RailStaff Issue 205 | December 2014 www.railstaff.co.uk THE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY IN THIS ISSUE CROSSRAIL PULLS Christmas Cracker The first railway tracks on the Crossrail project have been laid in west London. The move presages a busy mid-winter season for track workers and engineers nationally as teams push ahead with track laying on Crossrail, the Borders Railway and Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing. RED TRACK FOR EAST COAST East Coast franchise awarded. Page 5 NORTHERN LINE HEADS SOUTH Northern line extension given the go ahead. Page 6 UPWARDS MOBILITY FOR GORDON New chairman of the RIA. Page 8 Civil Engineering Stobart Rail Plant stobartrail.com Page 4
Transcript
RailStaffIssue 205 | December 2014 www.railstaff.co.uk
THE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY
IN THIS ISSUE
CROSSRAIL PULLSChristmas Cracker
The first railway tracks on the Crossrail project have been laid in west London. The move presages a busy mid-winter season for track workers and engineers nationally as teams push ahead with track laying on Crossrail, the Borders Railway and Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing.
RED TRACK FOR EAST COAST
East Coast franchise awarded.
Page 5
NORTHERN LINE HEADS SOUTH
Northern line extension given the go ahead.
Page 6
UPWARDS MOBILITY FOR GORDON
New chairman of the RIA.
Page 8
Civil EngineeringStobart Rail Plant
stobartrail.com
Page 4
@StobartRailLtd
GARY NEWTON – ESTIMATING AND CONTRACTS MANAGER
Gary has 27 years experience in the building and civil engineering industry, working for local contractors.
He initially joined WA Developments in 2004 as a quantity surveyor, working as part of the structures team, leaving in 2006 to join a small FRC contractor in the North East.
Gary re-joined Stobart Rail in 2007 as an estimating manager. He introduced new, improved cost controls and estimating procedures, and was tasked with increasing win percentages, customer base and service provision.
Having managed the estimating team through some diffi cult periods, Gary was rewarded in 2014 with promotion to estimating and contracts manager. This role placed him in control of a larger department, overseeing all commercial aspects of contracted works from bid to fi nal accounting.
“Over the last seven years I have seen a lot of changes within the group, personally assisting with the progressive growth and increased turnover of Stobart Rail.
“I have been fortunate enough to work alongside some great colleagues, managing and delivering some exceptional projects and I hope this will continue well into the future.”
Success at Hayle, West CornwallHayle viaduct, located south-east of Hayle Station, Cornwall, carries the Penzance to Paddington mainline. The viaduct consists of 37 masonry piers with a deck composed of longitudinally riveted, wrought-iron plate girders, supporting transverse timber decking and a ballasted track with up and down lines.
Working under subcontract to new customer Dyer and Butler, Stobart Rail undertook the following:• Remove existing track ballast and remaining track• Remove existing timber deck• Rivet removal and replacement of top fl ange steelwork• Preparation of top fl ange steelwork – needle gun and Copon fi nish • Installation of new timber deck
• Installation of free issue ballast boards• Setting out engineering, as required• Waterproofi ng of installed deck surface• Installation of bottom ballast• Installation of 2nr RRAP’s.
Work was carried out within a 16-day blockade, at times working under extremely harsh November weather conditions. SR would like to pass on congratulations to Dyer and Butler, Network Rail and all the stakeholders and supply chain involved in this contract – a great achievement!
The Project was handed back 100% complete and on time.
Gary Newton Contracts and Estimating Managert. 01228 882 300e. [email protected]
Andrew Sumner Business Development and Stakeholder Managert. 01228 882 300e. [email protected]
stobartrail.com
Every Christmas, we hear routine denunciations of the festival as a commercial orgy, a bleak mid-winter toddy-and-turkey blow out with little acknowledgement of the original event.
Across the world the damaged and the desperate still stalk the streets with knife and gun. How relevant can a festival celebrating the birth of a child at a town close by the tortured crossroads of human history be nowadays? Are secularists right when they urge us to move on from such naivety, rename the festival or simply acknowledge it as the mid-winter solstice?
This year among the many stories it has been our privilege to report - and we only ever have space for a few - is news of fundraising efforts in Devon as friends rally round to help pay for an operation in America for a little boy, Louie, to help him walk unaided. Louie suffers from cerebral palsy.
At Newton Abbott station railway
staff, scaffolders, builders and contractors have come together to put up a startling display of Christmas lights from the poles and rails that cage the station upgrade works. This has been done in their own time for free in a bid to raise money for the operation for Louie Skinner.
The sum to be raised seems astronomical, £80,000, but last year staff at Heathrow Express managed a similar exercise for Harry Boyce, the child of two drivers. Harry has a similar condition to Louie. Parents and friends of Louie should be encouraged by this. The seemingly impossible is well within the compass of ordinary folk. Authorities may fail our children, criminals murder and abuse them, but the continuing fable of humankind -
however imperfectly reflected in these pages - is a story of the triumph of good over evil. In this lies the genesis of the central message of Christmas.
Other magazines make learned prophecies about the year ahead. At RailStaff we make a simpler prediction - that the money will be raised and Louie will get his operation. Please read the story, have a happy Christmas and give generously.
The Christmas message may be difficult to spot amidst the retail riots and parties. However, it is closer than we think. Theological this may not be, but to look upon the cheery faces of scaffolders and fundraisers alike is to glimpse something of the divine.
be reproduced in any form without the prior written
permission of the copyright owners.
RailStaffContact us:
Training Matters Focus in March
Training and education are the sure paths to success, not only for individuals entering the rail industry, but for railways as a whole. The skills gap could prove a real constraint as more major projects come on line and Crossrail, HS2 and Electrification need ever more trained staff.Please call us today on 01530 816 440 or email [email protected]
Most Interesting Awards
The Most Interesting awards set out to recognise the projects and schemes that have sparked the collective imagination of the industry - the most interesting.
Japanese experience
A recent visit to Japan for the launch of Hitachi Rail’s new IEP train gave Rail Media’s Nigel Wordsworth the chance to experience rail travel around the country and see the differences...
The seemingly impossible is well within the compass of
The first section of railway to be used by Crossrail trains has been laid on Stockley Flyover, a new railway bridge in west London. However, it will be top-performing Heathrow Express that makes use of Crossrail first.
The 120-metre long Stockley Flyover connects Heathrow Airport with the main line and will be used by Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services from next year. Engineers claim it is the largest single-span bridge to have been installed on the Great Western since the days of Brunel. The flyover means trains heading into London will be able to join the Great Western main line without being delayed by other trains using the route.
Staff were congratulated by a delighted Matthew Steele, Crossrail programme director at Network Rail. ‘After four years of planning it is great to see this new infrastructure being
brought into service, well done to everyone involved,’ said Matthew.
Crossrail services between London Paddington and Heathrow will begin in 2018. From 2019, the full route will open. Up to four Crossrail trains an hour will link Heathrow with central London and beyond. Passengers will be able to reach Bond Street in 26 minutes and Canary Wharf in 40 minutes.
More than 23 miles, nearly 90 per cent, of the tunnels are now complete, with tunnelling expected to finish in spring next year. Six of Crossrail’s eight tunnelling machines have now completed their drives. The construction of 10 new stations in central and southeast London is more than half complete. Work continues round the clock beneath the streets of London with more than 10,000 people working directly on Crossrail at 40 construction sites. Next year will see the focus of the project shift to fitting out the stations and tunnels.
Prioritise workforce safety, health and wellbeing for 2015. Our SEQOHS accredited solutions ensure you:
» Comply with health legislation and industry specific standards.
» Manage the ongoing health of your workforce, minimizing downtime.
» Engage employees in proactive health management programmes, reducing sickness absence.
The announcement that the East Coast franchise has been taken over by InterCity Railways, owned by Stagecoach - Virgin has a meagre 10 per cent share - has been greeted with relief by government. The thought of the SNCF taking over, deftly trailed by Marsham Street lamplighters in a false-feint PR exercise, upset the Westminster bubble.
The prospect of a French-owned Eurostar connecting with a French-operated East Coast looked like lending a new chemin de fer ring to the Auld Alliance - unsettling after the bruising referendum on Scots independence.
However, Stagecoach remains firmly British and headquartered in Perth. An extensive portfolio includes South West Trains, Island Line, Sheffield Supertram and East Midlands Trains. Together with
Virgin, it runs the West Coast franchise in which it has a 49 per cent stake.
Stagecoach and Virgin plan to introduce 23 new services out of King’s Cross by 2023 whilst introducing the new fleet of Hitachi-built Super Express intercity trains.
As well as the usual paint and progress initiatives, InterCity Railways promises a ‘Red Track’ graduate training programme, new apprenticeships
and a new National Academy for Rail Professional Education based in York, Derby and London. East Coast employees will have a voice on a new innovation council. Staff will be given ways to own a share of the business through employee share incentive arrangements.
Although Stagecoach saw off the French, popular opinion remains divided about railway franchising. East Coast
operated well in the public sector after the National Express debacle, feeding around £1 billion back to the treasury since 2009.
Whether directed from Paris or Perth, East Coast staff are among the most respected in the business, a clear advantage for new owners who are contracted to pay the HM Treasury £3.3 billion over the eight-year life of the franchise.
Red Track for East Coast
InterCity Railways will operate under the Virgin brand.
December 2014 | RailStaff | 5NEWS
The first tracks have been laid on Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing between Manchester Victoria and Exchange Square.
The Second City Crossing, as a whole, is on track for opening in 2017. 2CC will run between Lower Mosley Street, through St Peter’s Square, down Princess Street, along Cross Street and Corporation Street and into Manchester Victoria.
Says Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, ‘The laying of this track is another demonstration that our public transport infrastructure is being transformed at a truly remarkable rate. This will provide real benefits to the thousands of people that come into the city centre by tram every day, providing additional services, making it easier to travel across the city and connecting more
people with jobs.’ Staff and contractors at Transport
for Greater Manchester are pressing ahead this winter helped by a major grant from the European Regional Development Fund.
Says Peter Jones, project leader for MPT, the consortium constructing the new line, ‘Our teams are already hard at work preparing the new tram route, and we’re grateful for the public’s continued support and understanding while construction takes place.’
Tracks Laid In Manchester
The Northern line extension, with its two new stations in Battersea and Nine Elms, has been given the go-ahead.
Works starts next year and the new railway should be open in 2020. The extension of the London Underground’s Northern line from Kennington to Battersea via Nine Elms was signed off by the Secretary of State for Transport.
The new railway will form the centre piece of the development of the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea area. Eighteen-thousand
new homes are being built as well as shops and businesses. The new stations will be constructed at the heart of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment and at Nine Elms to the east, close by the new relocated United States Embassy and the New Covent Garden Market.
The full £1 billion cost of the Northern line extension will be funded entirely through contributions from the developments in the area that will benefit from the extension. An innovative funding package has been agreed between the Mayor of London and Government, which includes the
creation of an Enterprise Zone from 2016 for a period of 25 years.
Says Mike Brown MVO, managing director of London Underground, ‘This vital new part of the Underground network will support and enable growth in an area that is rapidly developing. By 2020 we will have created over three miles of new tunnels and two brand new stations that will transform transport links to the area.’
Extending the Northern line to Battersea and Nine Elms is one of several steps to improve service levels on the line. From December new signalling on the Northern line will mean a 20 per cent increase in capacity through central London during peak times.
Northern Line Heads SouthDr Paul Salveson, founder of the
community rail movement and long-term railway campaigner, is standing for parliament next May.
Salveson will contest the Colne Valley constituency on behalf of Yorkshire First. The popular movement wants to see a better deal for Yorkshire and a stronger local democracy.
Yorkshire has a larger population than Scotland and an economy twice the size of Wales, but with the powers of neither.
Says Paul, ‘I’m excited and honoured to be the first candidate to be selected by Yorkshire First to fight next year’s election. We will be campaigning for a democratic voice for Yorkshire as a means of building a more socially just and inclusive society based on a dynamic regional economy.’
Dr Paul Salveson is a visiting professor in transport at the University of Huddersfield and a former Kirklees Labour councillor. His working life has included spells on the track, a guard, driver and a comms manager for Northern Rail.
Salvo Stands
NEWS6 | RailStaff | December 2014
cuts to jobscuts to safety
the private rail rip-off
cuts to jobscuts to safetyNOcuts to safety
the private rail rip-off the private rail rip-offSTOP
Protecting our members’ interests is our priorityJoin us todaywww.rmt.org.uk FREEPHONE 0800 376 3706
12570 RMT RailStaff Dec 14 HI-RES.pdf 1 25/11/2014 13:38
Con Massam has joined Bridgeway Consulting as a senior safety engineer.
Con’s primary focus will be on Bridgeway’s Primary Contractor License and other project works which are CDM related.
Managing director Pino De Rosa says, ‘Con is a seasoned railway professional with a wealth of
safety knowledge and experience working with Network Rail, Railtrack and
British Rail which, together with his can do/will do attitude, will bring a
different dimension and energy to Bridgeway.’
Con added, ‘I’m really happy to have joined Bridgeway, and I am looking forward in ensuring that we continue to be a safe and productive company.’
Con takes up Bridgeway safety role
Gordon Wakeford, managing director of Siemens Mobility UK, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Railway Industry Association (RIA).
RIA represents the railway supply industry.
Gordon takes over from David Tonkin, chief executive officer of Atkins UK and Europe, who has completed his two-year term as RIA chairman.
Gordon leads the Siemens Mobility Division in the UK which includes Rail Systems, Traffic Solutions, Rail Automation and Rail Electrification businesses and employs 3,500 people.
Prior to taking over his current role, Wakeford was managing director of Siemens Standard Drives in Congleton. He is a member of the Siemens UK executive management board, a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (FCIHT) and a Chartered Engineer (MIET).
Gordon joined Plessey in 1984 as an engineering graduate and became a Siemens employee when Plessey was bought out by Siemens in 1990.
His career has spanned a variety of activities including engineering, project management and purchasing management. He was recruited to Congleton in 1996 to lead and introduce radical process re-engineering into the manufacturing operation. He has worked on secondment with Siemens in Germany and is married with two daughters.
Says Gordon, ‘Suppliers play a vital role in running one of the world’s most complicated railway systems.
‘With continued growth on the horizon, the British railway industry is on the cusp of further major change and investment. There’s never been a more exciting time to be involved in the railways, with suppliers at the fore shaping the future through innovation.’
Upwards Mobility for Gordon Wakeford
Tom Smith has joined Angel Trains Group as chairman. His experience in rail spans more than a decade.
Smith spent 10 years at the Go-Ahead Group, latterly as managing director, rail development, and was then asked to become independent chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC).
Tom Smith graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, with a degree in chemistry before beginning his career in Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service.
Prior to joining the rail industry, he worked at Trafalgar House plc and Midland Expressway Ltd and is currently non-executive director of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Highways Agency.
Christmas Angel
HS1 Ltd has appointed a new engineering director.
Sean Horkan joins HS1 Ltd from Heathrow Airport Holdings. Horkan succeeds Richard Martin, who postponed his move back to international consultancy to serve as an interim engineering director until a permanent appointment could be made.
Sean Horkan will join HS1 in February 2015. It marks a sea change for Horkan who has worked for 25 years in airport operations. Sean led the development of Heathrow’s masterplans and also the development of Heathrow’s 10-year investment plan for 2014-24.
Sean Horkan has a BSc in civil engineering from the University of Surrey where he also captained the golf team. Sean later played for the England Universities golf team.
He is married with a 15-year-old son
and, as well as golf, he enjoys cycling and walking the family’s two dogs.
HS1 Ltd has a 30-year concession to operate High Speed 1 and stations along the route including St Pancras International, Stratford, Ebbsfleet and Ashford.
HS1 Ltd is owned by a consortium of Borealis Infrastructure and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.
High Speed Tee-Off for Sean
PEOPLE8 | RailStaff | December 2014
Anthony Martin has become the 500th trainee to graduate from the London Bridge Skills Academy at Southwark.
The college was set up a year ago to train and develop engineers working on the £6.5 billion Thameslink Project.
Says Anthony, ‘I’ve been working on sites for many years, doing different kinds of work, from labourer to ground works. Now the skills and the focus which the skills academy has given me has not only made me more employable but also helped me to focus on building a career. I’m a traffic marshal, and I also assist in the demolition operations here at London Bridge.’
Workers can learn entry level construction skills and can expand their studies to encompass full professional qualifications.
Since its launch in July 2013, the Southwark-based academy has supported over 500 people working on the Thameslink Programme from Network Rail, Costain and their
suppliers as well as young people from the local community.
‘The Thameslink programme is helping to develop a new generation of highly skilled engineers for future
infrastructure projects. I congratulate everyone who has been through the academy so far, and I hope more workers will follow in their footsteps,’ says Rail Minister Claire Perry.
This Christmas, Anthony and over 1,000 of his colleagues will be working round the clock at London Bridge, pushing ahead with rebuilding the station.
Skills Academy Leads to Career for Anthony
Mark Whittaker has joined Keyline as business development director.
With 29 years’ experience in the industry, Mark joins Keyline from Burdens, where he was regional trading director, looking after the Scotland, North and Central regions.
A former England schoolboys goalkeeper, Mark says he’s looking forward to applying his substantial industry experience at Keyline where he’s been described as a pair of safe hands.
Says Mark, ‘The role will allow me to widen the exposure of these sectors to key contractors and suppliers,
drive sector specialism, and introduce business initiatives on behalf of the Keyline brand.’
Keyline supplies heavy building materials for railways and infrastructure.
Key Role for Mark WhittakerNick Dunne has become
director technology at Siemens Rail Automation.
Nick joins the company from Laing O’Rourke where he was head of development and design.
Nick has more than 30 years’ experience in a number of engineering and safety roles and has held senior positions at Balfour Beatty Rail Projects and Carillion.
Says Siemens managing director Paul Copeland, ‘I’m delighted to welcome Nick to the company and to my executive team. I’m sure that his extensive rail engineering, safety and assurance skills and experience will be
a considerable asset to the company.’ Nick Dunne is originally from
Southampton and is a member of the BOB club (Business over Breakfast).
Siemens Switch for Dunne
Ganymede has a long heritage of providing
contingent labour to safety critical aspects
of the rail industry. As a Link-Up approved
supplier, we provide semi-skilled and
skilled labour, on call off and temporary
term contracts.
To find out how we can help to fulfil your labour supply needs, contact usfor further information:
Join the Rail Alliance nowRail Alliance membership startsfrom just £500 per year
Whitmore Rail(Providers of rail lubricants. Full friction management portfolio of products and lubricants to cover gauge face lubrication, check rail lubrication, top of rail friction modification and wheel flange lubrication for both mainline track and light rail track including privately owned rail track) www.whitmores.com
CSX Transportation(Class 1 North American Rail Road Company) www.csx.com
J P Forrest & Son Ltd(J P Forrest & Son Ltd is a precision engineering company specialising in the manufacture of medium to heavy welded steel fabrications, machining and assembly to customer specific requirements of equipment such as gear cases, housings, mainframes and equipment bodies for a diverse range of industries including mining, steel making, offshore oil & gas, marine, power generation and recycling) www.jpforrest.com
Hyde Group Engineering Ltd(Hyde Group is a leading engineering service provider specialising in design and manufacture solutions. Offering a complete range of services from discrete work packages to full turnkey solutions, Hyde is trusted by the world’s most prestigious OEMs and tier one suppliers across multiple engineering sectors) www.hydegroup.com
AT Source QX Ltd t/a Protect Hear(Suppliers of personally moulded earplugs either vented with a 29SNR or solid with a 31SNR. Approved by Network Rail Health & Safety Department for use with all equipment that triggers the 80dB(A) activation level) www.protecthear.co.uk
Holemasters Demtech Ltd(Replacement of broken housings in G44 & G47 sleepers, replacement of rail baseplates Pandrol Vipa, replacement of Vossloh broken screws. Diamond core drilling, specialist demolition, screw piling, repairs to brick structures, stitching & concrete repairs) www.holemasters.co.uk
New MembersTopcon is a world leader that combines the best innovative
Japanese technology, with a local, personal service based in Britain. The Positioning Instruments Division operates through branches and dealers throughout the UK with service centres and a technical sales team backed up with support and training office. Topcon prides itself on operating a quality chain from warehousing, through to sales, delivery, after-sales service and support.
For the last decade its advanced machine control technologies have pushed construction to new levels of productivity and automation, further enhanced with the introduction of 3D GPS machine control. Combining the experience of laser manufacturing with the advanced GPS+ technology, Topcon has launched a new high accuracy MMGPS.
Topcon is the leading manufacturer of GPS Technology for the positioning industry in the world today. Its Paradigm G3 chip captures signals from all three satellite-
positioning systems - GPS, GLONASS and the planned European Union’s Galileo system, setting new standards for performance and accuracy.
Topcon’s complete product range from Lasers, Total Stations, Robotic Total Stations, Digital Positioning Imagery Systems, GPS+ and Machine control gives the user the choice to select Topco whatever their needs.
As a member of the Rail Alliance for almost two years, TOPCON has been making the most of its membership benefits. Rail Alliance’s
Long Marston site allows us to safely and accurately test equipment, but with excellent conference facilities, it also means that dealer businesses can attend and see the product in action and trackside.
Being able to test and demonstrate equipment in a real track scenario without the need for Personal Track Safety (PTS) Certificates means that we can invite customers and dealers trackside in a safe environment, giving us so much more scope and opportunity than just demonstrating in a non-rail situation.
Contact at TOPCON: Danielle Ruffell, Marketing Manager
T:08454504300 M:+44(0)7920544092 Unit 9-11 Mersey House, The Matchworks, Speke Road, Garston, Liverpool, L19 2PH [email protected] | www.topconpositioning.co.uk
Thank You from Rail Alliance
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members for being part of the Rail Alliance in this particularly exciting and interesting time for all businesses operating in the UK and global rail sector.
We are very proud to have delivered real business opportunity to our member community through our networking activities in addition to the collaboration and sharing of industry knowledge and information. We have recently taken on two new members of staff and will be appointing a third new member in the new year – this growth in staff is, in part, to help provide a better service to you the member through more regular personalised contact as well as offering more expertise across the board.
We have seen our membership base go from strength to strength and this year there has been significant growth in the number of new members joining. We have also been hearing strong feedback from existing
members about the benefits they are getting, which we are obviously delighted about. It has been a privilege to help existing members get the most of out of the Rail Alliance and, with our new staff appointments, we are also looking forward to getting to know our new members better to ensure that they too can gain real business benefits too.
We wish you all a Happy Christmas and look forward to a continued year of success in 2015! Best Wishes from all the team here at the Rail Alliance:
Colin Flack, Robert Hopkin, Rhona Clarke, Cham Kang, Lucy Prior, Eli-Rees-King, Ruth Dunmore, Paul Alliott, Chris Phillimore
RAIL ALLIANCE10 | RailStaff | December 2014
A special charity train organised by staff at Southeastern has raised over £20,000 for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Train number 395014 toured the south east on charter, running over several lines not in general passenger use.
The charity run was put together by Andy Harding, Southeastern Cl395 fleet engineering manager, and Kent Evenden, Southeastern High Speed driver manager, with help from various colleagues and other Southeastern partner companies in the railway industry.
Says Andy Harding, ‘We used 395014 on purpose, in relation to 1914 and we commissioned some unique graphics for the train too.’
Organisations that came together to run the special train on Saturday, 15 November, included Southeastern, Hitachi, UK Railtours, Stewart Signs, Network Rail, the Victoria Cross Trust, Globalforce, Eversholt and HS1 Ltd.
The goal was to generate £20,000 for the poppy appeal and to aid the Royal British Legion in its work with those who have given so much and in some cases paid the ultimate price with their life.
During the charity charter, numerous prizes were up for grabs in a mass raffle and a blind auction. Prizes included a specially commissioned commemorative model, a cab ride, a depot tour and the Victoria Cross
head board. Two limited edition badges were also produced for
the run and some are still available to purchase at £5 each (Plus P&P), with all funds going to The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
Says Andy, ‘At present, the running total is in excess of £20,000, and we hope that when all of the badges are sold, we will have generated over £22,000 or more.’
Poppy Train in Big Fundraiser
Reflecting a growing trend in rail recruitment, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is taking on more ex-servicemen and has hired 71 veterans this year alone.
Soldiers make good railway operators, according to Forrest Claypool, president of the authority.
Claypool and his colleagues launched a scheme to attract more military veterans in 2012. So far, 358 have enlisted in the Windy City’s extensive metro system.
‘We have found that many veterans,
by virtue of their military service and the skills learned during their service, translate well and make them well equipped to serve this agency and its customers,’ says Forrest Claypool.
To encourage veteran hiring, the CTA accepts military service as equivalent experience when considering applicants for jobs, such as servicing vehicles or equipment. CTA is one of many transport organisations that have stepped up efforts to recruit military veterans.Soldiers make good rail staff says Chicago rail chief.
American PatrolRailfuture
Scotland has unveiled ambitious proposals for the future of the Scottish rail network.
The group wants to see a big expansion of the railway including the reopening of 50 stations and 23 feeder lines - seven are freight railways already in use. Rail campaigners in Scotland have been encouraged by what Scottish transport minister Keith Brown describes as a golden age for railways and a can-do attitude among local Network Rail staff.
Passenger numbers continue to increase and the rail industry is already pushing ahead with £1 billion worth of projects on new and upgraded lines, including the reopening of the Borders Railway and electrification of the Edinburgh-Glasgow main line. Railfuture is a voluntary group representing rail users, with 20,000 affiliated and individual members. It is not funded by train companies, political parties or trade unions.
Golden Age for Scots Rail
NEWS12 | RailStaff | December 2014
The Welsh Highland Railway was the star of the show on TV’s National Lottery Live. Paul Lewin, director of Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, and rail volunteer Elen Roberts joined host Gaby Roslin to celebrate 20 years of changing lives across Britain.
£4.2 million of National Lottery funding was used to help rebuild and reopen the abandoned Welsh Highland Railway in Snowdonia, north Wales. The heritage railway is now a major tourist attraction. Young people learn about their heritage and volunteers are able to contribute to its success. The £4.2 million Lottery grant was one of the first issued in 1995, and remains the largest grant issued in north Wales.
Says Paul Lewin, ‘National Lottery funding galvanised our attempts to resurrect this much-loved line, and helped attract further funding – around £9 million at that stage. I’m very proud of what the Welsh Highland project has achieved.
‘We did what we planned to do in building this railway, and 15 years later we have a highly successful business. I think it a great Lottery funding
success story, and I’d like to take the opportunity of this special landmark for the National Lottery to thank the players who made it possible.’
Since the first National Lottery draw on 19 November 1994, players have raised £32 billion for 450,000 charities, arts, sports and heritage projects, in addition to creating more than 3,700 millionaires and paying out £53 billion in prizes.
Says Jackie O’Sullivan, from the National Lottery, ‘In the last 20 years, the National Lottery has funded many fantastic projects and organisations throughout Wales. The Welsh Highland Railway is a superb example of
how National Lottery funding can be enjoyed by all, creating a family resource and visitor attraction, preserving our past, educating the next generation and creating jobs and volunteering opportunities.’
It Could Be... It Was... Welsh Highland Railway
Alstom has delivered the last of the 22 Citadis trams for Nottingham Express Transit (NET). Five of the new fleet are already in service on Line 1. The next 17 are presently being tested and will enter service next year on the expanded NET network.
Says Terence Watson, Alstom UK president, ‘We’re delighted to have delivered the final Citadis for Nottingham, especially as the Citadis trams, which have been specially customised in the distinct and stylish
NET tram brand, are becoming a more common sight on the city’s streets. The process of testing the Citadis and getting them into service is going extremely well, and we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the city.’
Nottingham’s Citadis trams are 32 metres long and can carry up to 274 people. The 22 new Citadis trams were built in Alstom’s facility in Barcelona. Alstom is in charge of their maintenance along with the 15 other trams, built by Adtranz, already in service on Line 1.
• Balaclava rolls down to neck for warmth and comfort
• Available only at Spartan Safety Ltd
• Highly versatile garment
• Suitable for “All Seasons” use
• Breathable outer shell
• Removable hood
• External phone pocket
• D rings for attaching identity tags
• Fleece lined collaron outer garment
• Velcro adjustable cuffs
• Hand warmer pockets
• Inner jacket zipout sleeves
• 3M refl ective tape
Conforms to:
• EN471& EN343 Class 3
• GO/RT 3279 Rail Spec
Sizes: S to 4XL
HV1117
HP5633
HV1117
• Balaclava rolls down
HP5633HP5633
Please quote ref number“RS12” when ordering to
receive your free gift
Sizes: One size fi ts all
December 2014 | RailStaff | 13NEWS
The discovery of 18th century mine workings in Wolverhampton has held up work on a track replacement project.
Puzzled Midland Metro rail engineers unearthed the old mine beneath Bilston Road. Staff at Centro, the region’s public transport co-ordinator which is carrying out the £4.5 million track replacement programme, is examining the extent and depth of the ancient tunnels and galleries.
The workings were discovered as workmen dug into the ground to prepare foundations for the new track running to a rebuilt terminus at St George’s in the city centre.
The workings are thought to be remnants of the coal, limestone or iron ore mine works that criss-cross Wolverhampton and the wider Black Country dating back to the Industrial Revolution.
Says Midland Metro programme director Paul Griffiths, ‘It is one of those
situations where, while you might suspect there is something there, you are completely in the dark until you start digging up the ground.
‘There is a history of minor settlement under the track in this section and, while it has not been an issue in the past, for this replacement programme we are digging deeper in this area to remove old parts of the rail and the associated foundations. It is a problem that we cannot ignore - the ground will have to be excavated then filled in properly to provide a strong and durable base for the track.’
The discovery is the latest in a series of unforeseen complications that have had a cumulative impact on the scheme’s timetable since work began in September this year.
The strength of the foundations under the old track was worse than anticipated and the discovery of unmarked public utility pipes and a culvert also hit the timetable. Engineers and track staff have put in extra and longer hours to get the project back on track.
Min
e The
Gap
Workmen by the mineworkings near Steelhouse Lane, Wolverhampton.
TransportBenevolentFund
Rail Staff
ChristmasCarol Service
with
London’s Transport ChoirSt Mary’s Somers Town
Eversholt Street, London NW1
Lunchtime service at 1230Thursday
18 December 2014Light refreshments in the vestry afterwards
Sponsored by TBFFor further information, call
0300 333 2000ETD 00 38571
Auto 1200 38571
The Transport Benevolent Fund(known as TBF) is a registered charity
in England and Wales (1058032)and in Scotland (SC040013)
December is a busy time for the London Transport Choir. On Wednesday, 10 December, the choir will be singing at the Transport for London Annual Festival of Carols, St Martin in the Field.
Fresh from the carol singing at Marylebone Station on Wednesday, 17 December, between 1700-1800 in aid of the Transport Benevolent Fund, the choir will be supporting the Rail Staff Carol Service on Thursday, 18 December, at 1230 at St Mary’s Church, Eversholt Street, London.
The Eversholt Street Carol Service is a firm favourite with many throughout the industry.
Says Andy Milne, editor, RailStaff, ‘It is in a good cause - the Transport Benevolent Fund - which looks after people less fortunate than ourselves and supporting TBF is particularly appropriate at Christmas. Better still the Carol Service is a chance to meet old friends and new.’
The service is open to all people, of any faith and none, who work in railways and their friends and families. Refreshments are available afterwards and the festive spirit continues as many make an afternoon of it in Euston and the intriguing hinterlands of Somers Town. The church is on Eversholt Street which runs up the right hand side of Euston Station in the direction of travel.
Next year the London Transport Choir has been invited to collaborate in a new composition celebrating the romantic possibilities offered by passengers on the London Underground. A full and frank discussion is expected after the Carol Service.
Christmas Carol Service
NEWS14 | RailStaff | December 2014
& 0300 333 2000 8 www.tbf.org.uk e [email protected] Transport Benevolent Fund (known as TBF) is a registered charity in England and Wales (1058032) and in Scotland (SC040013)
The fastest growingmembership charity inthe public transportindustry. Just £1 a week covers you, your partner and dependent children.
Shoppers using rail services to get to and from Birmingham’s famous Christmas Market are being advised to allow more time to catch their trains at New Street station.
Almost five million people visited the market last year, putting increased pressure on the rail network and the station, which is in the process of being redeveloped.
Christmas markets are thought to have originated in Germany in the Middle Ages. Dates were agreed for substantial gatherings, usually in the town square opposite the church. As well as food and artefacts on sale,
stalls selling hot mulled wine, grilled sausages and dumplings were popular. As the festival of Christmas grew in importance so the Christmas markets
have expanded and now last most of Advent.
Birmingham’s Christmas Market runs until Monday, 22 December and,
combined with the seasonal increase in shoppers, helps to create one of the busiest times of the year in the city.
Market Forces
A black and white bird’s eye view of people on the platforms at London Bridge station has won the Network Rail Lines in the Landscape Award at this year’s Take a View’s Landscape Photographer of the Year competition.
Stephen Bright from Hook in Hampshire wins, appropriately, a trip in the Network Rail inspection helicopter or, if he prefers, a down-to-earth trip on the inspection train. London Bridge is the fourth-busiest station in the country and is undergoing one of Britain’s biggest station redevelopments.
Parallel LinesMajor alliance contracts have
been signed between Network Rail, Costain and Morgan Sindall aimed at delivering the core physical works on the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).
The £250 million deal will see Network Rail and its contractors electrify the main line between Scotland’s two biggest cities, complete route clearance works at Winchburgh Tunnel, rail infrastructure works at Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley stations and extend platforms at Croy, Falkirk High, Polmont and Linlithgow.
Network Rail plans to complete the main Edinburgh-Glasgow
electrification works in 2016. The project coincides with the construction of the new Edinburgh Gateway Interchange station at Gogar and the redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street station.
To The Land of EGIP
December 2014 | RailStaff | 15NEWS
Railway staff at Newton Abbot station have moved quickly to quell reports that Father Christmas was stuck on the scaffolding above the station.
Spotted on the roof by eagle-eyed youngsters, Santa’s unofficial visit was part of a fundraising exercise for Louie Skinner, 2, who was born with cerebral palsy.
Local builders and scaffolders have come together to put up Christmas lights at the station, which is being revamped.
The object is to raise money for Louie to travel to the United States for a special operation that could help him eventually walk unaided. Parents, Lucy Ransom and Nick Skinner hope to raise the money with the help of friends and family and people in Torquay where they live.
Louie needs an SDR, selective dorsal rhizotomy, operation, similar to that performed for young Harry Boyce, whose parents are train drivers at Heathrow Express. The trip is being organised by Tree of Hope and the cost is £80,000. To make a contribution go to: https://www.justgiving.com/footstepsforlouie
Santa Stuck on Station Roof
Tony Gee and Partners, the Surrey-based international specialist engineering consultancy, celebrated its 40th birthday at the end of November.
Since its formation in 1974 in a small office near Cobham, the company has grown to a team of over 400 staff throughout the UK and in Hong Kong, UAE and Malaysia.
Says Graham Nicholson, executive managing director, ‘Looking back over those years there have been many changes in our industry, but the fundamental values on which our business was founded remain entirely relevant today and are what makes us different.
‘In the early 1990s we entered rail as an important market, and we pioneered new technology in construction with our carbon fibre capability.
‘We remain a private company, run and managed by the owners. Our investment in people means we now employ over 400 people, and we continue to challenge ourselves with interesting and demanding projects.’
Tony Gee at 40Bridgeway Consulting has
marked a successful year by officially opening its new head offices by the River Trent in Nottingham. Local MP Lilian Greenwood joined Bridgeway’s managing director, Pino de Rosa, to open the new headquarters and unveil a commemorative plaque.
Bridgeway House sits by the old Grand Central railway - currently making a come back as part of the Clifton tram extension. At the grand opening Bridgeway also celebrated winning its Ten Year Investors In People certificate. Bridgeway’s head of human resources Lisa Brackner, winner of the Recruiter and HR Person of the Year title at the RailStaff Awards 2014, collected the honour.
The move seals a remarkable year for Bridgeway. This summer Bridgeway Consulting was ranked number 35 in the TOP 200 fastest growing companies in the East Midlands. Stringent criteria included evaluating client satisfaction, securing new and repeat business and
up-skilling the workforce at all levels. Much of the success is down to the
staff, says Pino de Rosa. ‘I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for the hard work and commitment that has helped our company to achieve this accolade especially considering that there are circa 140,000 businesses
in the East Midlands,’ he said in a special message to staff. ‘This is a fantastic achievement and you [the staff] should all be really proud of the part that you have played in gaining this recognition.’
Next year Bridgeway celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Trent Move Caps Record Year for Bridgeway
NEWS16 | RailStaff | December 2014
advert-sept-2014.indd 1 05/09/2014 11:15
A recent visit to Japan for the launch of Hitachi Rail’s new IEP train gave Rail Media’s Nigel Wordsworth the chance to experience rail travel around the country and see the differences that culture makes to the running of a railway system.
Arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, the international press team took the opportunity to board one of the monorails that have run from the airport to the city since 1964, although the current rolling stock only dates back to 2006.
Ticketing was simple as a ‘Suica’ card was purchased at a machine. This operates much like London’s Oyster – a
deposit is paid for the card which is then topped-up in fixed increments. The card was first introduced by JR East in 2001 and can now be used interchangeably with cards from several other railway companies as well as buses and trams in the Tokyo area. In addition, many small shops and kiosks, particularly within stations, accept Suica cards for payment as a form of electronic money.
A unified yet divided network At this stage it may be opportune
to explain how Japan’s railways are organised. The former Japanese National Railways, a government-owned corporation, was broken up in 1987 after problems caused by management inefficiencies, declining usage and
accusations of fraud.The Japanese Railways Group, known
as the JR Group, was formed although it is more of a loose association as all of the companies are independent.
The six passenger train companies are divided geographically. Railways on the main island of Honshu are split between JR East, JR Central and JR West. All three own trains, run services and also own and maintain their own infrastructure and are publicly-quoted companies.
The three next-largest islands have their own networks, run by JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Kyushu respectively. JR Freight runs a national freight service and all of these four companies are still owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency.
The bulk of the network is to 3’ 6” gauge (1.067m). The Shinkansen (new trunk line) high-speed lines are standard 4’ 8.1/2” gauge (1.435m) and are dedicated to high-speed services. This means that as well as being fast, services are very reliable and with punctuality timed in seconds rather than minutes. JR Central set a record in 1997 with an average lateness of 18 seconds.
Some Shinkansen and other services run across company dividing lines. The train goes through, but the crew changes at the ‘border’.
Inside TokyoThe monorail ride was no different
from any other metro service, although there were excellent views of Tokyo bay. The express (fast) service to Tokyo takes only 13 Minutes.
JapaneseExperience
Cleaners awaiting the next arrival at Tokyo’s central station.
FEATURE18 | RailStaff | December 2014
Arriving at Hamamatsuchō station, it was time to do battle with Tokyo’s subway map. Those of us used to the ordered geometry of London’s underground maps found the Tokyo version confusing, even more so as some versions are in Japanese script only and others don’t show all of the operating companies. However, it was soon decided that the Oedo line to Shinjuku was the best choice.
Moving around the system is easy, and another difference between Japanese and UK practice was soon noticed. Japanese gate lines are open by default and only close when an invalid ticket (or even no ticket at all) is submitted. Thus, crowds move through gates much more quickly. There always seemed to be an attendant on hand for those with problems or even foreigners who were just confused!
The following day we used the Maroumouchi line to get to Tokyo Central station to catch a JR East Shinkansen to Sendai, two hours north-east along the coast.
Our trip was in a bright-green class E5 train. In fact, the lower half of the body sides are white, with a pink stripe separating that colour from the predominant green. The trains themselves are built both by Hitachi and by Kawasaki.
Sendai is the home of JR East’s General Shinkansen Depot. 1,200 people work here, carrying out major rebuilds of the company’s train fleet.
By regulation, every Shinkansen train must be rebuilt every 36 months. Bogies come off and are rebuilt, with the wheel profiles being turned. Once complete,
each individual bogie is run on a dynamometer at 200mph - it is well tied down while on test to prevent it shooting out into the main factory.
All of the seats come out, and the wiring, and the resultant empty carriages are then repainted. Seats are repaired as necessary and replaced, as are the wiring looms, the pneumatic systems and the lighting. Just 18 days later a gleaming, 10-car Shinkansen train is ready to go back into service.
The Sendai depot looks after all of the models of the JR East Shinkansen fleet. The E5 we already know, but there was even an E7 in the shop. Signed off by the manufacturer only the day before, it is the latest addition and has only been in service since March 2014.
Two into one does goReturning to Tokyo, we stop off
at Fukushima. Here the Yamagata Shinkansen line from Shinjo joins the main Tohoku Shinkansen from Shin-Amori which we have been travelling on. To increase capacity into and out of Tokyo, 10-car E2 sets are coupled up with seven-car E3 trains from Shinjo to run into the capital as one 17-car train. The speed with which this happens is impressive. The front train is only in the platform for a minute or two before the rear portion arrives. There is then only a few moments delay before the coupled-up combination is off on its way.
Back on the next E5, the party is soon back at Tokyo. Here we have the chance to look around the station, and especially the retail area. This is extensive with a lot of food outlets as well as luxury stores. JR East’s
Kenichiro Takahara, who looks after the retail sector, explains that 32 per cent of the company’s total income is now from non-railway activity and the target is to get this up to 50 per cent.
Down southThe following morning, the group
is back at the central station, this time catching a JR Central train to Tokuyama, just west of Hiroshima and 1,000 km from Tokyo. A 16-car N700 train will take us first to Osaka and then, under a JR West crew, on to Tokuyama.
As the train pulls into the terminus platform at Tokyo Central, a line of people in pink (for the women) and blue (for the men) uniforms line up, one or two at each door position. As soon
The foreign press in front of a JR East E5 train at Sendai.(L-R) Kazunori Ogura (Hitachi), Keith Fender (Modern Railways), Nigel Wordsworth (Rail Media), Nigel Harris (RAIL), Nick Kingsley (Railway Gazette International), Daniela Karthaus (Hitachi), Francesca Buckley (Hitachi), Keith Barrow (International Railway Journal) and Yasuhiro Okui (Hitachi).
One of JR East’s new Class E7 trains at the Sendai depot.
as the last passenger has disembarked, these cleaners, for that’s who they are, dive onto the train and start frantically cleaning everything in sight. Rubbish bins are emptied, antimacassars are changed and dusting and polishing takes place. The crew has seven minutes to complete its task.
While this is going on, passengers who are waiting to board stand patiently on the platform. No-one tries to get on while the cleaning crew is on the train.
Once finished, the cleaners disembark
and stand to attention by the doors, which then close. The cleaners leave and, at the appointed time, the doors open again. Everyone boards and, within two minutes, we are off. It’s impressive.
Standard-class seating has plenty of legroom but, arranged in a 3 + 2 format, hip space is a bit limited for the western ‘bum’.
One novelty though is that, by releasing a catch, a complete three-seat unit can be spun around to face the one behind and then locked back into place. So the choice of face-to-face or airline seating is down to the passengers.
Impressive new trainAt Tokuyama, after an overnight
stay in a clean but simple hotel, and a Japanese attempt at a western cooked breakfast, it’s off by bus to Hitachi’s Kasado Works. The press is lined up in front of a red and white stage, a large pair of white curtains is drawn and the new IEP train, number 800001, moves forward under its own (diesel) power. Three bi-mode (combined diesel and overhead electric) trains will arrive in the UK in 2015 for testing, two five-car units and one nine-car.
Almost devoid of seats to make room for all of the testing equipment that will be installed later, the new train is impressive. Sliding doors may be a
bit unusual on the main line, but the Shinkansens all have them and they work well and reliably.
Painted in fairly neutral colours, these trains will remain Hitachi’s property until testing is complete. Thirteen trains in total will be built in Japan before assembly moves to Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. With a high UK and European content, all of those components will be shipped to Japan to be built into the early trains and then shipped back.
Having looked at the factory and how the trains are being built, interspersed with Shinkansen units and narrow gauge metro stock, it was back to the station for the return to Tokyo. This time we were in Green Class - the equivalent of first - and, with wider seats in a 2+2 arrangement, it’s much more comfortable. JR East even has a Gran Class with leather seats arranged 2+1 and a luxurious ambience. It’s a great way to travel.
Two other things are noticeable. Looking out of the window, there is no graffiti anywhere. And the on-board announcements, which are in English as well as Japanese, reminds passengers that anyone wishing to make or receive a mobile phone call should go out into the between-carriages lobbies so as not to disturb other passengers.
It’s a different world!
A JR Central N700 service leaves Tokyo’s Central station.
The new Class 800 IEP train at its launch.
FEATURE20 | RailStaff | December 2014
In its first 20 years of operation Eurostar has already trounced the aviation market on the London, Brussels and Paris run. Now experienced drivers, smart new trains and bilingual staff are poised to bring easy access to a sweep of cities in Europe.
The Channel Tunnel was identified early on as a challenging route for drivers. It is the second-longest rail tunnel in the world and the designers behind Eurostar’s Class 373 were concerned about the risk of drivers, flashing through the dark at over 100 mph, falling into a trance-like state. The solution they came up with was to fit a smaller windscreen - a design trait that both the existing fleet and the new e320 share.
Judging from the comments made by Eurostar chief executive Nicolas Petrovic at the launch of the first new e320 high-speed train, many more possibilities still exist from that small window of opportunity.
Eurostar has carried more than 150 million passengers since Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterrand declared the Channel Tunnel officially open, and although the launch ceremony was also a celebration of the service’s achievements to date, Petrovic believed it wasn’t the time to look back.
‘Today is not about nostalgia,’ said Petrovic. ‘It’s not about saying how great it was in the past... It’s about the growth that’s coming.’
At the unveiling of the first new 16-car e320, Petrovic announced that Eurostar plans to order a further seven units as it looks to add various new services over the next few years. In May 2015, Eurostar is launching a direct service to Provence, via Lyon, Avignon and Marseille. At the end of 2016, the e320 - or Class 374 as it has been classified - will then begin operating a direct service to Amsterdam, with stops at Antwerp, Rotterdam and Schiphol. The 17 new high-speed electric multiple units (EMUs) are part of a £1 billion investment programme. Eurostar is overhauling its original Class 373 fleet to match the e320 and upgrading some of its station facilities.
European interoperability standards‘Over the next three years, we will completely
change Eurostar,’ said Petrovic, before unveiling the e320 with its deep blue, yellow and grey livery. But some of those changes are out of Eurostar’s hands.
The British government confirmed in October that it was pressing ahead with the sale of its 40 per cent shareholding in the company in order to bring down the national debt. It is a controversial decision, especially with Eurostar transporting 10 million passengers in a single year for the first time in 2013. Although the operator was originally expected to achieve annual passenger numbers of 21.4 million within its first 10 years, there is no doubt the service is growing in popularity.
The Class 374, unlike the Class 373, complies with European interoperability standards, enabling Eurostar passengers to travel to Germany and the Netherlands for the first time without having to alight and swap trains part way through. It gives Eurostar greater flexibility - a quality the company will need if German operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) gets around to launching a direct ICE service between London and Frankfurt as it plans.
Very, very difficult projectSpeaking beside the new train on St Pancras
International’s platform 5, Steve Scrimshaw, managing director of rail systems for Siemens in the UK and a member of the original bid team, said it had been a ‘very, very difficult project’. Eurostar awarded Siemens the contract to supply 10 new high-speed train sets in 2010. What then followed was a drawn out, but ultimately unsuccessful, legal challenge by Alstom. The external livery and interior has been designed by Pininfarina, the Italian design house best known for its work with Ferrari, alongside Siemens - another challenge to overcome.
Manufactured in Krefeld, Germany, the e320, which utilises a distributed traction system, has a higher seating capacity and, with a maximum operating speed of 320 km/h, is faster than the Class 373. It is also the longest of Siemens’ Velaro family of trains, which already operate in Germany, Russia, China and Turkey. It is the interior, however, where Eurostar has been the most meticulous. Seats recline in Standard, Standard Premier and Business Premier class carriages. There are automatic ‘touch-free’ glass doors between carriages. Passengers will also have access to free Wi-Fi and a brand new information and entertainment system.
Having suffered several setbacks, things are now starting to move quickly for the project. All 10 trains are either built or in the final stages of assembly. In November, testing began in the UK on HS1, slip streaming around night-time maintenance work. By December next year, Eurostar plans to have its first e320 in service and all 10 trains from the original order should be delivered by early 2016. Siemens will then begin a 10-year maintenance contract from Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot. Eurostar also recently placed an order for an e320 simulator from Grenoble-based company CORYS, which is set to arrive in September 2015 to support the driver training programme.
Tens of millions of people in Britain have grown up with access to international rail travel. It has revolutionised travel to and from Europe. In its next 20 years, Eurostar is aiming to open up more European destinations to rail passengers and remain a sizeable thorn in the posterior of the airline industry.
Follow Yonder Star Report by Marc Johnson
December 2014 | RailStaff | 21NEWS
Day 1: A meeting of rail safety minds How do we continue to make sense of safety?
Day 2: CIRAS - Confi dential Reporting for Safety Are we addressing the concerns of the workforce?
Book your tickets now at www.railsafetysummit.com
Following the success of last year’s Rail Safety Summit, we are delighted to announce that our sixth event is now expanded to two days, and will be held on Thursday 30th April and Friday 1st May at the Royal College of Physicians, London.
The Rail Safety Summit has become THE conference for rail safety executives, infrastructure owners, train operators, rail stakeholders
and training professionals, with leading fi gures from the rail safety, security, risk assessment and training professions all in attendance.
An Advisory Board has been developed for the 2015 Safety Summit. This esteemed group of people come from all areas of the Rail Industry and are best placed to know what the current burning questions in the industry are that need to be answered.
Day 1: A meeting of rail safety minds How do we continue to make sense of safety?
Day 2: CIRAS - Confi dential Reporting for Safety Are we addressing the concerns of the workforce?
Book your tickets now at www.railsafetysummit.com
Following the success of last year’s Rail Safety Summit, we are delighted to announce that our sixth event is now expanded to two days, and will be held on Thursday 30th April and Friday 1st May at the Royal College of Physicians, London.
The Rail Safety Summit has become THE conference for rail safety executives, infrastructure owners, train operators, rail stakeholders
and training professionals, with leading fi gures from the rail safety, security, risk assessment and training professions all in attendance.
An Advisory Board has been developed for the 2015 Safety Summit. This esteemed group of people come from all areas of the Rail Industry and are best placed to know what the current burning questions in the industry are that need to be answered.
Speaking at Network Rail’s Suppliers Safety Forum on November 13th, their Infrastructure Projects Managing Director Francis Paonessa used a sobering statistic.
He commented that at the present rate another 42 people will have had a RIDDOR reportable accident by Christmas! One hundred and forty supply company representatives attended the event. As they entered they were filmed passing an actor posing as a maintenance worker. His methods of working were very unsafe but few of the delegates challenged him. The film was then shown to delegates as a reminder to everyone of their personal responsibilities.
Recent correspondence from a reader commenting on the Saxilby fatality report refers to competence management systems and the need to audit them. But individuals should never just walk by. The poem “I could have saved a life today” was also read and is available to all on Network Rail’s Safety Central website. I commend it.
Welders trolley on the open line
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s (RAIB) recent report into the destruction of a welders’ trolley hit by a train at speed back on January 16th this year demonstrates how individuals can be led into getting things wrong.
At just two minutes before midnight a passenger train travelling at 85 mph between Crewe and Shrewsbury struck the loaded welders trolley at
Bridgeway User crossing. The track worker who was loading it jumped clear just seconds before the impact.
The Controller of Site Safety (COSS) had blocked the opposite line on the advice of the welder who had been misled by the presentation of information in the paperwork describing the safety arrangements for the job. The COSS was not directly supervising the workers when the trolley was placed on the line.
The RAIB report says the “absence of relevant information in the paperwork about the location of the work contributed to poor decision making on the night of the accident”. It adds that there were deficiencies in competence management and the welfare arrangements made afterwards for those involved were poor.
I am of the opinion that the arrangements should have been explained and agreed with those who were going to do the work beforehand. When I started on the railway some good trackmen were
illiterate, but everyone had their say in how the work was to be done. They all understood before their shift began.
Two Ironmen with a tonne of rail ran away for five miles
On November 1st two pairs of Ironmen were to be used to move two 52 foot long lengths of rail. The work was to be done on the Garnaut Branch Line between Pantyffynnon Junction and Gwaun-cae-Gurwen under a possession from 2100 hours Saturday until 1200 Sunday.
As the initial report from RAIB says, the route gradient is 1 in 40 but that is an average and rainfall had been intense. The first pair of Ironmen were put on track at the Gwaun-cae-Gurwen access point and loaded with the length of rail. The brakes were applied but when they failed to hold it, two of the gang leapt onto the pair and rode them whilst trying to slow them down.
They stayed aboard until they reached Raven Crossing where others
were scheduled to be working. They then both jumped clear. One suffered injuries requiring hospital treatment. The pair of Ironmen ran on downhill for a total of five miles. It passed over three road and two footpath crossings before slowing down and being stopped by a Network Rail manager near Ammanford.
Only use on 1 in 150 gradients or less
A second pair of ironmen was manned by three track-workers and although they struggled they successfully stopped at Raven Crossing as planned. On November 6th Network Rail issued a bulletin saying that the brakes were worn, reminded everyone of the need for brake testing and planning the use of Ironmen. It banned their use on gradients steeper than 1 in 150 until further notice.
I would have expected the track staff to have reservations given the gradient and wet conditions. Were they given the opportunity to challenge the planned work method,
TRUSTING COMPETENT PEOPLE
No: NRS 343
Network Rail The Quadrant:MK Elder Gate Milton Keynes MK9 1EN
6 November 2014
Network Rail Safety Bulletin
Safe use of IronmenFor the attention of: All staff involved in the planning, operation and maintenance of Ironmen Background:
On 1 November 2014 a group of trackworkers were moving 2 x 52ft pieces of rail for approximately a mile and a quarter on the line between Pantyffynnon Jcn and Gwaun-cae-Gurwen in Wales using two pairs of Ironmen.
The Ironmen were being operated down a gradient which was up to 1 in 40, with the load for each pair being just short of 1 tonne. The rail head was contaminated with leaves and it was raining heavily at the time.
Both pairs of Ironmen experienced difficulties during braking; this resulted in them gaining speed to the point the operators could no longer control them. One of the operators of the first pair received a graze injury and another suffered from shock.
The first pair ran away for approximately 5 miles crossing 5 level crossings including narrowly avoiding a team working on the first. The second pair was brought to a halt at the first level crossing. Subsequent inspection of the brakes has shown them to be worn.
Immediate action required:
Before further use, all Ironmen shall have additional maintenance carried out by the maintainer. The maintenance shall follow the full maintenance requirements for brakes contained in the user guide or handbook.
Ironmen shall not be used on gradients greater than 1 in 150 until further notice. Staff are reminded that a brake test is required at the start of every shift (rotational tests)
and once mounted on rail (prior to loading). The requirements for planning, operating and maintaining Ironmen including the number
of staff required to control the equipment based on the load are contained within NR/PLANT/0200/modules P501, P514 and P702 Infrastructure Plant Manual.
Issued by: Paul Conway, Professional Head [Plant and T&RS] [email protected]
ACCEPTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITYAcknowledging that everyone makes mistakes
NETWORK RAIL SAFETY24 | RailStaff | December 2014
or better still given the chance to discuss the method of working?
Watford Tunnel signalling location case
This too is the subject of a Network Rail Safety Bulletin but dated 4th November. It was 7-20 am on the morning of October 26th this year when the 0642 London Midland passenger train from Milton Keynes to Euston struck a line-side location case door in the tunnel whilst travelling at 88 mph. The impact detached the door as it struck the third coach, the door then hit the tunnel roof before hitting a side door of the rear coach.
This coach door was significantly damaged as may be seen from the picture. The insecure coach door caused the automatic application of the train’s brakes and the train came to a stand at the south end of the tunnel near Watford Junction Station.
The initial report from RAIB notes that signalling maintenance work had been undertaken on the previous night, and this train was the first to run since then. Who was responsible for checking before handing back is the question that needs answering I suggest.
RAIB Annual Report 2013Also in November the RAIB
published its annual report for 2013. It is divided into two parts; section 1 reviews the industry’s responses to the reports. Section 2 details the status of the recommendations they made.
During 2013, RAIB published 22
reports and 5 bulletins and a further 26 investigations were begun. The Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents Carolyn Griffiths uses her Foreword to this year’s report to voice her concerns that lessons do not seem to have been learnt from earlier published reports.
Referring specifically to accidents at Arley, Beech Hill and Bulwell she points out that these accidents happened despite recommendations made as a result of earlier published investigations that had been reported as having been implemented. She understandably asserts that the lessons from those accidents have still not been learnt.
The average time for a full investigation remains just below the 12 month target. During 2013 two bulletins were issued by RAIB when track staff were injured but survived being struck by a train. One involved a track-worker being hit by a passing train whilst walking alongside the track. He escaped with minor injuries the other was acting as lookout with his back to the approaching train that struck him and caused serious injuries.
Royal College of Physicians April 30th/May 1st 2015
I am pleased that in 2015 I will again be chairing the 2015 Rail Safety Summit. The use by Network Rail’s Francis Paonessa of “I could have saved a life today” I hope has acted as a reminder that everyone from Chief Executives to track staff needs to be a part of working safely.
I am also delighted that day 2
will be devoted to answering the question, “Are we addressing the concerns of the workforce?” It is right that this is an initiative from CIRAS the Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis Service to the industry.
For too long their work has gone unheralded and I firmly believe that they can help take us forward to safer and more productive working methods
established by listening more to the workforce and using their good ideas. This is not a new initiative. To many it is common sense. It may not easily fit into a standard computer program, but it remains the safest method of planning work. As has been said before, ask the man holding the shovel - he knows the answers but no-one has asked him the questions yet!
Network Rail The Quadrant:MK Elder Gate Milton Keynes MK9 1EN
3 November 2014
No: NRS 341
Network Rail Safety Bulletin
Watford Tunnel – Train Collision with location case door
For the attention of: all railway staff working trackside
Background: On 26 October 2014, a London Midland train travelling south through WatfordTunnel came into contact with the door of a signalling location case. The impact of the location case door on the train caused damage to the carriage including smashing the train door window.
The location case had recently been installed on the tunnel wall.
Investigations have commenced and involve: RAIB, ORR, Network Rail, the Principal Contractor and London Midland.
While we are investigating the causes of the accident, please take the time to consider the following and discuss in your teams:
When working on location cases how do you positively confirm that the doors are closed and secured on every occasion before leaving the worksite?
Are there other pieces of equipment or materials that you work with that may pose a similar risk? How do you make sure these are only ever left in a safe condition?
Issued by: Network Rail. For further details contact: Andy Dunnett – Head of S&SD IP Signalling
Location case with door missing Damage to London Midland train
023 9225 4442 signalworkwear.comExclusive to Safeaid
SIGNAL. STRENGTH.
The Rail Vehicle Enhancements Expo and Forum, held in Derby, is on target for a record-breaking show next year.
Staged on 15 October at the Derby IPRO Football Stadium in the centre of Pride Park, the 2014 show attracted more visitors than ever before.
The forum was oversubscribed and the number of exhibitors doubled. The organisation of Rail Vehicle Enhancements 2015 (RVE 2015) is already in progress. The event will be twice as large as RVE 2014 and will be in a new venue offering a much larger single hall with a number of side halls to enable the running of forums.
Says Kevin Lane, managing director, Onyxrail, ‘The Rail Vehicle Enhancements show has grown over the years as it attracts companies and professionals intent on maximising the expertise available for this growing and attractive market. As the rail industry continues to grow and passenger volumes soar, consumer expectation grows with it. Our customers want
comfortable trains, accurate real-time information, air conditioning, practical enhancements like Wi-Fi as well as reliability and safety.’
Exceptional QualityLeading lights in the rail vehicle field
attended the show. The Forum, led by Ian Walmsley, featured presentations by Wabtec Group, Porterbrook and Future Railway.
‘The quality of technical and commercial papers presented to the forum was exceptional,’ says Kevin. A series of highly topical technical papers were presented by Saira, Televic Rail, Icomera, ESG, Volo TV and Media, Perpetuum and others.
RVE 2014 brought together many ground breaking technical achievements. Visitors were able to see live Darwin feeds to Televic Rail’s Passenger Information Systems. Volo TV and Media demonstrated their content streaming to personal devices. Infodev displayed the real-time highly accurate passenger counting systems. DC Airco presented cool developments in Saloon Air Con. Every exhibitor focussed on the kind of uplifts that make a real difference to the passenger travelling experience.
Rail Vehicle Enhancements 2014 once again proved its ability to attract the most exciting and innovative international exhibitors with
companies from the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Romania, Italy and the UK all clamouring to take part.
Unique Profile The event attracts decision makers,
executives and innovators and high quality visitors from the target areas of the rail industry. This is attributed to the unique profile of the show which focusses strongly on improving the passenger travelling experience through the provision of technical uplifts and the refurbishment of rail vehicles.
RVE 2015 will be twice as large as RVE 2014 and will be in a new venue offering a much larger hall and plenty of space for seminars and meetings.
Says Kevin Lane, ‘We do look forward to welcoming you to RVE 2015 in Derby in October 2015. The exhibition and the technical forum provides franchise bid teams, ROSCOs, operators and consultants with an unmissable opportunity to see and hear from the suppliers of exceptional refurbishment and enhancement products and services from around the world.’
Renewed EnergyFar more emphasis is now being
placed on customer care, local involvement and staff welfare. This in turn has increased the importance of quality rolling stock provision. It’s a challenge but one the rail industry should be rising to with renewed energy, says Lane. ‘With re-franchising at a peak of activity this exhibition is a must for your business. Get in on this opportunity to market your latest technical improvements or any new technology that can offer real service level improvements, customer satisfaction, benefit or financial advantage to train operators seeking to enhance the quality of service provision under new and extended franchise agreements.’
Kevin thanked everyone who had taken part and all who visited the show. ‘It is humbling to see the skills and ingenuity on display. We look forward to RVE 2015,’ said Kevin Lane.
‘The quality of technical and commercial papers presented to the
forum was exceptional’...
NEWS26 | RailStaff | December 2014
Our ten Lifesaving Rules are the cornerstone of our safety vision: Everyone home safe every day. They are simple, clear and they are mandatory for everyone who works for and with Network Rail, with good reason.
Introduced in 2012, the rules crystallise our learning on the main causes of fatalities and life-changing injuries in our industry. It’s sobering to think that up to 20 lives may have been saved over the last ten years if the rules had been in place and followed. That is how important they are.
It’s equally sobering to consider our workforce safety record. While our record benchmarks favourably with that of our European industry peers, compared with other safety critical heavy engineering industries it is nowhere near good enough. In fact it’s ten times worse than in the oil and gas industries in which I’ve spent most of my career. This must - and can - change.
Despite the introduction of the Lifesaving Rules, and the fact that most of our people embrace them, our workforce suffered three fatalities and 122 major injuries in 2013/14. This calendar year alone, four of our colleagues have lost their lives in road traffic accidents. If we are to achieve our goal of eliminating all fatalities and major injuries by 2019 we need to step up our resolve and action to reduce a stubbornly persistent accident rate.
The rules need to evolve with the industryOne of the steps we took earlier this year was to make some
important changes to our rules. You can see the key changes we made and why we made them in the following pages.
As Network Rail evolves and we continue to learn from the causes of fatalities and accidents, our rules must evolve too so that they are fit for today’s railway.
It’s also important that we remind ourselves of what they are, why they’re in place and why they’re so vital to getting everyone home safe every day.
Making sure that everyone who works with and for Network Rail is aware of the rules and the changes is no small challenge. We employ around 35,000 people. But we also work with around 150 principal contractors who, in turn, work with many sub-contractors and labour agencies. When we add into the mix all the suppliers of plant, materials and other services, we’re dealing with more than 4000 organisations and everyone who works for those organisations is expected to comply with our Lifesaving Rules.
This is why we all need to live, breathe and talk about the rules and why team conversations were so integral to the roll-out process. No matter where our people work we want everyone to understand that our Lifesaving Rules are in place to encourage us to: • Challenge unsafe behaviour, situations or requests• Help others to work safely• Share safety concerns and lessons learnt• Identify risk earlier, deal with it sooner and create a safer,
more effective workplace.
Upholding these commitments applies to everyone, no matter how senior. If I’m about to do something unsafe, I expect to be challenged - and I will appreciate it.
Central to our safety vision; supported by fair culture; essential to performance
Our rules are supported by our Fair Culture principles and consequences for dealing with breaches and safety incidents (most of which are honest mistakes) and our Close Calls reporting system. Together, all of these components of our safety vision create a holistic process for understanding root causes, solving underlying issues and applying learning to safer ways of working.
The safer working promoted by the Lifesaving Rules also helps us to be more productive. I know that this can sometimes seem at odds with the reality, but that shouldn’t be the case. I’ve said many times before – backed by evidence – that organisations with the best safety performance also have the best business performance.
The more deeply engrained our safe behaviours, the more organised we are in our work and the better it is planned, the more likely we are to get the job done right, first time. That linkage will be explicit in all our communications with everyone who works for and with our organisation.
I’ve had some lively and engaging conversations with our people across the business about the rules and the changes we’ve introduced. I’ve been particularly heartened by the renewed commitment to comply, share them widely and adapt working practices where necessary without impacting on performance.
This positive attitude and strong commitment right across our employees, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers is exactly what we need to make sure that fatalities and life-changing injuries are a thing of the past.
Lifesaving Rules: revised to be fit for the future
As Network Rail evolves and we continue to learn from the causes of fatalities and accidents, our rules must evolve too so that they are fit for today’s railway.
Network Rail’s chief executive Mark Carne explains why the Lifesaving Rules have been revised and why they are so vital to making sure everyone gets home safe every day.
December 2014 | RailStaff | 27NETWORK RAIL SAFETY
The contractor perspectiveA consistent approach to safety is vital. The great thing about the Lifesaving Rules is that they tackle safety in a way that’s understandable at grass roots level. They cut straight to the simple things we can all do to keep ourselves and our colleagues safe.The ethos of taking responsibility has underpinned our business for 20 years. We want people to follow the rules, but we also want them to think for themselves, look out for their colleagues and bring a level of care with them to work. People buy into that. If everyone pulls together, work is safer, more constructive and more productive, so I agree 100% that safety and performance go hand in hand. There are challenging aspects of the Lifesaving Rules, like banning the use of hands-free mobiles while driving, but there’s a simple answer to any challenge: no one is a safer driver when they’re on the phone. So we’ve spent a lot of time looking at our routines and working practices and coming up with new ways of operating that minimise impact on performance.
Pino De Rosa, Managing Director, Bridgeway Consulting, principal contractor for Network Rail
Over the past few months everyone who works for and with Network Rail has been encouraged to talk with their teams about the impact of the Lifesaving Rules. Here, we reflect on the views of colleagues across the organisation.
A former line manager once said to me: “It’s not just about what you do; it’s about how you do it.” Her words struck me as particularly relevant as we rolled out the revised Lifesaving Rules across our route.Our territory in Wales and the border counties is vast. Driving can be a huge challenge. We also face challenges with communications, so banning the use of hands-free mobile equipment has stimulated a lot of debate.As managers, the message we pushed out constantly was that we’d prefer people to take 30 minutes longer to get to their destination and an hour longer to return a phone call, rather than never reach their destination and never return that call. That’s a message I believe from the bottom of my heart.
Tim Ball, Area Delivery Manager
Revising the Lifesaving Rules has given us the opportunity to dispel the myths around doing something safely and still achieving our performance targets. The people I’ve worked with appreciated being able to discuss this issue openly and move forward as a better informed and more engaged team.
Lynn Chamberlain-Clark,Principal Safety Change Consultant, Safety and Sustainable Development
In Schemes Development we’ve integrated the Lifesaving Rules into everything we do to ensure safety is considered now and in the future. This includes requirements for safe access for construction, maintenance and future renewals on the network.
Peter Allen,Principal systems engineer,Asset Management Services
Before we revised the Lifesaving Rules I could take calls more quickly using hands-free: but at what cost? We have to remember this rule has been changed to protect us. I can honestly say this rule change hasn’t impacted performance. I thought there might be an issue where I could be heading to a job which had been rectified before I’d been able to take a call to tell me. But that hasn’t happened.
Dave Graham, Mobile operations manager
As a lead Union Health & Safety representative I’ve seen the impact of our Lifesaving Rules at meetings and
investigations across the company. They represent a fundamental change to how we approach safety by not only looking at our own actions and their consequences but also those of our colleagues.
Adrian Yates, Signaller and Lead union H&S representative
I’ve been involved in engaging with employees on the Lifesaving Rules and our trade unions were involved in consultation on the consequences, which led to the Fair Culture Principles. Fair Culture puts the emphasis on learning lessons from investigations, rather than starting from a who or what was to blame perspective.I think it’s important to keep staff engagement consistent so that we can all concentrate our efforts on preventing accidents and incidents happening in the first place rather than investigating them afterwards.
Des More, Lead Health & Safety Representative (TSSA)
Prices from £2.50Quality designs in packs of ten with envelopes
Help us to continue our much needed workGo to: www.rbfcharity.org.uk
to download the order form or call 01270 251316RBF supports current and former employees and their families in financial difficulty
due to illness, injury, bereavement and adversity.
Excl
usiv
e design for RBF!!
RBF ad Xmas A4 Final.indd 4 03/10/2014 09:58
The rail industry is pretty good at rewarding the biggest and the best. Year round, there are events and ceremonies which do just that. Few, however, set out to recognise the projects and schemes that have sparked the collective imagination of the industry - the most interesting.
From a shortlist drawn up by the editorial team at the rail engineer and RailStaff, 12 awards were handed out at Leicester’s Athena during the inaugural Rail Exec Club Most Interesting awards on 29 November. Where the RailStaff Awards recognises the extraordinary achievements of individuals, this was a celebration of the commercial collaborations and partnerships that are moving the industry forward.
Judging was carried out by a specialist panel of industry leaders,
including Professor Simon Iwnicki, current chairman of the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), and David Clarke, director of FutureRailway.
The theme of the evening was Manhattan. As guests arrived at Athena - a charming Art Deco cinema in Leicester city centre - they were greeted by a solo clarinet player and invited to walk through Central Park, artificial turf under foot, to the ‘Coyote Ugly’ bar upstairs. Dance troupe ‘Manhattan’ provided the entertainment ahead of dinner and the main event, the awards ceremony itself.
And the winner is…Categories looked at the best new
designs and innovations that rail engineering has had to offer in 2014, with awards recognising the dedicated
ETCS/ERTMS test site set up on the Hertford loop, a new high-speed rotating flywheel energy storage system and the New Tube for London concept from PriestmanGoode, which will form the basis of London Underground’s new deep-level Tube trains.
Young Rail Professional’s (YRP) took home the Most Interesting training and development programme award for its ambassador programme which looks to recent graduates to visit schools and colleges around the country to encourage the next generation to pursue careers in the rail industry.
British teams working on Riyadh Metro and the North West Rail Link in Australia were among the nominees for the Most Interesting international participation by a UK company. The award eventually went to Hitachi, which moved its global headquarters to London earlier in the year.
Most Interesting Awards
FEATURE32 | RailStaff | December 2014
The £895 million redevelopment of Reading station, which received a visit from Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year, was recognised in the major infrastructure project category. Dawlish may have missed out on the major project award but it did receive a mention as the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP), which developed TheRivieraLine.com, won Most Interesting community engagement activity.
Most, most interestingWinner of the Most Interesting
thing that occurred in 2014 was the accuracy of the Crossrail Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). With Crossrail’s new tunnels running very close to some existing underground structures, such as London Underground’s tube lines, accuracy was essential to prevent disaster.
Representing Crossrail, Hochtief Murphy Joint Venture (HMJV) and Herrenknecht, James Rolland, chief surveyor, Murphy Group, said, ‘Awards like this and recognition like this and articles in magazines move our industry forward, develop more interest in the rail industry. Hopefully more graduates come in once they’ve seen the technology and the opportunities and the more that you can get interest, the more people you can get in, the better our industry’s going to be.’
Ahead of what will be another busy festive period for the industry, the evening provided an opportunity to honour projects and partnerships big and small. The next 12 months will deliver more worthy winners and the Most Interesting Awards will be back in 2015 to ensure they don’t go unrecognised.
Rail staff are being urged to become the eyes and ears of the security forces in the fight against terrorism.
Says BTP’s Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock, ‘Rail staff and passengers are our eyes and ears. Nobody is better placed to spot something out of place or suspicious, and it is their continued awareness that is vital to prevent and, if necessary, respond to a terrorist attack.’
Adrian Hanstock was speaking at the launch of a national police Counter Terrorism Awareness Week at the National Railway Museum in York.
‘This is not about scaring people; it is about equipping those staff who work every day on busy stations and trains with the necessary skills to act.’
Every year BTP provides free counter-terrorism awareness
sessions to hundreds of railway staff. Topics covered include the current threat, what to look out for, how terrorist tactics are evolving and how to report suspicious behaviour.
‘We are using our specialist knowledge of the rail industry to equip frontline rail staff with the knowledge and skills to deter, detect and report terrorist activity,’ said Hanstock. He urged every railway firm to sign up for anti-terror training. ‘I am inviting every organisation that has staff working on the railways to sign up to our free awareness sessions. By continuing to work together, we can ensure the rail network remains a secure environment so that the nation’s travelling public get home every day, safe, secure and on time.’
If you spot anything suspicious on the railways, please call the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or you can text BTP on 61016.
Eyes And Ears Anti-Terror Strategy
As the debate about immigration continues to rage, the exploits of an illegal immigrant from Peru have captured the imagination of the public.
The film ‘Paddington’ is on track to be a Christmas hit. Staff on First Great
Western have set up a web page and e-mail address for other lost bears. Many are left behind on trains at this time of year and end up in a special bear refuge centre at Bristol Temple Meads station.
In the original Michael Bond books, Paddington was discovered by the Brown family at the station from which he took his name. Enquiries about missing bears should be directed to [email protected]
Bear Rescue
The London Underground is now busier than at any time in its history, according to Transport for London.
The London Underground carried 4.576 million passengers on Friday, 14 November 2014. This exceeds the total reached on Tuesday, 7 August 2012, during the London Olympics when 4.544 million journeys were made.
It sums up a busy week on the Tube, with overall journeys up by 7.1 per cent on last year, making it the second busiest week ever since the Games.
Says Phil Hufton, London Underground’s chief operating officer, ‘We are now carrying more passengers than ever before in our history and this clearly illustrates why it is crucial that we invest in the modernisation of the Tube network.’
Olympic Record for London Underground
NEWS34 | RailStaff | December 2014
The ScotRail Foundation backs a variety of good causes including theatre and community groups. Sixteen groups will share a total of £42,500, with amounts awarded ranging from £350 to £5,000.
The next tranche of requests for funding, which closed on 1 December, is now being evaluated by three regional committees of ScotRail staff, who volunteered for the role. Successful applicants will be announced in March 2015.
Director Pat Callaghan, who manages corporate social responsibility for ScotRail, said, ‘We believe we are much more than a railway operator and have a significant part to play in improving our communities.
‘We are proud of the funding that the foundation has delivered to community groups and charities so
far and look forward to supporting the valuable work of others in future.’
The ScotRail Foundation was established in May 2013, and distributes grants to groups that support young people, health and local communities. The Krazy Kat Theatre Company is among the groups to receive a boost from the latest round of foundation funding. Established in 1982, the company creates theatre which incorporates sign language, making it accessible to deaf and hearing-impaired children.
Krazy Kat will use its £4,800 foundation award to stage 10 performances of ‘Mattress Mattress’, a 50-minute children’s show incorporating sign language. The show will tour community groups and schools for deaf children.
ScotRail staff who raise funds on an individual basis for a charity close to their hearts can also apply to the foundation for up to £250 in match funding.
December Decisions for ScotRail Foundation
The National Railway Museum has won Tourism Event of the Year at the White Rose Awards 2014 for Mallard 75, the Great Gathering.
Says Paul Kirkman, director of the National Railway Museum, ‘We are so
pleased to have been given this award against such strong competition. It’s been an amazing year for the National Railway Museum, with our increase in visitors mainly due to the staggering success of the Mallard 75 season.
‘We hope the railway fans that
turned out in their thousands in 2014 will make a return trip to enjoy the production of The Railway Children in 2015 and our Playing Trains exhibition in the gallery space.’
The awards recognise the best of the best in Yorkshire’s tourism industry.
Award for Mallard 75
Track laying starts next year on a further extension of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway. The line will now be extended to the Cotswolds village of Broadway following the extraordinary success of a public shares scheme which topped its £500,000 target this autumn.
Shares in the line, which currently runs between Cheltenham and Laverton, went on sale last September, raising a total of £565,000. Work to repair five old bridges along the proposed route has almost been completed.
Permanent Way for Broadway
December 2014 | RailStaff | 35NEWS
For too long rail freight has been treated as the poor relation of the railway, writes Andy Milne.
Freight drivers have long raged at the ignominy of being held in passing loops as sleek passenger trains speed by. Passengers are given a peculiar priority over the economic cargoes that sustain them. New rail freight depots are routinely subject to planning inquires and Kafkaesque debates as to their social and commercial validity.
The traditional view of a freight train is a wheezing Class 47 growling through Brent hauling empty hoppers. The romantic attachment of the public to railways feeds on modern passenger stock, trams swishing through city centres and the heritage railways harnessing rail nostalgia to a laudable business model. It stops there.
Few realise the massive investment by companies like GB Railfreight (GBRf)
in new locomotives, Class 66s, new terminals and fleets of wagons such as the Ecofret intermodal transporters.
Freight is continuing to growBetween 2013-14, rail freight set a post-
privatisation record, moving 22.7 billion net tonne kilometres. Although figures published by the ORR in November showed a slight reduction in freight movements in the second quarter of this year, a decrease attributed in part to the closure of Ferrybridge1 and Ironbridge power stations, freight is continuing to grow - the domestic intermodal market in particular.
The number of new drivers is in turn experiencing real growth. The Rail Freight Group (RFG) recently released new figures showing that 201 new freight drivers had been trained in the past year, with 100 more posts planned for 2015.
The truth is rail freight has an economic and social impact far beyond
the narrow confines of its gauge-challenged dynamic. Put bluntly, the future of the rail freight industry is as long and broad and high as a confident trading culture chooses to make it. The current political imperative is how better to advance this.
While governments come and go, many content to tinker with the grit-fouled mechanics of social engineering, it is the shippers, traders and dealers of the UK that ensure prosperity. Look at the temple-high containers piled up in Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway, in Liverpool and Glasgow, many awaiting onward shipment by rail to the factories and warehouses that catalyse our wealth. The freight train driver, operator, shunter and route manager, these men and women are the reach stackers of the future.
Logistical and distributive magicThe Coalition Government’s espousal
of high-speed rail, electrification, and urban railways is praiseworthy, however it is no where near enough. If Britain is to sustain a unity and purpose that goes beyond the imperatives of our present political confusion it must trade effectively and efficiently.
Ask any young child at this time of year what they look forward to most. It is not the trip to shops, not the journey to see grandparents or poor relations, even by train. Rather it is the freight in the sleigh that captures the imagination. Just how true is all this, they ask? The parental answer is that much of what happens on Christmas Eve is achieved by magic.
Fortunately for the British economy, the rail freight industry achieves a similar overnight miracle of logistical and distributive magic every day of the year. High time rail freight was recognised for its true worth and rendered the investment and political support it needs to better answer the aspirations of Europe’s fastest-growing economy.
FINCHPALM has a strong track record supplying resources to London Underground and as part of the company’s continuing expansion of services, we are now a Link-up Approved Supplier to Network Rail of: • Contingent Labour – Track and Civils• On Track Protection and Warning Services
(PC, ES, COSS, Lookout, Site Warden, Auxiliary Staff, ATWS Operator)
Temporary, Contract and Permanent Staff can also be provided as per your requirements.
Contact the FINCHPALM team to see how we can help meet your needs. We look forward to working with new and existing clients to deliver rail projects around the UK.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIESIf you are looking for a new challenge and want to make a real contribution to the success of our business, please visit our website or send your CV via email or post to:
In a narrow side street just 50 metres or so from the vintage boutiques at Spitalfields Market is GB Railfreight’s (GBRf) headquarters, or at least it is until December 12. The company is moving on, both literally and figuratively, taking on bigger premises in Old Broad Street.
People are at the centre of GBRf - a point that managing director John Smith (pictured) was keen to stress. ‘We’re a very cultural-based business. This is about the people that work here,’ said John, in an interview in which he asked almost as many questions as he answered, showing a genuine curiosity in people.
GBRf is one of the lesser known but most important success stories of railway privatisation. The company started from scratch in 1999 and is not a BR-successor freight company. In 2003 it was purchased by FirstGroup who in turn sold it to Eurotunnel subsidiary Europorte in 2010. An extensive portfolio includes E.ON, Network Rail, EDF Energy, UK Coal, Merrill Lynch, Tarmac and Drax.
GBRf is closely involved in the Crossrail project, the London Underground and Hitachi Rail. Next year GBRf will be hauling Serco’s new prestigious Caledonian Sleeper, providing locomotives, guards and drivers. John Smith heads a team of 600 people operating over 1,000 trainloads a week, moving 15 per cent of Britain’s rail freight with 99 per cent reliability.
This month, the final seven new Class 66 locomotives from Electro-Motive Diesel are expected from the USA. The arrival of 21 new locomotives in the past six months has been coupled with the start of a haulage contract with Network Rail, which has included the
supply of railhead treatment trains in Kent and Sussex, and preparations for the start of a new contract with Aggregate Industries on 1 January.
FlexibilitySmith says the company has grown
by around 15 per cent in the last year thanks to a combination of new business and greater volumes from existing customers.
‘Some markets have gone off,’ says John. ’Coal has been quieter, mainly because of the fact that it’s slowly getting marginalised but equally it’s been warmer… The mild autumn so far reduces coal demand and we’ve expanded in other areas. We’ve expanded in aggregates particularly.’
According to John, it is the company’s flexibility that has led to it winning work in numerous different areas of the rail freight market recently. It was this flexibility that John believes attracted Hitachi to partner with GBRf for the Class 800/1 testing and driver training programme. In March 2015, the first pre-series trains will arrive from Japan. It will be the first time that GBRf has been involved in the commissioning of full free running of a new train, but the company isn’t new to transporting trains around the country. GBRf is currently delivering S Stock Tube trains from Bombardier’s Litchurch Lane site in Derby to the capital and has a re-occurring role delivering trains for overhaul.
‘We’ve always done stuff like that,’ says John. ‘We feel it panders to what we’re good at because we’re flexible and you need to be when you’re doing those moves because they’re far from certain.’
A target area for GBRf is container traffic. In November, the operator ran its first service through the Channel Tunnel from Dourges to Barking for
GB Railfreight
Report by Marc Johnson
Goes for Broad Approach
FREIGHT38 | RailStaff | December 2014
its parent company Europorte France using Class 92 locomotives that it had purchased from Europorte earlier this year. There are opportunities to expand both internationally and within the domestic market if the infrastructure can accommodate it.
Says John, ‘The main restriction on us running more intermodal services is capacity. Both in ports, on Network Rail and how that capacity is controlled. So we’ve got a big push on to try and move more containers on rail next year but some of those challenges are not so much customer based as how the whole thing is structured within the industry.’
High-speed rail is one project which promises to create more capacity for freight. For John, HS2, and the proposed trans-Pennine corridor, would be a positive step for the sector.
‘I think I’m pragmatic. Whether it be HS2 or HS3, it will create capacity,’ he said. ‘The opportunity for us also is building it and being involved in building it. We’ve been heavily involved with Crossrail. We’ve moved all the muck away from Westbourne Park tunnel. We’ve just been contracted to do the fit out.’
John, a dedicated Sunderland supporter, began his career 37 years ago as a technician apprentice in York. His CV includes stints as a project engineer working on the Mark 4 coaches and a fleet engineer for InterCity Cross-Country before he established GBRf in 1999. Although he looks back fondly at the quality of the training he was offered by British Rail (BR) as a graduate, he is quite happy to be on the other side of the fence.
‘My life was spent closing things and rationalising things in BR days, which is basically driven by the lack of funding from government, whereas this
has all been about buying things and employing people.’
With new contracts won for 2015, the challenge next year will be to retain what GBRf already has.
Says John, ‘We have a number of contracts that come up for renewal through 2015 into 2016. This applies to all operators. Your business is underpinned by your contractual workload. If all the work that we’ve done this year is contracted for 10 years then, manna from heaven, I’d just go home and play golf. But actually there’s a lot of hard work to do around contracts that are going to be up for renewal.’
GBRf’s new Class 66s mark the end of an era. From 2015, no more Class 66s will be built for Europe. New rules on emissions have put paid to any new units of what has become a mainstay of the UK rail freight fleet. So why not invest in low-emission vehicles and where does the company stand on innovation.
‘We have innovated in some areas, but we’re not an engineering business,’ said John. ‘We’re an operating business, we operate trains and that’s what the raison d’être of this company is.
‘We’re not necessarily in the driving seat around creating innovation like that, but we do involve others with helping us to look at it… We have been examining various initiatives. We’re not one for suddenly experimenting because it impacts on performance and your ability to deliver.’ He added, ‘You would hope that the supply market would come up with these innovations of their own accord, and we could just buy off the shelf and it would all be great. Unfortunately it doesn’t quite work like that so you find yourself having to kick-start it.’
John escapes the complex world of rail logistics by spending time with his wife and two sons. Although when your better half of 20 years is also a Network Rail employee, leaving it behind can sometimes be difficult.
Under Smith, GBRf has helped kick-start the rail freight resurgence in Britain. A broad approach will see the company further expanding next year. Sunderland may have received an 8-0 thumping from Southampton in October but GBRf is on safer ground and looks set to record many wins this season and beyond.
December 2014 | RailStaff | 39FREIGHT
Freight and logistics is not a topic that many of us think about on a daily basis, writes Maggie Simpson, executive director of the Rail Freight Group (RFG). Perhaps if we have to collect a missed parcel delivery or an item we want is out of stock on the internet, we get a little frustrated. When the local supermarket is out of bread late one evening, we might mutter about it. Or if we’re in a traffic jam on the motorway, perhaps we’ll get annoyed at the number of lorries on the road. Generally, it passes us by completely.
Yet moving freight is absolutely critical to the nation’s economy and well-being. Research by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) suggests that the logistics sector employs between 1.7 and 2.2 million people, some 8 per cent of the UK workforce. The companies they work for turn over some £770 billion per annum, and they support virtually every other aspect of the economy.
CILT cite £300 billion of exports from the UK in 2011, every pound of which relied on the freight and logistics sector in some way shape or form, as did the £400 billion of imported goods.
A key roleThe railways, of course, play a key
role in the success of UK freight and logistics movement. By share, rail is around 11 per cent of surface transport, which excludes pipelines and air freight, but its significance in some sectors is far greater.
The power sector, for example, relies wholly on rail for the delivery of coal, and the construction market would struggle to serve the demand of the London building market without using the train. Most of the large ports rely on rail to move goods from the quayside to the end customers to a significant degree, with the major container ports seeing a third of their goods move out on the rail network.
So given the importance of freight and logistics, why do we hear so little about it? And worse, when we do, it is so often for a negative reason; a shortage of lorry drivers, delayed freight train causing disruption, arguments about track access charges and so on. More importantly, how can we help to change perceptions?
These were exactly the discussions RFG had with colleagues from Rail Media almost a year ago. We agreed that there needed to be more positive stories on rail freight in more publications, more often.
Since then we have seen a welcome and refreshing upturn in coverage of good news, and a new breadth of coverage. This has been helped by industry partners coming forward with good news stories highlighting the effort and investment they are putting into facilities and services.
Freight performance dataGradually, we are also seeing the
rail freight sector be more transparent with its information. Network Rail and ORR now routinely publish freight performance data for example, something which was unheard of five years ago.
The Network Rail freight team also produced an excellent review at the end of Control Period 4, outlining progress on a number of key initiatives including performance improvement and capacity management. At RFG, we aim to promote rail freight through our own publication, RFG News, our events programme, through social media and elsewhere.
This all matters if rail freight is to continue to grow, and to be supported by the wider industry in achieving that growth. Most people, whoever they work for, understand the passenger railway because if nothing else they travel on it. Yet, even amongst the key decision
makers, many know little of the freight sector, its challenges, and importantly the competitive environment in which it competes with road freight. This means that key policy decisions may not be as well informed and supportive as is necessary.
The external image of the industry also matters. Road hauliers are presently struggling to recruit new and retain HGV drivers, leading to shortages not just in the UK but across Europe. The image of the sector is cited as one of the key reasons, although there are other demographic and regulatory factors.
Rail freight has been faring rather better, with 200 new drivers this year and more already identified for training in 2015, but there is no space for complacency. Raising the profile is critical to recruiting and keeping the best talent in the industry.
Finally, it matters perhaps most that end customers, and prospective new customers, have a good image of rail freight and recognise the real progress that is being made in meeting their logistics needs.
Over the coming year, we will continue to work with partners to help promote all that is good about the rail freight sector, to educate and to highlight areas where more is needed to really deliver for freight.
Colas Rail is introducing HaCon’s train planning system (TPS) to its freight services in Britain.
Colas Rail says it is the first UK freight operator to adopt HaCon’s TPS. Network Rail already uses the system, developed by the Hanover-based company.
TPS Operator will allow Colas Rail’s train planners to better schedule services across the UK’s complex and heavily used railway infrastructure. TPS Operator has been specifically developed to help transport companies and major infrastructure managers, like Network Rail, work better together.
Says Simon Ball, Colas Rail’s freight director, ‘The Colas Rail Freight business has grown significantly over the past few years and we require a state-of-the-art planning solution to support this growth and meet our
customers’ supply chain needs. We look forward to working with HaCon in implementing the TPS system.’
Says David Faithful, who heads HaCon’s UK operation, based in Milton Keynes, ‘We are delighted to announce Colas Rail as the first UK freight operator to adopt TPS. Our partnership will support the realisation of
sustainable benefits for their business and customers. The integration of TPS Enterprise as used by Network Rail and our TPS Operator solutions will continue to drive out significant advantages for the UK rail industry as a whole.’Colas Rail’s trains will soon be planned with HaCon’s TPS.
Hannover Plan for Colas
Axa Real Estate is to sell Barking Railfreight Terminal. The asking price is £49.15m.
The 33-acre site is fully let to DB Schenker on a 20-year lease signed last July. The terminal is connected to High Speed One. Neighbours include DHL, TNT, Eddie Stobart, Ford and Tesco and it has the added advantage of being close to Tilbury and London Gateway.
DB Schenker is using the terminal to import Audis and BMWs and export Minis.
...alternative reporting for your health and safety concerns.
0800 4 101 101
An intermodal container service connecting Moscow with the Russian Pacific Coast, launched earlier this year, has proved so successful a second train could soon be provided.
The block train service, which takes 11 days to complete the trip, has attracted attention from shippers in China and Southeast Asia and is already running close to capacity.
Ruscon, part of the GCS Group, is considering doubling the frequency of its weekly fixed day intermodal service from the port of Vostochniy in the Russian Pacific to Moscow.
‘The reliability and speed of the service, including our unique ability to deliver the containers to final consignees anywhere in Russia, has attracted both Russian importers and international customers,’ says Andrey Chernyshev, director sales of GCS.
The intermodal service, with a capacity
of 154 TEUs - Twenty Foot Equivalent Units - was initially launched earlier this year, mainly to offer shippers in the Moscow region a fast regular rail link to the Russian Far East via Khabarovsk.
‘Since then we have also been building a customer base for a wide variety of cargo, including FMCG products, machinery and foodstuffs, on the westbound leg as well,’ explains Mr Chernyshev.
The train departs from Vostochny Port, near the city of Nakhodka, every Sunday, arriving at the GCS-owned MANP terminal in Moscow 11 days later on a Thursday. The terminal has a fully equipped container yard, bonded storage and warehouses. GCS bought the MANP terminal, which is 45 km from Moscow, in 2006.
Moscow Train to Double
Network Rail has agreed to take on many of Britain’s key rail freight sites under the terms of a transfer of ownership deal with three of the country’s biggest freight operating companies.
With freight market growth predicted to more than double over the next 30 years, the self-financing transaction of more than 100 leasehold sites from DB Schenker, Freightliner and GB Railfreight marks a change of direction in the management and development of Britain’s rail freight estate.
Says Paul McMahon, Network Rail freight director, ‘This represents one of the biggest changes to the rail freight sector in this country in decades and is a bold strategic move by the industry. It will help drive continued rail freight growth, give customers greater transparency and equality in property arrangements, allow Network Rail to make more efficient use of the network and release capital for freight operating companies to invest in their operations.’
Rail freight is one of the great success stories of railway privatisation. The industry contributes £900 million to Britain’s economy each year and supports an economic output of £6 billion.
‘Consolidating the ownership and management of our key freight sites puts us in the best possible position to promote a more efficient and effective use of the rail network by freight traffic in coming years,’ says McMahon. ‘It will also enable redundant land to be redeveloped and provide a valuable additional source of revenue for Network Rail as it delivers a bigger, better value railway for Britain.’
The acquisition covers 105 sites in total - 87 from DB Schenker, 15 from Freightliner and three from GB Railfreight
Landed GantryDB Schenker Rail UK plans to
save over 4,500 tonnes in carbon emissions every year by installing stop-start technology on its 90 Class 66 locomotives.
DB Schenker has been trying out the Auto Engine Stop Start technology (AESS) on a Class 66 locomotive since February 2014. The loco, 66176, has been working in Cornwall on the Imerys traffic flow. Unsurprisingly the trial showed a reduction in fuel consumption occurs when stop-start technology is used.
AESS, manufactured by ZTR, works in a similar manner to stop-start technology in a car, stopping the engine from running when
idling. Results showed that the amount of time the engine was running was reduced by approximately one third. This would reduce CO2 emissions by over 50 tonnes, equating to a saving of over 4,500 tonnes of CO2 for the 90 Class 66s that will be fitted with the technology by the end of 2015 - approximately a 10 per cent reduction overall.
The company also anticipates that the technology will help improve reliability for customers. Tests indicate that use of the stop-start technology will reduce the number of flat batteries as well as the potential for locos to freeze in cold weather conditions. All relevant safety checks have also been carried out.
Stop-Start Plan Gets Go Ahead
The European Union (EU) is to fund further studies into the feasibility of expanding the rail freight network that links the Iberian Peninsula with centres in Germany and France.
The EU’s TEN-T Programme will help build strategies aimed at increasing freight traffic on the railway line and boosting its overall competitiveness. The project will carry out market and technical studies on the freight railway line’s Atlantic Corridor, which connects Portugal (Sines-Leixões), Spain (Algeciras-Madrid-Valladolid-Bilbao-Irun), France (Hendaye-Bordeaux-Paris-
Le Havre-Metz-Strasbourg) and Germany (Saarbrücken-Mannheim).
Researchers will identify measures necessary for rail development and assess infrastructure constraints.
The project will be monitored by INEA, the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency and will be completed by 31 December, 2015.
The TEN-T Programme was established by the European Commission to support the construction and upgrade of transport infrastructure across the European Union. The INEA is managing the technical and financial implementation of the TEN-T programme.
Atlantic Corridor Expansion
FREIGHT42 | RailStaff | December 2014
• Enhances safety
• Increases efficiency
• Speeds up operations
• Allows route programming
• Expandable
• Mitigates risk
• Traceable
• Low cost
• Fully EMC tested
TA K E A C LOS E R LO O K :The Zonegreen Points Converter is a safe, efficient and reliable solution
designed to allow the automation and remote control of existing manual
hand points/switches in rail depots. The Points Converter:
Z O N E G R E E N : P O W E R I N G Y O U R M A N U A L P O I N T SFind out more at www.zonegreen.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)114 230 0822 Fax: +44 (0)871 872 0349 Email: [email protected]
R E M O T E L Y C O N T R O L
Y O U R M A N U A L P O I N T S
C H A N G E T R A C KA T T H E P U S H O F A B U T T O N
GB Railfreight’s first two Ecofret triple-platform wagon sets, part of 17-strong fleet ordered from VTG Rail UK Ltd has arrived at Doncaster International Railport. The two wagons started the journey from Wabtec’s facilities in Kilmarnock and were hauled by GBRf’s locomotive 47812.
The initial batch of frames for these wagons reached Kilmarnock two weeks ago and Wabtec’s engineering team have subsequently been assembling the wagons onto bogies and commissioning them for operational use. This process will be repeated weekly until mid-January 2015, when the final Ecofret frames will have been delivered to the UK.
These triple-platform wagon sets are designed to maximise the number of 40-foot boxes that can be carried, with the outer platforms being able to
carry one 40-foot container each, and the inner platform being able to carry either one 40-foot container or two 20-foot containers.
Says John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, ‘GB Railfreight is
delighted to announce the arrival of VTG Rail UK Ltd’s first two Ecofret wagons at Doncaster. These will have a significant impact on the services we are able to offer our customers from the Port of Felixstowe, as it will allow
us to adapt to the increased demand for 40-foot containers. VTG has really revolutionised container transportation with this new wagon and we are looking forward to January 2015, when the final frames arrive.’
Doncaster Debut for GBRf’s Ecofrets
December 2014 | RailStaff | 43FREIGHT
Rail freight is expected to triple in tonnage over the next 30 years, Australian rail chiefs believe.
‘In 2013, Australian railways carried over 1 billion tonnes of freight and moved more than 850 million passengers,’ said Bryan Nye, chief
executive of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA).
‘The national freight task is predicted to almost triple by 2050 and by that same year the Australian population will have doubled, with populations of Sydney and Melbourne approaching eight million people each. If Australia
is expected to meet this challenge, rail will have an increasingly important role to play in this space,’ he went on, emphasising the immense surge in the movement of freight on rail, which has increased by 57 per cent over the past five years.
He praised the hard work under way
in Western Australia but said more needed to be done on the eastern seaboard. ‘Along Australia’s east coast, however, more container freight can and must go by rail with the large majority of freight currently moved by road between Melbourne and Brisbane and an estimated 30 per cent by rail.’
Billion Tonne Australian Rail Freight Boost
A new 10-mile freight-only railway line has opened in Antwerp, Belgium. The Liefkenshoek Railway Connection links the western and eastern docks either side of the Scheldt river in the huge Port Of Antwerp.
Phenomenal growth at the port over the last 100 years has seen extensive
development either side of the Scheldt river. Both sides have long needed a better rail link. Infrabel, Belgium’s state railway infrastructure organisation, has masterminded the €765 million railway project.
Billed as Belgium’s largest current infrastructure project, the Liefkenshoek link includes two tunnels and connects the Deurganck dock and Waasland port area on the left bank and the
Antwerp North freight marshalling yards on the right bank.
The new rail link and tunnels obviate a 22-kilometre detour inland for freight trains to and from the Waasland. Hitherto these had to cross the Scheldt upstream. The new Liefkenshoek railway line will relieve traffic congestion and has been welcomed by people across the historic Province of Antwerp.
Christmas Link for Antwerp
New safety measures governing the movement of oil by rail are a start but more are needed, says Kathy Fox, the new chairwoman of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board.
Canada and the United States need to agree on tougher standards for oil tankers, she said. In July 2013, a runaway freight train derailed and exploded in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, killing 47 people. Since then the Canadian federal government has moved to ban older DOT-111 tanker cars by May 2017. These featured in the Lac-Megantic disaster.
‘These are good first steps, they are constructive, but they don’t go far enough,’ Fox said.
From 2017 only wagons built to 2011 safety standards will be allowed. This means vehicles must have reinforced outer shells and partial head shields. Fox wants to see future wagons made from thicker steel.
Railway staff at DB Schenker Rail UK will be celebrating a two-year extension to the long-running contract with British Gypsum.
The good news is all down to their good timekeeping and high punctuality. The contract involves transporting gypsum, a by-product of coal-fired electricity generation, from Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire and Fiddlers Ferry Power Station in Cheshire to British Gypsum’s plasterboard factory at Kirkby Thore in Cumbria.
Says Roger Neary, head of coal and biomass at DB Schenker Rail UK, ‘This
has been a long-standing contract, which we are very pleased to have extended. Recent delivery performance has been outstanding, with 92 per cent of trains arriving at Kirkby Thore within 15 minutes of the scheduled time and all our services arriving within 30 minutes of the expected time. This was an important factor in retaining the contract.’
Special gypsum containers are transported on FCA container flat wagons. More than 100,000 tonnes of gypsum a year will be moved as part of this contract, with each train carrying 54 containers loaded with 17 tonnes of gypsum each.
Winged Chariot
Freightliner has taken delivery of the last in its new fleet of twin-platform VTG Ecofret intermodal open wagons.
VTG Rail UK completed the order for 21 new twin-platform wagon sets in October. The arrival of the last wagon of this current order brings the freight haulier’s Ecofret fleet to 64 twins.
Says Keith Gray, Freightliner Ltd’s commercial director, ‘Deep sea container growth in the UK has been, for some years now, driven by the 40ft market. By working closely with VTG, we have developed what we call the Shortliner Service, in order to meet that demand. The Ecofret wagons, used together with our 60ft wagon fleet, provide both a better 40ft/20ft mix and longer trains. It is great to see our planning and investment achieving positive results.’
Rob Brook, VTG’s managing director said, ‘Ecofret is proving to be as popular as we had hoped. It is an ideal vehicle, designed to maximise the number of 40ft containers now predominant in the deep sea shipping market, that can be carried in a given train length. By using the capability of the centre platform
of the Ecofret, in its triple platform configuration, to carry either one 40ft or two 20ft containers, or by mixing twin-platform Ecofrets with existing 60ft wagons such as FEAs, as Freightliner are doing in this case, the wasteful 20ft gaps common on traditional intermodal trains are virtually eliminated. Meanwhile
Ecofret’s track friendly bogies reduce the impact on the railway infrastructure meaning lower track access charges, as well as allowing improved fleet availability by going further between service intervals,’ said Rob.
‘As we predicted, it has started to change the economics of intermodal traffic in Britain.’
Shortliner Sets Up for Long Haul
We don’t know what weather conditions rail workers will be exposed to day in and day out this winter. What we do know is that keeping warm, dry and visible is vitally important to health, concentration levels and safety.
If you’ve ever worn protective garments or footwear that leak or which aren’t completely weatherproof and breathable you know how uncomfortable and miserable that is for long hours working outside. Scientific studies show that your well-being and mental alertness depends on your core body temperature: changes of more than one degree above or below the normal core body temperature of 37 degrees has a substantial impact on your physical comfort and brain function and increases the risk of damage to your body and the potential for accidents.
Help is at hand to avoid the misery of uncomfortable non-functional clothing and footwear. For more than 30 years Gore Workwear has been providing long-lasting and high quality products to the Rail sector which not only meet but more often exceed the European Norm standards such as EN ISO 20471:2013, EN343 and GO/RT 3279 required for Rail PPE. Gore’s Rail specific products put your safety and comfort first because they are made from hi-visibility robust and sustainable fabrics which are durable, won’t fade after a number of industrial or domestic washes, and remain waterproof, windproof and breathable. Durable GORE-TEX® garments do not require to be replaced on a regular basis meaning they save money in the long term.
GORE-TEX® Technical Garments for rail are available now from Gore’s brand partners Arco, Ballyclare, PHS and Unipart Rail.
www.gore-workwear.co.uk
FOUL WEATHER NEED NOT MAKE YOUR WORKING DAY FOUL TOO
Image shows Gore rail products at work in mainland Europe
December 2014 | RailStaff | 45FREIGHT
An intermodal freight train is on track to arrive in Spain from China in time for Christmas. The 82-wagon long train loaded with containers set off from Tiwu, a huge commercial hub in costal Zhejiang province, on 18 November and is expected in Madrid around 10 December.
The New Silk Road service will be a regular feature transiting China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France before reaching its final destination in Spain.
Although most luxury goods from China go by sea, the trade is growing and railways are poised to help bolster shipping capacity from Asia. The train, named ‘Yixinou’ was backed by the Chinese government.
Yiwu is 300 kilometres south of Shanghai and is reputedly the biggest wholesale hub in the world. China’s leaders want to see it better connected with European markets.
In September at a meeting with Spanish premier
Mariano Rajoy, Chinese president Xi Jinping backed the scheme and said, ‘China looks forward to the West’s proactive participation in building and operating the Yiwu-Madrid line that would help boost the level of cooperation between China and Spain.’
Currently different rail gauges mean rolling stock has to be changed three times on the 13,000 kilometre journey. However, a continuous New Silk Road will better connect China with its prime markets in Europe.
Silk RoadSwitches to Rail
GB Railfreight has clocked up 1,000 train loads run in the space of a week for the first time in the company’s history.
Says John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, ‘I am proud to announce that GB Railfreight has surpassed 1,000 train loads per week for the first time in our history. It is testament to all of the hard work by GB Railfreight staff across the company, throughout the last 15 years. This is an overwhelming achievement for everybody involved and it will spur us on into 2015 to continue to deliver optimum service levels for our customers and to help keep the UK economy moving.’
GB Railfreight is now the main transporter of coal on the rail network and one of only two rail freight companies with regular contracts to move biomass.
A Thousand Splendid Trains
Eddie Stobart is expanding the group’s involvement at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal.
Prologis and Stobart have signed a leasehold agreement for a purpose-built 420,000 sq ft rail-connected distribution centre. ‘This is the first building we have let to Eddie Stobart, and we are delighted that we can meet the company’s requirements,’ said Andrew Griffiths, managing director of Prologis.
‘DIRFT II is now complete, but with our ongoing investment in DIRFT III, we can continue to offer our customers the best opportunities in the market for rail-served distribution facilities.’
Construction of the new centre of Stobart started in November and should be ready for business next summer.’
Says William Stobart, chief executive of Eddie Stobart, ‘This new building will further our rail capability and is a significant investment in the continuing success of our business.’
Even though rail freight does not vote, it is crucial that it does not get forgotten in the political debate. Rail freight is a vital, crucial part of the logistics mix which offers a low carbon, safe alternative to road transport, reducing road congestion and air pollution. All of us in the industry need to trumpet the massive benefits of rail freight to UK PLC.
Few people realise that rail freight is an important part of the supply chain with cargoes ranging from consumer, automotive goods and Royal Mail to the traditional bulk cargoes because most of the consumer goods are carried in shippers’ container boxes.
Almost a third of clothes, furniture, white goods, computer equipment, food and other consumables coming out of the main container ports are carried long distance by rail. This consumer market, known as intermodal, now represents a third of the traffic. It has grown by 75 per cent in the last decade and is forecast to grow fourfold in the next 20 years.
Economic benefitsRail freight has exceptional
economic, social and environmental credentials. An aggregates train can remove up to 130 HGVs from our roads and rail produces 70 per cent less carbon dioxide than road for the equivalent journey. Rail is also far safer than HGVs, which are five times more likely to be involved in fatal collisions than cars on local roads.
The public does not realise that it is hard for rail to compete with road because the latter only pays around 40 per cent of the costs it imposes on society in terms of road damage, congestion, pollution and road fatalities. Despite all these challenges, rail freight, has grown by 80 per cent in the past 20 years and generates more than £1.5 billion a year in economic benefits to UK PLC. With the forecasts suggesting that rail
freight volumes could double by 2043 the environmental, productivity and congestion benefits of delivering freight by rail could be worth over £4 billion per year to the UK economy.
Rail freight operators have already made over £2 billion of investments in new equipment since the mid 1990s. Nevertheless, in order for rail freight volumes to grow and with that increase the economic benefits to the UK economy, the government needs to continue to support the industry to give confidence to the sector to continue its high levels of investment.
Recent industry investments include the Port of Felixstowe’s £40 million in the North Rail Terminal which caters for 50 trains to serve the port daily as well as the rail terminal at the new port at London Gateway. Additionally, Potter Logistics has extended its rail head from 468m to 775m allowing its Selby terminal to take the longest trains from UK ports.
Over half of rail freight traffic is port related. Therefore, the government’s support for the Strategic Rail Freight vision to provide a robust and reliable network, between the main conurbations and ports is crucial to UK industry. Targeted rail freight upgrades are effective; rail’s market share out of Southampton port along the A34 corridor increased from 29 to 36 per cent within a year of completion of the gauge upgrade demonstrating the direct benefits of rail enhancements.
In March, the strategic cross country rail route from Felixstowe port, parallel to the congested A14 and part of
the Strategic Rail Freight Network development, was enhanced, saving up to 75 minutes per rail trip on this route. Once the next tranche of funded capacity upgrades are completed during this Network Rail control period, 40 million lorry miles will be removed from the A14 corridor and rail could increase its share of the traffic out of Felixstowe from around 28 per cent to up to 40 per cent.
More capacityLooking forward, rail freight needs
more capacity on key routes, especially the West and East Coast main lines, so the allocation of significant released capacity from HS2 for freight is crucial, which requires a holistic and transparent approach to allocation of passenger and freight capacity by the Department for Transport. In addition to the planned work on the electric spine from Southampton to the West Midlands, electrification of other key routes, including into ports sidings and diversionary routes, would enable rail to be more efficient and even more sustainable.
Network Rail’s five-year funding cycle has helped to ensure that the correct investment decisions are made to position the railway to meet future demand and this has been hugely beneficial to the success of the industry and freight and passenger growth, so we are urging the government to continue investing in the rail freight network in CP6 and beyond. The rail freight industry is striving to offer a full six-day service to the logistics industry;
the silver bullet would be a seven-day service but that remains challenging with the need to carry out maintenance and renewals on the shared network.
Rail freight interchangesHowever, a network of strategic rail
freight interchanges (SRFIs) is needed in the same way that passengers need stations. In fact the forecasted growth in rail freight volumes over the next 30 years is predicated on a network of SRFIs coming on stream. So a revised National Networks NPS, which fully recognises the need for SRFIs, would have direct benefits to the green economy should it be announced, as part of the Autumn Statement made on 3 December.
The growth of the Daventry Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) is a perfect example of the potential of integrated road and rail solutions. In July, permission was granted for further expansion of the Daventry SRFI to cater for 32 trains in and out of the facility per day, capable of moving more than 500,000 containers a year.
The project includes 8 million sq ft of rail served distribution space, a new rail link from the existing DIRFT to a new interchange together will new transhipment sidings, container storage and truck reception area. In total there will be 9,000 direct jobs there which already boasts Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury as customers.
In the run up to the election, we all need to trumpet the benefits of rail freight to compensate for its lack of a vote.
More services on north London’s Gospel Oak - Barking line cut in just ahead of the festive season.
Four extra trains will be added to the Gospel Oak to Barking line to help relieve congestion. These improvements add to the increased capacity being delivered by new five-carriage trains, which Transport for London began to roll out earlier this month.
The new carriages are being introduced on the East London and North London routes.
Says director of London Overground Mike Stubbs, ‘Demand on the London Overground network is increasing all the time, and we are pleased to be able to boost services to meet this demand.’
GOB StopperBombardier Transportation
has signed a contract to deliver 27 new four-car trains for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), for operation on the Gatwick Express.
The new Class 387/2 trains will be designed and manufactured at Bombardier’s Derby facility. The contract for 108 cars has a total value of approximately £145 million. Bombardier will supply GTR with updated Class 387 Electrostars.
Additional features include easier access for passengers with luggage, better storage space, two-by-two seating and Wi-Fi.
The new order comes as GTR celebrates the arrival of another fleet of Bombardier’s Class 387/1 for use on the Bedford to Brighton line.
Says Rail minister Claire Perry, ‘These new British-built trains are great news for passengers and a boost for the economy. They will transform journeys on the Gatwick Express and Thameslink routes and safeguard jobs
at Bombardier’s Derby factory.’The Class 387/1 trains were on show
at Bletchley TMD on 21 November prior to entering passenger service in December.
Both the 387/1 and 387/2 will have a maximum operating speed of 110 mph. Like the current Gatwick Express fleet, the 387/2 will sport a red livery. The Class 319s will continue operating services between Wimbledon and Seven Oaks and other routes before being cascaded to the north with the arrival of the Siemens Class 700s.
New Fleet for Gatwick Express
While the retail industry eagerly awaits the January sales, shops on railway stations seem to be enjoying the January jump all the year round.
Latest figures from Network Rail show that retail sales at Britain’s biggest and busiest stations have grown for the 10th quarter in a row.
Like-for-like sales at Network Rail’s 18 managed stations for July to September 2014 jumped by 6.23 per cent compared to the same period in 2013. The increase is in stark contrast to high street sales, which fell by 0.05 per cent according to the British Retail Consortium.
Britain’s railway stations are good places to do business, full of pubs and bars, coffee shops and delicatessens. However, high street shop and gift brands are growing significantly.
London Waterloo and Liverpool Lime Street were the two best performing Network Rail-managed stations,
recording 18.73 per cent and 14.10 per cent sales growth respectively. Birmingham New Street has benefited from the station’s continuing redevelopment, recording the third-highest like-for-like sales growth of 12.23 per cent.
Says Network Rail Property’s head of retail, Samantha Turner, ‘These results again demonstrate how people are changing the way they shop, eat and travel. Convenience and combined retail and transport hubs are an increasingly high priority for the busy
British public and our strategy to create destination stations is delivering for our customers. Creating stations that welcome rail passengers and encourage them to spend time in and around our retail units is great for our retailers.’
On Sale Now
NEWS48 | RailStaff | December 2014
Edinburgh College has launched a 16-week NVQ Railway Engineering course that equips students with all the skills they need to gain employment within the rail and construction industry. Ten students have already started the course, and VGC Labour Solutions is guaranteeing job interviews for all graduating students.
The course allows students to learn practical skills within a safe simulation environment. As well as the NVQ level 2 Railway Engineering, students will also receive a full personal track safety (PTS) and track induction (TIC), a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card and a full medical, which will allow them to begin work immediately. To ensure that the students are aware of the main safety risks when working on the rail infrastructure, one trainee per day acts as the controller of site safety (COSS), as if the team were working on a live railway.
Graham Piggott, director of VGC Labour Solutions North, said, ‘The students are learning key skills from experienced trainers who are passing on their knowledge of working safely on construction and rail.
‘At the end of their course, we will gain well-trained, keen members of our local workforce, who will work on Scotland’s important infrastructure projects.’
John Laing, head of the Institute of Construction and Building Crafts at Edinburgh College, said, ‘This project is a great example of working with industry partners to deliver work-ready employees that meet their needs and will help them develop their business. It’s also a brilliant opportunity for students to find employment and work in an industry that’s delivering some really exciting projects.’
As part of the VGC Group’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, the company works on removing barriers to accessing employment and development activities. A programme of internships,
work placements, work experience, graduate training, apprenticeships, as well as the new partnership with Edinburgh College, encourages and supports young people into careers in engineering, construction and rail.
The VGC Group includes VGC Labour Solutions, VGC Rail Projects, VGC Personnel, VGC Construction, VGC
Training and Cole Hire. The VGC Group provides people and delivers contracts for the construction and rail industries. Divisions operate in all types of civil engineering environments including roads and bridges, airports, nuclear facilities, utilities, mechanical and electrical services, and heavy and light rail systems.
Edinburgh Boost for Engineering Students
We provide people, contracts and services to the construction and rail industries.We are dedicated to delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions for our clients, and to building long-lasting partnerships with them.
vgcgroup.co.uk08456 201 201
People, contracts and services
90x130 (October)_Layout 1 16/10/2014 15:05 Page 1
December 2014 | RailStaff | 49NEWS
Staff at Fratton Train Crew Depot in Portsmouth have rallied round to produce a charity calendar aimed at raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Former SWT Fratton guard Steve Harbinson was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year. Steve was found to be suffering from prostate cancer three years ago and after radio therapy last year was given just five or six years to live. Additionally one of the drivers who posed for the calendar, Darren Wilkie, was diagnosed with stomach cancer just before the pictures were taken. It was very aggressive and sadly he passed away on 16 November - just three days before the calendars were finished. Friends describe Darren as an awesome character and a legend. He will be much missed.
Jo Black, who works at the depot herself, came up with the calendar idea. ‘I instigated the calendar as a way to raise money,’ says Jo. ‘Brenda Skerrett, a Fratton guard, and I sought out willing participants and found quite a few very happy to strip - mostly
because they were good friends of Steve, some because of the cause. I remembered that Steve had done a photo shoot previously and asked if we could include that picture. He agreed.’
Brenda Kerret organised people to attend photo shoots on their days off and researched printing costs and PayPal accounts.
Steve Wilmshurst, an ex-Fratton driver who now works in rosters, took the pictures. Seventeen staff at Fratton took part in the photo shoots. Jo and Brenda then bravely set about choosing the pictures for the calendar. The calendar can now be purchased from Fratton. A
female follow up is apparently being planned, as girls from nearby depots and stations expressed indignation at being left out this time round.
To order a calendar for £7, plus £1.50 p&p, contact Jo Black on [email protected] 07810 355851.
Fratton Calendar Guys Rally Round
Viewers of ITV’s Calendar local news programme have voted to award a big lottery grant to the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway.
The People’s Millions lottery award will now provide £44,000 to the Historic Vehicles Trust of the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway. The money will be spent on restoring a Class D bogie wagon from the First World War trench
railways. The wagon still bears shrapnel and bullet holes from the conflict. The vehicle will be adapted for disabled people.
Work is getting under way at the LCLR’s headquarters in Skegness Water Leisure Park.LCLR volunteers Dave Enefer, John Chappell, Peter Balderstone (secretary LCLR HVT) and Mike Newbold - the wagon is behind them.
Advent Calendar
Railway Children has rescued and protected 8,762 children from risk on India’s streets in 2014 thanks to support from the UK rail industry.
For almost 20 years, Railway Children has sought to protect street children in the UK and abroad. Of the children rescued this year, 2,502 were returned to their families.
Over the last three years, 27,000 children have been helped by the charity.
Says Railway Children chief executive Terina Keene, ’Railway Children is recognised as the largest charity in the world working solely with street children, but public support is as vital as ever to our work. Only by working together with a single-minded ambition are we able to continue to fight for every child alone and at risk on streets in India, East Africa and here in the UK.
‘Each time a volunteer, fundraiser and individual donor gets involved, we are able to reach another child at risk on the
streets and provide life-saving care.’The charity is seeking further support
over the Christmas period. As well as a range of Christmas cards, the charity is offering special gifts. The £10 Search and Rescue gift will help fund an outreach worker protecting children at risk on streets in the UK.
The £2 Nourishment and Nurture gift will make sure a child in India has enough food for a whole month.
All cards and gifts are available online at www.railwaychildren.org.uk/shop.
Almost 9,000 rescued by Railway Children in 2014
Steve Harbinson with Steve Wilmshurst.
NEWS50 | RailStaff | December 2014
Charity Number: 1058991
01270 757596www.railwaychildren.org.uk/shop
SEND A GIFT OF A HAPPY FUTURE THIS CHRISTMAS
NOU
RI
SHMENT AND NURTUR
E
SE
ARCH
AND RESCUE
Here’s how it works:• Choose your gift from the range at www.railwaychildren.org.uk/shop or call us on 01270 757 596• We’ll send you a gift pack by return• Personalise the gift and give to your loved one
This year, why not buy a Happy Future for a child, at the same time you’ll send a unique and special gift for your friendsand family.
Choosing a gift for a loved one?
£10£21
£12
PENCILS
AND PROSPECTS
The Robin Hood Youth orchestra played as Elly Blacknell, a pupil at Becket School, opened the new Nottingham station, ably assisted by Sir William McAlpine, chairman of the Railway Heritage Trust, and Sir John Peace, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.
Over £60 million has been invested in creating the new transport hub at the heart of the city, which serves more than seven million passengers every year. The Edwardian Grade II station has been tastefully done up and original features painstakingly restored. However, the station has also been thoroughly modernised, with more shops and cafes and easier access for all. The historic Porte Cochere has been pedestrianised.
The new glass-fronted Southern Concourse provides full lift and escalator access to platforms. The station will be fully tram-connected when the construction of two new tram lines to Chilwell and Clifton is completed and the expanded system opens next year.
Child of Courage AwardElly Blacknell is a Year 9 student at
the Becket School, West Bridgford, and plans to become a Paralympic
swimming champion. Elly had her left leg amputated below the knee and underwent chemotherapy following the diagnosis of a rare bone cancer in 2012. Despite this, she now walks unaided with a prosthetic limb and has gone on to pick up numerous medals in national swimming competitions, competing against able-bodied swimmers. Her courage led to Elly being given the Nottingham Post’s Child of Courage Award at this year’s Nottingham Heroes Awards.
East Midlands Trains and Network Rail worked in partnership with Nottingham City Council, Taylor Woodrow and the Railway Heritage Trust, with £12 million additional funding from the country’s first Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) scheme, to deliver the project. Combined with the
city’s multi-million pound investment in the tram network, the station is now an iconic transport hub.
Network Rail has invested £100 million in improved signalling and track layout on the railway in and around Nottingham station. A new platform has been added at the station itself. A further £70 million has been spent raising line speed on the Nottingham-London main line to 125mph.
Corporate social responsibilityWhilst acknowledging the appeal of
local folk hero Robin Hood, corporate social responsibility is better organised in Nottingham now and local people and businesses look set to benefit from a world-class, economy-boosting, rail system for many years to come.
Says Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, ‘Stations are vital gateways to our cities and towns, and an important part of passenger journeys. As passenger numbers are forecast to grow, investment in our railway has never been more important.
‘We have transformed the rail network in and out of Nottingham station, and refurbished and built the new entrances. This work makes the experience of travelling to and from Nottingham quicker, more flexible and easier for the thousands of passengers that use it every day.’
Elly Opens Rail Hub
The Robin Hood Youth Orchestra entertain passengers and guests at Nottingham station’s opening.
NEWS52 | RailStaff | December 2014
MTR Crossrail (part of MTR Corporation), is the new train operating company responsible for delivering train services on the Crossrail network on behalf of Transport for London (TfL).
We currently have a number of exciting opportunities at MTR Crossrail. (All posts are based in London unless stated).
Short Term PlannersSupporting the Planning Manager, the Short Term Planner will have relevant industry experience; preferably with the ability to do both diagramming, timings and delivering amended train plans.
Disruption Manager Reporting to the Head of Planning and Performance and playing a key part within the MTR Crossrail Train Service Delivery team, the Disruption Manager is crucial to the successful development of an outstanding culture of customer service within the organisation. This is a hands-on role and the individual will be responsible for leading the production of high quality plans that facilitate the management of service disruption to minimise impact on passengers and the wider business.
Duty Control Managers – based in RomfordThe Duty Control Managers will take a leading role in the operational control room, ensuring the delivery of the best possible train plan, including management of resources to customers in accordance with the MTR Crossrail Concession Agreement.
Duty Performance ManagersThe responsibility of the Duty Performance Reporting Manager is to manage the real time data and workflow processes within the Performance Management system, ensuring the production of appropriate reports to the Duty Control Manager in real time and in providing business information and follow up to incidents.
Customer Experience ControllersThe role of Customer Experience Controller is to ensure accurate real time train running information is communicated to stations and customers including those using help points and that the Passenger Information during Disruption policy is implemented fully during incidents.
Driver Team ManagersAs a Driver Team Manager, you will be delivering the reliable operation of the train plan, improving train performance and achieving customer satisfaction targets. You will be leading the drivers in operational safety, carrying out fitness and competence assessments of drivers, ensuring that drivers are utilised in the most effective and economic manner possible.
Concession Contract Manager As Concessions Contracts Manager, you will be monitoring MTR Crossrail’s compliance with its obligations under the Concession Agreement (CA) between MTR Crossrail and Transport for London. You will be a key player in the contractual relationship with TfL, providing regular reports and information as required by the Concession Agreement. You will also be involved in negotiating amendments when changes to the contract are necessary. In addition you will be required to support obligation owners within the business to meet their contract requirements and to develop action plans where risks may arise.
In return, we can offer an exciting career path and an attractive package including competitive salary and rail concessions.
If you are interested in any of these roles please forward your CV and covering letter to [email protected]
by 5th January 2015, clearly stating which role you are applying for.
www.mtrcrossrailjobs.co.uk
MTR Crossrail Ltd welcomes applications from a diverse range of candidates regardless of background, disability or gender and is committed to creating a workforce as diverse as the communities we serve.
www.scot-train.com
Overhead Lines Trainer Glasgow, Scotland ALL
Scot-Train, an NSARE recognised “Outstanding Training Provider”, is looking to recruit a NSARE accredited Overhead Lines Trainer to join the training team.
This requirement is due to the need to maintain our recognised high quality of service for our existing and ever-increasing client base within the rail industry.
It would be desirable for the successful candidate to be competent to deliver AP, NP and OLEC 1-3, however personal development training will be provided.
IPAF MCWP Training Instructor Throughout UK
We are also looking to further strengthen our IPAF training delivery team and are therefore looking for an IPAF MCWP Training Instructor:• The successful candidate must be a proven trainer with prior
experience in Mast Climbing Work Platforms• Personal development training will be provided to enable the
successful candidate to deliver other course delivery competences required within the role.
Attractive package available to successful candidates.
TRS Sta� ng Solutions are international engineering recruitment specialists. We recruit for major national and international projectsfor leading national rail organisations, main contractorsand consultancies.
– Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available –
Site Manager/Agents London, Anglia and Yorkshire£250 - 325/day Mainline rail, station and bridge experience.
P6 Project Planners London, Midlands and Scotland £40K - £50K or £300 - £400/day Experience of Network Rail projects, Primavera experience essential.
Project Managers Cardi� , Milton Keynes, York and London £35K - £60K or 300 - 450/day Projects civils, signalling and M+E enabling works experience.
Senior Pway Engineer Derby, London and Bristol £35K - £55K or £250 - £400/day Experience of Network Rail projects, horizontal and vertical alignments and track renewals.
– Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – Principal Senior Structural Engineers Bristol, Birmingham, Cardi� and London £300 - £350/day or £30K - £60K Bridges, station and buildings– rail project experience.
– Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – Senior Quantity Surveyors/ Commercial Managers London £40K - £65K Experience of Network Rail/LUL projects, NEC contract experience essential.
Please email your CV to rail@trssta� ng.comor if you’d prefer to discuss any roles call +44 (0)20 7419 5800
www.trssta� ng.com
December 2014 | RailStaff | 53CAREERS
The Martin Group of Companies (Est. 1976) provides specialist services to the waste recycling, construction and Rail industries with a turnover in excess of c£80m.
RAIL TRAINING MANAGER / PLANNERHighly competitive salary + Benefits + fully expensed company vehicle
Based at our head office (Junction 28/M1)
We are looking for a qualified, specialist, technical trainer to provide a comprehensive service in accordance with statutory requirements, client expectations and company procedures. The successful candidate will deliver and evaluate comprehensive technical training for PTS/Safe Work Leader, in accordance with the needs of the business, as well as producing SSOW documentation for our business activities. The main responsibilities will be:
· Provide course notes and supporting information
· Organise refresher training, as appropriate
· Carry out assessments on-site
· Periodically to extend the scope of his / her training capabilities, to suit the company needs in specialist activities
· Produce SSOW documentation – Work Package Plans, task briefings.
A key part of the role will be to maintain a comprehensive understanding and retention of industry accreditation such as National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering (NSARE), Network Rail Standards, Sentinel and the Rail Training Accreditation Scheme (RTAS).
Our Requirements: To be considered for this newly created position, you must have a working knowledge of the railway, have a Certificate in Teaching or similar training qualification, a Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, hold a valid SSOW Planner competency and, ideally, you will have proven ability in the construction and rail industries.
Next Steps: To apply, please complete an online application form at www.hwmartin.com/careers and return it with a covering letter, stating your reasons for applying. We are an equal opportunities employer.
Signalling Assistant Team Leader Grade 3Trackwork Limited is an established railway engineering company with more than 25 years experience of plain line renewals, signalling maintenance, bridgeworks, S&C and associated S&T work.Trackwork invest heavily in our people, providing a full career development plan for each member of the team to ensure ongoing levels of competence. Our structure and progression system recognises talent and rewards it. We aim to attract the right people and retain those that we employ. An opportunity has arisen within our signalling department for a permanent, full-time Assistant Signalling Team Leader Grade 3.
Location: Ideally based within one hour of East London, although all applications will be considered.
Salary: £28,000 to £34,000 (dependant on experience).
The Role: To assist the team leader in carrying out signal maintenance, and providing 24hr rapid response fault cover at various depots nationwide as part of a two man team. To ensure targets are met in a safe and timely manner. In addition the successful applicant would be expected to assist the team leader in providing signalling support for plain line and S&C renewals, when required. A company vehicle and fuel will be provided for business use, as part of this role.
Essential: • Valid SMTH certifi cate • Excellent communication skills• Reliable and fl exible • Appropriate IRSE licence or working towards it• Valid PTS/COSS • Full clean UK driving licence
Desirable: • Experience in carrying out signalling maintenance activities• Trained in Clamplock & HW Points • Trained in HVI Track Circuits• Experience in points renewals • Trained in SSI Interlocking
Please do not apply if you do not hold all of the essential requirements.This is for an immediate start for the right individual.
To apply please contact: Andrew Apperley, PO Box 139, Sandall Lane, Kirk Sandall Industrial Estate, Doncaster, DN3 1WZEmail: [email protected] or Telephone: 07775 998114
Marine | Rail | Construction | Industry | Leisure
Senior Technical Sales Advisor Essex based or National locations Starting Salary up to £40,000 OTE + Benefits Package
Step On Safety is an Essex based business & leading UK rail industry supplier of GRP. We design, fabricate, supply and install anti slip GRP products.
We are expanding our workforce across the board and seek experienced sales and business development people with extensive knowledge of the UK Rail industry.
advance Training & Recruitment Services are an international recruitment consultancy, supplying skilled engineers at all levels to some of the biggest names within rail engineering.
We have over 40 years’ combined experience within the rail industry and are known for our ability to source scarce, highly skilled candidates for various roles within domestic and international rail projects.
WeWe offer exciting opportunities for talented individuals at all levels across the following sectors:
• Signalling • Electrification & Power • Telecommunications • Permanent Way • Civils • Mechanical & Electrical • Project Services • International
• Signalling Principle Designer York - £450 per day Must have IRSE licence & Construction Design Management competency. Should have or be working towards HNC/HND. Find out more: http://bit.ly/railstaff01
• Signalling Design Manager London - £75,000 pa Must have understanding of technical signalling principles and experience on Network Rail or LUL signalling projects. Find out more: http://bit.ly/railstaff02
• Technical Safety and Assurance Engineer London - £65,000 pa Must have proven railway system and safety assurance knowledge within the rail sector. Proven background of Safety & RAMS Engineering. Find out more: http://bit.ly/railstaff03 • Head of Discipline - Track UK Wide - £Neg pa Minimum 15 years rail experience, significantly at senior level. Experience of managing projects. Should be regarded as leader within this discipline. Find out more: http://bit.ly/railstaff04
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year, from everyone at
We have many more opportunities online now at
www.advancerailwayjobs.comtogether, we can all advance“
Opportunities now exist for experiencedLocomotive Technicians to join a globalleader in rolling stock maintenance.
As a Locomotive Technician your duties will include, but are not limited to:
• Planned preventative maintenance, repair and servicing of diesel locomotives to ensure �eet reliability.• Fault-�nding on both electrical and mechanical systems.• Conduct modi�cation programmes as required.• Carrying out Safety Critical work to strict company guidelines and industry standards
Doncaster
£27,500 + shift allowance
LocomotiveTechnician
Location
Salary
An exciting opportunity to join an industryleading rolling stock enhancement and overhaul company to work on re-traction,interior refurbishment and modi�cationprojects.
The Role:
To be responsible for the production of mechanical component and system designsfor rolling stock vehicles and associatedsystems using CAD (SolidEdge).
A progressive and rewarding company with clear promotion and progression opportunities.
The Role:
To carry out annual maintenance, modi�cations and repairs to a �eet of heavy plant and rail vehicles against an agreed maintenance plan. Working in a 5S environment, with a keen eye for quality and detail, completing maintenancedocumentation.
Multi Skilled Maintenance Technician
Kent
£39,700
Location
Salary
Find more jobs at: www.ata-recruitment.co.uk
@ATA_jobs
For further information on the above roles or to enquire about other vacancies with ATA, please contact the Rail team on:
01332 861326 or email your details to [email protected] referencing RAILSTAFF + Job Title
West Midlands
Design Engineer
£32.00 per hour
Location
Salary
December 2014 | RailStaff | 55CAREERS
Marketing and Sales Team020 7500 6901www.expressmedicals.co.uk
RAILWAY MEDICAL SERVICESFROM EXPRESS MEDICALS
Express Medicals have been providing railway medical services since 1996. We provide medical examinations and drugs & alcohol testing to meet Network Rail, London Underground and DLR standards.
If you have a requirement for such services please do not hesitate to contact us.
KEEPINGYOURIGHTON TRACK
KEEPINGYOURIGHTON TRACK
ONGOING SUPPORT
PROMPTSERVICE
MEDICALEXPERTS
MARKETLEADERS
COUNSELLING
DRUG ANDALCOHOL SERVICES
HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
OCCUPATIONALHEALTH
PHYSIOTHERAPY
RAIL MEDICALS
TRAVEL HEALTH
VACCINATIONS
WELLBEING
BLOOD TESTS
Marketing and Sales Team020 7500 6901www.expressmedicals.co.uk
Marketing and Sales Team020 7500 6901www.expressmedicals.co.uk
