In this episode, Deb Carson and Liam Henderson speak with James Whitelock, Managing Director of ThinkinCircles, about the power of employer branding and how companies can better attract and retain the right talent. As we prepare for our upcoming Skills Beyond Scale report, this conversation is perfectly timed. We explore the perception of rail - do…

In our first episode of 2025, hosts Liam and Johannah kick off the year with an exciting conversation about innovation, challenges, and growth. Joining them are Jeremy Bormann, CEO, and Raymon Ceasar, Head of R&D at Legal Pythia, a cutting-edge startup leveraging AI to detect fraud in documents and datasets. This insightful discussion dives into: T…

In this episode, Jesper Westerberg, Chief Product Officer at Predge, shares insights into the role of predictive maintenance in the rail industry. We discuss how data-driven solutions are transforming maintenance strategies, reducing costs, and improving reliability. Jesper highlights real-world applications, including innovative algorithms for pre…

Deb, Johannah & Liam reflect on their experience at InnoTrans 2024, where the world of rail meet in Berlin for networking, demonstrations, conversations and more. We were pleased to see many members of the Rail Innovation Group present to promote how small companies can supply great solutions to support the industry's future.…

In this episode Johannah & Liam are joined by Guy Barkley, CEO and Founder of Atmo Technology - our newest member! To celebrate this new partnership, Guy joined the pod to discuss Atmo’s environmental capabilities and the impact they aim to achieve in the rail industry. This podcast delves into the innovative solutions Atmo offers and their contrib…

In this episode, Johannah, Deb and Liam discuss the first steps taken by the new UK Government to improve and integrate the transport system. With reference to the bills proposed in July 2024's King's Speech. We cover our hopes and anxieties of the new, more comprehensive public transport investment and operational model. We also discuss our most r…

It's been five years since Johannah and Liam began the podcast. In this episode, they reflect back on some of the milestones from the period, including diverging transport policy in the nations of Britain; the developing - and redeveloping - policy environment; and the impact of all this change on small companies.All alongside our aspirations for t…

In today's episode Johannah, Deb and Liam discuss the UK Labour party's proposed rail policy (sounding a little familiar) as well as Johannah's recent trip to the Transport Research Arena conference in Dublin.We also cover whether AI will fool us with its simulated feelings and whether data is helpful in achieving diversity. With questions over who…

Johannah is flying solo in this episode and had the incredible opportunity to attend the Railway Industry Association's Innovation Conference in Wales, where it was a whirlwind of excitement! From keynote speeches to tech talks, exhibitor spotlights, and more, there was never a dull moment. In this episode, she'll be chatting with some of old frien…

In this episode, Johannah gives her thoughts on last week's Rail Scotland Conference. Listening in, Liam is joined by friend of the podcast Deb Carson to hear about the conference's themes of climate resilience, passenger experience on an integrated railway and decarbonisation of the rolling stock - all within a cost efficient model. Plenty of oppo…

Liam Henderson & Johannah Randall speak with PassageWay's Chris Johns (10:30) to hear about their realtime digital signs placed in communities to help users understand, interpret and act on multi-modal transport information, displayed in a human-centred way. With references to Nudge Theory, overcoming digital exclusion, and the provision of FREE di…

There's an international flavour to the discussion between the Rail Innovation Group's Deb, Johannah and Liam today covering key themes of 2024, and what we've been asked to provide insight on: notably, using data to inform climate resilience and mitigation measures - are our current investment decisions making use of the existing evidence base? Li…

For our 1st episode of 2024, Johannah, Deb & Liam discuss potential key themes of the year ahead (politics, politics & politics). Plus, Liam spoke with Jude Hough, an Innovation Growth Specialist at Innovate UK Edge to hear about the support available for startups through the organisation. They discuss working directly with SMEs to provide coaching…

Liam & Johannah speak with Natasha Marsay, Network Rail's Accessibility and Inclusion Policy Lead, to hear about the good work being undertaken to enable autonomy for customers: including a chat about how inclusivity means more than just providing level access; trying to balance all the needs of various passenger groups; the challenge of providing …

In this episode Liam spoke with friend of the Rail Innovation Group, John Lawrence. With a history of bringing innovation into rail from both within and without rail, we talked about his experience with signalling, corporate constraints, mentorship and even the waves of (innovation) change. Plus John gives his insight on large organisations' appeti…

Liam & Johannah discuss the current uncertainty on national rail's future, including asking who benefits from Scotland's off-peak all day trial. Plus Liam speaks with Ben Jones, Business Development Manager at S&B (09:45), to ask him of his experience working within a larger supplier - what are their challenges with the innovation space; and does t…

We spoke with Window Seater's Marcus Allender on the origin of the journey guide app, from the French countryside to helping Gail the Goose find her hat! We hear how the developers have sought to respond to an industry need to improve journey experience, bringing diversity of voices into the stories selected, as well the various commercial routes t…

Liam & Johannah catch up after the summer to discuss the Rail Innovation Group's plans for autumn, plus Liam speaks with GCRE's Director of Strategy and Skills, Rob Forde, (at 17:20) to hear about the exciting plans for the massive Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE), including opportunities for local communities, local institutions, as well as…

We speak with Eurostar's Jon Witt to discuss how the diversity of cultures​ in the organisation help Eurostar to build a virtuous circle of attracting great staff to deliver great services. We discuss the merging of Eurostar and Thalys cultures, hearing how people across both organisations are already working​ collaboratively together.​ We discuss …

In this episode Liam speaks with CrossTech's Haydon Bartlett-Tasker, discussing all things algorythms, analytics, gardens and collaboration, as well as the challenge of being an SME in the rail industry: iteration is the name of the game! Don't worry, we do end with positive message on the future.By whatmovesus

Remarkably, the Rail Innovation Group's Deb, Johannah & Liam are all in the same room, in the same city so we had to take the opportunity to have a discussion on the latest news from the world of GB rail, as well as to have a deep dive into our recently published paper, Improving the Innovation Funding Ecosystem (download or read on our website, ra…

In this episode Liam Henderson & Deb Carson spoke with Daisy Chapman-Chamberlain of East West Rail to discuss the role of innovation in the wider railway project, as well as the opportunities created by this unique project to deliver services across a range of communities. Daisy shares her insight of the rail innovation landscape & lends her suppor…

Liam speaks to Ben Saunders of Signapse about the use of information in sign language using AI at some National Rail stations. We discuss how the photo-realistic avatars convey key details of audible announcements, how to sign unusual stations, how passengers have interacted with the technology, whether they can truly replicate audible announcement…

Johannah & Liam chat on whether future mobility has made it into rural areas, plus we introduce our new thought piece on funding innovation which looks at the different measures of success between the public & private approach to innovation project funding - is there an opportunity to change the approach, why wait for structural changes? Download t…

In this episode Liam speaks with Neil Barnfather MBE, Chief Commercial Officer of GoodMaps. They discuss the application of the wayfinding technology in the GB rail context, realising the benefits of enabling self-led journeys through railway station and other interior environments using only their mobile devices. Links: https://www.goodmaps.com/ N…

This bonus episode provides the extract of the interview we recently had with Nomad Digital's Mike Butler to discuss how they are working to innovate through building on existing platforms, and their advice for smaller companies - don't be afraid to collaborate! nomad-digital.comBy whatmovesus

In this episode Liam, Johannah & Deb get together to discuss the new, new government. What do we hope for in upcoming policy announcements and how do we hope the true value of investment will help to spread opportunities around the country. Plus, we have an interview with our member Nomad Digital's Mike Butler do hear how they are working to innova…

Johannah & Liam discuss the topic of the most recent Rail Innovation Group Meet Up held to discuss the Network Rail R&D Benefits Framework. They cover the implication of the decision to delay the transition to Great British Railways (GBR) and how the continued uncertainty is affecting small suppliers.…

In this episode Johannah, Deb & Liam discuss this year's InnoTrans in Berlin. At this biannual trade fair bringing the global rail industry together we look back at our impressions of how a general mood of uncertainty was influencing companies' and governments' investment plans, as well as their journey towards Net Zero. We had a lot of useful conv…

In this podcast Liam, Johannah & Deb get together to discuss our plans for a study into innovation funding, how apprentices can support diversity within larger companies, as well as an exciting update on our Parcels as Passengers workstream!By whatmovesus

In this episode Johannah & Liam were joined by Faizan Patankar of (relatively) new rail industry entrant, Amygda, to hear about how the company has found their entry into the rail sector, having previously worked in aviation. We discussed the how the company had to 'learn the language of rail' to engage with partners and a challenger to the way rai…

In this episode Johannah, Liam & Deb Carson review the implications of the multiple infrastructure announcements made during 2021. Discussing the knock-on effects to the image of rail in the eyes of new suppliers, they consider whether rail will be an attractive market to SMEs who are now more remote from the proposed HS2 network & not part of the …

Edited podcast featuring Johannah Randall & Liam Henderson's interview with Johan Berhin of Swedish company Green Furniture Concept. They discussed doing international business over the pandemic period. We hear how the company's mission to use natural design to improve place-making is enhance public spaces & how people treat those spaces, and we di…

In this episode Johannah Randall & Liam Henderson were joined by Johan Berhin of Swedish company Green Furniture Concept to discuss doing international business over the pandemic period. We hear how the company's mission to use natural design to improve place-making is enhance public spaces & how people treat those spaces, and we discuss their visi…

Liam Henderson travelled to Sheffield to meet up with the team at 3Squared to see how they'd got on over the last tumultuous year. We covered how the company had recruited, up-skilled, & kept a sense of teamwork throughout the remote period.By whatmovesus

The new vision for rail? Johannah & Liam discuss their first thoughts on Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail published on 20th May 2021. They look over the plan in terms of the offer for passengers & the outlook for small suppliers.By whatmovesus

We're joined by our friend & regular guest Deb Carson, where we discuss how even the ticket buying process can support the decarbonisation agenda by making a consumer-centred service.Plus we introduce the Rail Innovation Group's latest workstream to explore the opportunities for rail & cargo bikes to provide an end-to-end solution for small cargo -…

With demand for transport reduced during the Covid-19 disruptions, is now the time to make public transport free? Our guests, Revenue Analytics' Gareth Hawkins & Open Transport's Hayden Sutherland, join us to discuss this topical topic.By whatmovesus

Recorded in November 2020, on the eve of England's new social restrictions, Johannah & Liam discuss how rail operators are responding to this temporary change & how it further embeds a new model of movement.By whatmovesus

Johannah & Liam were joined by Ben Craze, CEO, Infinitive Group & one of the Founding Members of the Rail Innovation Group, to discuss how the company was using this unusual period to build a base for future growth - as well as some insight & advice for new entrants... partner, collaborate & don't be too protective!…

It's been ages since Johannah & I caught up for a podcast. Here we discussed our recent experiences getting back on the rails in the summer of 2020. We look forward to the Rail Innovation Group's series of Micro Meets & our appearances at next week's SmartTransit event. https://www.smarttransitusa.com/…

On this podcast we're joined by fellow Rail Innovation Grouper Deb Carson, to speak with Lucy Prior & James Fox of 3Squared to discuss all things Sheffield, skills & digital. 3Squared were due to be our partners to deliver our postponed Start Up Rail event in Sheffield so we discuss what we would have covered at the event & our plans to create an e…

Johannah & I spoke to Simon Brown of Opal Rail about his experience growing a new business during a pandemic. Simon discusses the launch of his eBook with insight & tips for companies hoping to raise capital & engage potential funding partners.By whatmovesus

Johannah & Liam discuss the launch of an industry study looking at whether the Covid 19 changes to mobility patterns have created an opportunity to further the progression of the future mobility transformation. They're joined by high speed rail leader, Deb Carson to hear her insight on how rail demand will change in future & a call for ticketing to…

A short time ago we were joined by Barrie Cottam, Head of Business Development, from Hitachi Rail who discussed with us about how the unprecedented time are impacting rolling stock construction & maintenance. As a larger organisation, we asked what new methods the company was using to keep in touch with colleagues & customers.…

We spoke to Mike Lloyd of Jnction about how how the company is making the case to demonstrate the benefits of its newest products during this period of change. We hear about the value of public investment to support innovation in the sector.By whatmovesus

Johannah & Liam spoke to Opinsta’s Dan Kong who had a positive note about the current disruption, noting that there’s going to be a thirst to innovate. Dan talks to us about reallocating resources to embed product benefits and learning about their client’s challenges.By whatmovesus

Johannah & Liam speak with Deeper Than Blue's Phil Facey to discuss the importance of having resilient software during a time of peak online interaction. How is Phil responding to the current demands to support clients through the Covid-19 period?By whatmovesus

Johannah & Liam were joined by Jo Reid, Managing Director of Calvium, to hear about how the business was responding to the current situation by maintaining relationships with clients whilst also seeking new opportunities to use Calvium's skill set to help meet current needs such as to develop a platform to help manage the distribution of PPE.…

During the COVID 19 disruption we moved online. Our Munch & Learn sessions bring the community together to discuss what opportunities are available in the rail sector & how the start ups can respond to the new challenges. We heard from Nik Lusardi who presented the topic if How to Innovate at a Time of Adversity, based on his experience in the airl…