RailStaff Newspaper April 2012

RailStaff Issue 173 / April 2012

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Rail volunteers become Olympic Champions John Moore joins Balfour Beatty Rail as CEO

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Discussing Devolution with Robin Gisby Network Rail has created 10 routes with managing directors.

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600 Network Rail volunteers are getting ready for the London Olympics. They will be joining Team London Ambassadors to welcome athletes and spectators 80 per cent of whom are expected to travel to the Games by rail...

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Final countdown to Infrarail 2012 Final plans are now in place for Infrarail 2012 from 1-3 May.

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COMMENT

RailStaff Welcome rail staff Contact us:

Publisher:

Paul O’Connor

Editor:

Andy Milne

Senior Reporter:

Jonathan Webb

Pictures:

Colin Garratt

Track Safety:

Colin Wheeler

Writer:

Nigel Wordsworth

Advertising:

Asif Ahmed Craig Smith Paul Curtis

Production and design:

Adam O’Connor

Contact Email Addresses News: news@rail-media.com Pictures: pictures@rail-media.com Adverts: adverts@rail-media.com Subscriptions: pat@rail-media.com

Contact Details RailStaff Publications Ltd Ashby House, Bath Street, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 2HF. Tel: 01530 56 00 26 Web: www.railstaff.co.uk Email: hello@rail-media.com Printed by Pensord.

RailStaff is published by RailStaff Publications Limited.

A Rail Media Publication.

to the NEW RailStaff

Welcome to the new look, upgraded, capacity enhanced RailStaff. When we first started 15 years ago staff could still roll up tabloid newspapers and stuff them in outside pockets of old uniforms.

Now new railway fashions - even the police are upgrading - means rail staff look smart and trim and there’s little room for a red top tabloid, still less our leading rail industry green top.

So after checking out how readers and advertisers feel about A4 - as distinct from A3 Pacific we have taken the bold step of switching to a gloss art format. All the old favourites are here including Colin Wheeler’s Track Safety Focus. Colin Garrett will be reporting on our royal heritage in subsequent editions.

All photos should enjoy better quality and sharper focus. Tim Casterton is back with a dynamic Irish Railways news round up. Our New Century News Makers feature continues with an interview with Colin Flack of the Rail Alliance. We also welcome aboard new writers – many of them from the rail engineer, our sister publication.

Nigel Wordsworth takes a look at Network Rail’s devolved management structure, with part two ‘at the sharp end …’ next month. Just as we get rid of the last snow at home, David Shirres reports from the Arctic Circle where Russian Railways demonstrate snow clearance.

Going A4 means we can run more features and longer stories offering longer platforms. It is a fine way of beating capacity restraints and eliminating peak bottlenecks. Essentially it means we have the flexibility to expand pagination with a wider variety of news and features.

The serious core purpose of RailStaff remains the same - to tell good news stories about railways.

It remains a unique privilege to report the courage and

professionalism of the men and women who make up our industry.

Many stories of heroism and initiative go unrecognised. We aim to put this right both in these pages and at the RailStaff Awards.

This is a recession defying industry with a bright future. We were once dismissed as being naïve and unrealistic. Now, 15 years on, with passenger volumes at their highest since 1948 and rail freight making inroads against roads, the people we write about are being taken much more seriously.

Railways in Britain are a success story and a growth industry. It’s a good place to work, to build a career and run a new business.

SPECIAL FOCUS

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PAGE 18

Going A4 means we can run more features and longer stories offering longer platforms. It is a fine way of beating capacity restraints …

Andy Milne, Editor andy@rail-media.com

Stations Focus: In next month’s RailStaff

Ada and Phyllis get to work

Budget boost for Northern Hub

Stations are busy places. Refurbishment and alterations are taking place right across the network. RailStaff brings you the latest news.

If you want to contribute, get in touch now.

Call Paul Curtis on 01530 56 00 26 or email pc@rail-media.com.

Two tunnel boring machines, each weighing 1000 tonnes and 150 metres long, begin an 18 month journey beneath London.

The Northern Hub capacity increase project is backed by George Osborne with a further £130 million investment.

www.railstaff.co.uk

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P.. P.. Pick up a RailStaff Thanks for picking this up if it’s your first time. We particularly welcome new readers to RailStaff, an independent newspaper for people working in railways.

After rail privatisation most people expected railways to fade away. Managed decline was the euphemism. We took a different view. A modern industrial state needs up to date rail systems, trains capable of moving huge amounts of people safely and speedily.

We need competitive railfreight businesses to feed the ports, factories and commercial arcades that fuel our economy. One central problem for the industry was a temporary loss of confidence in railways in the latter half of the last century. This affected staff morale. We determined to combat this.

RailStaff concentrates on telling good news stories about railways and the people who come together to run them.

A new confident rail industry is emerging. Rail staff, contractors and engineers are progressing new projects, building better stations and running more trains on time than Swiss Railways. The industry is preparing to build a high speed rail network. Several cities are extending tram systems and the London Underground is in better shape than at any time since the 1960s. This is a good industry and all who work in it should be proud of it.

Olympic link for rail champions More than 600 Network Rail volunteers will join rail staff at stations to help guide millions of passengers to and from the London Olympics this summer.

Travel champions will be out in force at 13 stations including Liverpool Street, St Pancras International, King’s Cross and Stratford International.

Says volunteer Katherine Sherval, 28, ‘I’m proud of what I achieved in the day job and I’m really excited to do something different and help at the coalface during such an exciting time.

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Our stations will be the first thing millions of people see when they arrive in London and we only have one chance to make a good impression. I’m determined to give everyone a smile and make them feel welcome.’

Katherine Sherval (below) is a project manager based in London and worked on the upgrade of Stratford station - one of the main rail gateways to the Olympics.

Network Rail’s travel champions will be wearing the same distinctive uniforms and trilby as the Greater London Authority’s Team London Ambassadors.

They will be positioned at information pods at stations to help members of the public. ‘We expect 80 per cent of spectators to travel by rail or tube, so our stations will be gateways to the Games for millions of people,’ says Dave Ward, Network Rail route director.

‘At certain times, our railway will be extremely busy and these enthusiastic volunteers will be there to help make journeys as smooth as possible.’

The railway’s greatest strength is its people and the industry is making sure it fields plenty of them.

www.railstaff.co.uk

NEWS

Ada and Phyllis get to work Mayor of London Boris Johnson and transport secretary Justine Greening have officially launched the start of Crossrail tunnelling during a ceremony at Westbourne Park near the Royal Oak portal, a short distance from Paddington station.

Two tunnel boring machines, named Ada and Phyllis, will now begin an 18 month journey beneath London. In autumn 2013 they will meet up with other boring machines, that will commence tunnelling from Docklands later this year. Each machine weighs 1000 tonnes and is 150 metres long.

Over the next three years, eight tunnel boring machines will construct a total of 13 miles of twin-bore tunnel under the capital.

The Crossrail route will pass through 37 stations and run 73 miles from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. The two TBMs are named after Ada Lovelace, one of the first computer programmers, and Phyllis Pearsall, who walked 23,0000 streets and 3,000 miles to create the London A-Z road gazetteer.

The next two machines will be named Victoria and Elizabeth, after Britain’s longest reigning queens.

Mary and Sophie, will be named after wives of great engineers. Mary was the wife of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Sophie the wife of Marc Isambard Brunel who built the first tunnel under the Thames.

In a spirited attack on political opponents of the £14.8 billion project Mr Johnson said, ‘I remember there was a period of appalling, nail-chewing suspense when the new government was trying to understand how to deal with the colossal mess they’d

discovered the country was in. One distinguished Cabinet Minister, no names, no pack drill, I’ll only say he wears Hush Puppies, was heard to say that we’d save a lot of money by cancelling this project.’

The coalition government, the London Mayor and business and community leaders have united with the rail industry to deliver Europe’s biggest rail infrastructure project. Trains are expected to start running along the 73 mile route in 2018.

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NEWS

Greening welcomes graduates

Transport Secretary Justine Greening has welcomed 85 young graduates onto the railway at Coventry.

The Secretary of State was there to toast a new industry scheme, ‘Track and Train,’ launched to encourage more young people to

Level playing field for Bowker Richard Bowker has stepped down as head of Etihad Rail in the United Arab Emirates and is returning home.

The former head of National Express and the Strategic Rail Authority was appointed a nonexecutive director of the Football League last month. Bowker, a lifelong Blackburn Rovers fan and committed Christian, has been an outspoken critic of how football is run in Britain.

Hazem Mobarak, currently executive director of infrastructure at Etihad Rail replaces Richard as the company prepares to let construction contracts later this year.

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take up careers on the railways.

The new cross-rail industry paid work placement scheme, provides graduates with industrial experience at Network Rail and a train or freight company. The scheme lasts 18 months.

All those joining this spring have graduated in the last two years but owing to tough economic times have found themselves either unemployed or more likely underemployed in a non-graduate level role. Track and Train will give them opportunities to gain valuable

experience before taking the next step in their careers.

Traditionally, the rail industry has struggled to attract great numbers of talented women who perceive it as old fashioned and heavy.

However, 30 per cent of Track and Train’s new recruits are female.

‘This scheme is really great news for the next generation of men and, I’m pleased to say, women, who will be leading and transforming the industry for years to come,’ said Justine Greening.

‘More and more graduates are

realising that the railways can provide dynamic, fulfilling jobs at a time of not only unprecedented investment in our existing networks but as we also embark on the creation of a truly national high speed railway network.’

Funded by Network Rail, the scheme involves 28 partner companies based across Britain.

Those on the scheme will be paid a salary of £22,000 per annum with 21 days holiday for each of the years 2012 and 2013. Network Rail received 2514 applications.

Centro urges high speed rail Centro, the Midlands transport authority, has renewed calls for High Speed two.

The new fast rail link will help boost capacity on the regions’ railways. Says Centro chief executive, Geoff Inskip, ‘We must have HS2 as soon as possible if we are to cope with escalating West Midlands demand for rail services.’

Centro is giving evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for High Speed Rail at Westminster on April 18.

Geoff Inskip reports that 22.8 million passenger journeys were made in the West Midlands conurbation in 2000/01. This has now almost doubled to 42.8 million journeys by 2010/11. The APPG inquiry has been set up to examine the UK’s rail capacity needs.

‘What is often overlooked is the important fact that HS2 releases capacity for more train services on our existing lines allowing us to provide better local and regional

rail in our region. It might not grab the headlines but it’s vital because this means we can get more people to work, reduce congestion and overcrowding and take freight off our roads. This will significantly boost our economy,’ says Geoff.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening gave the go-ahead for HS2 on January 10 after a public consultation.

“This will significantly boost our economy…”

GEOFF INSKIP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CENTRO

www.railstaff.co.uk

Oakervee heads HS2 Douglas Oakervee has been appointed as the new chair of HS2 Ltd. The move for Mr Oakervee caps a long and successful career working on major infrastructure projects both in Britain and in Hong Kong. Transport Secretary Justine Greening said, ‘HS2 is a railway which will transform the economic shape of the UK, so finding the right person for this role is vital. I am delighted that Doug has agreed to take on this important position, bringing with him decades of experience of working on major infrastructure projects.

‘The next few years include a number of key challenges and milestones for this project and Doug’s input will be invaluable as we move forward. I would also like to thank the current Chair, Brian Briscoe, for his invaluable work in leading HS2 Ltd this far.’

Between 2005 and 2009 Oakervee was Executive Chairman of Crossrail Ltd during the project’s Hybrid Bill phase. Other experience includes project director at Chek Lap Kok International Airport in Hong Kong. Originally a civil engineer Doug Oakervee was appointed non-executive chairman of Laing O’Rourke Hong Kong in 2009. As Chair of HS2 Ltd, Mr Oakervee’s primary responsibilities will be to:

• Formulate strategy • Ensure HS2 follows DfT guidance when designing the route • Encourage high standards of practice • Promote HS2 to the general public.

Says Doug Oakervee, ‘I am excited about my appointment and passionate about the development of UK’s high-speed rail network and HS2 is a great

step forward. I believe that HS2 offers a unique chance to address the capacity issues facing the British transport network and to promote growth in our major cities. I will use my experience of the Hybrid Bill process at Crossrail to ensure that HS2 Ltd is best able to efficiently navigate this stage of the project.’

Mr Oakervee lives in Suffolk and was appointed OBE in the New Year’s Honours list 2000.

“The next few years include a number of key challenges and milestones for this project…”

JUSTINE GREENING, TRANSPORT SECRETARY

Return of Crossrail Commissioner appointed the native Rowe Hankins, the rail engineering specialist, has appointed Michael Healey as UK sales manager for rail.

Michael, described as a rail industry veteran, is rejoining the company where he worked between 1993 and 2001. Michael also has extensive engineering experience in the rail industry.

Recently he has been working with Schneider Electric on electrical switchgear systems.

‘It’s great to be back with the old team,’ he said. ‘Rowe Hankins is a professional organisation with a highly qualified engineering team, world class products and IRIS certified quality systems. We can take on the world and I relish the challenge.’

He will be responsible for sales of Rowe Hankins’ speed control and wheel flange lubrication systems.

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In an optimistic move Stephen Jolly has been appointed as the new Crossrail Complaints Commissioner.

He replaces Tony Gregory who took up the post as the first Crossrail Complaints Commissioner in January 2009 but stepped down in October 2011. The role has since been filled on an interim basis by Bernard Gambrill.

The Commissioner assists members of the public who feel they have not been able to satisfactorily resolve issues around building work directly connected with Crossrail. Says Mr Jolly, ‘I’m delighted to be taking up the post

“I’m delighted to be taking up the post as the new Crossrail Complaints Commissioner. Crossrail is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK…” STEPHEN JOLLY, COMPLAINTS COMMISSIONER, CROSSRAIL

as the new Crossrail Complaints Commissioner. Crossrail is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK with extensive construction planned to take place across London and the south east. The role of the Complaints Commissioner is to act as an independent mediator in unresolved disputes between Crossrail Limited and members of the public.’

Stephen Jolly has been the Transport Stakeholder Relations Manager with the Olympic Delivery Authority since 2006.

Previous roles include Head of Integrated Transport Projects with Cambridgeshire County Council.

He has also worked with London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway.

Stephen is a reservist with the Royal Air Force. The Complaints Commissioner reports to the Crossrail High Level Forum which is jointly chaired by the Minister of State for Transport and the Mayor of London. www.railstaff.co.uk

PEOPLE NEWS

Assertis move for Neil Healthy role for “Simple, efficient Ian Lee ticket buying…”

Assertis Ltd, the company behind MyTrainTicket.co.uk has appointed Neil Atkins as business development director.

Megan Spencer-Rigby also joins the top team at MyTrainTicket.

Assertis, based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, launched its rail ticketing service in 2008 to provide train operators with a simple way of selling train tickets through their own company websites.

Neil Atkins has extensive experience of the rail industry and has a marketing background in InterCity. He was commercial director at Gatwick Express and later worked for Fraser Eagle.

Megan Spencer-Rigby, has a strong rail background and has worked for Virgin Trains as well as the

SIMON GRANT-RENNICK, CHAIRMAN, ASSERTIS pioneering on-line business, The Trainline.

Says Assertis Chairman Simon Grant-Rennick, ‘We are delighted to have secured such key and influential rail industry individuals. I am confident that they will both make a major contribution to our ability to help train operators provide a simple, efficient ticket buying experience for their customers and boost the online presence and direct sales of MyTrainTicket.co.uk.’

CEO role for John

Brian Christie joins First Hull Trains

John Moore has been appointed chief executive officer of Balfour Beatty Rail.

First Hull Trains has appointed Brian Christie as new operations manager.

Moore, who was formerly managing director of Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, takes over from Manfred Ledger. John Moore helped form Balfour Beatty Engineering Services by overseeing the merger of Haden Young and Balfour Kilpatrick (BK).

Mr Moore headed up Balfour Kilpatrick in 2004. He had previously been managing director of Carillion’s company, Crown House Engineering. Earlier in his career he worked in the Middle East. He has an MBA from the University of Strathclyde and is Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Brian, from Scotland, has extensive experience in the rail industry, in both the passenger and the freight field. ‘This is the first time that I have worked for an open access rail operator,’ said Brian. ‘It is this rewarding challenge which makes me want to work at First Hull Trains.

‘I believe this new role will give me the chance to put into practice the knowledge and skills I have accumulated over the past couple of decades in the industry. As operations manager, I am responsible for operational competency and safety amongst First Hull Trains’ staff.

‘It is essential that the highest level of safety, quality and customer satisfaction is always upheld. We ensure this through regular staff training throughout the year and the continuous drive to meet the highest level of industry standards and be the best.’

Brian relaxes by playing five-aside football, golf and snooker.

Ian Lee has been appointed Health, Safety and Environmental Manager for First Hull Trains.

Ian joins First Hull Trains from First Capital Connect where as the Safety Project Manager he was in charge of the safety management arrangements on the Thameslink Programme and King’s Cross Station Redevelopment in London.

Mr Lee has over 40 years experience in the industry.

‘I decided to move to First Hull Trains as I wanted to get more involved with day to day safety management,’ says Ian. ‘My most recent position was in a strategic role and I wanted a post in which I could have a combination of the two. The Health, Safety and Environmental Manager at First Hull Trains provides the perfect opportunity.’

“We are delighted to welcome Ian…” CATH BELLAMY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FIRST HULL TRAINS Outside work, Ian is a keen golfer.

‘I look to get out and play a round of golf every week. I find it to be a very relaxing sport. My wife and I live near our children, and our beautiful grandchildren. We love spending as much time with them as possible as they are growing up.’

Says Cath Bellamy, Managing Director at First Hull Trains, ‘We are delighted to welcome Ian to our team. We are further assured by the level of expertise and skill he is bringing to the company and we look forward to working with him.’

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Tel: 0845 880 8104 www.ganymedesolutions.co.uk

www.railstaff.co.uk

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RAIL ALLIANCE NEWS

Join the Rail Alliance now Rail Alliance membership starts from just £500 per year

Steel display for Crescent Machinery Crescent Machinery Ltd is in its second year of membership of the Rail Alliance and is an active participant in the monthly networking meetings.

Crescent will be exhibiting with a full team at the MACH2012 exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham from 16th-20th April on Stand 4524B, Hall 4. On show will be a Sangiacomo T40 CE Power Press, a MACC Special 330 Bandsaw (mitre cut) and a MACC New300 Circular Saw (chop) … all will be under power for demonstration.

Crescent provides specialist service engineers to the Sheet Metal and Fabricating industries.

High Thrive Never before has the Rail Alliance motto ‘Network, Collaborate, Innovate, Thrive’ been more appropriate in describing last month’s activities, reports Robert Hopkin.

We have been ‘up’ to London to meet old friends at RSSB and see developments surrounding the bid for the Transport Technology Innovation Centre, now referred to as the Transport Catapult. It was

Crescent works on any type of machinery that bends or forms sheet or plate. All service engineers hold the appropriate qualifications in their own discipline be it hydraulic, mechanical, electrical or electronic.

Additionally, Crescent also offers a design service with 3D modelling. Crescent Machinery also has an engineer with Health and Safety qualifications for specific safety issues such as Power Legislation & Assessment, Risk Assessments. The company itself has ISO9001 certification and is a member of the MMMA (Metalforming Machinery Maker’s Association) through its

acquisition of Kinghorn Machinery.

Crescent Machinery is able to assist most companies who work within the engineering section of the rail industry. This includes fabricators who make steps, bridges and overhead gantries as well as companies manufacturing component parts for bogies or stainless steel catering equipment and sanitary ware.

Crescent Machinery is now working in conjunction with Vernet Behringer ® to provide a UK service and support platform for their many Steel Processing Lines.

Vernet Behringer has great experience within Europe of supplying process lines for the cutting and drilling of railway lines.

For more information on Crescent Machinery’s capabilities, e-mail Stephen Jackson at info@crescentmachinery.co.uk or visit them on line at www.crescentmachinery.co.uk

particularly good to catch up with colleagues and members of the Rail Alliance from the Transport Research Laboratory as well as the Technology Strategy Board.

On 27 March at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, hosted by the Midlands Aerospace Alliance, we held our first multi-sector Collaboration in the form of a Transport Seminar and Networking event. We are particularly grateful to Colin Stewart of Arup - Director Global Rail Markets - for eloquently articulating the case for rail to our Aerospace and Manufacturing sector colleagues.

We have also seen our

membership thrive anew with another six new members during March – details opposite. So, we look forward to April with another Networking Event at TRaC Global’s Skelmersdale Laboratories on 17 April at which we will hear a couple of presentations by TRaC Global on EMC and Vibration as well as hearing from Andrew Feben from Network Rail about the Product Approval Process.

Later this month, 26th April, at our Long Marston offices, we have the first in a series of BS11000 workshops. These will help develop our members’ knowledge of Collaborative Business Relationships.

Rail Alliance events Infrarail 2012 1st-3rd May NEC, Birmingham

Railway Strategies 2012 21st June Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham

Infrarail networking event with European Cluster representation 2nd May NEC, Birmingham

Macrorail 2012 12th-13th Sept Long Marston

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Innotrans 2012 18th-21st Sept Berlin, Germany

log on to www.railalliance.co.uk email jo.bennett@railalliance.co.uk or call 01789 720026.

New members Lorne Stewart Plc (Leading UK Engineering Company in the Building Construction Services and Maintenance Industries) www.lornestewart.com

A Jansen B.V. (Legioblock) (World’s Largest Producer of Interlocking Concrete Blocks for Constructing and Restructuring Retaining Walls with Minimal Effort) www.legioblock.com

Coventry University Enterprises (Metrology Consultancy and Professional Services) www.coventry.ac.uk/metrology/ pages/businessservices.aspx

Ede & Wilkinson (ewg LTD) (Multi Services Organisation Providing Building & Civils Electrical & Mechanical Testing & Inspection, Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning, Security, CCTV, Fire Alarms, Walkways & Gantries) www.ewgltd.com

Henley Business Group (Specialist Business Broker for the Rail Sector) www.henleybusiness.com

CPS Rail Ltd (Specialists in Roof, Wall & Floor Coatings for Graffiti Removal, Planned & Reactive Maintenance and Refurbishment Projects for the Rail Industry) www.cps-rail.co.uk

www.railstaff.co.uk

NEWS

York office for Vital Vital Rail, part of the Vital Services Group, has reopened a regional office in York to cope with growth in the rail sector.

Increased orders from clients in the area are behind the development. Says Nick Baxter, Regional Director of Vital Rail North, ‘Despite the cost reductions which are flowing through the industry following the publication of the McNulty report, we have actually seen quite a strong and steady increase in work recently.

‘We put this down to a combination of the rail contractors further reducing their supply chains - for which we have retained our preferred supplier status and the increased demand for our contracting services under which we deliver fixed price packages of work.’

Vital Rail’s York business is run

by Steve Carter, northern operations manager, whilst the

www.railstaff.co.uk

office is run by resource manager, Emma Barnes (below), a native of Haxby, north of York. The office will complement Vital Rail’s existing offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Warwick and Swindon.

Arresting fashion British Transport Police officers are cutting a dash this spring with new uniforms designed to be more practical and hard wearing.

Open neck wicking shirts replace the traditional collar and tie, retained for formal occasions.

There is no change to headgear, with helmets and flat caps worn in England and Wales and flat caps in Scotland. The new utility uniform tops are black for police officers with the text ‘Police’ on the upperarm. PCSOs have a blue top with ‘Community Support Officer’ on the upper-arm.

BTP has around 2,400 uniformed police officers serving across England, Wales and Scotland, together with almost 300 police community support officers (PCSOs). A further 400+ officers work in CID.

Open neck wicking shirts replace the traditional collar and tie…

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Cofield steps down The man who helped pioneer sophisticated lifting equipment is stepping down.

Merton’s Advance move Paul Merton has joined specialist rail recruitment company Advance TRS as Operations Director, to work with close friend and former colleague Andy Ridout.

building a professional and trusted recruitment consultancy. The chance to work with Andy is also what attracted me to Advance.

Anyone who has met Andy will know how passionate he is about recruitment and the rail industry.’

Says Andy Ridout, ‘Paul is a very welcome addition to the team.

Aside from being a good friend, he brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge. We share the belief that customers want to speak to real industry experts. That way, clients can be confident we understand their requirements and candidates can be assured we will find a role that’s right for them.’

Paul has 12 years experience in mechanical, electrical and rail telecommunications recruitment.

He previously worked as a Business Consultant at Maple Resourcing Ltd and has worked for Resourcing Solutions and Marks and Spencer.

Says Paul, ‘It’s really inspiring to see what Advance has achieved in its first six months and I’m thrilled at the opportunity to continue

Bean thinking

Priv Travel contact changes Retired railway staff wanting to check priv travel facilities can call Rail Staff Travel on 0800 652 1700, a dedicated free phone number.

Hungry passengers can now snack on jelly beans and raise money for charity at the same time.

Thanks to the railway children charity the new brand of jelly beans is available at most Whistlestop station grocers. Corporate supporters, SSP, helped developed the beans. 60 per cent of the profits go to the Railway Children. © SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Graham Cofield, sales and technical director at Mechan, is retiring following a 49-year career in the transport industry. Graham spent the last 23 years with the Sheffield-based manufacturer powering up the firm’s considerable expansion.

When Graham joined Mechan in 1989 as a design engineer, the firm was trading almost completely in the material handling market.

Using his experience with hydraulic jacks at British Rail, Cofield helped transform Mechan into one of the UK’s pre-eminent depot maintenance equipment manufacturers.

This business now accounts for almost 90 per cent of turnover.

New engineering director, Martin Berry, will be taking over Graham’s duties. Martin has worked for Mechan as design manager for nine years.

Says Graham, ‘I have seen many changes during my career at Mechan and in the transport sector. After taking those first tentative steps to design a set of jacks for the rail industry, I am

enormously proud to have been part of a team that has built up such a huge range of depot equipment. We have gained a reputation across the world for engineering excellence and customer service that is second to none and I know that these principles will ensure the firm’s success continues well into the future.’

From his home in Doncaster, Graham now intends to spend more time on the golf course, as well as indulging in his other pastimes, which include gardening and walking his dog. Says Richard Carr, Mechan’s managing director, ‘It has been an absolute pleasure working with Graham - his professionalism and technical knowledge is unsurpassed.

‘Thanks to his excellent design work, the firm has been involved in some landmark moments for the UK rail industry, including the first and largest multi-road bogie exchanging system and most recently, the largest single system of rail jacks ever produced. We wish Graham a long and happy retirement and we have every confidence that Martin will continue his good work.’

Based in London, the Rail Staff Travel team is on hand five days a week to answer queries from former rail staff and their families either by phone, e-mail or letter.

The new number 0800 652 1700 is the same number as for active staff.

Despite the change in contact details, all travel facilities for retired staff will remain the same and there will be no change to entitlements. The change will mean that all rail staff travel facilities will be dealt with under one roof. Retired staff should have

been sent the new contact details along with their 2012-2013 staff travel card.

Says Angela Nicholson, Head of Rail Staff Travel, ‘Bringing all rail staff travel together means that from the start of April it will be easier for us to give people the high level of service that they have rightly come to expect. Along with a new free phone number for people to call, we’ll have an expanded team based in London ready to deal with any queries people may have about entitlements and travel facilities.

‘The only change we expect people to notice will be the new contact details and maybe a few new names. All retired staff travel entitlements will of course remain

unchanged and unaffected.’

The Rail Staff Travel can be contacted on Freephone: 0800 652 1700 or by email: rstl@atoc.org or in writing at: Rail Staff Travel, PO Box 70159, London WC1A 9GN.

Retired railway staff wanting to check priv travel facilities can call Rail Staff Travel on 0800 652 1700…

www.railstaff.co.uk

NEWS

National Framework success for Bridgeway Consulting

Badge of honour

It’s all down to the quality of the people, that’s the message from Bridgeway Consulting managing director, Pino De Rosa.

Pregnant mothers travelling on the London Underground should find it easier to get a seat thanks to a badge scheme launched by TfL.

Bridgeway Consulting recently won an extension to its national survey contract with Network Rail. ‘Our ability to deliver a top quality service highlights our professionalism and demonstrates the quality of our people. In the past year we have proven again that we can deliver a multi-disciplinary managed service effectively and safely to our client,’ said Pino De Rosa.

‘We believe we will be able to offer both cost and time savings to Network Rail. We appreciate the importance of this at a time when Network Rail is continuing to find ways to deliver better value for money. This explains why we were awarded an extension for this framework contract.’

Bridgeway Consulting has a NR4 (MT)/BDG/CIV/113 National Intrusive & NonIntrusive Survey National Framework Call-Off Contract with Network Rail. The framework was initially awarded 12 months ago. After

successfully delivering a whole tranche of works across the country, Network Rail has decided to extend the contract.

Says Mark Lindahl, Associate Director of Site Investigations at Bridgeway Consulting, ‘The contract extension is testament to the hard work put in by the Site Investigations and Survey teams in delivering a high quality product to very tight deadlines.

Our approach to collaborative working has benefitted the project works, whilst ensuring Network Rail always receives a quality service.’

The framework covers a multitude of disciplines, which are specialist business areas at Bridgeway Consulting. The following services will continue to be made available for the duration of the call-off contract:

• Geotechnical Investigations • Structural Coring • Paint Sampling Analysis • CCTV Surveys • Topographical Surveys • Track Surveys • Gauging Surveys • Environmental Surveys • 7 Day Load Testing Surveys

• Refurbishment / Demolition / Asbestos Inspections • Confined Spaces Inspections • Roped Access Examinations • Ground Probing Radar Surveys • Railway Safety Critical Support Staff • Overhead Line Isolations.

The ‘baby on board’ badges mean passengers know the mums-to-be may need to sit down. Research shows some passengers fear being branded sexist for offering up seats to women. Others routinely fail to notice the needs of fellow passengers.

The badges will help overcome the awkwardness often felt by pregnant women at having to ask someone to give up their seat. Passengers in priority seats will be able to see when they should give up their place.

Top teams from Bridgeway Consulting are out in force this spring progressing a number of projects around the network expanding and improving Britain’s railways.

For further information about Bridgeway Consulting’s specialist services please call: 0115 919 1111.

Dutch courage for Tube Map A famous Dutch Olympic athlete, Fanny Blankers-Koen, will be featured on the London Underground Olympic Legends Map after a rethink by designers.

The star of the 1948 London Olympics was a champion

pentathlete, sprinter and hurdler.

She also excelled at long and high jump. Nicknamed the Flying Housewife, Fanny Blankers-Koen had initially been left off the map which features famous athletes in place of station names.

Each underground line is

dedicated to a sports discipline, such as track and field or boxing.

Some of the biggest names in sports history are featured, including sprinter Usain Bolt as Victoria, multi-gold medal winning rower Sir Steve Redgrave as Knightsbridge and basketball great Michael Jordan

as King’s Cross St. Pancras.

One of the biggest stars of the 1948 London Olympics, Fanny Blankers-Koen is credited with doing much to advance the role of women in sport. She died in 2004 in her home town, Hoofdorp.

23rd May 2012, National Rail Museum,York

Paul Dobbins Chief Technical Officer, telent Communications

www.railstaff.co.uk

Places are limited.To reserve a place for this free-of-charge event, please visit

13

Devolution

Discussing

Nigel Wordsworth reports 14

Devolution is defined as the transfer of powers from a central organisation to local units.

It was also the name given to a programme rolled out during last year by Network Rail which divided the country up into ten Routes, each with its own Managing Director.

As part of the plan, each route would not only operate as a separate business unit with its own accounts, allowing greater benchmarking of financial performance and efficiency between the routes and sharing best practice, but would also have its own management team to operate, maintain and renew the infrastructure under the control of a Route Managing Director.

David Higgins, Chief Executive of Network Rail, commented at the time: “Network Rail is committed to building not just a bigger and better railway but a better value railway too. Devolution marks a significant change, both in terms of the way we organise ourselves as a company and the service we offer our customers. Empowering route teams means quicker and more responsive decision-making

and will help us meet our central goal of putting the customer first.”

The term “Better Value Railway” seemed to hint that these changes had been brought about following Sir Ian McNulty’s report to government on “Realising the potential of GB Rail”. If so, the programme had been rolled out remarkably quickly as the report

by Sir Ian’s Rail Value For Money Study had only been published in May 2011 and, although they had received a preliminary report the previous year, the first two route managing directors were appointed on 3 May. By the end of 2011, all ten route managing directors were in place.

Now, almost a year after those first appointments, it was time to see how the new organisation was performing. Had it made a difference?

The architect First call was on the architect of the whole scheme, Network Rail’s managing director of Network Operations, Robin Gisby. Talking with him in his office overlooking Kings Cross Station, the first obvious question was - why?

Robin first looked back at history.

Describing himself as “The last robber baron from Railtrack days”, he had seen the formation of Network Rail first-hand.

“Iain Coucher did a fantastic job of building a new team,” he said.

“We came up with a detailed 32point action plan, stuck rigidly to it, and it worked.” Strict centralised control imposed a regime of planning and cost containment that was sorely needed. It turned the maintenance of the railway around from something that was, frankly, out of control and forced it to address the important issues and hit cost targets, and then to start making cost reductions.

“However,” Robin continued, “If you run everything centrally for too long, lower level management tends to look upwards and inwards, and not out towards the customer.

People don’t feel empowered. They lose the intangible, cross-functional integration that is needed to do the right thing, and not just meet targets.”

“For example, the signalling team have a plan to reduce the number of signalling control centres in the country to just 14 over the next few years. This will mean closing many of the current signal boxes. www.railstaff.co.uk

FEATURE

Robin Gisby (far left) and Alec McTavish (left).

At the same time, another team has the task of improving security at the existing centres - fences, earth mounds, electronic doors and gates, unbreakable glass - that sort of thing. They are working to a list. So they started spending money on centres that were scheduled to close in a couple of years - simply because one team wasn’t talking to the other.”

Forward planning “We needed to integrate our various teams, and also to address the problem of paying better attention to our customers. This was just at the time that Iain was leaving, and there was a delay until David Higgins took up his post as he had to be released by the Olympic Delivery Authority. So the board worked up plans to give more authority to the routes, to make them into separate but integrated teams, and to give them control over their own budgets.

“When David arrived we presented our plan to him, and he got it very quickly. David is huge on accountability - he believes in giving managers enough rope to do their job, but he wants to know who is accountable. www.railstaff.co.uk

“So we went ahead with the plan and created the ten routes, and appointed their managing directors. We also started to dismantle all the steering groups and committees that had grown up under the centralised organisation. Under the old system, we would have set up a Devolution Steering Group - that would have appointed a Devolution Working Group - and they would have employed consultants to advise them. None of that happened this time - the last thing we wanted was a steering group to decide how to reduce the number of steering groups!”

Robin wanted to make the remaining central system not only slimmer, but also much more supportive of the regions - as he calls it “Much sharper and pokier”.

He remembered a visit to Nissan Motors that he made years ago, when he was still with automotive supplier GKN. A seat manufacturer had problems and, while the British way would have been to shout at the supplier and tell them to sort themselves out, Nissan management all went to the seat plant to help solve the problem.

Their supplier’s problems were seen as their problems. Network Rail HQ should be like that.

“Of course, we still control some areas,” Robin added. “If a route has a major finance problem, or a safety problem area, Patrick Butcher (Finance Director) and Gareth Llewellyn (Safety Director) are quite at liberty to jump straight in to sort it out. They don’t have to go through me, a major problem needs putting right quickly. But that should seldom happen.

“For everything else, the local managing director runs his own route. They still come to me and ask about an idea they have, and I just tell them to go with their own plans - it’s their business and they have to run it.”

It seems that Network Rail is fully committed to this Devolution. But one of the main aims was a better interface with their customers.

How is that getting along?

The operators A mile away from Network Rail’s headquarters are the offices of ATOC - the Association of Train Operating Companies. RailStaff met with Alec McTavish, Director of Policy and Operations, to ask

how it was all working out for them.

“Train operators are very devolved businesses,” he started, “with powerful managing directors. It’s a successful model.

“Devolution is not new, of course.

British Rail had various flavours of devolution, with sector management, and it was pretty successful. From that, we all learned that it is best if local issues are sorted out at local level - we are big fans of Devolution.”

“At a local level, train operators have always worked with devolved bodies such as the Scottish and Welsh assemblies and local passenger transport executives, and done so pretty successfully.

“We very much understood Network Rail’s need to get discipline in the company. But time has moved on, and now it’s time for something different. We recognise the benefits from having aligned incentives. There are huge benefits to be gained out of having Network Rail and the train operators working closely together.”

Alec discussed several examples where benefits have already been gained by collaborative working. >

15

FEATURE

Energy saving on trains was one.

Train operators have installed regenerative braking on their trains, and Network Rail has responded with improvements to the supply system, and energy metering, so that the energy generated can be recycled and the train operator credited accordingly.

Stations are another area where Network Rail, as the landlord, is now working together with local operators both to improve the passenger experience and to achieve better value for money.

Closer cooperation has also reduced delays caused by work on the infrastructure. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) measures the disruption to passengers caused by engineering possessions, and this level has recently halved.

Shared success ATOC believes that, when there is success at a local level, that success must be shared. It is early days, but there have been some encouraging signs such as sharing objectives and having transparency as to costs.

A recent initiative has been the calculation of aggregate financial accounts. These bring together both train operator and Network Rail costs and revenues to calculate an overall cost of running a particular route. This helps everyone understand where money is being spent locally and aids in developing new initiatives to improve industry performance.

For many years, operating companies have shared income with Network Rail through a Volume Incentive. In effect, if an operating company has a large increase in passengers, and therefore in revenue, then some of 16

that gets paid to Network Rail through the Volume Incentive to enable them to provide more capacity for additional trains.

However, during Control Period 3 (2004-2009), although the operators paid a large amount to Network Rail centrally, that didn’t get through to local level. So, regional infrastructure managers didn’t benefit from that success.

In the current control period, CP4, there is a new Benefit Sharing arrangement that works the other way. If Network Rail does well, then the train operators benefit.

But this is again a national scheme.

For CP5, which commences in 2014, Alec would like to see both the Benefit Sharing arrangements and the Volume Incentive working at route level to give everyone an incentive to hit targets, and even exceed them. The industry hasn’t been good at sharing financial success in the past, but Alec is convinced that doing so will have a “big impact”.

All this talk of combined accounts, and combined incentives, gives rise to the question of whether train operators would like to have Network Rail abolished altogether, and to run their own infrastructure. Alec is quite clear about this. “There needs to be more discussion on vertical integration, but currently it is all governmentdriven,” he stated. “There is not currently a common view, and ATOC is not lobbying for any changes.

“However, rail is a strategic industry. Understanding where the money goes is the first step towards looking for greater efficiencies and how much taxpayer support will be needed.

We will never get away from regulation, although that will vary from region to region. Social obligations will be placed on us to provide a service in the more remote areas of the country that’s normal, regulators do it all the time.

“Devolution is a mechanism for delivering greater efficiency, and so reducing costs and also political pressure.”

So that’s the view from the top both Network Rail and ATOC. But how is Devolution being received around the country? Next month ‘at the sharp end’ in the East Midlands.

ATOC believes that, when there is success at a local level, that success must be shared.

www.railstaff.co.uk

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TE SI EB W

Recognising the dedication of the people who keep the UK rail industry moving.

NOMINATIONS OPEN ON THE 20th APRIL 2012 www.railstaffawards.com

Budget boost for Northern Hub The spring budget had further good news for the Northern Hub capacity increase project.

In a further show of confidence in railways Chancellor George Osborne backed the scheme with a further £130m. The investment will raise line speeds and increase capacity on the Sheffield-Manchester line, the Manchester-Bradford via Rochdale and Halifax and Manchester-Preston via Bolton lines.

Network Rail welcomed the move. Says chief executive, David Higgins, ‘Today’s announcement of further funding for the initial stages of the Northern Hub is a welcome show of confidence in rail, bringing benefits to passengers as well as driving economic growth. To realise the project’s total value of £4bn to the northern economy and create between 20,000 and 30,000 new jobs, the final stages of funding will need to be supported in the rail budgets to be announced later this year.

‘When completed, this project will be a clear demonstration of how investment in smart infrastructure can unlock economic potential by connecting commerce and communities across cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle with 700 new train services each day.’

The project means restoring Manchester Victoria and will also double rail freight capacity on lines connecting the Trafford Park freight terminals. The Ordsall Chord, a new link in Manchester city centre was given £85m of funding in the March 2011 budget.

The development work of other aspects of the Northern Hub will continue as planned.

Developing the Northern Hub will see a major restoration of Manchester Victoria.

Potters Lane progress Work has begun on a £13.8 million expansion of the Wednesbury Midland Metro depot.

From left: Shaun Christopher, Angus Adams, Robert Oag, and Geoff Inskip.

18

The project will see the existing Metro Centre at Potters Lane updated ready to stable 20 new trams as part of the £128 million expansion of the line into Birmingham New Street. Transport authority, Centro, has awarded the contract to Morgan Sindall.

Says Jag Paddam, managing director of infrastructure at Morgan Sindall, ‘This is our first project for Centro and we look forward to working with them and delivering a project of which they can be proud.’

The existing maintenance depot will be expanded by 42 metres.

Additional maintenance berths will complement four new stabling sidings and a separate testing and commissioning shed. Existing overhead lines, infrastructure and communications will be upgraded

and a new substation constructed at Colliery Road, West Bromwich.

The Midland Metro runs from Wolverhampton to Snow Hill station in Birmingham city centre via Bilston, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. The tram service has 23 stops with trams every 6-8 minutes during the peak and every 10 minutes the rest of the day.

The government gave the final go-ahead in February for work to start on the one mile extension from Snow Hill to New Street station. Spanish tram manufacturer CAF will supply up 25 Urbos-3 trams. The new trams should arrive in 2014.

The project will see the existing Metro Centre at Potters Lane updated… www.railstaff.co.uk

PROJECT NEWS

In-Cab signalling agreement © FOUR BY THREE

ETCS does not require line-side signals and is cheaper to install than conventional re-signalling.

Network Rail and its industry partners have chosen ETCS as one of its recommended methods of

re-signalling and have developed a plan for its deployment across the network.

Starting in April, the agreements signed with four contractors cover a one-year development phase which will confirm the suppliers’ design of a European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 signalling system. These will then be demonstrated on Network Rail’s new testing facility on the Hertford loop with contracts for the delivery

Blackpool rocks Blackpool’s tram system is back in action following a £100m project to modernise infrastructure and rolling stock.

The majority of its heritage fleet has been replaced by 16 low-floor Bombardier-built Flexity 2 trams.

The heritage fleet will operate during weekends and during the peak tourist season. Seven miles of track has been renewed and a new depot built at Starr Gate.

Transport minister, Norman Baker MP, toasted off the new fleet. www.railstaff.co.uk

‘Trams are good for passengers, good for the local economy and good for the local environment and the travelling public enjoy using them,’ said Mr Baker.

‘Blackpool’s trams are absolutely on the right track.’

The £100 million investment was necessary because of the poor condition of the infrastructure and the need to make the rolling stock more accessible to the elderly and disabled. Converting the heritage tram fleet, which will operate as a separate service, was impractical.

A tried and tested signalling system which will replace traditional line-side railway signals…

Preparations for the design and construction of the Borders Railway in Scotland have ramped up.

Network Rail has appointed BAM Nuttall to help railway staff prepare plans for advance works on behalf of Transport Scotland prior to taking on a full project delivery role. The £2 million contract enables BAM Nuttall to further develop designs of the route, including bridges, tunnels and stations. Network Rail will also proceed with ground stabilisation works in the Midlothian section of the route where stabilisation of former mine works is required.

Says David Simpson, route managing director, Network Rail Scotland, ‘Network Rail is pleased to be involved with the Borders Railway and this contract to deliver the design phase takes us and the Scottish Government one step closer to re-establishing a railway to the Scottish Borders.’

Once built the proposed Borders Railway will reconnect the heart of the Scottish Borders to the rail network for the first time in over 40 years. Travelling through Midlothian, the project will see seven new stations delivered along the 35 mile route - four in Midlothian and three in the Scottish Borders.

© JONATHAN WEBB

Network Rail has reached framework agreements with four suppliers for the development and design of a new, European-standard signalling system for Britain’s railways.

of the programme to be awarded in 2014.

ETCS is part of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) - a tried and tested signalling system which will replace traditional line-side railway signals with a computer display inside every train cab, reducing the costs of maintaining the railway, improving performance and enhancing safety.

The first drive to install ERTMS will take place on the Great Western main line starting in 2016 as part of the large-scale resignalling of the line, coinciding with the arrival of new trains and electrification. The East Coast main line (commencing 2018) and Midland main line (commencing 2020) are scheduled to follow soon after. The successful companies are Signalling Solutions Ltd, Invensys Rail, Infrasig and Ansaldo STS.

Border order

The majority of the heritage trams, some of which date back to 1927, have been bought for preservation. To speed up journeys the number of tram stops has been reduced and the remaining stops have had raised platforms constructed to enable level

boarding. This, along with faster acceleration of the new trams, will reduce end-to-end journey times by approximately 15 minutes.

In 2010 Blackpool celebrated its 125th year of operation, as the longest operating tram system in Britain.

19

A project for people The new western concourse at King’s Cross is causing a stir among press and public alike.

The 1,300 tonne steel dome ranks among the largest single-span station structures in Europe. Says Architect John McAslan, ‘The challenge was: How do we take this historic and cramped station and enlarge it for the future? It might not be perceived as what one may

regard as a cultural project, but I think we’ve given it sense (of being) a project for people.’

The light metal and glass allows natural light to flood in across the concourse, which is three times bigger than the soon to close southern concourse. Around the outer edge of the new concourse is a mezzanine floor, which houses food stalls and cafés. During

construction the dome, which is 20 metres high at its apex and 150 metres long, had to be supported by over 400 tonnes of scaffolding, as the design of the dome meant it was not rigid enough to support itself until it was structurally complete.

Later this year work will commence on sweeping away the southern concourse, which, when

Historic Cartouches restored Two giant iron plates bearing the insignia of the London, Dover and Chatham Railway are being re-assembled at Blackfriars station in London.

The rebuilt station will span the River Thames accommodating longer trains and more of them on the Bedford - Brighton crossLondon Thameslink route. The plates, called cartouches, were removed last year to allow for the construction of a new southern entrance to Blackfriars.

Says Laurence Whitbourn, Network Rail project director, ‘At Blackfriars we’re building a contemporary station designed to provide a better train service for growing numbers of passengers.

But we’re not forgetting the station’s heritage. It’s great to see the historic cartouches restored to their former glory and back in place. They’re a testament to the Victorian engineering that has stood Blackfriars in good stead for the past 120 years.’

20

it was erected in the 1970s, was only meant to be a stop gap measure. A new public square will be created. The £550m scheme marks the completion of yet another key transport upgrade for the London Olympics.

It takes the total investment in transport infrastructure in the King’s Cross area in the last ten years up to £2.5bn.

Posthumous honour for gardener A volunteer gardener who brightened up a West Highland railway station has been honoured with a posthumous award.

“we’re not forgetting the station’s heritage…”

LAURENCE WHITBOURN, PROJECT DIRECTOR, NETWORK RAIL

Brian Bentham single-handedly rejuvenated Falls of Cruachan station but he died in October last year before it was named the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership’s (HITRANS) Most Improved Local Station 2011.

Mr Bentham, who had lived in Oban since 2005, had voluntarily planted and maintained colourful flowers at Falls of Cruachan since July 2010 as part of ScotRail’s Adopt a Station project. Mr Bentham’s daughter Mandi Dees travelled from Lyneham in Wiltshire to Inverness to accept the award.

www.railstaff.co.uk

STATIONS

Alloa declaration

Honourable outcome A local aristocrat and railway staff have joined together to refurbish an historic station.

Stations in Scotland are seeing more passengers and business as rail patronage rises.

New stations in Scotland could be opened and many more upgraded under a new £30 million scheme announced by the Scottish Government.

The cash will go towards improving facilities at existing stations and will also fund the creation of new stations around the country. Scottish ministers, local councils and regional transport bodies are contributing to the newly established Scottish Stations Investment Fund.

The funding was announced by Transport Minister Keith Brown

on a visit to Alloa railway station which opened four years ago and has seen passenger numbers rise to around 400,000 per year.

Says Mr Brown, ‘New and better stations are a major part of attracting more people onto our rail services and providing sustainable, integrated and costeffective alternatives to the private car, as well as supporting jobs in the construction sector.’

Stalybridge has had its canopy revamped and the buffet spruced up, with help from Lord Pendry of Stalybridge. The back room of the station buffet bar has been fully refurbished and now has numerous posters, prints, mirrors and pieces of railway memorabilia, including ladies room and waiting room signs.

Lord Pendry of Stalybridge, who often uses the buffet bar, contributed over half of the £6,000 costs and has unveiled a plaque to mark the refurbishment. Speaking at the unveiling, he said that contrary to popular belief, he hadn’t been using the buffet since the station opened in 1845. He also said that Network Rail had shown a commitment to the station that its predecessors hadn’t.

Says Patrick Cawley, Network Rail’s route building engineer, ‘We have committed a considerable amount of money to Stalybridge station in recent years and there is yet more to come. Yet our

“we are grateful for Lord Pendry’s contributions…”

PATRICK CAWLEY, ROUTE BUILDING ENGINEER, NETWORK RAIL

funds are limited so we are grateful for Lord Pendry’s contributions to the work in the buffet bar.’

The original plaster ceiling rose and cornices have been retained, and moulds of the existing architrave were taken so that damaged sections could be replicated. Outside, the station canopy has been completely refurbished. Gone are the old, cracked and missing glazing panels and the leaking guttering.

Now the station has a stunning canopy, in blue and white that complements earlier work carried out on the subway linking the platforms, and the station entrance and ticket hall.

Station sessions encore The Station Sessions Festival is packing them in at St Pancras International this spring.

The Station Sessions proves popular with passers by… www.railstaff.co.uk

The concerts take place early evenings and are free. Donations are collected on site for charity including the Prince’s Trust Music.

Artists performing include Rachel Sermanni, Bebe Black and Shakka.

The mix is proving popular with Londoners and international travellers using the station.

The Station Sessions has been nominated for the Best Music and Brand Partnership Award at the Music Week Awards 2012.

The Station Sessions proves popular with passers by and international travellers at St Pancras International.

21

Limit the rules to essentials ...remember we use conversation when thinking, and don’t obey but choose to comply or not!

SAFETY COLIN WHEELER colin@rail-media.com

By the time you read this the last tickets for this year’s Safety Summit at Loughborough University will have been sold. I am looking forward to hearing all the speakers and learning how their ideas and proposals fit in with the safety aims and objectives of the various railway activities.

Still relevant eight year old homilies?

In the current political and financial climate we all need to make savings whilst improving safety at the same time. Over Easter I cleared out some old paperwork and came across details of a commercial two day conference I chaired in London back in June 2004! The speakers came from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, a British University and the Institute of Safety and Health as well as the UK rail industry itself.

Picking out a few homilies from the presentations made me wonder how much things have changed. Some examples: “those doing the work understand it and have good ideas, limit the rules to essentials, leadership is understanding concerns and addressing them, regular staff meetings never briefings, listen and earn staff commitment”.

Perhaps my two favourites are “always welcome reporting and increases in reports of both accidents and incidents” and “conversation is how humans think, we do not obey we choose to comply - or not”.

Block Roadmen or Possession Supporters?

On March 2nd the relevant Network Rail National Delivery 22

Service “Competence Specialist” sent out a “Line Manager’s Briefing Note” giving notice of the introduction of a new “Possession Support Competence” which must be briefed. I wonder if the author has ever undertaken Block Roadman Duties himself. The change of name I suggest will not be adopted immediately and may well contribute to resistance to the concept.

The duties are those generally known for Block Roadmen including the placing of protection-detonators, worksite, possession limit and marker boards etc. Transitional assessments are to take place from 3rd September and PICOP’s, Engineering Supervisors; Controllers of Site Safety etc. will be briefed, another top down initiative. I assume the proposals for change did not come from an experienced current Block Roadman?

The over-heated boiler on the 15 inch gauge railway It is thankfully rare to receive a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report about a 15 inch gauge Light Railway incident. On 3rd July 2011 a train driver on the Kirklees Railway near Huddersfield failed to

check and top up the water in the boiler of his locomotive. He was newly trained and passed out to drive on June 19th but had previous experience with his own seven and a half inch gauge locomotives.

The timely intervention of “the responsible officer” resulted in the fire being dropped but not before the fusible plug had melted. The driver doubtless had the knowledge but…?

Bridge problems near Bromsgrove The partial failure of Bridge 94 near Bromsgrove on April 6th last year was discovered by a track inspection just eight days earlier.

Maintenance staff sent to monitor the situation saw that ballast was falling into the watercourse under the bridge and an Emergency Speed Restriction was imposed.

Although of small span this bridge as detailed in the RAIB report consists of seven side by side track carrying decks comprising five concrete decks and two 3-ringed brick arches.

According to the report by the RAIB the 1993 report had gone missing and with there being a bend in the watercourse under the tracks carrying out a detailed

inspection “within touching distance” was not achieved subsequently. The recommendations stress the importance of carrying out a “reconnaissance visit” when planning for detailed examinations.

The 2005 detailed examination did not include the arch spans and it was one of these that failed and allowed ballast to fall through.

Whilst I do not disagree with the RAIB findings I would be surprised if no local staff knew the form of construction in detail.

Local knowledge of structures like these which have been in place for decades is usually available provided local people are involved. Did one of the maintenance team or his father/uncle know more? The RAIB also suggests that Structures Maintenance Engineers should not be wholly office based. I agree.

91 line crossings in one day following calls to the signallers?

There is a lesson to be learnt from the findings of the RAIB Inquiry into the user crossing collision on September 25th 2011 between a tractor hauling a trailer of sugar beet and the Class 365 4www.railstaff.co.uk

TRACK SAFETY

car train from Kings Lynn to Ely travelling at 70 mph at Whitehouse Farm Crossing (pictured left).

The visibility from the crossing meant that the driver only saw the tractor on the crossing when it was less than 100 yards away. The second wheel-set of the train was derailed but the train remained upright and fortunately, although the front of the tractor was separated from its cab by the impact its driver only suffered a broken collar bone, lacerations and bruising.

There had been contact between Operations Management and drivers of the tractors bringing in the crop before harvesting began.

Indeed the tractor driver had been given permission to cross before the signaller confirmed that the train had passed, but when one reads that there have been no fewer than 91 recorded crossings the previous day the arrangements made for use of the crossing during harvesting are rightly questioned.

The cab was left hanging by hoses and electrical cables Worrying too are the incidents and accidents currently under investigation by the RAIB. At Blatchbridge Junction near Frome in Somerset on 12th March this year a seven year old track relaying machine being hauled by a diesel locomotive destroyed part of a footpath crossing as it approached the Junction.

The under-slung cab of the machine had become detached and swung out to beyond the normal train gauge. It was only restrained by electrical cables and air hoses and the subsequent examination revealed that all eight of its restraining bolts had sheared off. Five sheared bolt ends showed evidence of metal fatigue. The other three were not recovered.

The potential effects on passing trains or as the train passed through station platforms is perhaps not worth thinking too much about!

The RRV that ran away into Bradford Interchange Station Perhaps this March was not so good from the perspective of accidents. At 0650 hours on the morning of Sunday March 25th a www.railstaff.co.uk

Road Rail Vehicle (RRV) ran away at Bradford. It was at the end of the shift when the accident occurred.

The RRV was being off-tracked at an access point.

According to the preliminary RAIB report the operator “placed it into a state where the unbraked rail wheels were not fully pressed against the road wheels at one end of the vehicle and completely clear of the road wheels at the other end”.

The vehicle ran away from the access point travelling downhill some 380 metres before crashing into the buffer stop at the end of platform 1 of Bradford Interchange Station. The operator managed to jump clear before the impact and suffered only minor bruising as a result.

The overridden interlock system In their preliminary report the RAIB also comment that “the vehicle is fitted with an interlock system that is intended to prevent this situation from arising.

However the interlock can be overridden using a push button mounted in a box on the side of the vehicle; at the time this was being pressed by a member of the gang standing alongside.

As the vehicle started to roll the interlock override button was released. The Operator was then unable to alter the position of the rail wheels to stop the vehicle.”

Whilst not wishing to prejudice the usual detailed inquiries of the RAIB in any way, I wonder if there is a danger that over sophistication has prevented the use by the operator of his competence, knowledge and skills.

over. He suffered only very minor injuries and the incident was caught on the cab camera. If they had not been seen from the cab would this incident have been reported?

Culture, rules and trust Last month I emphasised the need for a change in safety culture, the importance of everyone feeling they want to report incidents and accidents in the belief that by doing so they may stop someone else from making the same mistake. I am still waiting to see Network Rail’s new “Vision for Safety” which we are told to expect this month! I am also keen to see the mere handful of life saving rules we are promised.

Listening and trusting those who work outside day in and day out I still believe is the key to achieving zero accidents. That trust has to be earned by local management being seen and by them being empowered to make things happen.

I recall a time when each section was given a small safety spending budget to improve or eliminate a

hazard on their patch. Most made something safer but the real benefit was the change of attitude driven by the fact that someone in authority was providing the finance and encouraging them to be safe.

“We do not obey, we choose to comply or not”.

“I am looking forward to hearing all the speakers and learning how their ideas and proposals fit in with the safety aims and objectives of the various railway activities…”

COLIN WHEELER

Safety Central Website reports Two recent incidents are reported in Network Rail Infrastructure Group Safety Bulletins. On February 2nd a Section Manager, Supervisor and Lookout gained access to the track via the Bricklayers Arms access point to inspect track between London Bridge and New Cross.

On completion of the inspection the Manager and Supervisor moved to the cess to discuss their findings with the Lookout standing alongside them. They stood so close to the track that when a train passed it hit the Lookout’s equipment bag and knocked him

23

Civil Engineering Projects & Nationwide Plant Hire Stobart Rail owns and operates an extensive fleet of specialised plant that is available for hire with or without operators on a nationwide basis including road-rail equipment to match the special requirements of operations on, or near the permanent way.

Stobart Rail’s substantial fleet of road-rail vehicles provides a comprehensive series of machine-to-trailer combinations, and also accommodates a host of highly specialised attachments; ranging from tamping and cabling equipment to ground investigation and soil nailing rigs.

The Company has an extensive range of earth moving, excavation and earth removal vehicles, enabling Stobart Rail to tackle the most demanding of tasks - this significant investment is continually being added to and upgraded and is predominantly used on Stobart Rails own contracted works.

To enquire about hiring our plant for use on your next project (can include POL) or for our most recent plant register contact:

David Richardson Plant Hire t. 01228 518 150 e. david.richardson@stobartrail.com Andy Richardson Operations Director t. 01228 882 300 e. andy.richardson@stobartrail.com

stobartrail.com

INFRARAIL

Exhibitors are now making final preparations for Infrarail 2012, which takes place in Hall 3 at the NEC in Birmingham from 1st to 3rd May. More than 200 companies will be taking part in the event, the ninth in a successful series of exhibitions bringing together suppliers of signalling and communications equipment, track products, plant and tools, civils materials, cable supplies and numerous other needs of the rail infrastructure market.

Entry to the exhibition is free for pre-registered visitors – just follow the link on the website to register.

Pre-registration also avoids a £15 entry fee payable on the door and speeds up access to the event.

Forming a centrepiece of the exhibition will be the On Track Display, showcasing track-related equipment and machinery, plus an innovation for 2012 – The Yard, an

Countdown to Infrarail 2012 area of the hall devoted to larger vehicles and plant which has been devised by show organisers Mack Brooks in collaboration with the Rail Plant Association.

Visitors to the show will also be able to hear keynote addresses by Transport Minister Theresa Villiers and other industry leaders, as well as keeping in touch with technological developments and trends via a programme of free drop-in seminars running throughout Infrarail. Also featured will be The Platform, a series of panel discussions addressing key industry topics, and the 2nd Infrarail Awards dinner on the evening of 2 May.

Express Medicals Express Medicals will be returning to Infrarail in May to showcase new services and clinic locations.

Express Medicals has been working within the rail sector for 16 years and our expertise is second to none. Our service meets clients’ requirements for rail and we can combine our medicals to meet the requirements of major infrastructure projects. Express Medicals offers medical examinations and drugs &

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alcohol collection and testing services for Network Rail, London Underground, Crossrail and Docklands Light Rail.

In addition to our rail specific services we offer occupational health, health surveillance, wellbeing, drugs & alcohol services, counselling, physiotherapy, EAPs, vaccinations , blood tests and travel health services. Our UK-wide on-site service is supported by 16 regional clinics. For more information please visit: expressmedicals.co.uk

the rail engineer technical seminars at Infrarail Tues 1 May

Wed 2 May

Thurs 3 May

10:30

Opening Ceremony Mack Brooks

Making London’s railways fit for the challenge of major growth Howard Smith, London Rail

Supplier Engagement and Project Delivery Network Rail’s New Approach Simon Kirby, Network Rail

11:10

EMC in Railways Applying Best Practice Chris Marshman, York EMC

Optimising the Rail Lifecycle How Positioning Solutions Can Help Matthew Lock, Korec

Sustainability for a modern railway contractor Steve Holmes, Balfour Beatty Rail

11:50

Introducing Rail Reform The Government’s priorities for Rail in the Future Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP

Signalling Plug & Play Project Solutions Delivering 21st Century Signalling Technology Phil Hickey, Unipart Rail

The Application of Eurocodes in the Fabrication of Steel Rail Bridges Steve Armstrong, Mabey Bridge

12:30

Desktop Signal Sighting Is Seeing Believing?

Simon Gardiner, Gioconda Limited

Ethernet Evolution or Revolution?

Migrating Legacy Systems to IP Networks Ray Lock, Westermo Ltd

Signalling Power Supply Monitoring and Restoration Jas Birk, Schneider Electric

13:10

Bolted Joints - When Safety Really Matters The Optimum Choice for Critical Bolted Joints Graham Souter, Nord-Lock

Dry Stack Retaining Walls Applications in the Rail Industry Tim Fields, Anderton Concrete

The Latest Critical Power Solutions for the Rail Industry Nick Golder, Socomec

13:50

Effective Civils Solutions by Adapting Existing Technologies Patrick Coffey, Coffey Group Ltd

LED - New Lamps for Old Low Carbon, Low Cost, Longer Life Chris Walsh, M J Quinn

The Challenges on Delivering to Crossrail David Stewart, Keyline

14:30

Preparation for and Management of Emergency Incidents Willie Baker, The Emergency Planning College

Train-to-Track Wireless Video Transmission Examples of an Emerging Technology Mark Marriage, Digital Barriers

15:10

Electrifying The Network Electrification Plans for the Future Peter Dearman, Network Rail

From Forensic to Real-time Surveillance David Thomasson, Axis Communications

15:50

The Rail Value for Money Study: One Year On Martin Fleetwood, CILT

Practical Applications of Track Technologies Ross Walker, Tata Steel

26

www.railstaff.co.uk

9th International Railway Infrastructure Exhibition

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Featuring: On Track Display, Seminar Theatre, Networking Area, Opening Ceremony, The Yard, Networking Reception, hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of products. *SV QSVI MRJSVQEXMSR 8IP ` -RJVEVEMP$QEGOFVSSOW GS YO ` [[[ MRJVEVEMP GSQ 7YTTSVXMRK 3VKERMWEXMSRW

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flexibility in dimensions, light output and dimming control.

LPA Niphan provides robust but cost-effective plugs & sockets designed for use in harsh conditions. Our range of rugged Rail, Military, Marine and Industrial products has been extended to allow simple installation of a power socket onto lighting columns for CCTV cameras or temporary lighting applications.

D30

The LPA Group Plc offers highly reliable, long life, low life cycle cost, environmentally friendly, electronic lighting and electromechanical solutions.

LPA Excil Electronics’ LumiSeries™ LED based interior lighting features up to 45% energy saving and 15 years maintenance free service compared to fluorescent luminaries and halogen spot lights for new and refurbished infrastructure and passenger train projects. We will be exhibiting our brand new LumiMatrix. This modular LED lighting product offers full

L H Access Technology meets stringent demands L H Access Technology, based in the UK, prides itself in providing a design and manufacturing service for the UK and export markets of a wide range of road/rail equipment, meeting the most stringent quality and safety criteria for the world’s railway networks.

Our team of experienced engineers, designers and professional business specialists can provide a wide variety of innovative products, designed and built to the highest standards to meet every conceivable need.

Our multi-skilled service and maintenance team are fully conversant with our products

and provide rapid response to engineering breakdowns and repairs. Our purpose built factory facility accommodates all new build, repairs and refurbishments to any road/rail vehicle currently used on the UK railway network.

At Infrarail 2012, on stand Y40, LH Access Technology will be displaying a road/rail MercedesBenz Actros lorry. The vehicle chassis can be equipped with a wide variety of multi-functional UK supplied equipment suitable to meet the most demanding requirements on the railway infrastructure.

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Y40

Specialist manufacturers of road / rail vehicles

Come and see us at Infrarail exhibition at Stand D30 LPA Group is a leading Designer, Manufacturer and Supplier of Electro-Mechanical, Lighting and Electronic Solutions.

LPA Group Plc Tel: +44 (0)1799 512800 Email: enquiries@lpa-group.com

www.lpa-group.com 28

We provide cost effective solutions to improve reliability, reduce maintenance and hence reduce life cycle costs for Rail and Transportation Industries throughout the world.

Mercedes-Benz Actros Basic vehicle

Mercedes Benz Actros 3346

Total weight

26000 kg

Load capacity

8500 kg

Track guiding system

Hydrostatic bogie rail drive system

Track gauge

1435 mm

Equipment

Interchangeable mounting frame for superstructures with 20 ft Twist-Lock fasteners

Maximum cant

180 mm

www.lh-group.co.uk www.railstaff.co.uk

INFRARAIL

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L11

LEDs save money Focusing on safety

Retro-fit LED lighting could return your organisation a 60% saving in energy costs and Carbon in addition to reducing your lighting maintenance to almost zero for the next five to ten years.

Reliable, long life LED retro-fit technology has now reached a price point that in most instances will yield an ROI of three years or less. Some 24/7 operations will return its investment in just nine months, after installation and purchase.

Virtually all conventional lighting

types and technologies, both internal and external can be replaced with LED retro-fit products - the retro-fit range even extends to fire resistant tubes and lamps designed for extreme conditions.

Over five years, two hundred and seventy 1000w MH flood lights lit for 12 hours per day will cost around £300,000 more for energy and maintenance, and generate an additional 2,500 tonnes of C02, than the equivalent LED product.

So to save money – visit us on stand!

For more than twenty years, Cosalt has been designing, manufacturing and supplying safety clothing to the UK rail industry. Today, over 30,000 rail personnel wear Cosalt personal protective equipment (PPE) and workwear to keep them safe, dry, warm and comfortable at work.

Not surprisingly, the company’s client list reads like a Who’s Who of the rail infrastructure business, with companies like Network Rail, Babcock and Bombardier to name just a few.

As a UK leader in the design and supply of hi-visibility safety clothing for the road and rail networks, Cosalt offers products that exceed all UK required standards and international quality levels in terms of durability, lifespan and fitness for

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J11

purpose. The company prides itself on in-house production and stateof-the-art IT software. Its in-house experienced management, design and development team, sampling, and UK production facilities make it a frontrunner in the market that is able to supply a wide range of customers.

When Safety is Critical .

Cosalt’s Network Rail approved range of PPE demonstrates the company’s commitment to the safety of rail staff throughout the UK. Supplying PPE to over 30,000 personnel within the rail industry, the company maintains its reputation as the PPE sector’s leading light through passion, expertise and dedication to workers on the ground.

Combining continual product development with constant service improvement, Cosalt keeps workers safe and protected, no matter what the weather or environmental conditions they face.

Cosalt, Union House, Hempshaw Lane, Stockport, SK1 4LG t: 08444 932 806 f: 08444 932 801 e: workwear@cosalt.com www.cosalt.com/workwear

www.railstaff.co.uk

29

INFRARAIL

Precast perfection

Servicing the Industry

Shay Murtagh Precast is the UK and Ireland’s foremost precast manufacturer.

Bodyguard Workwear Ltd is pleased to be exhibiting at Infrarail again this year and will be showcasing RAILGUARD WORKWEAR, the new range of Network Rail approved garments designed for contractors working on the railway infrastructure.

Specialists in rail infrastructure with products such as bridge beams, culverts, tunnel segments and bespoke units, the company gives a complete service from

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K50

30

design to delivery. A dedicated design team provides value engineering solutions to your project.

Infrarail 2012 sees the company launch Edition 2 - Bridge Beam Technical Manual which is an essential tool for design. Get your copy at Stand K50 or the website.

Kamal Basra, managing director, stated that the range is designed to the same high standards that have become synonymous with the Bodyguard brand.

Last year Bodyguard saw growth in excess of 30%, which Kamal believes can be attributed to the quality of the product range and to the commitment to delivering a ďŹ rst class service.

Visit Bodyguard on stand A24 and see what all the excitement is about.

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A24

www.railstaff.co.uk

Snow and Gas in Arctic Russia It’s minus 20, my beard is freezing up and the drinking water is like liquid ice.

Russian Railways have brought me to the Arctic Circle to demonstrate snow clearance techniques.

David Shirres reports

ALL PICTURES © DAVID SHIRRES

It’s minus 20, my beard is freezing up, and the drinking water is like liquid ice.

Climbing through the moving snow tractor’s open roof hatch to take photos, the wind chill is grim but the view is well worth it. I’m in the white wilderness that is northern Russia and, as we approach the Ural Mountains, it’s a clear sunny day.

Russian railways have brought me to the Arctic Circle to demonstrate snow clearance techniques. On a windless sunny day such as this, the cold isn’t much of a problem, but temperatures can drop to minus 40 and blizzards often reduce 32

visibility to only a few metres. In such conditions, clearing snow is a real challenge. However, unlike the UK, deep snow on the railway is a regular event and Russian Railways are well practised in clearing it. They have procedures in place to prepare and manage winter season operations which include setting up special operational centres to stable and support their snow clearing machinery. This specialist equipment usually includes:

• Two track Snowploughs - propelled by locomotives, using the loco’s compressed air supply to power the snowplough equipment. They can clear

snow up to 1 metre high at 70 km/h. The width of snow cut can vary between 3.18 and 4.95 metres depending on the configuration of the blades.

• Electric rotary snowploughs propelled and powered by a diesel locomotive using jumper cables to power the 4 x 350kw motors that drive the snow blowing machinery. These ploughs can clear very deep drifts moving 30,000 cubic metres of snow per hour which is blown up to 50 metres away from the track.

• Knife plane ploughs - with a blade that can be extended up to seven metres to the side and www.railstaff.co.uk

FEATURE

The snowploughs date from the Soviet era. Indeed, similar snow clearing equipment built in the 60s, is on display at Moscow’s excellent Rizhsky railway museum.

www.railstaff.co.uk

can be used to clear tracks at sidings and stations. Clearing as much snow as possible either side of the track reduces the risk of drifting snow blocking the line.

• Bulldozers - carried on snow clearing trains. When the train is split the bulldozers are unloaded using ramps which hinge down from the flat cars on which they are carried. The bulldozers, T-170 machines powered by 180 hp diesel engines, offer great flexibility for snow clearance as was demonstrated when they were used to pile snow onto the tracks!

Local Engineer, Valdimir Ivanovich, considers that his district has one of the toughest climates in Russia. His Sosnogorsk region has five of each of these ploughs and about 40 bulldozers.

When it snows this equipment works 24 hours a day. Snow fences, made of zinc plated pipes and placed about 100 metres from the railway, also help - without them snow could drift up to 5 metres deep onto the railway.

The snowploughs date from the Soviet era. Indeed, similar snow clearing equipment built in the 60s, is on display at Moscow’s excellent Rizhsky railway museum. Their age, however, does

not detract from their effectiveness as demonstrated by Vladimir’s team whose work must be heroic in blizzard conditions.

Track fastenings The demonstration took place on the branch line to Labytnangi in North West Siberia. It also provided an opportunity to learn about some of the difficulties with railway operation in extreme cold.

With tracks covered by snow for 8 months of the year, it is not possible to inspect track fastenings, although this is not felt to be an issue as experience has shown the frozen snow keeps everything in position. The track is regularly >

33

Around 100,000 prisoners worked on this railway in appalling conditions and there is a monument in Salekhard to the many that died. checked for alignment and condition of joints, and there is a monthly inspection by a track recording machine.

The problem of starting locomotive diesel engines in the extreme cold is solved by not starting them at all, or rather by not stopping them outside if the temperature is below minus 8.

The snow machines are maintained at a newly-built £5 million depot at Labytnangi which also provides a base for the snow clearing crews. The depot foundations are in permafrost and, to avoid settlement from the permafrost melting due to the heat of the depot, the foundations are vented with the vents being kept open in winter and closed in summer.

Labytnangi (population 27,000) is at the end of a branch line, 2,540 km by rail from Moscow, and boasts a new station which was 34

opened in 2004. Although in North West Siberia, it is only 97 km from the border between Europe and Asia in the Ural Mountains.

Interestingly, the station clock at Labytnangi is two hours slow by local time. As with all stations in Russia, clocks and trains run to Moscow time.

Frozen port Eleven kilometres away is Salekhard (population 43,000), the main town in the area, which is on the other side of the River Ob, the world’s seventh longest river.

Salekhard, a river port which is frozen for most of the year, is not rail-connected as, so far, the river has proved to be too much of a barrier. During the winter, an ice road over the river connects the two towns. Salekhard, the administrative centre of the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, is actually on the Arctic

Circle and its museum contains a perfectly preserved frozen baby mammoth that was discovered nearby.

An abortive project to construct the Transpolar Mainline through Salekhard was started in 1947 as part of Stalin’s plan for a railway across northern Siberia. The 196 km branch line from Chum to Labytnangi was constructed as part of this plan in the early 1950s.

However the railway from Salekhard to Igarka, 1,297 km to the east, was not completed as construction was stopped following Stalin’s death in 1953.

Around 100,000 prisoners worked on this railway in appalling conditions and there is a monument in Salekhard to the many that died.

Despite its small population, this area is of huge economic importance to Russia producing, for example, 90% of Russia’s

natural gas. The most significant new field is Bovanenkovo, on the Yamal peninsula, which has reserves of 4.9 trillion cubic metres and is expected to start production in mid-2012. The strategic importance of the region is increased by the possible opening up of the Northern Sea Route as a result of global warming. This would save 5,500 km off the existing 20,000 km route from Korea to Rotterdam using the Suez Canal and would increase traffic to rail-connected northern Russian seaports.

New lines Last year, Russia’s Gazprom Company opened its own 572 km line from Labytnangi to the Bovanenkovo field and has plans to build other lines to adjacent gas fields. Although gas is transported by pipeline, liquid products will be distributed by rail. The new line www.railstaff.co.uk

FEATURE

was also essential for the development of the field, initially to carry construction materials, and then to carry materials required for its operation.

With Bovanenkovo located at 70 degrees north, this is the most northerly railway in the world and required special construction techniques to take account of the permafrost. These included building embankments of wet sandy silt which is stable at sub zero temperatures, and, to ensure that it stays frozen in summer, developing a special insulation system of expanded polystyrene and geotextile mats. A special design was needed for the 3.9 km long bridge over the Yuribey River floodplain which included piles frozen into the permafrost to a depth of 20 to 40 metres.

The area also has many valuable mineral deposits including large reserves of coal, iron ore, www.railstaff.co.uk

manganese, chromite and copper south of the Urals. To exploit these natural resources two new railways are planned from Labytnangi. The first is a 393 km line from Obskaja, near Labytnangi, to Nadym which includes a 2.4 km bridge across the River Ob at Salekhard. In December last year, Spanish company OHL’s Czech unit won a 2 billion euro contract to construct this line which follows part of the route of the abandoned Salekhard to Igarka railway and is expected to open in 2015.

The second new route is a 902 km line from Labytnangi going south of the Urals to the rail head at Polunochnoye. However, as expected mineral deposits were not confirmed by recent geological surveys, this is no longer part of the 2010-15 plan.

In addition to these lines from Labytnangi, a 210 km line is to be

constructed from Vorkuta to the port of Ust Kara.

On first impressions, the singleline Labytnangi branch would not seem to be particularly important.

It only has one passenger train and a small number of freight paths each day. It is, however, an essential rail link which allows exploitation of the area’s mineral resources and, during the winter, can be the only way of delivering supplies.

The pipeline trains at Labytnangi are an indication of its crucial role in the development of the Bovanenkovo gas field and the line is to be upgraded to remove speed restrictions and increase its capacity. By 2015, the line is expected to be carrying 2.4 million tons per annum with the construction of 1,500 km of new railways around Salekhard.

The new lines will also generate a requirement for additional snow

clearing machinery. It will be interesting to see how the new equipment will compare with the current Soviet era snow ploughs which will, no doubt, be keeping lines open in Arctic Russia for some time to come.

With Bovanenkovo located at 70 degrees north, this is the most northerly railway in the world and required special construction techniques to take account of the permafrost.

35

Community Rail Partnership builds success

Ireland’s first community rail partnership has recorded a notable success.

Last month Iarnród Éireann started running a new through Intercity service from Limerick to Dublin via the Nenagh / Ballybrophy branch. This is the first time for around 30 years that a regular through service to Dublin has operated.

The service departs from

Limerick (Colbert) station at 05:15 picking up at Castleconnell, Birdhill, Nenagh, Cloughjordan, Roscrea and Ballybrophy, where it reverses to continue on to Dublin Heuston station, arriving at 08:25.

There are also 06:25, 16:05 and 17:05 branch services from Limerick all with connections to Dublin from Ballybrophy. A change is required for passengers returning in the evening as trains

Stock swaps

Portadown refurbishment

After many years operating services from Limerick, the 14 year old GEC Alstom built 2700 class railcars are being put into store.

Portadown Station on the Belfast to Dundalk and Dublin main line is to receive a £3.6m refurbishment.

Several 2800 class railcars have been transferred from Drogheda to Limerick to replace them. One of the services to benefit since March from the rolling stock change is the Western Rail Corridor between Limerick and Galway.

2800 class railcars have been transfered from Drogheda to Limerick…

36

Works will include a new atrium at the Obin Street entrance and lift access and a new footbridge to connect to the island platform. An

are unable to access the branch platform from the down main line at Ballybrophy.

Mixed fortunes The Limerick to Ballybrophy branch line has had mixed fortunes in recent years. At a time when the new motorway to Limerick was opened, services were reduced to 25mph on long stretches of the branch due to

external facelift will also take place and new public and staff facilities will be provided. Work is scheduled for completion in December 2013.

Portadown is the fifth busiest station on NIR with around 900,000 passengers annually.

temporary speed restrictions, many of which remained in place despite tracks being renewed.

The demise of the Limerick cement factory also led to the end of the regular freight trains on the line carrying shale. More recently the line had been mooted for possible closure.

A knight in shining armour appeared though in the form of Councillor Virginia O’Dowd from Nenagh. She promoted the services on the railway and managed to get Iarnród Éireann to introduce a morning commuter train into Limerick from Nenagh.

She also managed to establish the first Community Rail Partnership in Ireland for the branch line which without a doubt has contributed to the recent upturn of events and the new through service.

Stephen Aherne steps down Iarnród Éireann’s General Manager Freight, Stephen Aherne retired at the end of March following around 38 years working with the Coras Iompair Eireann (CIE) group of companies.

After a period of decline and rationalisation, Stephen leaves the company following two years of growth (9% in 2010 and 13.6% in 2011) and with freight making around €1 million profit.

www.railstaff.co.uk

NEWS

Londonderry Line In recent years the need for major investment simply to keep the Londonderry Line operating on the section to the north west of Coleraine has become apparent.

The modernisation of this line has now been approved. From mid-February the delivery of ballast by train has commenced as a preliminary to closure of the line between the end of July and April 2013 for track relaying and bridge repairs.

To facilitate this work, two of NIR’s 111 class General Motors locomotives have been out based in Londonderry, these becoming the first locomotives to work west of Coleraine since mid-2008 when they moved west on 12th February!

At present they are working overnight trains delivering ballast to site.

The Belfast to Londonderry line is due to be reopened prior to the

2013 City of Culture celebrations in Londonderry. In the financial year 2010/11, the route carried 1,477,000 passengers, nearly 50% more that 5 years earlier.

Following completion of the initial stage of track works, around £20m signalling works including a new passing loop are due to be completed by 2015 and then the remaining track relaying work will be completed.

The Belfast to Londonderry line is due to be reopened prior to the 2013 City of Culture celebrations in Londonderry…

Class 071 boosts freight The last couple of years have seen a revival of freight services in Ireland with regular container services between Ballina and Waterford and Dublin ports and timber trains from Ballina / Westport to Waterford picking up pace.

Zinc ore trains also run three

NIR’s Spanish trains

times daily between Drogheda and Dublin Port. To improve the reliability of these services, Iarnród Éireann has given clearance for the 35 year old General Motors 071 class locomotives to receive major overhauls at Inchicore Works.

These are likely to include body repairs and a repaint.

NIR’s 20 new CAF built railcars, the 4000 class, are now coming into service.

This has allowed the older diesel electric ‘Castle’ class (or 450 class) railcars to be mostly withdrawn from service. A farewell tour was operated by the Model Railway

Society of Ireland (MRSI) earlier this year however a few units remained in service.

The withdrawal of the 450 class will mark an end to the familiar sound of the English Electric ‘thumper’ in Northern Ireland.

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Get in touch with a Speedy expert to discuss your requirements.

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37

Night mail from Paris High speed mail trains could soon be operating between London and Paris carrying letters and express parcels overnight.

A trial run, from Lyon SaintExupéry and Paris Charles-deGaulle airports, went well and the train arrived at London St. Pancras International safely. The train, which left Lyon Saint-Exupéry at 16.42 on 20th March and arrived in London in the early hours of the next day, was organised by members of the EuroCarex consortium, which includes SNCF, the French post office, La Poste, and airport operators in Liège, Amsterdam, Lyon and Paris.

Eurotunnel subsidiary GB Railfreight and High Speed 1 Ltd co-ordinated the English element of the run. Speaking to RailStaff’s Jonathan Webb, John Smith, managing director of Eurotunnel’s GB Railfreight cargo unit, said, ‘There’s huge potential. We operate trains similar to this in the UK, but

at lower speeds. Clearly there is a network of these services in France and amalgamating the two through the Channel Tunnel and High Speed One makes sense.’

The recent ban on night time flying from Frankfurt, Europe’s third busiest airport, has hit the mail business hard. Air cargo shippers now see rail as a fast and economic alternative. A German judge indicated earlier this month that the ban is likely to be made permanent.

Says Nicola Shaw, chief executive of HS1, ‘What today demonstrates is that we can get all the infrastructure managers across Europe working together to make this service work.’ Currently a location for a transport hub near London is being sought. The area around Barking is being looked at as a possible site because of its convenient links to HS1. Services could commence in 2017.

Talks are already underway with Alstom and Siemens regarding the

East Coast madness Final farewell fusillade Hundreds of enthusiasts turned out at Tokyo station on 16th March to bid farewell to the last 300 series Shinkansen train.

Prior to the train’s 10.47 departure for Shin-Osaka, the crew received bouquets of flowers from well wishers on the platform. Speaking at the farewell ceremony, the head of the Central Japan Railway Company, Naotoshi Yoshikawa, said, ‘Today we end 20 years of operations, but we want to further improve the technology we nurtured with the 300series and further develop bullet trains.’

When tickets for the final service went on sale they sold out in minutes - all 1,323.

38

Thousands of passengers helped raise £10,000 in just one day to make a difference to children living on the streets.

More than 40 directors and senior managers at East Coast joined crews on board train services. The day was part of a

series of ‘Go MAD’ - or ‘Make A Difference’ - events staged to raise money for the Railway Children.

East Coast’s Chairman Michael Holden with directors and senior managers staffed buffet counters and refreshment trolleys, and served complimentary food and

possible supply of up to 25 train sets. Carriages will have a floor with ball bearing plates and rollers, allowing an unloading time of just 30 minutes. The London run used TGV set 951, one of three dedicated TGV sets used by La Poste to carry mail between Paris, Mâcon and Cavaillon. These can carry 120 metric tonnes of parcels.

The conversion of older passenger TGV sets to parcel units, as they are withdrawn from passenger service, is also being considered.

drinks to passengers travelling in first class.

A specially-created Carrot and Cranberry Cake was sold on-board while passengers also helped to raise the £10,000 by making donations on the day, with all monies raised going to the Railway Children charity.

Says Michael Holden, ‘We’re delighted at the support we received from passengers for this excellent cause and would like to thank everyone who contributed for their wonderful generosity.

Every penny of the £10,000 raised will go to the Railway Children charity. We also thoroughly enjoyed the day, working alongside our teams who provide great service to passengers every day.

Together, we have really made a difference.’ www.railstaff.co.uk

NEWS

I think I wanna marry you Glynn Blackband, who works in Stoke on Trent booking office and used to sing Bruno Mars, ‘I think I wanna marry you,’ to his girl friend finally gets his wish this spring.

Kelly Barlow, 37, arranged to use the tannoy at the station to propose to her boyfriend Glyn, of 15 months.

‘I felt sick before proposing. I didn’t want to do it on Valentine’s Day, or on February 29 in case he might expect it so I decided to ask him a month after on March 29 to shock him,’ says Kelly.

‘We’ve talked about getting married before and he used to keep singing that Bruno Mars, Marry You, song to me. He’s even got down on one knee a couple of times before, but I’ve just told him to get up because I knew I wanted to pop the question for him instead.’

Colleagues at Virgin Trains helped set up the plan. Kelly even brought her parents along for support. ‘I’d heard of a marriage proposal which took place at Stockport station recently, but we’ve never had one in Stoke before,’ said Heather Hodkinson, station manager.

Glynn’s colleagues avoided talking to him that morning so concerned were they that they might give the game away. ‘It’s given everyone at the station a great feel-good factor,’ said Heather.

On hearing the proposal Glynn met Kelly on the platform where she was waiting with a balloon and a white rose. He said yes immediately and the couple managed a kiss and a cuddle before getting back to work.

Friends and colleagues congratulated the happy couple.

App’y ScotRail

ScotRail is launching its firstever mobile website, following a spectacular increase in passengers using smartphones and iPads to visit its site.

The new website offers faster, streamlined online services including journey planning, ticket booking and live travel updates.

Says Graeme Macfarlan, ScotRail’s marketing manager, ‘Demand has soared for a mobilefriendly website to boost the online experience for customers on the move, and commuters in particular. The website features fewer pictures and only the most essential elements of ScotRail’s full website, to deliver faster and more efficient access for mobile users.’

There has been a 130% rise in people using mobile devices. There has been 1.7million visits to www.scotrail.co.uk during the past 12 months compared to 740,000 the year before.

130% rise in people using mobile devices…

ScotRail staff in Sleeper service pyjama party Staff at ScotRail in Fife helped boost public awareness of sleeper services to and from London recently.

Dressed in pyjamas, sleeping gowns and night caps they greeted morning commuters at Kirkcaldy and Inverkeithing stations. The PR exercise continued as staff took to the streets to distribute hundreds of leaflets describing Caledonian Sleeper services.

Says Willie Cowan, 56, ScotRail station staff member at Inverkeithing, ‘It was great fun dressing up and we got a fantastic reaction from people here. Many were surprised to hear they could catch the Caledonian Sleeper in Fife, rather than from Glasgow or Edinburgh.’

ScotRail researchers have worked out many potential customers are unaware they can board the Caledonian Sleeper at more than 40 locations across Scotland. The PR exercise proves once again that rail staff make the best ambassadors for railways. www.railstaff.co.uk

Willie Cowan with team members, Kerry-Ann Quinn (left) and Dannine Stenhouse (right) explain the benefits of the Caledonian Sleeper to passenger, Fraser Littlejohn.

39

From a standing start four years ago the Rail Alliance now has upwards of 200 members stretching from Scotland to Denmark.

Based on the old military railway base at Long Marston in Warwickshire the Rail Alliance runs networking meetings, exhibitions and seminars all aimed at encouraging companies, new and existing, onto railways to contribute to an industry as desperate for new talent as it is for extra capacity.

At the head of the Rail Alliance is a fresh faced ex-army officer, Colin Flack, a one-time cricketer for Kent and genial host of the RailStaff Awards. We like to cut straight to the chase at RailStaff so I start by asking him how he got the job.

With disarming charm Colin says, ‘I saw the advert in RailStaff. So did my wife, Ruth. Several friends saw it and said, that’s got you written all over it why don’t you apply, so I did and got the job.’

The Rail Alliance was initially set up by the West Midlands section of the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

MAS funded the venture which is now self financing. Far from being run from a gleaming chrome and concrete tower block in downtown Coventry or central Birmingham the Rail Alliance, perhaps reflecting the fiscal prudence of an industry where every pound has to count, operates from the control tower of an old airfield.

RAF Long Marston was hurriedly put up in 1940. Decommissioned in the 1950s it became a Ministry of Defence rail logistics base. Colin has one of the most arresting views from an office window in England. Green meadows edge old runways and railway sidings. Tree studded farmland laces a pastoral countryside bisected by dye straight Roman roads and willow swept rivers.

The Bard suffered a drinking contest Long Marston lies at the very heart of England. Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford upon Avon, is just up the road. The Bard is reputed to have suffered a drinking contest nearby and fallen asleep under a tree in the village.

Roman legions tramping north up the Fosse Way scavenged within bow shot. The first battle of the English Civil War was fought at 40

‘Network, Collaborate, Innovate, Thrive’ Andy Milne talks to Colin Flack, chief executive of the Rail Alliance.

Edgehill in 1642 convincing Cromwell of the need to form the New Model Army – the later basis of Britain’s self confident rise to military might. Charles II later hid in Long Marston, disguised as a serving wench, on the run after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester.

The Rail Alliance might sit in the heart of England but it has an international sweep. Railways excite the interest of many companies already aware of the huge expansion underway. ‘What was clear from day one was that setting up something that was purely West Midlands centric wasn’t going to work. We spread very quickly by networking outwards,’ says Colin. ‘Members range from Scotland to the West Country and Wales and we have international members in Belgium and Denmark.’

The appeal lies in solving the old marketing equation of matching suppliers to customers. We all have skills to sell to people. The trick is to reach them. Putting people in touch with each other is the simple answer. The Rail Alliance is fast building a network of businesses keen to improve trade in the rail industry; these

range from corporations already established in another field to small entrepreneurs with highly specialised skills to offer. The Rail Alliance brings them together and more than that helps people communicate effectively.

As Colin puts it, ‘The focus of what we do is to help businesses network together. It’s the simple act of networking and at the core of what we do are our networking meetings.’ The Rail Alliance holds ten of these a year. Members have found them invaluable for sourcing new business as well as new suppliers and skills.

“The focus of what we do is to help businesses network together…”

COLIN FLACK One memorable feature is the ‘Show Tell And Ask’ initiative.

Everyone who wants to can have STAA billing. ‘Everyone stands up and in a couple of minutes says who they are, what they do, what their company does and what

they’re looking for.’ The great advantage is that the STAA treatment is played out in a receptive neutral atmosphere.

Everyone is on the side of the speaker.

Get people to meet and talk ‘The main purpose is get people to meet and talk,’ says Colin. ‘We like noisy members, the more noisy the better.’ Similarly the Rail Alliance has a deal with RailStaff where month by month a selected member has a chance to highlight who they are and what they do on the Rail Alliance page. ‘It’s one of those papers that gets seen by an awful lot of people.’

The meetings themselves are informal and popular among members. ‘There are plenty of chances to circulate and talk. We have a massive network of people.

It is very unusual for us not be one step away from having an answer.’

The rail industry can be as bewildering for an outside company as it is for a new member of staff. Time and effort spent researching and identifying who to talk to can soak up valuable resources. The Rail Alliance can help newcomers. ‘If www.railstaff.co.uk

INTERVIEW

they are looking for information or signposting then they can contact us. We aim to be that extra member of the business development team,’ says Colin.

The whole idea is music to the ears of established industry professionals as well. Networking through the Rail Alliance helps existing businesses expand and take advantage of new opportunities. Colin is well positioned to conduct this Smooth Classics symphony of networking.

His experience of railways is unusual.

‘I first got involved with the railways after the First Gulf War. I went up and did an officer’s railways course. The military are brilliant at making instant experts.

You name it; there’s a course for it.

I spent a lot of time with BR.’ He responds well to the trick question: What did you think of British Rail. ‘As most people now realise BR was a world class organisation. I’d just come back from a war and I was watching guys who were under as much pressure for a couple of hours every morning and evening as I had been in a combat position.’

He describes one railway www.railstaff.co.uk

manager, George Andrews, telling him, ‘What you’ve got to understand is we’ve become the best at doing more with less. We can do with one track what the Germans do with four. Why? because we have to. We haven’t got any choice.’ BR’s peak time desperation of yesteryear finds sympathetic recognition in the modern military mind.

Going to Sandhurst Colin joined the army in 1978 leaving his grammar school and winning a place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, arguably the finest officer training college in the world. He is from a working class background. ‘In my intake of about 200, I think, there were only four of us not from public schools. I was from Chatham. They were speaking a language I didn’t even understand.’

However he warmed to the place and speaks with deep affection of his time there. ‘Sandhurst is the most amazing place, it’s the envy of the world. The best of the NCOs are there to train you. It is quite brutal. You’re being prepared to lead soldiers and ultimately you’re expecting people to trust you with

their lives. You’ve got to get that right and the training and the attitude reflects that.’

All military memoirs can become legends of horrific forced marches, runs through rain and mud at dawn, very little sleep and endless drill and weapon training. However officer training has the added dimension of preparing young men and women to lead, to compute information, to understand enough to make decisions which could effect the lives and welfare of thousands and in Colin’s case, later on, millions.

The responsibility assumed by such people is beyond the comprehension of the average civilian.

‘The growing you do is massive.

That sense of being there to serve, to lead, is imperative. Cadets are taught all the major stories about Nelson and Wellington. The whole environment is designed to get you to put others before yourself.’

Are there parallels between successive governments’ failure to invest in our industry and the distinct lack of funding for new weapons and equipment in the military? Colin is quite kind to the MoD. ‘We always will learn the lessons of the last war and apply them to the next. My career started in the Cold War and Northern Ireland.

Who would have thought in the time I served we’d have seen the Falklands War, Kosovo, Bosnia, two Gulf Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan.

You couldn’t have forecast all that.’

Equipment will always fall short of what is required. However, he says, ‘The fundamentals of what soldiers do on the ground hasn’t

changed for thousands of years.

The basic building block of boots on the ground, guarding, protecting, keeping people safe.

Leadership doesn’t change.’

Instant Sunshine Is leadership as a skill overlooked nowadays? ‘Oh completely. There’s a real danger that people think leaders are the guys at the top. Big and charismatic, they’re dishing out the stuff that everyone buys into and people follow them. But if you look at the military you see a labyrinth of leaders. We’ve lots of managers and technocrats who follow the manual, follow the rules.

In the military there’s this whole process called Mission Command.

That’s where you get everyone aligning onto an objective. You get people used to the idea that we are all responsible.’ Colin coaches personal leadership. The idea is you are responsible for yourself and your actions. It’s a concept almost buried under a generation of state intervention. ‘Leadership is a doing thing; you have to get on and do it… It’s a process of confidence and trust. Intuitively smaller businesses and entrepreneurs do it as a matter of course.’

Colin Flack was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Transport and his first posting was Catterick then Ireland and Cyprus. In between he found time to play cricket for Kent and Rugby for the army. He trained as a mountaineer.

A few years later he was seconded to the Brigade of Ghurkhas and put to work on internal security in Hong Kong. Later he was sent to

41

INTERVIEW

“I’m fiercely, massively, proud to be British.

Cycling the length of Britain I felt so in touch, really alive and connected with my country…”

Colin Flack with Felix Schmid during the Ultimate 3 Challenge.

COLIN FLACK

Germany guarding nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Regiment or Instant Sunshine as irreverent squaddies dubbed the unit - was responsible for deploying battle field nuclear missiles in the event of war with Russia. Just how at risk were we?

‘There were a number of times when things came very, very close.

Because of the nature of our job we were operational all the time. We had to be able to out load nuclear weapons into the field and disperse them at the slightest hint of anything going wrong. Out loading was potentially an act of aggression so you did lots of training exercises to disguise this. We were active all the time so you develop a much sharper feel for what was going on.

Sometimes there were misunderstandings.’

It is difficult 23 years after the Berlin Wall came down to communicate the sense of danger then. Nuclear annihilation was only ever minutes away. ‘What struck 42

me was how little the public knew and how good that was. If we can sleep safely in our beds and not worry about hordes coming over the hill - well that’s a good thing.’

Vision to Mission Colin Flack left the army after 27 years, having achieved the rank of colonel. Together with his wife, Ruth, he runs Motorail Logistics which organises stabling and maintenance for rolling stock at Long Marston.

Working with Robert Hopkin Colin runs a personal and team coaching and development business, Vision to Mission. V2M has worked with the Fire Service College at Moreton in the Marsh and the Ministry of Defence. His job as Chief Executive of the Rail Alliance takes up most of his time.

However he will be hosting this year’s RailStaff Awards and has found time to coach third sector organisations, in particular the Railway Children charity. He

speaks highly of the team at the Railway Children and is one hundred per cent behind the charity. So much so that last year he thought up and undertook the Ultimate 3 Challenge which involved cycling from Land’s End to John O Groats, climbing Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis and then kayaking Lake Bala, Windermere and Loch Ness.

He trained hard by cycling. ‘I needed to get my legs in order. I was always going to struggle on the hills but no way was I going to fail. With kayaking the hairiest bit was on Loch Ness with waves building to a three foot of swell quite bouncy.’

The trip was a chance to reconnect. ‘Gently paddling the length of Windermere you see dippers going in and out of the water. With a kayak you’re relatively quiet.’ Despite the appalling weather he is determined to organise another Ultimate Challenge and open it up to more people perhaps using relay teams.

Proud to be British ‘I’m fiercely, massively, proud to be British. Cycling the length of Britain I felt so in touch, really alive and connected with my country. We had some awful weather but you just battle on. One day it was really unpleasant in Wales, rain coming in sideways and it was bitterly cold. I couldn’t feel my hands or my feet. That was a low point, but it was done and we cracked it.’

With his wife of ten years, Ruth, he lives at Long Marston on site at

the old commandant’s house. The couple have a house in Kent which they are restoring. If he relaxes at all, Colin does so by cycling and reading. The job at the Rail Alliance takes him away quite a bit. ‘This autumn we’re encouraging new members to get out to Berlin to InnoTrans and take a good look round,’ he says enthusing over the exhibitions the Rail Alliance attends and its own show, MacroRail, at Long Marston.

Rail Alliance members pitch up to display what they do on a real railway with plenty of space. Next year’s MacroRail should be even bigger and better. For the time being InnoTrans remains Europe’s largest rail exhibition, a maze of opportunities the Rail Alliance will guide members through. Visitors may wander off site through nearby Charlottenberg perhaps finding their way across Berlin to the now-preserved Checkpoint Charlie. Signs of the Cold War are few in modern, bustling Berlin.

The Wall, like the nukes, has been stood down.

One suspects Colin will be far too busy working the exhibition for such whimsical trips down memory lane. Pioneering good communications remains the concomitant of peace. RailStaff may not always advertise every good job on offer in the rail industry but its readership numbers the boldest and the best in the industry. Undoubtedly it attracts the most competent people to respond to its job ads.

Many thanks to Robert Hopkin and Rhona Clarke for their help with this. www.railstaff.co.uk

CAREERS

Opportunities for Railway and Engineering Staff

Manpower

Rail

Recruitment

UK or Australia based, Competitive Salaries SWGR is a fast growing Global Company that has built a strong reputation on delivering effective manpower solutions to the rail industry both in the UK and Australia. Due to further expansion and a continued drive to assist key clients and international partners to deliver a range of exciting projects, we are keen to hear from high-calibre individuals who meet our high levels of competence, professionalism and service.

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UK WIDE SERVICE CENTRES

www.trsstaffing.com Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies TRS Staffing Solutions are international engineering recruitment specialists.

We recruit for major National and International projects for leading National Rail organisations, main contractors and consultancies. Currently we have vacancies for the following:

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Rail Engineering Trainers/Assessors London, Swindon, York and Leeds !"# $%&'()*+,-'./0*'123+,/2')45'(24267*

We are looking for Rail Engineering Trainers/Assessors to work for our sister company Vital Skills Training.

Reporting to the Education & Training Director, as a key member of the training team you will deliver vocational technical and safety training to apprentices aged 16 to 24.

You will have a thorough knowledge of P-Way and a strong background in delivering and designing bespoke training and assessment programmes in order to evaluate effectiveness, team dynamics and reputation. Excellent communication and man-management skills are a necessity.

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Rail, Infrastructure & Construction 43

T. 0161 836 7023 E. jessica.bates@vital-solutions.biz www.railstaff.co.uk

Job Opportunities for Rail Staff with CarmichaelUK Rail Division Due to the growing demand from major clients within the railway

Register your CV today online or

infrastructure, CarmichaelUK Rail Division are looking for skilled

via email in word format to:

personnel for Permanent and Contract opportunities.

rail@carmichaeluk.com

We would like to hear from the following for prestigious projects

or call one of our consultants on:

starting in London, South East and South West of England:

+44 (0) 208 522 8888

Engineers

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Job vacancies posted daily on our site

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We are looking for talented people who are seeking a career that will stretch and challenge their abilities. Our focus on training and maximising individual potential has created a work environment that promotes and rewards long-term loyalty amongst our workforce.

As a successful and progressive building, civil and structural engineering specialist contractor we currently have requirements for the following: -

PROJECT MANAGERS – CIVIL ENGINEERING AND RAIL

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Applicants must be degree qualified civil engineers with extensive experience preferably in the rail sector, although experience in aviation, water or highways would be considered.

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44

www.carmichaeluk.com ENGINEERING PERSONNEL RAIL DIVISION

We are able to offer a competitive package and good career opportunities, with the potential for further development in a diverse and specialist range of services, in a growing company; all of which will be discussed fully at interview.

To apply for any of the above roles please forward letters of application, including CV’s, to: HR Department, Kilnbridge Construction Services Limited, McDermott House, Cody Road Business Park, South Crescent, London, E16 4TL. E-mail: hr@kilnbridge.com Strictly no agencies.

www.kilnbridge.com www.railstaff.co.uk

CAREERS

Researcher European Rail Project Full time exciting research role for an enthusiastic person with knowledge and experience of the Rail industry preferably at European and UK level.

This person should be passionate about the subject and possess excellent communication skills, excellent copy writing skills, top notch research skills and be happy to be located in our London office either full time or part of the time.

Competitive salary on offer, contact grant.poulton@transporttimes.co.uk or call +44 (0)207 828 3804 for more information. www.railstaff.co.uk

hrs

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Rail & Structures Examinations Manager ÂŁNegotiable on experience

The Rail and Structures Department, based at our Head Office in Sheffield, currently has a vacancy for a full time Rail & Structures Examinations Manager, reporting directly to the Finance and Resources Director. HRS Services Ltd is a national specialist contractor that carries out roped access, confined space examinations and light maintenance contracts on Network Rail, CTRL and motorway networks.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone wanting to be involved within a small team who possesses an enthusiastic and hands on approach The role holder will be responsible for maintaining client relationships, accurate pricing of examination works, allocating the correct resources to contracts, managing contracts on a daily basis and compiling final examination reports. The role will also potentially involve travel to meet with clients and carry out reconnaissance visits to structures, across the United Kingdom, therefore a full UK valid driving licence will be required.

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For further details on our company and the position please visit our website: www.hrsservices.co.uk To apply via e-mail: please send your CV with a covering letter to: recruitment@hrsservices.co.uk

45

CAREERS

P6 Planning Engineer – M4 Corridor (London/Bristol) Attractive Salary + Benefits Working on £multimillion railway infrastructure and construction projects. Experience working on Civil Engineering works with appreciation of other railway disciplines required. Immediate Requirement.

Professional Head of PP-Way – London Attractive Salary Working for large contractor on major multi-disciplinary railway projects. Must have technical knowledge and strategic management experience. Required: excellent communication skills, ability to manage client and contractor relationships. Immediate Requirement.

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Long term order books and opportunities for career progression. Civil Engineering (or relevant) and H&S qualifications required as is experience with writing WPPs, managing programmes of work and sub-contractors.

46

www.railstaff.co.uk

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