Knowledgeshare: Railway Crossing Safety Projects (8 August 2024)

Dr Julia Pitsopoulos is a human factors and organisational development specialist, applying the sought after combination of human factors, psychology and risk. She has a doctorate in Organisa-tional Psychology and 25 years' experience delivering initiatives that optimise human performance and achieve safety and business improvements across a range of safety critical sectors, including aviation, rail, marine and healthcare. She is one of the founding Directors of the consultancy Human Factors Risk Management (HFRM), established 16 years ago in London and now based in Australia.

John Wall is recognised as one of Australia's leading specialists in the application of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for road safety. He has over 30 years of experience in the development of road safety strategies and countermeasures and holds tertiary qualifications in applied sci-ence, education, public safety and public health. John works for Transport for NSW as the Sen-ior Manager of Road Safety Technology. His team’s mission is to discover and deploy technolo-gies that can significantly reduce road trauma in New South Wales.

Natalie Loughborough is a seasoned senior executive with over 18 years of board-level experience across heavy rail, light rail, ferries, and buses. Joining NTRO in August of 2024, Natalie took on the role of Executive Director for Rail, with an overarching responsibility for all modes of public transport. Her strategic experience spans almost two decades in multi-modal transport operations, working overseas in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, as well as here in Australia, with operators such as First Group, Serco, Abellio, Transdev. Most recently her role was General Manager at Metro Trains Melbourne, with the consortium of MTR, JHG and UGL – with direct accountability for almost 2,000 people.

Paul Bennett is is a Senior Technology Leader in the Transport Futures team at the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO). He has primarily worked in the road space, providing research, analysis and guidance in traffic management, road safety and the use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to enhance the safety and operations of our road networks. In particular, he has been instrumental in the development of Austroads guide content for the implementation and operation of ‘smart motorways’ - incorporating ramp metering, lane use management systems and other ITS to improve the safety and productivity of our motorways. In 2022, the NTRO acquired the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI), and Paul is now applying his knowledge and skills in road safety and ITS to seek cost-effective solutions for improving safety at railway level crossings. Paul is also overseeing the delivery of several other NTRO Rail projects conducting research and developing innovative solutions for improving rail infrastructure management, heavy haul, freight and passenger rail.