RailStaff February 2016 by Rail Media

FEBRUARY 2016 | ISSUE 219

Civil Engineering General Civils Projects

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CIVIL ENGINEERING Stobart Rail undertakes civil engineering activities away

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Civil Engineering Services Previous projects include the installation of new rail freight Interchanges and numerous groundworks for third party and Group related sites throughout the UK. These have included drainage, foundation works, concrete slab and highway works. Stobart Rail undertakes all forms of Civil Engineering projects from design through to delivery. Our latest projects include the construction of a new distribution centre at Carlisle Lake District Airport, erection of a biomass plant at Widnes and a new all-weather track at Newcastle Racecourse.

Stobart Rail Services: Demolition Structures Drainage networks Runway and lighting Ground stabilization Concrete works Road construction Parking areas Terminal design and construct Railway station design and construct Air traﬃc control design and construct

• • • • • • • • • • •

Graeme Wharton Civils Director e. graeme.wharton@stobartdevelopments.com Andrew Sumner Contracts DIrector e. andrew.sumner@stobartrail.com Stobart Rail Head Oﬃce t. 01228 882 300

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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2016 | ISSUE 219 TRANSFORMING THE EAST COAST | 34 Nigel Wordsworth talks to David Horne about his first year at the helm of Virgin Trains East Coast.

MAKING GROUND | 24 With its five-car extension programme complete, what’s next for London Overground?

SAFE START 2016 | 28 28

The project team delivering the electrification programme for Midland Main Line met at Donington Park to discuss what lies in store in 2016.

INTERNATIONAL RAIL | 48 Plans to redevelop New York’s Penn Station and a selection of other stories from around the globe.

GEAR+TECH | 46 How the introduction of paperless ticketing in Belgium is improving the health of its conductors.

T H G I L T O P

40 b XCEL |developers will rul London E O T NS t ExCe rs and AIL PLA esigne d staff a INFRAR of engineers, d s, suppliers an tive nds Thousa with rail execu s er should il. -14 Apr 2 1 m fro

ensive ompreh c a s e includ 42 ff ’s events section. | S T N EVE 2016, RailSta dustry events r New fo pcoming rail in u to e id gu APPRENTICE POWER

FOR NEW RAILWAYS | 58

The government has announced backing for 30,000 new apprenticeships to keep pace with demand.

This month’s front page features Regina Tumblepot who in 2013 was voted Apprentice of the Year in the Crossrail Apprentice Awards.

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Factoring in the future Contact us: Publisher:

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The move to create more apprenticeships is to be welcomed. Of itself it is not enough. Young people now are freer than ever before. A not-so-secret world starts at the computer screen and peers into the farthest reaches of digital camera and parabolic microphone. In fact this is no world at all, but a prism that traps and distorts. Teenage suicide, cyber bullying and the dumbing down of education threaten our children. Absent fathers place the very idea of the family under threat. Sexual license puts the needs of the self indulgent far above the welfare of the child. Rachel weeps still for her children. Confidence is the one single ingredient of every successful culture. Instil confidence in the young and their dreams and goals become achievable. In the West Midlands, a maths teacher tells a story of supervising a class for an absent colleague. One child had finished the work set and was looking at a maths problem. Intrigued the teacher asked what it was. Factorisation, said the child. I don’t understand it. The teacher explained factorisation to her. The pupil then tackled several questions. She did well, getting full marks. By the way, said the teacher as the bell rang, what set are you in for Maths. Bottom set, said the girl. I was told I’d never be any good at Maths, that I was too stupid to amount to anything much. How many thousands of children are told to shut up, to stop being stupid? How much

Instil confidence in the young and their dreams and goals become achievable. human potential is closed down by parents who aren’t interested and harassed teachers letting slip a casual put-down that is taken as literal truth by an unformed mind? Motivation is important. Bet a 16 year old a million quid they can achieve a grade one GCSE and they’d pull it off somehow - hire extra tuition, badger a friend’s Dad. Instil confidence in children. Beyond the keyboard lies a world of rivers to swim, mountains to climb, of camping expeditions and cycle rides. Confidence comes from achieving adventure. Switch off the TV, quit the computer game. Give children the unique and enduring gift of time. The teacher looked at the pupil. Bottom set? But you’ve just answered an A-star question correctly. You’re good at maths. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! Adults have no greater responsibility than the encouragement of the young. It remains our duty and our joy.

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As I walk along High Holborn… Poems on the Underground is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The public arts programme has shared over 500 poems highlighting classical, contemporary and international work by poets - both famous and relatively unknown. Says Judith Chernaik, founder of Poems on the Underground, ‘It’s hard to believe that an idea which started as a pleasant way of providing reading matter on Tube journeys has reached its 30th year. The programme continues to thrive because of London Underground’s support and an amazing public response - and above all because of the poets past and present who have enriched our lives in so

many ways.’ The programme has inspired dozens of similar schemes in cities around the world, from New York to Shanghai. Says editor Andy Milne, ‘After a particularly difficult day in London, years ago, I stepped onto the District line heading back for Paddington and the express home. This poem really cheered me up and I left the carriage smiling. It’s by Adrian Mitchell, a pacifist, an anti-Vietnam war agitator and a good man. ‘He was married to the actress Celia Hewitt. Mitchell died in 2008. He delighted school students by prefacing each of his books with the words: ‘None of the work in this book is to be used in connection with any examination whatsoever.’ The poem is called Celia, Celia.’

‘WHEN I AM SAD AND WEARY WHEN I THINK ALL HOPE HAS GONE WHEN I WALK ALONG HIGH HOLBORN I THINK OF YOU WITH NOTHING ON.’

High speed Deal

Southeastern has started running a high-speed train to London up from Dover via Deal and Ramsgate in a bid to help hard-pressed commuters cut off by the collapsed line between Dover Priory and Folkestone Central. Says Richard Dean, train services director at Southeastern,

‘This new high-speed service will help passengers in Dover, Deal and the surrounding area get to and from work easier. ‘Our passengers are asking for a direct service and we’re pleased to be able to now provide it. If we could add more trains we would, but we simply do not have the trains or the available train crew to do so, and would therefore have to take from somewhere else which could affect a great deal more people.’ Southeastern is running two trains up in the morning and two back in the evening. The new service is achieved by running a train up to Ramsgate and hitching it onto a London-bound highspeed service.

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ADRIAN MITCHELL

GBRf in record breaking fundraiser Staff and supporters at GB Railfreight (GBRf) have raised an astounding £62,000 for blood cancer charity Bloodwise. GBRf staff and representatives of the charity met in London to celebrate the 18-month partnership. Notable fundraisers include the Bloodwise charter train journey for enthusiasts between Glasgow and Crewe on 9 August 2015. This raised a record £21,170. A GBRf team did a charity skydive in September 2015. A staff cycle challenge in 2014 saw managing director John Smith complete a 130-mile bike ride in fancy dress. At a patient engagement event in November 2014, researchers, patients, friends and family came together to share their experiences of blood cancer. GB Railfreight nominated Bloodwise (formerly Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research) as its Charity of the Year for 2014-15

in August 2014. The partnership was later extended to January 2016. Says John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, ‘I would like to say a big thank you to everybody for all their personal time, commitment and hard work in contributing to the many charity events and fundraising throughout the past 18 months. ‘Bloodwise is a charity that is very close to my heart, and we always encourage our staff to submit any charity nominations to be considered every year. ‘A group of people within GBRf then reflect on these nominations and the reasons behind them…. We cover as many types of different charities as we can.’ Adds John, ‘Raising over £60,000, when our initial expectations were set at £20,000, showcases the lengths many individuals have gone to, to promote the Bloodwise cause, and we are committed to continuing our fundraising efforts in the future.’

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

New railway station for RailStaff Awards

The RailStaff Awards, staged at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, now has its own railway station. The station, Coventry Arena, is open for business and has already run into capacity challenges. Ricoh authorities want football fans to travel to and from the station on specially chartered trains. A sudden deluge of fans leaving a game could overwhelm local services. However, people attending a catalogue of events round the year at the arena can make good use of rail services and fast connections with Coventry and Nuneaton. ‘Certainly if the demand is there we can look at chartering a special train,’ says Lianne

O’Connor, Rail Media director in charge of organising the awards. ‘We stage the RailStaff Awards on a Saturday night which is helpful in terms of booking paths at weekends. However it will need a lot of planning and forethought. ‘I imagine we can already crew it from the multitude of drivers of the year, planners, engineers, signallers and other winners we have on our books.’ Local rugby team, Wasps and Coventry City FC say they too are looking into charter trains. ‘Supporters of the RailStaff Awards travel from all parts of the UK so it would need to be a long train with a national reach,’ adds Lianne. Watch this space for the RailStaff Awards Express - coming soon to a station near you.

Tarmac is expanding its rail operations as it seeks to switch more materials onto the metals. Attracted by competitive pricing and reliability, Tarmac - which currently moves around nine million tonnes per year by rail - has awarded a number of five-year contracts to leading rail freight companies. Under these agreements, four companies will deliver rail freight services. Colas Rail has been awarded the contract for the Dunbar cement works in East Lothian. GB Railfreight will be carrying aggregates from Swinden, Thrislington and Dry Rigg quarries. Freightliner gets the contract for the Tunstead site in Derbyshire and DB Schenker will be taking forward work at Mountsorrel quarry in Leicestershire, as well as Tarmac’s aggregates business in the west. This includes depots in Moreton on Lugg, Herefordshire; Whatley, Somerset; Telford, Shropshire and Port Talbot in South Wales, De Cymru; and London.

Rugby outing for Railway Children Railway Children will be staging the second Rail Industry Touch Rugby tournament on 2 June in the historic grounds of Rugby School. Sixteen teams from organisations within the rail industry will be drawn into four groups to compete for the title of ‘Rail Industry Touch Rugby Champions.’ Touch rugby is a non-contact game and no previous experience is necessary. All are welcome to participate and teams can be single or mixed sex. Food and drink will be available to purchase throughout the day. Then in the evening there will be a dinner - all funds raised go to the Railway Children charity. Last year’s champions, VolkerRail, are returning to defend their title. Says Barry Kennedy of VolkerRail, ‘It was

Tarmac moves more by rail

fantastic to play on pitches which were manicured, probably the best I have ever played on and with a stunning back drop. It makes it a pleasure to take part when the atmosphere of the whole event was collaborative across the teams. A well organised day for a great cause.’ FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

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RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

Tim Shoveller takes the reins at Stagecoach Genial Tim Shoveller has been promoted to managing director of Stagecoach’s British rail business. The operation includes South West Trains (SWT), East Midlands Trains, Supertram Sheffield and Virgin Trains East Coast, in which it has a 90 per cent stake. Shoveller, who has nearly 25 years worth of experience in the rail industry, joined Perth-based Stagecoach in 2007. He has been head of SWT for the past four years and will now report directly to Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths. The move caps an extraordinary career that started as a volunteer on the Mid Hants Railway at Alresford as a teenager. Eschewing university, Tim took a job in Guildford as a Trainman D – a guard with British Rail. Although his parents were horrified, Shoveller claimed he’d found what he loved doing - making the railway work better. That simple maxim has taken

him on a wide ranging career to jobs at Silverlink, Wessex Trains, Eurostar, Midland Mainline and Virgin Trains West Coast. He joined Stagecoach Group in 2007 as managing director of East Midlands Trains. He also chairs RBF, the Railway Benefit Fund, and is a Fellow of the Institution of Railway Operators. Christian Roth, fleet director at SWT, becomes managing director of the franchise. A 25-year railway career in Britain and Germany includes three years heading up the UK rail business for Siemens. He joined South West Trains in December 2008. Says Tim Shoveller, ‘I am delighted to be heading the group’s UK Rail division. We have a highly professional team with a great track record of delivering consistently high levels of service to our customers and good value to taxpayers. I’m looking forward to meeting the challenges and delivering on the opportunities ahead.’

Bellshill backs Auld Alliance A Class 90 freight locomotive has been named after a car transporter terminal in Scotland. So reliant on rail is the motor industry that DB Schenker Rail UK named locomotive 90018 ‘The Pride of Bellshill’ to mark the STVA terminal opening at Glasgow. STVA, a subsidiary of SNCF, specialises in finished vehicle logistics and has opened its new Finished Vehicle Multi Modal Terminal to make good use of rail and road.

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The event was attended by Richard Lyle, Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Central Scotland; Geoff Spencer, chief executive of DB Schenker Rail UK; Lorraine Williamson, terminal manager at STVA UK and Ian Brown, managing director of STVA. ‘I would like to compliment STVA and DB Schenker Rail UK on this wonderful event. I’m glad that the facility will bring more jobs to the area and wish STVA and DB Schenker Rail UK luck in their future endeavours,’ said Richard Lyle.

Unipart staff back Red Cross Staff at Unipart Rail have raised £1,600 for South Yorkshire Red Cross at an Indoor Triathlon. The event took place in Unipart Rail’s offices on Balby Carr Bank and was supported by Nuffield Health, who supplied the equipment and training staff. The total distance covered by all 14 participants during the seven-hour event was 200 miles. This included running, cycling and rowing. Last year, Unipart Rail staff raised over £8,000 for local charities, including Weston Park Hospital, Thornberry Animal Sanctuary and Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The strong commitment to support the local community helped Unipart Rail to win the prestigious 2015 Best Large Business Award presented by the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce.

Britain’s Largest Specialist Transport Union

KEEP MERSEYRAIL SAFE KEEP THE GUARD ON THE TRAIN

If you ask any driver or member of station staff they will tell you a train is safer with a guard – THE PUBLIC AGREE. The threat by Merseytravel to abolish guards and introduce Driver Only Operated Trains is part of the wider attack on safety critical rail staff across the UK. On safety Two thirds (67%) of Merseyrail users said they would feel less safe if the proposal to remove guards went ahead. Some 82% are concerned about the safety of travelling on trains that no longer had an on-board train guard and a similar percentage believe Merseytravel should not allow trains to operate without at least one member of staff assisting passengers and protecting their safety (80%).

Passengers oppose Merseytravel’s proposals More than three quarters of weekly MerseyRail users (78%) oppose plans to remove guards from the service to make it a Driver Only Operation.

On Ownership Nearly three quarters (72%) support ending privatisation and bringing train operating companies back into public ownership in the UK. Of these, 92% would support a campaign by local politicians to bring Merseyrail back into the public sector.* * Survey of Merseyrail passengers carried out by respected pollsters Opinium

For more information on the growing opposition to Merseyrail’s plans and to support the campaign visit www.rmt.org.uk/merseyrail

Protecting our members’ interests is our priority

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Taylor-made for Scott Lister Dominic Taylor, rising star at Network Rail and more recently Siemens Rail Automation, is joining Scott Lister, as technical head of systems and signalling. The fast-growing international engineering consultancy operates globally and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in Singapore and London. Dominic has built a respected reputation in the rail sector having worked at Network Rail as a signal design engineer. More recently, he worked for Siemens Rail Automation as a technical architect. Dominic will be building on the signalling development and assurance capability already provided by Scott Lister in a newly created role for the UK. Says operations director Ben Blackwall, ‘We are really pleased that Dominic has chosen to pursue his career with us at Scott Lister. In addition to supporting the requirements of our existing clients, Dominic will be driving the development of a unique rail systems offer for Scott Lister which reacts positively to the industry’s value for money debate.’ Dominic’s appointment to the UK business is the latest in a series of key developments, which have also included bringing in Andrew Mark

from Parsons Brinckerhoff and Richard Wilby from BMT Reliability Consultants. Dominic Taylor read engineering at Cambridge University and took an MBA at HEC Paris. His spell at école des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Paris included an exchange placement at Georgetown University, USA. The appointment of Dominic Taylor, who speaks French, Italian, Spanish and German, is a further show of confidence by Scott Lister. Founded in 2009, Scott Lister now has five offices across Britain, Australia and Singapore from which 70 consultants provide high-value project and engineering expertise.

New directors for Murphy Three new appointments will see business ramping up at J. Murphy & Sons Limited this spring. The added emphasis on rail is underscored by the promotion of Paul Mohan (left) to senior director rail. Russell Kellett (right) joins from Laing O’Rourke as group operations director and Jim Yerkess becomes operations director in the North. Paul Mohan joined Murphy in 1993 as an engineer and has worked his way up to hold various management roles, most recently as project director for Network Rail’s CP5 framework. As one of the initial champions of Murphy’s ‘Never Harm’ culture programme, Paul has been instrumental in the continued safe expansion of the company’s rail business over the last 20 years. Russell Kellett will lead the development of Murphy’s specialist contracting and service delivery streams. He will take

Fiona to lead RBF Fiona Gorman is heading up RBF as the new interim chief executive following the departure of Abi Smith in December. Formerly head of welfare at BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, Gorman has almost 20 years experience working in the charitable sector. She is also a qualified cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist. 2015 also marked the departure of two long-serving supporters of RBF. Rail hero Richard Eccles, who pioneered clear thinking across the industry as strategy director of Network Rail stepped down. Alan Marshall, legendary rail PR guru and cheerful chief of the Railnews operation, has also stepped down. ‘They contributed much and I thank them for their work,’ said RBF chairman Tim Shoveller. He also thanked Abi Smith for her hard work in developing RBF - which has now increased its fundraising activities and completed a re-organisation of its headquarters at Crewe.

Carpenter to SNC-Lavalin SNC-Lavalin, formerly Interfleet, has appointed Darren Carpenter as its project director - Major Projects, Rail & Transit.

executive responsibility for the company’s planning, productivity and project controls capabilities. Russell has held a number of senior roles at Laing O’Rourke, most recently overseeing the design and build of a new district general hospital for NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Like Paul Mohan, Jim Yerkess has risen through the ranks. He joined in 2010 as framework

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construction manager as part of KMI Plus. He has more than 25 years’ experience in civil engineering, with significant experience in tunnelling, underground infrastructure, and the water and wastewater sector in the UK and Australia. J. Murphy & Sons Limited directly employs more than 4,000 engineers, managers and skilled staff.

Darren has 25 years’ experience in the rail sector, working in the UK on projects such as the Great Western Electrification Programme and internationally on major schemes like the Riyadh Metro. Darren was also responsible for the UK’s first deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). ‘Darren’s extensive ERTMS and electrification expertise made him the perfect candidate,’ says Ben Sutcliffe, SNC-Lavalin UK recruiter.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

PEOPLE

Susan's route promotion Turn again Whittington Susan Cooklin has joined Network Rail’s executive team as its new route services director.

Joanna Whittington has been appointed interim chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Cooklin was previously group chief information officer (CIO) and director shared services, leading the company’s 900-strong IT and shared services unit. The route services directorate will supply services to each of Network Rail’s eight routes – or regional business units – allowing them to reap benefits from economies of scale. Network Rail wants to optimise resources on a national basis. The directorate will initially include group business services, IT, payroll and finance shared services, the national supply chain which delivers engineering trains, equipment and materials for upgrade works and Network Rail Consulting. Says Mark Carne, chief executive, ‘This new role, leading a new team, is another step towards delivering a better, more efficient national service to

It’s an internal promotion. Since March 2014, Joanna has been ORR’s director of railway markets and economics, as well as a member of the board. The move marks her second spell at the beleaguered transport authority. An economic consultant specialising in transport, Joanna worked for ORR between 1995 and 1999. In 1999, she joined the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). Whittington replaces Richard Price who had been seconded from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on a five-year basis, until the end of March. Price leaves two months early as various reviews into the role of ORR continue. Whittington is mindful of the original task designation of the rail regulator - to protect the

our route teams. ‘Susan brings excellent industry knowledge and leadership credentials, with already strong relationships with stakeholders across a number of industries, including rail, financial services and technology.’ Born in Leicester, Susan Cooklin studied economics and accountancy before moving into technology in the financial services sector. She has held senior and executive roles in both IT and business operations within FTSE top 20 companies in the UK. Before joining Network Rail she spent seven years at Barclays Banking Group in a variety of executive roles in technology, change and operations.

interests of the consumer. ‘It’s a huge privilege to be appointed to this position at such a critical time in the development of Britain’s road and rail industries,’ she said and went on, ‘ORR has an important role to play in protecting the interests of users and funders of rail and road networks now and in the future, and I look forward to leading this work.’

TransPennine summit for Leo Goodwin FirstGroup has appointed Leo Goodwin as managing director designate for TransPennine Express. The commercial development director at FirstGroup takes over on 1 April. Goodwin, 38, joined FirstGroup in 1998 and worked at First Great Western, now Great Western Railway. Tipped for the top early on,

he rose to become commercial director at FTPE between January 2006 and April 2013. Liz Collins remains interim managing director for First/Keolis Transpennine Ltd until the new franchise begins. Leo Goodwin was born and grew up in Sheffield. He now lives in Manchester with his wife and two children. A keen runner, Leo is taking part in the London Marathon this April and is raising

money for the charity, Breast Cancer Now. The chartered management accountant has a business degree. A delighted Leo Goodwin is looking forward to a return to FTPE. ‘I am delighted to be given the opportunity to build on the successes that First TransPennine Express achieved over the last 11 years, in which we have more than

doubled passenger journeys on the network. ‘We will offer ambitious improvements for passengers. Our new franchise will deliver faster and more frequent intercity train services between the major towns and cities in the North and Scotland as well as investment in new trains with millions more seats available, free Wi-Fi and simpler smart and mobile ticketing.’

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Overground breaks boundaries

Better services on the London Overground have proved popular with Londoners.

Inspired by the success of the London Overground operation TfL and the DfT are now considering expanding the system to take over commuter franchises in London. Rail chiefs want to expand capacity and service levels across the region’s rail network giving a better service overall. The proposals would see the transfer of rail services that operate mostly within the Greater London boundary to TfL when the current franchises are due for renewal. This could include inner suburban rail services from London Bridge, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Moorgate, Victoria, and Waterloo. Says Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, ‘We are working closely with TfL to agree the best way of delivering integrated, seamless journeys for passengers both inside

Hasta la vista New trains are on the way for the new Northern Rail franchise.

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and outside of London, and as we continue these discussions, we want to hear people’s views.’ The London Overground has proved popular with ridership increasing and hard working staff visible at stations and on trains. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, is quite forthright in his support for the changes. ‘By working closely together and taking on these new services, we’re going to emulate the success of the London Overground and give the entire capital and surrounding areas the services they truly deserve.’ The development of London Overground has already shown what can be achieved by giving greater focus to suburban services, with people benefitting from staff at stations at all times while services are running, improved safety and turn-up-and-go style service, TfL sources claim.

Eversholt Rail has signed contracts with Arriva Rail North Limited and CAF, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, in Spain for 281 new carriages. The order includes 31 x 3-car and 12 x 4-car Electric Multiple Units (EMUs). Then 25 x 2-car and 30 x 3-car Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs). All vehicles are scheduled to enter service by December 2018. The new fleet is valued at £490 million. The rolling stock is based on CAF’s Civity trains - low floored regional units popular in Europe. The fleet of trains will run on the new Northern franchise linking major towns and cities in the north of England. Says Mary Kenny, chief executive officer of Eversholt Rail Group, ‘We are delighted to be supporting CAF and Arriva Rail North with the supply of this new rolling stock for the new Northern rail franchise. ‘These new trains will bring much-needed improvements in comfort and capacity for passengers on this important part of the network, and we look forward to working with our partners to bring them into service.’

Says Mike Brown MVO, London’s Transport Commissioner, ‘People want to live close to stations and they want those stations to have good quality frequent services connecting them to jobs and to leisure. ‘Providing such services is vital to the future success of our city, yet at present there are wide variations in the levels of service customers’ experience. Through this new partnership we will work with the DfT to radically improve the service that rail customers’ experience – integrating fares and information and bringing inner suburban rail services into the public transport network.’ Franchises effected include Southeastern up for renewal in 2018, South West Trains - which has a break clause in 2019, and Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern 2021. Views are now being sought from staff and public. Make your voice known!

A surprise rise in Suffolk The Ipswich - Lowestoft East Suffolk Line saw over 685,000 passenger journeys last year - a record - and an increase of 10,000 on the year before. The news marks a further triumph for staff and supporters of the East Suffolk Line Community Rail Partnership and Abellio Greater Anglia which runs the service. Smart and better lit stations and a £100,000 project to spruce up the fleet of Class 170 trains has added to the popularity of the historic railway. The East Suffolk Line passes through some of East Anglia’s most picturesque countryside. Gently rolling hills and valleys, historic market towns and villages, undisturbed ancient woodlands, tidal estuaries and coastal heathland. It is recommended as a great place for walking and cycling.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

Reducing suicide on the railways The Samaritans and Network Rail partnership, part of a wider industry programme to reduce suicides on the railways, has been helping to save lives for the last six years.

THE SAMARITANS TRAINING TEAM

Through training to spot vulnerable people and to intervene, awareness-raising on the network and introducing safety measures at stations, the suicide prevention programme has become part of day-to-day working life for many railway staff. Samaritans’ programme manager Ola Rzepczynska is part of the cross-industry team which enables different organisations to get on board and work together effectively.

Red Cross

Tunnel vision for Queen Street The tunnel at Glasgow Queen Street will be closed for 20 weeks between 20 March and 8 August 2016. An ambitious £60 million project will renew nearly 2 km of ageing slab-track through Queen Street tunnel and enable faster, longer trains to operate from later this year. Trains that would normally run in and out of Queen Street High Level will be diverted to either Queen Street Low Level or Glasgow Central. Says Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, ‘Glasgow Queen Street is one of the busiest stations in Scotland. Every day, tens of thousands of people travel through the

New look Glasgow Queen Street Station due for completion 2019.

station on their way to work, to college or university or to visit friends. ‘People will still be able to do that while the tunnel is closed - the railway is still very much open for business. However, they will see changes to their normal journey. ‘We want to make sure that everyone understands what these changes mean for them.’ He went on, ‘Upgrading the tunnel will allow us to run faster, longer, greener trains in the future. This will mean more seats, shorter journey times and less impact on our environment. The long-term benefits of this investment will be considerable, not just for our railway, but also for the country.’

Ola, 33, first got involved with charities while she was still a student. A stint working on a project whetted her appetite. ‘I liked the idea of having a really specific goal, particularly supporting those who were in crisis – I found doing what we could to try and make things better very motivating and appealing,’ she said. In her previous role, working on a number of emergency response projects at the British Red Cross, Ola was part of the tsunami support network and she travelled to Thailand to assist people from the UK who had survived or lost relatives. ‘That was a completely humbling experience,’ she said.

Vulnerable people Ola was also involved with relief work during the Gloucester floods in 2007. ‘It makes a big difference if you know there is a way that you can make that situation better and assist vulnerable people,’ she said. At first glance, going to the site of a disaster and supporting traumatised people, and suicide prevention on the UK’s railways seem literally worlds apart. But the skills needed to bring different groups of people together and motivate them to work for a common goal are similar.

The ability to quickly build strong relationships and communicate effectively is crucial for both roles. ‘Many people will be affected by suicide in their lifetime,’ Ola said. ‘Every suicide is a tragedy and every one is one too many.’

A Thousand Interventions Samaritans has so far trained more than 10,000 railway staff to intervene when they spot vulnerable people on the network. The charity also runs trauma support courses for train drivers and other staff who have been affected by a suicide. In the last three years, there have been more than 1,000 interventions by staff from Network Rail, the train operating companies and the British Transport police. ‘People may be in crisis because of something that has happened in their lives. It is often a silent and excruciating pain. One of the most valuable things about the Network Rail and Samaritans partnership is making people aware. It gets the rail industry talking about suicide, and the more aware people are and the more they can understand the complex issues behind it, the better equipped they will be to help or seek support for themselves,’ Ola said.

Web of support ‘We create a web of support across the network – if you can train people to be more aware, this does not just affect them when they are at work, it can have a big impact on their personal life. They can reach out and offer support – they are more likely to be able to spot someone who is struggling.’ The aim is for the partnership to have a lasting legacy and to continue working with the rail industry in the long term to ensure that suicides are being prevented and that ongoing support is available for staff affected by traumatic incidents on the railway. ‘Extending the lessons of the industry suicide prevention programme to other transport systems would also be a very positive move,’ Ola said.

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RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

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Northern Rail driver honoured A Barnsley-based train driver who attempted to save a man’s life at Sheffield’s Meadowhall station has been given a special award. Andrew Dickinson, a train driver manager for Northern Rail, received a ‘Heart’ award in the annual Serco Pulse Awards. Andrew saw a passenger collapse on the platform as his train pulled into the station. Says Andrew, ‘People were just stepping over him to board the train that I was travelling on. It wasn’t really something I stopped to think about. I immediately left the train to offer assistance and ring the paramedics as I could see he was going into cardiac arrest. ‘An off-duty A&E nurse came to assist, along with a first aider from Meadowhall. I was able to direct the paramedics to the patient

Mark Nixon presents Andrew Dickinson with his Serco Pulse Award.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

NEWS

Pop goes Nexus Over 2,000 people have already switched to the smart card, Pop, on the Tyne and Wear Metro over the last two months alone. The Pop card can also be used on buses and the Shields Ferry. Sales have grown by word of mouth in the two months since Pop Pay As You Go was launched by Transport Minister Andrew Jones MP, ahead of a major marketing campaign. As well as making paying

and steer passengers away from the incident.’ Despite Andrew’s, the paramedics and the other first aiders efforts, the man unfortunately died at the scene. However, Andrew then arranged a taxi for one of the first aiders and accompanied the other on her journey home by train. He also arranged flowers for both of them on behalf of Northern Rail.

for travel much easier, Pop Pay As You Go also gives Metro passengers a guaranteed 10p saving on single tickets and a 20p saving on Daysaver fares. John Fenwick, director of finance and resources at Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, said, ‘Pop Pay As You Go has already been a word-of-mouth success and we expect sales to grow significantly in the coming months as we begin a major marketing campaign.’

Taking the fast track Not one but two Secretaries of State attended the recent strategy launch by the Rail Supply Group (RSG). Fast Track to the Future - a strategy for productivity and growth in the UK rail supply chain - is the title of the RSG’s new 82-page document which sets out a plan to implement its Productivity Pledge, committing the rail supply sector to deliver a strategic approach to procurement and planning; a clear plan to drive world-class UK technologies; a coherent skills plan to attract the best talent and increase productivity; a comprehensive package of support for SMEs; and a fresh and co-ordinated approach to increase exports and inward investment. Launched at the beginning of 2015, the RSG brings together the Departments for Transport and Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the UK rail industry in a collaboration to strengthen the capability and competitiveness

of the UK rail supply chain to win business at home and overseas. Fast Track for Growth was the title of the initial launch document, which acted as a precursor to the strategy document that has now been published.

Productivity As is always the case in the rail industry, faces change. So it was Sajid Javid (left) rather than Vince Cable who, as Secretary of State for BIS, stood up at the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre (AMTC) in Coventry to launch the strategy alongside the DfT’s Patrick McLoughlin (right). Productivity featured strongly in Javid’s seven-minute speech. Starting by praising the UK rail industry for those aspects in which it leads the world, the Secretary of State continued, ‘Productivity is one of the few areas in which the UK is struggling. This country is home to some of the world’s most dynamic businesses, staffed by hard working, incredibly talented

individuals. Yet our productivity, the rate of output per hour of work, is well below potential.’ He then went on to describe how what takes five days to produce in Britain takes only four in Germany, and that working with the same level of productivity as the USA would boost the UK’s GDP by 31 per cent. Patrick McLoughlin was typically upbeat about the new strategy. ‘For the first time, the rail supply chain has an agreed plan for how it will grow in numbers, productivity and expertise.’ Speaking on behalf of the RSG and the industry, Alstom’s Terence Watson (centre) said, ‘The opportunities in the rail industry right now, and into the

foreseeable future, are vast… But just to build these projects and then pack up at the end would miss the point. As an industry we must use them to kick-start a new wave of UK manufacturing and exporting prowess, maximising the benefit to UK PLC. That’s why we are pledging to work together to double the industry’s export volumes, drive economic growth and create thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships across the country.’ The RSG’s newly published strategy will support the sector to take advantage of positive trends in the global rail market, with global growth expected to be 2.7 per cent a year, reaching £128 billion by 2019.

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NEWS

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Youngest driver pilots Sienna Express A conductor on First TransPennine Express has helped organise a little onthe-job training for the rail industry’s youngest recruit driver Sienna King. Sienna, aged five, suffers from a rare condition that requires constant treatment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. Her condition is so rare that doctors haven’t met any other child with all the same symptoms and have begun calling it the ‘Sienna Syndrome’. To help her relax and enjoy her time away from the hospital, Sienna and her mother Selina take train trips. On one of these journeys, FTPE conductor Mark Kennedy met Sienna and discovered her love of trains. Says Mark, ‘She pulled on my heart strings when I first met her. It made me realise how much we take life and our health for granted sometimes. She told me she loved trains, so I made a promise to her to have this special day.’ One Saturday, Mark arranged to take Sienna and her mother Selina from Warrington to York on the ‘Sienna Express’ to visit

the Siemens train maintenance depot. At the site she was invited to drive a train using a simulator. The simulator is used as part of driver training and allows people to have a first-hand experience of driving a train and using the controls. After her training, Sienna was given a private tour of the depot to see the trains during maintenance work. Later Sienna was taken back to York station, where she boarded the ‘Sienna Express’ back to Warrington. But the best was yet to come. On the way back, Sienna was invited into the drivers cab while the train was in motion. She was able to watch the driver use all the controls she had just experienced. Selina King, Sienna’s mother, said it was a wonderful day. ‘I’m sure she won’t be forgetting today any time soon. She really loves trains and can enjoy her time away from the hospital by taking train trips across the North. ‘I think she did a great job for her first attempt at train driving, but I think she needs a bit more practice before I’d let her behind the controls.’

Nottingham man wins French presidency A graduate of Nottingham University has been appointed head of Bombardier France. The promotion to president caps a career launched after Laurent Bouyer completed a business studies course at Nottingham University in 1993. Back in France, he worked for Asea Brown Boveri as project manager for the Eurotram in Strasbourg. In 1995, he joined Bombardier and worked in sales and strategic roles in Belgium before moving to Lille as project director. In 2014, he was called to Berlin to conduct an internal

transformation and corporate social responsibility programme for the group globally. As president of Bombardier Transportation France, Bouyer will look after all stakeholders in France, as well as clients, governments and the French rail industry. Analysts say it’s a tough role but Lauren Bouyer, a reserve Lieutenant Commander in the French Navy and armed with a degree from EGC Institute of Commercial Studies in Nantes, Brittany, is well prepared. Best of all, Nottingham University is ranked as world-class, up in the European top 30.

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Gresty Lane again Haigh Rail has completed a significant rail project during a nine-day blockade at Gresty Lane, Crewe. Contracted through Network Rail and Siemens Rail Automation Holdings, the rail engineering contractor provided a range of works for the resignalling project, GRIP stages 5-8, from 28 November to 6 December 2015. Work at Gresty Lane included 20 point ends converted, 93 insulated block joints (IBJs) installed and over 4,500 man hours worked during the blockade. The company was involved in planning the works which ensured successful

delivery in all areas and created a culture of collaboration in which all parties were consulted throughout the project. Chris Haigh, managing director of Haigh Rail Ltd, said, ‘Collaboration was key to our success in completing a broad range of works at Gresty Lane in this re-signalling project which has great importance for the area. ‘I am delighted to report there were no incidents, adding to our reputation as being a very safe pair of hands. ‘We look forward to the opportunity of delivering more work of this nature as key elements of CP5 works get underway.’

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RAIL ALLIANCE EVENT The Rail Alliance is delighted to announce that Rail Live 2016 will be held on 22 and 23 June, once again at the Quinton Rail Technology Centre in Long Marston, Warwickshire. This will be the third year of this highly anticipated show which has become a highlight in the rail industry calendar. This year will be no exception with all the major areas of the rail supply chain represented, including infrastructure, rolling stock, electrification, signalling, rail maintenance, materials and product development/ testing, safety, digital, and, of course, innovation. Steve Featherstone, track programme director at Network Rail, said, ‘The railway is always evolving and as an organisation measured by performance, we need to embrace innovation and best practice in the rail sector. ‘We are looking forward to Rail Live 2016, a well-established event that really does set out to address and meet industry challenges now and for the future.’ Exhibitors will once again be able to show off skills and equipment at the event, making it a fantastic opportunity to invite customers and potential clients to witness the capability and performance for themselves. Colin Flack, chief executive at the Rail Alliance, said, ‘Being able to meet hundreds of existing and new suppliers in one location and actually seeing products being demonstrated in a real rail environment is of great benefit to the entire rail sector. It is a valuable opportunity for anyone attending to network, share ideas and do business face-to-face.’ Rail Alliance will be accepting expressions of interest for companies who would like to exhibit at Rail Live 2016. Please download the form either via the Rail Alliance website (under the events page www.railalliance.co.uk/services/railalliance-events/) or alternatively, e-mail rhona.clarke@railalliance.co.uk.

‘LIGHT AFTER DARK’ 9 MARCH 2016 ‘Light After Dark’ is on Wednesday, 9 March 2016 from 15.00 to 20.00 at the QRTC, Long Marston, CV37 8PL (home of the Rail Alliance) After its successful debut in 2015, ‘Light After Dark’ will make a return appearance on March 9, 2016 (15.00 to 20.00). We are proud to announce that this year the event is supported by the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and the Society of Light & Lighting (SLL). Specifically for the railway lighting sector and associated safety and security organisations, this is an event like no other. It has been carefully timed to coincide with the lunar calendar to ensure optimum darkness for companies demonstrating exterior lighting products. Bigger than last year’s event, we are delighted to incorporate safety and security as part of the event as they are so closely linked to the subject of lighting. In addition to the outdoor demonstration area, only metres away in a purpose-built marquee, exhibitors will be able to showcase products, display video footage of systems in use, and meet and network with both peers and potential clients - please note that demonstrators will need to bring their own laptops/screens. Exhibition Fee – £75 for Rail Alliance members, LIA members and SLL members and £125 for non-members. This includes a 3m x 2m exhibition space, 5ft table, power, refreshments and all Rail Alliance-led promotion before, during and after the event. Attendance Fee – Free of charge. Delegates are invited to enter the event from 3pm onwards where you will have the opportunity to meet with all our demonstrators and attend the presentations before joining us for networking refreshments and participating in the after dark lighting showcase. For details of how to book for this event please go to www.railalliance.co.uk and look under the events page.

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Nominations open for Wing Award for Safety Every year, the Wing Award for Safety, presented at Rail Media’s ‘Rail Safety Summit’ in May, singles out an individual judged to have made a significant contribution to railway track safety. Nominations are open now. The Wing Award for safety is awarded by the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers. The Wing Award for Safety was initiated over 20 years ago to commemorate the life and work of Peter Wing, a Fellow of the IRSE. Says Francis How, chief executive, IRSE, ‘Peter Wing was thoroughly committed to improving safety for all those working on track. I personally knew and admired Peter greatly, most of all for leading a campaign called ‘Dead Serious

About Safety’ which dramatically reduced the number of trackside fatalities and injuries in the 1990s. ‘The Wing Award for Safety could be given to someone at managerial or senior level or equally to an unsung and relatively unknown hero who has made a real improvement in trackside safety.’ Improving track safety is central to railways as an already busy network expands. The award presents a valuable opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the industry’s quest to make sure everyone who works trackside gets home safely. Although Peter Wing was an S&T Engineer, the award is open to anyone working in the rail industry, regardless of their

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

specialism. The IRSE manages and presents the award on behalf of the rail industry. Winners receive a certificate and £500. In previous years, the award has been presented to people who have developed novel ideas for improving safety at the lineside. Other winners include long-term champions of improved track safety standards and those who have made a significant contribution to the awareness of track safety. ‘Please seriously consider making a nomination, and advertise the award in your organisation, to help the industry recognise achievement and to emphasise the importance of continuous improvement in trackside safety,’ says Francis How. Nominations should be no longer than 250 words and sent to the IRSE, addressed to Francis How. Alternatively, they can be e-mailed to francis. how@irse.org. Closing date for nominations is 31 March, 2016.

NEWS

Satisfaction guaranteed Despite tough winters and infrastructure damage caused by flooding and storms over the last few years, passenger satisfaction is up. Overall satisfaction has risen significantly according to the latest national survey by the independent transport watchdog. Transport Focus found that 83 per cent of passengers surveyed in autumn 2015 were satisfied with their journey overall. This is 2 per cent higher than the same period in 2014 and 3 per cent more than in spring 2015.

Join us for Our Annual Rail Industry Dinner

In the atmospheric surroundings of Station Hall at the National Railway Museum Thursday 9 June 2016 This is the key networking and social event for the UK’s rail industry. Keynote speaker: Rudiger Grube, CEO and Chairman of Deutsche Bahn. Your chance to: Purchase a table of 10 for £3000 with company logo on your table. Purchase a one page advertisement within the event brochure for £500. For more details contact Fran Critchley: 01904 685717 Email: fran.critchley@nrm.org.uk The museum is a charity (no: XN63797A) with exempt status.

Headline sponsor:

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

BACK

Flying Scotsman steams over a viaduct on the East Lancashire Railway.

IN STEAM REPORT BY MARC JOHNSON

AN UNDISPUTED LEGEND OF THE RAILWAY HAS MADE ITS WELCOME RETURN.

0103 Flying Scotsman is back in public view following a decadelong restoration project, easing itself in with a series of test runs on the East Lancashire Railway. Once commissioning is complete in late February, Flying Scotsman season will begin, but not before a quick stop at the Bury workshop where 60103 has been restored to swap its current wartime black livery for the iconic BR Brunswick Green. The famous locomotive will be displayed in the National Railway Museum’s North Yard this month before taking its place alongside the likes of 4468 Mallard and City of Truro in the Great Hall at the start of March.

LAST OF THE A3S The Flying Scotsman service between London and Edinburgh was launched in 1862 - a journey which took 10-and-a-half hours. The A1 and A3 Class locomotives, of which 79 were built, hauled the first nonstop service between the two capitals in 1928. 60103, which turns 93 this month, was one of 51 A1 class locomotives which were

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rebuilt to the A3 specification and has been renumbered several times since it left the factory in 1923. It is now the lone survivor of Nigel Gresley’s A3 class. Over its lifetime, Scotsman has travelled more than 2.5 million miles, some of which were clocked during tours of the USA - for which it had to be fitted with a cowcatcher - and Australia - a period when the loco was utilised by the British government to showcase the enterprise of British engineering. The legendary steam engine has had many owners throughout its lifetime. Originally built for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), Scotsman was retired in 1963 and bought by British businessman Alan Pegler. The venture left Pegler deep in debt and in the early 1970s, he sold 60103 to millionaire and railway fanatic Sir William McAlpine. Flying Scotsman eventually returned to public ownership in 2005 - bought for £2.3 million. The bid included £365,000 from Sir Richard Branson, who thankfully didn’t insist on a Virgin red livery.

RESTORATION Now under NRM ownership, Flying Scotsman was withdrawn from service at the end of 2005. What was originally expected to be a fairly short, straightforward

overhaul turned into a complete restoration. The £4.2 million project, which was funded by contributions from the public and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, required engineers to strip the locomotive down to its frame. The A4 boiler, which was fitted in the 1970s, in particular was found to be in bad state of repair and has been replaced by a genuine A3 boiler from Scotsman’s sister locomotive, 60041 Salmon Trout. It’s a proud moment for Colin Green, codirector at Riley & Son which in 2013 was awarded the contract to restore, manage and maintain the locomotive. ‘These are the first stages of bringing it back to the mainline and despite being self-confessed men of iron we’re really quite emotional to see it move under its own steam at last after years of hard work,’ said Colin.

SCOTSMAN SEASON NRM is running a series of exhibitions this spring to celebrate 60103. Between February and June, ’Starring Scotsman’ will focus on the moments and achievements that have made the Flying Scotsman so popular. Another exhibition will look at how the Scotsman helped set new standards in customer service and the Platform 4 Theatre will put on daily performances during the Easter holidays telling the story of the world’s most famous locomotive.

From the end of March, Flying Scotsman will begin a tour of the UK. It will, of course, recreate its namesake service between London and Edinburgh, but it will also haul services between London and Bath; Bristol and Taunton; London and Holyhead; and York and Carlisle. Reflecting on the first test runs in January, museum director Paul Kirkman said, ‘Along with all our generous supporters for this complex project to bring a 1920s-built cultural icon back to life, we have all been looking forward to the day when Flying Scotsman is once again running on Britain’s tracks. Even though we still have the rest of the commissioning phase to get through, including the mainline test runs, we are so thrilled this historic day has finally come to pass. ‘We hope the public will join us to welcome Flying Scotsman home in late February. We will be showing it in light steam in our North Yard and then it will finish off as the centre of attention on our Great Hall turntable. ‘As well as seeing the icon out and about on Britain’s tracks in 2016, the public can experience the essence of Flying Scotsman first-hand at our museum, through a series of innovative and colourful exhibitions and events.’

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

Perry praises la Crossrail

Claire Perry MP at the Women Delivering Crossrail event.

FEMALE TALENT UNDERUSED Women make up nearly a third of the workforce on Crossrail - the largest construction project in Europe. By comparison, across the construction industry, just 11 per cent of employees are women, including those in office-based roles, and only 6 per cent of engineers are female.

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The fault lies in past prejudice and a simple lack of recognition of this great resource available to industry. She continued, ‘Whether it was the ‘closed shop’ policies used by the unions to protect male jobs, or the prejudice that says women don’t have what it takes for demanding work, female talent has been underused. Change cannot come too soon.’ Also present were Karen Boswell, managing director, Hitachi Rail Europe, and Alison Munro, managing director, development, HS2 Ltd. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan joined them and serving members of the Crossrail team, including Valerie Todd, talent and resources director; Linda Miller, project manager; Rebecca Hughes, apprentice site engineer; and Dinesh Hansla, graduate engineer.

AMBASSADORS FROM CROSSRAIL Outreach to women and youth is important says Perry. ‘Under the Young Crossrail programme, ambassadors from Crossrail - of whom over half are women - have visited schools and careers events to promote careers in engineering, construction and railway infrastructure, and to influence exam choices leading to careers in these fields.’

Crossrail has worked hard to key itself into the local community, tapping into a wealth of hitherto unrealised talent. ‘Crossrail has also offered work experience, and supported contractors on their own school engagement work. In total, 277 schools, colleges and universities and over 36,000 young people, parents and teachers have been directly engaged by Crossrail.’ ‘It doesn’t stop there - all of us need to do more,’ says Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan. ‘All of us, from teachers and parents to chief executives and industry leaders, need to do more to help women make the most of the exciting career opportunities on offer.’ The event formed part of the ‘100 years of Women in Transport’ campaign supported by TfL, Network Rail, the Women’s Transportation Seminar and Women’s Engineering Society.

s the industry strives to attract professional people - particularly women - to pursue careers on the railway, Crossrail has been singled out for special praise in this area by transport supremo, Claire Perry MP. An enthusiastic Perry quipped, ‘Often when I tell people that Crossrail is being dug by Sophie, Jessica, Ada, Victoria, Elizabeth, Mary Ellie and Phyllis, they are impressed that we’ve managed to find some female construction workers!’ Perry was speaking of the TBMs (tunnel boring machines) at the ‘Women Delivering Crossrail’ event in the House of Commons. ‘Yet standing behind those machines, and throughout Crossrail’s 45 construction sites, are thousands of women designing, building and fitting out this great railway. In every way, Crossrail is breaking new ground.’

Throughout Crossrail’s 45 construction sites, are thousands of women designing, building and fitting out this great railway.

FEATURE

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

MAKING GROUND

REPORT BY MARC JOHNSON

LOROL AND TFL HAVE FINISHED A TWO-YEAR PROJECT TO ADD A FIFTH CARRIAGE TO THEIR CLASS 378 FLEET, BUT WHAT’S NEXT FOR OVERGROUND IF IT IS TO KEEP UP WITH GROWING DEMAND?

f you were to turn to C in the book of well-worn railway terms, the word ‘capacity’ would probably be emboldened and furiously underlined. Unlocking capacity on already busy corridors is becoming increasingly important. Often an engineering solution - new trains, longer trains, modern signalling - is the answer, but on some routes, there’s very little extra that traditional methods can eke out. London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL), a joint venture between MTR and Deutsche Bahn (DB), is one operator in particular which is having to consider new options to keep up with passenger demand. ‘When we took over in 2007, we were just shy of 110,000 passengers per day. Today we carry more than 450,000 passengers on a daily basis, so there’s been a substantial amount of growth,’ said Gareth Biggins, LOROL’s head of concession management.

EXPANDING NETWORK

Gareth knows LOROL’s capacity challenge better than anyone, as one of only two people who has been with the organisation since the very beginning - the other being managing director Peter Austin. For several years, he was a regular passenger, commuting to work from his home in Kensal Rise. ‘My wife used to play hell because at weekends I’d be going to the station reporting problems if we were on our way out,’ said Gareth. Gareth worked on LOROL’s bid for the Overground concession, which was let in 2007 by Transport for London (TfL) when it took over what was the North London Railways franchise from the Department for Transport (DfT). The network has been extended several times since LOROL - an MTR/Laing Rail joint venture as it was at the time - replaced Silverlink Metro. The first major expansion was in 2010, with the opening of the East London Line. The line, which had been part of the Tube network, links Dalston Junction and West Croydon, and includes spurs to New Cross and Crystal Palace. The East London Line was later extended to Clapham Junction in 2012, creating the orbital network that Overground was always designed to be. Says Gareth, ‘On the East London Line itself we’re seeing regularly a year-on-year growth of about 20 per cent, which for a route which is such regularly and frequently served as the East London Line core route, that’s quite impressive. ‘Elsewhere on the network, we’re regularly outstripping the London and South East average for growth and it just continues.’ LOROL and TfL have just completed a £320 million programme to increase the Overground’s fleet of 57 Class 378s from four to five cars - known as the London Overground Capacity Improvement Plan (LOCIP). For most of 2015, LOROL was without two of its trains, as units returned to either Derby or New Cross Gate depot for three weeks at a time to have the extra carriage added. Says Gareth, ‘On event days or significant events like the Tube strike, we would use every additional train that we can, we’d re-plan our maintenance so that we could make every train in the fleet available. So we lost that flexibility and we obviously had to plan to undertake all the maintenance at night rather than during the course of the day.’

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FUTURE PLANS LOCIP was also a complex infrastructure project, requiring platforms to be lengthened and the creation of new stabling facilities at Silwood. Where platforms couldn’t be extended, Selective Door Opening (SDO) was installed. It’s the first time the system has been used on Overground and Gareth admitted that it was behind some of the project’s initial teething problems. However, it’s now been installed across the entire Overground network and has enabled LOROL to automate correct side door opening, as is the case on London Underground. As expected, the additional 25 per cent capacity provided by LOCIP has been quickly swallowed up, so what do LOROL and TfL have planned for the future? Even longer trains of six, seven, eight carriages? ‘Six car is not really an option on either the North London Line or particularly the East London Line because of the constraints of the tunnels. So we need to look at capacity more holistically going forward,’ says Gareth.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

FEATURE

London Overground five - car train at Silwood Sidings.

London Overground Cheshunt

Theobalds Grove

Romford

Turkey Street Bush Hill Park

Chingford

Enfield Town

Highams Park

Edmonton Green Silver Street

Watford Junction

Upminster Emerson Park

TfL Rail

Southbury

District

Romford to Upminster services end at 2141/2154 Mondays to Saturdays and 1941/1954 Sundays

Wood Street

White Hart Lane Victoria

‘I think in the short term it is a piece of work that the industry needs to do, not just Overground, around travel demand management and actually looking at passenger journeys and trying to influence those by identifying which trains are at capacity. Can we persuade people to travel at different times of the day. ‘We’re currently working on a project through our involvement with the Arriva Group… we’re working on a project with them that’s being cofunded by the RSSB TOC’15 innovation fund and what that’s doing is to try and make real-time train loading data available to our staff so that they can influence where customers stand on platforms, for example.’ Gareth believes that the start of Crossrail services in 2018 and the proposed takeover of suburban routes are another way of creating capacity on the Overground. There is also an opportunity to work with freight operators, Network Rail and the ORR to identify and use underutilised freight paths, as has already been done on the West London Line.

Walthamstow Central

Bruce Grove

Watford High Street

South Tottenham

Bushey Carpenders Park

Leyton Midland Road

Blackhorse Road

Harringay Green Lanes

Walthamstow Queen’s Road

Victoria

Seven Sisters

St. James Street

Victoria

Hatch End Crouch Hill Headstone Lane

Leytonstone High Road Wanstead Park

Stamford Hill

TfL Rail Forest Gate 300m

Clapton

Woodgrange Park

Stoke Newington

Harrow & Wealdstone

Upper Holloway

Barking

Rectory Road

Kenton Hampstead Heath

South Kenton Finchley Road & Frognal

North Wembley

West Hampstead Wembley Central

Gospel Oak

Jubilee 100m 100m Trains to Luton

Brondesbury

Highbury & Islington

Camden Road Kentish Town West

Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Victoria

Dalston Kingsland

Willesden Junction

Queen’s Park

Kilburn High Road

South Hampstead

Hoxton

Cambridge Heath

Euston

Shoreditch High Street

Bethnal Green Bakerloo

Northern Victoria

Liverpool Street

Bakerloo

Central Circle Hammersmith & City Metropolitan TfL Rail Trains to Southend and Stansted

Acton Central Central 100m

Shepherd’s Bush South Acton

Kensington (Olympia) Gunnersbury

Whitechapel Shadwell

Rotherhithe District

Canada Water Peckham Rye

Battersea Park

Imperial Wharf River Thames

Key to symbols

Clapham Junction

Trains to Gatwick

Interchange stations

Clapham High Street Wandsworth Road

Denmark Hill

Queens Road Peckham

Riverboat services

Cambridge Heath and London Fields are not served by trains to/from Chingford

New Cross New Cross Gate

Northern

Clapham North 100m

Brockley Honor Oak Park

Step-free access from street to platform

Limited service

Jubilee

Surrey Quays

Step-free access from street to train

National Rail

DLR 100m

River Thames

District

West Brompton

Richmond

District Hammersmith & City

Wapping

District line open weekends, public holidays and some Olympia events

District

Kew Gardens

Central Jubilee DLR TfL Rail Trains to Southend

Haggerston

London Fields

Kensal Green

Hackney Wick

Dalston Junction

Kensal Rise Harlesden

Stratford

Homerton Hackney Central

Canonbury

Brondesbury Park

Stonebridge Park

District Hammersmith & City

Hackney Downs

Crystal Palace West Croydon Tramlink

Norwood Junction

Forest Hill Sydenham

Anerley

Penge West Correct at time of going to print, October 2015

MAYOR OF LONDON

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RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

‘Clearly TfL has got aspirations to take over more of the suburban network within London; that will clearly make those parts of the network more accessible and more visually accessible to customers as part of the Tube network, or as part of the TfL network if you like.’ Gareth added, ‘What we may see on Overground is a reduction in customer numbers as Crossrail comes into being. Some people might see that as a negative, but actually I think it will have a positive benefit of creating additional capacity and then allowing growth to reoccur, so it might be that we actually see a patterning of the passenger numbers as people’s travel patterns move and change.’ Although LOROL and TfL are trying to look beyond traditional engineering solutions to capacity constraints, there are several major projects on the horizon. The electrification of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line will begin later this year, closing the line for eight months. In 2018, with the overhead lines up, new longer, electric Class 710 trains will then begin to replace the Class 172 Turbostars.

NEW FRANCHISE The London Overground concession model was new to the industry in 2007, pioneering in the way it encouraged high standards and penalised poor performance. Gareth likened the early days to being ‘raked over the coals’ by clients every five seconds. Nine years on, and with the new concession due to begin in November, the service has been transformed from the one LOROL took over in 2007. In 2015, LOROL scored 91 per cent for customer satisfaction, up from 57 per cent when it began the concession. The popularity of Overground was demonstrated by last year’s Tube strikes.

Illustration of the new longer electric Class 710 trains which are due in 2018.

Says Gareth, ‘We saw a lot of customers who came to use the Overground service because they had no choice on those days and have actually realised that the Overground provides them with links that they wouldn’t normally have… And they’ve actually stayed with us as customers and have freed up capacity on the Tube network then as a result.’ Gareth made sure to acknowledge one other important component. Adding, ‘The LOROL people are the real success story behind what we as an operator have been able to achieve.’

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Richard Walker, Network Rail's route delivery director for the Midlands speaking at Safe Start 2016.

600 attendees 70 exhibitor stands.

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SAFE START 2016

ORCHESTRATED BY CARILLION’S JAMES STEELE, THE SAFE START EVENT SERIES WAS SET UP AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING TOGETHER THE NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS EAST MIDLANDS (IPEM) PARTNERS AND THE WIDER SUPPLY CHAIN TO DISCUSS THE YEAR AHEAD.

alking into the Donington Park Exhibition Centre for Safe Start 2016, it was strange to think that just a few months ago progress on the Midland Main Line (MML) electrification was on hold, indefinitely paused while Sir Peter Hendy examined the costs. Thankfully the electrification programme was restarted in September, although the project, which will include 639 single-track kilometres of new OLE, has been pushed back by three years. The electrification programme is being delivered by the IPEM team, which comprises Network Rail, AMCO, Arup, Atkins, Carillion, Carillion Powerlines, Galliford Try and Murphy. The MML programme is a £2 billion plus investment spread across CP5 and CP6. Despite the drama of the previous six months, it was business as usual in January, in fact the event was bigger than ever - with more than 70 exhibitors and 600 delegates - but beneath the surface the entire team has been busy remobilising. ‘It’s been very frustrating because we knew we’d got a great team,’ said Richard Walker, Network Rail’s route delivery director for the Midlands.

REMOBILISE As soon as Patrick McLoughlin announced the reviews into the MML and TransPennine electrification schemes, everything stopped and the project was shut down. It was a surprise decision. Just a month before, a Network Rail press release announced that piling works had begun between Bedford and Kettering. ‘We had to close the project down very quickly and stop the spend,’ said Richard. ‘When we’ve demobilised a project team to remobilise it takes a year-and-a-half…’ The event was sponsored by A-Plant, CR Civil Engineering, Bodyguard, Selectequip and Bridgeway. Giving the opening address and welcome, Richard praised the ‘diligence’ of the MML’s contractors and suppliers.

Writing in the programme notes, Richard shone a positive light on the hiatus. ‘The pause actually gave us much-needed time to reflect and recast plans - and to capture feedback with regards to lessons learned and best practices. This has informed our thinking and planning, and we are confident that the remobilisation plan we have created is fit for purpose: to ensure that we deliver our work safely and efficiently. But of course the best laid plans can only succeed if we all get behind them.’ The reviews have put an additional layer of scrutiny on the project, both within Network Rail and with the travelling public. Richard described the extra three years as an opportunity that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Adding, ‘If we sit back and relax, we won’t hit that date.’

DILIGENCE Safe Start is designed to send out a coherent safety message across the network of IPEM partner companies. Over the past year, this has been furthered with the introduction of the Planning and Delivering Safe Work (PDSW) and Safe Work Leaders (SWL), improved site welfare facilities, nutrition and wellbeing services and the creation of a new induction programme - the IPEM Passport. The leadership team has set a series of new goals for 2016. This year there will more of a focus on mental and emotional health. There will also be a push to improve logistics, to better understand how the 350 compounds in the IPEM area can support each other. Last year, the IPEM Passport was trialled. The three-day training programme has been tailored to the East Midlands region and includes the Industry Common Induction, a PPE fitting and outlines personal roles and responsibilities. In 2016, this focus on training will continue. In particular, it will look at supervisor training. Richard spoke about leaving a legacy. Not just to deliver the project on time and within the budget but to pioneer things that will be ‘stolen with pride’ for other major schemes in the future. With the play button pressed, there’s now a chance to do that. To reset and start again.

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TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

ARE THERE TOO MANY RULES FOR TRAIN DRIVERS GETTING IN THE WAY OF CO-OPERATIVE WORKING?

REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

WILL THE LATEST RAIB "CLASS INVESTIGATION" REDUCE THE RISKS TO TRACK STAFF?

n January 28th it was announced that Simon French had been appointed as Chief Inspector of the RAIB (Rail Accidents Investigation Branch); congratulations Simon. He joined RAIB when it was formed back in 2004 and became its Deputy Chief Inspector in 2009. He has been acting in the post since the departure of his predecessor Carolyn Griffiths in May of last year! I am sure it is in safe hands and can only wonder why it took so long for the appointment to be made. Hopefully those looking at the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) organisation will take into account the need for the organisations to work together.

Thameslink Lessons Learnt Network Rail’s Safety Central website currently carries a commendably frank list of “Lessons Learnt” on the Thameslink Programme of works. Those added to the list on January 12th could have occurred anywhere, and hopefully may heighten awareness of what can go wrong. The top five include the movement of two tamping machines through a PICOP (Person in Charge of Possession) area and onto the operational railway together with possession shift changes, leading to detonator protection being replaced on the wrong track. At London Bridge a Bomag 80 roller overturned when its driver turned onto uneven ground at the end of a ramp. On the lightening protected Western Approach Viaduct, mesh panels needed to be fixed to the sides of a new signal structure. As the road/railer was lifting one into place the panel contacted both the machine arm and the signal structure; this resulted in arcing and the mesh panel caught fire.

Machine incidents Again at London Bridge, a machine was excavating for a drainage catch pit when it uncovered warning tape and pea gravel over a 240 kV cable duct that was installed in 2014. The work was stopped. At Bermondsey Dive Under one of two Road/Rail machines with road wheels was crossing Bridge 86A from which the track had been removed when a deck plate collapsed under it leaving one wheel trapped between a cross and main girder. Although ballast fell through the gap there were no injuries. I am in no way critical of the briefing of these incidents. The reporting of them and making the details available is right if people carrying out work are to be more safety focussed. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

Lamington Viaduct recovery work.

Train driver fatigue and rosters

75 mph through a 5 mph TSR!

At the Rail Safety Summit in London on May 5th we are planning to include a focus on train operation. Both SPADS (Signals Passed At Danger) and driver fatigue are likely to be on the agenda. Last month I expressed my concerns that two incidents of signals passed at danger on the same route between Acton Yard and Merehead Quarry. These are being investigated by RAIB whose news story suggested that fatigue might have contributed to the errors made. I am indebted to a freight train driver reader for his detailed comments. For the uninitiated there are RB’s, FB’s and FD’s in the jargon. Respectively these refer to Rest Breaks (taken on the locomotive) Facility Breaks (taken in a mess room or on a passenger train) and Free Days. The agreed rules for shift patterns are detailed most precisely in the letter I received. But my correspondent whilst commenting that his employer says the right words (shows the right paperwork and is involved with the unions) asks why when an Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) Inspector visited he only looked at the company records. Allegedly he didn’t ask for the views of the drivers who have to work the rostered shifts!

The RAIB advised on January 19th of an “Overspeed” that occurred at Queens Park on January 5th at 8-30 am when the 0739 Bletchley to Euston passenger service travelled over a 5 mph emergency TSR (Temporary Speed Restriction) area at 75 mph. The TSR was required due to the discovery of a cracked rail at a set of points at the east end of Queens Park Station. The train was made up of three Class 350 units coupled to form a 12 coach set. It was being driven by a driver-manager who was being assessed by a second drivermanager (also travelling in the cab) as part of a “routine competence management process”. There were no injuries or damage and the train carried on to its destination. The RAIB are investigating. They have already commented that the signs were correctly displayed and a warning notice had been posted on the drivers late notice board, as well as being emailed to managers including the driver-managers involved.

86 mph into fallen masonry RAIB have also released their full report into the incident I reported last year when, at 1731 on 22nd February 2015 the 1634 First Great Western Paddington to Penzance

HST service was brought to a halt after it ran into part of the eastern masonry parapet of Oak Hill Road overbridge. It had been displaced by a large lorry and ended up on the track below. The driver of the HST was travelling at 86 mph when he first saw the debris on the track in front of him. Although he applied his emergency brake he ran into the masonry but the train did not derail, coming to a halt 720 metres further on. The leading power car bogie, braking system, running gear and underframe equipment were all damaged. RAIB recommendations address the delays in informing the railways of the accident that resulted in the lack of any warning to the train driver, the fitting of identification plates to all over-line bridges, and an enhancement of “road vehicle incursion procedures to include risks from large vehicles knocking over parapets.”

Lamington Viaduct The dangerous occurrence at Lamington Viaduct that carries the West Coast Main Line over the River Clyde between Carstairs and Lockerbie is probably high on Simon French’s agenda at present. The River Clyde was running at 3.12 metres above its datum on December 30th last year; its highest ever. On the morning of 31st December several trains passed over Lamington Viaduct after the foundation of one of its piers had been eroded by river

scour. At 0735 that morning a driver reported a dip in the track. Signallers restricted train speeds pending a track maintenance inspection. The track maintenance team inspected, watched a southbound train over the affected area at low speed and “undertook some remedial work”. They then saw “unusual track movement” at around 0840 when the northbound Virgin West Coast (0557 Crewe to Glasgow) went over the area at speed. Consequently they re-imposed the speed restriction in both directions. Then after identifying a large crack in pier number 2 they blocked all lines. There are three piers in the river. Informed sources advise that a large part of the pier 2 foundation has been washed away and a diver’s inspection of what remains has been completed. The pier had settled by around 125 mm by January 1st and by another 30 mm since then. The OLE has now been severed at each end of the viaduct as a precaution.

Structurally qualified divers? The damage to the foundations is serious and the viaduct has remained closed and is forecast to remain so until March this year. The RAIB dangerous occurrence report makes reference to their interest in a risk assessment undertaken in 2005. I anticipate that they will also be interested in the

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

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most recent diver’s inspections that are regularly undertaken as part of a full structural examination. I have long held the view that these inspections are best carried out by divers with structural engineering qualifications and experience.

Accidents and near misses outside of possessions Simon French was already acting Chief Inspector RAIB when they published their “Class investigation into possession irregularities” in August last year. The report reviewed all such incidents over a two year period as I reported in the September 2015 edition of Railstaff. They identified an astonishing 714 such occurrences including 7 potentially fatal ones. On February 2nd RAIB announced that they are now undertaking a complementary investigation into the safety of track workers under all situations other than possession of the line working. Their starting point will be accidents, incidents and near misses (close calls are not mentioned). They will look specifically at protection arrangements, planning, individual behaviours, and the working practices of other infrastructure owners. They are also committed to look at the availability of technology to reduce risks, future effectiveness of Network Rail’s plans for track

Simon French speaking at the Rail Safety Summit 2015.

worker safety, the engagement of people planning safe systems of work and their site implementation. They plan to consult with industry bodies and take into account relevant RAIB investigations, findings and recommendations. I have long believed that there is a strong case for building protection systems into resignalling projects as a prerequisite for ORR scheme approval. I still believe we should be so doing.

To say I am delighted by this announcement is an understatement. I look forward to reading the report when it is completed and meanwhile am looking out to see the improvements that the ORR is pursuing firstly in respect of possession working and hopefully later on all other track working. Be it train driving or track work, the key I believe is always to ask the person doing the job for the answers. He knows, but in all probability no one has asked him or her the right questions yet!

Safety S afffe a etty e Summit S ummit

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Wing Award 2016 Every year the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers presents the Wing Award for Safety to an individual who has made an outstanding personal contribution to improving trackside safety, and we are now seeking nominations for the 2016 Award. The Wing Award remains as relevant as ever, and improving track safety rightly continues to be a dominant theme both on the railways in the UK and in other countries as well. The Award is managed by the IRSE on behalf of the rail industry, and is open to everybody regardless of their specialism.

To find out more about the award and how you can make a nomination please visit www.irse.org/about/public/wingaward.aspx

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Rail Safety Summit 2016

Safety Summit 5th MAY 2016 LONDON

RAIL SAFETY SUMMIT 2016 – AGENDA 1. Keynote speaker 2. The new RSSB’s ‘Leading Britain’s Health and Safety on Railways’ document •

Hear about the 12 areas of safety that we should all be focusing on.

3. Fatigue •

An overview of where we are as an industry.

•

A review of the fatigue monitoring wristbands at Crossrail and TfL and the results they have shown.

•

Hear from an external industry expert on how they are managing fatigue.

4. Health and wellbeing

5. Road Risk •

An overview from the Road Risk Project Group on industry statistics and what is being done to lower accidents.

•

A case study from ScotRail on how they are improving road risk for their staff.

•

Hear how monitoring overnight hotel usage can significantly lower road accidents.

•

A review from an external industry expert on how they manage road risk.

6. Workforce safety •

A review of the ‘Deep In Safety’ programme.

•

Hear how leaders are empowering their teams to take ownership of their own safety.

•

A review of new innovations to improve track worker safety.

•

An overview on the challenges we face within health and wellbeing in the industry.

•

Design at High Gate control room – hear how we can improve health and wellbeing by considering it at design stage.

On top of listening to the speakers, you can visit our sponsor exhibition stands and network over refreshments and lunch.

•

A case study on new procedures that are being implemented to improve health and therefore lower accidents.

Please book early to avoid disappointment.

Purchase your tickets now at www.railsummits.com

INTERVIEWS

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

TRANSFORMING THE EAST COAST NIGEL WORDSWORTH TALKS TO DAVID HORNE ABOUT HIS FIRST YEAR AT THE HELM OF VIRGIN EAST COAST

o see one of the problems that train companies sometimes face, one only had to look out of the window. The river, normally placid, had burst its banks and the tops of the safety railings had all but disappeared. With no let-up in sight, it had been raining all day, things could only get worse. The sodden raincoat hanging on the office hat stand was testament to the state of things outside. The man looking out of his window was David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains East Coast, and the river in question was the Ouse - flowing, or that should be flooding, through the soggy city of York. David took over the reins of the East Coast franchise when it became Virgin Trains East Coast in March 2015. Before that, the route was run by a subsidiary of Directly Operated Railways - the company formed by the Department for Transport to run the franchise when it was ‘handed back’ by National Express on 14 February 2009. At that time, the government’s intention was not to permanently renationalise the line, though trade unions had called for that, but to return it to the private sector in December 2013. Instead, the process took until February 2015. By all accounts, East Coast did a good job. Customer satisfaction was high, and the company paid £1 billion back to the government over the course of its franchise. There was controversy surrounding the letting of the franchise to Virgin, with some elements calling for the train company to remain nationalised, citing the one billion repayment as an example of how a railway could be run with no ‘fat cats’ creaming off the profits. However, the company used relatively old trains, with low leasing costs, and the new Virgin Trains East Coast is committed to repaying £3.3 billion over eight years, despite replacing its fleet of ageing HSTs with new Hitachi-built Class 800/801 IEP trains.

EMT VS VTEC David moved to Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) from another Stagecoach company, East Midlands Trains. Once he was settled in his York office, the same one that Karen Boswell had used when she ran East Coast, he could take stock of the differences between his new and previous charges. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

‘First of all, it’s clearly quite a different railway,’ he told RailStaff. That’s quite true, VTEC has 3,000 employees against East Midlands’ 2,000. But it is more than that. ‘We’re clearly carrying people much further distances than any other train company in the UK, and indeed the trains are busier in terms of the load factor than other train companies across the day. It feels like we are a hotel on wheels at times; people are staying with us for several hours, we’re trying to keep them well catered, we’re trying to give them a relaxing enjoyable time when they’re with us. It just so happens that they’re getting on in one city and they’re getting off in another.’ The average journey time is between two and three hours, but some customers on, for example, the Aberdeen service, could be on board for six or seven hours. Hence the quality of the on-board catering service, and the whole ‘hotel on wheels feel’, is important. ‘There are clearly some differences in terms of the actual nature of the railway,’ David continued. ‘We’re covering a much bigger geography - we’ve got depots in London, Craigentinny in Edinburgh and at Clayhills in Aberdeen. So the whole operation is spread out far more than East Midlands Trains was.’ There also are no commuter services. ‘Of course, some people are making shorter distance trips, but the majority of customers are travelling longer distances, and indeed they could be making a long-distance journey with us but it’s actually part of an even longer one.

Virgin will retain six rakes of Mark 4 coaches longterm.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

INTERVIEWS

Keep the customers happy, then they come back.

All photos © Virgin Trains

65 Class 800/801 IEP trains will be in service by 2020.

‘When I took the Inverness service for the first time, I met a couple of customers on it who got off at Aviemore but they were travelling on to the Shetland Islands. They were spending the night in Aviemore before carrying on the next day by ferry. So you just get a sense that, even though we’re carrying some people for hours and hours and miles and miles, for them it’s a much longer journey. It’s really interesting discovering what people are using the trains for.’

BACK TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR The other major difference was that David Horne had to return a nationalised company to the private sector. ‘It’s fair to say that East Coast had run it quite close to a commercial business and they clearly made some investment into improving the service over the five-year period. ‘I think, though, they were clearly limited in what they did and we found a number of things in taking over where we thought, this doesn’t feel right, this doesn’t look right for a business of this scale, or of this potential, to be honest. ‘One of the things that the private sector brings to the railway is that ability to take a risk with some things and to also drive for some long-term sustained improvements. So, the private sector takes on projects which might not pay back in the first year or 18 months, but we know they are going to pay back over, say, a five-year period or a longer term. That’s what we’re now getting into.’ He added, ‘A great example is the train refurbishment project that we’ve got underway now. That’s going to take us 18 months to complete. We started it back in the summer and it will run through until early 2017. Then it will start to pay back for us, but it’s going to transform the experience our customers have because every one of the 45 trains that FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

INTERVIEWS

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

we’ve got today is going to get that refurbishment. We’ve got some real flair coming in terms of the design and in terms of how we’re going to change the passenger environment. ‘What East Coast did during their tenure was they renewed some of the fabrics, and they renewed some of the seat covers, but to the previous design. It was all about repairs and maintenance. Whereas we’re able to bring a complete new vision as to how we want to drive the business forward.’

SHORT TERM - LONG TERM No doubt passengers will be pleased that VTEC’s trains are all being refurbished, but is it really a sensible commercial decision when they have only three-year’s life in them before the IEP trains arrive? ‘We’ll complete the refurbishment in early 2017, and the last IEPs will be delivered to us in 2020. But these trains were last refurbished 10 or 12 years ago, and now we’re part of the Virgin family, people expect far more from Virgin than they do from other companies, so we have got to live up to that. They expect us to invest, they expect it to look different, they expect to get a better service. ‘So, even though these trains might only have three more years left, and other companies might say, “Well, they’ve only got three years left, we’ll just make do,” because of the expectation that comes with being part of the Virgin Group, we are absolutely investing and we’re trying to drive up that experience to match that expectation.’ It’s not just a cosmetic refurbishment either. £6.5 million is being invested in making the current Class 91 locomotives and Mark 4 coaching stock more reliable. One thing that wasn’t clear from the conversation was whether the IEPs, the class 800/801 trains, would replace the entire fleet. ‘We’re planning to keep six rigs of Mark 4s, subject to us getting the track access right to deliver our full timetable,’ David clarified. So there will be six rakes of Mark 4 coaches, as well as 65 IEP trains. But even they won’t all be the same. Some will just be electric trains, albeit with a single diesel engine to allow them to be driven out of a failed section or around the depot, while others will have a complete set of diesel engines as well as two pantographs so they can be used equally easily on electrified and non-electrified lines the bi-mode trains.

‘We’ll have quite a lot of services that go off the electrified network because we’ve got extra services to Harrogate, services to Huddersfield, extra services to Lincoln. We’ll have an extra service to Sunderland, and then we’ve got the services to Aberdeen and Inverness,’ David explained, using his hands to outline the network. ‘Of course, as some of these routes get electrified or part-electrified, under the trans-Pennine proposals or the Scottish electrification proposals, then we’ll be able to take advantage of it. So we’ll only use the diesel capability of the trains when we’re off the main network, whereas today the HSTs are

People expect far more from Virgin than they do from other companies, so we have got to live up to that.

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diesel powered under the wires all the way, from London to Edinburgh in some cases. ‘But one of the really great features of the IEP is that they can switch from electric to diesel on the fly. So we’ll be able to be on electric mode leaving Edinburgh, and we’ll only need to switch to diesel when we actually come off the Edinburgh-Glasgow main line. Each of the new trains will carry more people, and that alone will increase capacity. However, the Department for Transport confirmed the order for the new IEP trains before Virgin and its competitors put in their franchise bids. That, in effect, forced Virgin’s hand. They couldn’t opt for other solutions, such as running Pendolinos on the London to Scotland route, something which had been tested. ‘That was actually an East Coast test,’ David commented. ‘The government did say we had to take the new trains, but fundamentally we are happy. I’ve been on a couple of the test trains and they are clearly well built and attractive. They’ve got a lot of good space inside which is important these days. They have good luggage capacity and good legroom, and they’re going to have good ride and good performance. So we were perfectly happy with being asked to take these trains into the fleet.’

to deliver a transformation on the east coast route similar to what they have delivered successfully on the west coast route.’

PUNCTUALITY

WEST COAST - EAST COAST Virgin Trains East Coast is 90 per cent owned by Stagecoach, 10 per cent by Virgin Group, whereas the west coast operation is 51 per cent Virgin and 49 per cent Stagecoach. Yet, in the public’s perception, they are both Virgin companies. And that is how they are being run - as Virgin companies. The board of VTEC has two members from Stagecoach and two from Virgin, so at board level it is 50/50. ‘Some of our financial services are with Stagecoach,’ David explained. ‘Some of the accounting and things like that. But then we will draw on the resources of Virgin where they’ve got particular expertise. So we may call on Virgin for marketing and branding and in that sort of area. The percentages are less relevant than the fact that it’s a joint venture. And that’s reflective of how it works at West Coast as well. ‘Decisions are taken in partnership. We need to keep both Stagecoach and Virgin appraised with what we’re doing - they’ve both got big stakes in the business. ‘But Virgin and Stagecoach have been working together since the end of the 1998. That’s now 17 years. It’s a very strong partnership, they’ve come through a lot of challenge on the west coast over those years, and both Stagecoach and Virgin are now looking

In recent years, East Coast has been one of the worst performing longdistance train companies in terms of adherence to the timetable according to the public performance measure (PPM) which records the percentage of trains which arrive within 10 minutes of their planned time. Surely this needs to be addressed as well. ‘The investment that we’re currently making is designed to address many of the failure modes that the existing fleet suffers from,’ David stated. ‘We do think there’s some stuff that can be done that will pay back over the next few years before the IEPs come in, and we can improve the PPM by doing so. ‘On the infrastructure, we’re now in the second year where Network Rail on the East Coast main line has delivered quite a significant improvement in terms of its performance to us. There was a major improvement in the delays from the infrastructure last year, and that’s continued this year. ‘We’ve got an alliance with Network Rail which provides a framework to explore those opportunities. One of the key ways to improve the reliability of the infrastructure will be when King’s Cross is remodelled. The current layout was installed in the 1970s. So we are quite vulnerable to infrastructure failures there, although the team does a really good job at keeping on top of them. ‘We don’t get many asset failures, but clearly that layout is not going to last that long, so it does need to be renewed in a way that reflects the acceleration curve of the IEP trains. If we can get some faster approach speeds and exit speeds, combined with the ERTMS signalling, then there’s some more journey time to be had there.’ Concluding, ‘One of the things we’ve found is that front line staff, front line employees, have absolutely embraced the Virgin approach to customer service. They haven’t needed much encouragement to do that, which has been great to see. ‘Keep the customers happy, then they come back.’

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

INTERVIEWS

It feels like we are a hotel on wheels at times.

The current HST fleet will be phased out as IEP trains are introduced.

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9th - 10th Feb, Orlando, USA exhibition tech www.securerailconference.com conference free

11th Feb, Leeds www.imeche.org

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25th Feb Manchester network tech awaards www.thepwi.org/calendarpress conference dinner network conference free AFRICAN RAIL SUMMIT exhibition awaards

tech 25th - 26th Feb, Johannesburg dinner press conference www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/ free africa-rail network awaards dinner conference

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29th Feb, Belgium

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Where BIM meets rail.

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RAIL MEDIA'S RAIL EXEC CLUB, IN BIRMINGHAM (2015)

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29th - 30th March, Colorado tech press conference Springs www.aar.org network

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16th - 17th March, Lille, France free www.abe-industry.com/railim

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8th March, Dubai press conference www.terrapinn.com/events

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tech 29th - 31st March, Brussels

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INFRARAIL PLANS TO EXCEL

Infrarail is now billed as the biggest rail event in the UK in 2016. Thousands of engineers, designers and developers will rub shoulders with rail executives, suppliers and staff at ExCel London from 12-14 April. In a digital age, face-to-face communication is still hard to beat and Infrarail presents a great opportunity to meet the movers and makers behind rail’s burgeoning infrastructure industry. More than just an exhibition, Infrarail helps connect suppliers and peers, enabling the industry to keep up-to-date with major developments and projects. The Rail Supply Group has joined HS2, Crossrail and a number of other leading industry organisations, associations and institutes in showing support to Britain’s leading infrastructure trade show. Their presence on the show floor will be underlined by project updates in the onsite seminar theatre, access to which is free to all show participants. Rail Media will be there to help celebrate the success of the railway, supporting and encouraging all those building careers and running businesses in the new rail industry. Part of the renaissance of London’s East End, London ExCel is situated on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock. London Excel has two Docklands Light Railway stations - Custom House and Prince Regent. Getting to the show on one of the UK’s most successful new railways underscores the resurgence of Europe’s fastest-growing railway and makes a great start to a day at Infrarail 2016.

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THE KEY TO UNLOCKING

INNOVATION

THE 17TH UNLOCKING INNOVATION SCHEME (UIS) WORKSHOP, HELD ON 2 DECEMBER, IS A CROSSINDUSTRY INITIATIVE MANAGED BY THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (RIA) AIMING TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS TO INNOVATION

he Milton Keynes Christian Centre is a venue experienced in hosting debates and discussions on the big topics of faith and religion, but in December those inside pondered one of the railway’s profound challenges: how do you get innovation out of the research lab and onto the railway. The 17th Unlocking Innovation Scheme (UIS) workshop, held on 2 December, is a cross-industry initiative managed by the Railway Industry Association (RIA) aiming to remove the barriers to innovation. The UIS workshops have developed over time and provide a mixture of plenary and interactive sessions with presentations, case studies, ‘elevator pitches’ and surgeries, underpinned by the all-important networking. Participants are drawn from suppliers, who have innovations they are looking to develop; from client organisations like Network Rail, who are looking for innovative solutions; and from the various bodies involved in innovation, not least those with funding and support services. UIS works by bringing together suppliers and clients to share challenges and solutions and promote best practice.

SHIFT2RAIL The day was hosted by Neil Ridley, RIA’s director for UIS, who launched the first plenary session. James Lewis of Network Rail explained Shift2Rail, a European initiative driven by industry, including several major manufacturers and infrastructure owners including Network Rail, who are leading UK involvement. The key drivers are improving capacity, reliability and sustainability, seeking lifecycle cost reductions of up to 50 per cent. On a quick show of hands, few in the audience had any engagement with the initiative, despite availability of some £650 million in funding. This should change with an open call for companies to get involved due RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

in December, with initiatives such as a radical redesign of switches & crossings. Ben Pritchard, technical manager of Thales who sponsored the day’s event, gave an overview of the company, sometimes described as a defence supplier but almost half of their activity is civil applications, of which transportation is a significant and growing area. Thales is investing heavily in innovation, and Ben described a range of techniques that they use to develop technologies and find solutions to challenges - a measure of success is that they file around 300 patents each year. They are also increasingly seeking to engage with suppliers and move from a transactional ‘make me this’ approach towards real collaboration. The first session of ‘elevator pitches’ then followed. Starting in a small way, these have become immensely popular and now form a major part of the workshops. For those unfamiliar with the concept, delegates are given two minutes to put a message across, as you might do if you meet someone in an elevator or lift. These range from inventors looking for help developing their ideas, to clients putting forward a challenge and seeking solutions. Interestingly, a number of those featured at this workshop related to remote condition monitoring, either from people who had some useful technology or people who needed some.

SURGERY SESSIONS A coffee and networking break provided the opportunity to visit the ‘Demo Zone’, where companies have a small space to display their innovations and technologies. This is another feature of UIS that has grown and is fast becoming a mini-trade fair. Offerings ranged from clever mechanical devices to state of the art software, as well as a variety of consultancy and support services. A further facility that is always in demand are surgery sessions, this time featuring one-to-one discussions with representatives from Network Rail and London Underground on product acceptance, a key area for many innovators. Further plenary sessions in the afternoon included a useful one from Bruce Colley of Innovate UK, who described the wide range of funding schemes and assistance that is available for innovators, while Jane Watkins from Network Rail detailed the Horizon 2020 funding for smaller companies, which includes direct help and coaching. Returning to technical issues Network Rail’s Edward Rollings gave an update on the Level Crossing Competition, which is looking for a better way of controlling

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

EVENTS

REPORT BY GRAHAM COOMBS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RIA

The next workshop will be th on 20 April 2016

Neil Ridley RIA UIS Director speaks at the 17th Unlocking Innovation Scheme (UIS) workshop.

automatic barriers to optimise the closing time for road users, accurately reflecting rail movements, to achieve significant safety improvements by reducing unauthorised use. The final session of the morning which started with a memorable presentation from Rebeka Sellick of SNC-Lavalin, the newly-adopted parental identity of Interfleet Technology. Adopting the image of a Victorian gardener and brandishing a trowel, Rebeka used a horticultural analogy to describe their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ideas Factoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, outlining their culture and leadership and the needs, processes and encouragement they give to developing innovation.

NO MAGIC SOLUTION The final speaker of the day was James Hardy of RSSB, who returned to the vital subject of funding. While there is considerable funding available for innovation, it is often complicated to access, but RSSB offer advice and assistance, and can help with such things as testing through a voucher scheme. An area of particular interest at the moment is innovation in connection with passenger franchises, where methods of passing on benefits to future franchisees are being explored. It would be wrong to pretend that there is a magic solution to the challenges of getting innovation on to the railway system. And indeed some of the ideas put forward may not be the best solution - which is a kind way of saying they may be too expensive or will not work in practice. But feedback from UIS participants is very, very positive and shows considerable benefits being gained, both by innovators and by clients. And one of the greatest benefits is discovering how to access the considerable support that is available out there, once you know how to find it. So let us hope that the Unlocking Innovation Scheme continues to do just that. FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

FEATURE

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

DAVENTRY EXPANDS NORTH AN EXTENSION TO DAVENTRY INTERNATIONAL RAIL FREIGHT TERMINAL (DIRFT) HAS BEEN AGREED BY GOVERNMENT AND WORK WILL START IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.

IRFT III marks a massive expansion of the rail hub site with an extended railway line, 15 new warehouses and additional hard standing and access roads. The new site is situated to the north of DIRFT between the M1 and A5, on the old Rugby radio masts field. The railway already in place - crossing the A428 to serve Sainsbury’s - will be extended over the A5 onto the new site. To the west of the A5 land has been earmarked by Rugby for new housing developments.

EVERY LITTLE HELPS Prologis, which owns DIRFT, says the new site will be capable of dealing with 32 trains per day and 500,000 freight containers a year. The news of DIRFT’s expansion marks RailStaff’s longest running success story. The opening of the terminal and the arrival of its first train - supplied by BR’s legendary Railfreight Distribution - formed the front page of the second edition back in 1997. Now almost twenty years later the rail freight logistics park is forging ahead to accommodate burgeoning demand for freight services on rail. As DIRFT points out, transporting goods by rail can help companies reduce their environmental impact. Tesco, for example, saves 14 million road miles and 9.3 million kg of CO2 a year by using rail freight. It’s cost effective, too. One gallon of diesel can move a tonne of freight 246 miles by rail, but only 88 miles by road. Best of all rail freight is more reliable than road. Traffic on the rail network is planned and timed. Tesco has been operating its rail network since 2006 and it achieves 98 per cent on time deliveries. The huge road works up at the junction of the M1, M6 and A14 underscores the point. The new junction will assist road traffic flow - and as rail freight users say, every little helps.

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PIONEERS OF RAIL Local Daventry MP Chris HeatonHarris told reporters, ‘DIRFT III is one of the biggest national infrastructure projects that will be getting under way this year in the whole country. It will bring an estimated 9,000 jobs. That number of jobs coming to the Daventry area can only be good news for the whole constituency.’ Says Rail Media’s Tom O’Connor, ‘I remember back in 1997, Andy Milne went round to see the manager of DIRFT, an old friend of his called Bill Waddington. ‘Neither of us thought it would be as successful as it was, but full marks to all at Daventry, Bill and his successors, as well as the many people who work there are making a real difference to the rail industry and the environment. Daventry was among the pioneers of the new industry and we continue to salute their success.’

The new site will be capable of dealing with 32 trains per day and 500,000 freight containers a year.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

FEATURE

On average, each rail journey takes 77 heavy goods vehicles off the UK's already congested roads.

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GEAR+TECH

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

A HANDHELD SOLUTION

n Belgium, the transition towards paperless ticketing isn’t just making life easier for passengers. According to NMBS/SNCB, it’s improving the health of conductors too. But how? Less stress? No more waiting while a passenger riffles through their tickets before handing over the collection receipt by mistake? Perhaps. However, Belgium’s national rail operator is actually referring to its new digital train manager system: the handheld devices its conductors use to scan travel cards and e-tickets.

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RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

GEAR+TECH

PAPERLESS TICKETING Developed by Panasonic, the new tablet-based ITRIS system was rolled out at the end of last year to replace the increasingly unreliable IBIS handsets. IBIS was introduced in 2005 as NMBS’s first digital ticket validation device. Although the operator only had 3,000 of these terminals in use, it was carrying out more than 7,000 repairs every year. ‘Problems were becoming increasingly common,’ said Pascal Rooms, ITRIS project manager at NMBS. ‘Last year, we had no fewer than 7,000 technical faults in around 3,000 devices. Other problems facing train conductors included device failures and an ever shorter battery life.’ It wasn’t just a technical issue that needed fixing. NMBS said the previous device, which weighed 1.15 kg, was to blame for reports of wrist and shoulder injuries. ‘As a result, we decided to switch over to mobile ticketing, which meant there was no longer a need for the integrated printer. This change led to a reduction of weight of more than 300g,’ explained Pascal.

ONE TOUGH PIECE OF KIT SPECIFICATIONS 4G AND GSM-R MODULES SAM SLOTS SMARTCARD READER HOT-SWAPPABLE BATTERY The new system combines a specially modified Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 tablet and a second, smaller terminal for processing payments and scanning tickets. One of the main differences is the lack of printer. Although NMBS hasn’t adopted a 100 per cent paperless system, the move at least signals its intentions. Rather than printing tickets on trains, passengers looking to purchase one onboard are given a disposable smart card. ITRIS was trialled by a small group of conductors before being implemented across the network. Being able to access service information online is also changing the way conductors interact with passengers.

Antwerp Central Station.

Says Pascal, ‘Train managers can access information in real time on connections, incidents, and delays, and pass it on to passengers straight away. A wealth of information is now also available offline. What's more, the whole process of checking tickets and collecting payments runs a lot more smoothly.’

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INTERNATIONAL RAIL

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

High resolution visuals for the Empire Station Complex.

Penn Station timeline.

1910 - Original Penn Station opens.

1963 - Above-ground station is demolished, retaining just the two underground concourse levels and platforms.

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1968 - Current Madison Square Garden venue opens.

2013 - Madison Square Garden awarded a limited 10year lease to remain on the site above Penn Station.

2016 - Work on Penn Station redevelopment scheduled to begin.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

INTERNATIONAL RAIL

PENN'D IN NO MORE

ONE OF THE WORLD’S BUSIEST RAIL STATIONS, PENN STATION, IS TO UNDERGO ITS FIRST MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT IN 50 YEARS.

fficials say the proposals to transform the unpopular station will correct the ‘historic wrong’ of demolishing the original Beaux-Arts inspired Pennsylvania Station. New designs released by the office of New York governor Andrew Cuomo show a new aboveground concourse for the station in the James A.Farley Post Office building, which sits opposite Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The busy intercity and commuter station, which is located beneath the famous venue, is split across three levels: two concourse levels with platforms at the very bottom. Given its location, opportunities to reinvent the station have been limited. In 2013, Madison Square Garden was restricted to a 10-year extension to its lease on the site. Rather than wait until 2023, Cuomo hopes to begin construction on his Penn Station vision later this year.

EMPIRE STATION COMPLEX The $3 billion Empire Station Complex would include an underground connection between Penn Station and the Farley Building - works which are already well underway. Natural light will be brought into the existing underground station shell, says Cuomo, with improved connections to street level and improved ticketing facilities. One of the most striking design elements will be a new ‘grand entrance’ on 8th Avenue. The transformation will cost the city $3 billion: $2 billion for the station redevelopment and $1 billion for the associated commercial development. A small portion of the funding will come from federal sources; however, the majority of the bill will be footed by private investors. Says Governor Cuomo, ‘Penn Station is the heart of New York’s economy and transportation network, but it has been outdated, overcrowded, and unworthy of the Empire State for far too long. ‘We want to build Penn Station to be better than it ever was, and that is exactly what we are going to do. This proposal will fundamentally transform Penn Station for the 21st century, and we are excited to move forward with the project in the days to come.’

MOYNIHAN STATION Built in 1910, the original Penn Station building was demolished in the 1960s due to rising maintenance costs despite a high-profile campaign to protect it. Designed to handle 200,000 passengers a day, Penn Station currently welcomes more than 650,000 passengers - more passenger traffic than Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty Airports put together. The new Amtrak ticket hall in the Farley Building, which was given the name Moynihan Station in proposals put forward in the 1990s, will be around the same size as the main ticket hall at Grand Central Terminal, increasing the size of Penn Station by around 50 per cent.

CORRECT AN HISTORIC WRONG New York State Senator Brad Hoylman said, ‘Under Governor Cuomo’s ambitious proposal to transform Moynihan Station into a modern transportation hub, no longer will commuters have to scuttle into our great city like rats, as the Yale architectural critic Vincent Scully memorably wrote after the demolition of the old Penn Station in 1963. ‘Not only will the Governor’s plan correct this historic wrong and create a train station worthy of the city it serves, but a new Moynihan Station will be a key driver for economic development in the entire Metro Region.’

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INTERNATIONAL RAIL

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

Celebration for rebuilt Den Haag station A day of celebration was held to laud the end of a large-scale redevelopment of Den Haag Centraal station. At the centre of the rebuild is a 5,000 square-metre glass and steel roof - made up of 532 individual diamond-shaped glass panels.

Designs for the new Den Haag Centraal were first drawn up in 2003. Work eventually began on the main line section of the station, which runs beneath the HTM trams and Randstad Rail lines, in 2011. Prior to the grand opening on 1 February, operator NS invited one of its retired station staff, Jaap Bolier, back for a tour of the completed station. Jaap spent most of his career at Den Haag Centraal, working at the station between 1948 and 1986. Several Dutch railway stations - Rotterdam, Arnhem, Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven and Utrecht - are undergoing, or have recently completed, major redevelopments designed to meet the growing demand for high-speed rail services. Rotterdam, Delft and Arnhem reopened last year and projects at Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven and Utrecht will end later this year.

Hoverboards banned New York’s subway authority, MTA, has decided to ban hoverboards on its trains and at its stations, citing concerns over their safety. MTA said the hoverboards broke two sets of rules: one which prohibits personal wheeled vehicles and another that prohibits customers from carrying potentially hazardous or flammable materials. US regulators recently issued a public safety alert following reports of the lithium batteries on some boards catching fire. Says MTA chief safety officer

David Mayer, ‘The safety of our customers and employees is always our top concern. ‘For obvious reasons, it is not safe to use hoverboards, skateboards or other personal wheeled vehicles on station platforms. We’re equally concerned about the safety risk of bringing devices that pose fire hazards into the confined spaces inside trains and buses.’ MTA officers will be enforcing the ban on the New York City Subway, New York City Buses, Long Island Rail Road, MetroNorth Railroad and Staten Island Railway services.

Breakthrough at Ceneri Miners in Switzerland have completed the final breakthrough on the west tube of the Ceneri Base Tunnel. The breakthrough was broadcast live on Swiss TV and marks a significant milestone in the construction of the New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA) corridor, which also includes the 57-kilometre Gotthard Base Tunnel. The Ceneri Base Tunnel is a 15.4-kilometre railway tunnel through Monte Ceneri. With the excavation of the tunnel complete, the concrete lining will now be installed, followed by the railway systems. AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd, the organisation leading the project, expects to complete the Ceneri Base Tunnel in 2020.

Addressing the 1,000-strong project team on the day, Renzo Simoni, chief executive officer of AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd, said, ‘You have done a tremendous job and can justifiably feel proud. ‘Without your dedication this great success would not have been possible.’

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

S L A N IO S S E F O R P L I A YOUNG R ING IR P S IN IS IL A R D E E HOW HIGH-SP TALENT F O N IO T A R E N E G T THE NEX

oung Rail Professionals (YRP) works in close partnership with its Platinum Corporate Members throughout the year to deliver collaborative events and outreach to the rail industry. As well as being great collaborators, the Platinum Members are exemplary employers of YRP members, and this month YRP would like to take the opportunity to focus on how its contributors support the future of the industry. This month, our special focus is on WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, which boasts the largest YRP membership of any of our Platinum Members, and is investing in its young rail employees to prepare for an increasing pipeline of projects in the UK. Delivering high-speed rail presents a fantastic opportunity to leave behind a lasting legacy, and it also presents new and unique challenges that provide invaluable career experience for young rail professionals. Professionals like YRP member Fran Wormald, who seized her chance to become a project manager on HS2 after just three years’ professional experience as a civil engineer. Acting as the ‘engineer interface’ between multiple technical constituents, Fran, who has worked for the company for three years, adopts a robustly multidisciplinary approach, ‘Coordinating design activity across the conventional railway, civils, structural, and high-speed disciplines means a high-level technical understanding of all aspects is essential. My civil engineering and rail systems background enables me to understand and speak the language I need to do my job.’

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COLLABORATION Naturally, the importance of strong collaboration is a common theme for rail projects, a view shared by Fran’s colleague and fellow active YRP member Rob Anthony. ‘Gone are the days when consultants would work in splendid isolation to deliver the client brief. Now it’s much more about ‘progressive assurance’, keeping the client and all stakeholders apprised of a project in real-time, and working as one team to get the outputs right first time – essential to keep within tight delivery programmes. Working collaboratively provides reassurance to the client and reduces the likelihood of surprises cropping up later down the line.’ Rob, also a HS2 project manager, agrees with Fran that their generation is fortunate to be in a particularly fertile era of major rail projects. But with just seven years’ professional experience, does he find being at the vanguard of the UK’s high-speed aspirations daunting? ‘Being project manager on a multi-million pound contract with responsibility for a large design team of up to 50 people is no doubt a challenge. But the rail industry is a community of like-minded problem solvers who are very supportive when working towards the same ‘big picture’. ‘It is a fantastic environment to work in and great to learn from the amazing group of technical experts within WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff.’ But how do we get everyone to keep this big picture in mind? Representing the many facets of rail systems - track, operational planning, power, signalling, maintenance, construction logistics.

RAILSTAFF FEBRUARY 2016

Fran and Rob know all too well the importance of breaking away from the silo mentality, which fits with the spirit of YRP’s crossindustry collaboration model. Fran says, ‘We [in Rail Systems] sit between the civil engineers who deal with earthworks and structures, and the environmental consultants who work to minimise the impact on the communities in which we operate. ‘Transparency is achieved through face-to-face weekly meetings, using technology like Lync, webinars and video conferencing, anything really that gets people talking, sharing and engaging with the bigger picture.’

ETCS High-speed rail is shaking things up throughout the industry and has introduced lots of shiny new technology to get excited about. Sofia-Maria Angelara is a signalling design engineer for WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, and networking and development manager for the North West committee of YRP. She represents one of the new generation of professionals bridging the needs of the conventional railway with the high-speed era. She said, ‘Instead of the conventional, ‘red, yellow, green’ system of signalling, high-speed rail will use ETCS [European Train Control System] signalling. This is a completely different concept, with different effects concerning, for example, constant monitoring of the train’s speed and position. Not many designers have the chance

to learn about new systems, so I jumped at it. ‘Signalling is a dynamic discipline, and I enjoy learning about the new technology, for example optimising how the balises talk to the ETCS equipped train via the radio block centre system, exchanging information between driver and interlocking control centre about routes that have been set, speed, position of train and number and type of trains running. ‘It is very fulfilling to be working on these forward-looking projects. The work we do now will provide the blueprint for a safer, more efficient railway.’ Delivering nationally significant infrastructure projects that are subject to tight time frames and unique challenges, all the while under close public scrutiny, attracts a certain type of person: the ‘problem solvers’ that Rob refers to. But to meet the UK’s rail ambitions, both for the conventional railway and high-speed rail, we need to attract more talent like Rob, Fran and Sofia Maria, into our industry. The partnership between YRP and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff helps to support career development of early career professionals in the industry and, through educational outreach and profile raising activities, inspire the next generation. If you would like to find out more about how to support YRP to build careers and promote rail engineering to the stars of tomorrow, contact get-involved@ youngrailpro.com.

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

APRIL

08 YRP ANNUAL DINNER AND AWARD An evening celebrating the rising talents in the railway industry National Rail Museum, YORK Friday 8 April, 2016 With three course dinner and live band Keynote speaker Sir Peter Hendy, and