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ADVERTORIAL
Dave Burns and Steve Smith discuss the sudden rise of Explore’s Rail Division, exciting new plant, and their vision for the future
Delivering best in class plant
Dave Burns
Images: Explore
Steve Smith
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fter six decades of combined experience in the rail industry, Dave Burns and Steve Smith have seen just about every innovation come and go, but few have sparked their enthusiasm quite like the RH925 Compact – a first of its kind in the UK that is redefining drainage and track renewal operations. It’s the new addition to the Explore Rail fleet, featuring a triple articulated boom eliminating potential spatial restrictions on site, delivering a complete, single machine solution that streamlines workflow, reduces project time, and enhances cost efficiency and on-site reliability. Dave Burns, Head of Sales and Commercial Rail, said: “When you’ve been in the industry several decades you don’t get too excited about plant, as long as it does the right role, but this is different – it is a market leader.” Explaining how it came about, Steve Smith, Head of Rail Operations, said: “We went to the manufacturer Liebherr and to the converter Allan J Hargreaves Plant Engineers asking for a machine that can work on drainage, track renewals and spot hire works. “Together along with Swedish company InTeEx, with the Rated Capacity Indicator (RCI), we came out with this 925 machine that does around 80 per cent of anything we need to do.” It highlights the impact of Explore on the industry, which is remarkable taking into account the business
only entered the UK rail market little more than two years ago. The organisation currently has 38 machines playing a pivotal role on some of the UK’s biggest projects providing plant. Steve said: “All our machines are Stage 5 engine machines, meaning they are the top end of the emissions and sustainability stats, and the average age of our machines is about 16 months. “A great deal of thought has gone into what machines we get, and those have been innovated including changing the RCI systems with InTeEx, which enables us to remotely access the system and fault find. Last year the organisation achieved full On-Track Plant Operations Scheme (POS) certification, demonstrating its commitment to the highest standards of safety, compliance and operational excellence. Dave said: “The POS certification has been a turning point in putting us out to a wider market, added to the fact that we’ve taken the best processes from Explore and our own experiences to create the best experience for our customers.” More recently Explore’s Rail division was awarded Gold as part of the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) for 2026, reflecting its commitment to operational excellence. “We’ve got some real innovations on tracking, attachments and machines and we’re sitting with
June 2026
one of the best haulage businesses in the country evidenced by the FORS accreditation,” explained Steve. “It reflects our commitment and operational excellence.” Discussing the journey ahead, both Dave and Steve say this can be answered in two words: “deliver well”. “This starts from taking an inquiry, putting a quote together, getting an order, delivering it well and invoice it,” said Dave. “Our process is from start to the end and the delivery is so important because if you have that, the customers will come back again and again.” Steve concludes by reverting back to his days as a joiner and advice his father gave him, which was to “measure twice and cut once”. “The measuring is the planning and the delivery is the cutting and it’s essential we get it right,” he said. “Alongside that we’ll continue to make sure when it comes to environmentally, sustainability, reliability, pricing, air quality, that we remain first class. “We will also ensure we are close with our customers making sure it is one team. We are not a subcontractor to a contractor, we are part of the team, embedding people in and building relationships. “Alongside that it is important to us to give people careers and not just shifts, creating a family feel right from the outset and giving them a career path.” https://exploretransport.co.uk/