Rail and Road Pod

Assessing National Highways' regional and safety performance

Stephen Bussell and Prentiss Clarke-Jones discuss our recent analysis of National Highways' regional performance during the second road period, and also our annual assessment of safety on the strategic road network.

Improving welfare facilities for rail workers

The rail industry often requires workers to undertake safety-critical duties in remote and isolated locations, often during unsociable hours, and operating in these environments can present many challenges for them, incl

Lego and dinosaurs - ORR engineers on their chosen careers

ORR's duties are wide-ranging, and its engineers are integral to the work carried out across both rail and road. This can include evaluating infrastructure projects in the way they are managed, reviewing designs, and ens

Balancing the costs and benefits of health and safety improvements on the railway

We speak to Jennifer Genevieve, deputy director in our economics, finance and markets team, and Sarah Shore, deputy director in our railway safety team to discuss how the rail industry determines what is "reasonably prac

Episode 24: Holding National Highways to Account

We speak to Rachel Gittens, Deputy Director for Strategic Road Network, and Iain Ritchie, Head of Safety and Performance, to learn more about ORR's recent annual assessment and investigation of National Highways.

Episode 23: Chief Inspectors of Railways special edition

In this episode we join a conversation between Ian Prosser CBE, who recently retired as Chief Inspector of Railways, and his successor Richard Hines. Ian takes a look back at the successes and challenges during his 15 ye

Episode 22: Rail Passenger Experience - targeting improvements

In this podcast Jacqui Russell, the head of our Consumer team, and Matt Westlake, who leads on accessibility matters, will both provide an insight into the recent work of their team who review the many aspects of the rai

Episode 21: Authorisations - giving the green light

New, major, upgraded or renewed infrastructure and rolling stock applicants have to follow a framework and seek an authorisation from the ORR before placing the infrastructure or rolling stock into service. In this podca

Inside Highways UK 2023

Highways UK brings together the people responsible for managing, maintaining, and future-proofing the nation's road networks. Over the course of the two-day event our roads team discussed areas including our Annual Asses

Episode 19: Trainee inspectors - making the grade

In this episode, we take a look at the journey taken by a trainee inspector of railways at the Office of Rail and Road. We speak to two current trainee inspectors, an ORR inspector who explains what is needed to make the

Episode 18: Britain's heritage railways - improving safety in the sector

In this episode, we take a look at the safety work we do in the heritage sector. Simon Barber, our principal inspector of heritage, and Richard Hines, our deputy chief inspector of non-mainline, discuss the frequent occu

Episode 17: ORR Chief Executive John Larkinson discusses rail reform at Accelerate Rail

In this episode, Chief Executive, John Larkinson discusses ORR's role in rail reform. Recorded at the Accelerate Rail event in London on 21 March, John explains how rail reform and the implementation of Great British Rai

Episode 16: Railway staff safety: learning from our past

In this episode we discuss the Railway Work, Life & Death project, which takes a look back at railway worker accidents in Britain and Ireland from the late 1880s to 1939. We're joined by Dr Mike Esbester, a senior lectur

Ep 15: Inside Highways UK

In this episode we're out and about at the Highways UK event which took place at the NEC in Birmingham. We hear from John Larkinson, Chief Executive of ORR, Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Transport Focus, and Nick Harri

Ep 14: Managing health and safety risks through RM3 e-learning

Ep 13: Know your rail rights

As Britain's rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road plays a vital role in improving the passenger experience in compensation, passenger information and accessibility. In this episode, the Rail and Road Pod takes a c

Ep 12: Women in transport and challenging gender bias

The topic of conversation this month ties in with International Women's Day on 8 March, the day which celebrates women's achievement and raises awareness against gender bias. Our topic for discussion is women in transpor

Ep 11: Improving performance on England's road network

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent monitor of National Highways' performance and efficiency. This role was established in 2015 as part of the Government's road reform package. Since then, ORR has been h

Ep 10: Behind Britain's rail stats

You Tuber, Geoff Marshall takes over the reins as guest host to discuss all things railway stats. Geoff's joined by guests from the Office of Rail and Road and the Office for Statistics Regulation to learn more about som

Ep 09: How the rail industry is delivering disability awareness and equality training

On our 9th episode, we’re taking another look at accessibility on Britain's railway. We're discussing disability awareness and equality training that forms an integral part of the requirements set out in the Office of Ra