JAN/FEB 2019 | ISSUE 254
NUTRITION
WORK ON THE NET
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PLUS NEWS PEOPLE INTERVIEWS HEALTH & SAFETY EVENTS INTERNATIONAL RCAUILS COMPANY FO G TRAININ CAREERS
EXCLUSIVE
E H T Y B RU GREAT
F ISH BAKE OF IT R B T A E R THE G BOUT VEALS ALL A RAIL E R T IS L A IN F IN HER CAREER RAILSTAFF.UK
Freightliner is Hiring!
We’re recruiting qualified Train Drivers and experienced Rail Managers E: railrecruitment@freightliner.co.uk W: www.freightliner.co.uk T: +44 (0) 207 200 3974
IM AG E
Improving for customers and for you
2019 will see the biggest introduction of new trains in decades Eleven train operators across Britain are planning a bumper year for new carriages; customers will enjoy more seats, improved accessibility, charging points for phones, wireless internet and air-conditioning. On some routes, the new trains will replace existing trains with fewer carriages or seats and on other routes they will enable operators to run new, additional services. The new trains will benefit our people too. More modern rolling stock will mean a better working environment for onboard staff, new technology and more reliable services will also make it easier for staff to help customers.
Read more about the new trains coming in 2019 www.raildeliverygroup.com/newtrains
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CONTENTS JAN/FEB 2019 | ISSUE 254
QUIET NETWORK, BUSY NETWORK RAIL | 06
A 25,000-strong workforce laboured through £148 million worth of work at Christmas.
SPREADING FESTIVE CHEER | 07
Members of the railway family helped to spread some cheer in December with acts of kindness and festive fundraising.
RUBY, RUBY, RUBY, RUBY | 22
06
Great British Bake Off runner-up Ruby Bhogal on revealing her big secret, work on Thameslink and how life has changed.
07
NUTRITION ON THE NETWORK | 30
Registered dietitian Alison Clark looks at specific health issues faced by rail workers and how changes in diet can help.
TRAVELLING BY TRAIN IN CHINA | 34
David Shirres details his recent adventures on China’s railways.
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T H G I L T O P l unusua
er AIL | 4n4ager talks aboutdha love of bridge R IN E MY LIFrHicks project ma tion renewals an try, sta A Bake e indus th to in path s. truction recons
CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO | 46 46
A London Underground manager is spearheading a project that could allow dozens of aspiring train operators to follow their dreams.
Do you know someone who might make an exceptional contribution for the greater good? If they qualify, they should apply for an
Exceptional Contribution Award Who? The EWS Educational Trust. What? Is looking for people who might make an exceptional contribution to society and have a close family relative who works or worked in the UK’s rail freight industry. Why? We offer grants at our discretion to those who qualify for an Exceptional Contribution Award to help them achieve their ambition. When? Right now. Applications for the Exceptional Contribution Award must be submitted by 31 March 2019. For further information please contact admin.office@ewseducationaltrust.co.uk
Financial support for exceptional individuals The EWS Educational Trust is an independent charity that can offer financial support to help people achieve excellence.
The Exceptional Contribution Award is aimed at those likely to be involved in, but not limited to medical, scientific or engineering advancement and likely to be in doctoral or post-doctoral research.
To qualify for an EWS Educational Trust grant you must have a parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, partner or civil partner who works or who worked in the UK’s rail freight industry. You also qualify if you are you an undergraduate, a graduate or post graduate to whom the Trust has given grants and who may be interested in receiving further funding. The full list of EWS Educational Trust grants are the Exceptional Contribution Award, our Educational Award for people at university, our Special Access Funding for those who face barriers to achieving their full educational potential and our Sporting and Artistic Grant for those seeking excellence in these fields.
Go to the Trust’s website for full details of our grants and how to apply www.ewseducationaltrust.co.uk Registered charity number SC040334
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Reflections & resolutions
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That’s if you weren’t one of the 25,000 who sacrificed good food, festivities and family time to labour on when the network is at its quietest. If you were, a special thank you goes out to you - I hope you’ve had the chance to recharge your batteries. I’m sure the same is said every year, but 2019 truly promises to be a big year for rail. The onset of CP6 in April combined with construction work beginning on HS2, East West Rail and the London Overground extension to Barking Riverside, as well as the introduction of some 7,000 new vehicles, means there is more than usual to get excited by in the year ahead.
With these unprecedented levels of investment, all eyes will be on the major rail exhibitions to see what innovative new solutions the supply chain can come up with. Railtex, held biennially in Birmingham, returns in May and the newly launched rail civils show Railworx, part of the successful construction event Plantworx, will open its doors for the first time at the East of England Arena, Peterborough in June. The outcome of the Williams Review, which promises to deliver industry reform, should not be forgotten, neither should the full opening of the Elizabeth line in the autumn and then there’s the small matter of Brexit... This issue, our first of 2019, reflects on successes from Christmas - both on and off the track - and in January, stories of individuals coming together to bring about positive change for the people, passengers and communities around them. RailStaff also sat down with Great British Bake Off runner-up Ruby Bhogal at the start of the year. Described as a project manager by Channel 4, national newspapers came close to nailing Ruby’s employer but incorrectly stated it was London Underground, so we took a trip down to London to fill in the numerous blanks. A great champion of the industry, Ruby has worked on Crossrail and Thameslink and has had a bumpy path to where she is now but wants to use her new platform to encourage others - particularly women - into the sector. We hope that Ruby’s story provides some inspiration for taking on the challenges facing the country’s railways in 2019 and to seize the opportunities to make a difference, as demonstrated by so many of the stories in this issue - and when you do, don’t forget to let us know about it! stewart@rail-media.com
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RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
While many spent the Christmas and New Year break with family and friends, a 25,000-strong workforce laboured through £148 million worth of work for Network Rail. In total 330 projects were completed over the festive period, a time when the network is at its quietest with around half of the usual 4.7 million people traveling on the network each day. Although Transport for London undertook no major engineering work over Christmas, Team Orange was busy in the capital. To help improve reliability around London Victoria, the 1970s-built track at Battersea Pier junction was renewed and 12.5km of overhead wiring at Forest Gate junction, which was first installed in the 1950s on the Great Eastern main line (GEML), was upgraded to prevent frequent failures that cause delays into Liverpool Street. The latter, part of a £250 million investment on GEML, will also enable more train services to support the growing number of passengers, new housing and the local economy.
Quiet network, busy Network Rail Elsewhere in London, other works saw preparation for HS2 at London Euston continuing, track renewed at Holloway to improve the reliability of services into King’s Cross and old switches and crossings replaced at Waterloo. Outside of London, more than 160 engineers upgraded the track layout north of Wellingborough station as part of the Midland Main Line Upgrade. Ten new switches and crossings were installed as part of the major project to construct an additional line between Bedford and Kettering, which will create the capability for
an extra train to London St Pancras per hour by the end of 2020. Other notable work includes signalling upgrades as part of the Weaver to Wavertree resignalling project in Merseyside, to enable more reliable journeys and boost capacity in the area, and the completion of a major project to move signalling to the modern Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in York This important change kept 35 workers busy moving control of the signalling system from the Integrated Electronic Control Centre to the state of the art ROC in York. The process began after the last service on Christmas Eve and was completed ready for the first train service on December 27. Moving control of signalling to the newer, more modern ROC means passengers will benefit
from more reliable journeys as the switch-over gives signallers a greater overview of the railway. Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines said: “Over Christmas and New Year thousands of rail workers have been working round the clock to keep the railway running and to deliver crucial improvements to the network as part of the £50 billion railway upgrade plan. “Our decision to do work at this time of year is entirely based on the fact that many regular passengers take this time as holiday, so it causes disruption to the smallest number of people. We really appreciate the patience of those who have been affected by this essential work, which will lead to better and more reliable train services.”
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Construction of the London Overground extension to Barking Riverside will begin in the next few months following the appointment of the project's main contractor. A joint venture of Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and VolkerFitzpatrick (MSVF) have been awarded the contract and will build the 4.5km extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking line over the next two years. It was previously announced
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that Balfour Beatty and the now-collapsed construction firm Carillion, as well as MSVF, had expressed interest in constructing the extension. Transport for London (TfL) expects to begin train services to Barking Riverside, currently one of Europe’s largest brownfield sites which is under development, from late 2021. Estimates in 2017, based on construction starting in 2017/18, put the cost of the project at £263 million.
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
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Spreading festive cheer
From Edinburgh to London Bridge, members of the railway family helped to spread some cheer over the Christmas period with acts of kindness, special train services and festive fundraising. Following on from the success of a similar event at London Bridge station on Christmas day in 2017, a team of 30 Network Rail volunteers helped to provide dinner for 200 homeless guests on Christmas Eve at Birmingham New Street. The station’s lower concourse was transformed into a huge dining hall with round tables set with soft drinks and Christmas crackers. A three-course vegetarian dinner – including tofu turkey – was served, presents and cards made by local schoolchildren were handed out and carols were sung for some of the most vulnerable people in the community. The Christmas party was organised with the Midland Langar Seva Society, which hosts the event every year. Network Rail staff weren’t the only ones to go the extra mile for rough sleepers. South Western Railway collected 480 shoe boxes full of items such as toothbrushes, socks, scarves, hats and non-perishable foods at Clapham Junction station. Duty station manager Fiona Brown was the driving force behind the initiative, which saw fellow station staff donate 25 boxes full of goods.
A Christmas miracle
ScotRail came to the rescue of a five-yearold girl two days before Christmas when she lost her teddy ‘Frankfurter’ (pictured below). Cath Mackay launched the hunt to find her daughter’s prized bear by tweeting for the first time and, by the power of the internet, he was found sat on a bench at Edinburgh Waverley station. After being handed in to ScotRail staff, Frankfurter was fast tracked back to the family in Glasgow via a ride in the train driver’s cab – just in time for Christmas day – where he has been put on house arrest ever since…
How the Grinch made Christmas
Earlier in the month a different creature – the Grinch – was at the centre of a special East Midlands Trains service between Nottingham and Boston on the Poacher line. The specially themed train, known as the ‘Whoville Express’ after the fictional character’s hometown, was organised for over 150 children and volunteers from the East Midlands to take them to a screening of the new Grinch film. Many of the children came from underprivileged backgrounds and wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to go to the cinema. While on board the children were treated to a visit from Santa as well as the Grinch and his dog, who delivered presents donated by East Midlands Trains staff.
Southeastern for the singles chart?
Finally, commuters couldn’t help but join in with a heart-warming rendition of Bill Withers’ ‘Lean On Me’ after a flash mob of station staff, police officers and charity workers burst into song at London Bridge station before Christmas. The fundraising performance was organised by Railway Children and Southeastern and has been viewed more than 18,500 times on YouTube. Flick to page 14 to find out about the charity single.
Mini museum at Liverpool Lime Old railway artefacts have been put on display in a newly opened ‘mini museum’ at Liverpool Lime Street station. Items in the collection include: • Avery Auto-precision luggage scales from the early 20th century; • A London, Midland and Scotland (LMS) railway company trolley from when LMS operated services between 19231947; • And original miniature power lever frame equipment from the Liverpool Lime Street signal box, which opened in January 1948. Lime Street signal box closed and signalling control moved to Manchester Rail Operating Centre in July 2018. The artefacts “pay homage to Lime Street’s past” according to station manager Paul Spiers, who stressed the importance of remembering the railway’s rich heritage. The opening follows the completion of the station’s £140 million redevelopment.
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RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
FEATURED PLACEMENT
As part of regular routine reviews of performance, the rail industry has refined a guidance note with a new checklist, published by rail body RSSB, aimed at helping track and train work more closely together to keep tabs on specific tasks, roles and responsibilities during the winter months. The season’s cold spells and adverse weather conditions can present all sorts of challenges to rail, including: damage to infrastructure and rolling stock, obstructions on the line as well as slippery conditions on platforms. Safety and performance go hand in hand, which is why our office and site-based teams put thorough plans together in advance to ensure work is carried out safely. We fully understand the importance of safety within our industry and have recently concentrated on winter safety and wellbeing. Stobart Rail & Civils is proud of the health, safety and environmental culture it is actively creating and developing. To improve on an already impressive health, safety and environmental record, we aim to reinforce and support continuous improvement, through our award-
Stobart stresses winter safety winning, ‘Think Safety, Act Safely’ campaign. Our campaign has allowed us to introduce some unique characters that deal with a wide selection of safety issues that our workforce can relate to. An extensive range of subjects have been covered, from working at height to wellbeing information, all with the goal of raising awareness and providing
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information to our employees. This vision acts as a constant reminder of the risks and hazards faced at work every day and how we can work to eliminate them. Our aim is to have zero accidents, incidents, health issues, environmental issues and zero complaints. How will we achieve our aim? By leading by example. We follow the rules, whether
this be a procedure or sitespecific rules including the Network Rail Lifesaving Rules, and report any shortcomings to line management. Our teams use the training they have been given to carry out their roles and responsibilities to create a safe working environment with robust planning and communication between all parties to learn and improve. Stobart Rail & Civils ensures the ‘Just & Fair’ culture process in place is always applied, continuing to hold behavioural based safety days (BBS) and encourage the reporting of close calls. The key to BBS is the understanding of how our actions affect perceptions and behaviours both on and off site. Through this and planning, our teams will be provided with the correct equipment and resource to carry out all works safely. As part of the larger contracts we are the principal contractor on, we will continue to promote our campaign in local schools to reach out to young people and introduce them to the rail industry. At the same time we will also educate them on the importance of safety, not just for themselves but for everyone around them and the impact their actions can have. We hope that by us engaging with them, they will be encouraged to become the next generation of rail workers.
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Waboso to leave Network Rail
David Waboso, the managing director of Network Rail’s Group Digital Railway (DR), is to retire in March. In an internal memo, chief executive Andrew Haines said David leaves DR with a “fantastic legacy” and “clear direction for delivery through CP6 and beyond”. A further announcement on the transitional arrangements and his replacement will be made in due course. Before joining Network Rail in 2016, David was the engineering director for London Underground. During his time in the role he received a CBE for his services to transport in the capital – particularly for his central role in leading the Underground’s largestever upgrade. The one-time maths teacher originally obtained degrees in civil engineering from Coventry University and Imperial College London. After a spell of teaching in east London, he worked on water supply and transportation projects in Nigeria. The-now internationally renowned engineer then joined the Nichols Group, and project managed the Docklands Light Railway block resignalling upgrade. David was also instrumental in the integration and commissioning of the Jubilee line extension for its millennium opening. Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, once described David as “one of the most talented project engineers in the world” and “a giant in his profession”.
Ergonomics expert joins WSP WSP has appointed a human factors specialist to support the design development of HS2’s Old Oak Common station. Neil Winchester will work with the rail planning and operations team to apply human factors thinking at the early design stage to ensure the operation and maintenance of rail systems and facilities best meet the needs of the user. Human factors, also known as ergonomics, refers to environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics, which influence behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety.
Neil, who counts such organisations as Network Rail, London Underground and BP as past employers, has been a human factors lead for more than 20 years. Most recently, as the project integration manager for the MTR Crossrail programme team, Neil ensured the new Elizabeth line stations and systems would support MTR Crossrail’s concession requirements. For London Underground, Neil developed guidance for rolling stock cab designers and he was also the human factors delivery manager on projects including the Stratford station enhancement programme.
Darren Reed, managing director of WSP’s rail business, said: “Learning from Neil’s extensive industry experience will help us embed human factors deeper into everything we design.”
Atkins recruits Arcadis boss
Lizi Stewart, the managing director of Arcadis’ highways and aviation business, is set to join Atkins.
In her new role as managing director for transportation, she will be responsible for driving further growth in the rail, highways and local transport markets. Lizi will also oversee the delivery of existing major transportation contracts and look to increase the company’s project portfolio and client base in the UK. Atkins CEO Philip Hoare said: “Lizi will lead our efforts as we focus on collaborating with clients in new and exciting ways by combining traditional
engineering expertise with new technologies and agile, creative thinking. “With the UK continuing to invest heavily in critical infrastructure, we’re well placed to capitalise on emerging opportunities as we look to help our clients shape the future of transportation.” Lizi, who joined Atkins – a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group – on February 1, is based at Nova North, SNC-Lavalin’s new European headquarters in London.
RSSB selects new chair Industry safety body RSSB has appointed Barbara Moorhouse as its new chair. Barbara is a non-executive director at Balfour Beatty, Microgen and Agility Trains. Her executive career encompasses board appointments in international IT companies, director general positions at the Ministry of Justice and Department for Transport and she was also previously the chief operating officer for
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Westminster City Council. Barbara brings a broad range of expertise in commercial leadership and public service delivery to her new role. RSSB CEO Mark Phillips said: “The board is delighted Barbara has agreed to join RSSB as the new chair for the exciting period ahead to oversee implementation of our new five-year strategy to deliver a better, safer railway. “We would like to thank Anna Bradley, who stepped down at the end of December for guiding
RSSB through a significant change programme.” Barbara added: “Rail travel is central to my working week and I look forward to RSSB playing its full part in the industry at an important time for the future of the rail sector.”
Bloom for the North A transport leader who previously managed the strategy for the £2 billion East Coast main line upgrade is set to join Transport for the North (TfN). Jeremy Bloom, formerly of Highways England, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Network Rail and London Underground, has been appointed as the strategy and programme director and will take up his post in April. The position is a new one at TfN, and will see Jeremy lead on the delivery of the statutory body’s strategic transport plan, which is set to be submitted this spring. Jeremy, who described his new role as a “career-defining opportunity to help shape the fabric of the North for decades to come”, led network strategies, programme delivery and investment planning over the last 13 years working for Highways England.
TfN chief executive Barry White said: “This role is symbolic of where we are as an organisation. We’re on the cusp of having an agreed strategic transport plan to increase connectivity across the whole of the North. A true first. “In Jeremy, we’ve found a senior leader who will marry an encyclopaedic knowledge of the transport landscape, with the command to spearhead major investment opportunities. He brings a wealth of experience of making credible cases for investment, something that will be essential in delivering on the priorities the North has identified together.” Jeremy added: “With the strategic transport plan in place, we’ll have an unprecedented platform to make well-researched and strong cases for investment across the North. It’s rare that you get an opportunity to make a lasting difference to the economy – and in turn the lives of millions. I can’t wait to get started.”
Arriva appoints engineering director Arriva Rail London has appointed Kate Marjoribanks as its engineering director, a brand new role at the company. Kate has nearly 25 years’ experience in the rail industry and was previously the engineering director at Chiltern Railways as well as Greater Anglia. Prior to joining Arriva Rail London – which runs the London Overground under a concession agreement with Transport for London – she was the head of engineering at South Western Railway. Kate will lead a team of engineers, oversee the train care team and work with maintenance partners at Bombardier and Greater Anglia. She will also support Arriva Rail London with the introduction of London Overground’s new fleet of Class 710 trains.
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IN BRIEF Scott Parnell’s new rail manager
Sharon Rice has been appointed the new national rail manager for groundworks and civil engineering firm Scott Parnell.
From Arriva to Abellio
Martin Beable, fleet director of Arriva UK’s trains bid team, is set to join Abellio Greater Anglia in March as the new engineering director.
Galliford Try's new head of rail
Sean Blackmore, the former major projects director at Murphy & Sons, has been made rail director at Galliford Try.
Steele leaves rail
Network Rail’s commercial and development director Matthew Steele has left the rail industry behind and moved into the utilities sector with Balfour Beatty, becoming its new gas and water division managing director.
Ex-HS2 director’s new gig in Australia
Professor Andrew McNaughton, HS2’s former technical director, has been recruited to assist with the development of a high-speed network in New South Wales, Australia.
Siemens' new role for Goole
Long-term employee Finbarr Dowling has taken on the newly created position of localisation director for Siemens Mobility at the site of its new train factory.
Rock Rail strengthens
Investor and developer Rock Rail has strengthened its executive team with the appointment of George Bearfield to the new position of health and safety director.
RSK appointment to oversee growth
Aspin Group’s former head of business development has joined RSK Group. Adrian Calder, the new business development director for rail, will be responsible for identifying new opportunities in the sector, in which RSK has experienced yearon-year growth. Managing the tender process will also be a key part of his role.
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Although Kate has carved out a successful career working on rail projects in the UK and Australia, she began her career as a trainee at shipbuilding firm Yarrow. After graduating from Edinburgh University with a degree in mechanical engineering she made the switch and joined British Rail.
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All The Stations - Ireland
OLE book goes live A free-to-download book covering overhead line electrification (OLE) has been released as an “easy to read” introduction to the subject. Author Garry Keenor, an experienced OLE engineer, has spent more hours than he dares to calculate putting the 286-page study book together in his own time. But he’s already seeing it pay dividends, with the book receiving 5,500 downloads to date since being issued on December 14. Titled ‘Overhead Line Electrification for Railways’, the document is now in its fifth incarnation having been first created for internal staff at his then-employer Scott Wilson (Now a part of AECOM) in 2004. Its popularity, combined with the fact colleagues have taken the document with them to other companies, led Garry to realise that the industry, not just his employer, needed a go-to OLE text book. The recent update is a bumper one however, with almost 75 per cent more material than its predecessor. Garry, who now works for Atkins as the technical authority on OLE, explained: “Obviously electrification has gone through a lot of upheaval and change recently. It’s probably true that we’ve developed the way we do most aspects of it, there’s an increased focus on electrical safety now compared with the past. So, quite a lot of what I wrote two years ago needed a refresh from that point of view. “The other thing is there are a lot of areas like immunisation and dual voltage areas and things like that where I previously wouldn’t have felt confident enough to write about them. The great thing about working for Atkins is you’ve got access to the best people, so if you don’t know something, you don’t understand it, you just pick up the phone and find the person and you learn that way.” Following feedback, Garry is now also looking to produce a print edition. He added: “My wife thinks I’m crazy. She said ‘You should be charging £5 a download!’ “I’m not doing it for profit, I’m well rewarded for what I do and if I wasn’t in this role, I wouldn’t be able to write the book.” If you would like to download the book, or make a charitable donation in support of Garry’s work, go to: www.ocs4rail.com
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Railway adventurers Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe will follow up their ‘All The Stations’ adventure around Great Britain by travelling to all of the stations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The pair have successfully raised £25,000 through crowdfunding to support their planned two-week travels around all 198 stations on the island, which will be recorded and released on YouTube. In 2017, Vicki and Geoff traveled to all 2,563 railway stations in Great Britain, completing the journey in 14 weeks, six days, eight hours and 22 minutes. The online series documented what Britain’s railways look like in 2017, as an aged system transports more passengers than ever before. All The Stations Ireland is expected to begin in early spring, 2019, likely beginning in Rosslare and finishing in Derry. En route they will be exploring the Iarnród Éireann (144 stations) and Northern Ireland Railways (54 stations) networks while also talking to the communities and locals who work on them. Stations on disused sections of the network are not being included. Geoff and Vicki will also be visiting all of
Loco plans Freightliner has released plans to build a state-of-the-art locomotive and wagon maintenance and fuelling facility at its Ranelagh Road freight yard in Ipswich. Around 20 skilled and semi-skilled jobs will be created as a result of the “multi-million pound investment”, according to the freight company. After evaluating various sites across the country, Ipswich was chosen because of its proximity to the Port of Felixstowe – the UK’s
the Dublin Area Rapid Transit stations and, as a result of exceeding the initial £14,500 goal, they will also take in all of the Dublin Luas tram stations. A further ‘stretch goal’ has also been achieved, meaning the pair could investigate the transport links between Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, although that is yet to be decided. On their Kickstarter crowdfunding page, it reads: “How do the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland feel about their railways? What challenges do they face, what are the highlights, how quaint are the stations, what historical and cultural stories can you connect to and where can you get the best buffet cuppa? “And how do the railways themselves operate? Will we still find manually operated gates and semaphore signals in use? Is there seamless interoperability between services in Ireland and Northern Ireland? What happens after the UK leaves the EU, how will this impact passenger journeys across the Irish border? “We aim to answer all these questions, sharing the entire story with you along the way, to capture a unique moment in European transport history.”
largest maritime port, from which Freightliner operates 22 trains a day. The 54m-long facility will be a steel-framed building and include an inspection pit, two overhead cranes and an extended on-site car park for staff. It will also house a wheel lathe used to maintain and re-profile wagon and locomotive wheel sets, which Freightliner said will be the first of its kind in that part of the UK.
Trees near the line?
Not for long.
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RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
A flash mob choir which went viral with a performance of ‘Lean on Me’ at Christmas has released a charity single. Known as ‘Voices for Railway Children’, the group of 80 rail staff met at a London recording studio to produce and release the feel good anthem in time for ‘Blue Monday’ on January 21. The song was produced by James Hawkins, the man behind Britain’s Got Talent’s Missing People Choir. He said: “Everyone who has been touched by this project – whether singers, travellers or social media viewers – have been uplifted by it. “When you hear our railway singers reaching in song to cheer up those in their care, you can’t help but smile. We hope that everyone will get behind the release and help us bring a bit of cheer to Blue Monday.” All profits from the single will go to Railway Children. Katie Mason, the charity’s events manager, added: “We were totally overwhelmed by the amazing response to our flash mob which has helped raise awareness of the work we are doing across the UK immensely. “It was such great fun to be part of and quite emotional for everyone involved so when we were asked to record it, we jumped at the chance. It’s just lovely to see the whole rail community coming together like this for something so positive and uplifting. Next stop number one!” Voices for Railway Children is made up of companies from: Southeastern, Hitachi, Bechtel, Rock Rail, Mindtree, the Rail Delivery Group, Virgin Trains, Network Rail, Transport for London, GB Railfreight, Go Ahead Group, the British Transport Police and East Midlands Trains. To download the charity single, search for 'Voices for Railway Children' on iTunes.
Flash mob releases charity single Railtex visitor registration to open In February, professionals from across the rail industry will be able to register in advance for free to attend Railtex 2019, the 14th international exhibition of rail equipment, systems and services. The event takes place between May 14-16 at Birmingham’s NEC, and will play host to exhibiting organisations from the full range of rail infrastructure and rolling stock sectors. A number of high-profile companies have already confirmed their participation, alongside many first-time exhibitors in a unique networking environment. As well as providing a shop window for leading national and international suppliers of railway technology and services, Railtex 2019 will also confirm the appeal of the British market to foreign companies, with delegates from more than 50 countries set to be in attendance. Registration for Railtex gives visitors access to a range of industry keynote speeches, project updates and technical seminars that are accredited by the CPD Certification Service, meaning they can be used by attendees and their professional bodies towards continuing professional development.
Exhibition manager Kirsten Whitehouse said: “We are looking forward to welcoming hundreds of exhibitors to the NEC in Birmingham, as they provide valuable insights into their products and services. We’ll also be welcoming thousands of delegates over the three days during what is always a highlight of the rail industry calendar.” To gain free entry to the show, pre-register online: www.railtex.co.uk
Health, welfare and financial benefits for those working in the public transport industry... people like you! covers you, your partner and dependent children
Helping to make a difference
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Transport Benevolent Fund CIO, known as TBF, is a registered charity in England and Wales, 1160901, and Scotland, SC047016. TBF_Banner_Adverts_18X3_190x50.indd 2 RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF
29/08/2018 16:41
Time to upgrade your wiper system?
• Arms • Blades • Motors (24v and 110v) • Linkage systems • Components & spares
Replace your pneumatic wipers with one of our electric motor conversion kits Pneumatic windscreen wiper systems have been around for decades. When new, they work well, but as time progresses they can become prone to failure due to system leaks. Failed wipers result in inoperable trains, causing service disruption (costing both time and money). Thankfully, there’s an economic alternative. With over 35 years experience producing complete wiper systems, PSV Wipers Ltd have developed a number of conversion kits specifically for older rolling stock. These are a direct replacement for your existing pneumatic system. They’re reliable, easy to retrofit and can save thousands in maintenance costs and lost operating time. PSV have been developing and manufacturing robustly engineered wiper systems since 1980, supplying new and replacement components and systems for UK and international OEM train builders, fleet operators and fleet support distributors. Our products are designed to improve reliability and lower ‘Life Cycle Costs’.
Why not discover the benefits of electric wiper systems? Call us today and ask for our Rail Specialist, Paul Curry. PSV Wipers Ltd, Navigation Road, Diglis, Worcester WR5 3DE, UK Tel. +44 (0) 1905 350500 │ sales@psvwipers.com │ www.psvwipers.com Photo reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Credit Phil Sangwell.
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RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
Grand champions Schoolchildren from Aston University Engineering Academy in Birmingham have been crowned the grand champions of iRail, Rail Forum Midlands’ schools outreach programme. Across two heats in 2018, teams of budding engineers from 30 schools battled it out to qualify for the final, with four teams - two from the East Midlands and two from the West Midlands - making it through. Following on from the previous bridge-building exercise, finalists were tasked in October with preparing a franchise bid. From types of rolling stock, trainset configurations and timetable schedules, it all had to be considered to assess how best to serve the challenge’s diverse mix of passengers. Safety, innovation and customer service were important factors in the scoring criteria too. On December 13 at Pride Park Stadium, Derby, a judging panel made up of industry experts and senior government officials had
the difficult task of deciding which school’s entry was the best. Following a tough judging process, which saw each team present and answer questions for half an hour, the judges selected Aston University Engineering Academy as the overall winner, securing them the £1,000 cash prize for school equipment. Derby Manufacturing UTC and Loughborough High School were runners up. The final entry was from Holte School. iRail has been held in the East Midlands for nine years but in 2018 it was possible to extend the programme into the West Midlands thanks to the support of sponsor Porterbrook. The rolling stock leasing company’s CEO Mary Grant (pictured with the winners), who sat on the judging panel, said: “Enthusing young people about our industry is key to attracting the very best people onto the railway of tomorrow. “I congratulate all those who took part and in particular the iRail champion-of-champions - Aston University Engineering Academy.”
Sleeper trains on test Sixteen of Caledonian Sleeper’s new carriages made their first trial run from Scotland to London Euston on January 22. Final stages of testing and approvals have now begun ahead of the overnight service beginning to operate its new £100 million fleet by the end of May. The trains will initially be introduced on the Lowlander route between Glasgow/Edinburgh and London before being rolled out onto the Highlander, which serves Fort William, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Union campaigns to save depot Representatives from union Unite are attempting to rally enough political support to save 180 jobs at Springburn rail depot in Glasgow. Following an initial announcement in December, owner Gemini Rail Services has entered into a consultation with staff after serving a closure notice on the site, which carries out service, maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrades on ScotRail trains. In a bid to save the historic site and its employees, Unite has met with rail minister Andrew Jones as well as the Gemini management at Westminster to discuss the situation. In an announcement on January 17, Unite said it is also scheduled to meet the Scottish transport minister Michael Matheson for further discussions on saving the depot.
Cross-party politicians and Unite had urged Gemini to delay serving notice based on a more detailed examination of the company’s financial status in order to fully explore different options for the depot. The decision is currently set to affect 120 staff and 60 contractors. If the proposed closure does go ahead, it will also mean the repairs and maintenance of Scotland’s rolling stock will be carried out in England. In response, Unite has launched a campaign – ‘Rally Roon the Caley’ – based on the depot’s local name, which has two key demands: • Electrification in order to connect the depot to the Glasgow to Edinburgh line at an estimated cost of less than £1 million; • And the Scottish Government’s immediate intervention to
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bring the depot under its control as an asset of strategic importance in Scotland’s transport infrastructure. Pat McIlvogue, Unite regional industrial officer, said: “The reality is that we now have 45 days to save the depot as a result of Gemini’s utterly disgraceful behaviour to ignore calls by both the Scottish and UK Governments, and most importantly the workforce, for more time. “The Springburn depot not only has a proud past but it can play a strategic role in the nation’s transport infrastructure for years to come.” Gemini Rail Services managing director Nick Fitzwater added: "As we have stated, the decision to put forward the proposal has in no way been taken lightly and we know it is a worrying time for the workforce. The proposal has been made against a backdrop of
increasingly challenging market conditions which are outside of our control and severely affect our core business of maintaining preprivatisation rolling stock. “Springburn will continue to suffer a major decline in work due to its location and the section of the market it serves. “This market downturn has been evident for many years, and despite the efforts of management to explore avenues to improve the situation, and the hard work and dedication of the workforce to deliver on contracts won by the company, the company is suffering unsustainable losses. “Gemini Rail Services management has worked to engage with several key stakeholders, including industry experts, unions and politicians, to openly discuss the adverse market forces affecting Springburn and to explore all viable alternative options for the site. This engagement is ongoing.”
‘Support on Life’s Journey’ Railway Mission - Supporting Railway People Since 1881
“Going through a rough patch?” “We’re here for you” Please support your railway chaplains www.railwaymission.org/giving Please consider Payroll Giving Payroll Giving is a flexible scheme which allows anyone who receives their pay through payroll to give regularly and on a tax free basis to the charities and good causes of their choice. Payroll Giving donations are deducted before tax so for every £1.00 that you give it will only cost you 80p, and if you're a higher rate tax payer it will only cost you 60p. Payroll Giving (also known as Give As You Earn or workplace giving) is a valuable, long term source of revenue, providing regular income to help charities budget and plan ahead more effectively. Employees can choose to support any charity of their choice with a regular donation direct from their pay. Its cheaper because its tax free - for example, a donation of £5 per month costs the basic rate tax payer £4.00 (the taxman pays the rest!) Higher rate taxpayers- the only way to pass on your 40% or 45% tax to charities. Only 28% can be recouped via other ways of giving. Charity number in England and Wales: 1128024 Scotland SC045897
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NEWS
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Tyne and Wear on TV A four-part series telling the “human stories” of staff, passengers and communities of the Tyne and Wear Metro is to be filmed for ITV. Camera crews recording the behind-the-scenes documentary, which has the working title ‘Metropolis’, have been granted unprecedented access to the light rail system. Mark Robinson, creative director for production company Wise Owl Films, said: “This is the first time that a documentary
Train manager tracks down soldier's long-lost grave
series has been made on the Tyne and Wear Metro – and we feel privileged and excited to be making it. “The Metro is an institution and a vital part of everyday life in the North East of England. On every
train, on every journey and on every platform there are human stories for us to tell.” Filming is set to take place in 2019. No date has yet been given for when the documentary will air.
up solving and, to her surprise, days later he was in touch having tracked down the location of her grandad’s grave. Not only that, Wayne visited Béthune Town, where Private Bryan was buried, to pay his respects and take a photograph of the burial site for Rita. He also discovered that, unbeknown to Rita, Thomas was actually her step-grandad, as her grandma had remarried after her first husband died.
A happy ending
An 85-year-old woman has finally been able to visit her grandfather’s long-lost grave with the help of a Virgin Trains employee. When Private Thomas Bryan said farewell to his family and left to fight in the First World War, they had no idea they would never see him again, and that his final resting place would be shrouded in mystery. But thanks to a chance encounter with train manager Wayne McDonald onboard a Virgin Trains service, Private Bryan’s granddaughter Rita Armin has been able to travel to the Béthune Town cemetery in France and give the family closure. The happy ending to Rita’s
life-long mystery came about after meeting Wayne, an amateur historian, during a two-hour journey from Stockport to Euston in 2018. Rita, whose husband Corporal Henry Armin died as a result of injuries he sustained in World War Two, was on her way to Buckingham Palace for a reception to mark Prince Charles’ 70th birthday. As the pair chatted, it transpired the family had been unable to find out where Private Bryan, of the 2nd Ox and Bucks Regiment, was buried since his death in 1915. All Rita’s grandmother had ever received was a parcel containing the suit Thomas went to war in. She asked Wayne if there was anything he could do to solve the mystery her family had long given
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Remaining true to a promise he made to Rita during their first encounter, Wayne took Mrs Armin to Northern France in January, to pay her respects to a man she never had the chance to meet. Rita travelled down from Stockport on Virgin Trains before a quick hop over to Lille on Eurostar. A short taxi ride later and Rita was finally able to get some closure. Accompanied by her 23-yearold grandson Sam, the pair laid wreaths at Thomas’ grave – becoming the first family members
to pay their respects in more than 100 years. Rita said it was a day she “will remember for the rest of [her] life”. She added: “It’s really hard to express how I felt. It wasn’t a sad day. Far from it. “I didn’t know how I’d react so in the end I just started chatting to grandad as if he was there. I felt so close to him and it meant so much to meet Paul, who tends to the cemetery, as I know Thomas will be in safe hands.” Wayne, who previously worked to restore a war memorial at Piccadilly station, said: “I don’t mind admitting there was a tear in my eye when I listened to Rita talking to Thomas at his graveside. “To be able to find Thomas and to share his story with his grandchildren, who themselves are now in their 80s, and their families is a real privilege. Rita is now a good friend and it has been an honour to share this day with her and Sam.”
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RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
FEATURED PLACEMENT
AECOM careers open days:
Your future starts here
Station sleepout Shortly before this issue went to the printers, fundraisers were preparing to spent a night with Network Rail directors and so far unnamed politicians at a charitable station sleepout. On January 31, four stations were taking part in the event, which was being organised by Railway Children: Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street and London Bridge, to raise muchneeded funds and awareness. Railways are one of the easiest ways for runaway children to travel and this year BTP estimates it will deal with as many as 10,000 child safeguarding incidents on Britain’s
railways. Approximately a third of those children will have run away from home or care, escaping issues such as violence, abuse or neglect. Railway Children programme director Pete Kent said: “We have only been able to carry out this work thanks to the amazing support we have continued to have from across the industry, and we’re hoping this event will see the rail community coming together once again to support us and to support these children. “Everyone and anyone can take part – and we’re hoping as many people as possible will get behind our first ever Railway Children Sleepout.”
Colas Rail awarded rail grinding contract Colas Rail has been awarded a three year rail grinding contract by Network Rail across Britain from February 2019 for a minimum of three years. Colas Rail will operate and maintain six rail grinding machines and deliver almost 1,400 operational shifts a year, in a 24/7 operation. Plain line rail grinders are required by Network Rail to carry out corrective and preventative rail grinding works throughout Britain. Colas Rail facilitated the introduction of three brand new Loram C44 plain line rail grinders, the largest of which is C44-03, a 64 stone machine that is almost 150m long. This came into service in 2017. Colas Rail also expanded its maintenance depot in Rugby to accommodate the longer machine. Jean-Pierre Bertrand, chief executive officer – UK said. “This is a great achievement for the Rail Services division. The award of this contract is a reflection of Colas Rail’s team performance, who will continue to deliver safely, on time and as per the required quality. With safety and performance as our key driver, we remain, more than ever, committed to fulfilling our promise to Network Rail.”
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Multinational engineering firm AECOM has organised open days across the country as it seeks to bolster its team with talented new recruits.
For more information, please refer to the AECOM careers advertisement on the inside back cover - page 51 or visit www.aecom.jobs and search for “open days”.
In February, company representatives will be hitting the road to meet candidates in Manchester, Bristol, London Aldgate, Croydon, Swindon, Glasgow and Birmingham. In particular, AECOM is on the lookout for rail professionals with E&P, OLE, civils, p-way, telecoms, signalling, project management, engineering, management and CAD/BIM experience.
Toon train driver retires after 40 years In the summer of 1980, exBritish Rail guard Ian Rossiter became one of the first drivers to get behind the controls of the Tyne and Wear Metro’s then-brand-new Class 994 trains. The iconic trains’ time on the light rail system is coming to an end – shortlisted bidders for its new £360 million rolling stock were revealed in September – and so has Ian’s, who has retired from the Metro after 40 years of dedicated service to setup his own consultancy. He said: “There was a great deal of excitement about the opening of this new, state-ofthe art Metro. It was an amazing achievement to have our own underground system – and there I was, a 21-year-old lad who was getting the chance to drive the first trains. “People were fascinated by the Metro. They were coming in their droves to travel on it. There was great pride and camaraderie among the drivers. Most of us knew each other from working at British Rail. “When I had nights out, I find people would always want to talk
to us when they found out that we were Metro drivers. It was a bit like being a rock star.” Over the years Ian rose through the ranks to become a senior Metro manager. Highlights include playing a key role in the £100 million extension to Sunderland in 2002 and starring alongside Toon legend Alan Shearer in a Barclays TV advert in 2015. He added: “When I think back to my dad pestering me to fill that form in to become a Metro driver I realise now how significant it was. I’ve had a brilliant career. I’ve gained many qualifications and have made some amazing friends. Metro is like a family and will always be there to serve the people of Tyne and Wear.
14th FEBRUARY 2019 STONELEIGH PARK, WARWICKSHIRE Visitor registration open: https://safestart.events/visitors/ Website for event: https://safestart.events Limited exhibition space now available…
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I knew Bake Off was big, but I didn’t realise just how big.
Ruby has worked on the multibillion-pound Thameslink programme since July 2017.
All photos © Rail Media
Although she studied architecture at university, Ruby has forged a career as a successful project manager.
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INTERVIEWS
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RUBY, RUBY, RUBY RUBY… THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF RUNNER-UP ON REVEALING HER BIG SECRET, WORK ON THAMESLINK AND HOW LIFE HAS CHANGED
W
hen Ruby Bhogal returned to work on August 30, she was greeted with a warmer reception than usual. She’d only had a day’s leave but, in the space of 36 hours, two of her big secrets were finally out. The first that she’s an amateur baker, the second being that she was a contestant on the new series of one of Britain’s most treasured TV programmes – The Great British Bake Off (GBBO). Unknown to colleagues, the 30-year-old project manager had been heading to Berkshire every Friday night, where weekends of long 5am to 10pm days awaited her in the show’s famous white tent. In the week, Ruby would continue to juggle the demands of her job at Network Rail but every hour she could spare was spent perfecting the weird and wonderful challenges set by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. If the pressures of leading a secret life weren’t enough, Ruby only shared details of it to three people at work: her boss Suresh Kavia, project manager Gerry Bona and Liam Farrell, a member of Network Rail’s communications team.
THRUST INTO THE LIMELIGHT So, six weeks after the filming had finished, when the first episode of Series 9 was aired to almost 10 million viewers on August 28 and her secret was revealed to the world, Ruby purposely booked the next day off work to take it all in. Even then, she was still unprepared for the sheer size of the public’s reaction. “I knew Bake Off was big, but I didn’t realise just how big,” said Ruby, who is originally from Ascot. “The minute your picture is released people go crazy. No details are released other than your name, age and the city you’re from but people will find you. “I remember logging on to my computer at work and having emails from so many different people in the company. That was fantastic because it just showed how many people were so enthused about another person in the rail industry representing Network Rail and representing it in a good way and showing just what women can do in the construction industry.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY STEWART THORPE
“I’ve kept them all. I’ve got a folder in my inbox called ‘Bake Off’ and I’ve just stuck them all in there because they’re so nice, I could never delete any of them.” Having disclosed her secret to so few people outside of her immediate family, countless lies were told, but all has been forgiven. “No one trusts me anymore,” she said. “I told so many lies, it was awful. But everyone at work has been really made up and hugely encouraging. There were just very annoyed that I hadn’t brought in any bakes before that. And that’s all I ever get asked for now – just, where’s the cake? It’s not about me anymore.”
EARLY BEGINNINGS After making it through 10 weeks of signature, technical and showstopper challenges, from making Wagon Wheels to naan breads and Chelsea buns, Ruby narrowly missed out on the GBBO crown. Nevertheless, exposure from the show has seen her profile boosted no end and new opportunities have opened up as a result. But it’s all a far cry from where she was in 2013, when she went to make her steps into the world of construction after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University with a masters in architecture – and hadn’t yet caught the bug for baking.
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© Love Productions/Channel 4
“Soon after my masters I was unfortunate because I was going into the construction world when there was a severe lack of jobs,” said Ruby, who sought to find work as a junior architect. “The competition for people who had just graduated and were looking for jobs was just ridiculous. “Luckily, I think it might have been after about two months of unemployment, I put my CV on a lot of online recruiting agencies and I just got a phone call from an agency called Talascend. They asked me whether I’d be interested in going in for an interview as a project management assistant at Network Rail and, to be honest, I’d never thought about going into the rail industry, never thought it’d be something that’d interest me, but I just kind of thought – ‘Why not? I’ve got nothing else at the moment. So, let’s just give it a go and see what happens.’” After impressing her would-be bosses during a meeting in Warrington, Ruby was offered the position in Network Rail’s Works Delivery unit, which specialised in electrification and plant and early works. “The thing that I really loved about working up north – and why I stuck with rail – is because everyone I was working with was so passionate about the work they were doing,” said Ruby. After three years’ working in Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool and Wigan, Ruby took half a year out to go travelling and then returned to London where she ended up back at square one. “I’d been up north for about 10 years and started to develop a Scouse accent so my mum wasn’t very happy,” she joked. “I think it was a bit naïve of me thinking I could fall into a job straight away when I came back to London. It’s such a huge city with a vast amount of people, and incredible talent. I learnt the hard way. I was a tiny fish in a very, very big pool.” Another spell of unemployment followed, this time for six months, which Ruby confessed to being “a hard pill to swallow”. However, it was here that she discovered a passion for baking. “I had a bread book that my sister had bought me years ago. It said that it takes about five hours to make some bread so I thought ‘Well, how else can I waste my day?’ “I guess it was during that period of unemployment RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF
where it gave me – this is going to sound all very cheesy – I think it gave me a bit of reason to my day, a focus. It kept me sane. It was a real testing point for me, mentally, to keep myself on track and not get too down about the fact that I wasn’t getting a job and all my friends were working and moving forward in their lives.”
CROSSRAIL AND THAMESLINK Ruby’s route back into rail appeared when Crossrail came calling, recruiting her for a role working with clients on the operations and maintenance side of the megaproject. Shortly afterwards in July 2017, an opportunity arose with Network Rail in the delivery of the Thameslink project. She seized the chance and has been with Thameslink ever since, getting involved in a number of significant projects along the way. After starting as a scheme project manager on the Canal Tunnels between the East Coast main line near Kings Cross station and the Thameslink route at St Pancras, she moved onto a project she looks back on with immense pride: platform level access at the core stations of Blackfriars, King’s Cross, City Thameslink and Farringdon. “It was a project that I really wanted to work on because it’s all about providing easy access for everyone – especially for people with reduced mobility,” said Ruby, who completed her first Christmas works for Network Rail on the project in 2017. “I’ve read a lot of stories where
Ruby never thought she’d get through the show’s audition stage and her lack of confidence showed during the series’ first few weeks. Nevertheless, her confidence soon grew.
someone of reduced mobility has gone on a train, made the phone call and said ‘I’d like to get off at X stop’ and they haven’t got there in time to assist them with the boarding ramp, so then they’re stuck on the train. “How that person must then be made to feel and how that changes their everyday – it’s something that we take for granted. “It’s been fantastic to get their feedback and see how something as simple as having a hump on the platform to allow them to access the train without any assistance, how much that has changed their life. It gives them a sense of independence.” After covering everything except the commercial side of the project – so that’s stakeholder engagement, dealing with contractors and overseeing the programming as part of the day-to-day delivery – the project is now almost complete, with only close out works remaining before completion in February. Not that Ruby will be the one to take it over the line. A few months back she was moved onto another project on the Thameslink programme – the closeout of the civils work at London Bridge station. Working with contractors Balfour Beatty and Siemens, the aim is to have the work finished by the end of June.
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Christmas came at a good time, I was just so burned out in terms of trying to make everything work.
Ruby, who was meeting Andrew Haines shortly after our interview, said she’ll have to try to avoid the “naff jokes” when she meets the Network Rail CEO.
Photos this page © Rail Media
BOXERS, BURNOUTS AND BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS Life has changed for Ruby following her stint on the GBBO, with a number of doors opening for opportunities outside of work with Network Rail. Back in November, Ruby – who herself boxes – had a ‘dream day’ when she rubbed shoulders with heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua as well as chef Jamie Oliver during a corporate event for Land Rover in the capital. She’s also been able to use her new platform to encourage more women to join the construction sector. In partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board, Ruby is working on material that details her time in construction to be shown to Year 9 pupils. It’s only been three months since the GBBO finished but it’s been a busy few months for Ruby, who has plenty to think about when it comes to her next move. “Christmas came at a good time, I was just so burned out in terms of trying to make everything work. So, I made sure I had a good break to come back a bit more refreshed. “I’m actually looking to go part-time in the next few weeks, so it means I can manage my external commitments a bit better with work. That’s the view at the moment, just to make sure when I’m at Network Rail, they get the 100 per cent, as opposed to my mind being on cakes somewhere else.” FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK
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TRACK SAFETY
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REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER
PASSENGER TRAIN TRAGEDY IN DENMARK
DO WE NEED TO START AGAIN WITH THE RULE BOOK? ARE NETWORK RAIL'S RULES AND PROCEDURES TOO COMPLEX AND CONFUSING? ARE THEY CONTRIBUTING TO NEAR MISSES?
I
n northern fashion I must begin by wishing readers of RailStaff a happy and safe new year and congratulate all who worked through the festive season without making headlines due to possession overruns! Tragically, this new year has begun with the accident on the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark, which, according to the reports I have seen, resulted in eight fatalities and 16 people being injured. It happened around 0800 hours on the morning of January 2. The bridge links the Danish islands of Zealand and Fyn. At the time of the accident the 11-mile Storeaelt Link Road was closed to road traffic due to the high winds and both recovery and examination at the rail accident site were hampered as a © CBC/YouTube
result. Early press reports suggested that the curtain side walling on the freight train had come loose and objects may have fallen onto the tracks. Another report suggests that a road trailer may also have fallen from the freight train. The freight and passenger train were travelling in opposite directions when the accident occurred. The passenger train, which was extensively damaged, was travelling from Odense to Copenhagen with three crew and 131 passengers aboard. Danish politicians have described the incident as the worst rail accident in Denmark for over 30 years. For the definitive details of what occurred we shall have to wait for the Accident Investigation Board of Denmark's report, its investigation is underway.
Colin Wheeler.
120mph through a 20mph emergency restriction!
On November 29, the UK's Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) published Safety Advice 03/2018 - “Driver awareness of emergency speed restrictions” - which was issued to London North Eastern Railway (LNER), the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and all freight companies operating on Network Rail’s infrastructure. On October 19 at 1432 hours the LNER's Aberdeen to King's Cross train passed through a 20mph emergency speed restriction (ESR) at 120mph! The restriction was applied at 1350 hours the previous day, after a track defect (crack) had been found in a set of points. Warning boards and automatic warning system (AWS) magnets were in place to warn of the ESR denoting its start point and termination, however the train driver had received no notification before starting his journey.
Out of the Rule Book in 2008
In their investigation, RAIB discovered that the requirement to provide this information to train drivers had been removed from the Rule Book back in 2008! The Association of Train Operating Companies’ (ATOC, now known as the RDG) “Good Practice Guide – Control Centres: Business Process Manual” advises members to “have in place appropriate arrangements
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RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
TRACK SAFETY
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© Al Jazeera/YouTube
for advising drivers of emergency speed restrictions before they operate over the affected route”. Although ESRs have AWS warnings and flashing lights drivers still need to be told of the route on which they are applied and be alerted as to where to look out for the start of ESR boards.
Near miss at South Hampstead
On December 18, the RAIB published report 20/2018 about a near miss with both track workers and their trolleys which occurred around 0035 hours on March 11. The workers narrowly avoided being hit by a train travelling towards Euston station at 49mph. The driver first saw them whilst they were placing a trolley on the track in front of him just 100m away. They managed to remove
their trolleys and were clear two seconds before the train passed them. One received a minor injury and two others were distressed by the incident.
Six recommendations for Network Rail
Essentially the RAIB investigation discovered that they had placed the trolleys on a track still open to traffic instead of the adjacent line which was blocked. The group did not have a designated “person in charge” (PiC) and there were a number of “unofficial working practices” being used according to the report. There are six RAIB recommendations. Network Rail is charged to clarify to staff the responsibilities of the PiC; make sure managers are aware of their responsibilities; improve location information
for staff working on or near the track; provide signage at South Hampstead access point; undertake an audit of the use of their Standard 019 Issue 9 to determine how it is implemented and understood; and finally “review how the changes from issue 8 to issue 9 [of the standard] were managed in order to identify any areas for improvement in the management of change”. The report includes a learning point for Network Rail - “those in charge of safety should be careful to check safety critical information when challenged by others in their team”.
Who worked for who?
At South Hampstead that night the PiC, responsible manager, planner and works delivery manager were all employed by Network Rail. M J Quinn Integrated Services was contracted to deliver cable pulling workers and provided seven staff and a supervisor. Premier People Recruitment was the agency that provided three staff to act as the controllers of site safety (COSS) and 14 other staff.
M J Quinn’s supervisor was a manager for its London Underground and Docklands Light Railway projects. He was coordinating the site work activities but held neither COSS or safe work leader competences. Of the 21 people working that night, seven had only recently passed their personal track safety courses and were consequently inexperienced green square Sentinel card holders wearing blue hard hats.
Was the paperwork right? Network Rail standards are available to their employees from their intranet system but others need to subscribe to obtain on line access. RAIB’s report describes the planning of the work and how multiple work groups were all to use the same safe work plan (SWP) and task briefing sheets. The investigation found that contrary to standard 019, the SWP was authorised before it had been verified by the PiC. It was sent to him on March 9 and a signed copy was returned to the planner. However, M J
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TRACK SAFETY
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Quinn’s project manager was sent a copy at 0842 which he forwarded to the COSSs at 1723 hours that same day.
Unsigned safe work plan
Staff arrived on site at 2100 hours on March 10 at South Hampstead station, although this was not the planned site access. A COSS was booked to act as site warden. Due to the physical separation between the fast and slow lines it was decided that he should take on a COSS role instead. All three COSSs then asked the supervisor for copies of the SWP but he was unable to supply any. He provided details of the engineering supervisor (ES) so all three COSSs drove to the Euston depot to sign in to the worksite leaving others to offload materials into the compound. At Euston the COSSs were briefed by the ES and told that the slow lines were blocked but the fast lines were open. He had no printed copies of the SWP so was unable to provide the COSSs with any. But they also met the works delivery manager on the concourse at Euston at 2330 hours who provided them with a single but unsigned copy. After they challenged this, he signed it to authorise its use. They arrived back at South Hampstead around midnight.
Person in Charge role unclear
The COSS briefing then confirmed that the fast lines were open. However, witnesses did not recall specific identification of which lines were which! All signed the briefing sheet confirming their receipt and understanding of the safe system of work briefing, with the exception of two COSSs. At 0020 hours a COSS and two workers went down onto the ten-foot where the supervisor sought to access cable drums near the slow lines. The COSS then told him these were the fast lines and that the slows were on the other side. This was accepted by the supervisor. At 0030 an approaching train was reducing speed for a Primrose Hill Tunnel restriction
Forward facing CCTV image taken five seconds before the train reached the main work group as it was passing the supervisor and two staff. as the work group began placing two halves of a trolley on the up fast line. The supervisor and two workers saw it and realised it was on the same line as themselves. They shouted warnings to others who were 100m away. The others managed to remove the trolleys and get clear. The driver sounded his horn continually and applied full service braking before coming to a stand inside Primrose Hill Tunnel from where he reported the near miss to the signaller and confirmed that he was fit to continue. The RAIB bluntly states that Issue 9 of Standard 019, when the PiC was introduced, “did not make the responsibilities of the role sufficiently clear”.
Safety Central reports
Network Rail’s own Safety Central website continues to publish safety bulletins which should act as reminders to all concerned of the need for care and vigilance at all times. On November 19 a road/rail vehicle with a trailer passed over Llantrisant West level crossing without authority and without the crossing being under local control. It was travelling between an access point and the location of the works. The underlying causes identified include the late change of ES due to another ES being committed to other works within the work site, and miscommunication with the machine controller. On December 21 at Queen Street station, Glasgow, Scotland a six- tonne Wacker Neuson DW60 dumper collided with a Pelican crossing column. On the nightshift an agency
View of the access point stairs from the ten-foot.
temporary operator was transferring granular fill between the site compound and another area. The route included a ten-minute public road journey. He held a relevant construction plant safety certificate but not a driving license for travelling on a public road! On November 15 in Holgate depot in York at 1130 hours a contractor suffered burn injuries to his left forearm and right hand as a result of an 11 kV live cable strike. He required hospital treatment. He was cutting into cables that were “considered to be dead” and an agreed isolation was in place. As the report says “this was not the case”. A further safety advice on Safety Central was issued on Christmas Eve. Staff were called to Godinton substation (between Ashford and Staplehurst) to attend to a fault on December 20. A fuse had blown earlier and when a member of staff attempted to replace the two-amp, 750-volt fuse there was a flashover. The man suffered severe burns and was sent to a specialist burns unit for treatment. The Network Rail investigation is ongoing.
What are we doing wrong?
For me, the South Hampstead near miss contains salutary lessons for all involved. It would be easy to concentrate on the multiple errors in electronic document flows and authorisations etc. However, what is needed is a radical simplification of the planning process which focusses on neither “verification” or “authorisation”. It should involve, listening to and agreeing on site beforehand with the supervisor how the work will be done and setting that down in a single sheet task briefing. Drawing up and working as planned should involve the fewest number of people with responsibility delegated fully to those doing the work. From personal experience, using teams who regularly work together is a good idea in complex areas. Using workers and supervisors with sound local knowledge is both the safest and most productive way of getting jobs done. I believe we have now grown more and more complex systems and processes. By doing so we have progressively reduced the understanding of those trying to do work on track.
Photos and diagrams courtesy of RAIB / Crown Copyright & Network Rail RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF
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HEALTH+SAFETY
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
NUTRITION ON THE NETWORK COMBATING HEALTH CONCERNS THROUGH CHANGES IN DIET
REGISTERED DIETITIAN ALISON CLARK LOOKS AT SPECIFIC HEALTH ISSUES FACED BY RAIL WORKERS AND HOW DIETITIANS CAN HELP
W
ith 1.7 billion people travelling by rail each year, the health of workers should be a key focus - if not the key focus - of the industry. Research shows that healthier eating and drinking choices can help workers in transport whose jobs may involve: • High levels of concentration, in order to maintain safety standards; • Coping with working different shift patterns e.g. night shifts; • Lone working. Rail workers in particular also have to deal with: • Limited access to healthy food and drink; • Maintaining adequate hydration with sporadic access to toilets. In Australia, an evidence review was conducted by dietitians which revealed the four largest health concerns amongst rail workers include: mental health, hypertension, cholesterol, and obesity. Common consequences of these were found to be heart conditions and sleep apnoea - where sleep is interrupted as a result of breathing problems. All of these health conditions can be treated and prevented by dietetic interventions from qualified healthcare professionals, who can treat disease, prevent nutrition-related problems and flexibly promote nutritional health and wellbeing within a workplace setting using safe, practical advice based on current scientific evidence.
MENTAL HEALTH
The study also revealed that 18 per cent of train drivers and five per cent of train driver recruits were found to have psychiatric conditions, and people with mental health issues are at a higher risk of physical health problems than those who don’t. Our research shows that food can have a positive impact on stress, depression and anxiety. When it comes to mental health, dietitians can use their expert knowledge and skills to translate evidence-based practice into dietetic practice. Dietetic interventions support mental health by enhancing behaviour and lifestyle as well as someone’s body image and self-esteem as part of a collective approach. In workplace settings, dietitians can deliver evidence-based workshops and one-to-one consultations with employees, to enable workers to eat better and so better control their mood and mental health.
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HYPERTENSION In the rail worker study from Australia, 44 per cent of train drivers were found to have hypertension, which is commonly known as high blood pressure. If left untreated, the risk of heart attacks and stroke increases, as does the risk of kidney and eye damage. To help control or prevent high blood pressure, key recommendations include: • Cutting down on the amount of salt used during cooking and added to food at the dinner table; • Having at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day; • Aiming for two to three servings of whole grains such as breakfast cereals and brown pasta per day; • Choosing low-fat dairy foods which keep saturated fat to a minimum; • Eating at least one portion of oily fish per week; • Finally, the most important lifestyle factor is to be physically active.
© iStockphoto.com
CHOLESTEROL
Almost 35 per cent of train drivers and 31 per cent of train driver recruits were found to have high cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease. Blood carries cholesterol around the body on proteins known as high density lipoproteins (HDL) - or ‘good cholesterol’ - and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) - ‘bad cholesterol’. The latter can cause blood vessels to become narrowed or blocked but a change in diet can help control high cholesterol. In 2011, in partnership with a dietitian, Merseyrail created a bespoke workplace health awareness initiative for 50 workers. The scheme responded to the workforce’s expressed needs for more support around healthier eating and proved successful with the combined sickness levels of the entrants dropping from 155 days to 35 when compared to the previous year. This resulted in a £11,000 reduction in costs for the train company.
OBESITY
In a study conducted by French national operator SNCF, 2,248 members of staff out of a workforce of 7,724 were found to be overweight. Obesity can have adverse social and economic consequences, which can include lost working days. Changing a diet is the most effective way of managing obesity. With a patient-centred approach, dietitians work with patients to encourage sustained healthy changes to diet and lifestyle, supporting long-term weight management success.
EARLY DETECTION AND PREVENTION IS THE KEY
It is in the best interest of rail companies to invest in the wellbeing of their employees for the best chances of early detection, prevention which in hand results in retention. In 2018, British Dietetic Association-registered dietitian Alison Clark carried out 'MOT' health checks on 100 Network Rail employees. The health checks resulted in three urgent referrals for high blood pressure as well as a further 12 cholesterol and glucose check-ups. It is important to get the right advice and nutritional services. Dietitians are the only qualified health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems for individuals and whole workforces and they have the skills to effect positive behaviour change. © iStockphoto.com
References can be requested from the British Dietetic Association by emailing workready@bda.uk.com FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK
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EVENTS
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
RAILTEX 2019 MAY 14-16, NEC, BIRMINGHAM
EVENTS
FEBRUARY 2019
ACCELERATE: RAIL 2019
JOINT RAIL CONFERENCE
4TH ANNUAL RAIL CYBER SECURITY SUMMIT
new.marketforce.eu.com/accelerate/
event.asme.org/joint-rail-conference
19th February Amsterdam, Netherlands www.railcybersecurity.com
MIDDLE EAST RAIL 26th-27th February Dubai
www.terrapinn.com/exhibition
FIRE PROTECTION OF ROLLING STOCK 27th-28th February Berlin, Germany
www.spgmediadesign.com
MARCH 2019
RAILWAY DIVISION LUNCH
1st March Grosvenor House Hotel, London www.imeche.org/events
19th March Hilton Tower Bridge, London events/rail-conference/
RAILTECH EUROPE
26th-29th March Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Netherlands events.railtech.com/europe2019/
RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMIT 26th March Vietnam
www.railmeetings.com/accueil/ railway-infrastructure-summit-vietnam
SIFER
26th-28th March Lille, France www.sifer2019.com/english/welcome
EURASIA RAIL 10th-12th April Izmir, Turkey
www.eurasiarail.eu/Home
RAIL SOLUTIONS ASIA 10th-12th April Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.tdhrail.co.uk/rsa
YRP ANNUAL DINNER 11th April London
www.youngrailpro.com/2019dinner
MODERN ROLLING STOCK 14th-17th April Graz, Austria
www.schienenfahrzeugtagung.at/en
APRIL 2019
CP6 LAUNCH EVENT
14TH LIGHT RAIL AND STREET CAR CONFERENCE
www.millianevents.co.uk/
www.trb.org/Calendar/Blurbs/175951
14th March Hilton Hotel, Liverpool
9th-12th April Utah, USA
7th-9th April New Jersey, USA
events/1903cp6.shtml
MAY 2019 RAILTEX 2019
14th-16th May NEC, Birmingham www.railtex.co.uk/2019/english
JUNE 2019
A GUIDE TO UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AT A GLANCE
RAILWORX 2019
11th-13th June East of England Arena, Peterborough www.railworx.co.uk
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RAILWAY DIVISION ANNUAL LUNCHEON 1 MARCH 2019
Grosvenor House Park Lane, London imeche.org/railwayluncheon
Hosted by: ANDY MELLORS Chair, Railway Division Keynote speaker: ANDREW HAINES OBE Chief Executive, Network Rail
Sponsored by
Improving the world through engineering
34
INTERNATIONAL RAIL
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
TRAVELLING BY TRA
IN CHINA DAVID SHIRRES DETAILS HIS RECENT ADVENTURES IN CHINA
O
ver the past 30 years China’s economy has grown at an average of 10 per cent. Although it has recently slowed to around six per cent, it is still an economic powerhouse with most of its 1.7 billion population benefiting from rising living standards. China’s railways show this to be the case and are also one of the drivers of this economic expansion. Having only commissioned its first highspeed line in 2008, China now has a 17,000-
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mile high-speed rail network with a ridership of 1.5 billion each year. China, old and new, is a fascinating country and well worth a visit, especially for anyone with an interest in railways and for whom a train journey is essential. Yet with huge numbers of people travelling on a rail network where little English is spoken, the idea of train travel might seem intimidating. However, with advance planning, Chinese trains need not be a problem for anyone familiar with rail travel. One consequence of the country’s burgeoning middle class is a huge increase
in internal tourism. For this reason, China does not need to cater for English-speaking tourists. Whilst this is generally not a problem in the main tourist cities where metro ticket machines have an English language option, in remote areas an English-speaking guide is almost essential for those who do not understand Chinese. Although it is easy to find Chinese train times online to plan an itinerary, the Chinese Railways online booking system cannot easily be used by foreigners. Long-distance trains can be fully booked days in advance. Indeed, during national holidays, they are fully booked within hours of going on sale on the website, a month before departure. For these reasons, it is best to use an agency such as China DIY Travel to book tickets. When doing so it is essential to supply the correct passport information as this is used when tickets are collected. To avoid repeated queueing, all booked tickets can be collected at the first station of departure. However, care must be taken not to lose them as they are not e-tickets. It is not possible to fully understand the tickets without a guide such as that provided by your booking agency, as key information, such as the class of ticket, is printed in Chinese.
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AIN
Your author recently visited a railway museum and travelled on four trains whilst on holiday in China and hopes that his experience is of interest to readers.
BEIJING RAILWAY MUSEUM This museum opened in 2008 on the site of the former Zhengyangmen East railway station on the south east corner of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. This station closed in 1958 when a much larger station was opened 1.5 miles to the west. The museum is in a brand-new building and all that remains of the old station is its clock
tower and its façade which originally faced north and was reconstructed to face west. There is only one full sized locomotive, an 0-6-0 tank engine with the rest of the displays comprising models, maps, photographs, documents and displays about the development of railways in China, especially since 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was established.
day. Although the station can become crowded, passenger flow is managed by having dedicated waiting areas for different groups of platforms, The train has 100mph sleeping cars and starts its 22-hour, 1212 mile journey at 16:03. There are two types of sleeping car, a fourberth ‘soft’ sleeper in a closed compartment and ‘hard’ sleepers, which are open-plan bunks in bays of 6 that have little space for luggage. The first stop on this journey was Shijiazhuang, a city that
few Europeans have heard of, yet its 11 million population is comparable with London. The train has a restaurant car, though no menu in English or, as is quite common in China, photographs of individual dishes. One way around this problem is to point at something that someone else is eating with a gesture to indicate ‘I’ll have what he’s having’. After dawn the following day, the train follows the Yellow River Valley for a while where a new high-speed line, mainly built on viaducts, can be seen. Inside a four-berth soft sleeper.
BEIJING TO XINING The train to Xining departs from Beijing West station which opened in 1996 and is the second largest station in Asia, with 200,000 passengers each FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK
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Local train in Yellow River Valley.
At 14:16 the train arrives at Xining, a small city of two million, 7,200ft above sea level. The city’s mosque is a result of a culture dating from the old Silk Road. Xining is also the start of the 1,200-mile long railway line to Lhasa in Tibet, which opened in 2006. This line is the world’s highest and climbs to 16,640ft. All trains using this line carry doctors and have an oxygen supply for each passenger.
XINING TO ZHANGYE The 1,110-mile high-speed line between China’s far north western city of Urumqi and Lanzhou opened in 2014 and is designed for 160mph operation. As part of the line’s construction, Xining station was rebuilt to accommodate both high-speed and conventional trains. The station has an arrivals hall below the platforms and a departure floor above them. A journey from Xining to Zhangye covers 184 miles of this new high-speed route, and with one stop, takes 1 hour 55 minutes. North of Xining the line tunnels through the Qilian mountains after which at its highest point of 12,657ft (Oxygen masks not required) is the world’s highest high-speed line. The train is a 140mph CRHG, a non-tilting Chinese derivative of Alstom’s Pendolino train which entered service in 2017. These are shown in the timetables as D trains. These are those that do not exceed 140mph and have first and second-class seats, which are respectively 2 + 2 and 2 + 3 seating across the car width. Seating is almost all in airline configuration facing forward as seats are turned to face direction of travel at the end of the journey.
When the dam was completed in 2006 and when the reservoir behind it was filled, it raised the river level behind it by around 300ft. Although around 1.2 million people were displaced by the dam, it prevents downstream floods and contains one of the world’s largest green power stations with an installed capacity of 22,500 MW. The cruise passes through seven cities which have all been rebuilt above the new river level. Despite the raised river level, the gorges are still spectacular. The high-speed train between Yichang to Wuhan is a D train. The distance between the two cities is 183 miles which, with four stops, takes two hours and 45 minutes. Although this is comparable with journey times on UK mainline routes, the Chinese high-speed network provides a dedicated route offering a reliable service with a significant increase in capacity. One of the things that helps keep trains on time is that dwell times are kept to a minimum as clear signage directs passengers to the coach numbers printed on their ticket, even for those who cannot speak Chinese.
This includes marking on platforms which is only possible because of standard coach lengths and door positions. As trains can be up to 16 coaches long this is a great help for passengers with luggage, who also benefit from level, virtually gap-free train access made possible by new lines and standard trains.
WUHAN TO SHANGHAI To serve Wuhan’s population of 10.6 million, a new station for its high-speed services was opened in 2009. This has 20 through platforms. As at Xining, arriving and departing passengers are kept separate. At the time of your writer’s trip, this huge station was packed. Yet there was little congestion with dedicated waiting areas for specific platforms and arriving and departing passengers being on separate levels. Whilst looking at the tracks at the end of the station platforms from the departure floor above, your writer noted something odd, and after a while realised that this was the lack of signals as all high-speed trains have cab signalling.
YICHANG TO WUHAN Yichang is the downstream cruise terminal for three gorges cruise. This is a three-day, 380-mile cruise from China’s largest city Chongqing (population 30 million) along the Yangtze River to the Three Gorges Dam. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF
A class CRHG high-speed train at Xining station.
The train from Wuhan to Shanghai was a class CRH380BL, which is a Siemens Velaro derivative that has a maximum speed of 220mph. With six stops, this 511-mile journey took four hours with a maximum speed of 190mph. This was a G class train that can travel at up to 220mph and have fewer stops than D class trains. They also offer a business class which has 2+1 seating with airline business class pod seating that can be made into a bed. At one stage, Caledonian Sleeper was considering the use of such seats for their new sleeper trains but this was ruled out as the impact from a crash might drive passengers’ heads into the seats and break their necks. This is not an issue with Chinese trains as, with seats always facing the direction of travel, in such situations the passenger’s feet would first contact the seat. With its huge population, it is not surprising that China does things on a huge scale. In ancient times this was evident from the
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Wuhan station.
large Forbidden City in Beijing and the thousands of miles of the Great Wall of China. Today the expansion of China’s cities is all too evident. China’s railways are part of this expansion and show what railways can be like when money is apparently no object. The result
Reading material on Chinese trains is the People’s Railway Daily which highlights the achievements of the country’s railways. is fast, reliable high-speed trains with in-cab signalling and stepfree access from busy stations designed to accommodate large passenger flows. In Britain, new trains, infrastructure and station
enhancements are providing some of these benefits. However, UK passengers will only experience what China offers when the new purposebuilt route provided by the HS2 network opens in 2026.
The Siemens Velaro derivative class CRH380BL high-speed train arriving at Wuhan.
Business class seating in G class trains.
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COMPANY FOCUS
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
SUP P
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TED BY OR
IMPROVING SAFETY THROUGH
DIGITISATION
HOW 3SQUARED'S SUITE OF SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS IS DRIVING INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENTS
D
igitisation is transforming Britain’s railways. If implemented correctly, it has the potential to bring huge benefits and efficiency to operators in key areas such as engineering and operations, which can lead to increased capacity, improved reliability and better customer service. Digital transformation is also enabling more efficient ways to manage issues such as rolling stock maintenance, staff competencies, signalling, rostering and - the most important of them all - safety.
REAPING THE BENEFITS
James Fox is the commercial director of Sheffield-based technology consultancy 3Squared, a company at the heart of this digital transformation. According to James, the industry is beginning to reap the benefits of a digitally transformed railway and safety is a major beneficiary. “We all know that safety is paramount within rail,” said James. “Having worked in the rail sector for seven years, 3Squared understands that having access to the right information at the right time is key to making the right decisions to manage risk effectively.” There are many things that can affect safety and when it comes to managing these, it's important to strike the right balance between
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information overload and no information at all, especially during disruptions. 3Squared manages this for several train operators by providing its Hub, Docs and Forms applications to disseminate the latest information to the right people at the right time. These programmes also provide alerts and read receipts on safety-critical documentation to ensure a full audit trail for compliance. Team members can concentrate on what they need to know with 3Squared’s Hub software, they can respond to urgent notices, view roster details and even book on or off shifts. Hub is described as the employee noticeboard for the 21st century, tailored for individuals to ensure an organisation is well informed on safety matters.
COMPETENCY
Paper-based systems have been with the railways since they were first created. In the days before electronic records, huge paper files would be built up on individuals, files that may well gather dust instead of providing useful information for managers to act upon. When it comes to competency management, focusing on the right people is, therefore, another challenge for organisations. 3Squared has worked closely with operators over many years to build its flagship Employee Development System (EDS) to assist with this. RailSmart EDS was initially designed in 2014 by 3Squared in collaboration with East Midlands Trains (EMT) as a digital record of
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SUPPORTING BOMBARDIER drivers’ competency assessments. It is a web-based app that provides a centralised overview of an employee’s competency data. This information is available through mobile devices, meaning managers can access the data in real-time, while working on site or remotely. This cuts down on the administrative and logistical burdens of having to update or access physical competency documents, giving managers more time to support and develop their employees. Targeted training and in-line management can be directed at those with lower competencies, reducing the risk of safety incidents. Additionally, EDS provides a verification function, helping to drive up standards for assessors by giving feedback on each of their assessments. An intuitive tablet application makes the whole assessment process easier and more reliable while the cloud-based records can provide an accurate audit trail should an investigation be deemed necessary. It has swiftly become an established part of competency management for companies such as EMT, ScotRail, Bombardier and GB Railfreight. EDS has been a step change in the
way employee information is managed and updated. As well as meeting the principles of RSSB's RS100 good practice guide and the ORR's RSP1 guidance, the recently launched state-of-the-art EDS 2.0 encompasses support plans, medical information, management reporting, European train driver licence application details, employee incidents, safety briefs, ‘time with manager’ meetings and learning resources. It also facilitates automatic reporting for periodic KPIs. Profiles are available to review 24/7 for anyone with appropriate access rights and the online verification tool helps to drive up standards of the assessor teams as well. The success and popularity of EDS meant 3Squared had to consider a step change in approach to infrastructure, investing in new functionality to ensure its performance and its ability to accommodate more operational functions and new users. James added: "There is nothing else like it on the market. The advancements provided by this investment continues to improve efficiency and safety. "To date, EDS has recorded over 343,000 assessments and facilitated nearly 5,000 support plans, doing away with paper-based assessments. "The next step for EDS is to look at how we can improve integration with other products in our RailSmart suite so information can be shared quickly, bringing gains in operational efficiency."
Another 3Squared customer, Bombardier Transportation, said they have seen "fantastic" safety benefits following the adoption of EDS. Managing the competencies of 2,000 UK employees and contractors spread over 28 depots using paper-based systems was a management challenge the company was determined to meet and overcome. John Hickling, learning development manager at Bombardier, said: "Maintaining 2,000 spreadsheets was taking a huge amount of management time. "The adoption of a digital strategy was the obvious solution to the competency management issue throughout Bombardier." The flexible EDS software allowed Bombardier to configure it to do what the business wanted it to do. In terms of results, Bombardier has seen up to 75 per cent reductions in the time it takes to assess an individual from beginning to end. Bigger savings are being achieved when doing multiple assessments. Importantly, the new system is identifying the people who need support for a specific need, allowing supervisors and managers to positively manage an individual’s requirements. Auditor feedback was glowing when Bombardier’s managers were at a depot during an external audit. The auditors, having chosen five people at random from the shop floor, took their names, established their roles and asked to view the individual competencies. These were duly supplied achieving 100 per cent. Similar results have been recorded by other 3Squared customers Through its various digital applications, 3Squared is enhancing the effectiveness of railway managers, the competence and confidence of our front line staff and, in doing so, playing a big role in maintaining the safe performance of Britain’s railway.
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COMPANY FOCUS
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
HOW TO PROCURE
SUP P
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TED BY OR
INNOVATION
STUART CAIRNS, CLAIRE GAMAGE & CHRIS MURRAY, OF LAW FIRM BIRD & BIRD, ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC SECTOR TO BE BOLD TO BOOST INNOVATION
G
overnment is regularly criticised for not doing enough to encourage innovation when procuring contracts. Often the procurement rules get the blame as being bureaucratic and cumbersome and a barrier to encouraging new solutions. We think this criticism is unfair and indeed we believe that the public sector could be bolder in the way it approaches procurement to ensure that innovation can be introduced across a wide range of government services.
WHAT ARE THE RULES?
Public authorities are required to follow procurement rules when awarding contracts above a certain financial threshold. These rules, principally contained in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR), aim to ensure that procurement markets across the EU are opened up to competition which is transparent, non-discriminatory and affords equal treatment to all bidders irrespective of where they are established. The risks of getting procurement wrong can be severe, with highprofile court proceedings and substantial damages payments being made. It is therefore fair to say that some authorities take an overly cautious approach to compliance, using the rules as a reason for rejecting more innovative proposals.
HOW CAN THE RULES ENCOURAGE INNOVATION? There are a number of ways that government can achieve innovation through the procurement rules. We've highlighted three specific examples which are all expressly provided for in the law.
EARLY MARKET ENGAGEMENT This is not new. Practitioners have long advocated the use of early engagement, particularly where the requirement is unknown or the market is untested. However, before the introduction of the PCR, this was not officially sanctioned by law. That has changed, and it's clear that many more authorities are using this type of interaction to shape procurement exercises. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF
That said, it doesn't yet appear that there is adequate and sufficiently targeted engagement aimed at encouraging innovative solutions to important problems. In many instances, early market consultations are used as a tick-box exercise allowing the authority to justify internally that its process was robust, despite the fact that the authority has more often than not pre-judged the outcome. This is unfortunate, but can be easily changed with focus and preparation. Authorities should consult with the market much earlier in the process allowing time to genuinely consider the feedback received so that this can be built into the subsequent procurement.
Bird & Bird recently hosted the Rail Procurement Roadshow in London.
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
ENCOURAGING GREATER COLLABORATION
Innovation is normally best delivered by new market entrants – startups and disrupters – who don't already have experience of working with the public sector. These organisations struggle to respond to complex and lengthy invitations to tenders and requests for proposals and may not even be able to comply with the experience and financial standing criteria to get to the tender stage in the first place. The procurement rules specifically permit group submissions and offer authorities flexibility to accommodate collaborative arrangements. As such, authorities can craft their selection questionnaires to make it clear that multi-party bidders would be welcome, particularly where members of a consortium are SMEs.
USE OF MORE FLEXIBLE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES, INCLUDING INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS The PCRs set out five procurement procedures which an authority is permitted to use. Regrettably, some authorities, as a matter of policy, refuse to use anything other than the simplest 'open' and 'restricted' procedures. These are heavily compliance-driven and give next to no flexibility to an authority looking to do things differently. 'Competitive dialogue' and 'competitive procedure with negotiation', as their names suggest, allow parties to discuss aspects
of the procurement, including the technical requirements, proposed financial make-up of the arrangement and contractual provisions. Given that authorities can't describe what they don't know exists, innovation can only really be delivered through one of these more flexible procedures. The public sector should become more comfortable in using them to allow a meaningful discussion with bidders to take place on what their "requirement" actually is and what potential solutions might be available. But the clearest invitation yet to the public sector that innovation should be encouraged through the procurement rules was the introduction of 'innovation partnerships' ("IP") in the PCR. IP offers even greater flexibility to procuring authorities and sets up a procedural framework within which innovative solutions can be researched, developed, prototyped and rolled out all within a single procurement process. IP allows authorities to shortlist a number of potential partners (including on the basis of any research and development-specific experience), engage in negotiations with those potential partners to identify the organisations with the best potential solutions and then the authority can enter into one or more IPs. Once the parties are in contract, the IP can be staged and the authority can agree to remunerate each partner for each stage in the process. The added advantage to the public sector
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of IP is that the authority may be able to share the commercial benefits of any new product/ service which is developed. Obviously, this would be subject to negotiation between the partners, but the process could see the greater commercialisation of the public sector with government reaping financial rewards if the solution turns out to be a success. The UK was the first EU member state to introduce this new procurement procedure back in February 2015; however, since then only 14 such procurements have been undertaken in the UK. This may be down to the fact that the process itself is still relatively unknown with little legal and practical guidance on its use, but given the procedure's obvious advantages that ought not to get in the way of bold authorities seeking to deliver innovation in an ever-changing world.
CONCLUSION Public sector procurement on the whole is certainly better than the negative press attention that it sometimes attracts; but more can be done to encourage innovation and help new entrants access public markets. Some of the suggestions in this article are quick wins (e.g. encouraging collaboration at the selection stage) whilst others will take greater commitment both politically and from a resource perspective. However, there is real merit in using these legal techniques to drive an innovation agenda and bring public procurement into a truly modern age. FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK
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YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
S L A N IO S S E F O R P IL YOUNGTDROAW N TO T H E CO U N
AND BLACK TIE DINNER
AWARDS
ANDY ROBERTS, SENIOR ENGINEER, SNC-LAVALIN MENTOR OF THE YEAR
What did winning the award mean to you?
Being nominated for Mentor of the Year was without a doubt a professional highlight of my career. In a delivery focused engineering environment it is all too easy to focus on project delivery at the expense of the development of others. I can still remember the individuals in my early career who stood out to me as being prepared to take time out of their job to help develop and support me. To know that I made a difference to somebody else’s career development means far more than any corporate recognition and helps instil a message that development of the next generation is of paramount importance.
Has winning this award had an impact on your career? Receiving the award helped remind me where my strengths and my passions sit. I would also like to think that it has offered some inspiration to colleagues and made them realise that the role of mentoring is appreciated by the industry and the developing engineer alike. The award serves as a daily reminder to me that it is worth standing up for strong values and championing the cause of the upand-coming engineers, even when those opinions are not necessarily going to be popular. The award has allowed me to set myself my own SMART target of working towards a position which is learning and development focused.
WITH THE BIGGEST EVENT IN Y AROUND THE CORNER, WINNE CEREMONY TALK ABOUT RECO DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT THE What have you been up to since winning your award? My work this year has centred on supporting the introduction of three new fleets of trains into the UK market. It has been particularly satisfying to disseminate my own knowledge and to see a gradual shift in autonomy and responsibility to other members of the team. Similarly, having supported manufacturers who are less familiar with the UK market has allowed me to not just support them in their initial problem but also educate and elaborate to allow greater autonomy moving forward. It’s been a busy year!
What are your words of wisdom for this year’s nominees?
The YRP awards represents the rail industry at its best and shows the cross working between organisations coming to the fore. Embrace that culture, return to your workplace with that positivity and use it to drive your teams to fulfil their potential. There are many challenging days in this industry and often you will feel that you have let somebody down. However, if you can leave the office thinking that you made somebody’s day that little bit better then the positivity and proactive attitude that the rail industry is renowned for will continue to bring about the great results we are all rightly proud of and ensure the next generation is ready to carry on that great work. ZAK SHAYLER, PROJECT MANAGER, TRANSPORT FOR LONDON YRP OF THE YEAR
What did winning the award mean to you?
Zak Shayler. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAIL_STAFF | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF
To be nominated for the award demonstrates that your peers recognise the hard work that you do. Often you can be your own biggest critic but receiving such incredible feedback by way of a nomination makes all the extra curricular activities worthwhile. It's not disputed that we are employed to do our jobs but we grow fond of what we do, and often become a bit of a geek! To have been nominated for the hard work and commitment to future generations means a lot to me on a personal level. It drives me on and makes me want to continue to go above and beyond. To win when I was up against other fantastic candidates is a real honour.
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YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS
YRP'S CALENDAR ONLY ERS FROM THE 2018 OGNITION, CAREER EY'VE BEEN UP TO SINCE
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© Stephen Hartley
Has winning this award had an impact on your career?
YRP speaks at Brussels conference
At the awards night I had been in my role as an assistant project manager less than six months. The desire to succeed was and still is present. I was part of a fantastic project team that delivered the first step free station as part of the current programme. The work demonstrated my ability to deliver and enabled me to achieve a promotion. I am now a project manager on the Four Lines Modernisation programme. Signalling is an entirely new world but it is a challenge I am relishing - 2019 is going to be very busy!
On November 15, YRP vice chair Mohanad Ismail and YRP advisory board member Paul Case attended the PRIME13 (Platform of Rail Infrastructure Managers in Europe) Conference hosted by the European Commission in Brussels. PRIME was established at the end of 2013 with the objective to improve the cooperation of rail infrastructure managers across borders, support implementation of European rail policy and develop performance benchmarking for the exchange of best practices. It is an informal forum, but is a forerunner of the formal network of the rail infrastructure managers as proposed in the 4th Railway Package. Recognising YRP’s training and development model at the European stage, Mohanad Ismail & Paul Case were invited to the conference on behalf of YRP to present and showcase the model, highlighting how other European countries can adopt the model to help them to address their skills and diversity shortages. Overall the YRP’s vision was well received by other European states and conference attendees and they were commended for their efforts in the work they do for the rail industry in the UK.
What have you been up to since winning your award? Since the awards I have been elected as chair of the Transport for London Graduate and Apprentice Alumni Staff Network Group. The commitment to retaining talent and ensuring we develop once we leave a structured scheme is very important. Employers invest huge amounts of time and money into upskilling its workforce and even if individuals decide to move on for professional or personal reasons, retaining our networks is vital. Networks allow us to call on support, share best practice and develop as professionals. Our work in 2019 will branch out into helping TfL ensure that we attract the best talent, and demonstrate leadership and innovation to deliver affordability in extremely testing financial circumstances.
What are your words of wisdom for this year’s nominees?
Winning isn't the be all and end all. To be nominated and then shortlisted shows that your peers, managers and friends recognise just how much hard work you put into what you do. If you are lucky enough to win then make sure you go and meet people to discuss your work to date, what you plan to do for the future and really develop your professional networks. Relish it as well, because in 12 months time someone else will have won! Nominations for the 2019 YRP Awards are open until February 15. To submit your entries for YRP of the Year, Apprentice of the Year or Mentor of the Year, head to: www.youngrailpro.com/awards2019 FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK
CAREERS
RAILSTAFF JAN/FEB 2019
MY LIFE
IN RAIL
SUP P
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TED BY OR
BAKERHICKS’ PROJECT MANAGER MICHELE SWAN ON HER UNUSUAL PATH INTO THE INDUSTRY, STATION RENEWALS AND A LOVE OF BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTIONS
I
n Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, the fruits of a rail renaissance are obvious. As well as being home to one of the country’s longest rail terminals at the DP World London Gateway, the town’s one-hour connections into central London have attracted a growing population of commuters. In 1997/98, the station handled a total of 663,441 passengers. By 2017/18, that figure had soared to 1,109,214. Such is the size of that continued predicted growth that a multimillion-pound scheme to redevelop the station is underway. “There’s a lot of development in the area and an increasing number of people working there too,” explained Michele Swan, project manager for the lead designer, BakerHicks. “So the station is being brought up to modern standards in line with the forecast passenger growth.”
AN UNCONVENTIONAL PATH
Much like the railway will for Stanford-le-Hope, Michele, an Aussie expat who fell into a career in rail, plays a key role in the future plans of BakerHicks' rail division. Her path into the industry began during the recession in 2010, when redundancy triggered the commerce graduate to leave her hometown of Perth, Western Australia, and move to London. Originally, she wanted to find employment in marketing and public relations - her major at Curtin University. However, during what was intended to be a temporary role, as an admin support worker on the London Blackfriars station redevelopment project, she developed a keen interest in engineering. “It was such an exciting environment to be in,” said Michele, who was working for Balfour Beatty at the time. "A lot of intense pressure at times, trying to hit deadlines and also because of the sheer complexity of building a programme of work that big and hitting possession dates. That’s what made me change my professional direction.” Almost a decade later she has no regrets. "I didn’t think it was particularly glamorous at the start but it’s one of those things that becomes almost an embarrassing addiction," she added.
BUILDING BRIDGES Large-scale station development projects such as the one at Stanfordle-Hope, for which she was primarily recruited back in 2017, contain the level of engineering challenge that motivates Michele. With many elements and structures ranging from new station buildings to lifts and footbridges to account for, managing this process is a task she relishes. But there is one particular structure that Michele enjoys working with above all – bridges.
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Michelle enjoys the complexity of bridge reconstructions and renewals.
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“I really love doing bridge reconstructions and bridge renewals. The scale of the projects and the complexity can be really interesting,” she explained. "One of my favourite projects that I've worked on was the reconstruction of two bridges in Bournemouth. There was an 11-day possession over Christmas where both of the bridges were replaced and refurbished and it was really intensive planning for 18 months in the run up to the possession. I worked on site every day of the possession over Christmas, which being the middle of winter was quite dreary and soul destroying in some ways but in other ways it was very exciting and intense. "I do have a real soft spot for bridges. Maybe it's to do with starting off on Blackfriars on the bridge package there."
FIRE IN HER BELLY Michele's work on Stanford-le-Hope may not yet have finished but she already has one eye set firmly on future work with Network Rail and London Underground. “CP6 is going to be really interesting," she said. "We’re bidding for a lot of the frameworks that are out at the moment and I’m taking on a lead role in the bid management side. I’ve noticed that, in a lot of the tenders, there is a big focus on sustainability, which is important to focus on over the next few decades with climate change, flood resilience, all that kind of thing." Back in 2017, it was this same ambition that Michele saw in BakerHicks' rail team that attracted her to the business. After spending five years sharpening her skills as a scheme project manager on Network Rail's Wessex route, developing competencies in the development of bridge, station and p-way schemes, Michele was looking for a change. "I wanted to go to the consultancy side of things, to get some more hands-on experience and expand my skillset," said Michele. "With design - the development side of a rail project - that’s where you can really make the most difference in terms of delivery. Construction is quite thrilling and exciting but it’s the work that you do on the development side that can make all the difference." After spending time in India and Nepal volunteering with non-governmental organisations, Michele had a short spell at AECOM before she applied to join BakerHicks. She added: "When I had my interview with the rail director James Howles, who was new to BakerHicks, he was very much about growing the sector. James wanted to really try to drum up business and I wanted to use my background in understanding what Network Rail wants to see if I could apply it on the other side to deliver a really good service.” Being under the mentorship of James, as well as his colleague Iain Court, rail strategy director, Michele has benefited greatly, particularly surrounding their experience in business development, account management and strategy - and is excited at the possibilities ahead. She said: "I’ve had a lot of line managers across the years but I definitely feel this is probably the first job I’ve ever had where there's been a big focus on my own personal development and looking forward five or 10 years into the future. “I’d like to move towards an account managementtype role. If we are awarded CP6 frameworks, that’d be an interesting bank of work for the next five years."
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A LONDON UNDERGROUND MANAGER IS SPEARHEADING A PROJECT THAT COULD ALLOW DOZENS OF ASPIRING TRAIN OPERATORS TO FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS
L-R: Fellow trialists Ade Adekoya and Ahmed Mohamed alongside Joe Brown, Alex Bulley and Michael Cleary, whose son Liam is the fourth triallist.
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CHALLENGING THE
STATUS QUO
W
hen customer service assistant Alex Bulley successfully applied to become a London Underground train operator, it was a dream come true. For years the economics graduate visualised himself sat behind the controls of the iconic Tube trains, spurred on by his older brother Adrian, a fellow train operator, who’d invited Alex in for a memorable cab ride when he was younger. However, the celebrations were cut short by an unexpected finding. For his entire life, Alex had gone about his business unaware he’s red-green colour blind, which meant he failed to meet the company’s colour vision standard during a medical assessment. “I was devastated,” said Alex, who joined Transport for London (TfL) after graduating from Swansea University in 2014. “My heart was set on having a long career with TfL. To be told you are assigned to the gate line because of track and platform restrictions was devastating. You envisage a long and successful career and then you are basically stuck at step one.” While colour perception wouldn’t be a concern for some job roles, in others it could be a matter of life or death. At TfL, the colour vision standard applies to all staff who need to be able to accurately read the colours of lights for safety reasons, so track workers and staff who have to read signals at stations and in depots - as well as train operators. For Alex, grass had always been green and blood had always been red but a deficiency was picked up during a routine Ishihara test, instantly putting the brakes on his application.
UNDETERRED Determined to achieve his goal, Alex didn’t quit there. After conducting some thorough research, he discovered that on lines that use automatic train operation (ATO), drivers do not have to distinguish between red and
green, so he had a message passed onto his brother’s line manager Joe Brown asking if there was anything he could do to help. “It immediately struck me as being quite unfair,” said Joe, a train operations manager who joined TfL as a guard in 1997. “It absolutely makes sense, you would want your drivers to be able to tell red from green when they’re driving on a conventional railway and reading red and green signals but it had never really been adapted or updated to accommodate automatic lines.” Currently there are three other London Underground lines that use ATO: Central, Victoria and Northern. The Four Lines Modernisation project, which started in 2017, is transforming the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. All of these will use ATO by 2023. Seizing the opportunity to challenge the status quo, Joe picked up the cause, meeting with the company’s occupational health department, health and safety and industrial representatives and staff from operations standards. Following a series of long meetings, and after piecing together a detailed risk assessment that looked at such aspects as the colour of buttons in the driver’s cab, a trial scheme on the Jubilee line, where Joe works, was given the go ahead by Underground bosses in February 2018.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT During that period around a dozen staff came forward, members who had either applied and been rejected based on the colour vision standard or had their train operating licence removed after they had started to fail it. Together, four train operators started on the trial – beginning with Alex, who was finally able to realise his dream. The drivers are continuously monitored and every three months the drivers are sat down for a review. So far no major issues have arisen, according to Joe, who is keenly awaiting the full assessment in February when Alex becomes the first of the group to finish the one-year trial.
END GAME
Joe said: “The plan is to make this a permanent change. So you can extrapolate that across all the future members of staff who wouldn’t be able to do the job but now will be. It will potentially benefit hundreds, if not thousands, of people. “I would like to think that, by the end of 2019, we will be starting to advertise for train operators and be able to not exclude people if they’re red-green colour blind.” He added: “There are quite a few standards that we adhere to that are clearly there for all the right reasons in the first place, for the sake of safety, but I think it’s good to question whether they’re still relevant as the railway evolves. This may well open the door to looking at other standards. It could be the start of something and I’m proud of that.”
COLOUR BLINDNESS Colour blindness, also known as colour vision deficiency, is when a person finds it difficult to identify and distinguish between certain colours. Most people have difficulty distinguishing between shades of red, yellow and green – “red-green” colour vision deficiency. In rare cases, some people have trouble with blues, greens and yellows instead, known as “blue-yellow” colour vision deficiency. Around eight per cent of men and 0.5 per cent of women are affected. It is usually hereditary and present from birth although sometimes it can be developed later in life through underlying health problems. Total colour blindness is very rare, and while there is no cure to colour vision deficiency, most people are able to adapt. Information courtesy of the NHS. FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAIL_STAFF | RAILSTAFF.UK
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Driver Managers & Area Driver Manager West Midlands & Bletchley
As part of the wider Abellio Group, West Midlands Trains Ltd, operates as a joint venture - West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, delivering 1,300 safe and reliable services per day for more than 60 million passengers per year. Since the start of our nine-year franchise in 2017 we have been committed to improving our services, investing a whopping £1 billion into the region’s network and £18 million in the development of all our workforce. At the heart of our business are our Train Drivers and with exciting plans of new and additional services, more carriages and brandnew trains, it is important we ensure we have a strong management team leading from the front. To help continue with delivering our goals we are seeking Driver Managers and an Area Driver Manager within the West Midlands and Bletchley area.
With services from Liverpool to London and everywhere in-between, we are a national operator with a real focus on our local communities and people. With our crosscity and inter-city services, we have a unique potential to forge rewarding connections with our customers and each other. Help us to achieve our ambitions and you’ll enjoy great rewards too - from a competitive salary, a defined benefit pension scheme, free travel on West Midlands Trains and Abellio services for you, your partner and dependant children and 75% discount on all other train travel over most of the UK rail network.
If you are an existing qualified train driver looking for the next step in your career with the ability to assess driving competence, update route risk, safety information and develop training, or a talented leader now looking to mentor, develop and inspire exceptional performance from our Driver Managers, we would like to hear from you. To find out more and apply visit our careers site at https://apply.abellio.com/ or contact recruitment@wmtrains.co.uk
DELIVERING QUALITY RECRUITMENT SOLUTIONS FOR THE RAIL INDUSTRY A/C Engineer Location: Leeds Salary: £34,000 pa Type: Permanent Must hold a current FGAS certification/City and Guilds qualification, covering a small portfolio of clients and providing PPM, reactive maintenance and statutory compliance. Van, tools and a phone supplied.
+44 (0)1483 361061
Supervisor Location: South Yorkshire Salary: £200 per day Type: Contract Experienced P-way supervisor to be based on a leading project, working for a major contractor, on a freelance basis across the North and South.
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Site Agent Location: Peterborough Salary: £400 per day Type: Contract As a Skilled Labourer with a valid ICI and CSCS card, you will be required to perform your own duties and supervise semi-skilled and unskilled workers. You will be required to assist with the various trades on a work site.
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AT MURPHY, WE LEAD. Site Management Nationwide - Contracts including: East & West Coast, Trans Pennine Upgrade, Birmingham to London, HS2, East West connection (Cambridge & Oxford) and framework agreements such as CP6 Rail projects are like the trains themselves. To keep moving, they need constant input of positive actions. They need to be driven from the front, hands-on. This is where you can make a real difference as part of our Site Management team. We are building on our reputation for delivering world-class infrastructure. As we expand our Transportation business through additional contract wins, we aim to cement our position as an end-to-end service provider to the transportation sector: one family, one team, one Murphy. Now, with a diverse range of rail contracts underway – and many more in the pipeline – we are looking for an equally diverse range of hands-on Site Managers to join us in planning and delivering small and medium projects throughout the UK. As well as Site Manager opportunities throughout the UK, we would also be interested in hearing from competent Project Managers, Construction Managers and those with General Foreman experience in the Rail industry. In each case the role will demand strong site experience to address a constant flow of civil/structural engineering challenges, with involvement in everything from Earthworks
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and Drainage schemes, construction of stations, new build substations, power upgrades and installing bridges. You can also expect a steady flow of fresh opportunities to develop your expertise and build your career, including the potential to progress to Project Manager or Construction Manager. Qualified at least to HNC in Civil Engineering, or with a degree in Civil Engineering/Construction Management, you should have amassed the knowledge to attain Chartered level of ICE or be working towards APM (we will always provide support to achieve professional status). You will certainly be an accomplished, inspirational line manager and should have an extensive background in site/contract management. Rail industry experience is preferred, but if you can demonstrate a depth of knowledge in the broader construction industry, and have a desire to move into rail, then we would welcome your application. To apply, please visit www.murphygroup.com/careers and search using the following reference numbers. Roles in the North of the UK: 13320. Roles in the South of the UK: 13430.
Your Future Starts Here
E&P | OLE | Civils | Permanent Way | Telecoms | Signalling Project Management | Engineering Management | CAD/BIM Here at AECOM, we work on some of the largest and most exciting Rail projects in the UK, Ireland and around the world. We are looking for talented people currently working in any of the disciplines listed above to join our rapidly growing teams. Throughout February we are holding open days where you will get a chance to meet members of our Rail team, hear about some of our current projects and discuss career opportunities.
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19 Glasgow 26 Birmingham
If you are interested in learning more, please visit aecom.jobs and search for ‘Open day’ posts where you can apply to register your interest. Or alternatively contact a member of our Talent Acquisition team at talentacquisition.uki@ aecom.com or just come along for a chat
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