Rapid Ballast Replacement on Plain Lines and through Switches & Crossings stobartrail.com RailStaff Issue 198 | May 2014 www.railstaff.co.uk THE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY Channel Tunnel Celebration START DATE FOR NEW TRAMS Edinburgh’s trams to start on 31 May Page 16 RAILSTAFF AWARDS Success celebration at Ricoh Stadium Page 29 CROWTHER TO HEAD BTP Paul Crowther is new Chief Constable Page 9 IN THIS ISSUE Eurotunnel celebrates 20 years as passenger and freight volumes climb and profits rise. Cut price freight rates and economic resurgence are boosting the fortunes of the Channel Tunnel.
Transcript
Rapid Ballast Replacement on Plain Lines and through Switches & Crossings
stobartrail.com
RailStaffIssue 198 | May 2014 www.railstaff.co.uk
THE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY
Channel Tunnel Celebration
START DATE FOR NEW TRAMSEdinburgh’s trams to start on 31 May Page 16
RAILSTAFF AWARDSSuccess celebration at Ricoh Stadium Page 29
CROWTHER TO HEAD BTPPaul Crowther is new Chief ConstablePage 9
IN THIS ISSUE
Eurotunnel celebrates 20 years as passenger and freight volumes climb and profits rise. Cut price freight rates and economic resurgence are boosting the fortunes of the Channel Tunnel.
Our brand new & purpose built fleet of Whilst the machine is removing the ballast a
Ballast Replacement machines and teams team of road rail excavators and a
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Replacement Programmes and Track to replace the ballast and to check the
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Old ballast is replaced with new without the If you need ballast replacement, track
need to remove track or sleepers. lowering on your route call us now to
discuss hiring the machine and our team.
In 2008, Richard Errington joined Stobart Rail as a Plant fitter, responsible for maintaining the vast array of varying
equipment within the fleet. He readily engaged with the other Engineers, Operators and Project Delivery teams
eager to provide service excellence. Promoted to Workshop Foreman in 2009 he instilled this energy into the team
upgrading plant and setting new high standards of continuous improvement. Recently again promoted to Plant
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in Carlisle and is a member of the Rail Plant Association subcommittee for assessing fitters. The 1st project recently
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Rapid Ballast Replacement on Plain Linesand through Switches & Crossings
Richard Errington, Rail Plant Maintenance & Innovation Manager
May 2014 | RailStaff | 3COMMENT
Amidst the reporting of the 20th anniversary of the official opening of the Channel Tunnel the financial press sounded a cautionary note. What Eurotunnel’s experience teaches us, they seemed to be saying, is that investing in major projects is fraught with risk.
Don’t be so hasty in future to back the visions of wild eyed men and women more at home in the mud and rain with their mechanical back shovels, orange vests and tractor tread boots. Such people do not understand the abacus world of emerging platforms, hedge funds and quantative distress.
Such defeatist rationale ill serves France and Britain. In the dark days of 1940 Winston Churchill as the new Prime Minster bluntly stated that his policy was to wage war, to win, no matter what the cost. Churchill claimed in his memoirs that the cabinet was united behind him. This was not quite the case.
Senior figures, notably Lord Halifax, urged the government to consider suing for peace. Churchill stuck to his guns igniting the mood of a defiant Britain. Similarly in June 1940 General Charles de Gaulle escaped to London and set up the Free French Forces. ‘France has lost a battle but she has not lost the war,’ he said, as he stood alone.
Since the tunnel opened the story of the British and the French has drawn
ever closer. Thousands of Brits live in France. The skirl of the bag pipe and the click of the cricket bat enrich rural life just as French élan and culture have gone part way to civilising the English. This year the Tour De France starts in that haven of francophone delight, Yorkshire.
The example of French high speed rail has inspired Britain. The money men may not understand this but fortune does favour the bold. When it comes to freedom and friendship these eternal values trump every balance sheet. People speeding along the
Channel Tunnel pay little thought to the energy and ingenuity of the people who built it, neither can they untangle the nightmarish financial rubrics that Jacques Gounon mastered.
We however do not forget the inspired examples of courage and boldness played out below the white cliffs and in the dark towers of high finance. We wish Monsieur Gounon and all his staff – past and present - bon anniversaire and every success in the future. Vive la France!
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The example of French high speed rail has inspired Britain.
22 36
NEWS4 | RailStaff | May 2014
Eurotunnel’s 20th anniversary marks a personal triumph for Jacques Gounon, the quietly spoken headmaster’s son from Créteil in south-east Paris.
The civil engineer took over as head of a beleaguered Eurotunnel in 2005 and spent two years wrestling with the organisation’s rapidly unravelling finances. By 2007 disaster loomed as Eurotunnel‘s battered officiers recommended suing for bankruptcy protection, Procédure de Sauvegarde as it is known in France. In a final bid to rescue the tunnel Gounon and his immediate team flew to New York to negotiate with the company’s main creditors.
Treaty of CanterburyOn the surface the problem historically
for Eurotunnel was that it cost twice as much to build as at first thought and that revenue projections were, by contrast, wildly over-inflated. The deeper problem was the Treaty of Canterbury, which set up the legal framework for the tunnel. British premier Margaret Thatcher had been deeply suspicious of the scheme from the start: A railway tunnel? Connecting Britain with France? Public money? Forget it.
Under the terms of the treaty the tunnel was to be built and operated without a penny of tax payer cash. The Iron Lady, dame de fer, the French called her, had no wish to become known as the dame des chemins de fer. A charmed François Mitterrand agreed. The treaty was actually signed in Canterbury Cathedral on 12th February 1986.
Eight years later under a light rain in Coquelles on 6th May 1994 President Mitterrand and Queen Elizabeth II cut a ribbon officially opening the tunnel. From day one it made a loss. Eurotunnel never had a financial safety net the way the railways do because of the terms of the Treaty of Canterbury.
Fast forward nine years and Eurotunnel was facing disaster. Few people speeding through the tunnel this May realise how close the whole enterprise came to closure. Gounon and his team took on a vociferous crew of creditors; all of them aggrieved that the tunnel
had failed to produce the revenues and profits they had been lead to expect.
After a series of shareholder revolts and boardroom coups Gounon was able to instil calm and confidence and win a measure of support for his re-structuring proposals – at least in France and Britain. However the real challenge was the banks and hedge funds. The eventual fate of the Channel Tunnel was not decided in Paris or London but in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza.
Unmanageable debtAfter two days of intense negotiations
with various financiers and creditors Gounon concluded his proposals were being sideswiped. The plan called for a reduction in Eurotunnel’s unmanageable debt from £6.2bn to £2.8bn in a debt-for-equity deal. This would enable the company to trade successfully and eventually turn a profit. Predictably the bankers wanted their money back and said no. Gounon appeared unmoved.
What the bankers perhaps missed was Gounon’s political background. Most of them thought he was just a civil engineer in a smart suit. True up to a point; encouraged by his parents, Max and Odette, Gounon had studied at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique in Paris where he read civil engineering.
No teaching career for young Jacques – although he later married a schoolteacher. Gounon worked his way up dividing his time between the private and public sector. He ran waste management services for the city of Paris, plant and equipment for the Loire local government; the heavy lifting of the state sector. Between 1986 and 1990 he headed up the Comatec group before joining construction giant, Eiffage.
This is one very imaginative, clever, guy
Then in 1993 he worked for the French government advising on industrial affairs. In 1995 he became chief of staff for transport minister Anne-Marie Idrac in the new Alain Juppé administration. That winter France was plunged into a series of damaging strikes as Juppé strived to get public spending under control. Gounon was involved in tough negotiations with France’s powerful
transport unions. ‘I’ve never seen him lose control,’ says Idrac, who went on to reform the SNCF. ‘This is one very imaginative, clever, guy.’ Negotiations proceeded night and day. Gounon never flagged, surprising his boss and the convenors with his physical stamina and genial self control.
In New York Gounon looked at his watch and realised he could make the 6.30 Paris flight if he left for Kennedy Airport within the next few minutes. Polite and immaculate as ever Gounon stood up. Cheerful at the prospect of getting home and seeing his wife and three children and with his usual cordiality he announced that he was leaving. What happened next has passed into legend.
The debt was restructured as planned and in 2011 Eurotunnel started making a profit. Loadings are up and business is brisk. Already revenues have risen by 8% this year as the economy picks up. The Eurotunnel boss remains self effacing. ‘The success has been the result of teamwork, no single person could have saved the company,’ Gounon told
reporters in Calais on 6th May 2014Certainly Jacques Gounon enjoys
unprecedented levels of shareholder support - much of it comes from the 660,000 small shareholders, most of them French members of the public who see him as one of them. ‘My only regret is that the restructuring was not done earlier by my predecessors. But by 2007 we had a deadline to meet to solve our problems and we would have gone bust if we had not restructured.’
Gounon’s 11th hour brinkmanship paid off. Perhaps early tips learned back in Créteil on how to control a roomful of unruly children paid off. More apposite were his experiences negotiating with trade unionists.
Despite the shouting and outrage that day in New York, the money men swarmed round Jacques Gounon as he waited for the elevator. With a politeness often unremarked in New Yorkers they persuaded him back into the room. Legend has it they were ready to sign. Five minutes later Jacques Gounon had his deal and the Channel Tunnel was saved.
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Although its detractors will point with glee to the high cost of building the Channel Tunnel – at £9bn it came in at double the price originally predicted – what is less generally known is the remarkable effect it has had on Britain and France.
20 years on the two countries who once battled out their differences in a succession of difficult wars are closer together than ever before. A quarter of a million French people live in London – enabling Boris Johnson, the mayor, to boast to Alain Juppe, mayor of Bordeaux, population 230,000 that he, Johnson, is mayor of a larger French city than him.
Thousands of British people live and work in France, many more travel to France. The tunnel has proved an inspiration with the British finally going after high speed rail and London’s Crossrail as a sort of spirited encore.
The success of the service itself since the financial restructuring of 2007 has seen Eurotunnel finally making a profit and paying a dividend. According to Eurotunnel 13,000 engineers, technicians and workers helped to construct the tunnel.
It runs 800 metre long trains in a high density service and plans to run more. Freight services are up and
Eurostar continues to grow. The Channel Tunnel has become so much a part of the infrastructure landscape that it inspires engineers and young people in France and Britain.
Says Geoff French, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ‘The Channel Tunnel is a true feat of engineering– it contains one of the longest segments of undersea tunnel in the world, established the first fixed link from England to Europe, and over 13,000 workers from England and France collaborated to realise the vision. If anything could inspire young people to consider civil engineering as a career, it’s a project like this.’
Not only is it carrying more passengers and freight but new plans by Eurotunnel will see it also carrying electricity. Later this year, under the Eleclink scheme, engineers will start installing 32 miles of cabling.
This will enable the transfer of power between the two countries. ‘It is easy enough to implement because the cabling would simply go through the tunnel.’ says Eurotunnel, chief executive, Jacques Gounon. ‘Further into the future I would like to enlarge Eurotunnel’s route to HS2,’ Gounon added.
Eurotunnel has come a long way since Philippe Cozette and Graham Fagg (pictured), dug out the last
section of the Channel Tunnel and created the first land link between Britain and France on 1st December 1990. The pair used pneumatic hand drills to breach the final chalk barrier. Says Mr Fagg, from Dover, ‘It is something that will always stay with me. We were very concerned at the time to get it done properly, especially with everybody watching... I thought it a bit strange that Philippe was going much faster than me but when I broke through I discovered somebody else was helping him.’
The pair became firm friends. ‘We were very impatient to see each other,’ said Philippe Cozette, who lives in Calais. ‘It was the moment that we were all striving for from the beginning. It was a special moment when Graham touched my hand for the first time.’
Electric Avenue for Channel Tunnel
NEWS6 | RailStaff | May 2014
Rail Media will be taking on the Three Peaks Challenge by Rail for the third year in a row next month.
A team of five intrepid trekkers will look to complete Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis - the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales - to raise money for Railway Children.
The Three Peaks Challenge has raised more than £1.5 million for the Railway Children charity to date, which helps protect and support street children around the world.
Says Rail Media director Paul O’Connor, ‘We’re happy to be lacing up our walking boots once again in support of Railway Children.
‘We’re now well into our training.
Climbing three mountains is difficult enough, but when you’re doing it in the dark and with so little sleep, that’s where the Three Peaks really pushes you to your limits.
‘So much money has already been raised throughout the history of the event but we want to try and raise as much as we can for what is a great cause.’
Rail Media takes to the peaks
A two year partnership between Action for Children and Network Rail has raised an incredible £2 million. Railway staff took part in a variety of activities and fundraising drives to raise the money.
44 Network Rail workers overhauled Action for Children’s Rhondda Short Breaks Centre. This included painting ceilings and walls and replacing the floor.
A brave team of 23 apprentices in Portsmouth took on a tandem skydive raising more than £2,800. Volunteers collected change from commuters at Network Rail managed stations.
Says Sherine Krause, of Action for Children, ‘From day one this
partnership went from strength to strength. The main success factor was the incredible support of the volunteers from Network Rail. 323 members of staff donated their time to the children we work with. Having a partner on board like Network Rail made an enormous difference to our work and we can’t thank them enough.’
Volunteers for Network Rail collecting change at stations across the country.
Railway Staffin Action for Children
As pioneers of cross channel freight services celebrated the 20th anniversary of the opening of the international railway tunnel Eurotunnel announced a further series of price cuts and incentives.
The company – now turning a profit, wants to double cross-channel rail freight by 2018. Eurotunnel will cut off-peak prices by 25%. The unpopular €600 surcharge per train imposed by the French Rail Network (RFF) for security at Frèthun will be withdrawn. Eurotunnel is freezing freight prices until the end of 2018.
Special help last year for new intermodal services saw rail freight traffic rise and Eurotunnel plans to push its advantage. The Eurotunnel Incentive for Capacity Additions (ETICA) was
introduced in May 2013 to help new intermodal services use the tunnel.
The initiative has resulted in railfreight traffic increasing by 10% in 2013 and a further 13% in the first quarter of this year. As well as intermodal freight ETICA price–cuts will now be extended to cover new automobiles, food and drink, consumer goods, logistics, and manufactured goods.
Currently between eight and ten freight trains transit the Channel Tunnel each day. Pioneers of the service envisaged 30-40 trains when it opened in 1994.
Says Geoff Spencer, CEO of DB Schenker Rail UK, ‘This welcome announcement from Eurotunnel, together with the widened scope of ETICA, will encourage the development of new international rail transport services through the Channel Tunnel.’
Eurotunnel Cuts Freight Rate
From left to right: Adam, Paul, Marc, Karen and Craig from Rail Media.
Costain’s Alan Kay has started his new role as Chief Executive of ABC Electrification, an incorporated business jointly owned by Alstom, Babcock and Costain.
ABC Electrification recently secured two geographic frameworks as part of Network Rail’s £2 billion electrification programme over the next seven years. Alan Kay was previously Costain’s Group Technical and Operations Director and an Executive Board member.
Mr Kay studied civil engineering at Liverpool University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s acclaimed Advanced Management Programme. Kay has experience in senior project management roles including highway schemes, heavy marine and civil engineering and complex multi-disciplinary projects such as the St Pancras Station re-development.
Appointed to the Executive Board in 2003, he has held a number of operational positions and was responsible for Engineering, Design Management, Quality and the operational lead in Health, Safety
and Environment. Alan is an examiner for the IoD Chartered Director Programme and a member of the UKCG Safety Leadership Group
ABC Electrification was formed in 2012 to deliver Network Rail’s electrification programme and is one of four suppliers who will work with Network Rail to plan and deliver a range of schemes that will see key routes in England, Wales and Scotland electrified for the first time. The Joint Venture recently secured the Western and Wales region and Central (London North Western, South) region.
The total network comprises two thousand track miles and represents the biggest programme of rail electrification in a generation. The works will lead to more frequent services, longer, greener trains and an improvement in travel for passengers.
Says Alan Kay, ‘I am really looking forward to starting my new role at ABC Electrification, particularly at such an exciting time for the rail industry, and I very much look forward to working with Network Rail and my colleagues at Alstom and Babcock. For a project of this size, collaborative delivery is essential. We need to harness our collective knowledge and work together
so that best practice and efficiency improvements can be shared across the programme.’
The Joint Venture recently worked on the West Coast main line (WCML) between Whitmore, south of Crewe, and Great Strickland near the Scottish border, which has been upgraded as part of Network Rail’s £100 million West Coast power supply programme.
Alan Kay ABC Chief Executive
Simon Wright OBE has been appointed as Crossrail’s new Programme Director. The one time Director of Infrastructure and Utilities with the Olympic Delivery Authority is currently Project Development Director at Network Rail and moves to Crossail this summer.
Mr Wright studied civil engineering at Birmingham University and went on to join Binnie and Partners – now Black and Veatch. For almost nine years he worked in London, Sri Lanka and Egypt on design projects including Cairo Wastewater, the Mudhiq Dam in Saudi Arabia, the Alton Water Scheme in Suffolk and Thames Tidal Defence.
In 1985 he joined Mouchel as a director and worked for its Water Division in Asia. During a subsequent ten year stint at Arup he was responsible for the Project Management Group based in London.
At the Olympic Delivery Authority between August 2006 – November 2012 Wright sorted out contaminated land and ran infrastructure and utility projects underpinning the success of the London Olympics. He was also responsible for overall systems integration, information management and the Park Operations phase including facilities management of the venues, through the Games period.
Wright joined Network Rail last year working on a range of renewal and enhancement capital projects. Says Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail Chief Executive, ‘The Crossrail programme is now over half way to completion with the end of major civils in sight and a team fully engaged
on delivering stations fit-out and the transition to an operational railway. Simon will lead the delivery team during this important second half as we move closer to realising this critically important project for London and the UK.’
Wright Move for Crossrail
Christopher Cole is joining Tracsis plc as Non-Executive Chairman. Christopher Cole, 67, is the Non-Executive Chairman and a founder member of WSP Group Plc.
Chris held the post of Chief Executive Officer at WSP between 1987 and 2012, and in that time grew the Company both organically and by acquisition to become a market leader employing over 10,000 people across 40 countries.
Most recently, Chris led the merger of WSP with Genivar Inc in Canada. Tracsis provides software and technology services for the transport industry.
Tracsis move for Chris Cole
May 2014 | RailStaff | 9PEOPLE
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Paul Crowther OBE has been appointed as the next Chief Constable of the British Transport Police. Current chief constable, Andy Trotter, is retiring after a distinguished career spanning 45 years of police service.
Crowther’s appointment marks a milestone for BTP. Paul Crowther joined the force in 1980 and is the first home grown BTP officer to be selected for the post of Chief Constable in over 50 years.
As a uniformed constable Paul served in the ranks, joined the CID and rose to become Chief Superintendent in charge of BTP’s London Underground Area in 2004. In 2002, he was the Senior Investigating Officer for the Potters Bar train crash.
Crowther led the initial BTP response to the terrorist attacks on the London Underground on 7th July 2005. Suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured over 700. Following the attacks Crowther pioneered BTP’s use of behavioural
assessment techniques as a way of identifying terrorists on public transport. He has been Acting Chief Constable since January 2014 and has led the Metal Theft Task Force, for which he was appointed an OBE.
BTP’s ambitious new targets to reduce crime on the railways and deploy 200 new officers have been backed up by restructuring the geographical makeup of the force.
Previously the country was divided into seven force areas. Now three divisions, each with an Assistant Chief Constable, will deliver better value for money and improved performance. Police chiefs want to see further crime reduction of 4 per cent over the next 12 months. The new aim of clearing non-suspicious fatalities more quickly – within 90 minutes – will also be welcomed by rail staff.
Crowther to head BTP
Simon Iwnicki, who heads the Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University, has been appointed chairman of the railway division at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
Dr Iwnicki graduated from Manchester University with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and worked as a maintenance engineer at Chloride Motive Power in the 1980s. Later he studied for a PhD in the dynamics of underground railway vehicles sponsored by the National Coal Board at South Bank University in London.
He spent 21 years as Lecturer and Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University teaching and carrying out research into the interaction between railway vehicles and track. In 1998 he set up the Rail Technology Unit which provided expert advice and solutions for the railway industry.
In 2012 he joined the University of
Huddersfield as Professor of Railway Engineering and Director of the Institute of Railway Research. IMechE has a long-established Railway Division and in June, Professor Iwnicki – currently deputy chairman – begins his year of office as its chairman.
‘My theme for the year will be education of the next generation of engineers,’ he said. This issue is becoming really important to engineering, especially railway engineering. There is a tremendous skills shortage and we at the IMechE need to try to address that.’
Huddersfield Prof Heads IMechE Rail Division New Zealander, Philip Chalk,
has been appointed as Network Rail Consulting’s director of asset management and maintenance for New Zealand.
After working as an asset management advisor at Network Rail in Britain, Phil is moving back home to help expand the rail consultancy’s business in New Zealand and Australia. Philip has over 30 years’ experience in senior management roles.
He has provided strategic asset management advice on projects in New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia as well as the UK. Phil Chalk holds a master’s degree in engineering and is a fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ).
Says Peter Koning, general manager of Australia and New Zealand for
Network Rail Consulting, ‘These are exciting times for the consultancy business as we seek to broaden our reach internationally. Philip brings a wealth of experience to the team; his knowledge and expertise will hugely support Network Rail’s international consultancy division.’
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New Members
The pace of life has now really started to move. Along with the economy and business in general, things are starting to get a little frantic again here at the Rail Alliance.
Next week we launch the Rail Sector’s first and very own national SME Mentoring Scheme, in partnership with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the Manufacturing Advisory Service and Rail Media Group who are our media partners.
This scheme will see us working with companies all over the UK to help them better understand the sector, improve their business in the sector and to hopefully bring many more companies into the railway fold. Watch out for the launch of the Ingenuity Hub which will be the home of this activity.
Immediately after that of course comes Infrarail where once again the
Rail Alliance Hub will be the single biggest stand at the event; not bad when you consider that just six years ago we launched in public for the first time at this event when at the NEC and had just a single nine square metre stand to our name.
We are looking forward to a great show for our various members that are both with us and extensively represented across the Hall at Earl’s Court... look forward to seeing you there, or at the awards dinner which Colin Flack is hosting for Mackbrooks.
With barely time to draw breath, it will then be Rail Live 2014 which is the largest show of its type in Europe. We will be hosting this event at our
home in Warwickshire and you will be able to wander around the 150 acre site, view over 300 exhibits, witness live demonstrations of plant, works, renewals, innovations across all of the many facets of Network Rail and the sectors activities. Really not one to miss!
It is free for exhibitors and visitors but space is filling fast. See www.raillive2014.com for details. If you are thinking about exhibiting but are not sure call Jim Alexander the Events Manager on 01789 721460 or better still email him at [email protected] .
Aside from all of this we are as ever busy with the day job helping members improve their lot through networking events and of course more specialised activity like the Rail Interiors Cluster, the Rail Testing
Voucher Scheme and the HiTech Rail programme. The Rail Testing Voucher Scheme helps companies develop and trial their products in a live environment.
The Rail Alliance is running the HiTech Rail programme with the University of Birmingham. In addition our company visits continue. The Third Thursday sessions see Rob Hopkin, Executive Director, Rail Alliance, helping companies through the trials and tribulations of BS 11000 – the national standard for Collaborative Working.
Here comes summer
18-19 June 2014RAILLive2014RAIL 2014
www.raillive2014.com
In partnership with
NEWS12 | RailStaff | May 2014
Charles-Albert Giral, CEO Colas Rail Europe presents the award to Jamie - Leigh Clayton.
Jamie-Leigh Clayton, a Design Engineer with Siemens Rail Automation, has won the prestigious Young Railway Professional of the Year Award.
Originally from Wiltshire, Jamie-Leigh Clayton joined Siemens in 2007 and completed an Advanced Modern Apprenticeship in Railway Design Engineering.
She is now based in Siemens’ newly-established Manchester office as Design Engineer. During her career, Jamie-Leigh has worked on a variety of UK and overseas rail projects, including the Victoria Line Upgrade Project, Singapore Downtown Line, Oslo T-Bane and most recently the new fourth platform for Manchester Airport and Phase 2c of the North West Electrification Programme at Manchester’s Victoria Station.
This is the second year of the award, which was conceived by the Young Railway Professionals network as a means of publicising the achievements of young people in the rail industry.
Says YRP Chairman, Adam Stead, ‘We had an exceptionally high standard of nominations this year, which is a great reflection on the breadth and depth of young talent that exists in our industry. We felt that both in her day-job and in her commitments outside work, Jamie-Leigh demonstrated a real passion and enthusiasm for the rail sector, which combined with her obvious engineering talent made her the outstanding candidate.’
Jamie-Leigh Clayton is an ambassador for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sharing her enthusiasm for these subjects with school pupils. She is a competent motivational speaker and is studying for
a degree with the Open University. Says Jamie-Leigh, ‘I was delighted
just to have been short-listed for this award, but to have been selected to win it is a real honour. I’ve received great help and support from friends and colleagues at Siemens over the last seven years and am now really excited to
be part of the company’s newly-formed Manchester team. I’ve worked on some really prestigious projects already in my career and am now looking forward to being involved in some of the major infrastructure works that are planned across the North West.’
Jamie-Leigh Clayton Wins YRP Accolade
With passenger figures in Scotland set to rise from 90 million a year to over 104 million over the next five years, Network Rail Scotland has announced a £5 billion worth of investment plans placing the railway at the heart of the Scottish economy.
The aim is to renew track and infrastructure, boost capacity and frequency and extend electrification.
Says David Dickson, Network Rail’s acting route managing director for Scotland, ‘Scotland’s railways are a vital part of our national infrastructure and millions of passengers and freight users will benefit enormously from the plans we set out... These investments respond to the growing demands being
placed upon a railway that is now more popular than ever before and which is set to see passenger numbers grow by a further 15 percent by 2019. Over the next five years we will deliver bigger, better stations, more trains and seats, reopen railway lines and reduce the number of level crossings – creating a safer, more successful and better value railway for everyone.’
Main schemes include the £650m
Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme. EGIP will see the main line between Edinburgh and Glasgow electrified boosting capacity and reducing journey times. The Borders Railway is pushing ahead. The £294m project will re-establish services from Edinburgh through Midlothian to Tweedbank. The increasingly popular Aberdeen – Inverness line will benefit from a £170m programme of improvements. The Whifflet line in Glasgow will be electrified. Infrastructure work will see tracks, bridges and signaling replaced throughout the country.
Backing for Scotland’s Railway
Freightliner is launching daily services from London Gateway to six destinations this month.
These include Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. Shipping lines Hapag Lloyd and Hamburg Sud start services to London Gateway this May.
Says Freightliner Limited’s Commercial Director, Keith Gray, ‘We have moved quickly to meet the demands of our customers as a result of their decision to ship to London Gateway.
These planned daily services are tailored to meet the expected customer demand and are designed to allow flexibility and room for growth in the future.’
Freightliner Launches Daily Gateway Service
Edinburgh Waverley Station.
May 2014 | RailStaff | 13NEWS
After surfacing at Stepney Green, Tunnel Boring Machine Jessica, travelled by road to her next job at Canning Town.
To make the trip, Jessica was dismantled, lifted out in pieces by crane, loaded onto flatbed trailers and transported to Stepney in a series of carefully managed operations with the
help of local police.Jessica completed her 2.7 kilometre
tunnel drive from Pudding Mill Lane to one of Europe’s largest mined caverns at Stepney Green three months ago. She was re-assembled at Limmo Peninsula and put back to work constructing the final Crossrail tunnel between Limmo and Victoria Dock Portal.
Jessica takes High Road
A family company, Hampshire-based Stannah, is celebrating a double success in the rail industry. UK lift expert, Stannah, has renewed a 10-year contract with Network Rail to continue to maintain lifts across the rail network.
At the same time a new contract will see Stannah modernising lifts on the Docklands Light Railway. On the DLR Stannah will be replacing 20 existing lift cars with brand new, energy-saving equipment. The whole programme of works stretches over 18 months.
Stannah won the first Network Rail maintenance contract in 1995. The new contract runs through to 2024 and covers the maintenance of around 950 lifts. This number is set to rise still further as Network Rail continues to modernise more stations. Better, step free, access for all at railway stations means modern lifts.
Stannah will be fielding 360 specialist engineers working all hours. Says Jon Stannah, Joint Managing Director of
Stannah Lift Services, ‘Our work within the rail sector has grown significantly in the last ten years.
Our renewed contract with Network Rail and a further contract with DLR will mean our engineers will be working day and night, in order to prevent downtime for the thousands of railway travellers across the network every day.’ Stannah is a wholly independent family company, established in 1867, in Southwark in London.
Rise and Rise of Stannah
The government has launched a new scheme to better compensate people living near the route of HS2. Under the scheme, the government plans to buy properties at the full, unblighted, market value, plus 10% and throw in reasonable moving expenses, including stamp duty.
The scheme is designed to be quick, clear and as straightforward as possible. A rent back option will enable people to sell their properties but carry-on living where they are. The exceptional hardship scheme will also continue for those who have an urgent need to sell their home but are unable to do so because of HS2.
The government has already bought 114 properties at a cost of around £67 million from owner-occupiers
living near the route. Says Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, ‘I completely understand the concerns and anxieties of those living near the line and it is only right that those people are properly looked after. I believe this package of compensation and assistance will enable us to help people more. But I want to get it absolutely right, so I am asking for further views on some aspects before we finalise the plans.’
Express Check Outfor Home Owners
NEWS14 | RailStaff | May 2014
Rail engineers and contracting staff worked flat out for ten days in April to upgrade the railway at Metheringham in Lincolnshire.
The latest instalment of the progressive modernisation of the Great Northern Great Eastern line between Peterborough, Lincoln and Doncaster includes four improved level crossings and 19 miles of new signalling.
Says Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, ‘The GNGE line is an important route for both freight and passenger trains. Demand for rail services continues to grow and the upgrade of this line is an important project to help meet that demand. During just ten days our engineers have installed modern signals which will help to allow for future increases in services as well as improving reliability. At the same
time the level crossings at Scopwick, Rowston, Blankney and Sleaford North have been upgraded with the latest technology.’
The new signalling system replaces 1930s mechanical technology with modern electronic systems now controlled from Network Rail’s Lincoln Signalling Control Centre. This most recent phase of works saw the closure of signal boxes at Rowston, Scopwick, Sleaford South, Sleaford North and Blankney – although Blankney has been left in situ as the building has been listed by English Heritage.
Two level crossings were also completely closed during this phase of the project at Beevors and Rowston. The completion of this phase means that trains which are not calling at Sleaford are now able to bypass the town, reducing traffic and delays to level crossing users in the town centre.
Lincoln Line Upgrade Triumph
On the day of the successful vote on the HS2 Hybrid Bill in the House of Commons a UKIP campaign bus hit the station canopy at Portsmouth.
Startled railway staff came out of the station to inspect the damage. The driver was understood to be manoeuvring out of a tight corner.
The canopy suffered only minor damage and no one was injured. Portsmouth and Southsea railway station was opened in 1847.
UKIPHits the RoofThe TransWilts Community Rail
Partnership is now a full member of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships.
Says First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood, ‘With the recent launch of six additional TransWilts services a day, between Westbury and Swindon, we have worked in partnership with Wiltshire Council and the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership to improve rail links.
I am delighted the community rail partnership has been recognised by ACoRP.’ The TransWilts Railway line runs from Swindon, via stations at Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge to Westbury. The service is operated by First Great Western. Passenger numbers on the new train services are encouraging.
Says Sion Bretton, Chair of the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership, ‘This is really great news as it will guide us into activities which will help us promote the line efficiently - learning from those who have ‘been there, done
that’ before so that we can maximise passenger knowledge, numbers and satisfaction over the next 18 months.’
ACoRP - a federation of over 50 community rail partnerships and rail promotion groups – continues to hit the headlines as local communities and railway staff push ahead with plans to open up more of the railway to more people.
Says RailStaff editor, Andy Milne, ‘The ACoRP phenomena is symptomatic of our time - local people are getting
involved in railways as never before and this has been welcomed by the industry. It’s good for business and better still for the communities the railway serves. It is great to see support for ACoRP growing right across the industry. We wish TransWilts every success.’ Rail Media, which publishes RailStaff and the rail engineer, is sponsoring this year’s Best Marketing Campaign Award at the ACoRP Community Rail Awards in Scarborough this October.
TransWilts Joins ACoRP
Rowston.
Sleaford.
May 2014 | RailStaff | 15NEWS
MDARailA Millbank Group Company
MDA have a broad spectrum of rail industry capabilities:
· Possession and Isolation Planning Management
· Supply Professional Technical rail disciplines for Civil
Engineering Projects and Electrification schemes
· Delivery of Isolations and Possessions nationally with highly
experienced multi skilled isolation and possession teams
Our training facilities provide a full range of quality
Irish Railways has said it will prosecute anyone caught pasting up political posters on railway property. Staff from Iarnród Éireann removed several election posters from one bridge at Corrovorrin in Ennis, County Clare.
However a rash of posters has broken out elsewhere on the network. Tension
is mounting ahead of the local and European elections on 23 May – the
first under redrawn boundaries. Campaigners have been risking life and limb shinning up bridges and embankments near running railway lines. Says Iarnród Éireann’s Barry Kenny, ‘Either they are trespassing on the line, or they are putting ladders or other means of access up against the bridge from the road – either way, it is reckless and dangerous.
We do not permit any posters for any candidates or parties on our property, least of all bridges. We will remove all such posters at the first opportunity. We would advise all candidates and parties to advise their agents that they are trespassing by placing these signs on the bridge, putting themselves and others in danger, and are liable to prosecution.’
No Vote for Bill Stickers
Network Rail supported International Worker’s Memorial Day on 28th April. The memorial day remembers those killed at work and underpins the continuous campaign to improve workers’ safety.
Says Robin Gisby, managing director network operations, ‘It is not easy to find time to stop work and reflect, but it is important that we take time to talk about safety and learn from tragic events.’
Britain has the safest railway in Europe but it is a tragic fact that rail staff have lost their lives through fatal accidents at work or while travelling by road as part of their duties. In a
statement Network Rail stressed that its goal is to ensure everyone goes home safe everyday.
Says safety director, Gareth Llewellyn, ‘We must never forget those who have died or been injured working in our industry. The best way of remembering them is to continually strive to ensure there are no further fatalities in our industry.’
Best Remembered
The number of passengers using Manea station on the Peterborough – Ely line has tripled since the introduction of Abellio Greater Anglia’s new two-hourly service in December 2013.
Between 8 December 2013 and 15 March 2014, Manea station was responsible for 1205 passenger journeys compared to the 386 over the same period last year.
The improved service was made possible by Network Rail opening a new island platform at Peterborough.
Once again extra capacity and regular services have proved a winner. Prior to the introduction of the new service, two Cross Country trains per day served Manea station.
Says Jonathan Denby, Abellio Greater Anglia’s Head of Corporate Affairs, ‘We’re pleased to see that, in just three months, the new two-hourly service for Manea station is proving a great success. It is clear that a regular timetable has benefited this community and helped to make rail travel an attractive alternative to the car for commuting and leisure purposes alike.’
Locomotives, Dominion of Canada and Dwight D Eisenhower, have departed Britain sailing from Liverpool for Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the Atlantic Concert.
Both locos received a comprehensive cosmetic restoration by experts at the National Railway Museum ready for the Mallard 75 series of celebratory events.
In 2013 and 2014, all six survivors of this class of locomotive, thought by many to be Britain’s greatest steam engines, were united three times to mark Mallard’s unbroken world speed record, attracting an unprecedented 365,000 visitors to the museums in York and Shildon, Co Durham sites.
Dwight and Dominion were on loan to the National Railway Museum from the National Railroad Museum in Wisconsin, USA and Exporail, the Canadian National Railway Museum in Montreal for two years. Once in Nova Scotia the pair will continue the journey home by rail.
Atlantic Concert heralds Mallard Swansong
Plans to reunify the two halves of the Great Central Railway at Loughborough are taking shape after Network Rail put in a planning application to Charnwood Borough Council.
The proposed bridge will carry the GCR over the Midland Railway line southeast of Loughborough Railway Station. Network Rail, which is working with Great Central Railway on the project, hopes to get the go ahead by the end of May.
Says Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, ‘Our electrification teams are already making significant changes to the infrastructure in this area, so it’s the
ideal opportunity to get the bridge in place, with minimal disruption and cost. Once the full scheme is complete, it will bring significant economic benefits to the region as well as reinstating a piece of our railway heritage.’
The Bridge to the Future appeal was launched in June 2013 and aims to rise £1m. The appeal has now reached the half way mark. To help go to: www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify
Bridge to the FutureEdinburgh’s new trams will start
carrying fare-paying passengers on Saturday 31 May. Staff are keen to get going.
Says Ian Craig, chief executive of Transport for Edinburgh, ‘We’ve recruited and trained a top team at
Edinburgh Trams and I’m delighted with the high levels of performance and enthusiasm from everyone involved.’
The first service will leave the Gyle shopping centre, bound for the city centre, at 05:00, on what promises to be a memorable Saturday morning.
Start Date for Trams
May 2014 | RailStaff | 17NEWS
PIONEERI’m part of a team who engineer rail solutions.
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Matthew Hancock (Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise) and Anna Soubry (member of Parliament for Broxtowe, Nottingham) took time out to pay a visit to Bridgeway Consulting during their recent busy itinerary in the East Midlands.
During their meetings with the Bridgeway team and staff they discussed the Bridgeway apprenticeship scheme and also
met with the Bridgeway apprentices to see how their careers were progressing. Time out was also taken to discuss Rail projects such
as HS2 and the potential career opportunities that could be created in the East Midlands.
Matthew Hancock (Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise) , Anna Soubry (Member of Parliament for Broxtowe, Nottingham) Pino De Rosa (Bridgeway Consulting Managing Director)
MPs pay a visit to Bridgeway
A wildlife volunteer and a passing plumber helped avert a rail accident and saved the life of a swan at a level crossing in Lincoln.
The swan had strolled onto the railway at Lincoln’s Brayford Wharf East level crossing.
Another swan from the near by Brayford Pool had died on the railway five days before. Stephanie Scott, 20, a student at Lincoln University and Gavin Bunn, 52, a plumber were walking over the crossing when they saw the bird apparently disorientated.
Stephanie, who works as a volunteer at Weirfield Wildlife Hospital in Lincoln, knew the bird was in danger. Despite a waiting freight train the pair managed to grab the swan and remove it safely from the railway.
Swan Lake Rescue
NEWS18 | RailStaff | May 2014
Top performing apprentices at Progress Rail Services UK met two local MPs recently. George King, Drew Wheatley and Tom Lowton are all building railway careers at the company’s Sandiacre facility in Nottingham.
The three apprentices met Jessica Lee, MP for Erewash when she visited Sandiacre. They later met South Holland and the Deepings MP and cabinet minster, John Hayes and Maggie Throup, perspective Conservative candidate for Erewash – Jessica Lee is standing down at the next general election.
The visits underscore the importance attached to the growing rail industry and the people working in it. Hayes is now senior parliamentary adviser to the Prime Minister. Jessica Lee
has been a keen supporter of the rail industry backing the opening of a new station in Ilkeston.
Apprentice Design Engineer George King joined Progress Rail in the UK in August 2012. George works in the Production Design Department and produces detailed designs for the manufacture of rail switches and crossings.
His colleague apprentice CNC Machine Operator Drew Wheatley, joined in November 2010. Drew has powered ahead learning all aspects of
operating the range of CNC machines used to manufacture switches and crossings.
Tom Lowton is an Apprentice Maintenance Technician who also joined Progress Rail in November 2010. Tom has a busy role in the Maintenance Department working on the full range of production machines in operation across the site.
The apprentices, with Managing Director, Tim Fenemore and Head of Human Resources, George Law, gave Jessica Lee a guided tour of the
Sandiacre site and explained their involvement in the business.
During the subsequent John Hayes visit, the group discussed the potential impact of HS2 and showcased a new CNC machining facility, which will produce a revolutionary new design of Stretcher Bar for Network Rail.
Says George Law, ‘We are really pleased with the progress our young apprentices have made since they first joined us, and it is great they have been given the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to and knowledge of the business to their local Members of Parliament.
The apprenticeship programme benefits not only the apprentices and our business, but also the local economy and we are proud to be a part of that contribution. We look forward to continuing to share the experiences of our apprentices through their involvement in the apprenticeship programme.’
Progress Rail Services UK Ltd is one of Britain’s largest manufacturers of permanent way infrastructure, specialising in the design and manufacture of permanent way trackwork and materials for mainline, freight, industrial and light rail customers.
The company is owned by Progress Rail Services Corporation a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc, one of the most extensive rail service and supply networks in North America.
Progress Rail Apprentices Greet MPs
From left to right, Tooling Engineer Paul Kelly discusses what will happen at the new facility with George Law Head of HR, Maggie Throup and John Hayes.
(Above) From left to right; Executive Consultant Bob Laird, Maggie Throup, John Hayes and Mark Nash Head of Rail Products inspect the latest product to be manufactured at Sandiacre.
(Left) From left to right, Jessica Lee met the young apprentices George King, Drew Wheatley and Tom Lowton with Head of HR George Law and Managing Director Tim Fenemore accompanying.
With just a few days to go before Infrarail 2014 opens its doors at Earls Court in London, intending visitors need to register soon to guarantee free entry. Online registration via www.infrarail.com remains open until 19 May. After that a £20 entry fee is payable on the door.
Exhibition Manager Heidi Cotsworth says, ‘With strong support from the industry as a whole and the enthusiastic commitment of our exhibitors, everything is now in place for a great show. We are looking forward to it.’
The number of exhibitors at this year’s show, which
runs from 20 to 22 May, has risen to nearly 200. A further 50 companies will be taking part in the Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition - CITE 2014 - www.cite-uk.com, Mack Brooks’ new event being staged alongside Infrarail. Many of the firms at that exhibition are very active in the rail market and visitors
will be able to move freely between the two shows. CITE has its own programme of seminars and
several of these will discuss rail-related topics. Together with the very extensive range of high-profile keynote speeches, industry seminars, project updates and discussion forums that completes the Infrarail programme, the combined event provides great opportunities to learn about trends in policy and technology as well as a way to keep up to date with the latest that suppliers have to offer.
To get the most benefit from attending Infrarail and CITE, checking the two event websites before planning a visit is recommended. These feature details of all activities taking place in the exhibition hall plus the very latest lists of exhibitors.
InfrarailStrong Support
ISS Labour is a dynamic and expanding national rail business now set for further expansion. In late 2013 Driver Hire became a majority shareholder of the ISS Labour business.
Driver Hire is a well-established and award-winning company that is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. As a key business within the group ISS Labour will benefit from being part of a successful and growing organisation that has a diverse product portfolio, along with extensive technical and business support services.
The Group also benefits from the financial backing of Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors. This investment has allowed ISS Labour to expand both its services and geographical coverage.
ISS Labour now has new welding and OLE divisions set to go live as well as a new office opening in Carlisle. Additional offices are planned for the South
West and London. These changes will allow ISSL to support clients
throughout all of the key maintenance and renewal areas to meet the challenges presented by CP5. Says Gary Beeston, Managing Director, ‘The new awards
present exciting and challenging times ahead. The investment and aspirations of our parent company are a major advantage in allowing us to expand and develop into a multi disciplined national supplier to the rail industry.’
ISS Labour Expands
ISS Labour
www.isslabour.co.ukOur Lifesaving Rules
Pway | Civils | Welding OLE | Trackside Lighting
ISS Labour
ISS Labour are a dynamic and expanding supplier of rail support services across the Network Rail and Light Rail infrastructures, providing hundreds of sta� each day around the country to maintain and enhance our rail networks.
We are looking for reliable and experienced rail sta� of all competencies to join our growing business.To � nd out more call us on 0800 7833382 or email [email protected]
The issues of drugs and alcohol in the workplace are both important and complex. They are important as part of maintaining a safe working environment and complex by virtue of the ever-expanding range of substances available for misuse.
Testing programmes for alcohol and drugs are a well-established feature within the railway sector. Specific pieces of legislation are in place and most employers understand the rationale for implementing a formal drug & alcohol policy. Advice about policy drafting and workplace testing is widely available from suppliers of such services. However, there does remain a huge amount of confusion and misunderstanding and this is evidenced by the enquiries received. This is not too surprising when one considers the complexities around the issues of workplace drug and alcohol screening and testing.
Side-effectsEmployers have much to contend
with. Some of the issues to consider are as follows:• A - alcohol abuse;• B - illicit drug abuse;• C - so-called ‘legal highs’;• D - side-effects of legally prescribed
drugs (medicines);• E - side-effects of over-the-counter
medicines;• F - drug interactions;• G - combinations of some of the
above (a) – (f).For employers, the first important
step is to ensure that a robust drug and alcohol policy is implemented. It needs to take account of all the above issues [(a) – (g)] and so allow for companies to be able to manage, both fairly and legally, drug and alcohol-related workplace situations.
The effects of abused substances are both short and long-term. In the short-term, there are issues of poor concentration, impaired co-ordination, poor decision-making and
an increased likelihood of mistakes and accidents. Long-term effects may happen more insidiously, but can have very serious implications. One example is that of reduced workplace morale leading to impaired customer service and productivity which together impact adversely on a company’s image.
On an individual level, there are a wide range of health implications, and the addressing of such issues can be considered as part of an employer’s approach to “health and wellbeing” within a workforce. Whilst it has been true that safety has been the understandable pre-eminent focus of health & safety managers /directors in the past, it is certainly now the case that health is enjoying a rightfully heightened focus of consideration. Many employers, including their commercial and finance directors, are realising that a healthy workforce is a more productive one and that investment in employee health and wellbeing can positively benefit company performance and thus profitability.
As more research is done to formally demonstrate the financial benefits of investment in employee health, so the emphasis on health in the workplace will continue to increase. With respect to the problems caused by alcohol, illicit drugs, legal highs,
drug side-effects and interactions, testing programmes will benefit from, and be complemented by, supportive educational and training programmes including talks, wellbeing days, seminars and podcasts as well as posters, leaflets and other literature.
Cross-reactivityPrescription drugs (prescribed
medicines) are often ‘overlooked’ as a source of significant problems. Many of us take medicines - and often multiple prescriptions, too. Common conditions, for which medicines are prescribed by health professionals, include high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, raised cholesterol, depression, anxiety, sleeping problems, skin conditions and joint problems such as gout and arthritis. All medicines can cause side-effects in the population. Furthermore, an individual medicine may interact with one or more other drugs.
Some medicines will complicate the results of occupational drug screens and tests by virtue of something termed ‘cross-reactivity’, hence the importance of the availability of an experienced medical review service. A doctor who has been trained as a medical review officer will be able to consider the result of a drug test and take into account medications and
possible cross-reactivity issues. The problem of cross-reactivity can lead to false positive and negative results when PoCTs (‘instant’ drug testing kits) are used in occupational screening. Cross-reactivity is a significant issue that must not be overlooked when interpreting PoCT results.
The importance of side-effects and drug interactions is emphasised by looking at a copy of the BNF (British National Formulary). This is publication is a definitive reference of available medicines that is used by doctors and nurses. In the edition for September 2013 – March 2014, almost 10% of the text is devoted to lists of drug interactions (in Appendix 1). Furthermore, each listed drug in the BNF has comments about side-effects and a complementary note as to when to prescribe any given medicine with caution.
In summary, issues around alcohol, drugs and various other substances including ‘legal highs’ are many and complex. There is more to the subject than initially ‘meets the eye’. Employers require professionally informed support from appropriately qualified suppliers to ensure that the many ‘hidden pitfalls’ are avoided.
Dr Dan Hegarty is medical director of Express Medicals Ltd
The complexities of D&A testing
Things just got real…the railengineer
by rail engineers for rail engineers
iPad Edition
INTERVIEW22 | RailStaff | May 2014
Crossrail’s operations director, Howard Smith, talks to Marc Johnson about where the project is going in 2014.
Crossrail is a project in transition. As 2014 moves further forward, there will be fewer and fewer photographs of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) breaking into station boxes and ministers surveying completed tunnels.
By the end of the year tunnelling will be complete and priorities will have shifted to installing tracks, signals and electrification equipment, as Europe’s biggest civil engineering project starts to resemble a working railway.
For the past year, operational planning has taken more of a central role. In February 2013, Howard Smith became Crossrail’s operations director, bringing with him more than 15 years’ experience managing Transport for London’s (TfL) Overground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) services.
In the 12 months since Howard’s appointment, Crossrail has gone from revelling in the triumph of letting its £1 billion rolling stock contract early to mournfully confirming the project’s first fatality.
‘The project’s very much on track and progressing in exactly the way we thought it would,’ says Howard, speaking during an interview at his Canada Square office on the morning that Crossrail announced that it would be extending the line west to Reading, taking the number of stations served by the line to 40 and improving western rail access into central London considerably.
As well as adjusting the timetable, the operations team is working its way through bids from Arriva, Keolis/Go-Ahead, MTR and National Express for the eight-year operating concession - the winner of which is expected to be announced in November 2014.
The new Crossrail Train Operating Concession (CTOC) operator will have just six months before the first phase of Crossrail opens. Since the first TBM, Phyllis, was lowered into Royal Oak portal in May 2012, passengers have been told that in 2018 they will be able to ride London’s new railway. Although the Crossrail brand won’t be unveiled until the new trains arrive in May 2017, Crossrail officially starts on 31 May, 2015, when the new operator takes over the Shenfield to Liverpool Street services from Abellio Greater Anglia.
In May 2018, the new operator will take over the Heathrow to Paddington segment, followed by Paddington to Abbey Wood in December and Paddington to Shenfield in May 2019. It will be December 2019 before Crossrail will be in full operation, delivering 200 million passenger journeys a year.
65 new trainsIn order to eventually operate up to
30 trains an hour through the central section of the route, TfL has had to buy some new trains. In February, a procurement process for the purchase of 65 new sets was completed. Bombardier was announced as the chosen supplier. A key moment in the history of the Derby train builder, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.
The order has supported 840 British manufacturing jobs at Derby, creating 230 new positions and safeguarding 500 more.
CrossrailSuccess Defined
Illustration of Bombardier Aventra in Crossrail livery.
May 2014 | RailStaff | 23INTERVIEW
Although expectations were high following the disappointment of Thameslink, Howard didn’t feel it was a difficult situation to manage.
It was two years between Siemens being announced as the preferred bidder for Thameslink and the company finally signing off the order with the Department for Transport (DfT).
After losing out to Siemens in 2011, there was some uncertainty whether Bombardier Derby would be able to find the volume of orders needed to sustain itself.
‘What Bombardier would say is after the disappointment of Thameslink they essentially carried on at Derby designing the Aventra, as they’re terming it, full throttle ready for Crossrail.
‘There were three really great bids but undoubtedly they had put a huge amount of thought not only into the train itself but also into the maintenance because a big part of the contract is actually then continuing to maintain it.
‘They’d given huge thought to it, worked very hard on what it would take to win the competition in terms of the procurement criteria that was set out and did the job.
‘From my point of view, we’ve absolutely got the right train. We got it at a fair price, from everybody’s point of view, and we actually let the contract early.’
Target ZeroRene Tkacik was working at
Crossrail’s Fisher Street site in Holborn on 7 March when he was struck by a piece of falling concrete and killed. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently investigating to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
Since work began on Crossrail, Target Zero has been the safety message. The fatality has highlighted the dangers that still exist on major infrastructure projects.
‘For everybody on the project, everybody, we felt it an awful lot,’ says Howard. ‘We’ve meant what we’ve said for so long about everybody going home safe at the end of every day. It was a very troubling thing, a very bad thing to happen to the project.
‘There are inquiries going on that are looking specifically at what happened.
‘In terms of what it means for the project, what most people have rightly seen it as, is something that just causes us to refocus more, if you ever could do more, on safety.
‘There’s target zero and people might say ‘what does that mean now?’ In that sense, it means exactly the same as it did.’
More than an infrastructure project
As an infrastructure project, Crossrail is about building a technically sound metro system that can deliver high
levels of reliability. It’s an element that TfL has control over. The timetable which will form the concession for Crossrail has almost been finalised and TfL is now working with Network Rail and other main line passenger and freight operators to try and manage the risks that come with running new services on an existing network.
For Howard, this is where the success of Crossrail and the strength of the Crossrail brand will be defined.
‘A lot of people focus on the hardware; focus on the physical and
actually the success of Crossrail will be all about the planning, timetable planning and also operational planning, contingency planning, planning for perturbed running and then the relationships of how you actually make it work,’ says Howard.
‘There’s a danger, particularly when looking at Crossrail as a physical project. You almost put the building blocks down and say those are the bits that are going to define success
and actually railways work in a remarkable variety of ways in different conditions with different working practices.’
Crossrail is also a people project, creating thousands of jobs directly and indirectly throughout its construction. When the infrastructure is in place, construction workers will be replaced by station staff, but like the rest of the TfL network, they will no longer be deployed at ticket offices and there are plans to look at whether to close ticket offices on some of
Crossrail’s main line stations as well.‘We’ll have people appropriate to
where they need to be,’ says Howard. ‘The basic is that we’ll have all stations staffed, start to finish and for a lot of the stations, particularly in the east which we’ll be taking over in May next year, that’s an increase in staff.
‘It will evolve and I think it’s genuinely wrong to see it as ‘are they in the ticket office or are they somewhere else’.’
Crossrail is also a people project, creating thousands of
jobs directly and indirectly
NEWS24 | RailStaff | May 2014
With just a few weeks to go until Rail Live 2014 over 220 exhibitors registered and over 1600 visitors have booked up to attend. The specialist outdoor event will be co-hosted by Network Rail, the Rail Alliance, Macrail and Rail Media – publishers of the rail engineer and RailStaff. Rail Live 2014 is being staged at Long Marston, Stratford-upon-Avon on 18th and 19th June.
The start of Control Period 5 (CP5), will see the entire rail industry embarking on one of the longest sustained periods of investment the railway has seen since Victorian times.
Following the success of the event last year, a number of prominent industry individuals have agreed to speak at Rail Live 2014, these include: • Pete Waterman OBE• Patrick McLoughlin - Secretary of
State for Transport • Dave Clarke - Director, Future Railway
Enabling Innovation Team• Steve Naybour - Business
Performance and Improvement, Transport for London
• Beth West - Commercial Director, High Speed Two
• Nick Elliott - Managing Director National Supply Chain, Network Rail
• Steve Featherstone – Director Track, Network Rail
• Mark Southwell - Director Signalling, Network Rail
• Roger Dickinson - Regional Director, Southern, Network Rail
• Robbie Burns - Regional Director, Western and Wales, Network Rail
• Simon Scott - Engineering Director, Network Rail.
Building on the biggest delivery volumes in CP5, significant demonstrations in electrification, track and signalling are planned over the two days.
The electrification demonstration offers a unique opportunity to witness electrification works up close. It will cover the full range of OLE works, with the installation of OLE Structures, Piling, Wiring, Cantilevers and Section Insulators. The Cantilevers and Section Insulators will be installed on the afternoon of both days, using four teams of young Linesmen, competing to install the equipment safely and to the highest standard. The installation
is being demonstrated by the ABCK partnership and the OCR (Network Rail in house organisation that does overhead wiring).
The Signalling Innovation Group (SIG) will be showcasing suppliers’ innovative equipment within the “Innovation Play Pen” area. Visitors will have the opportunity to “play” with the equipment on display and ask questions.
An interactive board will be available for visiting companies to post innovation opportunities and ideas, identify synergies, make connections etc. as well as our Signalling Design Group and Testing & Commissioning Group who will be displaying their services as part of the SIG marquee.
Other live demonstrations include the stressing of track using mobile flash butt welders and CD500.
On track machine highlights include track laying machines, Kirow 1200 and
250 rail cranes, single line gantries, OLE wiring train, plain line pattern recognition vehicle, stone blower, new rail delivery and recovery train, 09 4x4 / 4S dynamic tamper / DTS, RM 95 medium output ballast cleaner to name but a few and numerous engineering support wagons.
The site will operate as a live railway environment. All exhibitors and visitors must attend wearing full PPE (personal protection equipment). Admittance to Rail Live 2014 will not be allowed without boots, safety glasses, gloves, high-visibility trousers and jackets/vests, hard hats and tickets... so don’t forget them!
Further information about the event and visitor registration details can be viewed on Rail Live 2014 website: www.raillive2014.com
Network Rail, Rail Alliance, Rail Media and Macrail hope you can join us and be part of Rail Live 2014.
Rail Live 2014
18-19 June 2014
Long MarstonWarwickshire
The Largest Outdoor Rail Event in the UK
Network Rail, in association with The Rail Alliance, the rail engineer and Macrail, is proud to present Rail Live 2014: a showcase for railway infrastructure.
2014, which marks the start of Control Period 5 (CP5), will see the whole rail industry continue to embark on one of the longest sustained periods of investment the railway has seen since Victorian tim es. Network Rail will be continuing its focus on safety and delivering value for money through working more closely with suppliers.
www.raillive2014.com
RAILLive2014RAIL 2014
In partnership with
FEATURE26 | RailStaff | May 2014
Danny Sullivan Group (DSG) has been resourcing, training and supplying site professional and skilled workers to the civil engineering, rail, transportation and construction industries since it was established in 1986.
A massive 55,000 jobs are expected to be created throughout the construction phase of Crossrail. Labour supply contractor Danny Sullivan Group (DSG) is one of the companies supplying to the £14.8 billion railway project.
Outside of the main tunnelling project, which DSG is involved in, is the substantial stations programme. Crossrail will connect a total of 30 stations from Reading in the west to Shenfield in the east. DSG is currently supplying labour to six of the nine key central station projects, including Tottenham Court Road, Victoria, Bond Street, Paddington, Whitechapel and Farringdon.
Given DSG’s pedigree supplying to metro station projects in the capital, the company has paid substantial interest to London Underground’s announcement last month which indicated that it will be investing £330 million in station improvements over the next seven years. Seventy stations will be upgraded with new interiors and electrical and comms equipment.
DSG has actually been supplying skilled labour to UK rail projects since it was established, with the Jubilee Line Extension and Channel Tunnel Rail Link
both in its portfolio.Most recently, it has supplied people to the
Borders Railway project in Edinburgh, EGIP, Network Rail MAFA Package 3 Enhancements, Hornsey depot, Blackfriars station, Borough Viaduct, Thameslink and the NET Phase 2 tram project in Nottingham, which in the last few weeks has seen the full reopening of a refurbished Nottingham Station. The £55 million project has fully pedestrianised the old porte-cochere, which served as the station’s taxi rank, created new retail space and carefully restored some of the Grade 2-listed station’s historic architecture.
These projects have been delivered in the context of zero fatalities since the company was registered, no HSE improvement notices and no prohibition notices. It’s this safety record and culture that helped DSG win the Balfour Beatty Contractor Safety Award in 2011.
With a group turnover in excess of £60 million and a workforce of over 1,800 staff, DSG has grown to become one of the leading providers of temporary and permanent staff within the rail sector.
As well as labour supply, DSG offers rail sector clients services covering ATWS/LOWS, the removal and installation of all types of level crossing and road rail access points (RRAP), rigid barrier fencing, track side lighting and minor civil works packages.
RailStaff spoke to DSG’s operations director, Eugene Meehan:
What are the company’s long-term ambitions?
Put in simple terms, it is the continued long term goal of DSG to maintain and improve its position as a labour supplier to the civil engineering/Infrastructure sectors by providing our services to a level of quality, cost, safety, performance and reliability that will satisfy and exceed the requirements of our customers.
How does the fact that Danny Sullivan offers full-time employment contracts compare with other labour suppliers?
Certainly it is not the norm, with contracts for services the prominent method of engagement within the labour supply sector. However, as our reputation is dependent on our behaviours and our performance and we never compromise on quality and feel our approach to employment enhances these indicators. We manage our contracts very closely with our clients’ site team and are focused on ensuring real added value in terms of its safety, economic and quality targets.
Tell us about Danny Sullivan’s safety record? What has been put into place to achieve it?
DSG has a culture which says “if it is not safe – don’t do it”. No one is expected to work unsafely, and any worker has our personal support for refusing to work when it is unsafe to do so.
We have established challenging health and safety objectives both for the company and for its managers and monitor progress against those objectives. Individual health and safety objectives will not be compromised for other business objectives.
The company works in partnership with its clients to implement a framework of behaviours throughout all levels of the workforce. A simple common sense approach of open communication and full inclusiveness works, and we are always trying to get better and continually improve.
What’s new within the Danny Sullivan Rail Division?
Safety must always be the number one priority, and in September 2013 Wayne Gadsby and Dave Bamford joined The Danny Sullivan Group to enhance and develop the specialist rail division.
They have a combined 30 years’ experience, making them the most experienced in the use of Track Warning Systems in the UK, working with planning teams on design, installation and operation of the systems.
Wherever possible, the risk of human failure should be planned out of a task, ATWS and LOWS
provides technology that is embraced across Europe to protect and warn workers on the infrastructure on all manner of work sites, survey teams, engineering works staff crossing etc.
Our specialist team is also focusing on the removal and installation of all types of level crossings and RRAP. We can carry out maintenance, repair works or upgrades on both rail and tram infrastructure.
With the ability to supply safety critical solutions, in addition to rigid barrier fencing and track side lighting, we give clients a one-stop-shop solution for the delivery of rail projects and minor works.
What is Danny Sullivan’s experience of the rail skills shortage and what is the company doing to try and plug the gap?
There are skills shortages but more importantly, competency shortages within the rail sector. DSG believes that training is an important part of our business and our staff benefit from on-going training development.
DSG are focused on the three pillars of competency, compliance and quality, and cross-trains and up-skills many of its workforce to attain multi-skilled competencies across construction, civil engineering, rail and utilities.
DSG is totally committed to the continued and on-going training of all its staff and workers. We collaborate closely with our clients regarding feedback and interface, and engage as “one team”, to ensure the requirements are planned and the appropriate skills and competency is allocated accordingly.
(Above) left to right: Wayne Gadsby and Dave Bamford(Below) Danny and Timothy O’Sullivan with the Rail Operations Team.
The RailStaff Awards 2014 will be bigger and better this year mirroring the success of the wider rail industry. Like the rest of the railway we need to expand capacity. A bigger venue is essential and the RailStaff Awards 2014 will be staged at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on 25th October.
April 2014 marks the start of a five year investment in railways unparalleled in its range and scope since the heady days of the first railway age 150 years ago. Control Period 5 will see Network Rail taking forward a £36 billion investment in upgrades and expansion.
On top of this the Crossrail project continues – with tunnelling now 75% complete. Eurotunnel is doing brisk trade as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. High Speed 2
received overwhelming support in parliament as the legislation to start the project moves ahead.
The people who work on our railways, everyone from designers, track workers and tunnellers to drivers, signallers and IT technicians, form the core element of this fast emerging industry. The future railway depends for its success on the commitment and professionalism of its people. Almost everyone now involved in railway investment wants to see more people joining the industry and better use made of those already engaged.
Training, upskilling and confidence building are the essential concomitants of rail investment. Young people, apprentices and second careerists are welcome here. RailStaff’s message has remained unequivocal: This is an essential industry with a powerful and dynamic future. The railway is the engine of economic growth and a great place
to build an enduring career. The RailStaff Awards is an industry-wide conspiracy to
celebrate the great achievements of rail staff, affirm success and confidence whilst rejoicing in the unity of railway people everywhere. It is also a great party which honours an expanding railway once slated for managed decline.
Now new lines, stations and depots are being built as the railway strives to meet demand. Even the new location – Coventry Ricoh Arena - is to have its own station – by next year, according to the DfT. The venue is much bigger enabling us to stage a bigger more spectacular event.
There will be an exclusive RailStaff Awards lounge area for you to use, 24 hour bars, cafés, cabarets and a casino. It’s a great chance to party the night away, meet friends and celebrate the success of Britain’s top performing industry. See you there!
www.railstaffawards.com
RECOGNISING THE PEOPLE WHO KEEP THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY MOVING
Success Celebration at Coventry
RAILSTAFF AWARDS30 | RailStaff | May 2014
Network Rail is supporting the RailStaff Awards 2014 at a bigger venue - Coventry Ricoh Arena. In a fitting parallel to Network Rail’s inspired capacity enhancing projects the RailStaff Awards has grown exponentially and also needs more capacity fast.
2014 is already shaping up to be a year of solid achievement and high drama for Network Rail. The enormous efforts of staff and contractors during the Dawlish Sea Wall reclamation emergency and the bad weather retrieval operations up and down the network won the industry a new and serious credibility.
Progress made with Great Western Electrification, surface works for Crossrail and the Thameslink project together with 100s of important capacity enhancing initiatives is emphasising the high value of the railway staff and engineers the industry now attracts.
Network Rail, the custodian of the Britain’s national railway, is responsible for 30,000 bridges, tunnels and embankments, 20,000 miles of track, and thousands of signals. Moreover Network Rail is charged with organising a £36 billion investment in upgrades and expansion over the next five years - Control Period 5.
Unlike most railways in Europe Britain’s railway was not rebuilt and simplified after the war. The 150 year old network which inaugurated the global railway phenomena has been consistently underinvested over for the last 50 years. All that is changing now as Network Rail engineers and designers push ahead with projects which range from the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Plan to the Northern Hub and Borders Railway. Freight routes are being modified enabling commercial rail freight companies to carry wider, taller, containers and continental rolling stock.
Ambitious plans to recruit and retain the rail visionaries of the future continue. The industry is also building up to a quantum leap in how it researches, develops and employs new technologies. Increased focus on autonomous systems, new energy storage and harvesting technologies, the use of modern materials to lower carbon emissions will reduce carbon reliance and the cost of maintaining
the railway. By 2019 Network Rail will be investing more per year than other comparable British companies in new technologies.
Resurgent rail industryThe RailStaff Awards recognises the
unique achievement of the people behind the power of the resurgent rail industry. The RailStaff Awards is a night-long celebration of the growing good fortunes of the rail industry. The aim is to further cement into public perception the continuing rise of an industry now firmly at the heart of
Britain’s economic resurgence. Men and women from all fields will be joining together at Coventry to toast a year of hard work and progress.
Says Tom O’Connor, managing director, Rail Media, ‘Network Rail’s support for the RailStaff Awards is much appreciated by all of us, most of all the staff who nominate colleagues and the winners and runners up themselves. It promises to be a great night out and further evidence of a confident can-do industry. The example of people at Network Rail inspires us all.’
Network Rail supports RailStaff Awards 2014
May 2014 | RailStaff | 31RAILSTAFF AWARDS
Bridgeway Consulting’s diverse portfolio of services ensures our clients continue to benefit from our ‘one stop shop’ service offering.
We know that the quality of our people ensures that we provide a quality service and this is why we are pleased to sponsor the
Rail Safety Person of the Year in the Railstaff Awards 2014.
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Progress Rail Services is the U.K.’s largest manufacturer of permanent way infrastructure, specialising in the design and manufacture of permanent way trackwork and materials for mainline, freight, industrial and light rail customers in the UK and globally.
RailStaff Awards recognises the Professionalism, Innovation, Service and Excellence of individuals and companies in the rail industry.
Join us on 25th October 2014 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.For more information and to book your place visit www.railstaffawards.com
at the RailStaff Awards 2014
Progress Rail Services UK Ltd proudly sponsors "Project Manager of the Year"
Network Rail is proud to sponsor the RailSta� Awards 2014It’s the hard work of individuals and teams within our industry that’s helping us build a better railway for Britain. From pioneering investment and development projects, to innovations that make everyday services faster, smarter and safer, we believe in recognising the excellence that’s enabling the transformation of our network.
That’s why we’re very proud to once again sponsor this year’s RailSta� Awards.
Building a better railway for a better Britain.
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C52280 RailStaff Awards Ad 190x130mm.indd 1 01/05/2014 12:28
RAILSTAFF AWARDS32 | RailStaff | May 2014
The Rail Alliance is delighted to be associated with the RailStaff Awards 2014 and will be co-sponsoring the expanded event this year at Coventry. Chief Executive, Colin Flack will be hosting the evening and bringing a reassuring sense of order to the proceedings.
The Rail Alliance joins Network Rail and London Underground as high profile supporters of the RailStaff Awards 2014.
Says Colin, ‘2014 is proving to be a gateway year for the rail industry. The start of CP5 (Control Period 5 - April 2014 - March 2019) this April marks the ramping up of sustained and expanding investment in the rail industry.
Our aim at the Rail Alliance is to help the rail industry draw upon the great strengths of our members through supportive networking, innovation and shared knowledge. Rail has a huge capacity challenge – not only on the ground but in terms of its supporting industries being able to deliver the railway of the future. Our aim is get more companies involved in railways by demonstrating how to engage with
the industry as well as flagging up the great opportunities on offer.’
The Rail Alliance is an integral and important part of the rapidly growing new rail industry. Railways need better communications and better networking as all participants come together to expand the industry. The Rail Alliance spans all aspects of the Rail Sector enabling companies and individuals to network, collaborate, and innovate with both suppliers and customers thriving.
Says Tom O’Connor of the Rail Media Group, ‘The support of the Rail Alliance is an essential and established element of the RailStaff Awards. It demonstrates the togetherness of an industry which works together, pulls together and at the RailStaff Awards celebrates together. Colin’s role as compère provides a reassuring touch for us
all – many of the award winners are not used to taking centre stage. Colin guides them through the glare of the spotlight and deafening applause with dexterity and kindness - we couldn’t do without him.’
The Rail Alliance offers an expanding range of contacts, a successful programme of networking events, rail-focused seminars and a growing number of knowledge transfer partnerships with academe.
The Rail Alliance has something for everyone in the rail sector... whether you are a sole trader, a family business, a ‘classic’ small business (Small to Medium Enterprise (SME)), or a multinational/global business (Large Enterprise) looking for a new and refreshing way to communicate to, and work with, the rail sector.
Adds Colin, ‘The basic aim of the Rail Alliance is to help you to understand the new rail industry, providing sound and impartial advice, business information and a picture of the wide range of assistance available.’
Rail Alliance Supports RailStaff Awards
May 2014 | RailStaff | 33RAILSTAFF AWARDS
SAMARITANS/NETWORK RAIL PARTNERSHIP
In partnership with
A registered charity
are proud to be sponsoring the Lifesaver award at this years’ RailStaff Awards
Talking saves livesOver 5000 rail industry staff and BTP have been
trained with the skills to help a person in need, and are using these skills to prove
that encouraging someone to talk about their problems can save lives.
For more info and to nominate yourself or a colleague go to www.railstaffawards.com
Proud sponsors of
Rail Team of the YearThe Rail Staff Awards 2014
Experts in providing safety critical staffing and professional recruitment services to the rail industry
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RAILSTAFF AWARDS34 | RailStaff | May 2014
Proud sponsor of the Lifetime Achievement Award
at the RailStaff Awards
firstgroup.com
The Transport Benevolent Fund is
proud to sponsorthe Station Staff
of the Year awardfor 2014.
With the help of the TOCs,Network Rail and other
employers throughout the public transport industry we now
have nearly 43,000 members.
For just £1 a week a variety ofbenefits are available to you, your partner and dependent children.
Walking into Regent’s Park in the morning sunshine on April 28th I was pleased that the fifth national Rail Safety Summit was in London for the first time. It is high time the industry achieved that elusive zero in both fatal and serious injury accidents.
2014 has not started well as I commented last month. The Royal College of Physicians is a splendid venue, although I did think it ironic that the outcome we were all seeking should result in a reducing need for the skills of its members.
The speakers had been asked if they agreed that “visible and committed leadership is essential if rail safety is to improve”. Responses included: “Unless leadership is committed any safety message will only be seen as just words from the ivory tower”.
Setting the SceneI addressed an audience of around
200 in the hall when I began explaining my commitment to helping improve railway safety. For over 17 years as an “on-call engineer” I carried a briefcase containing details of what I must do if a fatal accident occurred. I recalled seeing the families and work mates of relayers, trackmen, rail welders, patrollers and supervisors who had died after being hit by trains whilst at work; and my feelings when the widows and families thanked me for attending the funerals.
Ken BurrageI introduced Ken Burrage the
Signalling Engineer who now chairs the Institution of Railway Signalling Engineers (IRSE) Licensing Scheme. He was formerly Director of Signalling and Telecommunications Engineering for
British Rail and then Deputy Managing Director Westinghouse Signals. With over fifty years’ experience he was the ideal speaker to explain why the Video “Dead Serious about Safety” was made and what it achieved.
He explained the series of incidents that occurred with signalling technicians attending sites to clear faults being struck by trains and killed. Excerpts from the video (now translated into a usable form for this millennium - well done Rail Media) were shown. In the reconstruction a signalling technician goes to the site of an equipment failure where he is struck by a train and killed, witnessed by his colleagues.
These scenes were moving and interspersed with an interview with his young widow. She described not only her own shock and grief, but also the effects and reactions of her very young son who could not understand why his Daddy had not come back from work and never would.
He went on to say that the video was part of the campaign to ensure safety briefings were carried out, lookouts appointed, minimum warning times used and temporary blocks taken if needed. This resulted in British Rail having a fatality free year for the first time. He concluded by calling for more entries for the annual Wing Award made to “an individual for making an
outstanding contribution to improving lineside track safety”.
RAIBCarolyn Griffiths became Chief
Inspector of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) when it was set up in 2005. They have published 226 reports and 39 bulletins whilst being deployed to 419 incidents. Reports include 4 or 5 recommendations and to date 94% have been accepted and implemented.
Carolyn used her session to focus on machine and engineering train collisions in possessions. She cited accidents involving tampers, regulators, a stone blower and trains at various locations between October 2006 and January this year. She questioned the use of long possessions, line of site driving and braking, headlights and the control of machines and engineering trains on worksites.
ORR Anna O’Connor (Head of Projects
Office of Rail Regulation for Network Rail) spoke next. [She assured me that she is totally unrelated to the O’Connor clan at Rail Media]. She explained that although statistics show decreases in rail staff, public and train accident risks, 2013/14 has seen an 8% rise in risk to track-workers, and a 6.8%
rise for passengers. She stressed the importance of designing for safety, and the incidence of weaknesses in rolling stock maintenance, monitoring, audit awareness and use of backward looking indicators.
Amey PLCMel Ewell is Chief Executive and an
Executive Director on the Board of Amey PLC. He gave a keynote speech without visual aids. He didn’t need any. Beforehand he said “we have to do everything in our power to keep people safe every day”, commenting that, “nothing is more powerful than face to face communication; leaders have to understand the environment and risks that employees face in order to lead a safe culture.
He described going out in foul wet weather to see his people replacing lighting columns. When asked at the depot if he wished to cancel due to the weather he refused on the basis that the gang were working. He found an individual sitting up to his knees in a water filled hole with a three phase electricity supply in his hands. He asked him why he was working and received the reply because my supervisor insists in case the Chief Executive comes out!
First Capital Connect David Statham Managing Director
First Capital Connect identified the problem of “managing passenger behaviour”. With 5,600 passenger train services operating, his task was not easy. A quarter of the passenger accidents were due to the station environment, the rest the result of customer behaviours. Most were slips trips and falls; 46% of those injured were over 60 years of age. During a three year period, major injuries had increased by 20%.
A review revealed a plethora of diverse warning posters and pre-recorded messages which no-one heeded. Copying the approach used in Melbourne Australia, a campaign was launched using humour, and characters with whom customers could identify; including a cartoon figure. Platform staff were provided with roving microphones, replacing pre-recorded platform announcements. By 2013 major accidents had reduced by 30% and the total number by 7%.
Mission RoomBryan Denby is Managing Director
of Mission Room a technology company that developed a 360 degree interactive media system. Delegates to the Summit were able to experience being on track surrounded by moving pictures on a working site in the conference exhibition area.
He explained the provision of a risk free experience for track workers as a training aid with site hazards, accesses and reactions to problems. For Network Rail his company has completed the filming of 1,000 miles of track and eight tunnel-bores as well as a three month trial of real time filming at Alexandra Palace.
Interfaces Steve Featherstone Programme
Director Track, Network Rail began by referring to Jason Wilkinson who was killed in 2005 whilst working for Track Delivery and then the Network Rail fatal accident this January. In his organisation during the last twelve months there have been 10 confirmed near misses and 2 alleged ones; 7 were on high output sites and half occurred during preparation or follow up working.
He explained his concerns when working “Adjacent Line Open”, his focus on isolation/electrocution risks,
buckles and ballast dust. He described the work of the “Track Safety Alliance” peer group. Speaking about the forthcoming quarterly issuing of “Track Safety Matters Films”, he commented that the work of COSS’s and “Adjacent Line Open” working would both be featured.
Safe Work LeaderAllan Spence, Director Safety Strategy
Network Rail showed an extract from a reconstruction of the Newark Northgate accident. He explained the reasons for creating the single role of “Safe Work Leader” as part of their Ten Point Plan. Having a single controlling mind for all tasks on a worksite is the principle. Permits to Work - an established practice on the oil industry - are to be introduced, together with maps for each job showing both the worksite and the railway infrastructure.
He acknowledged the funding provided by the ORR which will help them replace the use of flags, whistles and horns by “highly reliable protection systems” giving warning of approaching trains and said that they were looking at “signalling controlled warning systems”- what a good idea!
Crossrail Darren Selman, Health and Safety
Assurance Manager Crossrail spoke about designing for safety and raised a chuckle by quoting Douglas Adams -“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof, is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools”.
He used the construction of the new Canary Wharf Crossrail Station to illustrate the responsibility of designers in addressing the need for buildability, reliability, maintenance and safety. He concluded by stressing the need for risk assessment at every stage of the design process.
Health and WellbeingJohn Abbott who is Director of
National Programmes at the Rail Safety and Standards Board emphasised the wellbeing side of his title, explaining that work affects health but health can affect both work and wellbeing.
His graphs illustrated that being overweight is now the norm for 75% of adults and 33% of children.
Absenteeism he said costs our railways £320 million every year according to RSSB figures, with stress being the biggest cause. He recommended use of the newly launched “Railway Health and Wellbeing Roadmap” web launched on the day of the Summit.
FatigueStuart Webster-Spriggs of VolkerRail
chose fatigue as his subject. He told us that being awake for 24 hours has the same effect as having twice the legal driving limit of alcohol in your blood. 74 rail accidents between 2001 and 2009 involved fatigue as either a cause or contributory factor and 20% of all motorway accidents are caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.
He quoted a survey that revealed 11% of respondents claiming to have worked a double shift in the previous two months and 32% of them saying they did not feel able to refuse to work double or excessive shifts.
Talk the WalkPino de Rosa is Managing Director
of Bridgeway Consulting; a company I know with a Board level commitment to ensuring that all directors spend time on site and listen to staff. He began by saying, “people are both our greatest opportunity and the weakest link” before adding “the better we understand our people the greater our ability to make positive changes in our business and the rail industry”.
He added we can help by being visible on a regular basis, but be there because you want to and not because
your annual audit schedule says you should be. He stressed that site visits are a great opportunity to learn, listen and reinforce key safety messages. He asked the question “what is stopping you?”, before making it clear that site visits should always take precedence over meetings, conferences, emails and even more meetings. He urged delegates to make the change, reward right behaviours, create the best culture, be interested, ask open questions and always keep your promises; remembering that actions speak louder than words.
Tripod BetaKen Maddox is a Tripod Beta
practitioner trainer and assessor. It uses a tree like system of analysis to establish the root cause of accidents and incidents. It establishes immediate causes, preconditions and underlying ones. Safety professionals like its use of fault and event trees together with bow tie analysis which he explained using simple examples.
The day was concluded by a question and answer session that I chaired using members of the Safety Summit Advisory Board who were present, followed by well-chosen words of thanks from Tom O’Connor who announced that the 2015 Rail Safety Summit would be held at the same venue on April 30th 2015 to which all would be welcome. Unsurprisingly at the end of such a splendid day we all emerged to find that the sun was still shining in Regents Park. I hope to see you there next year!
The Railway Benefit Fund has been helping railway people since 1858. Under the banner ‘Supporting Railway People’ the RBF provides financial support to staff and dependants in times of need whether through illness, injury, bereavement or other adversity.
Financial support typically amounts to around £500,000 per year and helps around 500 people. The RBF has helped thousands of railway people, active and retired, to cope with problems of all kinds and continues relieving financial distress, domestic crises and hardships.
Recently the RBF pledged £619 to a conductor who was made redundant because of ill-health. The money helped support his return to education – he plans to become a teacher.
A track worker who had to leave work to care for his young children following the untimely death of his wife received a payment of £465.88 to cover gas, electric and telephone bills.
An additional £534.12 helped him pay the next two sets of utility bills while he got himself back on his feet. Without the RBF’s help it is likely that he would have lost his home.
A guard who, despite raising some money himself, was struggling to complete the payment for his mother’s funeral was helped out by the RBF which paid the balance of £1,437. His response and those of many like him, makes it all worthwhile: ‘When I received the call to tell me I was to be helped I was reduced to tears and could not speak. The professional manner, compassion and sincerity I received from all of your staff will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. Your
help means so much that I cannot express how much of a relief it is for me and how much stress you have taken from my shoulders.’
The RBF needs help to keep
providing assistance. More and more people are turning to the RBF for help, and rely on donations. Please give today. Go to www.railwaybenefitfund.org.uk, or call 01270 251613
Railway Benefit Fund Supporting Railway People
An Amey engineer has represented the famous “Orange Army” in a parade in Dawlish to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Allan Pyne, a Tester for Amey, who lives in the town, was asked by Dawlish museum to represent the Orange Army, who carried out flood
repairs on the coastal railway. The parade also marked the re-opening of the museum and featured over 100 pipers from across the county.
Allan, who wore his distinctive PPE on the day, provides support to the museum by maintaining their small, interactive display of signals, train whistles and similar, which children can have a go at operating during
their visit.The museum is now developing
an archive of the impact of the floods, with contributions from local residents.
Allan said: “I was proud to represent those who worked so hard to repair the railway line. It was a lovely day and, with all the pipers, it felt more like the Edinburgh tattoo than Dawlish!”
The 300-strong Orange Army gained its nickname from local residents, with iconic pictures of the repairs dominating media coverage. A section of track had been left dramatically hanging in mid-air after the supporting embankment was washed away during the devastating winter storms.
The engineers were praised by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, for their efforts when he visited Dawlish in April. Mr Cameron described the re-opening of the line as not just an important day for Dawlish and the south-west, but for the whole country.
Amey provided signalling design, construction, testing and commissioning and worked round the clock, alongside Network Rail’s in-house teams and principal contractors, to help get the line repaired and re-opened. (from L to R) Councillor Rosalind Prowses, Allen Pyne (Amey), Mayoress Mary Lowther, Mayor Terry Lowther, Anne Mary Morris MP
Amey engineer stands in for ‘Orange Army’ in Dawlish parade
INTERVIEW40 | RailStaff | May 2014
Paul Russell is now in his second year as Head of CIRAS, the rail industry’s Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System. After year one Russell is looking forward to implementing some of the initiatives and plans that have resulted from the first full year of his leadership at CIRAS.
Says Paul Russell, ‘It’s been a busy and challenging year but I have to say rewarding.’ Russell lists some of the challenges he faced, which include addressing how the scheme is funded; addressing perceptions; looking at the scheme’s value, both financially and in terms of its contribution to industry; stakeholder engagement and scheme Governance.
It’s a long list reflecting the number of issues to address. But Russell is quick to recognise the 19 years that CIRAS has been running and its contribution in providing the rail industry with an alternative reporting route. CIRAS has been providing staff at all levels with a confidential platform on which to raise concerns and have them resolved. ‘Its integrity and success to date has been remarkable, and to last 19 years in an ever changing industry is testament to its purpose and worth.’
So what lies ahead then for CIRAS?
‘The past year has been spent addressing those issues I mentioned, but also developing a new five year strategy. We’ve not had this before, and now we have a focus and aim that allows us to ensure the scheme continues to provide value. We can only do this by driving continuous improvement.’
He continues, ‘The focus is our mission, which is to improve health and safety performance by providing an alternative confidential reporting channel for all staff, whatever their role, to raise health and safety concerns. This is especially important where internal company reporting systems have proved unresponsive, or where staff feel unable, for whatever reason, to use internal reporting systems.’ CIRAS is recognised as being a net benefit to the industry.
‘CIRAS is here to help facilitate a timely resolution of concerns raised by staff.
For the subscribing companies, it also provides a reporting system which complements their internal systems and encourages staff to use internal systems wherever possible.
CIRAS provides a further benefit to the industry, by communicating and engaging with our subscribers and their staff to exploit learning opportunities.’
Plans are afoot to strengthen the scheme. According to Russell talks with Network Rail and others in the industry will look at ways to unify multiple reporting systems and numbers. ‘It’s early days, but without any doubt we should work together to make the reporting lines simple, easy to follow and effective for the users. I am optimistic that we can improve on where we are today and I am working hard with my colleagues to achieve that.’
Paul talks briefly about the Governance work that has been undertaken, and is excited by recent changes in RSSB, which are all contributing to making progress easier whilst remaining challenging.
‘Since I joined CIRAS I have been supported by our Committee which is made up of key industry players including Charles Horton (MD for Southern), Paul Thomas (RSSB Chairman), John Abbott (RSSB), Gary
Confidential ReportingA Mature Culture
May 2014 | RailStaff | 41INTERVIEW
Cooper (ATOC Director), Transport for London’s (TfL) Jill Collis and others from across the entire rail industry.’
The wide range of expertise on offer is helpful. The Committee operates the scheme independently on behalf of the RSSB Board, and we benefit from having voices from all corners of the industry, as well as independent experts from external industries such as oil and gas. The Trades Unions also have seats on the Committee. The RMT have been a great contributor to the effort, and their support has been invaluable.’ Russell makes a point of mentioning Network Rail’s support for the scheme and is working closely with CIRAS to drive forward the changes he feels will benefit the entire industry. ‘Network Rail is a key player, and it is always helpful when they listen and offer their support for the improvements we want to make.’
So does Russell believe that confidential reporting will be around for another 19 years?
‘I often hear people ask if, with an improved safety culture, there is still a place for such confidential reporting. Surely it will be redundant, no longer needed in an open and just culture.’ Russell pauses. ‘Well I can’t buy into that view I’m afraid. What I can say for sure is that today’s railway culture is vastly improved from where it was when CIRAS first started. I was a signaller in British Railways in those days, but I remember that period and today the safety culture has vastly improved. Are we so short sighted
that we believe the culture is, or will become, bullet proof? For me this is a dangerous path, and I am pleased that it isn’t a view I hear often. But I do hear it and I don’t agree with it.’
Russell refers to a colleague whom he has been working with, Mark Fleming Professor of Safety Culture at St Mary’s University in Canada. ‘Mark has the right idea and it is refreshing to hear his views. My own view is that the strongest and most mature cultures would always support confidential reporting and see that it is valued. It may not be used often (if at all), but it is there because a good organisation will recognise that people are different and some will be reluctant to report internally. They would also see it is validation that internal reporting systems are working as intended. For them information is key, so reporting systems are vital, full stop.’
The CIRAS Newsletter Edition 51 includes an article by Fleming which talks in detail about cultural maturity. The maturity model covers five steps, which Russell quotes. ‘Pathological – resist confidential reporting at all costs; Reactive - tend to view confidential reporting as a necessary evil; Calculative - the focus is on employee engagement and ensuring a systematic approach to safety. Confidential reporting systems are viewed as a way to engage employees in safety and demonstrate that it is safe to report safety concerns and near miss incidents. Managers often hope that in the future confidential reporting
systems will no longer be required, as employees will feel confident in internal systems.
Proactive - a collective effort to preventing harm. Confidential reporting is more a reflection of the safety culture rather than acting as a driver for improvement. Although confidential reporting is rarely used, the system is valued because it is recognised that people are different
and some individuals may not feel comfortable using internal systems.
And then we have Generative - as I said, values confidential reporting systems. These might not always be used but they are there should you need them. This is what I term as the corporate safety net.’
Electronic and hard copies of the CIRAS Newsletter in question can be requested from [email protected]
Figure: The Safety Culture Mountain – What level of maturity is your organisation?
FREIGHT42 | RailStaff | May 2014
During the last week of April, professionals from across the freight industry gathered at Birmingham’s NEC for the annual Multimodal exhibition. Maggie Simpson, Executive Director of the Rail Freight Group reports on the continued rise of intermodal rail freight.
The show, now in its seventh year, is an opportunity to showcase the latest developments and opportunities for shippers, and those who deliver their supply chains and logistics for them. As the name suggests, the event focuses on logistics which use more than one transport mode, and as such there is a significant presence from the rail sector at the show, along with ports, water freight and of course road. Rail Freight Group has been involved with the exhibition for several years, hosting
an exhibition stand and a successful conference for their members and supporters.
It is perhaps hard to believe that rail freight has come so far in establishing itself as part of mainstream freight and logistics activity, alongside the bulk coal and steel movements that once dominated. But that is precisely what has happened. ‘Liner’ trains, introduced of course by Beeching, represented less than 20% of all rail freight at privatisation, but today make up over a third of all traffic. And the growth in intermodal has been spectacular, recording over 85% increase in the decade to 2012.
As with the passenger business, there is no single factor that has driven growth, but a number of conditions which have coincided. The UK has increasingly become an import based economy, and the rise of Far Eastern production has changed the face of global shipping logistics.
Rail privatisation led to competition between operators, driving efficiency and service quality improvements. There has been significant investment, in locomotives, wagon and handling equipment, and in rail infrastructure at ports. Investment by Government to enable larger ‘high gauge’ containers to move on rail has also been critical. This all helps to persuade customers that using rail is a good choice for their business, and that they will get economic, as well as environmental benefits from using the train.
Today’s BusinessTo understand where and why
intermodal trains are running, you need to look at the shipping and ports market. The dominant flows today are between the so called ‘deep sea’ ports of Felixstowe, Southampton and London (Tilbury and London Gateway). These ports see some of the largest ships in the world sailing from the Far East and the Americas conveying a range of imported goods. The size of these ships is increasing too, with the largest vessels now conveying 18,000 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units, the global measure of how many containers a ship can convey).
The operators of these large vessels will generally seek to minimise the number of port calls, and will deliver all UK boxes in a single visit, leaving rail and road to distribute containers to the hinterland. Hence we see rail services from these ports to the inland terminals in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, South Wales and so on.
Elsewhere other ports also receive containerised traffic on a more limited scale. The East Coast ports such as Immingham and Tees and Liverpool receive smaller ships conveying deep sea, and ‘short sea’ traffic from the continent, as well as roll on roll off lorry trade. The trade is a mixture of goods imported directly from mainland Europe and also so called feeder traffic which has been delivered from a deep Th
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May 2014 | RailStaff | 43FREIGHT
sea vessel at ports such as Rotterdam for onward shipping to the UK.
This market has traditionally been harder for rail as the container sizes vary, the volumes are less concentrated and the distance to market smaller. However in recent years there have been some encouraging trial services, with interest growing, and developments like the major investment in a new deep sea container terminal at Port of Liverpool set to change the market in coming years.
The rise of retail on railNot all intermodal trains are serving
a port however. From a standing start, so called domestic intermodal trains have seen persistent growth over recent years, particularly on the West Coast Main Line between the English Midlands and Scotland. They are moving traffic for a range of retail customers such as Tesco, Diagio, Asda, coordinated by logistics companies such as Stobart, Malcolm Logistics and JG Russell.
Although there are similarities with the deep sea market, the customer needs for this traffic are different and the price competition with road particularly fierce when you consider the high volumes that can be transported on a ‘double deck’ road trailer. But rail is delivering on reliability, flexibility and on cost as well as helping to deliver sustainability commitments. Tesco for example moves groceries on a number of different services from their warehouse at Daventry, some of it packed ready to be unloaded on the shop floor.
The Rail NetworkSupporting this traffic, and
encouraging further growth, means that we need a rail network, and a policy framework that meets the requirements of the customers and the rail freight operators. Most recently, the focus has been on gauge clearance, increasing the physical size of the network to allow large containers to be moved. This has meant track lowering, platform alterations and bridge reconstruction on the key routes. With a good network now
available, focus is turning to allowing longer intermodal trains to operate – up to 750m – and in increasing the capacity for freight on main routes. The critical project for the next five years is to upgrade the cross country route from Felixstowe to Nuneaton to allow more trains to run, with similar work also under development on the routes from Southampton. In the medium term, there is also a strong case for electrification, coupled with new electric locomotives, which would deliver further improvements in train length and network capacity as well as the obvious environmental benefits.
Rail efficiency is also important, and Network Rail has created ‘strategic freight corridors’ to allow them to look at performance and journey time on a critical basis. Although it is accepted that freight will be held in loops at some points, and generally does not run in the peaks, every extra minute on a journey has a cost for the operator, in fuel, in staff time and in equipment utilisation. Unlocking this will help rail compete better with road.
Away from the track, a stable policy environment is also vital, with customers able to feel confident about track charges, Government support and certainty about rail freight having a long term role in their logistics
provision. We are lucky to have strong cross party support, but with difficult questions on rail funding, the structure of charges and network development to be addressed in coming months and years, the benefits of rail freight for customers, shippers and the UK economy need to be kept in the forefront. At Rail Freight Group we will continue to press the case for an even greater role for intermodal rail freight in the future.
FREIGHT44 | RailStaff | May 2014
Bacon Factory Curve sounds like a quirky old Victorian name for an otherwise insignificant part of the railway infrastructure - probably in the Black Country or around Leeds. But it’s not.
In fact, it’s brand new. GB Railfreight only ran the first train on it on 24 March this year, prior to it going into full service a week later. It’s not insignificant either. With a total cost of £59 million, it is a major piece of work. Oh, and it’s just outside Ipswich.
So what is it? And where does the Bacon Factory come in?
Bigger boxesThe new Ipswich Chord is part of
the work going on around the country to enhance the rail freight network. In particular, it forms part of the Felixstowe to Nuneaton scheme which connects Britain’s largest container port with the heart of the Midlands. Half a million containers pass through Felixstowe a year and an increasing number of them travel by rail. 60 train movements a day now connect the port with 17 different inland destinations.
Last year a third rail terminal opened at the port, allowing an even greater number of 30-wagon trains to be able to operate. Containers are also getting bigger. In the past, they were typically 8’6” tall. Now many of them are 9’6”. That extra foot causes problems for the
UK’s height-restricted infrastructure. As a result, work is going on around the country to drop trackbeds through bridges and tunnels, or even replace bridges altogether, to increase the clearance.
The Felixstowe to Nuneaton cross-country route was no exception, particularly the section west of Peterborough. This was gauge-enhanced in 2011.
Other work was also needed. Resignalling work was conducted at Kennett, near Bury St Edmunds, and a new chord (or link line) built at Nuneaton, which allowed freight trains to join the West Coast main line using a dedicated track rather than crossing the four existing lines at track level.
No right turnHowever, there was still one
anomaly which was causing delays and problems. Trains from Felixstowe had to curve left into Ipswich yard and then reverse out onto the Great Eastern main line – there was no way they could just turn right onto it and the convoluted reverse was adding an hour to journey times. So a second new chord was planned to solve this
problem.This 1000 metre link would curve
over the River Gipping, connecting the East Suffolk and Great Eastern lines. In fact it would cross the river twice in a long, sweeping arc.
Plans were approved by the Secretary of State for Transport on 5 September 2012. Spencer Rail was appointed as principal contractor and work started in October of the same year. The project would cost £59 million and would be co-financed by the European Union Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T).
The route from Felixstowe approaches Ipswich from the North East along the East Suffolk line which it joined at Westerfield. The existing bridge over the River Gipping marked the start of the new chord, and the bridge itself had to be replaced with a wider structure to accommodate the switches and crossings that would peel the new chord off to the right. Curving across the south bank of the river, the railway crosses the Gipping again and
runs parallel to the Great Eastern line for a few hundred yards before joining it. This is to allow freight trains of up to 775 metres long to be accommodated totally within the confines of the chord if required.
Construction took a year and a half. One kilometre of twin-track railway stretches from the new Boss Hall Junction (which is on top of the replaced Boss Hall bridge), back over the river on a second new bridge, over the Sproughton Road (a third bridge) to the new Europa Junction. In addition to Spencer Rail, Jacobs Engineering UK provided consultancy services, Alma Rail supplied the track and Amaro Signalling the lineside equipment and new interlocking.
The curve totally confines an area of the southern riverbank, so a subway had to be included in the design to allow access to this otherwise cut-off area. And the land itself? That was the former site of the Harris Bacon factory - hence the name given to the new chord.
Add A Chord And Save An HourReport by Nigel Wordsworth
The man responsible for leading the BIM (building information modelling) initiative for Qatar Rail’s ambitious development programme has joined Mott MacDonald. Paul Clark-Edwards is the new BIM practice leader for Mott MacDonald’s transport business.
Clark-Edwards has extensive experience of working with BIM. He was head of information services at Parsons Brinckerhoff and BIM manager at London Underground. At Parsons Brinckerhoff, he took forward the BIM initiative at Qatar Rail.
The new railway includes a four line, 100 station metro, high speed passenger main line, freight lines and two light rail schemes. He also contributed to the foundation of the Qatar National BIM standards. At LU Clarke developed and supported the application of BIM to large programme station upgrade works.
An early adopter of BIM, Mott MacDonald uses the technology to
deliver its projects more effectively. Since 2011, the consultancy has won many BIM awards for its work on major infrastructure projects. The company is part of the Victoria Station Upgrade project team that won the inaugural BIM Project Application Award in 2012.
Says Paul Norris, director of Mott MacDonald’s metros and civil business, ‘Paul has a proven track record of implementing large programmes of work in the field of BIM. His ability to balance the multiple aspects of BIM and deliver advanced project support ensures a, robust, trust based and collaborative BIM process. He joins a company at the forefront of
BIM technology and his experience and expertise will further add to our offering.’
Paul Clark-Edwards read Architecture at the University of Westminster.
After graduating he joined London Underground as a CAD and Information Manager. Paul has a commercial pilot’s license. As well as flying his interests include sailing and playing squash.
Steve Murphy is joining MTR’s European team as Chief Operating Officer – European Business. MTR is hard at work running and improving the Stockholm Metro as well as operating the London Overground.
Steve, 44, joined British Rail as a graduate trainee in 1991 after reading Geography at St David’s University College Wales. He joined Chiltern Railways in 1994 and soon assumed responsibility for all stations and customer service. In 1999 he became General Manager. Then in 2004 Steve was seconded to Irish Rail and became General Manager at Iarnród Éireann, working for Dick Fearn on the popular modernisation project of Ireland’s railways.
Back in Britain in November 2007 he joined London Overground Rail Operations Ltd. LOROL is co-owned by MTR and Arriva. In 2012 he moved to head up Arriva UK Rail, stepping down as chief operating officer last March .
Steve will join MTR in August 2014 and will be reporting to MTR’s European Business chief executive, Jeremy Long. ‘We are very pleased that Steve is joining us,’ says Long. ‘He will bring considerable operational experience and knowledge to our current business in London and Stockholm, and will play a leading role in our development plans.’
MTR runs the Stockholm Metro – employing 3,000 people. Says Steve Murphy, ‘I am delighted to be joining MTR at such an exciting time and look forward to contributing to its planned expansion in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.’ MTR (Mass Transit Railway) was founded in 1975 when the railway between Kowloon Bay and the Hong Kong peninsula was built.
I am delighted to be joining MTR at such an exciting
time and look forward to contributing to its planned
expansion in the UK and elsewhere in Europe...
Swedish Switch for Steve
Eastern Promise for Mott MacDonald
Glaswegian, David Dickson, has been confirmed as the new route managing director for Scotland. Mr Dickson has been doing the job since the departure of David Simpson in January.
David Dickson has worked for Network Rail for 12 years, having previously held the post of area director for the west of Scotland. Dickson has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Glasgow.
He spent 14 years with the Weir Group before joining the rail industry. ‘I’m exceptionally proud to have the opportunity to take on the role of route managing director as we enter what will be a unique and exciting time for Scotland’s railway,’ says Dickson.
‘Over the past five years, we have significantly improved the capacity
and reliability of our railway, bringing real benefits to communities and businesses across Scotland. We now have an opportunity to build on those achievements as we work with train operators and the government to continue to drive up punctuality and deliver major enhancements to the network, such as the new Borders Railway and the electrification of the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line.’
Scottish Route for Dickson
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STATIONS48 | RailStaff | May 2014
Railway stations have always been inspiring places. The neo-classical columns of Huddersfield, Penn Central (pictured below) in New York and the Gare du Nord (pictured above) in Paris were built as statements of faith in the future.
Put up in a more confident age, anticipating prosperity and better times, railway stations ushered the purveyors of trade and commerce on their myriad journeys. In a way the railway station was the Victorian equivalent of a mediaeval cathedral.
Full of the hustle and bustle of personal drama, stations have always intrigued story tellers, singers and film makers. Preserved railways with their beautifully maintained stations evoke a gentle myth of a better time.
Paul Simon wrote one of his most memorable songs, Homeward Bound, on Widnes Station. How many movies make use of a railway station to emphasise the pain of parting or the joy of that special person’s return?
The railway station has come to symbolise forward motion, a story with a happy ending, a new beginning. This might appear whimsical to the long term commuter, the passenger without a seat and the tired underpaid worker just
anxious to get home. Railway stations often became sad,
utilitarian, structures after their heyday. Many had their buildings boarded up. Staff were withdrawn and booking offices closed. Up and down the network many station buildings were replaced altogether by temporary shacks and converted deep sea containers. Their temporary nature as transient it seemed as the fortunes of this once great industry.
That’s all changing now as the rail industry struggles to cope with the upsurge of passenger volume. Capacity is the real challenge right across the
spectrum and railway stations are no exception. One result of the King’s Cross modernisation was to increase the area available for passengers.
More customer friendlyPeople on the move need space to
catch their trains in safety and speed. Railway stations are being upgraded, expanded, made easier to use, accessible to disabled people and far more customer friendly. The railway has worked out the huge footfall through its stations presents a real commercial opportunity.
Passengers want coffee, tea, food, clothes, newspapers and books while on the move. Better still they want to pause awhile in these great halls of endeavour, inspired as their ancestors once were.
The news from this industry is of an economy resurgent. Business is booming, commerce is growing. Station concourse trading is making a greater contribution to a confident railway, fuelling further investment and driving up the standards of world class customer care. Railway stations are once more becoming inspired statements of faith in the future.
Statements of Faith
May 2014 | RailStaff | 49STATIONS
London Underground wants to involve more craftsmen and small to medium businesses as it progresses ambitious upgrades at 70 stations.
Already LU has selected more than 20 contractors and three multi-discipline design firms to bring a new innovative and collaborative approach to the work. The Programme will use LU’s Stake delivery model, designed to create greater efficiency by reducing sub-contractor layers in the supply chain. LU will be engaging directly with small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to employ the craftspeople who will deliver work on-site.
Says LU’s Programme Director for Stations, Miles Ashley, ‘This programme of work will see 70 stations brought up to a modern standard, which will not only mean better, brighter customer journeys, but will also mean less
closures for remedial work that can cause disruption.
Construction supply chains have become multi-tiered and fragmented, and it could be said that the industry has lost sight of the importance of craft skills in delivering efficiently. Great craftsmanship is the key to the success of any infrastructure project, and our Stake approach allows long-term engagement with the people at the workface and recognises that they are the most valuable part of our team.’
Stations lined up for the craft work approach include Embankment, Paddington, Earls Court, South Kensington and Charing Cross. The seven-year programme will enable suppliers and their craftspeople to work closely with LU to improve delivery with a focus on delivering high quality work first time, leading to increased value across the programme and reduced unit costs.
LU is also working with the successful suppliers to establish craft academies These academies will provide craft skills training as well as frontline leadership for supervisors and construction managers on the skills and practices needed to deliver the programme efficiently.
The new approach’s principle is ‘production leads, everything else enables’, a shift in focus that has been brought about by LU’s adoption of Stuttgart-based DS Consulting’s Collaborative Planning methods.
Contractors include Wingate, Delatim,
Giffin Group, Atkins, Fourway, Magnolia, Emerald, Close Brothers, Livis, DMC, Excel, K&M McLoughlin, JNG, HA Marks, AGS, Community Clean, UKDN Waterflow, Lanes Group, Hillmore Fire Protection, Young & Young Security, TRAD Scaffolding and Millcroft.
The Stake delivery model is a UK trial project under Infrastructure UK, a unit within the Treasury that works on the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities. The unit is responsible for achieving greater value for money on infrastructure projects.
Craftwork for the Underground
Busy Carlisle Citadel station is benefitting from a £1.8 million investment in step-free access to platforms for the first time. Carlisle’s mayor, Roy Bloxham, officially opened the refurbished disused subway which is linked to the platforms by two new lifts.
Thanks to the growth of passenger volume on the Settle and Carlisle line, burgeoning traffic on the main West Coast Main Line and the growing success of the Newcastle-Hexham line and Cumbrian coast services passengers at Carlisle need better, faster, access.
Says Ian Joslin, Network Rail acting area director, ‘These vital improvements to Carlisle station will make life easier for everyone to use the train, especially those with luggage, reduced mobility or children. The new facilities will improve Carlisle station and allow it to better handle the demands of an increasing number of passengers who use it every day.’
The original station was built in 1847 by William Tite. Three years earlier Tite had completed the magnificent Royal Exchange in London with its distinctive eight column portico based on the Pantheon at Rome.
Network Rail undertook the work as part of the Access for All programme. The lifts match the station environment and complement the station’s listed-building status. Rail specialists have also been restoring existing sandstone brickwork.
Says local MP, John Stevenson, ‘I am delighted that the improvements to Carlisle station have been completed.
It is very important that everyone is able to access public transport in our city and these improvements make that possible. I hope that more people are encouraged to take the train from Carlisle station as a transport option now it has become more accessible.’
Rise and Fall of Citadel Station
The Wensleydale Railway has won financial backing from Hambledon Council enabling it to run trains in and out of Northallerton.
Local councillors voted £40,000 to help build a new station to be called Northallerton West. Planning permission has already been secured to erect the new platform on land near Springwell Lane in Northallerton.
Once operational passenger services will be able to run for 22 miles up Wensleydale on the Redmire railway - which once connected with the Settle and Carlisle. WR hopes to reach the S & C at Garsdale eventually.
Planning permission has already been secured to
erect the new platform on land near Springwell Lane in
Northallerton.
Council Backs Northallerton West
STATIONS50 | RailStaff | May 2014
A new and bigger station on the Docklands Light Railway has been welcomed by commuters and sports fans.
Pudding Mill Lane station has been recreated and re-positioned to accommodate Crossrail. The former Pudding Mill Lane station stood where the Crossrail route surfaces.
The new station now provides excellent access for people travelling to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. From the end of 2018, Crossrail trains will emerge from the new tunnels at Pudding Mill Lane and join existing rail lines to make their way through northeast London to Essex.
The project has also allowed engineers to double the tracks – the last significant single tracking left on
the DLR network. Pudding Mill takes it name historically from St Thomas’s watermill – which apparently was
shaped like a pudding. DLR passengers will be able to access Crossrail services at Stratford station.
Pulling out a Plum
Ahead of the International Festival for Business in Liverpool this June, rail engineers have been revamping the subway area that links Lime Street main line station and the underground stations.
The £315,000 upgrade funded by Merseytravel and carried out by Merseyrail, includes full re-tiling of the floor, installation of a new wall and ceiling cladding system. Automatic doors at the St John’s Lane entrance will also be installed.
The work on the underpass is the latest in a programme of improvements across the Merseyrail network. A £40 million programme to update all five underground stations has already seen Liverpool Central, James Street and Lime Street refreshed in a joint programme between Merseyrail, Merseytravel and Network Rail. Moorfields and Hamilton Square stations will be upgraded over the next couple of years.
Says Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel, ‘When visitors from outside the region travel to Liverpool, one of the first things many will see is Lime
Street station and the subway link to the Merseyrail network.
We want people coming to the city for a host of high profile events this summer to enjoy their stay from the very start and this will help to give a great first impression.’ Head of Merseyrail, Maarten Spaargaren,
welcomed the work. ‘The underpass at Lime Street station doesn’t do the network justice, so it’s great that work will soon begin to make it much more attractive. The enhancements will vastly improve the experience of Merseyrail customers travelling through that part of the network,’ says Martin.
Liverpool Subway Open for Business
New dry-mix recycling methods have boosted the amount of waste recycled at stations from 25% to 40% over the last year.
The ‘Dry Mix Recycling’ method allows clean waste to be added to bins. By introducing the same system at its engineering depots staff at Northern Rail have boosted recycling rates from 50% in 2011 to 72% in 2013.
Northern Rail recently scored a commendable three stars in the Corporate Responsibility Index. Says Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern Rail, ‘We’re delighted to keep our commitment strong to going green.
As our recycling rates rise, so does our recognition on the Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index which is a valuable benchmark for any business.’
Northern Life Cycle
May 2014 | RailStaff | 51STATIONS
Work is set to start soon on a new bus and tram interchange at Poundswick Lane, Wythenshawe on the fast growing Manchester Metrolink.
The £6.7m project next to Wythenshawe Forum includes a new bus station alongside the Metrolink line. A Transport for Greater Manchester travel shop and staff room will sit alongside the new covered waiting areas. The interchange will provide a safe and secure environment for passengers.
Says Andrew Fender chair of TfGM, ‘I’m delighted that we have reached this important milestone in the project and people will shortly see work starting on the ground…It’s going to provide a modern, high quality gateway to the town centre for both bus and Metrolink passengers, improving public transport links to
jobs, education and leisure.’Kier Construction won the contract
to construct the new interchange designed by Aedas Architects. The contract is worth approximately £5m.
It’s good news for Kier, says Gary Wintersgill, Managing Director of Kier Construction in the north. ‘This is the second interchange being built for TfGM by Kier; Rochdale is now
complete and open and we look forward to delivering another high quality building in Wythenshawe, which the local community will be proud of.’
Positive Move for Wythenshawe
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STATIONS52 | RailStaff | May 2014
With station usage growing year on year, the rail industry is pushing ahead with dynamic programmes of station redevelopments and refurbishments. Carl Taylor at advance-TRS reports.
Part of the £37.5 billion spending plan, the biggest rail improvement program since the Victorian era, makes provisions for the replacement of 300,000 square metres of platforms as well as ambitious projects at London Bridge, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Victoria and Reading.
The Office of Rail Regulation estimates that there were 2.54 billion entries and exits at railway stations between 2012 and 2013, an increase of 82 million on the previous year. This is a huge footfall. Add to this a growth in demand for rail services of 5-6% per year and the urgency of the task of dealing with future growth emerges.
Open and accessible station design
For instance at Reading station by 2030 passenger numbers are anticipated to double to 30 million a year. The £850m redevelopment has helped create a further five platforms and facilitate extensions to the existing platforms.
Another attempt to ease the bustling crowds and the expected increase in passengers is the use of open and accessible station design. Upon approaching Reading station, you
would be hard pressed to believe that it’s not an airport terminal. The work being undertaken by Network Rail and Costain truly deserves recognition. The new 30 metre wide, 110 metre long bridge is a far cry from the previous span, providing an open, spacious means of moving between platforms, complete with effective signage and information systems for optimal passenger flow.
However, station redevelopments have gone further than just easing overcrowding and improving signage. Local government and its constituents are increasingly demanding architectural wonders that their town or city can be especially proud of. With HS2 looking likely to go ahead in 2017, cities in the north plan to take full advantage. What better way to make your mark than with a railway station of international acclaim.
Waheed Nazir, director of planning and regeneration at Birmingham City council recently claimed that Birmingham would not accept the ‘boxy and basic’ station design for the Birmingham Curzon Street HS2 station that was outlined in the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement. The new proposals for the station, which have been designed in-house by Nazir’s design team at Birmingham City Council, are intended to deliver a station of an ‘international standard’. Nazir is hoping that the funding shortfall expected in pursuing their own revised designs can be topped up with funding from the local council and local businesses.
Birmingham New Street station itself is a project that is staking its claim to be a station of international acclaim. Gone is the dreary, brutalist exposed concrete architectural design of the old station in favour of a sleek curved exterior that mirrors the more modern aesthetic of the Birmingham city centre. London Bridge, Reading and the proposals for Glasgow Queen Street, answer passengers and local community aspirations for railway stations that will make their city competitive and desirable to potential investors.
Multi-purpose hubsSome railway stations have also
transitioned into new roles as multi-purpose hubs complete with high-end retail outlets and casual and smart dining restaurants. These stations offer passengers more than just a journey; opening up multiple alternative lucrative revenue streams for station operators.
Sales figures show that growth in retail sales from Network Rail stations grew 7.8% in like-for-like sales between September and December in 2013 in contrast to a paltry 0.6% growth for high street retail outlets. It’s easy to see
then, why station operators have begun looking at alternative ways of generating income that can ultimately be reinvested back into improving the railway.
The results of such an experiment are already clear to see if you look at the example set by St Pancras railway station. After an £800m refurbishment that was completed in 2007, St Pancras became an international rail nucleus complete with high-end retail outlets, restaurants and cafés as well as Europe’s longest champagne bar.
With Network Rail expanding its retail operations in stations such as London Victoria, Waterloo and Reading, as well as trialling a package collection service at mainline stations, it’s clear to see that railway stations are becoming more than just the inception and completion of our daily commute. Stations are quickly becoming central hubs that are essential to the growth of many local economies around the country. The task for contractors now is to strike a perfect balance between aesthetic design and functional design whilst also making provisions for various other opportunities that can offer local economic benefits.
Stations for the 21st Century
May 2014 | RailStaff | 53STATIONS
Paris Gare du Nord is 150 this year and it’s starting to show. Marc Johnson reports.
Europe’s busiest station has been at the centre of a number of modernisations since it first opened in 1864 and to mark this latest milestone, it is to undergo another.
In January, SNCF announced it would be marking the anniversary with ‘Plan Botox’ - a four-year programme of cleaning, redecorating and renewing.
The station was designed by architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorff. One of the terminal’s most notable features is the collection of statues that have been incorporated into the façade, representing the eight international cities and 14 French towns and cities that were originally served by the Gare du Nord.
There has been a railway station on the site of Gare du Nord since 1846. The original station reached capacity soon after opening and in 1860 the façade was taken down brick by brick and rebuilt as Gare de Lille Flandres.
In 1875, the station was handling six million passengers a year. By 1889, this figure had risen to 10 million.
In 1994, Gare du Nord became a gateway to the UK with the opening of Eurostar. The station now sees 700,000 passengers and 2,100 trains every day. In that time the British terminus, St Pancras, has undergone a complete overhaul.
SNCF has announced another significant stations investment elsewhere on the network.
The state-owned operator and the French
infrastructure manager, RFF, are to spend €200 million renovating Bordeaux Saint-Jean station for the commissioning of the Tours-Bordeaux TGV in 2017.
The 302-kilometre Tours-Bordeaux HSL will reduce journey times between Paris and Bordeaux to just over two hours.
As well as extending the station itself and modernising the current interior, money will be spent renewing track and building new maintenance facilities for both the high-speed TGV and regional TER trains.
Gare du NordBon Anniversaire
Newcastle and York are to become Network Rail-managed stations from the start of the new East Coast franchise in 2015. The main line stations will join Reading and Bristol Temple Meads, which Network Rail took over on April 1, under a new management model designed to improve long-term planning for the UK’s railway stations.
Network Rail will assume control of asset management and commercial planning for both stations from the start of the new franchise, leaving the new operator to focus on passenger-facing services. The idea is that the ‘managed station - lite’ model, as it has been dubbed, will make it easier to develop long-term strategies. Network Rail will be solely in charge of maintenance and renewal works around the stations.
Like Reading and Bristol, Newcastle has received substantial investment for modernisation works and York presents further opportunities for commercial development.
‘Where we’re in control, we can do more,’ says Jason Manley, stations specialist for Network Rail’s Network Operations. ‘Bristol Temple Meads has got a big master plan for it, so we can look long term, and we can take a better strategic view. A lot of train operators
are frustrated because they can’t make those long-term decisions, and they can’t always build up the business case
to always do things within the term of the franchise.’
The model is designed to help Network Rail build a business case and find the funding for more projects while working in closer partnership with other industry stakeholders. It is a model that Network Rail could use at other franchised stations.
Network Rail Manages More Stations
Forty-two stations in Britain will receive a share of a £100 million government fund to improve access for disabled passengers, says Rail Minister Baroness Kramer.
‘We are transforming our railways through record levels of investment and improving accessibility at stations is an important part of that. These improvements will make a real difference to the lives of disabled passengers and those with limited mobility, allowing them to get to work and pursue leisure activities more easily,’ says Kramer. ‘That’s good news for them and good news for the economy.’ A total of £460 million has been invested in improving access to railways since 2006.
Increased Access for All
STATIONS54 | RailStaff | May 2014
Seven pop up shops have opened at Old Street station in London. Retail activity on railway stations is helping roll back the recession and spread the rail–dynamic effect far and wide.
Around 22 million people use Old Street station each year. The station already has a flourishing retail offering and is close to Tech City which is why TfL chose it as its first dedicated pop-up shop location. Over 11 million journeys take place on London’s public transport network every day. Pop up shops form part of TfL’s vision for the future of London Underground as it pushes ahead with modernisation and improvement plans for the network.
The shops are organised by Appear Here and the first seven pop ups include Driftrock, Bailey Nelson, Fully Charged, Mallow and Marsh, Spoon Cereals, Press London and Makers Academy - which helps young people
learn about computing. The pop-up shops form part of TfL’s Commercial Development strategy, currently forecast to raise £3.5bn over the next ten years,
Says Graeme Craig, Director of Commercial Development at TfL, ‘We are delighted with the vibrant and diverse line-up that is launching what we hope will be the first of many successful pop-up shops at Old Street station. Pop-up shops provide
an opportunity for new and existing retailers to showcase their innovative products and services to the millions of people who use the station each year.’
Established retailers are taking a greater role in service provision for the
railways. In January 2014, TfL started working with Asda, Tesco, Waitrose and automated parcel Locker Company, InPost, to establish ‘click and collect’ facilities at London Underground station car parks.
New Shops for Old Street
Ben Moffitt, co founder of Bailey Nelson, said: “We went into Old St because we’re simply excited to be part of yet another development
that reiterates why London is one of the most progressive places to live and do business on the planet.”
May 2014 | RailStaff | 55STATIONS
Major railway stations are good places to rendezvous. With their smart bars, cafés and lounges a rail location adds a sense of urgency and purpose to the briefest of meetings.
To capitalise on this the rail industry is opening drop-in work centres at three more major stations. The pilot scheme at Paddington Station has proved a great success. Office Network, the joint venture between Network Rail and the Office Group, plans a further three hubs at London King’s Cross, London Liverpool Street and Leeds.
The centres include offices, meeting rooms and work spaces, known as ClubRooms. Says David Biggs, Network Rail’s managing director of property, ‘This innovative joint venture brings an additional facility to our busy stations by transforming underused space into productive work environments that meet the needs of time scarce business travellers.
Stations are convenient destinations for shopping, dining and leisure and the success of our first site at Paddington has proved that they are equally as sought after for business. As we prepare for another decade of dramatic growth on the railway, the serviced office product will continue to be a key
element of how we improve our stations and enhance the passenger experience.’
Lloyd Dorfman, the successful entrepreneur who created the Travelex foreign exchange operation is chairman of the Office Group. ‘As demand for flexible and remote working grows throughout the UK, these new facilities will support our exciting growth plans in meeting passenger needs,’ says Dorfman.
New sites being developed at King’s Cross,
Leeds and Liverpool Street stations will provide an additional 50,000 square feet of high quality work space. The Station Office Network provides commuters with shared or private working areas similar to airport business lounges, with stylish meeting rooms, superfast broadband and cheerful receptionists to handle mail, telephone calls and enquiries. Already plans are afoot to expand the Station Office Network to other major railway stations.
Office on a Station
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RAILWAY CHILDREN56 | RailStaff | May 2014
Finding people to scale the UK’s three highest mountains in 36 hours with just a few hours rest, during the highly-unpredictable British summer doesn’t sound like an easy task. Yet every year somewhere in the region of 200 people sign up to take on The Three Peaks Challenge by Rail. Marc Johnson reports.
Organisers estimate that walkers complete the equivalent of three half-marathons by the time they have returned to the base of Ben Nevis, having already made their way up and down Snowdon and Scafell Pike.
Now in its 11th year, the challenge has collected more than £1.5 million for Railway Children. Each year, the money raised allows the charity to reach 5,000 new children who need help. On 19th June the next train load of climbers sets off from Euston.
A team of 30 volunteers looks after the walkers, organising the train, the food and ensuring everyone who goes up the mountain comes back down.
Many of the volunteers return year
after year to support the fundraisers. The Three Peaks is the very first thing that goes into Tim Wade’s calendar at the start of the new year.
‘As long as the event runs, I’ll do it,’ says Tim.
‘That’s the first thing that goes in the calendar, that’s where the annual leave goes for four days. I’ll do swaps of shifts or whatever else. I just absolutely adore going on the Three Peaks.’
Tim, who has worked for London Underground for the past 25 years, first joined the Three Peaks team in 2008, handing out T-shirts and checking climbers kit. It was at the bottom of Snowdon where he found his place in the team.
‘I got to the first mountain and I’ve sort of been known through the years for having a rather large mouth, and it was just a case of you’re all milling around like sheep, you need shepherding a little bit, and the mouth came in handy.
‘We’re just a smiley face at the bottom of the hill telling them it’s not going to be as painful as they think it is and anything they need; encouragement, help, picking kit up or whatever else. It’s just generally anything and everything.’
The advantage of doing the challenge by rail is the comfort of travelling between the mountains, as well as the quality, and quantity, of the food available.
Since 2005, Nick Hebborn has been in charge of the train’s staff of volunteers.
Nick was approached by Railway Children to support the challenge while he was Virgin Trains’ head of
Three Peaks ChallengeMeet the Team
May 2014 | RailStaff | 57RAILWAY CHILDREN
onboard service. It is his job to find the volunteers and enough food donations to feed 230 people. The team includes volunteers from companies including Rail Gourmet, Virgin Trains and First Great Western.
A sense of satisfaction‘My role effectively is coordinator.
We’re serving 200 walkers and about 30 support staff, so we’re feeding about 230 people and from Thursday evening to 1.00 on Sunday morning without a break in terms of the train operation, so we’re serving all those people continuously. There’s a sense of satisfaction in making it happen and it’s for a good cause.
‘It makes a real difference for the walkers to actually have good quality food and drink. I have talked to people who have done it by road in buses and the walking is tough but the travelling experience is just horrendous.’
Ensuring each walker completes the challenge safely is the main aim for the team. Throughout the last 10 years of the Three Peaks there has been the occasional sprained ankle and broken bone. In 2008, one walker was even bitten by a snake, but for all of the volunteers the 2012 challenge sticks in the memory. A month’s rain fell in just 24 hours as walkers attempted to traverse Scafell Pike in the Lake District. What were originally tiny streams became raging torrents and conditions eventually got so bad, some of the teams had to turn back.
‘We started off from Snowdon fine and within an hour of them leaving the base camp it started to rain and I don’t think we got dry until we got to Scotland, Saturday morning.’ says Tim.
‘It was absolutely horrendous in the Lake District. For safety reasons we had to curtail them going up Scafell Pike. We had some very close calls with safety. I mean there was a lot of people suffered, not for the fact that they weren’t prepared it was just the weather was atrocious.’
Tim Brawn has worked in the rail industry since 1986. In 2004, his wife Wendy began working for Railway
Children and the following year, Tim signed up for the challenge himself. He’s been involved ever since, using his experience as a control centre manager to serve as the link between Railway Children and the industry.
Tim’s close links with the charity means he understands better than anyone why so much hard work goes into organising and completing the challenge every year.
‘When we went to Tanzania in 2010, we were able to see the projects and that was really good,’ says Tim. ‘You sort of now appreciate what we’re raising the money for, where it’s going and who it’s helping.’
To sign up for next year’s event or to find out how you can become a volunteer, visit the Railway Children website: www.railwaychildren.org.uk
58 | RailStaff | May 2014 CHARITYCHARITY
A team from the British Transport Police are raising money for the Samartians charity by cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End – a distance of nearly 1,000 miles.
The eight-strong peloton set off on 3rd May and aims to complete the task in just nine days. The cyclists, led by Assistant Chief Constable Mark Newton, will have a sizeable support team following them. Other friends, BTP officers and staff are giving up their own time to lend a hand. The support team will be using a Routemaster double-decker bus. This will be on hand at the start and end of each day.
Says Mark Newton, ‘The John O’Groats to Land’s End route is a gruelling one, especially in such a short space of time, but we have all been training hard and are taking part to
help a fantastic charity. Samaritans carries out tremendous work to help people in distress who often have nowhere else to turn.
As a police force dedicated solely to working on the railway, we know only too well the human cost of those who feel they have no option but to harm themselves. Across Great Britain our officers are regularly called upon to intervene and help people who are distressed and trespass on the rail network. We have worked extensively with Samaritans to better equip our officers to deal with these incidents and to ensure those in distress are dealt with effectively and sensitively from the first contact with BTP.’
The challenge normally takes 12 days and is often ridden from south to north to allow for prevailing winds. The BTP team is made of sterner stuff and is riding north to south. There is still a chance of snow in the
far north. The aim is to raise £20,000 for Samaritans. To help go to www.justgiving.com/btp-jogle Cyclists taking part include: Assistant Chief Constable Mark Newton, Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden, Superintendent Hugh Borgeat, Chief Inspector Alex Carson, Inspector Paul Watts, PC Paul Green, PC Stuart Cleverly and Mike Furness (Head of Strategic Development).
Mark Newton praised families, friends and colleagues in the rail industry for getting involved and
donating. ‘We have already received generous donations from a number of organisations, including First Group, Transport for London, Arriva, Vauxhall, Chiltern Railways, STM Security and LOROL, as well as friends, family and well-wishers. We still have some way to go to reach our target, but I have no doubt that through the efforts of the cyclists – and the generosity of our supporters logging on at www.justgiving.com/btp-jogle – we will get there,’ says Mark.
Police Team take on John O’Groats Lands End Charity Ride
A team from AmeySersa is training hard to compete in the 127 mile long Grand Départ section of the Tour de France which this year takes place in Yorkshire.
As well as a team building exercise and get-fit plan the team plans to raise money for Tommy’s - a charity which funds research into pregnancy problems and provides information, support and advice for parents. Says James Allen, Bid Manager at AmeySersa, ‘All of us on the team want to help Tommy’s. The fact that one in four women loses a baby at birth or due to miscarriage is unacceptable in this day and age. Tommy’s is a great cause and raises money to fund research centres as well as counselling bereaved Mums and Dads.’
When a pregnancy fails or a baby dies, the families affected can be devastated and often have a desperate need to know why. Frustrated at the lack of research that meant they could rarely answer this question, two obstetricians working in the
maternity unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London were inspired to start fundraising for more research into pregnancy problems. Soon their cause was taken up by others and a charity affectionately known as ‘Tommy’s, after St Thomas’ Hospital, was born.
The team at AmeySersa will be riding under the team name ‘Lanterne Rouge.’ This is the name given to the rider who finishes the Tour de France in the longest time. The term comes from the red light that hangs on the back of
trains. Says team member and keen
cyclist, Colin Edge, managing director of Project EMC, ‘We are all training in earnest – getting between 10 and 50 miles in at weekends. Even so we probably won’t be breaking any records however we hope that people will support our participation.’ Donations no matter how large or small are welcome and can be made at www.justgiving.com/teamlanternerouge
Red Lanterns Ride for Tommy’s Charity
Intrepid staff from Eversholt Rail have completed a 200 mile long charity bike ride from Doncaster to London. On Friday 25th April, 14 courageous employees with a support crew set off on a 200 mile charity cycle ride challenge from Wabtec Rail in Doncaster.
Staff at Wabtec sent them off in style and also made a very generous donation to the causes. The cycle ride took the team through seven counties in 2½ days. The cyclists braved heavy rain, strong head winds and occasional sunshine. Their courage and determination saw them through to the finish line at Eversholt Rail’s offices on Pentonville Road on Sunday.
The team completed a total of 207 miles. The challenge was to raise money for two charities: the Jubilee Sailing Trust and SANDS. So far they have raised an amazing £22,000.
To donate to these causes go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/donnytolondonbybike
Eversholt 200 Mile Cycle
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CAREERS60 | RailStaff | May 2014
Bridgeway Consulting Ltd is staffed by highly qualified experienced rail engineers and since 1995 has become an industry leader in what is one of the UK’s most safety conscious industries. Following recent long term contract awards, we are seeking individuals to work on a number of national contracts providing:
Controllers of Site Safety PLEASE QUOTE REF: ASS2013110701
Hold current Sentinel competency and be experienced to work on Network Rail infrastructure Be prepared to travel and work away from home Be prepared to work nights, weekends, bank holidays and respond to short notice changes of plan Hold a valid UK Driving Licence
To apply, please send your CV quoting the reference number directly to: [email protected]
Closing date for all applications: 30th MAY 2014
www.trsstaffing.com
Rail and Infrastructure VacanciesTRS Staffing Solutions are international engineering recruitment specialists. We recruit
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Please send your CV or if you’d prefer to discuss a role in more detail and in confidence, please contact one of our specialist consultants on
Rail, Infrastructure & Construction
P-Way Design Engineers and Managers Manchester, York, Birmingham & London £300 - £350/day or £30K – £60K Mainline Rail Project Experience
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TRS_Advert_May_2014.indd 1 02/05/2014 10:15
Eversholt Rail is currently recruiting a Rolling Stock Project Engineering Manager to join the Operations Team. You will be part of the team responsible for through-life management of our fleet of rolling stock, which includes the overhaul, modification and upgrade of existing rolling stock and also the introduction of new trains.
As a Project Engineering Manager you will be responsible for technical elements of specific projects, managing and working with key suppliers, interfacing with customers, developing solutions and ensuring that the projects deliver to meet our expectations for safety, quality, time and budget. This role is at the heart of Eversholt Rail and will be fulfilled by someone who ‘gets things done’.
What you need to quality for the role:• A creative aptitude and eager to try out new ideas;• A natural drive to find win-win solutions to problems;• Excellent inter-personal and influencing skills;• Strong oral and written presentation abilities;• Engineering degree or equivalent experience, Chartered Engineer
or working towards it;• Some experience of project management and contract management
is an advantage;• The desire to be flexible and work on a variety of projects, from small
modifications to major fleet upgrades, including the introduction of new fleets.
Eversholt Rail will be delivering an increasing number of overhaul and fleet enhancement projects across the UK over the next few years as well as introducing into service new rolling stock. We are therefore seeking dynamic individuals to join us in this exciting period of delivery to meet our current and future customers’ needs.
application, detailing relevant skills, telephone 01228 882300 to request an
experience and qualifications, to: application pack.
TO APPLY
We currently have the following career opportunities available for candidates looking to join our successful and growing team. All roles are
based from our Carlisle Head office with nationwide travel required depending on the projects. All candidates must hold a valid PTS. Salaries
are negotiable depending on skills and experience.
CAREERS62 | RailStaff | May 2014
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
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – CIVIL ENGINEERING – RAIL INDUSTRY
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