Several committee meetings were held this week under the Passenger Operators Executive Committee (POEC) umbrella, with the Telecommunications Committee, the Accessibility Committee, the Revenue Protection Network, Cybersecurity Network and the Anti-Social Behaviour Network coming together to progress important issues affecting our passenger operations, ahead of POEC itself meeting next week.

POEC provides strategic oversight of the ARA’s passenger rail work, and is comprised of CEOs and industry leaders from all the major passenger railways around the country.

The Telecommunications Committee discussed renewal of the industry’s radio spectrum licencing, which is a vital to our communications and control systems. The group is making great progress in ensuring there is a coordinated response across jurisdictions and that Ministers are well informed of the crucial importance of these licences. The group also addressed more tactical issues, such as the effects of the recent Optus outage and the impacts (and lessons) for the railway.

The Accessibility Committee met and discussed changes to the DDA (the Disability Discrimination Act) as well as rail company reporting against the DSAPT (the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport). We shared knowledge on specific initiatives underway around the country that are geared toward making our networks more accessible and thereby build on the great value that our passenger networks bring to our communities.

The Revenue Protection Network shared good practice in ensuring that the people using our passenger railways are paying for the services that they enjoy. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing, and it should not be the case that they are penalised for the minority who do not. We all work hard to make sure our operations serve the community well, and that we are continuously improving, and the proceeds from farepayers is a critical component of that. The Revenue Protection Network plays a key role in ensuring that works.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Network discussed best practice management in keeping passengers feeling safe and secure on our networks. Unfortunately, there are still occasions where a small minority of people behave poorly and so the work of groups like the Anti-Social Behaviour Network are very important to ensuring healthy and vibrant rail operations.

Thank you to all the people who participate in these Committees and Networks.