Rail Director February 2024

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EXCLUSIVELY FOR RAIL INDUSTRY LEADERS February 2024

Syeda Ghufran Harnessing digital advancements to drive efficiency and effectiveness The 12 days of Christmas £127m of renewals and maintenance work Weather the weather Protecting infrastructure from wilder, more extreme weather Professor Paul Plummer Solving the long-term challenges facing the railways

HUW MERRIMAN Pressing ahead with rail reform

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3

INTRODUCTION

A shared vision of progress W

elcome to the latest Rail Director. The year already feels in full swing, and I was delighted to recently attend the Railway Industry Association’s Annual Parliamentary Reception and Rail Fellowship Programme Awards, as well as Transport for the North’s Annual Conference. There, I heard from a fascinating range of speakers all of whom shared a vision of progress for the industry.

I’ve also been getting in some steps as part of the Railway Family Fundraiser. I was asked by Heather Waugh to join a team of more than 40 to walk 7,702 miles by the end of this month, the distance from Glasgow to Siem Reap in Cambodia. All the blisters are worth it, with the money raised going to GVI Cambodia for life-changing projects in the country.

Thankfully I’m not doing the miles on my own, but am part of a fantastic team of fundraisers whose day jobs range from managing directors to station staff and rail enthusiasts. As Heather said, “Our industry will always come together for a worthy cause”. That is so true with the Railway Family Fundraiser.

This month’s Rail Director is themed around a fascinating area of the railways, the infrastructure. There is constantly so much going on to ensure a safe and efficient rail network, with dedicated teams working in all hours and weathers. All too often the work that goes on is met with negative headlines of train cancellations, when really the efforts and feats of engineering should be celebrated.

A big thank you to Nigel Wordsworth who has taken a detailed look at the important work that took place over Christmas. The 12 days from late on Friday 22 December until early on Wednesday 3 January was a busy time for Network Rail and its contractors as £127 million of renewals and maintenance work was delivered.

Sticking to the topic of infrastructure, Nigel has also examined the impact of the weather on infrastructure and what is being done to defend against it – including the hugely successful Dawlish sea wall.

This month’s cover feature is HS2 and Rail Minister Huw Merriman, who has spoken about the government’s plan for the railway over the next five years and the importance of rail reform to integrate track and train, something he expects to happen no matter who is in power. On the topic of CP7, Mr Merriman admits the bar has been set very high, and that he expects Network Rail to deliver, and has the utmost faith in Andrew Haines and his team.

It is also a real delight to feature Syeda Ghufran, Siemens Mobility’s new Director of Asset Management and Assurance for Customer Services. She has had a fascinating career so far, particularly at ScotRail, and isn’t just going to have a big impact at her new employer but is also using her experience to inspire the next generation.

This is just a snippet of what to expect in this month’s edition. Thanks as always to everyone who has been involved, from those who have showcased their products and services, to those who have taken the time to share their stories. Work is well underway on the next edition, which is centred around signalling. High-profile interviews, including the likes of Network Rail and Siemens, are already lined up. Space is filling up quickly so contact Christian Wiles if you’d like to feature.

All the best,

The efforts and feats of engineering should be celebrated

Danny Longhorn Editor Rail Director magazine and Railbusinessdaily.com are assets owned by the Railway Industry Association. Railbusinessdaily.com delivers more than 70 stories a week to +73,000 rail industry professionals in our daily 7am newsletter. If you have not already subscribed, it’s free and it’s easy to do so at www.railbusinessdaily.com, please also encourage your colleagues to do the same.

This is the very best way to keep abreast of what is happening on the UK’s railways. There is a digital copy of Rail Director on our website.

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4

CONTENTS

38

6

Pressing ahead with rail reform

Rail and HS2 Minister Huw Merriman MP sat down with Rail Director to discuss the government’s plans for the railway

12 We’ll weather the weather whatever the weather Nigel Wordsworth takes a look at recent projects to firm up rail infrastructure

18 The risks of inadequate planning on rail projects

42

Graham Dunning, the Head of Planning at SEP Rail Services, sheds light on the pivotal role of meticulous planning and the round-the-clock support that significantly diminishes potential risks

22 The 12 days of Christmas

A look at the £127 million of renewals and maintenance work delivered over Christmas

38 Solving the long-term challenges facing the railways

Professor Paul Plummer has been appointed as the new Director of the BCRRE and explains more about the journey ahead

46

42 “The time is now for engineers to find our voice” Gareth Dennis discusses the importance of strengthening the link between the physical railway and what it actually delivers

46 Harnessing digital advancements to drive efficiency and effectiveness

Syeda Ghufran has joined Siemens Mobility as Director of Asset Management and Assurance for Customer Services. She shares her story

56 Accelerating innovation together

Alan Peters, Ecosystem Director for Rail and Stations at Connected Places Catapult, explains more about the Connected Places Summit

February 2024

5

CONTENTS

60 Gritting before slipping

Railway Chaplain Mike Roberts writes about the importance of the mental health of your staff

64 A decade of supporting supply chain growth globally

Railway Industry Association’s Neil Walker has been promoting the UK rail supply chain all over the world for the last 10 years. He explains more about what they offer and what the year has in store

66 Unlocking new opportunities

How RBD Community members can use the latest update to The UK Rail Report to their advantage

68 Buyer’s Guide 74 RIA: Championing rail supply in 2024, following a difficult year

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of RIA, writes about how he hopes 2024 will be the year we emerge from the chaotic nature of rail policy-making to something more stable, and more geared to a long-term strategy

78 Streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and optimising resources

Gottfried Eymer has been appointed the new Managing Director – Rail at NTS and answers questions about the role and his aims for the future.

80 Movers and Shakers

A round-up of some of the other movers in the rail industry

82 Tom O’Connor 1948-2024

Tom O’Connor has sadly passed away. Nigel Wordsworth looks back on his life and the impact of his work on the railways

February 2024

Image: Department for Transport Tel: 01132 082620 Sales: 020 7062 6599 Editor Danny Longhorn danny@railbusinessdaily.com Designer and Production Manager Debbie Nolan Writers Rosie Crampton Fiona Broomfield Nigel Wordsworth Advertising Team Christian Wiles chrisw@railbusinessdaily.com Amy Hudson amy@railbusinessdaily.com Published by RBDMedia (an asset of the Railway Industry Association) trading address 15 Mariner Court, Calder Park, Wakefield WF4 3FL Printed by The Manson Group © 2024 All rights reserved.

Reproduction of the contents of this magazine in any manner whatsoever is prohibited without prior consent from the publisher. For subscription enquiries and to make sure you get your copy of Rail Director please ring 01132 082620 or email info@railbusinessdaily.com. The views expressed in the articles reflect the author’s opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials and all other content is published in good faith.

6

GOVERNMENT

Rail and HS2 Minister Huw Merriman MP sat down with Rail Director to discuss the government’s plans for the railway over the next five years

Pressing ahead with rail reform O

ne year ago, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper delivered his George Bradshaw Address to the UK Railway industry. He had been in the job for three months following a turbulent period in UK politics, and admitted that his first task had been “listening to the experts, drawing on my experience in government and many years in business, to understand what’s holding back meaningful change and how we move forward.”

He was quite critical of the state of the industry, stating: “The railways need fundamental reform and that is what we will deliver.”

“There’s clearly a lot of frustration in the industry,” he said. “The Plan for Rail has already been announced to the House of Commons in May 2021. So, delivering that policy, moving from the words to action, that is my priority.”

The Transport Secretary added: “It is testament to this industry’s huge economic potential that even amidst a challenging fiscal climate we gave full backing to the £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan.

“The largest single investment ever made in our railways will take HS2 from Euston to Manchester.

Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines.

East West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge.

And that has the Chancellor’s full support.”

Image: Department for Transport

February 2024

7

GOVERNMENT

Move on one year, and much has changed, though probably not in the way that the Secretary of State envisaged. HS2 has been cancelled north of Birmingham and the link to Euston seems to be in doubt. To be fair, Mark Harper and his team at the Department for Transport (DfT) were not involved in that decision. It was sprung on them, and on the industry, by the Prime Minister, who had formulated the plan in discussion with his own private advisers.

Having had no input, the DfT was then left to defend the position.

The Plan for Rail, and the creation of the Great British Railways ‘guiding mind’, has also been delayed, with primary legislation not going to be in place before the General Election later this year, although the plan will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

So, with a lot of change having taken place, Rail Director was pleased to sit down recently with Rail and HS2 Minister Huw Merriman MP to catch up on the latest situation and hear of the government current plans.

Infrastructure The first topic discussed was Network Rail’s Control Period 7 (CP7), which starts on 1 April, and the £47.7 billion of funding that has been allocated (£43.1 billion for England and Wales and £4.6 billion for Scotland).

“It’s an above-inflation increase for Network Rail, which we hope shows the commitment we have to

Image: Railway Industry Association

renewals. We know that the performance on the railway is not good enough at the moment, and the way that will improve is by making sure that the railway infrastructure and the asset is in good order.”

The Minister cited recent well-publicised problems on the Great Western route out of London Paddington as an example – a railway that is not only the main route to the West but now also carries the Elizabeth line out to Reading. Network Rail will be expected to replace life-expired elements of the railway to improve reliability and performance.

February 2024

The railways need fundamental reform and that is what we will deliver

Mark Harper, February 2023

8

GOVERNMENT

Image: Huw Merriman MP Above: The Rail Minster visits the East Coast Digital Programme at Kings Cross. (L-R) Paul Boyle (LNER), Toufic Machnouk (Network Rail), Huw Merriman MP, David Horne (LNER)

We’ve set a very high bar, we expect Network Rail to deliver and I have the utmost faith in Andrew Haines and his team

Image: Huw Merriman MP

There are also plans for introducing new technology. “The whole digital railway is really exciting for us because it means that, by changing the way we do our signalling – signalling that’s coming to a natural end of its lifecycle – we can actually do it differently,” he said. “By having a digital railway, where the trains are talking to each other, rather than the driver having to utilise signalling on these tracks, we believe, and certainly the unions believe, it’s safer for the trains, but also improves capacity as well as reliability.”

The current high levels of inflation, particularly in the construction industry, could restrict some of the work Network Rail is able to carry out as the five-year budget is a fixed sum, so inflation could erode that.

“It’s always a challenge, particularly when we deal with inflation over a period of time, because the railway, by definition, is a longer spending period,” the Minister explained. “So, it’s above inflation when we actually look at it right now for that five-year period.

But of course, we’ve seen what inflation can do to some of our other railway projects over the last couple of years, not least HS2. I recognise the challenge. But I believe that the industry welcomed it as a generous settlement, considering the general constraints on public sector funding.

“We’ve set a very high bar, we expect Network Rail to deliver and I have the utmost faith in Andrew Haines and his team.”

The five-year control period, under which Network Rail is funded, is almost unique in the public sector.

Both Network Rail and the rail unions welcome the certainty that such funding brings.

February 2024

Enhancements Enhancements, the major projects to significantly improve parts of the railway, are not included in the control period funding. They are separately funded by the DfT with agreement from HM Treasury. The last list of approved enhancements, the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP), was published in 2019, when it had been promised to be published annually.

“My predecessors had said it should be published on an annual basis,” the Minister admitted. “But then we’ve had this situation where a lot of the pipeline projects that I would have liked to have seen published and committed to, we were not able to because of the costs of HS2 and the overrun there, and that’s been impactful in terms of our ability to get our pipeline out. Now that £36 billion is being recycled across the rest of the country, there are projects that were on the draft pipeline that I had on my desk, which we have not been able to fund and deliver, which we now have.

“So, if you are the railway industry supply chain, and are looking for a pipeline of projects, which tells you what we’re going to do, where we’re going to do it and what the project is going to be, then you’ve got that enhancements pipeline through Network North. It’s a vast number of projects in England and Wales, looking forward, but I will come back and give a definitive view on the future of the RNEP in a very short timescale.”

Network Rail’s plans for CP7 were, of course, drawn up long before the cancellation of HS2 north of Birmingham was announced. This will cause

9

GOVERNMENT

unforeseen challenges, particularly capacity between Birmingham and Manchester on the West Coast main line, which will have to accommodate paths for an extra five-to-six trains an hour coming off HS2.

“Within the Network North documentation, there’s a commitment for half a billion pounds to be set aside to address this sort of capacity challenge north of Birmingham, once Handsacre junction takes HS2 trains onto the existing West Coast main line,” the Minister explained. “That’s funding that will be used to assess what we can do to address capacity.

“We’re also looking at it from the service specification of HS2 – the length of the trains, for example. We could double up two 200m trains into a 400m train, which we could then split up at Crewe, one going to Liverpool, the other to Manchester, and that’s actually delivered a lot of capacity up to Crewe. So, there are a number of options that we are assessing. We recognise that capacity will be something that we’ll need to account for, but the Network North document did that by allocating some of the funds towards the future capacity needs and challenges.”

Trains The contract for HS2 trains, placed with a consortium of Alstom and Hitachi Rail, was only ever for trains for HS2 Phase 1, so the number will not need adjusting.

However, the Minister confirmed that the trains that will feed onto the West Coast main line and proceed up to Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland will

need to be reassessed, both in terms of number and specification.

Away from HS2, the rolling stock manufacturers have been calling for the government to place more orders for trains before they all run out of work.

“It’s a challenge that I maintain has come about because we’ve modernised our fleet over the last couple of decades. As a result, the average age of our fleet has fallen to around 17 years and, as we’ve got newer stock, it means that there’s fewer requirements on order. We do have some orders out there – for example, on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, there’s an order for 29 with an option for another 26 across the Transpennine Express network. And we’ve also looked to put some other projects out to tender as well.

“The Secretary of State has also written to the ROSCOs (rolling-stock leasing companies) to ask them to come up with ideas and to suggest refurbishment opportunities as well, because what we have now, and we’re very proud of it, is four train manufacturers whereas previously we used to have two. So, it’s not just Alstom and Hitachi, we’ve also got CAF in Newport and Siemens in Goole.”

The Minister is also keen for the UK’s manufacturing plants to export more. Alstom Derby recently supplied monorail cars to Egypt and CAF Newport has an export order for trams and is exploring other possibilities, but more can be done.

Siemens Mobility has a long-term plan to build trains for export at Goole, but Hitachi had to build UK trains in Italy in recent years, due to capacity

Image: Huw Merriman MP

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10

GOVERNMENT

All of our focus, as a UK Government, is on our four train manufacturers, rather than manufacturers outside of the UK Above: Visiting the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme. Huw Merriman MP and TRU Managing Director Neil Holm Below: The Rail Minster promoting exports in Colombia

Image: Huw Merriman MP

constraints in Newton Aycliffe.

Diesel-only trains have to be removed from the network by 2040, so some operators will need a whole new fleet. “Chiltern is a good example of that, and we would like to see an order put to market because Chiltern have got diesels, and particularly the older types of diesels, and they’re coming all the way to London,” Huw Merriman said.

“It’s interesting where we are with technology right now, because that brings us to the whole debate about electrification. If we have trains that are able to charge themselves, you don’t actually need overheads all the way through, overheads being very expensive and intrusive to the railway.

“CAF is now building tri-modes rather than bi-modes, and by delivering something like that, built in Newport, we can export those same trains abroad and become a real trailblazer in this country of green rail technology.”

Some of the recent train fleets bought for UK operators have been manufactured outside the UK, in Switzerland or Spain, as contracts were placed under EU competition rules. Has that changed post-Brexit?

“From the government’s perspective, we are very keen and supportive of our rolling-stock manufacturers,” the Minister replied. “The Secretary of State has been involved in a number of discussions with the rolling stock manufacturers to try and help them in terms of orders being brought to market. So, all of our focus, as a UK Government, is on our four train manufacturers, rather than manufacturers outside of the UK.”

Rail reform

Image: Huw Merriman MP

Having discussed infrastructure and train manufacture, the conversation reverted to rail reform and the establishment of Great British Railways as the guiding mind, as promoted in the Shapps-Williams Plan for Rail.

“Let me break it up into two parts,” said the Minister. “In terms of rail contracts, we’re in a challenging situation right now, where there’s still a really large taxpayer subsidy going on rail operations, suggesting that the private sector can’t deliver it as it

February 2024

used to. In the days of franchising, they would buy a franchise because they were always confident they would get enough money back to make a profit. If the UK taxpayer has put in £32 billion worth of subsidy, then that tells you that profit isn’t there.

“We hope that will come back. I still believe that the answer to how we get more passengers on the railway is the private sector, because they were the ones that doubled passenger numbers over the preceding 20 years before COVID, so they’re the best people to do it again. But asking them to take all of the risk is not something they’re willing to do, because they can’t see the money they can make from it. We therefore have to take some tangible steps to get there without expecting too much from them.

“One of the challenges they gave to me is they would like more commercial freedom. We talked about new contracts, but, because of tendering, it could take up to three years to actually get new contracts in place. So, I said to them: ‘Look, you’ve got existing contracts right now, why don’t you come up with a version of your contract, amend it, and then we can put that amendment into practice?’ And that’s happened over the course of this year.

“As a result, we’ve now got more commercialisation inside the contracts, more incentives for the train operators to do more. And if they do more, they will get rewarded for it.

“In terms of where we are with rail reform, I was really pleased that it was listed in the King’s speech, as it looked for a time as though it wouldn’t be. Before it ends up being put through in legislation, it will undertake what we call pre-legislative scrutiny. We will publish the bill during the first part of this year, it will only have about 12 clauses, and then it will be scrutinised by a cross-party group of MPs, who I believe will give it a clean bill of health.

“I believe there will be cross-party support for having an arm’s length body and integrating track and train. And if we can do that, then it demonstrates it’s ready for legislation.

“I’m determined that we will deliver rail reform, because the key part of rail reform is not legislation.

That’s why there are so few clauses. It’s actually a change management project, and that’s what really excites me. The key part of the legislation is the transfer of the powers to award contracts to train operators from the Secretary of State to Great British Railways.

“The bulk of the rail reform process is actually moving people from the Department of Transport to the new body and moving the powers across as well.

That’s something you don’t need legislation to do, you just need change management. But, in order to demonstrate that change management is actually going to deliver something, you need the legislation to show people that it is happening.”

With a general election looming, will a change in government mean a big change in policy?

“All of the people I speak to in Parliament, no matter what the party, say that the current system doesn’t work. We need rail reform, we need to integrate track and train, and we need a body that’s at arm’s length to do that. So, on that basis, I would expect some form of Great British Railways to be in place no matter who’s in power.”

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Whatever your views on global warming, the UK’s weather is certainly getting wilder and more extreme

We’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not

Dawlish: A storm in February 2014 breached the sea wall and undermined the railway track.

Image: Network Rail

February 2024

13

INFRASTRUCTURE

J

une 2023 was the hottest June on record for the UK, while an early September heatwave saw temperatures exceeding 30°C somewhere in the UK for a run of seven consecutive days, a UK record.

In contrast, in 2023, the UK experienced its sixth wettest March, its sixth wettest July and its equal sixth wettest October since 1836.

Since September, six named storms have hit the UK - Agnes (late September), Babet (mid-October), Ciaran (early November), Debi (mid-November), Elin and Fergus (early December) Gerrit (late December), Henk, Isha and Jocelyn all in January 2024.

This variable weather affects the railway. Hot weather brings buckled rails, sagging overhead wires and lineside fires. Wet weather causes flooding, landslips and wet beds of ballast under the rails, and storms bring strong winds, high tides, fallen trees and garden furniture on the railway. Three major coastal projects have recently been completed – two of them designed to protect the railway and the third to renew infrastructure that had just worn out after decades of constant battering by the elements.

Dawlish sea wall Probably the one with the highest profile is the sea wall at Dawlish in south Devon. On 4 February 2014, storm-force winds, heavy seas and flooding washed away the foundations of 80 metres of track and severely damaged the sea wall, the road that lay just inland of the railway, and Dawlish station, which

had a platform demolished by the waves. All railway access to Plymouth and Cornwall was cut off.

In addition, flooding on the Somerset levels meant that there were temporarily no trains running west of Bridgewater and Castle Cary, though a limited service restarted on 9 November.

Network Rail and a number of contractors, some drafted in from works at Tiverton Parkway in Somerset, hurriedly began to stabilise the damaged section and erect a temporary sea wall made up from shipping containers filled with debris and track ballast. The reason for the rush was a second storm front which struck on 14 February, damaging the temporary repairs.

Contractors BAM Nuttall, Amco and Dyer & Butler, working with designer Tony Gee and Partners, set about repairing the wall again. This time, the cliffs further along the line took a worse knock, bringing debris down to block the line there too.

The route finally reopened on Friday 4 April 2014, eight weeks later. During that time, Network Rail and its contractors had: Built a temporary sea wall from 18 welded shipping containers to protect homes and engineers as they worked to repair a 100-metre breach at Riviera Terrace, Dawlish, following storms on 4 and 14 February.

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Since September, six named storms have hit the UK Removed 25,000 tonnes of collapsed cliff at Woodlands Avenue, Teignmouth, following a landslip on 4 March, using high pressure water cannon, fire hoses, helicopter-borne water bombs, specialist roped access team and ‘spider’ excavators.

Repaired dozens of other sites along a four mile stretch of coastal railway, clearing hundreds of tonnes of debris and repairing over 600 metres of parapet wall.

Rebuilt half of Dawlish station with a new platform, new canopy and repainting throughout with the finishing touches provided by TV gardener, Toby Buckland, and members of the ‘Friends of Dawlish station’.

Installed over 13 miles of new cables, designed and installed a new temporary signalling system and replaced over 700 metres of track and ballast.

14

INFRASTRUCTURE

The work at Dawlish forms part of the £165 million South West Resilience Programme

Below: Dawlish: the new sea wall in a recent storm, the curved return at the top of the wall throws waves back out to sea so they don’t flood the railway.

Image: Network Rail Bottom: In calmer conditions, the new promenade is pleasant for an evening stroll.

Image: Network Rail

Work continued throughout 2014 and into 2015, repairing the sea wall and restoring pedestrian access. The final phase of the project involved building a new wall in front of the existing sea wall between Rockstone and Coastguard footbridges, to provide further protection, and reconstructing the walkway so that its height is level with the sections on either side. The full length of the walkway from Dawlish Warren to Teignmouth reopened in August 2015.

A new wall Storm Emma hit the station and the railway between Dawlish and Dawlish Warren in March 2018.

Although there was no structural damage to the sea wall, and the integrity of the railway itself had not been affected, 10-15 metres of fencing and associated coping stones were damaged, some of which ended up lying on the railway. A substantial amount of ballast was washed across the track along a 150metre length of railway and Dawlish station itself suffered minor damage, with wooden panels and handrails washed onto the track and a small section of the platform damaged.

The only possible permanent solution to the problem would be completely new sea defences, so plans were drawn up, in conjunction with consulting engineers from Arup, for a new, higher sea wall.

In addition, the government invested £15 million to appoint world-leading coastal, tunnel, cliff and railway engineers to undertake detailed marine and geological studies to develop long term resilience plans further.

BAM Nuttall started work in May 2019, initially on a 320-metre section of the sea wall west of Dawlish Water, the river that flows into the sea just west of Dawlish station. The underlying rock was more accessible in this area and would give good anchorage to the new wall, which included several new features.

As well as being higher than the old wall, a curved return at the top would deflect waves back towards the sea rather than allowing them to overtop the wall and flood the railway and footpaths. In addition, a 200mm sacrificial concrete coating on the outer face of the wall would protect it from scour and damage from flying sand and waves, keeping the main sea wall structurally intact under any conditions.

“The wall was designed to manage sea levels one metre above the norm and a beach level one metre lower than normal,” explained BAM Nuttall Project Manager Yan Sayles. So even if the storm washed the beach away, the sea defences would protect the railway, walkways, road and the town.

The first section opened in July 2020. Construction of the 415-metre second section, east of Dawlish Water and protecting the station itself, commenced in November 2020. BAM Nuttall, working with designer Tony Gee and Partners, completed installation of all 164 wall panels, 203 pre-cast blocks and 189 recurve units in August 2022 and attention then turned to the connection between the two phases, complete with a large culvert through which Dawlish Water would flow, and the link bridge over it.

Pedestrian access reopened in February 2023 and the entire project was completed in May. But that’s not the end of the story. The work at Dawlish forms part of the £165 million South West Resilience Programme and further cliff protection work, to deliver two additional phases of the programme, is continuing.

The £34.7-million government-funded project involves installing coir matting on the cliff face, followed by 19,700 square metres of stainless-steel netting, secured by more than 6,000 soil nails drilled to depths of up to 13 metres into the face of the cliff.

Being delivered by BAM Nuttall, sister company BAM Ritchies and CAN Geotechnical to a design by Tony Gee and Partners, work is due to continue until Summer 2024.

A 109-metre-long rockfall protection shelter at the northern end of Parsons Tunnel, near Holcombe, took two years to build and opened in October 2023.

Constructed by Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and made up of 185 pre-cast concrete units, coloured red to match the local sandstone, the new shelter is open on the seaward side so passengers can still enjoy the coastal views while the structure protects the railway from falling rocks and debris from the steep cliffs.

Barmouth challenges While storms on the Devon coast directly damaged the railway, requiring hasty repairs and then a longerterm solution, strong seas and high winds caused

February 2024

15

INFRASTRUCTURE

Holcombe: The new rockfall protection shelter at Parsons tunnel prevents rocks from the cliff above from falling onto the railway. Image: Network Rail

problems for engineers working on a different coastal project in mid Wales.

Commencing in October 2020, the Grade II* listed structure was due to be largely replaced in three phases to reduce disruption to passengers, otherwise the railway would have been shut for almost a year,

including the important summer season.

The bridge crosses the estuary of the Afon Mawddach between Barmouth to the north and Morfa Mawddach in the south. Lying within both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Snowdonia National Park, it carries not only the railway but also

February 2024

pedestrians, bicycles and motorbikes and is part of National Cycle Route 8. It does not carry motor vehicles other than motorcycles.

820 metres long, the bridge was opened by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway in 1867 as part of its line between Aberystwyth and Pwllheli.

16

INFRASTRUCTURE

Above: The sea can still overtop the sea wall between Dawlish and Teignmouth, as this in-cab shot from November 2023 shows.

Image: One Big Circle AVIR Below left: The redundant swing-bridge mechanism has been lowered onto a pontoon on a calm and sunny day.

Image: Network Rail Below right: At other times, nine-knot currents and high winds prevented work from taking place.

Image: Mulholland Media/Alun Griffiths

Whether the weather be fine, Or whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Or whether the weather be hot, We’ll weather the weather Whatever the weather, Whether we like it or not!

Anonymous old English nursery rhyme

Today, it carries the Cambrian line.

699 metres of the bridge is a wooden viaduct with 113 spans supported by trestles, the longest in Wales.

At the northern (Barmouth) end, five metal spans mounted on cast and wrought iron columns cross the deepest part of the channel. Although one of the spans is a swing bridge, which replaced the original drawbridge in 1902, this had not been opened since 1987.

Network Rail announced its intentions to replace the bridge, on an almost like-for-like basis, as part of its works during Control Period 6 (2019-2024).

The £25 million rebuild commenced with the refurbishment of the timber bridge, work that took place in 2020 and 2021.

Rescheduling the work During this time, engineers working for Network Rail and main contractor Alun Griffiths found the bridge to be in a much worse condition than originally anticipated. So as to be able to carry out some crucial additional work, including strengthening the north abutments and upgrading some additional timber elements, while minimising the impact on the local community, the decision was taken to complete the rebuild in two further phases, a shorter one in 2022 and a final closure in autumn 2023.

Each of the metallic spans weighed 160 tonnes.

A plan was devised to assemble new spans on shore

February 2024

and move them into place while the original bridge was still in place. The old structure would then be cut up into sections and lowered onto pontoon barges floating in the river estuary below. Finally, the new hogback trusses would be moved outwards into place and the deck replaced, using parts brought from shore using the same pontoons.

This is where the elements came into play.

The cranes couldn’t lift heavy components in high winds – that is a normal construction-site constraint.

However, the various elements were either being dropped down onto or jacked up from a pontoon that was on a river estuary where water could flow under the bridge at up to nine knots. While the pontoon could be anchored in place, it couldn’t travel to and from the jetty in currents of that speed, so all of the lifts were scheduled for either high or low slack-water tide, when the water was on the turn and so virtually stationary.

That is, except during peak tides, when the high tide was so high that there wasn’t enough clearance under the fixed span of the bridge. At those times, lifts could only be carried out at low water slack as the area under the bridge would dry out. This all demanded a complicated schedule of when lifts could be carried out and when they couldn’t.

These plans could then be disrupted by the weather. At times, winds were so strong that, although relatively calm at the shoreline, it was virtually impossible to stand upright in the centre of the bridge. In the 13 weeks of the final phase of the work, 19 days were lost to the weather. And after a break of a few days, once work could resume, the tides had moved on as well, throwing the schedule out.

Engineers therefore had to continually monitor the weather – there was a weather station installed on the bridge itself as well as one on either shore – and then replan the schedule to take account of it.

It was all hard and complicated work. Including the fourth phase, which hadn’t been part of the original plan, the cost of the project increased to £30 million.

But Network Rail, Alun Griffiths, permanent and temporary works designer Tony Gee and Partners and a host of other contractors weathered the storm and returned the finished Barmouth bridge back into service on Saturday 2 December 2023. Seven days later, Storm Elin arrived, bringing wind speeds of up to 70mph to Snowdonia.

But that didn’t affect the newly rebuilt Barmouth bridge, which rode out the storm perfectly.

17

ADVERTORIAL

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A D&O insurance policy provides coverage for what is often coined as any “wrongful act”. This generally

means a breach of duty, falsification, misleading statement, negligent act, error or omission committed or attempted as part of their duties as a director or officer of the business.

There are three heads of cover under the policy. Cover for the directors/ management, the corporate entity and for employment tribunals (called Employment Practices Liability).

A key reason that our rail clients buy this policy is the risk of regulators investigating and personally prosecuting the directors/ management involved for breach of the law arising from a serious accident on the railway, whether fatal or not. The personal nature of the charge exposes the personal wealth of the individual in question, as without insurance they must fund their own legal defence.

As a recent example, an OLE Linesman suffered terrible lifechanging electric shock injuries after touching a 25,000-volt live wire.

There were many contributing factors including alleged failures of the safety critical staff employed to prevent such an accident.

The respective D&O policies provided expert legal defence to the various businesses and individuals involved, from the moment that they were contacted by the police and rail regulators investigating the accident and throughout the process, up to the point of court prosecution. That accident involved labour agencies, an OTP company, a Tier 2 contractor, and a major Tier 1 PCL.

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18

ADVERTORIAL

Graham Dunning, the Head of Planning at SEP Rail Services, sheds light on the pivotal role of meticulous planning and the round-the-clock support that significantly diminishes potential risks

Counting the cost: The risks of inadequate planning on rail projects

R

ecognising the implications of inadequate planning extends beyond the immediate operational risks; it also introduces potentially severe consequences in the unfortunate event of accidents.

“Ensuring every staff member returns home safely after each shift is our overriding goal. We firmly believe that this starts with comprehensive planning and thorough preparation,” Graham emphasised.

The Office of Rail and Road reported that during the period from April 2022 to March 2023, a concerning 4,251 workforce injuries were documented across the main line network, an increase of 29 injuries compared with the

previous year. While it is impossible to foresee every conceivable risk, a meticulous and dedicated planning process can effectively predict and mitigate a substantial number of potential issues before any personnel set foot on site.

“By implementing Network Rail Sentinel training throughout the SEP Rail Services workforce, our commitment to Network Rail’s Lifesaving Rules: ‘never undertake any job unless you have been trained and assessed as competent’, is at the heart of every decision we take” Graham commented.

Bringing almost a century of combined on-track experience, the SEP Rail Services planning team draws on their unique knowledge and expertise to meticulously plan and execute all internal works.

February 2024

The complete absence of on-track incidents at the company speaks volumes, with zero incidents reported

20

ADVERTORIAL

Graham, who has been an integral part of SEP Rail Services for nearly three years, boasts a rail career spanning two decades. Starting as a Trackman, he has navigated through a diverse range of experiences to reach his current position.

Speaking about the team at SEP Rail Services, Graham affirmed: “Throughout my years working across various teams and specialisms, I have never encountered a workforce so dedicated to safety. The complete absence of on-track incidents at the company speaks volumes, with zero incidents reported.

“Our team possesses extensive experience in S&T, P-Way, Overhead Line Equipment, Civils, Vegetation, and Geotechnical, among many more. All members of the planning team hold a range of Network Rail approved competencies too, which provide the building blocks for our in-house procedures.”

As a RISQS-accredited company, SEP Rail Services comprehends the significance of implementing around-the-clock planning procedures to maximise the impact of its operations.

Prioritising lives “The primary reason for prioritising safety lies in the potential risk to human life. On-track machines and plant are colossal pieces of equipment. Accidents and mishaps can result in severe injuries or fatalities for passengers, rail workers, and pedestrians.”

Explained Graham Given the diverse range of tasks undertaken, all employees, from train operators to maintenance personnel, confront a myriad of risks.

Exposure to moving trains or plant, electrical hazards, and the risk of falling from heights – all potential hazards are meticulously considered.

Through consistent training, behavioural safety discussions, challenging conversations, and the provision of proper personal protective equipment (PPE), the company works tirelessly to ensure that everyone returns home safely.

Considering the extensive rail infrastructure at play – tracks, signals, switches, overhead lines, conductor rails, and level crossings - any failure in these components could lead to a potential accident.

Accurate planning, regular maintenance, and thorough inspections are vital components, coupled with strict adherence to all safety protocols necessary to uphold the integrity of the rail network.

The economic impact of railway safety Beyond the immeasurable value placed on human lives, the impact of railway safety extends to profound economic considerations. Accidents within the railway system can precipitate substantial financial losses, encompassing damages to infrastructure and trains, expenses related to compensations, and protracted legal disputes.

While the upfront investment in safety measures, regular maintenance, and ongoing training might seem substantial, the long-term advantages significantly outweigh the costs.

Network Rail’s Lifesaving Rules: ‘never undertake any job unless you have been trained Continuing onto the worksite and assessed as By introducing the ‘Close Calls’ application, SEP Rail Services has established a customised system competent’, is at for promptly reporting on-site hazards, incidents, and near misses. the heart of every “Team members now possess the capability to generate a comprehensive incident log, decision we take incorporating photos and statements for meticulous

This scenario aligns with the age-old adage that “prevention is better than cure,” emphasising the wisdom of prioritising proactive measures to avert potential disasters over reactive and often more expensive remedies.

A commitment to railway safety is not just a moral imperative but also a sound economic decision that safeguards lives and underpins the stability of the entire transportation ecosystem.

checks and subsequent follow-up procedures. This proactive approach has resulted in the submission of over two hundred close call reports in the year 2023.” Graham explained.

“This proactive approach not only enhances our commitment to safety but also cultivates a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring that lessons learned from each close call contribute to the ongoing refinement of our work processes, ultimately creating a safer and more secure worksite environment.”

He concluded: “Prioritising safety is an ongoing journey, however through meticulous planning, considering the varied hazards that are present across all sites, we ensure that SEP Rail Services’ workforce go home at the end of every shift”.

February 2024

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22

CHRISTMAS WORKS

Over Christmas and New Year, from late on Friday 22 December until early on Wednesday 3 January, Network Rail and its contractors delivered £127 million of renewals and maintenance work, spread over 1,714 possessions

The 12 days of Christmas

Mirfield Station.

Image: Network Rail

February 2024

23

CHRISTMAS WORKS

DWWP RED-Ranked Projects Dundee S&C Refurb Scotland Soddom (Craigentinny) PLTR Scotland Greenhill Upper S&C Renewal Scotland Greenhill Jn Signalling Scotland Craigendoran Signalling Life-Extension Works Scotland Oxenholme PLTR North West & Central Cairnryan

Bolton Le Sands PLTR North West & Central Ardwick Station Footbridge North West & Central Ardwick Signal Structures Refurb North West & Central Lichfield Trent Valley Bridge North West & Central

Ilkeston

Stratford OLE Renewal Eastern Kennet Loop S&C Complete Renewal Wales & Western

Fishguard & Goodwick

West Drayton Track Renewal – Up Main Wales & Western Frome - North Row Underbridge Wales & Western HS2 Old Oak Common Wales & Western

H

owever much travel patterns have changed, with an increase in leisure travel and a decrease in business and season-ticket journeys, the Christmas period is still the best time for Network Rail to undertake maintenance and renewals that need the railway to be closed for a period of time.

The entire rail network is closed on Christmas Day, while reduced levels of service run on some lines on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. It is therefore quite possible to take a 54-hour blockade – from 11pm on Christmas Eve until 5am on 27 December – and deliver track renewals, bridge replacements and other work that would otherwise take weeks with normal access. It doesn’t even inconvenience many passengers.

For major projects, those 54 hours can be stretched by another 24 hours or so without causing much disruption, and then engineers can take another day or two over New Year.

On the downside, the weather can sometimes cause problems – heavy rain or even snow can stop work and high winds can cause difficulties when lifting bridge beams and structures into place, but Christmas is still a good time for railway engineers to accomplish jobs they have been waiting all year to carry out.

It all takes meticulous planning. Because Christmas is such a busy time, labour, road-rail plant, and materials can be in short supply. So, holiday arrangements with in-house staff have to be negotiated, contingent labour and plant prebooked,

and materials ordered and stockpiled. Plant-hire companies have to service their equipment, as almost all of it will be in use and breakdowns will be embarrassing and potentially expensive.

Planners also have to consider the ramifications of things going wrong. Overruns can stop the railway reopening as planned, so complex projects may have provision for decision-making built into them, giving time for a project to be curtailed before it leads to a late handback.

Following a series of well-publicised delays and overruns over Christmas 2007, Network Rail introduced its mandatory Delivering Works Within Possessions (DWWP) process in 2009 and has improved and updated it ever since. Project planning teams follow a structured set of actions and checklists to ensure that they are ready to deliver their work on the railway and that any risks to a right-time handback have been considered.

At a national level, Network Rail starts to hold formal deliverability reviews from 20 weeks before Christmas (and other bank holiday weekends). These take place every four weeks in the run-up to Christmas Eve, with final reviews taking place in the last week.

Contingency plans are put in place and shared with project teams and contractors. Complex infrastructure renewals or enhancements that are deemed to carry a greater risk of possession overrun and/or a more significant impact in the event of an overrun are classified RED and are planned with even more care.

Over Christmas 2023, from Friday 22

February 2024

Skelton to Benningbrough PLTR Eastern Micklefield to Church Fenton Eastern (TRU) Church Fenton to Colton Eastern (TRU) Mirfield Station PLTR Eastern (TRU) Ferrybridge to Goole Resignalling Eastern South Kirkby Resignalling Eastern Doncaster Station S&C Eastern Dore South Bridge Eastern (TRU) Welwyn to Hitchin East Coast Digital Programme Eastern Cambridge Interlocking Re-Signalling Eastern Cambridge South New Station Eastern Beaulieu Park New Station Eastern West Hampstead PSB Recontrol Eastern Kentish Town Road Bridge Eastern Kingsbury Road Bridge Demolition Eastern Barking London End S&C Renewal Eastern Clapham High Street S&C (Voltaire Road) Southern

From our supply chain partners to colleagues across Network Rail - the Christmas period is always busy, and 2023 was no exception!

Andrew Haines Chief Executive Network Rail

24

CHRISTMAS WORKS

Months of rigorous preparation for the engineering work over Christmas has been successfully delivered as planned and the railway reopened on schedule to passenger and freight services

Beaulieu Park. Image: J Murphy & Sons

Katie Frost, Route Director Network Rail Anglia December until Wednesday 3 January, Network Rail and its contractors delivered work to the value of £127 million. In total, 1,714 possessions took place, with 32 projects being identified as RED under DWWP. Of these, 99.5 per cent were handed back on time, a moderate improvement upon performance during previous Christmas and New Year periods.

Of the many successful projects that were completed, a few of the more significant were: The complete renewal of Voltaire Road Junction in the Clapham Junction area of South London, delivering renewed assets but also enabling future Victoria area resignalling works to proceed.

Plain-line track renewals (PLTR) delivered at seven key locations across the country where access is infrequent yet the importance of reliable track assets is critical.

Completion of significant enabling phases of work at the sites of new stations at Beaulieu Park and Cambridge South.

Replacement of Lichfield Trent Valley Platform 3, a structure which spans the busy West Coast main line on the Trent Valley route.

Key signalling renewal stages for the Cambridge, Ferrybridge to Goole and South Kirkby resignalling schemes on Eastern region.

Recontrol of West Hampstead Power Signal Box on the Midland main line.

Despite all the careful planning, eight serviceimpacting possession overruns occurred, two of which were linked to delivery of a major RED scheme. Of the others, three only overran by single-figure numbers of minutes (three, four and seven minutes).

The most significant possession overrun occurred in the Orpington area in Kent where, while maintaining switches and crossings (S&C), the

team encountered difficulties when installing new closure rails during the final stages of the work. This resulted in 1,586 delay minutes on the morning of 27 December, inconveniencing passengers using Southeastern services in the area.

The two possession overruns linked to the delivery of RED schemes occurred at Oxenholme (North West & Central), where 35 delay minutes were incurred following a road-rail vehicle (RRV) failure and equipment breakdowns during the course of the work, and at Barking (Eastern), where 34 delay minutes were incurred following a 21-minute possession overrun resulting from complications during the possession handback process unrelated to the content of work taking place.

The work at West Hampstead Power Signal Box (Eastern) is not included in those statistics, as the recontrol work was handed back on time. However, an unidentified signalling data design issue resulted in an inability to signal trains on part of the new West Hampstead workstation, which caused notable and widespread disruption across Midland main line and Thameslink services and incurred approximately 5,000 delay minutes on 27 December. The fault was subsequently identified and rectified during the course of that day, but work is underway to understand the exact nature of the issue.

The vast majority of the work was delivered completely safely. In fact, there were only two losttime accidents. A worker on the TRU Hope Valley Capacity Improvement Project worksite tripped on ballast and broke an arm, while a manual-handling injury was incurred on the Old Oak Common drainage worksite. This was deemed to be a minor injury and, following appropriate treatment, the injured person returned to work on the next shift.

No environmental incidents were reported and there was a total of only four general incidents/close calls across the country.

Eastern region TRU Network Rail’s Eastern region, which stretches from London to the Scottish border and includes both the East Coast and Midland main lines and all of East

February 2024

Anglia, was the busiest region over Christmas, with 17 major projects in the portfolio.

Three of the largest were on the eastern section of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), which is enhancing and rebuilding the railway between Manchester and York – the whole project, even at the Manchester end, is classified as being under Eastern region. Despite difficult weather conditions, engineering teams worked between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York to: Replace an important set of points just outside of York and renew the associated signalling.

Replace and upgrade the track through Mirfield.

Decommission and partial demolition of Platform 2 at Mirfield station.

Install a new under-track crossing at Huddersfield station.

While the above took place, extensive piling and electrification work was completed across various sections of the route, alongside signalling and telecommunication equipment testing.

Work went well, though an unexpected train movement on Christmas Day caused some excitement and a flat battery on a tamper delayed possession handback by six minutes.

The Hope Valley Railway Upgrade, which relieves historic bottlenecks between Manchester and Sheffield, also witnessed substantial upgrades, notably the replacement of a bridge deck on the Sheffield side of Dore and Totley station. Crayfish became an issue here, with provision having to be made for the protected species, and this was also the site of the trip accident and resulting broken arm, as mentioned earlier. However, all planned works were delivered with nothing having to be curtailed.

Network Rail Managing Director for the TRU Upgrade Neil Holm said: “Some fantastic work has taken place over the festive period in very tough weather conditions. I’m really proud of everyone who

25

CHRISTMAS WORKS

played their part to get the jobs over the line. These achievements allow us to continue with a number of major upgrades this year, continuing TRU’s progress and bringing us closer to fast, greener and more reliable electric trains running between Manchester and York.”

Mirfield. Image: Network Rail

New stations in Anglia Eastern region is also the site of two new stations, at Cambridge South and Beaulieu Park, and work on those progressed over the Christmas period.

At Cambridge South, a new track alignment was brought into operation, allowing train services to be diverted around an area of construction of the station platforms. 1.54km of track was realigned into the new loop line, along with 1.7lm of overhead contact and catenary wires. 11 OLE (overhead electrification equipment) masts and five portals were installed and nearly 3km of new plain-line track and its accompanying OLE were commissioned.

At the same time, as part of a larger programme of investment, the Cambridge resignalling team installed signal gantries and associated signalling equipment between Cambridge and Ely. This included four new signals and one signal gantry along with 4km of fibre-optic cable and 3km of power cable.

At Beaulieu Park Station, work continued on the construction of a new station. Supporting infrastructure upgrades also continued between Chelmsford and Hatfield Peverel, on the Great Eastern main line, to support the new housing

development in the Beaulieu Park area of Chelmsford.

Once again, new track was brought into use to allow trains to divert around the area of construction while the new station building work continues.

Elsewhere on the Great Eastern, 1,000 metres of overhead wiring was renewed at Stratford, completing the last stage of overhead wire renewals in this location that had previously missed delivery due to lack of access opportunities. A set of track points

was also renewed at Stratford to improve reliability.

To renew infrastructure and prevent the application of an emergency speed restriction (ESR) due to the poor condition of the current asset, points and crossovers were replaced at Barking along with several short lengths of plain track and the associated signalling and OLE. Gullies and gutters were cleared in the tunnel at Ipswich, to maintain drainage, while 300 metres

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26

CHRISTMAS WORKS

of rail and 392 baseplates were renewed at the same time.

Kingsbury Road bridge in Islington, which had come to the end of its useful life and had been closed to motor traffic due to its loss of structural stability, was demolished over the Christmas period. A new structure was subsequently installed on the weekend of 27 and 28 January and the bridge will reopen by summer 2024.

Up the East Coast The East Coast Digital Programme includes the resignalling of Welwyn Garden City, Langley Junction, and Hitchin South and Hitchin North interlockings, which control the section of the East

Passenger numbers are a lot lower around the Christmas period which is why we try to pack as much work in as possible and reduce disruption

Ellie Burrows Managing Director Network Rail Southern

Coast main line from just north of Hatfield station to just south of Biggleswade station. Over the holiday period, major track work was undertaken along with the installation of 317 balises and 16 axle counters.

And 6km of route works (including troughing install, cables away, lids installed, split ducting install) were delivered and 2km of new cable installed.

Major work to six sets of S&C (switches and crossings) took place on the down line at Doncaster station, with the layout being replaced like-for-like with its modern equivalent while the associated signalling and OLE was upgraded. All planned work was carried out with no accidents or incidents, and the track was handed back on time and at line speed.

Between Skelton and Beningbrough, engineering teams installed almost a mile of new track and ballast, replacing life-expired components prone to failure. The failure of a bulldozer during bottom-ballast installation meant that 365 metres could only be skimmed so as to catch up the three-hour delay. As a result of this pragmatic decision, the possession was handed back half an hour early at 07:46 on 27 December.

Several sets of life-expired S&C were replaced at York station, while signalling was upgraded, and an OLE non-compliance rectified. Points heating was also replaced and tested.

The renewals theme continued around Ferrybridge and Goole, where S&C was installed and commissioned and new equipment fitted at Castleford signal box. Signalling and telecoms work was undertaken at South Kirkby, with cable terminations being carried out in areas that can only be accessed during possessions.

On the Midland main line, the overbridge at Kentish Town is being strengthened. The bridge consists of three spans made up of a total of 10 distinct decks. Included in the scope are steelwork repairs, concrete repairs, repainting existing steelwork and casting a new concrete slab over an existing slab. Over the Christmas period, bridge deck 2 of the 10-deck structure was prepped and painted. OLE bridge arm supports were replaced, and a limited amount of secondary insulation clipped to the OLE Voltaire Road. Image: Network Rail

through spans 1 (fasts) and 2 (Slow/Relief).

West Hampstead Power Signal Box was commissioned in 1979. Its NX signalling control panels are approaching end-of-life and becoming increasingly unreliable. There are no new spares available for the system. A project is underway to move control from the current life-expired NX panels to a new Siemens WestCad control system.

During the festive season, commissioning took place that successfully transferred control from an NX panel to WestCad workstations, covering the area from St Pancras buffer stops to Bedford North Junction, a distance of approximately 80km.

This included bringing control of St Pancras High Level back from Three Bridges ROC to West Hampstead PSB.

Southern Voltaire Road Junction is located on the five-track DC-electrified section of track between Wandsworth Road and Clapham High Street stations, approximately 3km from Victoria. Planned works were to renew the junction that consisted of 13 S&C units and the recovery of a switch diamond (replaced by a fixed diamond).

Associated with the S&C renewal was 1,000 metres of plain line and conductor rail. Five new location cases to facilitate the new points operating equipment were also installed and the site was handed back on time and at line speed.

Work to upgrade the 1980s signalling system between Herne Hill and Nunhead into London Victoria station also continued and it will be ready to come into use around late December 2024.

At London Victoria station, engineers continued installing new ticket gates to reduce gateline crowding and speed up journeys. Passengers will see a phased introduction of the new ticket gates and the wider project will be completed by summer 2024.

Further work included installing additional blocks alongside the railway to strengthen the cutting and protect the railway from falling debris and landslips between Hurst Green and Uckfield.

In Wessex, engineers worked around the clock to upgrade signalling in the Southampton area on the line between Southampton Airport Parkway and Brockenhurst, and between St Denys and Fareham.

As part of this work, over 12,000 metres of life-expired cable were replaced with modern multicore cables which will extend the life of the signalling equipment for the next 50 years.

Work continued to stabilise the landslip between Woking and Brookwood by installing further piles to strengthen the cutting, and the line between Guildford and Petersfield was closed while engineers continued upgrading the signalling system as part of the wider Portsmouth Direct Upgrade programme.

Wales and Western Work took place right across the Wales and Western region over the Christmas and New Year period. In Cornwall, engineers tested signals that had been installed in November, ahead of a new digitalised system coming into operation later in the spring, while teams in south Devon drilled soil nails into the cliffs to help protect the tracks between Dawlish and

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CHRISTMAS WORKS

Ashley Down Station.

Image: Network Rail

Holcombe, improving the resilience of the railway.

Meanwhile, in Bristol, teams installed an accessible footbridge at the new Ashley Down station, which is due to open later this year.

In West London, four days of preparatory work on the access to the conventional station that will serve as an interchange with HS2 was successfully completed on time during a planned closure of the line between Ealing Broadway and London Paddington.

The work included installing new drainage plus 1,200 metres of OLE wiring. One manual handling injury

South Devon.

Image: Network Rail

was sustained, and all staff were briefed on how this work should be carried out. The injured person returned to work on their next shift.

More than 800 metres of track was renewed at West Drayton, near Slough, over the same period.

During the work, engineers discovered several wet beds that had not previously been identified. These were removed as a supplement to the planned work and the site was returned on time at the planned 80mph.

A total of 680 metres of track and four sets of points were renewed over eight days on the Kennet Loop,

Lichfield Trent Valley Image: Network Rail

February 2024

near Reading, to improve reliability. Points operating equipment was also renewed. Work trains passing through the site en route to other projects caused some delay, but all works were delivered as planned.

At Frome, Somerset, engineers repaired North Row bridge, fitting a new timber deck and replacing 170 metres of track over 10 days to improve performance and reliability for freight trains. There had been a 10mph temporary speed restriction in place due to the condition of the bridge – this has now been removed as a result of the works.

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CHRISTMAS WORKS

The essential work our engineers completed over the festive period will help us to continue to run a safe and reliable railway for years to come Stuart Calvert Capital Delivery Director Network Rail Wales and Western

In Wales, teams removed and replaced track around Grangetown, Cardiff, while vital bridge repairs were carried out at Shrewsbury station between 24 and 27 December.

Vital maintenance on the Ebbw Vale line and in the Severn Tunnel was carried out over the weekend of 30-31 December.

Stuart Calvert, Network Rail’s Capital Delivery Director for Wales and Western region, said: “The essential work our engineers completed over the festive period will help us to continue to run a safe and reliable railway for years to come.

“Undertaking this work when there are fewer people travelling helps to keep disruption for passengers to a minimum. However, we are grateful to passengers and local residents living near to our worksites for their patience and understanding as we worked around the clock while trains were not running.

“The festive period is a really critical time for us to make vital upgrades to the railway and completing this volume of engineering work is no mean feat, so I’d also like to thank the many colleagues from Network Rail who gave up Christmas with their friends and families so we could complete these upgrades for the benefit of our passengers.”

North West and Central A 365 metre section of the 125mph Up Main West Coast main line at Bolton Le Sands was renewed over the Christmas period. This piece of track was

February 2024

classified as life-expired, and the immediate benefits of this bank holiday track renewal will be a large reduction in maintenance requirements for this previously problematic area, allowing the maintainer to concentrate on other areas.

During the course of the work, the drainage associated with a local level crossing was damaged by a bulldozer, which required the closure of the crossing for the following week. Upon inspection, it was found that the crossing, once removed, was too dangerous to be reinstated due to its condition. Repairs were subsequently made, allowing the crossing to reopen a week later.

Plain track was also replaced at Oxenholme station. The bank holiday extended access was utilised to allow the whole of the platform length (323 metres) to be delivered at once to prevent gauging issues and minimise future disruption to passengers and freight. The possession overran by 77 minutes (35 delay minutes incurred) due to RRV breakdowns, equipment failures and logistical issues on site – a road-rail vehicle came into contact with the OLE in the platform area while loading sleepers onto a train.

There was no damage to the OLE, but the crane controller and driver were stood down and re-briefed before returning to work.

Structural renewal and signalling works were carried out across nine signals in the Manchester Piccadilly and Ardwick areas, including the renewal of droppers and conversion of signal heads to LEDs. The new assets will require less maintenance, allowing

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CHRISTMAS WORKS

Bolton Le Sands. Image: Network Rail

The festive period is a critical time when we can carry out these huge projects while fewer trains are running. Completing this amount of work in such a short space of time is a huge challenge

Jeremy Spence Route Delivery Director Network Rail Scotland

for a reduced maintenance workload.

Also at Ardwick, the station footbridge, which was in a dilapidated condition, was replaced. The footbridge is the sole means of access to the station platforms, meaning that any repair would be prolonged and disruptive to passengers. The least disruptive and most efficient solution was to renew the asset in its entirety, utilising the Christmas access.

High-level Platform 3 at Lichfield Trent Valley station serves the Cross City line and is also the pedestrian walkway/overbridge between Platforms 1 and 2 for the West Coast main line. The structure was in very poor condition and had to undergo emergency works in May 2022. Platform 3 was then removed in July 2023 when the steel/concrete framework with asbestos-filled panels was demolished.

Over Christmas, the structure was scheduled for replacement, upgrading it to a compliant width and incorporating the use of GRP elements, which should result in less onerous and regular maintenance. The programme fell behind during the core possession due to issues lining and levelling the platform once the sections had been lifted into position. As a result, the project had to curtail some activities so as to hand both lines back on time on 27 December at 04:30.

The Cross City line had no trains planned until 30 December, so some of the remaining activities (CCTV, lighting etc) were completed under line blocks so the platform could open with contingent measures for the first train on 30 December. There was no operational impact on services on either the lower or upper-level stations.

Scotland A multi-million-pound programme of engineering upgrades was completed across Scotland over the festive period, delivered by Network Rail and its contractors to improve reliability and punctuality for passengers and freight customers.

Greenhill, near Falkirk, is a critical junction on the Edinburgh to Glasgow main line. Greenhill Upper Junction was modernised over eight days as engineers replaced the junction (11 point ends) and around 900 metres of track.

The Greenhill Signalling Resilience Project involved the renewal of life-expired assets and re-lock of the existing Greenhill GEC Geographical Interlocking

Haymarket. Image: Network Rail

February 2024

with a full trackside Computer Based Interlocking.

This was achieved by installing a new Westlock with WTS (Westrace Trackside System) and by extending the existing Larbert Westlock which will interface to the Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC) scalable control system.

Works were planned to incorporate the delivery of an associated enhancement at Carmuirs West, renewal of train detection equipment on the Stepps lines and support the integrated delivery of the remodelling of Greenhill Upper Junction.

In Edinburgh, the Rail System Alliance Scotland (Network Rail/Babcock/Arcadis) replaced almost 2km of track on the East Coast main line at Craigentinny. New drainage systems were installed at Princes Street Gardens and Haymarket station.

Dundee station saw one of its critical junctions replaced, improving reliability on the East Coast route. A critical set of points that allows trains to commence/terminate in Platform 1, this frequently used set of S&C had come to the end of its service life and the local maintainer had advised that it was beyond maintenance intervention. Network Rail Works Delivery Scotland was engaged to design, procure, and install new S&C panels and points operating equipment, as well as to renew the ballast via a full dig and replenish it with fresh top stone.

The Helensburgh area saw a signalling system upgrade that will help the busy North Clyde and West Highland line services run to time. The Craigendoran Signalling Life Extension works is also implementing visual miniature stop lights for users of pedestrian level crossings. The project, which will also extend the lifespan of the cabling, signalling equipment and CCTV in the lineside area, was handed back at 03:22 on 3 January, two hours early.

Elsewhere in Scotland, engineers demolished three bridges at Hairmyres in South Lanarkshire as the £140 million Scottish Government-funded East Kilbride Enhancement Project got underway. This will see the Glasgow to East Kilbride route upgraded and electrified, enabling greener electric trains to be introduced.

In Glasgow, teams worked over Christmas and New Year to carry out maintenance and repairs in the tunnels between Partick and Glasgow Queen Street, first built in 1886, almost 140 years ago.

Jeremy Spence, Route Delivery Director, Network Rail Scotland, said: “I’m delighted to see our £15 million programme of investment over the festive period has been completed on time. These essential upgrades will improve the railway for passengers and freight customers.

“The festive period is a critical time when we can carry out these huge projects while fewer trains are running. Completing this amount of work in such a short space of time is a huge challenge, so I want to thank my many colleagues from Network Rail and our contractors for giving up their Christmas to help us to improve Scotland’s Railway.”

Overall, it was a successful Christmas and New Year period for Network Rail and its contractors. 1,714 possessions delivered £127 million of work in 12 days.

There were two minor accidents, no environmental mishaps, and eight overruns.

Now to start planning for Easter…

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32

ADVERTORIAL

Founded in 2020, Epion Consulting works to enable successful business change. Co-Director Ruth Tank explains how a one-size-fits-all approach could alienate frontline workers – and why considering their needs is key

All change: Why Epion Consulting puts frontline workers first W

hen it comes to business change, senior leaders usually set the agenda.

And, if they consider the needs of employees, it’s often the ‘knowledge workers’ – office staff and supporting functions, whose roles and responsibilities tend to be consistent across organisations.

But what about frontline workers – the employees building, maintaining, and operating our railways?

Their roles and needs are varied, and all too easy to overlook during the change management process.

Change is too often simply imposed on these key staff members, who may fail to engage with it as a result.

That’s according to Epion Consulting – and it’s an issue the firm is working to address. Led by Directors Ruth Tank and Nick Smith, it takes a different approach to change – one with frontline workers at its heart.

Ruth and Nick work closely with rail organisations, enabling change and ensuring that those impacted (particularly, on the frontline) can embrace and embed it.

“We’ve identified a significant gap at the frontline engagement level,” explained Ruth, who began her consulting career as a change communications specialist, before moving into strategic change, change management, and change leadership.

“Many organisations will go in and work with the senior leadership team or office staff. But they don’t often get out to frontline workers, making an effort to understand their challenges, priorities, and dayto-day working lives.

“What that means is that when new technologies or changes to ways of working are rolled out, they’re often not adopted by those users. And if they are, the process of ensuring it happens can be disrespectful and unempathetic.”

Using its ‘5 Es’ methodology, Epion Consulting helps rail organisations (including TOCS and infrastructure managers) to manage and implement change more effectively. This might mean supporting them as they replace legacy technology, or enabling them to modernise business processes. And, unlike other consultancies, the firm starts with frontline workers.

Ruth explained: “Our emphasis is on getting out there and understanding what makes their roles

Ruth Tank, Co-Director

Nick Smith, Founder & Co-Director

unique. Our team will visit depots and talk to people coming off the night shift. They say, ‘Wow, you’re coming to talk to us? To understand our problems and how we actually work?’

“What this results in is greater success. Frontline workers have a better experience of the project and are more likely to engage. And leadership teams get a better return on investment, because people are using their new technology or process as intended.”

Once onsite, Ruth and Nick’s growing team often identify blockers to change. “We think about what matters to frontline teams,” Ruth added. “If you’re working trackside, you care about getting home on time, being paid accurately, and good working conditions. We once went to a remote location where the fridge didn’t work, and took that finding back to leadership, explaining that people wouldn’t engage with the project if they couldn’t even make a cup of tea.

“Wi-Fi can also be an issue, especially if people are out on the railways rather than in a central location.

What are the implications of that? How will they access the new system?”

These findings help Epion Consulting to design successful interventions – and, crucially, to equip their clients with the right communications approach.

“You need to create comms that speak to the

individual needs of employees – what do they care about, and how will the solution make their lives easier?” said Ruth – who, along with experienced change professional Nick, oversees projects personally. “Then there’s the upskilling piece, and learning best practice. Perhaps employees have one shared desktop at their base. Are they going to queue up to do e-learning at the end of the day, or could training be delivered during the manager’s briefing?”

This empathic, respectful approach is part of Ruth and Nick’s broader vision – to live their values. Epion Consulting is already net zero across Scopes 1 and 2, and recently signed the Women in Rail/Rail Industry Association EDI Charter. Creating a healthy, peoplefocused organisational culture is also a priority for experienced leader Ruth, who has been working to drive transformational change for over 15 years.

“While we’re set to grow over the next six – 12 months, and have a growing team of talented consultants, it won’t be growth for growth’s sake,” she concluded. “We’re looking to grow so we can create a really healthy and rewarding working culture for our people and do great work for our clients – always with their best interests in mind.”

For more information, visit https://www.epion.co.uk/.

February 2024

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34

ADVERTORIAL

Vogelsang’s Wayne Carrington explains how there is nothing bog standard about the company’s wastewater management systems for passengers trains

Cleaning up the UK railway’s toilets

P

assenger transportation is a timecritical business with punctuality and cleanliness vital for the more than a billion annual rail passengers in Great Britain. The disposal of wastewater from on-board toilet tanks and refilling with fresh water therefore has to be done quickly, reliably, and safely. A failure to do so won’t just upset train passengers, but could also lead to financial penalties.

Ensuring that isn’t the case is pump and machinery manufacturer Vogelsang UK. Wastewater management systems for passenger trains is its bread and butter, with its TUnit CET pump system, BioUnits and MobileUnits used at train care depots and platforms across the UK. Its products are not only designed for high performance, but also to ensure reliable operation.

“It might not be the most glamorous job in the world, but what we do is essential in keeping trains running and clean, which is why we pride ourselves on being the best at what we do which is taking human effluent off the trains and putting it down the sewers

and putting water back into the train,” said Wayne Carrington, National Account Manager. “The way we do it is different to other companies and we are very thorough when engineering solutions for applications.

“We not only develop extremely functional components and entire systems that ensure longterm, trouble-free and economical operation – but they also have to be easy to handle. Both the production and the material quality of our machines are testimony to how seriously we take our responsibility to our customers. Their adaptability and changeability enhance efficiency, optimise performance and increase sustainability.”

Vogelsang offers individual solutions for stationary service systems, starting with small ones (single point solutions) up to larger train treatment systems (multipoint systems). Among its most popular products are the standalone systems for train care depots and service stations.

The compact systems equipped with rotary lobe pumps from Vogelsang cover the whole scope of

February 2024

wastewater disposal and fresh water supply and can be installed directly on the service platform and all have integrated water and wastewater connectors.

An optional heating system and thermal insulation down to temperatures of -25°C ensure continued operation when temperatures drop. They also feature a specially developed non-drip coupling to ensure there are no spillages.

Explaining more about its TUnit SP, Wayne said: “The vacuum and water hoses are mounted to a T-shaped mast at the TUnit SP service point. The automatic hose retraction mechanism guarantees the maximum usage range and keeps the hoses manageable. The time-controlled hygienic rinsing makes sure that the fresh water facilities are cleaned regularly and the integrated pump of the TUnit SP can also operate an additional satellite module.

“Our CabinetUnit is an integrated supply and disposal station with a modular cabinet design. It is especially well-suited for smaller rail treatment systems, workshops, and service stations. It also has an automatic hose retraction function, hygienic

35

ADVERTORIAL

rinsing and a water stop function and it can be accessed from both sides of the platform, which is particularly useful in narrow spaces.”

Vogelsang also offers mobile solutions for wastewater disposal and drinking water supply for the UK railways. Its range of products is equipped with its robust rotary lobe pump of the VX series, an electric motor and a transport tank for wastewater.

Wayne said: “Our mobile systems can be a pump on a trolley with a couple of hoses if working in a workshop and short pipe runs, which can be useful as an emergency unit, or we can go all the way up to a drive-on vehicle with the tank on the back with pumps on there.”

In respect to the latter, the company has been working in collaboration with Bradshaw Electric Vehicles, a leading industrial and commercial electric vehicle manufacturer.

“We have had a long-standing and productive commercial relationship with Bradshaw Electric Vehicles for several years now,” said Wayne. “One of the significant draws initially was the low decibel levels of their vehicles, which ensures that when operating in the daytime, passengers don’t have to experience a noisy operation upon exiting the train.”

Celebrating 20 years of trading in the UK Vogelsang has recently marked its 20th birthday of trading in the UK, having been established in 2003 after several industries, including rail, showed significant interest in its elastomer-coated rotary lobe pumps, which the company invented in 1970 and is best known for manufacturing globally.

Since then the UK business has grown to a 17-strong team, headquartered in Crewe in Cheshire, but covering Scotland to the South Coast. It remains wholly owned by its parent company, German-based and family-run Vogelsang GmbH, which has a global annual turnover of over €170 million, and was founded in 1929.

“We are pleased to have reached this milestone in Vogelsang’s story,” said Jonathan Gutteridge, Managing Director. “When it was founded two decades ago, we had a tiny customer base and were almost unheard of as a pump brand. Now we have a turnover of over £10 million and have developed a reputation for making high-quality machinery for the transport sectors, particularly rail.

“We are not a company that likes to sit still. We are heavily invested in the industries in which we work and support. Rail is a hugely important area for us and we continue to work closely with our customers to ensure our pumps and machines produce the best results possible.”

The company has ambitious plans to grow further in the upcoming years, and is also branching out into more industrial sectors with its new pump and machinery designs.

It also recently launched the HiCone progressive cavity pump, with a patented conical rotor and stator design, which means the rotor position can be adjusted as the stator wears, significantly reducing the spare parts usage and maintenance costs.

Wayne, who joined the company 18 years ago,

said: “We are always looking for improvements and Vogelsang is a company that is very forward thinking in its approach, which has been recognised by the fact it has been awarded the title of German Innovation Leader by the FAZ Institute for four years in a row. The team in the research and development department is constantly tasked with bringing out new products and solutions in finding a better way of doing things.”

Among the ideas being developed is a new type of toilet system developed in Germany. This system would offer an alternative to the catchment tank below trains which carry liquids from the toilets all day until they are emptied at depots in the evening.

Wayne said: “A company in Germany has come up with a new type of toilet technology which de-waters the effluent that pasteurises the water. The water which is disposed while the train is moving is classified as river-quality water when it goes into the atmosphere.

“The product is basically a filter (one above the other, or side by side) with a fine mesh filter plate between them. All the solid matter gets caught in one part and the liquid drains into the other. Over a period of time, that solidifies and is cleaned out with a bioreactor, which we have been supplying for more than 20 years in mainland Europe. It breaks the solids, cleans the filter and empties them out so they can go back into service.

“It is just one example of how we are continuing to look for improvements and why we are the leaders in what we do, evidenced by some of the high-profile projects we are working on this year. The future looks very bright, which can only be a good thing for us and the cleanliness of train toilets.”

Visit www.vogelsang.co.uk for more details.

February 2024

It might not be the most glamorous job in the world, but what we do is essential in keeping trains running and clean

36

ADVERTORIAL

Think Hire’s Neil Richardson explains how the organisation is reducing carbon emissions while at the same time saving customers money.

This impact is only set to increase with the launch of exciting new products and a brand-new division

Driving decarbonisation in the railway industry T

he rail industry is under constant pressure to look for sustainable processes when carrying out maintenance, repair, and expansion projects, particularly with net zero carbon emission targets looming.

It is something that is particularly important to Think Hire, which is on a mission to replace traditional carbon generating power-producing assets with clean energy alternatives and cleaner fuel solutions.

The organisation provides relocatable, renewable energy solutions and solar hybrid power generation, alongside eco welfare solutions and site establishment products for both hire and sale nationwide, working with customers to provide the best solution.

“Wherever a project would ordinarily utilise a diesel generator or something similar, we have a cleaner, greener alternative to help decarbonise, as well as

reduce cost,” said Neil Richardson, the organisation’s Co-Founder and Managing Director.

The organisation’s passion lies in creating innovative, renewable solutions, specifically with the customer, the industry, and the environment in mind. Whether you work for Network Rail directly or are a RISQS certified contractor, Think Hire has the expertise to help you improve productivity while reducing both your carbon emissions and running costs.

“We can provide a full turnkey solution using more than 60 years of combined experience within the sector while at the same time continuing to develop better solutions,” he said. “We fully understand the pressing need for strict safety protocols, a 24/7 power supply and equipment with a small base footprint.

“Whatever the challenge, customers can rest assured that our talented and knowledgeable team

February 2024

can help identify the most efficient, economical solution to meet their needs. After delivering agreed solutions, we will also monitor, manage, and report on all environmental and commercial savings, providing them with peace of mind that the right decision has been made.”

It is the latter around the data that is particularly important to Neil.

“There is a misconception of greener meaning more expensive, but that just isn’t the case, and we have the data and evidence built up over several years to prove that,” he said, also revealing that the company had started offering training, with initial topics looking at the advantages of different systems and efficient energy management.

“Education is key and the biggest thing for us is sharing information and knowledge, allowing it to be scrutinised and showing the benefits of what we are

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ADVERTORIAL

offering. It is very easy to demonstrate the commercial savings with alternative technologies now. The initial aim training-wise is to create a series of 12 training courses, with the potential of a series of online podcast-style sessions and webinars if the demand is there.

“I don’t see this being all about us and I welcome competition in what we are doing. The more people in our market and trying to drive the change, the better everything becomes. I don’t want us to be the only people doing what we do because the industry will never learn and won’t push development as quickly.

Competition is healthy and the more people spend on the technology the cheaper and more accessible it will become.”

It is Neil’s drive for positive change in the rail industry that is particularly heartening, a passion stemming from a family history of being involved in the industry, including his great granddad who was a driver of Flying Scotsman. Neil himself started working in the sector aged just 15, when he used to supply cherry pickers. He also hails from the Darlington area, the home of the first passenger railway, regularly walking past the statue of George Stephenson, the principal inventor of the railway road locomotive.

This explains the custodian attitude of Think Hire in providing solutions to the railway as it looks to overcome the challenge of ensuring work is greener, more efficient, and cost effective. An example is the cabins, water, fuel, and fluid management it provides, integrating its technology business to monitor all levels remotely. This ensures fewer visits are needed to the site and ensures there are no failings for those on the site. There is also full visibility of energy performance at all times.

What puts the organisation up there with the best is its ambition to look for better ways of working and trailblazing new products and technologies. Think Hire was the pioneer of the Solartainer Versatile range, the world’s first adaptable solar hybrid generator. It has also introduced the use of a more eco-friendly glycerine fuel to launch a groundbreaking Glycerine Power Unit, which integrates renewable solar power with a revolutionary glycerine-powered generator backup, providing a sustainable off-grid power supply.

“The utopia for me is that we don’t have any assets in our business that we propose to clients that need a generator,” he said. “In order to get there, we are reliant on technology advancements and understanding different options that we can incorporate with our products.

“As well as the ambition of bringing new ideas to the industry, organisations can be assured we have the expertise to deliver for the rail industry. We are a contract delivery partner that provides the assets, the service solutions and fully wraps up the requirements for the rail industry, under the rail legislation, under the rail guidance, and under the rail safety standards with our rail accreditation.

“We understand and can work to the time-bound deliveries, and very restrictive working periods for the installations. It might be a very short period of hire, and then you’ve got the much broader considerations and having the diligence to ensure that safety

is maintained as well as decarbonisation and sustainability, and cost and commercial.”

Broadening horizons with groundbreaking advancements Think Energy Group started 2024 with the launch of Think Energy Products and Technology, a UK and global engineering manufacturing business. The new division will look to bring fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the world.

“Rather than just designing products that suit our rental business for things you want to hire out, we’re now designing and developing assets to suit the application of different customers’ needs,” explained Neil. “We’ve got a bespoke research and development engineering technology team which will work with customers on their challenges to find alternative solutions for traditional things that they are doing today, with an emphasis on sustainability.”

This could be a completely bespoke project that is different to the rental business, an existing product that is part of the portfolio which a customer wants to buy, or it could be around training and development needs on a consultancy basis to help a customer find the best solution and establish how to make the most of the data available.

“The hire company is a pioneer of new things but with a focus on markets and individual requirements; the new division allows us to have a more holistic view of all spaces and applications,” said Neil. “This can only be a good thing for the railways as it will lead to new applications and better ways of doing things, learning from different industries.”

It is full steam ahead for Think Energy Products and Technology, which is being led by James Gabbott, a seasoned leader with a passion for innovation and excellence, who joined the organisation in January.

He said: “Collaborating and working alongside Think Hire, my role is to lead the Products and Technology business, which is providing product solutions designed to help and support clients achieve their environmental and sustainability objectives. I’m really excited about the journey ahead and to be playing an important role in the next growth chapter of this already exceptional and dynamic business.”

Visit https://www.thinkhire.co.uk/ for more details.

There is a misconception of greener meaning more expensive, but that just isn’t the case, and we have the data and evidence built up over several years to prove that

Full site set-up, 3D visualisation from Think Hire

February 2024

38

RESEARCH

Professor Paul Plummer has been appointed as the new Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education.

He explains more about the journey ahead

Solving the long-term challenges and tapping into opportunities T

he University of Birmingham was a new world to Professor Paul Plummer and not one he expected to enter before joining over two years ago. But it is a role he has thrived in, so much so that he has recently taken over as the Director of the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) and academic lead for the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN).

“It is very exciting to be the new Director at such an important, but challenging, time for the industry and to have the opportunity to build on the amazing things that have been achieved over the last 50 years,” said the Professor of Railway Strategy. “There is amazing talent here and I think we can do more to focus on some of the big challenges the industry is facing and create a platform to do more to help innovation across the industry.

“When I first joined the university it was a bit of a different world to me, but now I understand how this world works. One of the things that really struck me initially when I joined was that having been in the industry for many years, I had very little awareness of what went on in universities supporting the world of railways. That is a pity. Subject matter experts obviously engage in it and know about it, but business leaders had very little exposure to it directly and I think that is an opportunity that has to be built on.”

An example Professor Plummer gives is the Rail Technical Strategy, which sets a clear direction for the development and uptake of existing and new solutions that are essential for industry to deliver against the challenges it faces. The latest edition was created collaboratively by a working group comprising representatives from RSSB, Network Rail and both academic and industrial UKRRIN partners.

“It is something I’ve been involved in as part of all my roles in the railways and I think it is a really powerful way of articulating the challenges that industry faces in order to enable people to innovate and address some of those challenges,” he said. “The strategy has been very good in many ways, but the level and ownership and awareness of it right across the industry isn’t as good as it should be and without that I don’t think it achieves its full potential.

“That is one example where I think we can do more

and it will be better to help join up even more than it is now. With the academic work in universities and the work that goes on in the industry, UKRRIN as a network is powerful in that respect, so enabling collaboration across universities into industry and building further on that is something I am excited to help with.”

BCRRE is Europe’s largest academicbased group delivering railway science and education, featuring over 145 academics, researchers and professional support staff who provide world-class research and thought leadership within railways. It also offers an expanding portfolio of high-quality education programmes including Rail and Rail Systems Level 6 and 7 degree apprenticeships.

Five years ago, BCRRE became a lead partner in the £92 million UKRRIN and a year later it absorbed the activities of the Rail Alliance into its offering, increasing its breadth of support for innovation and growth in the rail industry.

“At BCRRE I want us to be clear about the areas where we can have the biggest impact in the railway and to direct resources to those priority areas,” he said. “We do a lot of really good stuff and now we need to look to focus on the things that really matter to the industry. Personally, I would also like to work more across different parts of the university, for example collaborating with the business school, economics and geography.

“There is a great platform to build on that. UKRRIN has been powerful for the industry as a way of getting into universities and getting access to

February 2024

39

RESEARCH

academic research, but I think we can do even more with that as well as collaboration across universities which I really enjoy.

“Looking more specifically, one of the areas I believe there is a lot of opportunity is around simulation. As an industry we have often aspired to having simulation tools that we can really rely upon to inform decisions about major interventions of the railway and at the university we have some really great tools there.”

The example he gives is the Birmingham Railway Virtual Environment, or BRAVE as it is known, which is a suite of software tools featuring a microscopic synchronous core.

“The BRAVE simulation tool enables you to look at operational performance and resilience of the railway and has already proved very powerful on some major projects and organisations in informing decisions,” he said. “My point now is to use that at all stages of a project, at the early stage to inform the direction, but also later on in testing and validation. That is a specific area that I would like to see us building on what has already been done. This is also just one example of the great work going on and the impact it is having on the industry.”

Looking more generally at the industry and Professor Plummer is passionate about working with colleagues to help shape existing research and future research priorities aimed at enabling long-term customer experience, affordability, connectivity and decarbonisation through technology and innovation.

As an industry, we need to be able to innovate more quickly and manage risk sensibly in that context

“As an industry, we need to be able to innovate more quickly and manage risk sensibly in that context,” he said. “Joining up the system from the engineering, technology, customer and people working on the railway is an important part of being able to innovate more effectively and ultimately deliver for customers.

“We also need to see that the railway isn’t just about transport, but about enabling people to communicate and engage with each other or the environment. Seeing it in that context puts a different slant on what we need to do for the customer

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RESEARCH

we need to do for integration across modes and the whole end-to-end journeys. These are things that aren’t new, but are challenges, and areas where we can make it much better.”

Another passion of Professor Plummer is around inclusivity, particularly looking beyond accessibility to greater inclusivity.

“We talk about accessibility in the railway in quite a traditional way about physical access, but actually it is much broader than that and if we broaden it out, we can think about the experience much more widely and we can embed that into the engineering and design as well as the operations. If we do that, I think we can make significant improvements for everyone,” he said.

“We have made significant improvements, but there are still not enough visible role models for women and people from ethnic minorities or disabled people in leadership positions. For me, that is an important challenge for the industry, and I link it to

In the rail industry, you can do virtually any kind of job and that is not widely appreciated

the need to improve customer experience because I think that diversity of thought and inclusivity of the workforce is part of the inclusivity of the customer experience.

“I’d like to think universities can play a bigger role to try and improve the pipeline of people into the industry, but equally until we have more visible role models at senior levels it will be hard to fulfil the full potential. In the rail industry, you can do virtually any kind of job and that is not widely appreciated so we all need to do better at explaining that and also why the rail industry is really important to the economy and society.”

Career An economist by training, the first piece of work Professor Plummer did as a young economist at NERA economic consulting was in the railways, looking at the demand on London commuter services.

“It was never an aspiration to work in the rail industry and I didn’t actually do any further work on the sector as a consultant and in corporate finance, where I worked in regulation and strategy which involved similar issues but in a different industry,” he said.

“My expertise grew around regulation strategy and economics and then I was asked by Tom Winsor to be his Chief Economist at the Office of Rail and Road.

After that, it became clear to me that I could make the biggest impact at Network Rail and I joined days after the Railtrack takeover. I moved from the regulator to the regulated company which was a bit of a shock to lots of people.”

Professor Plummer brings a wealth of board-level experience to his current role at the BCRRE including 13 years at Network Rail, where he was responsible for network planning, development projects, system operation, regulation and strategy.

At the Rail Delivery Group, he advocated for reform on behalf of the industry in an organisation bringing together train operators with Network Rail

February 2024

and HS2. At an international level, he was President of European Infrastructure Managers.

“I feel very privileged to have had such a career where I’ve done lots of really interesting things and been in a position of influence where I’ve been able to make a bit of a difference,” he said. “Having got that experience now my motivation is to continue to do things that are interesting, worthwhile and where I can be useful and help others.

“Over the last few years, I’ve particularly enjoyed mentoring people. I did a lot more of that before I joined the university, but actually the work I do now in supervising PhD students is quite similar to the mentoring I did before, so I really enjoy doing that. It gives me a buzz to help people with their careers and their research and it is a really nice place to be.”

Despite the challenges facing the industry, Professor Plummer is definitely in the glass-half-full camp and is excited about the track ahead, not just in his new role, but for the sector on the whole.

“There is a sense of pride being involved in the railway and yes there are the challenges, but we don’t need to be a victim of those challenges, we can rise to those and make things better,” he said. “It certainly isn’t easy at the moment and things need to change to empower people to do what they know is right, but I tend to remain positive about that and try to help with that where we can.

“The big picture is that the railway isn’t something that matters for its own sake, it matters because of what it can do for people, communities, the economy, and the environment and if we keep that in our minds then we will do the right things.

“That means also making sure that we integrate with other modes and other communications. Rail reform is also long overdue, and my hope is that whatever happens in the general election there is some momentum soon after that to implement reform to join up track and train and to empower people closer to the front line to deliver on customer experience, to focus on the customer.”

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PEOPLE

Gareth Dennis has been appointed as a Principal Engineer at SYSTRA UK & Ireland. He discusses the importance of strengthening the link between the physical railway and what it actually delivers

“The time is now for engineers to find our voice”

Image: SYSTRA

T

oday is a time of contradictions for the UK rail industry according to engineer and writer Gareth Dennis. You’ll find unanimous agreement from frontline staff to those steering the industry that it is in crisis mode.

However, he explains that we should also see this as a time for great optimism.

“Firstly, demand for rail services, despite strikes, disruption and reduced timetables, is enormous,” he said. “Ridership continues to climb, with overall numbers now well above pre-COVD levels, even if patterns have shifted.

“Secondly, staff on the front line of the railway

continue to deliver services despite increasingly difficult conditions. Those running trains or maintaining infrastructure are doing so despite the leadership challenges facing the industry.

“Thirdly, the scale of public engagement with the ticket offices consultation (750,000 people are estimated to have responded) shows how passionately people care about and want to protect their rail services.”

This fuels Gareth’s optimism about the future of the rail industry and its importance when it comes to the environment.

“These factors should be seen as lining us up

February 2024

well for when rail’s role in the future of mobility is necessarily greatly expanded to tackle the UK’s largest source of GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions: transport,” he said. “When this happens, the railway construction industry needs to be ready to step up quickly.

“The 2020s are the decade when humanity builds its required green infrastructure – delay too much longer and we lock in too high a global average temperature increase. That’s the challenge that gets me up in the morning.”

Gareth has been involved in railway projects, both big and small strategic programmes in the UK

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The 2020s is the decade when humanity builds its required green infrastructure – delay too much longer and we lock in too high a global average temperature increase. That’s the challenge that gets me up in the morning

SYSTRA was lead designer for Reading Station’s transformation. The business continues to design and deliver complex rail infrastructure throughout the UK. Image: SYSTRA

and beyond, for a decade, including roles at Atkins and Arcadis. He’s recently started a new chapter in his career, taking on the role of UK professional head of track within specialist engineering and consultancy services organisation SYSTRA. “As someone who’s been lucky enough to progress quickly through the industry and pick up a pretty wide range of experience accordingly, it was impossible not to be keenly drawn to a technical leadership role within SYSTRA,” said Gareth, who has always been passionate about getting as stuck in as he can with shaping the industry itself, supporting his professional institution and building relationships across the sector.

“An engineer is only as good as their contact list.

As well as growing this network, I’ve been lecturing on infrastructure engineering, risk management and sustainability for several years now, and there are few better ways of being kept honest than meeting the new engineering practitioners joining the industry and hearing what they think about the future.

“I hope to bring all of this experience – alongside my enthusiasm for railways and sustainable transport more broadly – to bear in ensuring SYSTRA’s rail systems capabilities continue to expand and our already-well-established presence in the market grows accordingly.

“SYSTRA is already well known for delivering highly complex engineering schemes that require a systematic approach, and given my specialism is understanding and managing the interfaces between disciplines, I look forward to adding to that capability whilst helping navigate the change our industry continues to face in the coming years and decades.”

In the UK and Ireland, SYSTRA has been creating, improving and modernising infrastructure for more than 50 years. The organisation works internationally on some of the world’s biggest infrastructure projects – from high-speed rail and high density metros to landmark bridge design and energy-from-waste projects.

February 2024

With more than 1,000 employees across the UK and Ireland and over 10,000 globally, Gareth hopes to add to the signature teams of experts to design and deliver complex transport, energy, environmental and urban schemes to fulfil local and national priorities.

He said: “One of my key personal objectives is to strengthen the link between the physical railway and what it actually delivers, both in terms of services but also what those services mean to communities and society at large. That means offering a deeper understanding of the asset to existing clients but also working with new clients, whether in freight or passenger rail operations, or with cities and local authorities to think about what changes could provide localised and strategic benefits to them.

“The railway offers far greater opportunities than current transport modelling captures, and engineers can and should be at the heart of communicating why, and supporting clients to unlock those capabilities.”

Despite the challenges facing the railways, Gareth is confident in the abilities of the team at SYSTRA to ensure a positive future.

“From a technical perspective, SYSTRA can tackle anything, so engineering complexity is no blocker to the mobility of passengers and goods,” he said.

“We’ve solved that problem. The challenges lie in unlocking potential under the restrictive political limitations our clients are experiencing.

“Hence the time is now for engineers to find our voice and give our clients the information and tools they need to tackle the very real and very rapidly incoming changes to society that the next decade is going to bring. Climate change means our ageing transport infrastructure is going to endure greater extremes of weather whilst having to carry more and more people.

“Inequality is increasing, not decreasing, and in the UK so too is the divide between north and south.

Combined with increasing urbanisation, there is a massive need to enhance our urban public transport systems. Meanwhile, the next wave of automation is going to impact on sectors of employment we’ve spent the last few decades building our economy around.

Without understanding these incoming pressures, we aren’t going to be prepared to tackle them.

“When it comes to innovation, the heritage of this team here in York isn’t lost on me. Our links back to the British Rail design office are to be treasured as a reminder of what can be achieved for the future despite enormous societal changes. Forty years ago, this team delivered the UK’s first modern high speed railway between Doncaster and York. The design of the Selby Diversion harnessed innovation after innovation, and all under immense time constraints.

Reminding ourselves of that legacy is a terrific way to think about maximising what we can deliver, no matter what the external pressures.”

As well as his day job as a railway design engineer, Gareth is a writer for the railway and national press and regularly appears on TV and radio explaining engineering and transport ideas. He is a lecturer in rail infrastructure for the Permanent Way Institution and elsewhere, and presents a weekly show called #Railnatter on YouTube. He is also a founding member of Campaign for Level Boarding.

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SCAN ME

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PEOPLE

Syeda Ghufran has joined Siemens Mobility as Director of Asset Management and Assurance for Customer Services. She shares her career story

Harnessing digital advancements to drive efficiency and effectiveness

F

rom as young as Syeda Ghufran can remember, she has been fascinated by engineering. The passion was set at a young age when her father, an electrical engineer, would engage her in maths and science quizzes.

If she wasn’t doing those, she’d quite likely be shadowing him around the house fixing any piece of equipment that was broken.

“He really inspired me and having that exposure from a very early age in terms of how engineers can fix the world and can come up with ideas to make the world better really inspired me,” she said. “I’d shadow him and ask how things worked, could be fixed if broken, and try and help out when I could.”

It is now Syeda who is the inspiration, playing an

important role in transforming the industry, and at the same time inspiring the next generation of female engineers. She spoke with Rail Director shortly after being appointed Siemens Mobility’s Director of Asset Management and Assurance for Customer Services.

“I am delighted to be part of team Siemens Mobility as it is a company I have always aspired to work for because it is one driven by technology advancement and engineering excellence,” she said. “It is one that continuously invests in future technologies and is renowned for its engineering excellence. I am pleased to be part of such a big team and deliver for the fleets that we operate in the UK, which total almost a quarter of UK passenger trains and e320 Velaro Eurostar trains.”

February 2024

Syeda brings a wealth of expertise to her new role along with her strong background in the rail industry and a track record of success. Prior to joining Siemens Mobility, she was the Fleet Engineering Director at Hitachi Rail and was the youngest, and first female, Engineering Director at ScotRail in 2018. There, she was responsible for the biggest timetable change introduction with the launch of the HST fleet and Hitachi 385 fleet.

It was at the train operator where she started her career as an Engineering Graduate nearly 15 years ago. In her 11 years there she delivered many engineering projects, including train reliability modifications, Wi-Fi roll-out, and the installation of Driver Advisory Systems – a GPS system which

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ADVERTORIAL PEOPLE

Building strong foundations

accurately tracks a train’s location and advises the With a keen eye on the future, Kieran recognised driver what speed to go so that the train arrives on there was a gap in SEP Geotech’s offering: time. It was also where she first crossed paths with her “What SEP Geotech does ties together perfectly current employer. with piling. The purpose of our investigation forms “Siemens Mobility was my supplier when I was at the basis of the pile design, and our sister company, ScotRail, so I had a very close working relationship SEP Rail Design, designs the piles; now we will install when the Class 380 was introduced in Glasgow them.” back in 2010,” she said. “I had previous experience Piling, in engineering terms, involves the on how the Siemens Mobility engineering team was installation of foundations driven or bored into the structured and understood their processes and their ground to transfer loads to deeper, more stable soil. ambition so to be managing the team now is a real These structural elements are essential when the privilege. natural bearing capacity of the soil is insufficient for “Having come from a train operator, I used to see supporting heavy construction loads. my suppliers as partners in delivery for the railway Kieran’s extensive engineering experience, and for our passengers, so to now be able to come developed since his teenage years, has been centred and work for the supplier and be able to provide for around piling. He explained: our customers I like to think I bring that perspective “This is a critical moment for the piling and of what the customers require for the travelling foundations industry. Exciting innovations within pile passengers. It’s great that it aligns with the Siemens design and installations are allowing for improved Mobility value of providing ease of delivering projects project turnaround times and more technically which align with the customer requirements.” demanding programmes.

Siemens Mobility has a strong local footprint “By leveraging our team’s experience, alongside in the UK with three manufacturing facilities in utilising the wider SEP Rail Group’s capabilities, Chippenham in Wiltshire, Ashby in Leicestershire, SEP Geotech is in a perfect position to deliver and Goole in East Yorkshire, the latter of which is projects from feasibility to design through to a rail village building new trains for the London completion.”

Underground. The site also includes an innovation hub as part of the Rail Accelerator and Innovations Prioritising growth and expertise Solutions Hub for Enterprise. There are more than 30 Investing in the professional development of the sites employing more than 5,000 people and 3,000 current team is also not just a priority; it’s a key part suppliers, 47 per cent of which are UK-based SMEs. of SEP Geotech’s vision for the future.

While the demand is always there for new staff, As Siemens Mobility’s Director of Asset Kieran knows the value of hiring the right people: Management and Assurance for Customer Services, “This industry isn’t for the faint-hearted. Late Syeda will look after the engineering teams for all nights, early mornings. Long periods of time away the Siemens Mobility fleets, overseeing the asset from your family. My office is my mobile phone and management to ensure they are reliable and safe. my van; we’re always on the road, on-site, and getting “Looking to my role at Siemens Mobility, we are our hands dirty. hoping for some new train procurement orders to “Our team shares a deep commitment to the come out and are working very closely with our sales enduring success of our business and is constantly and project colleagues to be able to offer products seeking ways to enhance their skills and improve our which are state of the art, and which are the best from services. a reliability and a decarbonisation perspective,” she “We take pride in being one of the few said. geotechnical companies that offer specialised “An area that particularly interests me is around drilling NVQs to our team, ensuring that our the digitalisation of asset management. There is a lot workforce remains at the forefront of industry of investment in remote monitoring technology which expertise and quality.” can give us a lot of data and a lot of signals from the Investment in staff is one thing. But the evolving trains, which helps the trains identify the problems rail industry landscape also demands industrythat could develop when they are in service. leading equipment. To address this, Kieran provides a “Developing this we could reduce the number of candid glimpse into a forthcoming investment at SEP issues that the trains can suffer in passenger service, Geotech: fixing them before they fail. We can also use these “We’re investing in a new, state-of-the-art solution models to have predictive maintenance capability, so designed for safe work on embankments, slopes, our trains can predict when they need to be planned and even over water. This innovation eliminates the in for their maintenance rather than following the need for traditional rope access, streamlining our traditional model of doing the maintenance by processes even further.” prescriptive schedule maintenance.

As SEP Geotech continues to evolve and “It is all about that shift from reactive to proactive expand its offerings, one thing is clear: Kieran digitalised asset management that I’m really Moran’s experience, dedication, and vision will passionate about and it’s something that is going remain at the forefront, driving the company to keep evolving, particularly with the team here at to even greater heights in the geotechnical Siemens Mobility. I’ve got a really big team of engineering industry.

47 This is a It is all criticalthat moment about shift for the piling from reactive andproactive foundations to industry asset digitalised management that I’m really passionate about and it’s something that is going to keep evolving

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PEOPLE

I want to play my part to help foster a truly inclusive workplace where everyone, regardless of gender, feels valued

engineers which includes a real mix, with some who are new to the company as part of our graduates and apprenticeship program, really helping to bring a fresh perspective into how we do asset management in the future.”

Syeda is incredibly proud of how far her career has advanced since joining the sector in 2010, but she has always been keen to use her profile as an opportunity to help other women into a career in rail. During her time at ScotRail, Hitachi, and now Siemens Mobility, she has worked with local schools and through working with organisations such as Women in Rail and the Institute of Railway Operators has helped to promote engineering as an attractive career choice.

“I want to play my part to help foster a truly inclusive workplace where everyone, regardless of gender, feels valued,” she said. “Reflecting on my own career, I won’t say I’ve faced any challenges because of my gender, but it can feel a bit daunting when you’re a female engineer and you have to work with a big team of engineers who are predominantly male and probably more experienced than you, especially if you’ve come through the graduate route.

“But I’ve had no negative experiences. Yes, I’m a female and I’m an engineer, but I’ve got the credibility to be able to do the job. Probably a lot of female engineers have similar challenges of how they think they are perceived and feel they need to overcome that by having to prove through the

February 2024

delivery of their work.

“I would certainly recommend the career. There are so many new challenges and so many new opportunities and particularly at Siemens Mobility in the UK there are so many exciting new projects and developments that you really feel part of something special and transformational. It has been such a rewarding career.”

The desire to inspire that next generation is something that Syeda and Siemens Mobility both share, with the company having collaborated with Primary Engineer since 2021 on a programme which aims to ignite interest and curiosity in engineering among children from a young age. A project-based learning approach has been developed which allows children and pupils to engage in practical maths and science, along with creative problem-solving and literacy.

Last year ambassadors worked with schools, setting the pupils aged between five and 11 a challenge to design and build a miniature train.

This project culminated in an event to showcase the miniature trains the budding engineers had created from various materials, including wood, plastic, and metal, which were tested on a short stretch of track.

“I’m really keen to have a really strong team of young talent to be able to influence the way we do things differently going forward and I hope by working with the next generation and graduates that I might be able to inspire them like my dad did me,” she said. “If you’re at school or you’re considering going to university I would definitely consider science subjects and engineering subjects as it is hugely rewarding.

“As an industry, we’ve got a really strong support system both at Siemens Mobility, but also industrywide with the likes of Women in Rail and other support groups. From my own personal experience, the railway is like a small family in which you will develop really close relationships and in which everyone will be really helpful and supportive.”

It will probably come as no shock that Syeda is incredibly optimistic about what the future holds.

She sees the challenges facing the industry as opportunities to leverage her and the Siemens Mobility team’s knowledge and experience, optimising maintenance processes and harnessing digital advancements to drive efficiency and effectiveness in asset management.

“The railways are a complex environment and being involved in high-profile projects you do come across a lot of challenges, particularly with some of the legacy fleets and legacy infrastructure. And you uncover a lot of issues which you probably haven’t thought about from the outset,” she said. “It is about thinking of innovative solutions which perhaps weren’t thought about at the bid stage or at the early project stages.

“That is one of the things that I love about being an engineer, finding new ways to deal with those issues and overcoming those challenges, something I have been able to do so far in my career. A key to achieving that is having good relationships and being able to manage stakeholders. It’s about being able to have your community around you and having everybody on the same page in being focused on the objectives for the project.”

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ADVERTORIAL

Michael Byng, Managing Director at MBPC Infrastructure writes about maintaining and enhancing the public and investors’ confidence in future railway projects, especially in light of HS2

Reviving our high speed rail ambitions

T

he Christmas and New Year holiday provided the time to reflect on key events from the preceding 12 months and to look forward, with renewed optimism, to applying the lessons learned in the year ahead.

Since 2008, the railway has seen unprecedented levels of government investment in the industry, both on the Network Rail system and with the HS2 project.

But recent events mean the industry must address its weaknesses to maintain and enhance that level of investment, which it will achieve only by restoring public and HM Government’s confidence and trust in it.

The weaknesses? - project delivery overruns,

Image: Philip Mowbray / Shutterstock.com

considerable cost overruns, and the absence of a clear unambiguous project appraisal process, are some of the more serious issues.

2023 has demonstrated those weaknesses still exist. HS2, and the failures to deliver Reverse Beeching or Restoring your Railway projects, have wasted a great deal of resources and money.

Depending on whose figures one believes, between £23 billion and £29 billion has been spent on HS2, without a single metre of track being laid – this public money could have been better spent to provide work to support our industry and enhance its skill base.

Learning from mistakes is an accepted management process, so how can the industry

February 2024

improve its performance in 2024, regain the public’s confidence in it, and attract further funding?

Improving its performance requires members of its diverse supply chain to come together, cooperate and work as a team, thus improving the collective contribution to the process and making step change improvements to successful project delivery.

My message is “Let’s see if we can learn from the disappointments of 2023, to build a better industry and railways in 2024 and the future”.

Restarting and reviving high speed rail?

Learning from our mistakes and collating all the data generated by HS2 may even provide us with

ADVERTORIAL

the basis of reviving or restarting our high speed rail dreams, including rail connections to HS1 and the continent.

How? Look at the data we have from HS2 Phase 1, on it there are: 230km, route length, 532 single track kilometres, 46km of tunnels, 74km of cuttings, 145 structural overbridges and 152 structural underbridges, as well as much more. We have the designs and the costs incurred and why we incurred them.

Data, which can be used to salvage what we can from the project and revive it and our high speed rail ambitions.

Oakervee Review. And I have yet to see convincing studies for Network Rail schemes or those promoted under the Reverse Beeching or Restoring your Railway programmes. The industry has an obligation to develop the processes to provide this information in a form that is understandable to all – especially the taxpaying public and HM Government.

It is not a new occurrence that governments may wish to promote schemes to reduce unemployment or stimulate growth on a political basis3. In those cases, there may not be a formal appraisal process, but the intention of the scheme should be stated from the onset of the scheme, again to avoid the rancour and waste of time and money experienced with the HS2 scheme. Even in these cases, there must be a cost limit4 for the complete scope of works.

cases, it is alleged, were held by the Department for Transport and not by the project delivery vehicle (PDV). The PDVs were held solely responsible for the costs of the project (the inputs), without having mandatory access to business cases and the ability to challenge or adjust them.

Little surprise then that the cost of the truncated HS2 project, before the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 October 2023, had reached £182.10 billion1, at 3rd Quarter 2023 prices, against a Government Funding Envelope of £102 billion, leaving the business case in ruins.

For the credibility of the industry, any future projects, including those replacing HS2, should be selected by professional railway operators, and members of the Chartered Institute of Railway Operators or the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport working with project delivery teams, including members of the various railway engineering institutions. Selecting projects that way provides the ’informed buyer’ function, sadly lacking with HS2.

Even an informed buyer needs sound advice to reach a decision and that advice includes a clearly defined project scope, demand analyses, capital delivery costs (CAPEX), including the cost of traction and rolling stock and the cost of acquiring land either for permanent or temporary use. Easily said but this information is difficult to deliver.

Even if we get these costs right, we are faced with the task of calculating the costs of signalling (railway control systems), operational telecommunications and power for traction use (overhead line or third rail electrification). Here, we are helped by the excellent work done by the Railway Industry Association in its report published in March 20195.

The cost of traction and rolling stock for use on new projects can be calculated beforehand, including costs of integration with railway control systems to avoid the systems integration problems experienced with Crossrail (the Elizabeth line).

The costs for all schemes can be captured and analysed using the methodology set out in the Rail Method of Measurement (RMM suite)6, which includes traction and rolling stock. But once more, there are problems - the dearth of quantity surveying and estimating skills, on both sides of the supply chain, leading to the failure to capture the costs of a completed project in a central cost database7, accessible to the industry. A railway cost information service addresses this deficiency.

The two other elements creating cost uncertainty are professional fees, which are unacceptably high when compared with international projects, due to the choice of contract strategy in the UK and the process and cost of land acquisition. The comparison of the levels of professional fees is clear from elemental analyses of similar international projects, employing simpler forms of contract. The use of the NEC forms of contract since 1994 has led directly to an exponential rise in professional fees as a percentage of whole project costs as well as exacerbating the dearth of quantity surveying and estimating skills.

The UK is a densely populated, property-owning democracy, and the cost of land, often acquired by Compulsory Purchase, is difficult to calculate. The frustration experienced with HS2 can be alleviated by a comprehensive survey at project outset, followed by a clearer definition of the basis of its valuation8 for acquisition in enabling legislation.

To avoid further public embarrassment over the cost of projects, there is a real challenge on

Defining and Better informed project selection fixing project and creation None of the projects cancelled or delayed in 2023 Capital costs (CAPEX) scope is essential were selected and developed by professional railway These are simple to calculate; a railway is simply operators, and few had business cases (the outputs) two beams (the rails) on a series of crossbeams (the to sound decision which stood independent external scrutiny. Where sleepers), passing under or over bridges and viaducts business cases existed, as with HS2 and major or through tunnels to reach stations. They are simple making projects on the Network Rail system, the business buildings and work we have done since at least 1825.

Project scope Defining and fixing project scope is essential to sound decision making. Too often have I seen proposals which appear comprehensive but include lists of exclusions, rendering them useless. The exclusions I have seen include the provision of power source and supply for schemes of main line electrification and the omission of essential works to parts of major stations affected by new projects.2

Demand analyses Contrary to popular belief, business case and a clearly defined scope were never established with the HS2 project, hence the debate that raged around The

February 2024

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ADVERTORIAL

the professional institutions, especially RICS, to promote the international professional practice standards they have developed, covering the preparation of estimates of construction cost9 and the cost of land acquisition and to ensure there are sufficient professional resources available to meet public need.

The cost data created can be used to populate a publicly accessible railway cost information service.

Operational cost (OPEX) What has been missing from all the appraisals I have seen is the operational cost of maintaining the railway and its traction and rolling stock. The absence of this information stems from the dearth of professional skills available to measure the quantities required for CAPEX calculations. OPEX calculations for building works are commonplace and should be available for railway projects. The railway industry must fund and develop the study of operating costs of railways, as a matter of urgency.

Operating cost data, populating ‘Whole Life Cycle Cost Plans’, provides decision makers with the cost of running new schemes and the resources needed to do so.

Summary With all this information available, accurate project appraisals can be made. It has not happened to date - why? Because of the silo approach to working on projects, where the project delivery teams and the supply chain do not work in harmony, nor are they supported by the professional institutions. Add to that

the failure to share knowledge from project to project, which prevents the exchange of best practice between project promoters.

This is in direct contrast to the general building industry where project specifications, cost analyses and performance data have been shared through the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) since 1961.

This exchange encourages continuous improvement in project delivery, which is also linked to project outcomes.

Railway construction, since 1994, has created a large supply of data to populate a credible cost database. Nevertheless, the railway industry had a lot of catching up before a facility like BCIS was available. With that in mind, building on the work I did with the various rules of measurement and cost analysis with RICS and in drafting the RMM suite with Network Rail and its supply chain, I have established a new company to collate and publish railway construction cost data to subscribers.

The company is Rail Cost Information Service Limited, (www.nrmrail.co.uk) which receives railway construction cost data, prepares forms of cost analysis using the structure set out in RMM2, and publishes reports to its subscribers.

With the combined approach and access to a credible cost database, I believe that, starting in 2024, the industry can restore public and investor confidence and trust in its use of public funds to revive our high speed rail ambitions.

For further information, contact sales@nrmrail.co.uk or support@nrmrail.co.uk www.michaelbyng.com

Image: milatiger / Shutterstock.com

February 2024

The industry can restore public and investor confidence and trust in its use of public funds to revive our high-speed rail ambitions

Footnotes 1 M H Byng estimated final cost as presented by The Oakervee Review on 2 October 2019, adjusted for further changes in project scope and for inflation.

2 HS2 Phase 1 and the scope of its works at London Euston Station excluded the development of the Network Rail side of the station, essential if the oversite development, shown as part of the HS2 project, was to be built.

3 Government used the funds from the abolition of First-Class Passenger Duty (1928), the Development (Loans and Grants) 1929 and The Railways (Agreement) Act 1935 to reduce unemployment and stimulate growth.

4 Cost limit, the maximum expenditure the employer (project promoter) is prepared to make in relation to the complete rail infrastructure works (the project).

5 Railway Industry Association – RIA Electrification Cost Challenge, published March 2019.

6 Rail Method of Measurement – Order of Cost Estimating, Cost Planning and Detailed Measurement for Rail Infrastructure Works – RMM1 – First Edition - published by Network Rail, 1 July 2018.

7 The building industry has had, since 1961, the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) until 2022, and now operated as a standalone company.

8 Prior to Compulsory Purchase, land can be valued using the principles of RICS Valuation – Global Standards (Red Book Global Standards) or by Compulsory Purchase by applying the Land Compensation Manual, published by the Valuation Office Agency on behalf of HM Government.

9 ICMS explained – A user guide to the International Cost Management Standard (ICMS) Third edition Global – 3rd edition August 2022, published by RICS.

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54

ADVERTORIAL

Laura Hedley, Senior Occupational Psychologist at the OPC, emphasises the collective responsibility we all have for safety

Integrated NTS help to keep track teams safe T

he rail industry relies on interdependent relationships for a safer and more efficient network. This is particularly true of the relationship between a Controller of Site Safety (COSS) and a signaller. The interdependent Non-Technical Skills (NTS) between these two roles are critical, safety-focused, and potentially lifesaving.

The COSS role encompasses diverse responsibilities, from patrolling line sections to installing major structures. This safety-critical position requires rigorous training, industry experience, mentoring, and certification. Negligence by a COSS could result in legal consequences in the case of harm or fatalities, meaning regular competency assessments to maintain standards.

Similarly, signallers oversee train movements and driver communications and ensure the safety of colleagues. They too undergo extensive training.

Both roles share some key NTS interdependencies that include:

Valuing and prioritising safety Both must value and prioritise safety above all else, avoiding rushing jobs for time or cost savings.

An exemplary signaller recognises the danger of pressuring a COSS to complete tasks ahead of schedule, fostering a culture of safety awareness.

Maintaining safety vigilance Signallers need to stay focused on ever-changing information, whilst a COSS must remain vigilant to dynamic hazards on site, anticipating consequences, and taking protective actions. Effective risk management starts during job preparation and planning. Both need to be aware of the impact of shift working on their personal safety vigilance and risk anticipation.

Effective planning Proactive planning is critical for both a COSS and a signaller. A skilled COSS meticulously plans, taking full ownership of it. This enables clear and confident team communication for safety briefings.

Plans should be conscientiously checked even if it causes a slight delay. Sound planning also helps a signaller keep a COSS and track team safe.

The COSS’s well-thought-out plans facilitate communication with the signaller. In turn, this streamlines an approval, providing clarity for a signaller’s onward communications and ensuring the line blockage. A signaller’s effective decision-

Image: iStock

making NTS complement a COSS’s planning skills.

Sound decisions require a systematic, analytical, and composed step-by-step approach.

“In the aftermath of an incident, NTS gaps may become evident. Root causes are often less likely to be about knowledge or technical competence.

They’re much more likely to be behavioural – what’s been done or not done” (An infrastructure operations manager)

Communication Effective written and verbal communications are key for ensuring clarity and safety. A confident COSS prioritises and enforces briefings with their team.

Clear and concise communication between a COSS and a signaller is vital, particularly emphasising meticulous adherence to step-by-step processes when determining line blockage details. A skilled signaller actively listens to all the requirements, assessing for gaps, and ensuring accuracy through safety protocoldriven information repetition. Once satisfied, they can implement a line blockage with confidence and authority.

Improving track worker safety with NTS initiatives OPC psychologists, with over 25 years of safetycritical experience, offer NTS initiatives for track workers’ safety. They help identify NTS in roleprofiling, support recruitment processes, and provide NTS training for frontline staff and managers. They

February 2024

also conduct Post-Incident Assessments (PIA) to help uncover underlying NTS shortfalls that may have led to an incident. Development plans or training may follow a PIA to help address NTS gaps, e.g. miscommunication or insufficient planning, that can contribute to unsafe working.

Assessment tools to help identify NTS OPC Assessment offers a variety of tools for recruiting safety-critical roles like signallers and COSS. These can include the Risk and Time Focus Questionnaire (RTQ) for profiling risk anticipation. The Railway Situational Judgement Test (RSJT) was designed specifically using rail-based scenarios, and the Safe Personality Questionnaire (SAFEPQ) assesses four key personality factors linked to safe behaviours in the rail industry. Some of these tools have been statistically linked with training and job performance, providing evidence that they do work.

Laura Hedley concluded: “It’s good to emphasise the collective responsibility we all have for safety.

Matching and complimenting each other’s skills to get the job done, keep the network running and deliver customer service - all while enhancing safety performance. Recognising and applying NTS in other safety-critical roles is a really positive step and another milestone in the industry-wide implementation of them.” www.theopc.co.uk 01923 234646 admin@theopc.co.uk

Tel: 00 353 1 4520033 Web: www.associatedrewinds.com

Traction Motor Experts Since 1986

Motor Winter Failures ?

l request is if we can add the hyperlinks to the assessment tools for the digital edition pls? Final column, as follows:

Risk and Time Focus Questionnaire (RTQ) https://www.theopc.co.uk/ assessment/test/rtq/ The Railway Situational Judgement Test (RSJT) https://www.theopc. co.uk/assessment/test/rsjt/ the Safe Personality Questionnaire (SAFEPQ) : https://www.theopc. co.uk/assessment/test/safepq/

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HYPERLINKS FOR ISSUU

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Assessment tools to help identify NTS OPC Assessment offers a variety of tools for recruiting safety-critical roles like signallers and COSS. These can include the Risk and Time Focus Questionnaire (RTQ) for profiling risk anticipation. The Railway Situational Judgement Test (RSJT) was, designed specifically using rail-based scenarios, and the Safe Personality Questionnaire (SAFEPQ) that assesses four key personality factors linked to safe behaviours in the rail industry. Some of these tools have been statistically linked with training and job performance, providing evidence that they do work.

Laura Hedley concluded: “It’s good to emphasise the collective responsibility we all have for safety. Matching and complimenting each other’s skills to get the job done, keep the network running and deliver customer service - all while enhancing safety performance. Recognising and applying NTS in other safety-critical roles is a really positive step and another milestone in the industry-wide implementation of them.”

• Stator Rewinds

• Manufacture of New Rotors • Reverse Engineering

• Standard Motor Overhaul

email: contact@associatedrewinds.com

56

INNOVATION

Alan Peters, Ecosystem Director for Rail and Stations at Connected Places Catapult, explains more about the Connected Places Summit which aims to harness the collective ingenuity, innovation, and collaboration of the community to innovate together

Accelerating innovation together C

onnected Places Catapult is the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership. It provides impartial ‘innovation as a service’ for public bodies, businesses, and infrastructure providers to catalyse step-change improvements in the way people live, work and travel.

Rail is one of the key areas it works in, with the strategy in this area for the organisation being led by Alan Peters, Ecosystem Director for Rail and Stations.

“My role is to ensure our Catapult activities have the largest beneficial impact on rail innovation and that we form long-term partnerships with those working in the sector,” said Alan, who works with a wider team of rail and cross-functional experts at the Catapult to create programmes and partnerships that help connect those with innovative solutions in rail to those who have applicable challenges.

“It’s a hugely enjoyable role as it means I get to talk with lots of very passionate people from across rail and work with the talented team at the Catapult to turn ideas into fully-fledged innovation programmes.”

Despite being only two years into his current role, Alan is already having a big impact in the rail industry, most notably with the development of the Station Innovation Zone, a testbed programme, supported by Innovate UK and Network Rail, and based at Bristol Temple Meads.

“Innovators wanting to trial new solutions face many barriers including navigating procurement and regulatory requirements, accessing funding and coordinating across large numbers of stakeholders,” he said.

February 2024

58

INNOVATION

The Connected Places Summit will bring together professionals, experts, and thought leaders in the fields of smart cities, transport innovation, and connected technologies

“The Station Innovation Zone programme was launched to help overcome these barriers and to demonstrate that innovation can happen in a way that makes a real difference to passengers’ experience in UK stations.”

On 20 and 21 March this year, the Catapult is hosting its inaugural hybrid summit at 22 Bishopsgate in London, which will feature two days of interactive content, live project showcases, inspiring thought leadership and opportunities to connect with peers from technology, transport, mobility, cities, academia, and government.

Alan is amongst the list of high-profile speakers, which also includes Sir John Armitt CBE, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission; Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester Combined Authority; and Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Chair of Network Rail.

“The Connected Places Summit will bring together professionals, experts, and thought leaders in the fields of smart cities, transport innovation, and connected technologies,” said Alan. “It aims to facilitate discussions, share insights, and showcase new approaches that can contribute to the advancement of a more connected and sustainable society.

“This is clearly a wide-ranging space to work across, so the real value for me is hearing from those keynote speakers who have the clarity of thought to cut across the noise. I’m also looking forward to setting up conversations with attendees from across the sectors we work in. The summit is the largest event Connected Places Catapult has done for many years and it is shaping up to be a fantastically informative and productive two days.”

Attendees following the rail sessions will also hear from Network Rail’s Accessibility and Inclusion Strategy and Policy Lead, System Operator, Natasha Marsay, and the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation’s Naomi Arblaster, as well as many others.

February 2024

“We have identified some key topic areas that we feel warrant greater attention,” said Alan, talking about the key rail themes at the summit. “The first of these is the challenge of harnessing innovation to make the rail network more accessible and inclusive for all. It is something that everyone agrees needs to be done, but it is often very challenging to fund this in the face of competing commercial pressures.

“We will build on this first session with a dedicated session sharing outputs and learnings from the Station Innovation Zone programme before finishing with a discussion session on the hurdles around transitioning to a net zero railway. Embracing innovation ensures that the railway sector can meet sustainability targets while maintaining efficiency and reliability in its operations. We will explore if a more regional approach can help aid this transition.”

The summit draws on the importance of collaboration - something Alan has been passionate about throughout his career, such as when he led the Catapult’s involvement in a number of automated vehicle programmes, including collaborative research and development projects such as MuCCA, and VeriCAV. He has also worked on a UK strategy for automated vehicle standards with the Department for Transport and British Standards Institution.

He said: “A key aspect of the rail industry is the abundance of passionate and knowledgeable individuals contributing their expertise, from seasoned engineers to frontline workers. There’s often a shared commitment to improving rail systems, and therefore a key part of the Catapult’s future agenda is better listening to this experience to drive informed innovation.

“The rail sector not only needs solutions that enhance safety, sustainability, and efficiency but also ones that make economic sense. Collaboration is paramount in this effort. Rail is a highly interconnected system, and individual advancements can often only deliver a fraction of the change required. To achieve meaningful progress, the industry must unite to share best practices, establish standards, and collectively tackle challenges.

“Connected Places Catapult also sees considerable benefit in the rail innovation network working more closely with other transport modes, and indeed wider than transport, that might be facing equivalent challenges. The use of drones, digital twins, and AI are all great examples of technology development areas that suit this cross-sector approach but there are many others. This type of cross-modal effort needs to happen far more, and the March summit is designed to facilitate building those types of relationships.

“Overall, I think there is a promising outlook for rail and rail innovation in 2024, and I am excited about the upcoming summit. As the industry continues to align its vision and resources, including the start of a new funding period for Network Rail in April, I think that 2024 holds the promise of being a year where bold collaborative endeavours start to prove their worth to the sector.”

Tickets and more information on the inaugural Connected Places Summit are available here: cp.catapult.org.uk/summit/connected-placessummit-2024/

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60

PEOPLE

Railway Chaplain Mike Roberts writes about the importance of investing in the mental health of your staff

Gritting before slipping

D

uring the winter months, I will often get to the station in the morning as the teams are spreading salt on the platforms to reduce the risk of slipping. I think I’ve admitted in this column before that chemistry isn’t my strong point, but spreading salt works by lowering the freezing point of the water which reduces the chance of the ice forming. (Please don’t email me to explain this – I’m comfortable with my ignorance here!)

By looking at the temperature and taking action we reduce the risk of creating an environment where incidents can happen. Gritting does not change our situation – the mornings are still cold, the surfaces are still wet and people are still walking over them.

By treating the surfaces with salt, it makes them more suitable for what the day holds. Salt helps us cope with the environment in a more adverse situation.

Each day, as leaders, we ask our teams and those who work with us to deal with challenging or potentially hostile situations. If we were working in an icy setting, we’d put down grit, and if it was cold, we’d offer suitably warm clothing, but what do we offer to increase the resilience of our people if they are facing situations which increase the risk of mental or emotional injury.

When a physical injury occurs we report, record and assess an incident to prevent it happening again.

We look at what has happened, we consider the likelihood and seriousness of a risk, and we ask how we can minimise and mitigate against it. My question for our industry is: how seriously do we assess the risks of accidents, incidents, and injury to the mental health of our teams?

If we knew that we were sending a track team out in the morning with a serious risk of breaking

February 2024

a bone, or we were putting customers at risk of slipping on an untreated surface, we would revisit our risk assessments. What are the equivalents in our workplaces and work cultures to reduce the dangers, like salting a platform? When we work in a peoplecentred environment like rail we can never eliminate the risks, but we can work to ask how we manage them.

In my experience of working on the railway, the greatest risks come from not knowing or not anticipating what is coming ahead. The teams at Network Rail will work with weather forecasters to predict when adverse weather will come to ensure that the railway is ready to respond, rather than waiting for heavy rain before deploying pumps, or winds to ensure that staff with the right tools are appropriately deployed. Waiting for our staff teams to get into a bad place is the equivalent of waiting

62

PEOPLE

until the water is at the height of the rails before unclogging a blocked culvert.

How are you proactively managing the emotional health of your staff? Someone said to me in a conversation that each time they get a fitness to work note from a member of staff citing workplace absence because of work related stress or mental health it is the equivalent of an accident report about an injury because work had not put adequate provision in place to protect the person involved. Now, whether you agree with that or not I want to ask you a couple of questions about how we pre-treat surfaces to stop the wellbeing of our staff falling flat on the metaphorical ice.

Do they know you’re invested?

In a world where every penny and every pound counts and is watched, are you investing in the mental health of your staff?

Imagine you invest in a whole new wardrobe of hi-vis for a team of staff working trackside. It’s no use just buying it unless it’s distributed and used by the team. Some of our businesses will employ people to deliver wellbeing, subscribe to Employee Assistance Programmes, or have partnerships and relationships with organisations like the Railway Chaplains, but that information isn’t cascaded down.

If your winter supply of salt is delivered, but the platform staff don’t know it’s there, then it will do nothing to reduce the risk of an incident. Do line managers, who see the staff day after day, know what support your organisation offers? Are you using digital and printed media, as well as in-person briefings to say, “Did you know about the service provided by…?” In a cost of living crisis, we are seeing some people who have always ‘managed’ before struggle to get by. Do our local connections have access to a credit union or details of a foodbank; or do our managers perhaps have the ability to offer crisis support when needed?

I am, sadly, aware of organisations (of all sizes) where senior leaders and directors buy into wellbeing programmes but never make sufficient steps to get that information rolled out. In bigger companies and ones with high staff turnover are we constantly repeating the message about what help is available?

I’m really proud of the partnership that Railway Mission has established with Northern, where during the initial staff induction, new starters are introduced to numerous organisations, including chaplains. This ensures that, from day one, staff are signposted to available help.

Do you know what’s happening?

How big is the gap between your leadership and your workforce? Obviously, factors like geography and workforce size are going to have an influence here, but do those who make the decisions regarding workplace wellbeing and the interests of staff have enough connection with those around them? We all saw the response when Rishi Sunak announced a reduction in fuel duty with a photo opportunity at a petrol station with a car that it later emerged was not his own.

People on social media called him ”out of touch” and ”divorced from reality”. If people who work with us don’t believe that the situations in their life are understood by leaders, then we’ve started to lose the relationship that we need to do life together. Simon Sinek, author of the great book Leaders Eat Last, says, “A boss has the title, the leader has the people.”

February 2024

It has been said many times and is my experience that organisations that thrive have more leaders than managers.

One senior leader said to me recently that in a time of recent difficulties, where they’d been in more meetings than they would have chosen to be, their biggest regret was it had kept them away from time with front line staff, delivering the work that they did, day in and day out. Leaders who staff respect and admire are visible, engaged, and aware of what is happening to staff. Wellbeing systems will only work if they respond to the needs and requirements of the staff. One national organisation proudly announced a discount available for its staff on a health club membership, only to have it pointed out that the most northerly branch of that health club was just outside Birmingham. Suffice it to say, it did not go down well with the parts of the company in the north.

Are you invested?

Finally, in a world where every penny and every pound counts and is watched, are you investing in the mental health of your staff? Have you considered the impact of training people within your business into roles like wellbeing champions, Mental Health First Aiders or other roles that might fit your business? Have you made it clear about reward and recognition procedures that celebrate achievements? Even celebrating other people’s accomplishments increases our wellbeing when it is done well.

Railway Mission’s chaplains are invested in the wellbeing of the industry, and we can do that because of the way we are funded by the industry itself.

Chaplains are available because companies choose to invest in the way we can support mental health (please get in touch with us if you think we can support you and your staff, or if you feel able to support us).

Often, across the industry, my voice is the one asking, “How does this affect the staff teams?” or “What about when this happens?” Chaplains are often some of the first involved in difficult situations, and it makes a huge difference when organisations have taken the time to think about the wellbeing of their staff before a crisis hits. A new Scout group has started next door to my house in Lancashire. They look smart each week arriving in their neckerchiefs, woggles and uniforms. But as they were recently sworn in at their first investiture ceremony, mention was made of the well-known motto: Be Prepared.

It’s a familiar message, and one the Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts are regularly reminded of. But it takes us back to the winterisation story that I began with. Winter isn’t preventable, but it is predictable. We know the cold weather, ice and snow will come – and we need to be prepared. Wellbeing readiness lets us be prepared for some of those challenges and demands that employing people place on us. The railway needs good people - we can’t just work with machines. So how can we manage the risks and mitigate the dangers of poor mental health by creating workplaces where people can thrive, by facilitating communities that care, and by offering belonging in an organisation that shows that its people matter? www.twitter.com/birdsnestsblog www.railwaymission.org

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64

RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

Railway Industry Association’s Neil Walker has been promoting the UK rail supply chain all over the world for the last 10 years.

He explains more about what they offer and what 2024 has in store

A decade of supporting supply chain growth globally N

Above: Neil Walker (right) pictured with Worldline’s Paul Ravenhill at 2023 International Railway Equipment Exhibition in India

February 2024

eil Walker takes great satisfaction in seeing the UK supply chain thrive on railways abroad. As the Railway Industry Association’s (RIA’s) Exports Director for the last 10 years, he has travelled all over the world using his experience, skills, and knowledge to promote products and services and to help members unlock millions of pounds worth of international rail opportunities across the globe.

“Rail is a vibrant sector with a lot of opportunities, and it is a real privilege to play a part in providing a platform for UK-based companies to find work abroad,” Neil says. “There are a wealth of opportunities out there, and the supply chain in the UK has the expertise to deliver, something that is already happening all over the world. My role is to ensure that doesn’t just continue, but increases.”

For the last decade, Neil has led a team that arranges rail trade missions overseas, UK pavilions at major rail trade exhibitions (such as InnoTrans), webinars, meet the buyer events, seminars and much more. The ‘exports experts’ also host inward visits, connect members with international clients and work across the UK supply chain. Even during the pandemic, RIA carried on its momentum, organising webinars during periods of lockdown.

The organisation sends out weekly intelligence to members which provides details of tenders and other worldwide business opportunities, as well as news and information. It also has a RIA Exports Leadership Group (RELG), supporting RIA, chaired by Andrew Went, UKIMEA & Global High Speed Rail Leader at Arup, which brings together senior figures within the membership from UK-based rail suppliers who export goods and services around the world. RELG member and former Chair, Munir Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Xrail Group, was recognised in the recent New Year Honours List, receiving an OBE for Services to Rail Exports.

Neil added: “It’s important to acknowledge the partners that RIA works with to bring together the varied and important range of programme activity and knowledge to support exporters, from our exhibition partners Intec Export Intelligence, the Department for Business and Trade in the UK and

65

RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

We have engaged in multiple outward overseas missions, including AusRail, India, Canada to name but a few Gethin Thomas, Business Development and Technical Manager at SRS Rail

Above: The Airquick team pictured at the Trako exhibition in Poland with the Rail and HS2 Minister Huw Merriman (middle) and Chief Executive of RIA Darren Caplan (right).

their colleagues based overseas to the Department for Transport. It is a team effort which has also seen significant support from UK ministers, who have at times travelled overseas to support our exporters in some of the key rail events we attend.

“The UK’s experience of rail privatisation, market liberalisation, and significant investment in rail infrastructure over the last 20 years has fostered an open and competitive marketplace in a demanding domestic market.”

Neil and the team’s efforts are appreciated. Gethin Thomas, Business Development and Technical Manager at SRS Rail, said: “For a significant period of time, SRS Rail System Ltd has been a member of the Railway Industry Association. We have engaged in multiple outward overseas missions, including AusRail, India, Canada to name but a few, as well as inward visits and domestic events. This has helped open doors for us, and over time, we have developed a great professional relationship and a lasting friendship with Neil Walker, Exports Director.”

Turning attention to 2024, and the exports team is full of excitement for the year ahead, buoyed by the success of the last 12 months, which included trade missions in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, UAE, Malaysia, India, Canada, and America, while also hosting delegates from the likes of Kenya, North Macedonia, Australia, Hong Kong, and Portugal.

With over 650 UK delegates attending these exporting events during 2023 from many UK companies, it’s great to know that RIA is helping the sector insulate itself and helping to open up new export and existing export opportunities for the experienced exporter and even those new to exporting.

Looking to the year ahead and already RIA has hosted a trade mission to Ireland, which saw 103 delegates applying to join it in Dublin prior to preselection by the Irish clients. It will also be holding UK pavilions at major events like Middle East Rail in April, Rail Solutions Asia and Asia Pacific Rail in May, and of course InnoTrans in September and other rail trade missions around the world.

“2024 is already shaping up to be a year of great

opportunity and we are working hard at RIA to ensure we can help UK organisations to be in the best position to be successful in getting a piece of the action on railway projects abroad,” said Neil.

“For me, I want to do all I can to see many, many, more exporters providing world-class and innovative equipment overseas, and for UK companies to be providing their high-quality strategic advice, planning, design, and project delivery expertise. I want to see us as the unrivalled leaders in digital and data and in providing assistance to our members and countries around the world.

“The 2024 agenda looks set to be ambitious for one of the country’s best-known and leading export players. But it is also clear that RIA Exports Director Neil Walker is both up to the task and is passionate and motivated to deliver for UK rail companies seeking to grow their business abroad.

For more details on exporting rail services abroad, contact RIA Exports Director Neil Walker on neil.walker@riagb.org.uk and 020 7201 0777.

Visit https://www.riagb.org.uk/, for more on RIA.

Discover RIA’s early schedule of events See an indicative list of our upcoming exporting activities, more will be added when possible.

Happened: Trade Mission to Ireland, 24 – 26 January – with 103 applications, prior to client preselection.

Planned and recruiting for: Middle East Rail, 30 April – 1 May, UK Pavilion.

Rail Solutions Asia, 15 – 17 May, UK Pavilion.

Asia Pacific Rail, 29 – 30 May, UK Pavilion.

InnoTrans 2024, 24 – 27 September, UK Pavilions.

February 2024

Saudi Rail 2024, 20 – 21 November, UK Pavilion.

In discussions at time of print: Trade Mission to Portugal (sometime between April to June likely).

Trade Mission to Australia and New Zealand in the Autumn (directly after Saudi Rail, may include AusRail.)

Return Trade Mission to Ireland given level of interest.

Learn more at: https://www.riagb.org.uk/RIA/ RIA_Events/RIA/RIA_Even

66 How RBD Community members can use the latest update to The UK Rail Report to their advantage

Unlocking new opportunities T

he UK Rail Report, which is the insider’s guide to unlocking new opportunities in rail, has been updated this month.

And it is ripe with useful intelligence and contacts that you can use to help you identify key contacts and information for potential work-winning opportunities.

Rail Business Daily’s Managing Director Dean Bruce said: “Since its initial launch last June, The UK Rail Report has proved popular with RBD Community members who access the report free of charge as part of their membership benefits.

“We created it to help people better understand the UK rail landscape, governance, organisations running and supporting it. And we are delighted with the impact it is having for members. It’s being well used by business development and sales teams, with several members reporting that the intelligence in it has led them to contract discussions and wins with buyers in the industry.

“It is also being used as an induction tool to get new starters up to speed with the often complex landscape

February 2024

67 We are delighted with the impact it is having for members.

It’s being well used by business development and sales teams

that is the UK rail industry. Both outcomes add real value for our members and support our mission to be a force for good in rail. The latest update promises more intelligence and contacts for our members.

“I encourage everyone to make the most of this resource. We will continue to update it regularly so that it remains useful, relevant, and packed with value.”

Daniel Brock, Business Development Manager at C.B. Frost Rubber said of the report: “It’s an excellent piece of very informative work.”

About the update The report was launched last June 2023 and had its first update in September 2023. This latest update sees more contacts added to the popular ‘Who’s Who’ sections which help business development and sales teams identify key decision-makers.

It includes up to date facts and stats about the UK rail industry, all organisations including train operating companies, freight operating companies, light rail and metro, supply chain support and more.

It also includes key projects, industry events and awards. The report is designed to help industry stalwarts and newcomers to understand and navigate the UK rail industry and unlock opportunities. The big advantage of The UK Rail Report is that all this information is in one place.

Dean added: “The UK Rail Report is the most comprehensive rail report of its kind and an essential tool for everyone working in UK rail, seeking to work in the industry, and as an industry induction tool

Dean Bruce

for new market entrants.”

Many RBD Community members are using it to unlock work-winning opportunities and expand their knowledge and networks. If you don’t have access to it yet you really should.

To access The UK Rail Report join RBD Community here https://community.railbusinessdaily.com/ for £399 per year, and you’ll also enjoy a wide package of membership benefits worth £4,300.

Or non RBD-Community members can buy the report, which retails at £500 here https://www. railbusinessdaily.com/the-uk-rail-report/.

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74

RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), explains why he hopes 2024 will be the year which brings more certainty and growth for the railway industry.

Darren Caplan speaking at the RIA Parliamentary Reception

The Railway Industry Association: championing rail supply in 2024, following a difficult year 2

023 will be remembered as a difficult year when it came to rail policy. Despite Transport Secretary Mark Harper announcing in the early part of the year that there would be rail reform legislation to restructure UK rail, by May the Prime Minister (PM), Rishi Sunak, had made it clear that reforming rail was far down on his list of priorities, with buses, pot-holes and the car economy seemingly taking pride of place when it comes to transport. Whilst rail now has a Draft Bill, there will not be any restructuring taking place this side of a general election.

The HS2 Northern Leg announcement last October augmented the narrative that the PM is not a fan of rail. With the government having already salami-sliced the Eastern Leg to Leeds and abandoned the Golborne Link enabling high speed trains to get to and from Scotland, the PM proceeded to scrap the Northern Leg between Manchester and Birmingham entirely, as well as jeopardising the route from Old Oak Common to Euston. As things stand, we are left with a high speed ‘Acton to Aston’ shuttle service, with a weak business case. Whilst many RIA members will no doubt do a fantastic job in delivering

February 2024

HS2 Phase 1, it is now clearer than ever – following the Public Accounts Committee report in early February – that to get the full benefits of HS2 you need to build the full HS2 scheme.

Add to this the fact that four years on, we still have no Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline announcements, no narrative on the government’s priorities when it comes to the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP), the Integrated Rail Plan for the North & Midlands, and Network North projects, and the radio silence on a rolling stock pipeline and orders, and it is no wonder that the

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RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

2024 will see a general election and RIA and members will be hoping Looking forward to 2024 that following that However, we at RIA are always optimistic and so High-level asks of the political parties looking forward there are positives to point to as we With the national political parties putting together progress into 2024. The Control Period 7 settlement manifestos for the forthcoming General Election, there will be policy for April 2024 to March 2029 is close to the funding RIA’s high-level asks, informed by its members, are: certainty and swift levels of the previous period, CP6, in what is a tight economic environment – and this means there is Develop a long-term rail strategy which targets decisions, with real significant maintenance and renewals work for ambitious passenger and freight growth, RIA members. Also, the CP7 High Level Output provides capacity from the Midlands to progress towards Specification makes it very clear that government Manchester and further north, and commits to expects Network Rail to work more closely with the rapid decarbonisation. bringing track rail supply sector, and provide visible and certain pipelines of work to avoid ‘boom and bust’. And whilst Bring about industry reform for better delivery, and train closer there has been no RNEP announcement, individual including urgently bringing back revenue enhancements schemes – such as Transpennine incentives. together Route Upgrade and now Midlands Rail Hub – are rail supply sector faces 2024 with trepidation. It is ironic that at the very time when UNIFE, the European rail trade association, is predicting 3 per cent+ growth globally every year to 2027, the majority of UK rail leaders – in a recent Savanta survey commissioned

by RIA – are saying they think the rail market here will stagnate or contract.

every pound spent on rail £2.50 is generated more widely for UK plc.

Rail is also key to delivering the government goal of net zero by 2050, meaning rail itself needs to decarbonise, with accelerated electrification deployment on the most intensively-used lines and battery and eventually hydrogen fleets used on other parts of the network.

progressing.

It is also encouraging to see the growing benefit of transport devolution with clear strategies in Scotland, Wales, and London and the growing influence of the English Mayoral Combined Authorities with dedicated funding and the Sub-National Transport Bodies. We welcome the transformational projects which are coming forward including, for example, Midlands Hub, Northern Powerhouse Rail, West Yorkshire Mass Transit, and the Nexus Rail and Metro Strategy.

On the rolling stock side, whilst there still needs to be a comprehensive plan, there has been recent news of new competitions underway to replace trains on Northern, Transpennine, Southeastern, and Chiltern, subject to business case approval, as well as potential fleet upgrades and refurbishments.

Encouragingly, passenger and freight numbers have bounced back close to pre-COVID levels.

And a new report commissioned by RIA, soon to be published, will show numbers will grow significantly over the next 25 years, and could be even more bullish with the correct policy interventions.

2024 will of course see a general election and RIA and members will be hoping that following that there will be policy certainty and swift decisions, with real progress towards bringing track and train closer together, a guiding mind with strong devolved networks and budgets, and train operators incentivised to drive up customer numbers and grow revenues in the years ahead.

The Draft Rail Reform Bill will hopefully prove to be a first step towards that much-needed industry restructure, and RIA will respond to the current Transport Select Committee pre-legislation inquiry to convey RIA members’ views in the meantime.

It should already be clear to the political parties that the country will need first-rate rail to not only provide the connectivity a vibrant economy requires but also a thriving railway industry in its own right, because – according to Oxford Economics – it supports 710,000 jobs and £43bn GVA, and for

Urgently bring forward comprehensive plans for rolling stock.

Commit to a sustainable supply chain.

Facilitate private investment.

RIA will be expounding on all this much more in the weeks ahead, as the election gets nearer. But for now, we can only hope that 2024 is the year we emerge from the chaotic nature of rail policy-making in recent times to something more stable, and more geared to a long-term strategy. The UK railway industry desperately needs this if it is to deliver a vibrant, worldclass railway, for the benefit of national and regional economies and the various communities it serves in the months and years ahead.

February 2024

Below: Stephen Morgan MP, Shadow Minister for Rail, talking with Darren Caplan at the RIA Annual Conference

78

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

NTS has appointed Gottfried Eymer as its Managing Director – Rail.

A fully qualified lawyer, Gottfried has more than 20 years of international leadership experience in large transport, logistics and supply chain organisations including Deutsche Bahn, Rail Cargo Group and Etihad Rail

Streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and optimising resources What attracted you to the role?

I was thrilled when I saw the role advertised at Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS). It is a relatively new company in name but with an outstanding history of nuclear transport and other commercial activities.

There are so few companies in the world that undertake the work of NTS and it’s a really exciting time for the industry.

My background is in rail having gained years of knowledge and experience at Deutsche Bahn, Rail Cargo Group and Etihad Rail, and this was an opportunity to bring all my experience to NTS and its rail division – Direct Rail Services (DRS).

One of the big attractions for me was the diversification NTS has in its operations. I’ll clearly be focused on rail but I’m keen to learn more about its shipping and solutions businesses.

An area I’m keen to learn more about is NTS’s nuclear work. I’m new to the nuclear industry but this is a very exciting time as the UK looks to nuclear to fulfil its net zero targets.

I’m committed to ensuring the continued focus on safety and security and working with other organisations within the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group, which NTS is part of, to

maximise collaboration and efficiency savings.

The rail business has undergone a great deal of modernisation in recent years and I’m keen to take forward the good work which has been done while remaining committed to the safe, secure, and reliable services which NTS is renowned for.

The environmental credentials of rail are well known, with 76 per cent fewer emissions when compared to road, and that’s when using traditional diesel. With the Class 88s we can run with zero exhaust emissions. I want to build on this with our customers to really outline the advantage we can offer over traditional road transport. The partnership we have with our current customers bears this out; they appreciate how rail can enhance their carbon reduction commitments.

What are your aims and aspirations?

These really are exciting times to be in the rail and nuclear industries and I hope to build on the work of the last 29 years of DRS. At its core, the business is acutely focused on key nuclear work, which is of national significance and looks set to increase over the next few decades as decommissioning and new nuclear plans develop.

February 2024

I think what DRS has done successfully over the years is take the dedication to safety, security, and reliability, learned from nuclear, and implemented it to its other services. This is what adds real value to our customers, and I will continue this approach.

In my commitment to achieving operational excellence at NTS, my aim is to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and optimise resources to ensure that we continue to deliver outstanding rail services to our customers.

One of my key aspirations is to maintain a highperforming and motivated team at NTS. I believe in the power of effective leadership and fostering a collaborative environment where individuals can thrive and contribute their best towards the company’s success.

Customer satisfaction is a key focus for us, and I look to build on the excellent customer satisfaction levels at NTS. By understanding our customers’ needs and expectations, we can implement initiatives that enhance the overall customer experience, building on the long-term relationships we have and our commitment to safety, security, and reliability.

I’m passionate about advancing NTS’s commitment to sustainability and corporate

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

make improvements for the benefit of the whole railway.

The biggest challenge, as I see it, is the impact of extreme weather events, which are becoming more common. We can control many things, but the weather is not one of them. However, we can work in ways which mitigate its effect and work to ensure any disruption is kept to an absolute minimum.

NTS is committed to sustainability initiatives, including investing in energy-efficient technologies, exploring alternative fuels, and minimising the environmental impact of operations to meet evolving customer expectations and government targets.

The rail network is very complex and interdependent on many other factors, where a small incident anywhere along the line can have a ripple effect throughout the network. I’ll be looking at where we can mitigate these impacts and positively influence the areas we can control. We’ll also be looking to work very closely with partner organisations and agencies to ensure we’re doing everything we can to help them

Are you optimistic for the future at NTS? I’m hugely optimistic for the future of NTS, which is why I’ve chosen to join the company. It has a strong history through its rail and shipping divisions, and the experience it has in both nuclear and non-nuclear sectors is unmatched.

The recent government announcement of the civil nuclear roadmap also sets out ambitious plans for

nuclear over the coming years and NTS is here to offer the transport and consultancy needed to ensure this can be achieved.

But NTS, and specifically DRS, are much more than just nuclear; they have a wonderfully diverse set of operations, experience and key customers, customers who are committed to rail freight and the environmental benefits it brings. I’ll be working with our existing customers to ensure we meet their exacting requirements but also look to bring new customers to the rail freight market, perhaps those who haven’t been considering moving goods by rail before.

There has been a great deal of work at NTS done on modernising its rail fleet, and the Class 88 and 68 locomotives will be key to the success of future work.

We’ll also be looking at emerging fuel technology for locomotives to be fit for a future railway, and be ahead of net zero targets.

It’s a truly exciting time to be in either the nuclear or rail freight sectors and at NTS we get to be in both, which is fantastic.

Image: Rail Delivery Group

Image: Northern

Image: LRSSB

responsibility. I envision implementing environmentally conscious practices, reducing our carbon footprint, and contributing positively to the communities we serve.

Through strategic planning, innovation, and a focus on continuous improvement, my goal is for our company to be recognised, not only for its operational excellence, but also as an influential player shaping the future of rail services, and a leader in the rail industry.

What are the biggest challenges facing rail customers and how do you and NTS hope to overcome them?

Rail Delivery Group appoints David Brown as Chair

David Brown, Managing Director UK Trains at Arriva, has been appointed as Chair of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

David has served on RDG’s board, which consists of members who are drawn from the train operators’ owning groups and Network Rail, as a member since 2020 and has extensive experience in the railway sector.

As Chair, David will be responsible for the leadership and effectiveness of the board and providing strategic direction for the organisation. He succeeds Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of First Rail, whose tenure as Chair has come to an end but who remains a member of RDG’s board.

David said: “I am really pleased to have this opportunity to help provide leadership for the rail industry at such a crucial time. After unprecedented challenges in recent years, the railways can have a very bright future through meeting the needs of customers and the communities we serve.

“While long-term reform remains important, we must continue to attract customers to rail now, and to do that the industry needs to work collaboratively, with a relentless focus on delivering improvements and enhancing performance.”

Network Rail Executive announced as Northern’s new Chief Operating Officer

Northern has appointed Matt Rice as its new Chief Operating Officer. Matt is currently a Route Director at Network Rail and is set to join the train operator later in the spring.

He will succeed Tricia Williams, the outgoing Chief Operating Officer, who was announced as Northern’s new Managing Director in August 2023 and will step into the Managing Director role when Nick Donovan leaves in the spring.

A graduate of Aberystwyth University, Matt joined Network Rail as a management trainee and has gone on to hold a diverse range of roles spanning the intricacies of the UK railway system. After a period with railways in the Middle East, he returned to the UK, where in 2019 he was appointed as Route Director for the North & East route of Network Rail.

He said: “I am really looking forward to joining the team at Northern and working with Tricia and colleagues across the region to deliver for our customers.

“I have spent my career focused on making things better and I am committed to fostering a positive workplace culture for all and delivering great rail services for people across the North of England.”

February 2024

High-profile light rail leader appointed LRSSB Chair

A leading figure in the transport industry has been appointed Chair of the organisation responsible for driving up tramway safety standards.

George Lowder MBE, Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh (TfE), has been selected for the role at the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) as it continues to deliver a series of ambitious projects aimed at further reducing the risk of harm or injury on UK networks.

Already a well-known and highly respected leader within the light rail sector, George brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the non-executive position.

As Chief Executive of TfE, George has been instrumental in the development and delivery of a successful integrated transport network, including Edinburgh’s acclaimed tramway, which saw the successful launch of services to Newhaven and other areas of the city in 2023.

A previous Chair of the light rail sector’s representative body, UKTram, the former army officer is also a Non-Executive Director of Transform Scotland, Vice President of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, chairs the boards of two Scottish charities, and is a trustee of a third.

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82

AND FINALLY...

Tom O’Connor has sadly passed away. Nigel Wordsworth looks back on his life and the impact of his work on the railways

Tom O’Connor 1948 – 2024

R

ail Director was saddened to hear of the passing of Tom O’Connor, founder and owner of Rail Media, which publishes both the RailStaff and Rail Engineer magazines.

Tom was a fervent supporter of both the UK railway and its staff. RailStaff magazine was launched at the time of privatisation to keep managers and staff up to date with developments on the newly fragmented railway, to report everything that was good and to make sure that best practice, particularly in terms of safety, was reported fairly and promptly.

The RailStaff Awards grew out of that, a night to celebrate the achievements of railway men and women in all fields. It is still the only awards evening in the industry that recognises people, not companies.

Rail Engineer magazine was launched in 2004, quickly building a reputation for the engineering excellence of its reporting and the breadth of topics that it covered.

Tom was very much involved in the organisation of the privatised railway. He was an early member of the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum – now just the Rail Forum – and was a founder member of the Rail Alliance, which has since become the RBD Community.

Safety was always at the front of Tom’s mind. Every issue of RailStaff carried at least one page on safety – usually two – and his Rail Safety Summit is a wellattended annual event.

Tom’s warm and caring nature made him many friends. He was always ready to help someone in need, sometimes going to extreme lengths to do so, a quality that is seldom seen in current times.

Much admired by his peers and colleagues, Tom will be sadly missed. Rail Director offers its condolences and respect to his family and colleagues and salutes a giant of the railway publishing industry.

Image: Rail Media

February 2024

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