Interview
As he heads towards retirement next summer, HM Chief Inspector of Railways IAN PROSSER CBE talks to STEFANIE FOSTER about the focus on people during his time with the Office of Rail and Road… and the need to carry on the good work in promoting mental health and wellbeing in the rail sector
Having announced his retirement as HM Chief Inspector of Railways in June, Ian Prosser CBE now has eight months or so before he officially steps down on his 65th birthday on June 26 2024.
In RAIL 995, Prosser talked about the past 15 years and both his and the railway’s achievements during that time. Now it’s time to talk about those final few months ahead. What does he want to achieve before he finally ends his time at the Office of Rail and Road?
“Lots of things. The big one is to try and make sure that all the uncertainty over change on the railway is managed effectively -not all the change, because I’m not sure all the proposed changes are going to take place, but things like modernising maintenance, which will be ongoing towards the end of my time at ORR. I want to make sure that’s embedding properly.
“We’ve had change go wrong in the past in the sector, so I will be really focused on that.”
Prosser discusses some of the changes the railway has faced as a result of the COVID pandemic, and how proud he is of the way his own team and the industry responded to such challenging times.
“I spent a lot of time with the trade union leaders and industry leaders on what we called the Rail Industry Coronavirus Forum, and I think we did a great job of keeping the railway going -all of us.
“My team played a very important part in that, during those very difficult times. The railway didn’t stop. We were able to transport goods and critical workers all the way through the pandemic, and at the time we had the Prime Minister thanking everyone for what was achieved.
“I think we need to remember that, because we’re in difficult times now. But people went that extra mile and I want to credit some of the union leaders, because they did show real collaboration.
“People were seriously worried about working on the railway. I was really impressed with how the railway performed. It showed the railway at its best.”
Something Prosser encourages the industry to consider with any planned change on the railway, particularly in terms of major projects, is what he calls ‘safety by
