The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) announced on Monday (18 December) that Richard Hines will succeed Ian Prosser CBE as HM Chief Inspector of Railways next summer.

Hines is currently one of ORR’s deputy chief inspectors, and has had a long career in engineering and safety. He leads the ORR team that carries out non-mainline health and safety inspectors, and oversees ORR’s scrutiny of the Channel Tunnel.

ORR carried out an open and well-publicised recruitment process. It reports that there was “considerable interest from a strong field of candidates with wide and diverse backgrounds”.

The Office of Rail and Road is a non-ministerial government department, which regulates the economic and safety performance of the railways, and the economic performance of England‘s strategic road network.

His Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) was established in 1840, and oversees health and safety on Britain’s railways and tramways. The current Chief Inspector of Railways, Ian Prosser CBE, announced last June that he would retire next year, having first joined Board in September 2008.

Hines joined ORR on secondment in 2020, after spending fourteen years at the Health and Safety Executive, first as a specialist inspector on electrical control system and then becoming Head of Operations for his last three years. This followed a career in electrical engineering at British Sugar.

Richard Hines will become director of railway safety, and will join the ORR Board at ORR. He will lead HM Railway Inspectorate, which has been part of ORR since 2006. He will be the twenty-sixth HM Chief Inspector of Railways in the Inspectorate’s 183-year history.

ORR Chief Executive John Larkinson said, “Ian Prosser has served with distinction for the last fifteen years and his dedication and leadership has set a high standard for health and safety in the UK rail industry. But I’m confident that Richard’s leadership skills and deep understanding of health and safety will open the next chapter and lead to further improvements in both ORR and the industry.”

Richard Hines said, “I am delighted to take on this opportunity at a time of change and challenge for our railways. As I move into the role later in 2024, I look forward to working with the team and sector colleagues to build on previous successes and deliver a safe railway. The upcoming 200-year celebration of our railways provides us with an amazing opportunity to create a health and safety legacy of which we are all proud”.