Australia is firmly in the sights of one of the world’s leading rail operators – Go-Ahead.
The public transport company has recently set up an office in Melbourne and is gearing up to officially launch its presence Down Under, with an event scheduled for August.
While Go-Ahead is new to the Australian rail market, the company is a big name overseas – serving billions of customers with its bus and rail services across the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Nordics and Singapore.
Rail Express caught up with Patrick Verwer, Chief Executive Officer, Rail at Go-Ahead Group, on a recent visit to Melbourne.
“We have ambitious plans to build on our recent success and continue to grow our rail operations,” Verwer said.
“We are excited to explore rail opportunities in Australia and New Zealand, where we can apply our experience of operating busy, complex transport networks.”
Go-Ahead is owned by Kinetic, the largest bus operator in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Globalvia, a Spanish multinational transport infrastructure company that operates in 11 countries across three continents.
“Go-Ahead was acquired by Kinetic and Globalvia two and a half years ago, and Kinetic has been very keen to harness Go-Ahead’s world-leading best practice and experience for new markets,” said Verwer.
“That has encouraged us to go and explore other regions, and we are now actively looking to bid for contracts in Australia.”
Verwer said Kinetic’s existing presence in Australia’s public transport space is helpful as Go-Ahead looks to establish itself further here.
“Go-Ahead Group has got very significant ground capability,” he said. “We’re very experienced operators and we’re already successful in other areas in terms of bids.
“But Kinetic’s local connections and knowledge – understanding the culture, understanding the market, the dynamics – that has been a great facilitator for us to come here and learn and explore.”
The right team for the job
Michael Contreras, Executive Director of Rail Operations, Australia and New Zealand, joins Go-Ahead from Victoria’s Department of Transport and Planning where he was Director of Operations and Performance. Prior to that, Contreras spent more than 12 years at Metro Trains Melbourne in key senior roles, such as General Manager of Network Operations.
Contreras said he’s seen first-hand how critical public transport is to the success of a city.
“I’m excited to bring my experience from the Department of Transport and Planning and Metro Trains to Go-Ahead,” he said.
“At Metro Trains, I was involved in everything from assets to rolling stock to maintenance and performance management. I have experienced and been involved in several large-scale unplanned disruptions, and I have seen how critical the railways are to the success of the city.”
Contreras said it is his passion to help support community and social outcomes by having a chance to influence the success of the railways.
“Melbourne’s public transport is really the heart of the city, and we’re happy to have an opportunity to make a positive impact.”
Verwer stresses that although Go-Ahead is an international company and a new player in rail in Australia, it has strong Melbourne roots.
“The Chair of our board and Group Chief Executive Officer of Kinetic, Michael Sewards, is a proud Melburnian,” he said. “He understands Melbourne’s rail system and he’s always been passionate about it.”
Another prominent member of the Melbourne-based team is Piero McCarthy, Business Development Director for Go-Ahead Rail, Australia and New Zealand.
Piero brings 20 years of industry experience and has helped deliver Go-Ahead’s successful tender for London’s Elizabeth Line. He led operations within the United Kingdom’s largest rail franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). “Piero is Go-Ahead Rail personified,” said Verwer. “He’s an operator through and through and is really looking forward to taking responsibility for developing the Australia/New Zealand market.”
Managing complex networks
Go-Ahead is one of the largest rail operators in the United Kingdom. In a consortium with Keolis, Go-Ahead runs Govia Thameslink Railway, which manages four rail companies in the south of England and is responsible for 35 per cent of all United Kingdom rail journeys. This includes the recently opened Elizabeth Line in London, which Go-Ahead took over in May 2025 in a joint venture with Tokyo Metro and Sumitomo Corporation.
The line is one of the most popular and fastest-growing railways in England, serving more than 700,000 customers each day.
Verwer said having this experience under its belt means Go-Ahead is fully equipped to take on Australian networks.
“We’re predominantly targeting big urban areas, commuter railways or mixed railways, and we know how to do that in complex railway operations environments.”
Contreras said that Govia Thameslink Railway is similar to Melbourne’s passenger rail network in terms of its size and many other aspects.
“We have proven experience running similar networks of similar magnitude, in a similar environment,” he said.
Verwer added that every country and every network comes with its own challenges, but Go-Ahead has the skills and local knowledge to take on Australia.
“We’re not targeting high speed rail or inter-city lines – not because we don’t have the capability, but because urban, commuter-style rail networks are our core market,” he explained.
“We’re really good at investing in engagement of communities, meeting passenger needs, and working collaboratively with transport authorities.
“That is one of the main things that sets us apart – the joy we take in working in partnership with Transport for London, the Department of Transport in the United Kingdom, and the transport authority in Stockholm.”
A company that cares
Go-Ahead is committed to operating responsibly, serving the community and championing diversity and inclusion.
“We’ve implemented several initiatives across our rail operations to make sure that our networks are as open and inclusive as possible,” said Contreras.
“We offer smartphone apps that allow passengers who need assistance boarding and alighting to ensure that a member of our team is ready and waiting to help them.”
Go-Ahead’s Govia Thameslink Railway also established an Access Advisory Panel in 2016. The panel has enabled people with disabilities to share feedback on how to improve accessibility across the network. Its role has included everything from overseeing the design of accessibility training for GTR’s staff to providing input into Department for Transport Accessible Design Standards for stations.
In addition, GTR has organised ‘Try a Train’ events, which provide an opportunity for those who lack confidence travelling via public transport to visit train stations and experience a train journey.
In partnership with The King’s Trust, a charity that supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are either at risk of exclusion from school or unemployed, the operator runs a program called ‘Getting into Transport’.
“We offer vulnerable young adults the opportunity to do a four-week work experience program, and in most cases, these placements have led to full-time jobs,” said Verwer. “We’ve just celebrated the 10-year anniversary of our partnership with The King’s Trust, and we find working with them very rewarding.”
Greener networks
Sustainability is very important to Go-Ahead, with a company-wide goal of achieving Net Zero by 2045.
Its climate change strategy targets a 75 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035, with its approach including transitioning to zero-emission fleets, enhancing energy efficiency, reducing water use, and improving waste recycling and air quality across its international operations.
“In the United Kingdom, almost all of our trains are fully electrified,” said Verwer. “The Elizabeth Line is running electric trains as well, and Stockholm Metro, which we will start to operate from November 2025, will also be an electrified network.
“We’re also the fastest-growing electric bus operator in the United Kingdom and we’ve recently entered a joint venture with Wrightbus in Northern Ireland to the value of £500,000,000, to buy electric buses from them.
“We’re particularly proud to support growth in local jobs through this partnership.”
Safety first
Go-Ahead has put various measures in place to ensure safety is always its number one priority.
“We’ve rolled out a safety app for all of our staff, that allows them to report any incidents or potential failures as soon as they see them,” Verwer said.
“When we introduced this, we saw an uplift in reports – not because the railway was suddenly unsafe, but because we made it easier to report things.”
Go-Ahead makes a concerted effort to look after the wellbeing of its team as well as passengers.
“We have invested heavily in suicide prevention, as sadly you must think about that when you operate a railway. At GTR, we have a team dedicated to Suicide Prevention, which develops training modules for all of our employees, to engage with the emergency services and Samaritans.”
A collaborative operator
“We pride ourselves on collaborative efforts,” said Verwer. “It’s not about us.
“I’m very happy when our clients are happy with the service that’s being delivered, and we get great feedback from passengers and stakeholders.”
Verwer said this is why Go-Ahead has invested so much in community and stakeholder engagement.
“We have stakeholder management teams at GTR, for example, and we gather members of our local communities for Town Hall sessions,” he said.
“We very openly and transparently explain what we’re doing and take feedback on board.
“We’re not defensive – we’re very open, we’re accessible and we want to be good partners.”
For Go-Ahead, it’s all about the culture.
“People talk about performance management and incentive schemes. We take solid, efficient operations as a baseline. That is a given.
“Our Managing Director of Go-Ahead Norway, Emil Eike, calls it ‘precision culture’. He drives that culture all the way through the company, from procurement to the office staff to the cleaning staff. The on-board managers know how to look after the passengers. The drivers know exactly what to do, they are focused and precise.”
Verwer said public transport is one of the greatest enablers of equity and progress in our society.
“When we operate rail networks, we build opportunity.
“At Go-Ahead, we’re here to partner and collaborate with government, industry, and communities to ensure that our transport systems are not only efficient, but also inclusive, sustainable, and led by the best people.”
