Presenting at CORE2026 – Stephen Muscat

Q: What topic are you presenting on this year?

Steve: I’m presenting on engineering assurance and why it’s one of the most important, yet often underestimated, parts of delivering successful rail projects.

When something goes wrong in rail, whether it’s infrastructure damage, vehicle incompatibility or poor network performance, the focus naturally turns to what failed. My presentation looks at what happens before those events occur, and how robust engineering assurance helps prevent them in the first place.

Drawing on rolling stock programs across multiple Australian networks, I’ll explore how confidence is built through modelling, testing, documentation and independent review. The presentation shares that assurance isn’t simply about compliance – it’s about demonstrating that engineering decisions are based on evidence, the risks have been examined, and uncertainty has been managed

Q: Why did you choose this topic?

Steve: It’s something I’ve seen throughout the industry time and again. Before a project is delivered, the resources and effort invested in assurance can be questioned because the risks aren’t immediately visible. But after an incident, the cost of getting it wrong suddenly becomes irrelevant compared to the consequences.

That imbalance is compelling. We tend to value assurance most after a failure, when in reality its greatest value is preventing the failure from happening at all.

Australia’s rail industry also operates across multiple networks with different standards, infrastructure constraints and operating environments. That complexity makes engineering assurance more important than ever. I wanted to explore how we can move beyond viewing assurance as a project obligation and instead recognise it as the foundation for building confidence.

Q:  What can attendees expect to learn from your presentation?

Steve: I hope attendees leave thinking differently about what assurance actually means.

We’ll look at how network interface compliance is demonstrated, why traceability between requirements, assumptions and verification evidence matters, and the role that modelling, testing and independent review play in reducing uncertainty.

I’ll also discuss some of the engineering behaviours that can unintentionally weaken assurance, such as relying on precedent, accepting something because “it’s always worked”, or compressing reviews to meet programme deadlines.

Q:  Why is it important to the greater rail industry?

Steve: Most engineering issues don’t become headline-making failures. They appear as service disruptions, defects, compatibility issues or operational inefficiencies. Individually they may seem manageable, but together they can erode confidence, increase lifecycle costs and create weaknesses across networks.

As we introduce new rolling stock, embrace new technologies and operate across increasingly interconnected networks, we can’t assume compatibility or performance. We need to demonstrate it.

Good assurance doesn’t guarantee perfection. It demonstrates that risks have been properly considered, decisions are transparent and engineering outcomes can be confidently defended. That’s essential for building trust across the industry.

Q:  What else are you excited to see at CORE this year?

Steve: CORE always brings together people from across the industry who are tackling similar challenges from different perspectives, and that’s what I’m most looking forward to. The conversations outside the presentation room are often just as valuable.

I’m particularly interested in hearing how others are approaching interoperability, systems integration and engineering assurance as rail networks become more connected and technically complex. There’s a real opportunity for the industry to share lessons, challenge one another, and work to improve Australia’s rail networks.

We tend to value assurance most after a failure, when in reality its greatest value is preventing the failure from happening at all.

Stephen Muscat