memories. (Old Mystic Wolmar seems to have been wrong in his pessimism about a vaccine though nothing is certain yet). There is little doubt that this organisation will be built around Network Rail, although the precise details of how this will be done remain unclear. While we all know that Network Rail has been anything but a perfect organisation, with a tendency towards unfathomable bureaucracy, gold plating projects, hostility towards outsiders and schemes ‘not invented here’ and a lack of accountability, it has been on an upward path ever since Andrew Haines took over as head of the organisation from Mark Carne two years ago. That suggests there is only one person qualified to take on the role of heading this new organisation (let’s call it British Railways for mischief’s sake, though realistically Rail UK is probably a more likely candidate) – the aforementioned Haines. There is a good reason
Transport for Wales and Alun Griffiths host virtual ‘Bridge to Schools’ events across South Wales An exciting partnership between Transport for Wales and Alun Griffiths will engage Welsh school pupils on activities in engineering, transport and construction. Hosted by TfW, the pilot ‘Bridge to Schools’ events will take place “virtually” throughout March 2021. Delivering in the South Wales Metro area first, the sessions will be available to pupils in years 6 to 8, engaging young people with the different construction and engineering skills required to build a bridge. During the event, Alun Griffiths will use the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Bridge to Schools to give young people the opportunity to build a miniature version of the Second Severn Crossing. Using a 12m model cable-stayed bridge, children experience bridge building at first-hand, while wearing hard hats, high-vis vests, gloves and goggles. After the bridge has been built, each child gets the chance to walk across to test their engineering skills. The bridge-building session is presented by an Alun Griffiths Engineers, supported by a Public Liaison Officer and the Community Engagement team from Transport for Wales. While during the pandemic it won’t be possible to visit schools and run the session in its usual format with the pupils, TfW has made 30
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for this. For my latest book I have been talking to a lot of the BR old timers who morphed successfully into the privatised railway a quarter of a century ago. Almost to a man (and they are all men….) they went through BR’s management trainee scheme which involved working in various parts of the network – one day you could be in a small parcel office, the next day at division HQ and a couple of months after that organising passenger on a large chunk of the network. There are few of these graduates from the trainee scheme left in the industry but Haines is one of them, and even after privatisation he did a variety of jobs. His knowledge of the whole network is therefore unequalled – add to that the fact he is personable, competent and articulate, and you have the only person up to doing the job. That won’t, however, as he knows, stop me disagreeing with him when I think he is wrong! adaptations to the delivery which will enable pupils to participate virtually. TfW is also keen to hear from schools in other areas which are interested in taking part in future events. Lois Park, Head of Community and Stakeholder Engagement at TfW, said: “We’re delighted to be working with our Infrastructure Delivery Partners, Alun Griffiths to deliver an alternative to their already successful ‘Institution of Civil Engineers’ Bridge to Schools’. These online but participatory events will be available to pupils across South Wales and we hope large numbers are able to join us. Transport for Wales is growing rapidly as we prepare to deliver a number of transformative transport projects throughout Wales. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in order to deliver a high quality, safe, integrated, affordable and accessible transport network the people of Wales are proud of, so while we’re building the team that will be part of this now, we also want to fire up the next generation to get excited about the opportunities in transport or engineering. “We also want to take the opportunity to get input from young people on what they want to hear about next. Our education outreach programme is currently in development and this new partnership gives us the chance to ask how Transport for Wales should engage, inspire and improve for future generations.”
You can register your interest for future sessions by contacting engagement@tfw.wales. Due to current COVID restrictions, this year’s events will be held online only. January/February 2021
