As Danny Broad’s time at the Australasian Railway Association comes to an end, he shares some insights into his time with the organisation and industry.
You would think as Danny Broad’s 27 years in rail, including eight years as a director with Downer and more than nine years as an executive at the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), draws to a close he would be slowing down. Ever the professional, the outgoing chair is charging to the finish line.
Rail Express sat down with Broad in October shortly after he had returned from a study tour to Paris and London and the four-day global rail exhibition, InnoTrans, in Berlin.
He had just attended the ARA High Speed Rail Conference in Sydney, was preparing his speech for the ARA Rail Industry Dinner in Adelaide, about to head off to Taiwan for a week to attend an International High Speed Rail Association (IHSRA) three-day forum and was looking forward to AusRAIL 2024 at the Gold Coast – the largest event in the Asia Pacific region for rail professionals.
This hectic schedule exemplifies the service to the rail industry that Broad has become known for, including his time working for Walkers, Downer and the ARA.
After stepping down as chair of the ARA in late November, Broad will continue in his role as chair of the TrackSAFE Foundation, which he has held since 2021 and been a member of the Board since 2015.
He will also remain a member of the Rail Industry Innovation Council and the IHSRA, proving what many in the industry say – you can never fully leave the rail sector.
Broad explained that the time was right for him to step aside at the ARA and let the next industry leader take the chair.
“I think senior executives should have a five-to-seven-year term where you complete the work you want to, improve the organisation and then give an opportunity for further growth and improvement to somebody else,” he said.
“As Chief Executive Officer and then chair it has been a combined nine and a half years. I love the job and rail people, and I love the industry, but the time is right for me to step aside.”
A love of the industry
Sitting with Broad, his devotion and passion for rail is obvious as he speaks of the people in the industry and their potential. He said the industry’s ability to connect the nation for the benefit of communities, both in capital cities and regional centres, is what drove him throughout his career.
He noted his experience working in Maryborough, Queensland, on passenger train and locomotive manufacturing as one such example.
“They have been manufacturing at Walkers since 1867 and they had such a passion for what they were doing,” he said.
“I enjoyed watching the design and build of both passenger trains and locomotives in our regional facilities and overseas and then delivering the finished products to customers from the Pilbara to the east coast.”
Broad said his time as Chair and CEO of the ARA has been very rewarding. He said overseeing the team’s hard work and advocacy, which is now gaining traction with government, and enabling real change and improvements to the industry was very satisfying.
“I have seen the change in the industry from various businesses in each state or territory growing into a united industry, working together for the benefit of communities – both in passenger rail and freight rail sectors,” he said.
“No doubt joining the rail industry at Walkers in Maryborough and learning so much from the employees there, from the design office through to the shop floor and then the test and commissioning teams, was a major highlight. They were all passionate about delivering a product that would serve its users well for many years.
“With that opportunity, I was introduced to the ARA in the late 1990s – then located in Melbourne – and realised the potential that the ARA could offer the industry as a whole.”
Time at the ARA
In 2016, the then chair Bob Herbert AM and Broad wrote the ARA Constitution which created a governance structure that has served the organisation well. Broad ushered the ARA through a time of change and growth, re-establishing aspects of the organisation that matter to the industry.
“The events that the ARA hosts are important for both networking and they encourage learning and knowledge sharing amongst rail professionals,” he said.
“They bring suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, consultants and operators together. They can learn so much from each other, and from each state, as we all have so many similar challenges.”
It’s not just big organisations who benefit from being members of the ARA.
“A company that may have never worked in the rail industry but is now providing a component, for example for rollingstock, may want to know how to grow further into rail and ARA membership gives them that chance,” Broad said.
“Small SMEs are able to join as the ARA’s membership tiers are based off an organisation’s annual revenue in rail. So even if rail is 10 per cent of their business, they can join the ARA and be a part of our industry.”
During Broad’s time at the ARA, some of the things that gave him immense pride were the establishment of the Young Leaders Advisory Board (Y-LAB), the introduction of the e-mentoring program for women and the formation of the Women in Rail Committee.
“Our future depends on attracting and retaining a young, diverse rail workforce and we have made huge strides towards this – but there is still much more work to do and we are focused on making it happen,” he said.
“At InnoTrans our delegation included a cross-section of CEOs, senior executives and managers alongside young rail professionals. I really enjoyed watching the CEOs talking to these young professionals and listening to what they had to say.
“This is what makes our industry great and what has been important for the ARA to deliver.”
Broad said that he was grateful for the humble nature of the delegation to listen and learn from each other regardless of their time and experience in rail.
Other highlights in Broad’s time at the ARA include successful engagement through the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meetings in 2019 that gave the National Transport Commission a renewed focus on the key issues impeding productivity and competitiveness, including a lack of harmonisation and interoperability and workforce shortages and skills; the appointment of Caroline Wilkie as the CEO; and the growth of the team to meet the increasing demands of the ARA members and the industry.
The future of the ARA
When Broad made the decision to transition from CEO to chair it was critical for him that the right replacement was found. Broad wanted more time with his family but Caroline Wilkie, who would become his successor, was sceptical as to why the current chair was leaving and the CEO was moving to the role of chair.
“Caroline and I were both in Canberra at the time and we caught up for a coffee and went through the position of the ARA. Wilkie was interested in the role after understanding why the changes were occurring,” Broad said.
“Caroline shadowed me for a couple of months, especially at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 in Sydney and then took over, basically on the cusp of COVID.”
Wilkie could not have asked for a more difficult beginning to her time at the ARA but Broad believes this showed the organisation her ability to support the rail sector during a very challenging period.
“We set up weekly meetings between passenger operators so they could share challenges and learnings to help the industry get through these difficult COVID periods,” Broad said.
“We did the same with freight operators as they navigated operating across states. All of this was to support our members”.
“We actually saw our membership go up during this time and I believe this was due to the good work Caroline and the team were doing to support the industry.”
Membership of the ARA has doubled in Broad’s time. He expects the role the association plays to continue to grow and change in the coming years.
“The ARA can provide a single voice for the industry in advocating to governments and key stakeholders on matters relating to passenger and freight rail as well as the supply chain supporting the operators – it provides a platform to advocate for and champion important issues for the industry,” he said.
“We have a large board of directors representing all sectors of the industry from the Pilbara, across Australia to the eastern states and to New Zealand, who are all passionate about the future of the rail industry.
“It is important we maintain the current focus of advocating to government and further developing strong relationships with key stakeholders to amplify the role rail can play in the next 20 years, including its role in sustainable and low carbon solutions.”
Broad wants to see an increase in the role the freight sector and passenger rail commuter solutions play in the transport sector’s journey to net zero, while also making the industry more attractive to a younger, more diverse workforce.
He believes the ARA has a key role in achieving industry improvements and is excited to see what Wilkie and the new chair achieve in the coming years.
The future of rail
The future of rail is front and centre of many transport industry conversations in both Australia and New Zealand, due to projects such as Sydney Metro, Inland Rail, Metronet and Cross River Rail which are set to transform the cities and regions they are in. The industry is seeking to be a major player in Australia’s decarbonisation journey and is trying to bring those from outside of it along for the journey.
Broad said it was fantastic to see the once-in-a-generation $155 billion investment in rail currently underway across Australia.
“As the populations increase in our capital cities in Australia and New Zealand, there is a much stronger need for integrated public transport solutions for these cities to reduce the congestion on our roads, to reduce the transport emissions and to provide safer transport modes,” he said. “Heavy passenger rail and light rail are very much the spine of that solution, linked with both bus and ferry services.
“Similarly, as the freight demand increases across our nations, freight rail can provide the backbone to the national supply chain, linking through intermodal hubs with the trucking industry for the final distribution of the freight.”
Broad said that over the past 10 to 15 years, governments have realised the importance of investing in efficient passenger rail services in cities and hence we see projects such as Cross River Rail, Metros, Parramatta Light Rail and Metronet, all of which are underway.
“Governments are supporting the important work of the National Transport Commission and the National Rail Manufacturing Advocate, Jacqui Walters,” he said.
“The rail industry is at a critical juncture. We have gained considerable momentum with government over the past few years on key issues facing the industry and the big build needs to continue.
“We need to seize the moment and stay on track.”
Broad said the challenge the industry regularly faced is a separation between the states and a lack of knowledge sharing. He noted the importance of communicating and collaboration and hopes to see the industry embrace these more in the next 10 years.
“I have seen a willingness between the states to talk more. With the work the National Rail Manufacturing Advocate Jacqui Walters is doing, we can achieve more success as a national industry,” he said.
“There is a willingness now to look at challenges facing our industry as a national issue and work through these together. If you spoke to someone 20 years ago, they would be shocked to see us working together so well.”
The use of technology has exploded in Broad’s time in rail, and he is excited to see what this could look like in the future.
“When I attended InnoTrans in the 2000s and early 2010s, it was all about transport and getting from A to B,” he said.
“This year, however, it was all about digitalisation and the AI continuous revolution and how such new technologies can benefit both products and efficiency across the rail industry.
“Chief executive officers from major manufacturers including Siemens, CAF and Alstom spoke about how they are changing to utilise data and provide information to maintainers and designers, and real time information to passengers and using that to improve the efficiencies and reliability of our networks.”
End of an era
As Broad reaches the end of his term at the ARA, he has reflected on the people that helped him throughout his career.
“Obviously, I would like to thank my wife Catherine and my four children Julia, Charles, Henry and Sally for their support and putting up with my travel and commitments to the industry,” he said.
“There are also many people who have helped me, coached me and mentored me along the way including Gary Vogel, who employed me as a young project manager in Newcastle in 1985, Ross Dunning, who offered me the role at Walkers in 1997, John Fullerton, who encouraged me to help review the ARA in 2014, and Bob Herbert AM, who sold me on taking on the ARA CEO role in 2015.
“All those individuals, as well as the directors from the ARA Board and the TrackSAFE Foundation Board, Caroline Wilkie and the ARA team including Janet Cameron who has now retired, Heather Neil, Hope Steele and Naomi Frauenfelder from TrackSAFE, have all assisted my very enjoyable working journey and I cannot thank them all enough.”
Broad said a lot of people asked why, after he has not stopped for nearly 30 years in the rail industry, he is leaving now?
“The time is right,” he said. “The ARA is on a high, the industry is on a high, and it is the right time for somebody else to come in and work with Caroline and the team to continue the good work we have been doing.
“I want to see the ARA continue to advocate for the sector and encourage young people to join and stay in the industry.
“So many people fall into the industry, just like I did. We need to make sure we keep them and make them passionate about the rail industry, just like it did for me.”
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