway. This episode looks at new and updated standards that don’t just make the requirements easier to understand. They also have the potential to deliver cost savings of well over £27m over five years. So, if you design OLE or AC-powered trains, you’ll want to listen to t…

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Road Driving for a Safer Railway - Overspeeding 10:53

2+ y ago10:53

10:53

Overspeeding isn’t just an issue when driving trains. It happens on the roads as well. With nearly 10,000 road vehicles in its fleet Network Rail took steps to put numbers to it, and the findings were alarming. Hear what’s being done to tackle the problem and the outcomes so far. 00.48 About Simon Morgan 04.04 A definition for and consequences of r…

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SMIS - The Importance of Data Quality 12:52

3y ago12:52

12:52

Good decision making needs the support of good data. So, in this episode you can hear about the work that goes into assuring data quality, and the people behind it. 00:46 Introducing Siona Vass 01:43 About data quality and why it’s important 03:29 How RSSB measures data quality 04:26 Industry’s involvement in improving data quality 06:15 Continuous…

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SMIS - Building the user expereince 10:25

3y ago10:25

10:25

SMIS is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. Hear something of its history, its reason for being, and what it has done for our industry. How SMIS supports risk modelling and safety decision making. 00:48 Introducing Kevin Thompson 01:16 The origins of SMIS after the 1988 Clapham rail crash 02:39 How SMIS functionality and technology have devel…

1
SMIS - Data models and system development 10:35

3y ago10:35

10:35

Good information makes for good, evidence-based, safety critical decisions. Much of that information comes from data in the railway’s Safety Management Intelligence System, SMIS. This podcast looks at what’s being done and planned to make it easier and more efficient to use. 01:34 A bit about Paul Murray 01:58 About SMIS and how it is used 02:56 Wh…

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Asset Integrity—Why there are no famous asset managers 15:05

3y ago15:05

15:05

Assets are everywhere. They are the things, physical and digital, that make up the systems we work with. When they work as designed and planned, to meet their objectives, the people who manage them go un-noticed. But these are the people who keep the risk of using them as low as reasonably practicable. 00:56 Chris Knowles, an introduction 02:07 Ass…

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Safety Culture - The Role of Leaders 13:44

3y ago13:44

13:44

Safety Culture is everybody's business. In the first of a new series Ellie Burrows, Chair of the System Safety Risk Group, talks about the role of leaders in embedding safety culture. She describes the need for a fair culture and how that works to support safety learning. 01:43 Ellie Burrows, an introduction 02:20 What Safety Culture means to Ellie…

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BowTie Risk Analysis - A Novel Use at LNER 17:18

3y ago17:18

17:18

RSSB’s work with BowTie risk analysis has made it easy to visualise operational hazards, their precursors and mitigations. At LNER they’re applying the method in a novel way, to develop a corporate risk register. To identify the hazards faced in running a train operating company. 01:29 Introducing Ian Baulch-Jones 02:55 Ian recaps risk analysis and…

1
The Railway Mental Health Charter 14:44

3y ago14:44

14:44

Not just a certificate for the wall, but a seven step guide for how to support your employees and colleagues towards better mental health. 00:00 A little bit about mental health at work 01:47 Meet Faye Bacon 02:14 About the Railway Mental Health Charter 02:42 How the Charter helps companies support mental health 03:28 Action 1, the importance of se…

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Road Driving for a Safer Railway—Effective RTC Investigations 18:41

3y ago18:41

18:41

Only when we investigate can we understand. Incidents while driving for work can have fatal or life-changing results, so we need to investigate to find ways to stop incidents repeating. Here’s what’s needed for an effective investigation. 01:58 About Gill Milner, RTC investigator 02:55 Gill offers a definition of an RTC 03:40 Why start your investi…

1
Learning from... - the Hatfield accident 12:26

3y ago12:26

12:26

On the railway the state of the track that trains run on is vital to the safety of passengers and crew. It needs to be monitored and maintained regularly. But in the late 1990s that wasn’t always happening. And in October 2000, that led to a derailment that caused 4 deaths and injured over 70 more. 00:37 What happened at Hatfield 02:18 What causes …

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Road Driving for a Safer Railway—Road Traffic Collisions and Legal Privilege 32:39

3y ago32:39

32:39

If road traffic collisions cause as many as half of the fatalities to our workforce, why aren’t they RIDDOR reportable? Fortunately, few collisions have fatal results. But that means close calls and near misses must be investigated seriously, to prevent the next incident, that may be more serious. When a collision happens: Who is responsible? Was t…

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More Efficient Rail - PathFinder 23:39

3y ago23:39

23:39

One of the railway’s aims is to deliver better customer service. Much of the operating timetable is set many months in advance. But there is also a need to make very-short-term plans (VSTP) for train paths. Sometimes just hours in the future. PathFinder aims to be an end-to-end solution for VSTP that can design, deliver, approve, and resource a new…

1
Learning from… - corporate memory: Right Track is 10! 7:53

3y ago7:53

7:53

Learning from… previous experience is vital. But unless we keep and communicate what we learn, the memory is lost. As Right Track magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary, we look at why and what it delivers for those who work at the front line on the railway. 00:48 Why Right Track was created 01:25 How Right Track set out to stand out from the cro…

1
Learning from... the Potters Bar Accident 8:56

3y ago8:56

8:56

We can learn a lot from accidents. As we try to avoid history repeating itself, Greg Morse looks back at the Potters Bar accident of 20 years ago. What went wrong? What have we learned? 00:36 What happened at Potters Bar. 02:28 The errors that led to the accident 04:19 The blurred edges of maintenance programmes 05:38 How we now respond to safety r…

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Road Driving for a Safer Railway—Embedding Driving for Better Business in the Supply Chain 6:17

3+ y ago6:17

6:17

As it has accounted for as many as half of our workforce fatalities, road driving is an important area for risk management. Both as employers and contractors of services, rail organisations have a duty of care to those who work for them. Part of the Road Risk Group’s strategy for reducing road driving risk is to implement the National Highways prog…

1
Could you help save another life? 13:03

3+ y ago13:03

13:03

Small talk does save lives, as Dom Mottram found out when it saved his life. Now a project manager at Network Rail, he talks about how someone helped him with small talk, and how he now pays that back. 00:04 Introduction 01:27 A bit about Dom 02:00 Samaritans work with the rail industry in the last year 04:05 The 2021 Small Talk Saves Lives campaig…

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Could you be a Samaritans Christmas Star 13:02

3+ y ago13:02

13:02

Christmas is a time for many to celebrate with family and friends. But for others it can be a time of isolation and despair. It's a time when Samaritans can be called on to shed some light in a dark place, or we can make an intervention with someone for whom small talk could save their life. When you could be that Christmas Star. In this episode we…

1
On Track—Staying Safe 19:06

3+ y ago19:06

19:06

This episode was originally published to the RSSB at the Front Line stream in June 2021. It features Nick Millington, Director of the Safety Task Force at Network Rail. He talks about recent accidents on the mainline railway, and what the task force is doing to reduce open line working. We talk about the removal of lookouts, night shift working and…

1
Road Driving for a Safer Railway—Driving and riding safely for work 13:41

3+ y ago13:41

13:41

Do you, or your employees, drive or ride a vehicle for work? The HSE's guidance on Driving and riding safely for work tells you what you need to know to comply with current legislation. Nicola Jaynes, HM Inspector of Health and Safety, talks about what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does, and about its most recent, update to guidance for tho…