Railway Conversations with Doc Frank

Hosted by Doc Frank

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Episodes

107

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

Authentic discussions with interesting people about railway subjects that matter.

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60 recent

June 3, 202658 min

#106 — Why HS2 Needs More Carriages, with Chris Gibb

Chris Gibb spent 45 years in high-profile positions across the British railways. He knows what a successful railway operation looks like — and right now he is publicly challenging the plans for High Speed 2 (HS2). The issue is not the construction. It does not even impact the High Speed Rail service between London and Birmingham, what most people think HS2 is about. It is the impact of the new HS2 train fleet that continues around Birmingham on the West Coast Main Line to the North. Chris foresees a substantial reduction in capacity from today's fleet travelling up North, at times when more, not less, capacity will be needed. And he tries to do something about it before procurement decisions cement a future capacity shortfall. It is a lesson about long-term planning decisions and their consequences.If you find this conversation useful, subscribe and share it. It costs nothing and makes a real difference. When it comes to advancing your understanding of modern train control technologies, nothing beats world-class training. I've partnered with Informa Connect Academy to create what I believe is the most comprehensive portfolio of online training courses in advanced signalling available anywhere. Find out more here: https://docfranktraining.com/courses

May 20, 202648 min

#105 – GSM-R Is Dying. Are Railways Ready for FRMCS?

GSM-R is on its way out. FRMCS — the 5G-based successor for railway radio communications — is on its way in. But the migration from one to the other is anything but straightforward.In this episode, Doc Frank talks to Rob van Looveren from the Netherlands, a railway consultant with hands-on experience in FRMCS specification work for freight trains through the European-funded FENIX project. Together they unpack what the migration from GSM-R to FRMCS actually involves: the technical challenges, the planning complexity, the freight operator funding dilemma, and why a bistandard onboard approach is likely the only migration strategy that really works.The Netherlands context provides a useful European lens — and the comparison with Australia's situation turns out to be more interesting than you might expect.If you find this episode useful, the best thing you can do is subscribe, share it with colleagues, and leave a comment. It costs nothing and makes a real difference.When it comes to advancing your understanding of modern train control technologies, nothing beats world-class training. I've partnered with Informa Connect Academy to create what I believe is the most comprehensive portfolio of online training courses in advanced signalling available anywhere. Find out more here: https://informaconnect.com/academy/rail/

April 29, 202654 min

#104 – High Speed Rail Lessons with Michael Byng

Doc Frank talks to Michael Byng from England. Based on his vast experience from working on high speed rail projects in various countries, including Britain and the Middle East, Michael could share valuable lessons that went way beyond his home turf of cost estimation.If you like Michael’s insightful comments, check out the previous podcast episode 72 with him. And please remember to like, share and subscribe if you have not already done so. In doing so, you’re not only supporting the channel but knowledge growth across the wider railway industry. Thank you for that.Also, if you are interested in world-class education on modern train control technologies and their successful application, check out the world's most comprehensive portfolio of online training courses in this field: https://informaconnect.com/academy/rail/

April 15, 20261 hr 13 min

#103 - The BIG Railway Outlook with Steve Allday

Doc Frank talks to Steve Allday, a renowned and experienced railway consultant from Sydney and regular guest on the show. They talk about three key topics defining the future of railway in Australia and maybe some other countries too. High Speed Rail (of course), interoperable train control with ETCS and the increasing shortage of resources in the rail industry.If you like Steve’s down-to-earth discussion style, check out the YouTube playlist with his other podcast episodes linked at the end of the video version on YouTube. And please remember to like, share and subscribe if you have not already done so. In doing so, you’re not only supporting the channel but knowledge growth across the wider railway industry. Thank you for that.Also, if you are interested in world-class education on modern train control technologies and their successful application, check out the world's most comprehensive portfolio of online training courses in this field: https://informaconnect.com/academy/rail/

March 25, 202657 min

#102 - High Speed Rail in Australia with Tim Parker

Doc Frank talks to Tim Parker, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian High Speed Rail Authority. The conversation addresses various points of criticism towards Australia's quest for High Speed Rail and is aimed to increase transparency around this high-profile national project. The insights from this conversation are valuable for anyone involved in High Speed Rail or similar large infrastructure projects.You can access the business case for the Sydney-Newcastle High Speed Rail here:https://media.caapp.com.au/pdf/j2IbcN94MVkB/4d2b42f4-a09d-457d-ae1d-cf7f8fe872e8/HSRA%20Newcastle%20to%20Sydney%20High%20Speed%20Rail%20Business%20Case%20FINAL_Redacted%202026.pdfIf you enjoy railway conversations like this, please like and share this episode and subscribe to this channel. It does not cost you anything and helps to keep going with this podcast, more than you might think.If you are interested in world-class education on modern train control technologies and their successful application, check out the world's most comprehensive portfolio of online training courses in this field:https://informaconnect.com/academy/rail/

March 12, 202654 min

#101 - Disrupting the ETCS Supply Market with Stanislas Pinte

Doc Frank talks to Stanislas Pinte from "The Signalling Company" which set out to address shortcomings in the fitment of locomotives and trains with ETCS onboard equipment.If you like this content you can support the channel by liking the video, sharing it with friends and coworkers, and of course subscribing so that you get notified of future episodes.Feel free to check out the previous 100 episodes of this podcast. There is more that will interest you if you liked this episode.Lastly, for your training needs in the field of advanced signalling and train control there is no better source than the comprehensive online course portfolio of the Informa Connect Academy. You can check out their full range of railway trainings here: https://informaconnect.com/academy/rail/.Specifically for ETCS, I'd like to recommend the "ETCS Masterclass" course where you learn everything relevant about the technology and its application. Direct link here: https://informaconnect.com/etcs-masterclass

December 4, 20241 hr 10 min

#100 – Metro Rail Wisdom with Oliver Fried

Doc Frank chats with Oliver Fried from Sydney, Australia, about Metros but also about High Speed Rail and the common topics between them. Learn how Sydney Metro compares to big hitter metros like Hong Kong or London, how new rail services need to be integrated into wider public transport networks, how Sydney Metro could inform the High Speed Rail planning for Australia, and much more.A BIG thank you to all listeners, viewers and subscribers for your interest during these 100 episodes of the show. As a gesture of thanks, all training courses on https://docfranktraining.podia.com/courses are 30% off until the end of December 2024 by applying the coupon code PODCAST100 at checkout.

November 27, 20241 hr 34 min

#99 – Making ETCS Interoperable with Xavier Ricco and Jean-Francois Verdin

Doc Frank teams up with two experts on ETCS interoperability testing from Belgium. Learn about practical problems with ETCS interoperability in Europe, what is being done to improve it in the future and how countries starting out on their ETCS journey (such as Australia) can optimise their chances of getting it right from the start.You can support this channel by sharing and subscribing, and by checking out the world-class training offers on https://docfranktraining.podia.com/courses. Until the end of November you can get 24% off all courses by simply applying the coupon code BF24 at checkout.

November 20, 202456 min

#98 – A “Talk About Nothing” with Matthew Rea

Doc Frank chats with Matthew Rea from England where people need to be careful what they can say publicly these days. This difficulty to find discussable topics led to the famous idea from the comedy show Seinfeld to have “a show about nothing”. As you can imagine that talk was of course about something, and something interesting at that. Let yourself get surprised.Until 30 November 2024, Doc Frank Training offers a Black Friday discount of 24% on all training courses on the website https://docfranktraining.podia.com/courses. Simply pick your favourites and use the coupon code BF24 at checkout.

November 13, 202427 min

#97 – Transport Planning Masterclass with Gary McGregor (Part 3)

Doc Frank chats with Gary McGregor from Sydney in Australia, a seasoned transport strategist who was involved in developing key planning documents shaping the long-term rail strategy for Sydney. This talk has been split into three parts to get shorter episodes without losing the depth of longer conversations.In this third part, expect to learn the difference between visionary and delusional transport planning, why execution eats strategy for breakfast, the importance of open debate for a robust strategy, how Sydney got to a collaborative culture of suburban and metro rail complementing each other, and much more.Please enjoy and subscribe so that you get notified about all other insightful episodes of this podcast. And you can support the continuation of this show even more by noticing and acting on the following:ONO (Or Nearest Offer) is back! You can now negotiate how much you want to pay for world class training on advanced signalling and railway capacity increase by checking out the training portal https://docfranktraining.podia.com and then sending an email to training@docfrank.com.au with the training(s) or conference recording you are interested in and the price you want to pay for it. If considered reasonable your offer will be accepted, otherwise we may negotiate a bit, but in any case this is a great opportunity for you to advance your knowledge in modern signalling at a discount of your liking.