Rail Professional is a monthly UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 covering the business side of rail transport in Great Britain

Rail transport in Great Britain

The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...

. Published by CPL (Cambridge Publishers), the magazine is available free of charge to managers of UK train operating companies and Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 or by subscription to non-qualifying readers.

The magazine was launched soon after privatisation with the aim of creating a forum for managers to communicate across the industry and stay abreast of developments in other companies. Under British Rail, managers met regularly with their counterparts across the UK, but the fragmentation of the railways into separate Tocs made it harder for managers to remain up-to-date on developments outside of their own organisation. Rail Professional, launched by former British Rail manager Andrew Goodman, aimed to fill this gap.

The circulation is 7,894 (ABC audited).

Content

Rail Professional covers news from train operating companies, Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 the Department for Transport

Department for Transport

In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

and other organisations related to the UK rail industry. There is also analysis of industry-related current affairs, trends and business developments.

The current editor is Katie Silvester. Contributors include BBC transport correspondents Paul Clifton and Peter Plisner and the Financial Times' Robert Wright.

Freight wars

In September 2009, freight operator First GB Railfreight issued a 'clarification' on its website after an unguarded comment by its MD John Smith, reported in Rail Professional, appeared to make a flippant reference to lifespan of one of his rivals. In an article celebrating 10 years of GBRF, there was some discussion of the difficulties faced by the freight industry and the tendency of Keith Heller, the then head of the UK's largest rail freight carrier DB Schenker, to be outspoken on such matters. John Smith is quoted as saying: 'Someone does need to say these things, but I think he's pissing in the wind. The same with longer trains, which he also talks about. But Keith's 60, he'll certainly be dead before anything changes!'

After the article was published, a clarification appeared on First GBRf's website saying: 'The context of the remarks were made in reference to the frustrations and difficulties the freight industry faces compared to the passenger sector and John's remarks were intended to highlight the length of time it can take for freight issues to be addressed, as opposed to any slight on Keith himself.'

Recruitment

The magazine carries job adverts each month, primarily for senior management posts in the rail industry. Editorially, Rail Professional also covers news of new appointments.