Railway Conversations with Doc Frank

This is the second and last part of a longer conversation between Doc Frank and Thomas Laux from German Rail (DB). We keep talking about the technology ambitions of the second stage of the “Digitale Schiene Deutschland” program for the increasing digitalisation of rail operations in Germany. The adoption of metro-style moving block technology and the use of AI are the main topics in this second pa...

Doc Frank chats with Thomas Laux from Berlin in Germany. Thomas is responsible for the introduction of new technology in the second stage of the “Digitale Schiene Deutschland” ™ program. In this first part of our conversation we talk about the technology elements of the first stage which are already being implemented on parts of the German rail network, and about an important element of the second...

Doc Frank chats with Mike Palmer from Toronto in Canada. With substantial responsibilities in brownfield CBTC application for several projects in London and Toronto, Mike is ideally placed for comparing notes about dos and don’ts for introducing the world’s most sophisticated mainstream train control technology that is CBTC. Show notes: 1)      Mike mentioned the upcoming IRSE Convention in Toront...

In this extraordinary episode, Doc Frank reports from ETCS presentations recently given at the Urban Rail conference. Expect to hear what could well be the two most exciting ETCS projects on the planet, why Australian city railways got to choose between ETCS and CBTC, how ETCS Hybrid Level 3 gets ETCS closer to CBTC, and much more. Show notes: 1)      The European Train Control System (ETCS) is ha...

In this second part of their conversation, Doc Frank and Sean Connolly discuss the correlation between top speed and construction costs for High Speed Rail.  Show notes:  1)      Sean’s report that is discussed in this episode is highly informative reading for anyone interested in High Speed Rail, not just in Australia. Here is a link to the Executive Summary chapter: https://drive.google.com/file...

Doc Frank got Sean Connolly back on the show to talk about Sean’s massive 66-page report giving recommendations for High Speed Rail, and High Speed Rail Freight, in Australia. Show notes: 1)      Sean’s report that is discussed in this episode is highly informative reading for anyone interested in High Speed Rail, not just in Australia. Here is a link to the Executive Summary chapter: https://driv...

Doc Frank chats with Cara Cohen from England. She is an organisational psychologist currently working as Business Change Manager supporting the introduction of the European Train Control System (ETCS) to British rail freight operator Freightliner. An insightful episode for anyone not knowing what a Change Manager does and why it makes sense to have one when introducing advanced digital signalling...

Doc Frank chats with Ralph Heredia from Sydney in Australia. Ralph recently made the jump from a government-owned suburban rail operator to a private international operator of the future metro line to the new Western Sydney Airport. We talk about various aspects of cultural change, the future outlook for Sydney Metro, the benefits of having more than one operator for a metro network, international...

Doc Frank chats with a repeat guest on the show, Andy Harrison from London in England. Inevitably the discussion starts with a question about Andy’s views on the controversial High Speed 2 project, and all of a sudden this topic filled almost the entire episode. A little bit on the High Speed Rail planning in Australia had to be added to the mix as well, making it another jam-packed episode with i...

This is the second part of Doc Frank’s chat with Joe Langley, Director of the Australian High Speed Rail Association. Of course there will be the technology question regarding achievable top speed to really keep up with air travel. But this episodes also tackles a maybe surprising angle, and it has to do with taxes believe it or not. Show notes: 1)      Joe’s Australian High Speed Rail Association...

Doc Frank chats with Joe Langley from somewhere between Sydney and Canberra in Australia. Joe is a director of the not-for-profit Australian High Speed Rail Association, and although he is of course an avid promoter of creating a high speed rail network along the Australia east coast, he was open to sensible arguments and enabled a profound discussion on the dos and don’ts of introducing high spee...

The podcast returns to the popular topic of high speed rail by Doc Frank chatting with Michael Byng from England. Michael is a quantity surveyor, is other words cost estimator, who came to fame by producing the cost estimate for the notorious High Speed 2 project in England during the Oakervee project review. Of course we talk about that project, what went wrong and how things could improve, but a...

Doc Frank chats with Carina O'Brien from Melbourne in Australia. She is not only the Head of Strategy of a large multinational railway systems supplier, but has also initiated the Working Mumma project which includes a podcast and various other resources to support working parents. Expect to learn important insights on how to balance career, family and passion projects, where to find support...

This episode features some of the pre-talk with the guest interviewed in episode 69, Charles Page from Sydney in Australia. It includes important insights regarding the winning or losing of tender bids and effects on those involved, and it also addresses changes to the workplace structure post Covid. Show notes: 1)      One of the ETCS events of the year will be the creation of the online training...

Doc Frank chats with Charles Page from Sydney in Australia, until his recent first attempt of retirement the grey eminence of railway strategy in Siemens Mobility and past president of the IRSE. In a very deep conversation Charles opened up about his esteemed career of 44 years, issues with contemporary project delivery, the best countries to work in, dos and don’ts of company takeovers, the threa...

This is the rest of the long-form conversation between Doc Frank and Bill Whitmore from Tel Aviv, Israel. With a view on the upcoming rollout of Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) for Tel Aviv’s three-line greenfield metro network, we discuss different options for the provision of interoperable CBTC, lock-in risks with a CBTC supplier, pros and cons of segregated versus interconnected metro...

This is the first part of a longer conversation between Doc Frank and Bill Whitmore who currently lives in Tel Aviv, Israel and works on the inception of a brand-new three-line metro network. The focus of this conversation is the planned rollout of Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) on this greenfield metro network, including the need for a CBTC supply strategy, whether CBTC and rolling sto...

This is the second part of the conversation between Doc Frank and Sean T. Connolly, talking about his profound experience in high speed rail and how those insights could inform any plans for high speed rail in Australia or other countries. In case you missed the first part of this conversation, please check out episode 65 as well. And while you are at it, why not subscribing to the podcast so that...

This is the first part of a chat between Doc Frank and Sean T. Connolly from Malaga in Spain. Sean has long-time experience with high speed rail in Spain and various other countries and, as a native Australian, is keen to contribute to upcoming high speed rail considerations in Australia. We discuss how lessons from successful rollout of high speed railway in Spain could inform the plans for Austr...

Doc Frank chats with Khaled Daher from Palestine, now living and working in Jerusalem, Israel. The conversation covers how modern railways fit into the concept of ‘smart cities’, what makes a city or railway system ‘smart’, how to ensure consistent high quality of installation works, how to minimise service disruptions caused by installation works, tips to keep a project on schedule and on budget,...

This is the second and last part of a recent live discussion about the pros and cons of a High Speed Rail network in Australia. My main guest was Stephen Allday from Sydney, but guests of the live event had the opportunity to contribute their views as well. If you want to support this show, the best ways are to subscribe and share with your friends, and also check out the arguably most comprehensi...

This episode is the first of two parts of a recent live discussion about the pros and cons of a High Speed Rail network in Australia. The main protagonist of the discussion was Stephen Allday from Sydney who had been on the podcast twice before, but several guests of the live event had the opportunity to contribute their views and comments. If you want to support this show, the best ways are to su...

Doc Frank chats with Jakub Tomczak from Warsaw in Poland. Jakub is lawyer by education and this conversation explores how he came to the railway industry, what he does to keep learning and improving his value to the industry, a comparison of notes regarding innovation and the future of rail, and much more. If you like this podcast and want to support it, please share it with others that may be int...

Doc Frank chats with Craig Evans from Ipswich in England about the impact of introducing the European Train Control System (ETCS) to a freight and logistics company. Craig’s organisation Freightliner operates a fleet of nearly 200 locomotives to be gradually equipped with ETCS, and employs around 700 locomotive drivers to be accustomed and trained on driving freight trains under ETCS control. The...

Doc Frank chats with Sita Brown from Sydney in Australia. Sita managed very successfully to build a career in both corporate and charity organisations while prioritising her growing family. This conversation provides great tips how to balance one’s professional career with other important aspects of life and will be insightful for listeners of both genders. If you like this podcast and want to sup...