Express & Star

Podcast launched by West Midlands Railway hopes to shine a 'positive' light on the service

A podcast launched by West Midlands Railway to keep passengers up-to-date hopes to shine a "positive light" on the service, says its host.

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West Midlands Railway announced the launch of its podcast last week

The service announced the launch of its podcast "On the rails" last week, with the first episode discussing safety and security of the railway now available to listeners.

The episodes, which will be around 30 minutes long, will discuss a range of topics and will feature interviews with guests including record producer and railway enthusiast Pete Waterman and train-spotter and online sensation, Francis Bourgeois.

Podcast host and media relations executive for West Midlands Railway, Liam Bolland, said that he hopes that it will raise awareness "for the good" of the service.

The 28-year-old continued: "It's an information tool really – we are trying to keep it informative, light-hearted and entertaining as well, so it will hopefully be a good podcast that people can come back to in years to come.

"There's lots of information on there about how timetabling works, how security works and how we are actually trying to help passengers so the idea is to raise awareness for the good of the railway going forward.

"Industrial action has been going on for the past year or so but this podcast will hopefully give people an opportunity to listen on their commute and learn about the railway.

"I'm hoping that it shines a positive light on the railway and makes people both internally and externally more informed of the goings on."

The launch of the podcast comes amidst a period of industrial action at the railway, with members of the RMT trade union planning walk-outs on July 20, July 22 and July 29.

The first episode is available to stream here and on Spotify and Apple Music.