Episodes

  • Celebrating women in rail and Greater Anglia's community improvement initiatives
    Mar 10 2025

    In this episode of Life On Rails, Lucy and Dom celebrate International Women's Day by talking to and championing some brilliant women working in the rail industry.
    Bessie Matthews, one of a handful of female freight drivers stops by to talk about her journey into the rail industry and why she wants more women to do the same. In addition, she'll be discussing the brilliant charity work she has done to raise money for the Samaritans.

    Karen McCann from Up, Greater Anglia's internal network for women, stops by to talk about how Greater Anglia supports women at work.

    Community Rail Partnership Officer, Jayne Sumner is back after appearing on episode 3. She talks us through the exciting things happening along the Crouch Valley, Southend and Flitch lines, as part of our Destination In The Spotlight.

    Lucy and Dom also talk about the fantastic projects Greater Anglia has supported as part of the Customer and Community Improvement fund initiative. As well as this, they provide an insight into the station upgrades and improvements along the Greater Anglia network, as part of the News in Spotlight.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    31 mins
  • Railway 200, Recruitment at Greater Anglia and Awards for Innovation
    Jan 6 2025

    In this episode of Life On Rails, Lucy and Dom talk to Alan Hyde of Railway 200 about celebrating the past, present and future of the modern British railway.

    Dan Ribbits, Greater Anglia’s Learning and Development Facilitator stops by to talk about recruitment and training programs, and discusses how we support and develop our staff.

    Community Rail Partnership Officer, Jane Sumner, talks us through the wonderful places to visit on the lines within Essex and South Suffolk, as part of our Destination In The Spotlight.

    Lucy and Dom also celebrate Greater Anglia’s recent award win for Digital and Technology innovation at the national IdeasUK conference and our commitment to reuniting passengers with their lost property, as part of the News in Spotlight.

    For more information, please visit greateranglia.co.uk/podcast

    Link to Alternative Route Map

    This is a Fresh Air Production for Greater Anglia.

    Credits:

    Hosts: Dominic Rosso and Lucy Wright
    Producer: Lynnike Swerts
    Executive Producer: Annie Day

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    32 mins
  • New Managing Director, National Rail Awards Win, and How To Find Cheaper Christmas Fares
    Nov 4 2024

    In this episode of Life On Rails, Lucy and Dom speak to Greater Anglia’s brand new Managing Director, Martin Beable as he settles into life in his new role.

    Greater Anglia's resident fares guru, Ken Strong, discusses how to find the best value fares whilst travelling on the network this Christmas.

    Katie Goldthorpe, the Community Rail Partnership Officer for the New River Line, talks about some of the beautiful locations and festive activities available on this route.

    Lucy and Dom also celebrate Greater Anglia’s National Rail Awards win and commitment to passenger health and safety, as part of the News in Spotlight.

    For more information, please visit greateranglia.co.uk/podcast

    This is a Fresh Air Production for Greater Anglia.

    Credits:

    Hosts: Dominic Russo and Lucy Wright
    Producer: Lynnike Swerts
    Executive Producer: Annie Day

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    29 mins
  • Michael Portillo, New Trains Anniversary, and How To Support Mental Health
    Sep 2 2024

    In the first episode of Series 2, Lucy and Dom speak to the journalist, broadcaster, and railway advocate Michael Portillo about his extraordinary adventures.

    Greater Anglia's Safeguarding and Community Safety Manager, Georgia Payne, discusses how we can support people struggling with their mental health.

    Talia Rushmore, the Community Rail Partnership Officer for the East Suffolk Lines, speaks about some of the beautiful locations and activities available on some of this route.

    Lucy and Dom also mark the fifth anniversary of Greater Anglia's new fleet of trains as part of the News in Spotlight.

    This is a Fresh Air Production for Greater Anglia.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    33 mins
  • How to harness creativity, have a greener journey, and help other passengers
    Jan 25 2023

    In the final episode of Season 1, Juliette and Lucy speak to Sally Shaw, Director of the Firstsite art gallery in Colchester, about creativity, rail travel and days out by train.

    Greater Anglia’s Engineering Director Martin Beable explains how the new trains have helped boost performance, while Georgia Payne, the operator’s Safeguarding and Trespass Prevention Lead, discusses partnership work with Samaritans and how small talk can save lives.

    Greater Anglia’s Head of Revenue Matthew Chivers explains why fares change and resident Fares Guru Ken Strong returns with a wealth of money saving tips to see you through 2023.

    Juliette and Lucy also discuss the different ways people can travel to and from the station and how Greater Anglia is helping people reduce their carbon footprint.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    37 mins
  • How to Prepare for New Trains, Handle a Pantomime Dame and Save Money This Christmas
    Dec 7 2022

    In this episode of Life On Rails, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes at Greater Anglia, we are back at Norwich Theatre Royal to speak to special guest, Dame Trott AKA actor Richard Gauntlett, from this year’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk. Dame Trott shares her love for the region before she is sent on a special surprise trip.

    Head of Business Readiness, Keely Lopes, explains how the business prepared for its new trains, and we speak to train planning manager Ben Brandon, who explains how every train is timetabled.

    Community and Customer Engagement Manager Alan Neville talks about the 300-strong team of station adopters who are brightening up stations across the network and helping to strengthen Greater Anglia’s sustainability credentials.

    Hosts Juliette Maxam and Lucy Wright bust some myths about Christmas on the railway and issue advice to customers travelling over the festive period, while Fares Guru Ken Strong explains how people can save money on trips to London this festive season with the London Evening Out and London Night Out tickets.

    We’d love to hear from you, please tweet us at @GreaterAngliaPR #LifeOnRails. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast as well, and visit www.greateranglia.co.uk/podcast to discover more. Thanks for listening!

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    31 mins
  • How to Handle Emergencies, Return Trains, and Run a Theatre
    Oct 19 2022

    In this episode Juliette and Lucy take to the stage and speak to Stephen Crocker, CEO of Norwich Theatre Royal, about the bustling arts scene in the East and plans for the future.

    They also find out what’s it like in the hot seat in control with Addie Quinnear, who works in our control centre in Romford.

    … and just how clean is the air around your station? Environment and Energy manager Steph Evans discusses a pilot to monitor air quality at some of our stations, while Brett Chalkley, joint project manager of our Stadler Fleets explains how we have to modify old trains before we return them to their leasing company.

    The Fares Guru Ken Strong returns with more money saving tips, and we find out how to run a slick rail replacement bus operation with Sharon Arnold, Greater Anglia’s Rail Replacement Manager.

    We’d love to hear from you, please tweet us at @GreaterAngliaPR #LifeOnRails. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast as well, and visit www.greateranglia.co.uk/podcast to discover more.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    37 mins
  • How To Stay Safe On The Railway and Save Money This Summer
    Jul 13 2022

    In this episode of Life On Rails, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes at Greater Anglia, we speak to podcaster and writer Robbie Knox about relocating to Norfolk and his passion for the region.

    We also hear from a train driver about the dangers of trespassing and the impact it can have, and we meet one of Greater Anglia’s area managers, Paula Wilson, who talks about her career journey from the skies to the rails.

    And from Hockley to Hollywood, we find out about some of the big screen blockbusters that have been filmed on our network when we speak to our filming consultant, Adrian Booth.

    Our fares guru Ken Strong explains how you can recover the cost of a railcard in a single trip, and presenters Juliette and Lucy explain what to do if you leave something on one of our trains over the summer.

    We’d love to hear from you, please tweet us at @GreaterAngliaPR #LifeOnRails. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast as well, and visit www.greateranglia.co.uk/podcast to discover more.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    36 mins