Episode 100: Lord Hendy Charts the Course for UK Rail Reform

In a milestone 100th episode of the Lunch with Leon podcast, host Leon Daniels speaks to Lord Peter Hendy, the current Minister of State for Rail. With a remarkable 50-year career in transport, including roles as Commissioner for Transport for London and Chair of Network Rail, Lord Hendy brings his own insights about the challenges and opportunities facing Britain's railways. 

The episode opens with Lord Hendy explaining his decision to accept the role of Rail Minister in the current government. While the unexpected Sunday afternoon call from Prime Minister Keir Starmer initiated the process, it's Hendy’s deep-seated belief in the need for rail reform that drove him to accept the position. 

“I didn’t think I would get the chance, but to be given the chance to fix the railway – it would have been unthinkable to not take that opportunity.” 

Drawing from his experience at Transport for London and Network Rail, Lord Hendy says the fragmentation of responsibility is a fundamental problem in the current railway system. 

"The culture of blame in the railway - the first thing you do when you get up and you run a public transport system is to look at your phone and find out what's gone wrong," he explains. "In the TfL days, you would pick it up in the morning and think, I better sort all this lot out, because there's nobody else to blame. On a bad day at Network Rail, it was very tempting to look at it and think, 'Oh, thank goodness this isn't us.' That's entirely the wrong way to think about it." 

His mission now is clear: to fix the railway by establishing clear lines of responsibility. "What we need with railway reform is to find people who are in charge of bits of the railway who say, 'This is mine and we need to fix it,'" highlighting the importance of ownership and accountability in service delivery. 

Leon and Peter go on to share stories of something they feel sets real transport leadership apart: attention to detail. Both agree that unlike other industries where senior leaders might focus solely on strategy, transport requires intimate knowledge of day-to-day operations.  

"Customers, passengers of transport networks are pretty demanding, and actually they expect of the people who run them to actually understand what's going on," Hendy emphasises. "People want to feel that the people who run transport systems use them, know what they're like, and understand the views of the passengers who have to travel every day." 

The discussion also explores the future of transport careers, with Lord Hendy making a compelling case for why young people should consider the industry. He highlights the sector's stability, technological advancement, and unique experiences available. The industry spans from Victorian signal boxes to modern signalling systems, showcasing both heritage and innovation. Moreover, the transport sector increasingly embraces neurodiversity, recognising the unique skills needed for specialised roles like timetable compilation. 

"These industries are actually in the eye of technological change," Lord Hendy notes. "If you look at the bus industry, it has been absolutely in the vanguard of both hybrid vehicles and now fully electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, in a way that the car industry and the truck industry is, frankly, only now catching up." 

The conversation concludes with reflections on transport heritage and its importance to communities. Lord Hendy emphasises that transport heritage isn't merely about nostalgia - it connects people to their lives and their predecessors in tangible ways. However, he acknowledges the challenges ahead in preserving this heritage while adapting to new technologies and environmental requirements. 

Lord Peter Hendy was the perfect lunch guest to celebrate 100 episodes of Britain’s best transport podcast. Here’s to 100 more episodes.   To listen to Episode 100, click here