The Hidden System Keeping Britain’s Rail Workforce on Track
Screening on the Right Track: Rail, Sentinel and the Human Difference
When you ask Diane Ravenscroft how long she’s been at Rullion, she smiles: “Twenty-six years.” In that time, rail has transformed - from laminated cards and manual calls to smartcards, live databases and mobile apps. One thing hasn’t changed: safety comes first.
“Our job is to make sure everything’s safe and everything’s in place before someone goes trackside,” says Diane.
First things first: what is Sentinel?
If you work on or near the UK rail infrastructure, you’ll know Sentinel. It’s the rail industry’s Authority to Work system, a smartcard linked to a secure database and app that lets duty holders verify a worker’s competence and fitness to work in real time. Put simply: Sentinel is the passport to work trackside, owned and operated by Network Rail for the industry.
Supported by the Sentinel Scheme Rules, every supplier working within the rail infrastructure must follow and adhere to these standards - effectively a contract outlining the responsibilities of sponsors, custodians, and cardholders. As Rullion is a Primary Sponsor to its rail workers, its role is to safeguard each candidate and ensure they are fully safe and compliant before stepping onto the network.
As Sibel Akel, Marketing Director, asks Diane in the interview: “So what is Sentinel, in simple terms?”
Diane responds, “It’s how the industry checks competence and fitness in near real time, the last mile of assurance before someone steps onto the track.”
Part of that responsibility includes ordering and recording PPE (personal protective equipment), ensuring it’s correctly issued and evidenced, and making sure every worker receives their unique Sentinel card – similar to a driving licence, complete with a chip linking all their credentials, medical fitness, and competencies. It’s the record that allows each worker to move safely around site.
Why it matters
Rail is one of Britain’s safest transport systems. It is a result of relentless focus on standards, competence and verification. In 2023/24, RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) recorded zero passenger and workforce fatalities in train accidents, a headline that reflects systemic improvements in assurance and risk controls.
At the same time, the risk landscape on Britain’s railways remains very real. The ORR’s 2025 report notes that while overall train accident risk stayed “broadly consistent” with recent years, serious events continue - including 29 high-potential incidents, most of which occurred at level crossing. For those responsible for screening and workforce readiness, it’s a clear reminder: compliance, competence, and site verification via systems like Sentinel remain critical. Even with a strong safety record, there is little margin for error.
How Sentinel works (and where screening fits)
Sentinel sets out the rules, roles, and responsibilities for sponsors, card holders, and custodians. It underpins competence (such as PTS) and fitness-to-work checks, enabling on-site verification by scanning a card or app to confirm a worker’s authority to be there.
This is where Rullion comes in. Through pre-employment screening Rullion ensures workers are fully cleared and ready to be added into client workflows and shift plans. That includes Right to Work checks, identity verification, criminal record checks (where required), employment history, and role-specific evidence.
In rail, speed without accuracy is risky and accuracy without communication is slow.
“The difference is the human touch,” Diane explains. “Candidates know who’s looking after them. We talk them through what to prepare, what documents we need - and we keep them updated.”
A 6-step simple, rail-ready process that removes friction
1) Welcome call (the golden five minutes) Before any links go out, a Rullion advisor calls the candidate to explain the journey and exactly what to prepare; passport, proof of address, full employment history with contacts, and training evidence. For rail, we also set expectations around Sentinel competencies (e.g. PTS) and what will be verified on site. This first call prevents the stop-start delays that can derail onboarding.
2) Smart digital journey Candidates submit their details through a secure portal while Rullion completes the Right to Work check, DBS (if required), employment references, and any role-specific verifications. Where some providers rely entirely on automation, Rullion’s advisors follow up personally - calling when it’s faster, emailing when it’s enough - to keep each case moving.
3) Competencies and specialist checks Depending on their role, candidates may also need competencies such as COSS (Controller of Site Safety) or OLEC (Overhead Line Electrification Construction). Each competency has specific training and evidence requirements that must be verified before booking, and every record links back to the candidate’s Sentinel profile.
4) Fatigue management and wellbeing Rullion also manages fatigue as part of its duty of care. The team tracks every worker’s shift patterns, start and finish times, travel, and breaks to ensure no one exceeds the rail industry’s safety limits. Each worker must have a minimum 12-hour rest between shifts and a maximum 14-hour ‘door-to-door’ working day, including travel. This proactive fatigue management protects both workers and projects and is managed closely in collaboration with Rullion’s Health and Safety team. 5) Sentinel-aware handover Once cleared, Rullion delivers a complete file, not an amber traffic light the client must finish. For rail, that means sponsors and hiring teams can move confidently into Sentinel card and competence steps knowing screening is complete and compliant.
6) Weekly client reviews Short cadence calls surface issues early (non-responsive candidates, missing documents, training bookings) so the plan stays on track.
Sentinel: How to get the best from it
What works brilliantly
Real-time authority checks: Scan the card/app and confirm competence + fitness instantly - essential for safety-critical shifts.
Industry-wide standard: Because it’s Network Rail’s system, suppliers and projects share a common language for competence and assurance.
Common challenges (and fixes)
Data completeness: Sentinel confirms authority to work; it doesn’t collect your pre-employment data for you. If screening is incomplete or messy, everything slows. Fix: lead with a human welcome call and a clear document checklist.
Edge-case confusion: New to rail? Acronyms like PTS, COSS, OLEC, competence codes and fatigue rules can overwhelm candidates. Fix: explain rail-specific requirements in plain English at the start; use email templates + one named advisor.
Sponsor responsibilities: The Scheme Rules place duties on Sponsors (e.g., registration, managing breaches, maintaining primary sponsorship). Fix: give hiring managers a one-page “Sponsor 101” crib sheet with key rules and escalation paths.
Why the human touch still wins in rail
Safety-critical environments reward clarity and confidence. A mistyped email or missing proof of address can stall a start date; a five-minute call can remove weeks of delay. And when the stakes are high, candidates value reassurance - knowing what to expect at their medical, what a PTS induction involves, and how on-site Sentinel scans actually work.
We explore more on the power of human-led screening in Pre-employment screening mistakes to avoid.
Automation has improved efficiency, but human oversight still ensures the data means something. Rullion’s digital systems has its benefits, for example, it tracks when competencies are due to expire, automatically flagging renewals before they lapse, a small but vital evolution that keeps compliance strong and safety seamless.
Action points for rail employers and recruiters
Make Sentinel everyone’s business: Share a one-pager: what it is, how scanning works, who the Sponsor is, and how to report concerns/breaches.
Front-load candidate guidance: Use a welcome call and checklist to prevent rework (Right to Work check items, DBS documentation, full employment history with contacts).
Insist on complete files: Don’t accept “amber” returns you have to finish internally. In rail, partial screening equals operational delay.
Measure what matters: Track average time to clear and % cleared first time with no rework. Celebrate teams that hit both speed and accuracy.
For organisations selecting a rail recruitment or background screening partner for the first time, experience and evidence should come first. It’s essential to choose a provider that is regularly audited, holds the right accreditations, and can clearly demonstrate how it manages workforce safety and compliance. Understanding the Sentinel Scheme Rules takes time and expertise, so working with an experienced partner ensures the process is done right from the start.
Or, as Sibel summarises: “Whoever you go with, make sure they understand the Sentinel way of working - because that’s what keeps people safe.”
The power of experience and teamwork
Managing the Sentinel process isn’t something that can be picked up overnight. It takes time, training, and experience to understand what’s set out in the Sentinel Scheme Rules and why each part matters. The work is subject to rigorous annual audits, supported by Rullion’s Health and Safety team, to ensure every step of the process remains compliant, consistent, and watertight.
Rullion’s track record speaks for itself. “We’ve passed every audit I’ve been involved in for the last five or six years - and that’s because everyone plays their part,” says Diane. “It’s a team effort across Candidate Services, Front of House, and Health and Safety.”
At Rullion, teamwork is at the heart of everything we do. Within Candidate Services, experience runs deep, (team members like Kelly Smith and Susan Good, both Senior Candidate Services Advisors, share more than 45 years at Rullion between them). That collective expertise means challenges are solved quickly, standards remain consistent, and candidates always have someone they can trust. Even as a remote team, collaboration has never been stronger. Daily communication, shared systems, and a culture built on mutual support keep everyone connected and focused on one shared goal: helping clients and candidates get work done.
