Railway Conversations with Doc Frank

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/

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/ 

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.pdf

If 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/

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  

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. 

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.

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.

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 [email protected] 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.

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 second part, expect to learn the effect of line capacity on whether a metro line should branch out, examples of great interchanges, criteria for picking a cross-city alignment, why the focus should be on passengers rather than trains, which metro inspired the evolution in Sydney, how to get a leading edge solution while avoiding bleeding edge, 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 [email protected] 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.

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 first part, expect to learn the importance of a whole-network view for any new investment, how a great strategy can lead to complacency down the line, what led to the creation of an additional railway mode in Sydney, what informed the plan to convert of one of the oldest lines in Sydney to a driverless metro service, 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 [email protected] 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.