RailStaff March 2016 by Rail Media

MARCH 2016 | ISSUE 220

RAIL BIM

SUMMIT WHERE BIM MEETS RAIL

PLUS NEWS FEATURES HEALTH AND SAFETY EVENTS GEAR+TECH INTERVIEWS TRAINING CAREERS

FROM DEFENCE

TO ATTACK ANDY MILNE TALKS TO NETWORK RAIL'S CHIEF ENGINEER JANE SIMPSON

RAILSTAFF.UK

SAFETY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR BUSINESS We support and implement the McGinley life saving rules in a fair culture For information please call: 0845

543 5953 or visit: www.mcginley.co.uk Proud Sponsors of Watford Ladies FC

@StobartRailLtd stobartrail

PERMANENT WAY Stobart Rail’s Permanent Way capability has evolved from

This evolution was brought about as a consequence of

reconstructions to the precise installation of ﬁxed track

not only the civils elements that we historically provided,

the removal and reinstatement of track during underbridge systems.

providing clients with an end-to-end service capability for but the introduction of P-Way competence using the same multi-skilled workforce, thus providing a leaner more cost

THINK SAFETY,

ACT SAFELY

eﬀective solution.

New Contracts

Permanent Way Services

Recently the business has moved into large scale track renewal and maintenance, winning contracts for Network Rail directly on electrification, partnering with BAM Nuttall on the Highlands Enhancements Programme, the track lowering on another electrification scheme, Gospel Oak to Barking for Murphy and also carrying out track maintenance in the Far North supported from new offices in Inverness.

• •

Track renewal: Plain line and S & C renewal

•

Track replacement: Removal and replacement of life-expired track and to facilitate structure renewal work

Slab Track Systems

•

Stobart Rail has installed various diﬀerent types of track slab systems including single and double bore tunnels. There has also been new installations on the West Coast Mainline, the North London Line and, more recently, in Chorley tunnel on the Manchester Airport link. Additionally the company has undertaken works to remove and replace life expired concrete slab track formation, installing new reinforced concrete slab and Permanent Way infrastructure in its place (Merseyrail).

•

• • •

Track maintenance: Maintenance of all diﬀerent types of track systems

Keith Winnery Rail Director e. keith.winnery@stobartrail.com Andrew Sumner Contracts Director e. andrew.sumner@stobartrail.com Stobart Rail Head Oﬃce t. 01228 882 300

Slab track systems: Construction and maintenance of ﬁxed track and slab track systems Associated Permanent Way installation: Installation and maintenance of sidings and depots S & C and plain line re-ballasting: Large scale re-ballasting works using specialist plant and equipment Track lowering, gauging and realignment Specialist non-intrusive plant Longitudinal timber replacement (includes remove and replace with alternate solution as required)

stobartrail.com

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CONTENTS MARCH 2016 | ISSUE 219

THE LEGEND CONTINUES | 24 Restoration complete, Flying Scotsman made its inaugural run from London to York in February.

RAIL BIM SUMMIT | 26 Chris Parker’s highlights from Rail Media’s second Rail BIM Summit.

PAPER, PAPER EVERYWHERE | 30

Colin Wheeler returns for his monthly track safety update.

FROM DEFENCE TO ATTACK | 34 Andy Milne talks to Network Rail’s chief engineer, Jane Simpson, about her career in rail.

GEAR+TECH | 46 Arco’s new range of PPE aims to finally address the issue of ill-fitting safety clothing for women.

T H G I P OT L

nsition

tra | 54 ing to improve the N IO IT look TRANS dustry. pany is LOST INrecruitment com yees in the rail in e plo How on new em nce for ie r e p x e

HIGH SPEED SKILLS | 58 John Evans, chief executive of the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR), talks to Marc Johnson about his aspirations for HS2 and beyond.

This month’s front page features Jane Simpson who is Network Rail's Chief Engineer.

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

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Speak to yourself

Paul O’Connor

Editor:

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Senior Reporter:

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The extraordinary rise of Donald Trump, now on course to secure the Republican party nomination for the US presidential election this November, illustrates the growing resurgence of popular democracy. The same can be said of Jeremy Corbyn’s accession to the leadership of the Labour Party. Written off as a joke candidacy, Corbyn swelled party membership and seized power much to the horrified consternation of the establishment. Popular uprising takes no notice of traditional left-right polarities. In Greece left wing radicals, Syriza, seized power. In Germany, Alternative fur Deutschland reacts to the unprecedented level of immigration. Even one-time comedian Beppo Grillo’s Five Star Party pushed back against the establishment in Italy - winning over 100 seats. A comedian running a political party? The late Bob Monkhouse once said: Everyone laughed when I said I was going to be a top comedian. Monkhouse would pause and then add: They’re not laughing now. Europe and America’s political establishment is not laughing either. Their ability to engineer politics is crumbling fast. At the heart of this phenomenon is the growing realisation - as if this was anything new - that the world does not operate for the good of most men and women. The target ultimately is the economic-industrial system that has comprehensively let down so many. People have had enough of big business, of banks that offer easy loans to the gullible and phone companies that cannot co-

Speak freely. Think the unthinkable! Freedom is everyone’s responsibility. operate in ending an account. Capitalism has been shown to be irresponsible. Equally the soft-left with its absurd political correctness is making debate and endeavour - even rugby - risk averse. Democracy is often described as a oneperson, one-vote system. In fact the word comes from the Greek, demos (people) and kratia (power). For real power to pass to real people voters need to be more daring, better educated. Too much of popular discourse is set by the media. Schools are shackled with fashionable prejudice. Many universities sport secure zones where students need never feel the distress of challenging intellectual rigour. Yet there has never been a better time, thanks to the internet, to question the halfbaked decisions that govern our fate. Speak freely. Think the unthinkable! Freedom is everyone’s responsibility. Spring is a good time to tackle the discredited nostrums of our time - the original Easter marks the most alarming popular uprising of all time. andy@rail-media.com

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A river runs through it In another triumph for the Orange Army, the Conwy Valley line, severely damaged by flooding in late December, reopened a full week ahead of schedule in February. Ballast was washed away and the line submerged by floodwater. Engineers from Network Rail and local contractor Alun Griffiths Ltd were out in force conducting repairs at over 100 separate locations between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Over 1,200 tonnes of stone, washed out by the flooding, has been restored, bridges repaired, embankments secured and signalling cable replaced. Francis McGarry, Network Rail delivery director, thanked staff for the great effort made. ‘The scene that greeted us just after Christmas was incredible. Parts of the line were still underwater and where the water had receded it had taken much of the track-bed with it,’ says McGarry. ‘We started working immediately and put in place a programme to reopen by the end of February. It’s thanks

to the amazing effort from all involved, working incredibly hard through challenging weather conditions, that we’ve been able to reopen the line for passengers ahead of schedule.’ The line was originally completed by the London North Western Railway in 1879 and was built to service local slate quarries. The 27-mile long railway runs alongside one of the great rivers of Wales, the Conwy and continues along the banks of the turbulent river Lledr after its confluence with the Conwy at Betws-y-Coed. The line is supported by a Community Rail Partnership.

Cameron backs Cotswold case Prime Minister David Cameron has backed efforts by Great Western Railway to unite local businesses and authorities in support of the North Cotswold Line. Taking a welcome break from his recent renegotiations in Europe, the MP for Witney, where the meeting was held, backed the idea. ‘I hope that this event has given the rallying cry to join together with a shared vision and as a single voice for the North Cotswolds Line,’ said Cameron. ‘Let’s keep up this momentum and build on it – ask your friends, family and everyone in your network to get involved and let’s come up with the strongest business case in the

country. The challenge has been set.’ GWR needs a strong business case to secure funding to boost infrastructure and double the line beyond Evesham. The aim is to improve the railway between Hereford and London. A new station, Worcestershire Parkway, is planned. The line was run down in the 1970s but has since been largely doubled - and local people want more.

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East of Eden The Settle-Carlisle railway is still open for business between Leeds and Applebyin-Westmorland. This includes the majority of the line and according to supporters - all the best bits. The northern section of the line was closed when a large chunk of the embankment below the two-track railway at Eden Brow slipped into the River Eden, running below. The area of land affected by the landslip is more than 130m long and 70m wide. A team of geotechnical specialists carried out detailed ground investigations using borehole equipment. The results will be used to effect a lasting repair. Says Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s route managing director, ‘An estimated 500,000 tonnes of earth have moved already and the embankment is still moving. That’s 10 times the weight of the QE2 ocean liner..…The extent of

this landslip means it is no longer safe for this section of railway to be open to trains.’ Ground movement has caused a twist in the tracks. However, the Orange Army’s northern battalions are being mobilised and staff are already at work on site preparing for the restorative labour ahead. Frobisher confirmed this, ‘Network Rail’s contractors have already started to build access roads and compounds so we can get our heavy machinery to where it is needed. This will enable us to start construction work as soon as the design is finalised. ‘The River Eden has severely eroded the base of the embankment. This, combined with the recent repeated storms and saturated ground, caused the landslip. ‘This is a vital rail link across the north of England, and I am very aware of how important the railway is to the local community and local economy.’

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Queen of New York

One new supporter of Britain’s booming rail industry is Elizabeth Line, a writer based in New York. When Her Majesty the Queen unveiled the new name for Crossrail - Elizabeth Line - the railway’s New York namesake awoke to find herself trending on twitter. The new name was revealed by London mayor Boris Johnson when the Queen visited Bond Street station - which will see 24 trains per hour in each direction when the Elizabeth Line opens in 2018. Over in New York, Manhattan-based Miss Line confirmed she will be among the first to use the new service. ‘When I found out I was trending on Twitter this morning, there were a few moments of ‘what did I do last night’ panic but now I’m just having fun with it.’ The Queen was presented with a commemorative Elizabeth roundel and met staff involved in building Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project. Railway apprentices working on site, engineers fitting out the station and drivers of the trains that will serve the line met to brief Her Majesty - a long time fan of railways. The name Elizabeth Line celebrates the long association shared by the Royal Family and the railway.

Eleanor soldiers on with Orange Army Her Majesty became the first reigning monarch to travel on the London Underground in 1969, when she opened the Victoria line service. In 1979, the Jubilee line was officially opened by HRH the Prince of Wales and was named to mark 25 years since the Queen’s accession to the throne. In the aftermath of the 7 July terrorist attack on the London Underground, she unveiled a plaque at Aldgate station in 2010 remembering the lives of the 52 victims who had died. Last year, the Queen opened the Borders Railway and travelled the line on a steam special hauled by A4 60009 Union of South Africa - one of six surviving Gresleys. The Queen looked visibly impressed with the roundel. Meanwhile in New York, Elizabeth Line was equally enthusiastic. ‘What an amazing honour. Just wish the Queen would give it a rest with the photobombs,’ she joked.

Over 15,000 members of Network Rail’s Orange Army will be working over the four-day Easter weekend to deliver a £60 million slice of the company’s £40 billion Railway Upgrade Plan. More than 450 separate improvement projects will be carried out. Staff will give up the Easter break - but still find time to party. Says Eleanor Lawrence, an apprentice technician, ‘I’ll be celebrating Easter and eating chocolate with dozens of other members of the Orange Army while doing essential work to keep the railway safe and reliable.’ And for Eleanor there’s nowhere else she’d rather be. ‘Since I joined the industry, I’ve been amazed and inspired by the people around me and their commitment to make the railways better. ‘This is such a worthwhile job and makes a difference to so many people and carries such a huge responsibility to keep people safe and provide a good, reliable service. It’s a job and a career that really matters.’

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Summer bonus for East Coast

Virgin Trains has been granted approval to introduce 42 new services a week between Edinburgh and London from May. The expanded timetable includes eight new EdinburghLondon services per weekday and promises a capacity increase of 22,000 seats.

Meanwhile the fleet is getting a £21 million refurbishment, including brand new leather seats in first class, new standard class seating, carpets and lighting. Says David Horne, Virgin Trains’ managing director on the East Coast route, ‘This is a major boost for our customers travelling between Edinburgh and London

Derby move for Siemens Siemens Rail Automation has opened a new office in Trent House, Derby - alongside Network Rail. The move follows the company’s successful completion of a number of recent signalling projects in the East Midlands, as well as its involvement in major new projects in the region. Says Siemens director Rob Morris, ‘We already have a great team of people here who have produced outstanding work with colleagues from Network Rail. Establishing the new office in the same building as Network Rail’s team means that we can continue to work just as closely, but from our own permanent base – allowing us scope and capacity to grow quickly.’ Led by project director Chris Potts, the Derbybased team numbers some 35 staff. The team has already begun design work for the Derby station remodelling programme and recently provided support with track works on the Kettering to Corby project. Siemens employs over 14,000 people in the UK, with 1,650 people working in the Rail Automation division from offices in Chippenham, London, Croydon, Poole, Birmingham, Ashby-dela-Zouch, Manchester, York, Glasgow, Newport and now Derby. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

who will be able to catch a train every half-hour for most of the day. ‘We have seen how increasing capacity and frequency adds to the popularity of train travel, and we’re confident that customers will respond positively to these changes. ‘Feedback on our new train interiors, many of which have been fitted out at Craigentinny

depot in Edinburgh, has been incredibly positive and customers are telling us they love the fresh, new look.’ More than a million people travel on Virgin Trains’ EdinburghLondon services per year and the route already enjoys a half-hourly frequency at peak times. Virgin Trains took over the East Coast franchise in March 2015.

Inspirational women - act now Women in Rail has launched its first competition to find the top 20 most inspiring women in the industry. The move is part of a campaign to celebrate women in the rail industry and raise their profile across the sector. The shortlist will demonstrate how fulfilling and inspiring a career in rail can be. The idea is to create more role models for girls and

JOELLE CALDARELLI PROJECT MANAGER

women planning to pursue a career on the railway. Contenders include women who regularly go that extra mile or have changed lives for the better. Women who have positively influenced individual teams and careers qualify. Inspirational women need to be nominated by peers and managers - nominations close 25 March. More details from Women in Rail.

Britain’s Largest Specialist Transport Union Britain’s Largest Specialist Transport

Union

RMT warns of CHAOS as Govia Thameslink threaten to downgrade and axe

RAIL TICKET OFFICES throughout the South

RMT is fighting these latest profit-driven cuts across the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern routes. You can get involved in the RMT campaign at http://bit.ly/1PVJZVr

Protecting our members’ interests is our priority

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FREEPHONE 0800 376 3706

PEOPLE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Peter to head HS2 bid

Market lead for Atkins

Balfour Beatty VINCI has appointed Peter Anderson to lead its bid for HS2.

David Brewer is to become Atkins’ new strategic rail market director.

Anderson, who was the project director for the Folkestone section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, will become managing director of the joint venture, which at the end of last year was shortlisted by HS2 for a share of the project’s £900 million portfolio of preparatory works. Says Peter, who has held a variety of senior roles within Balfour Beatty’s rail business, ‘I am delighted to lead Balfour Beatty VINCI’s High Speed 2 Joint Venture with an immediate focus on our bid for the preparatory works. ‘This iconic rail infrastructure project will create significant opportunities for the UK construction industry helping to boost and re-balance the economy including creating thousands of

In his new role, David will lead the strategic rail client team, as well as overseeing the delivery of the company’s ‘long-term market strategy’. David was previously the network delivery and development director for Highways England. Philip Hoare, managing director, Transportation UK and Europe, said, ‘David shares my passion for health and safety and continuing to develop our

jobs, apprenticeships and opportunities for supply chain partners. ‘HS2 will also free up capacity on the existing network as well as dramatically improving journeys between London, the West Midlands and further north.’ The enabling works contracts have been split into three packages: northern, central and southern. Work is currently expected to begin in 2017.

behavioural safety culture both within Atkins and the industry. ‘David brings with him a wealth of experience in leading multiple large complex programmes and will work closely with our client and project delivery teams, building strong client relationships and continuing to build our reputation in the sector. ‘David will be a great asset both to our Transportation division and the Strategic Rail market team. I am delighted to welcome him onto the team and look forward to working with him in our quest to shape the future of transportation.’

'David shares my passion for health and safety and continuing to develop our behavioural safety culture'

Jeremy Westlake joins Network Rail Call Nicole Jeremy Westlake has joined Network Rail as chief financial officer. Formerly senior vicepresident of finance at Alstom Transport in France, he replaces Patrick Butcher, who leaves Network Rail in March to take up the role of chief finance officer at Go-Ahead Group. Jeremy Westlake spent 14 years at Rolls-Royce in a range of senior finance and supply chain roles in the UK and the United States before moving to Alstom Transport in 2013. Westlake started his career as an accountant based in London and Paris, before taking on finance roles in the international manufacturing sector based in France, Italy and Turkey. He is a Chartered Accountant and has a master’s degree in manufacturing from Cambridge University and a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Exeter University. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

High Speed Two has appointed Nicole Geoghegan as general counsel and company secretary. The move comes 11 months after Betty Morgan retired from the job. Geoghegan has a wide railway experience and lists her skills as dispute resolution. After reading law at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, Nicole worked for Mallesons Stephen Jaques before moving on to a six-year stint as general counsel at Tube Lines in London. In 2006, she went to work for GHD. Then followed two years from February 2012 as head legal counsel for Pacific National Coal, a railway operator with annual revenues of close to $1 billion in Australia. Geoghegan joined Contract Resources Group in 2014 as its first legal counsel. As general counsel and company secretary HS2, she has overarching responsibility for all legal services and company secretariat activities including board and committee management. Geoghegan is responsible for the management of the HS2 legal team and a significant external legal budget.

RIA appoints technical director David Clarke RSSB’s former innovation director, David Clarke, has been named as the new technical director of the Rail Industry Association (RIA). David is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers with over 30 years rail industry experience. Prior to joining RIA he was the innovation director at RSSB where he was responsible for the cross-industry Future Railway Programme which is helping to deliver the industry Rail Technical Strategy. His earlier career includes being deputy director, rail technical at the Department for Transport, prior to which he was a director for two of the major rail infrastructure contractors having started his career with British Rail. He has been responsible for large operational and project

delivery teams, securing major contracts, corporate strategy and business development and, more recently for technical strategy and innovation. David will join RIA full time in April. His new role will focus on ‘representing members interests in the important areas of safety, technical standards, technical strategy, research and innovation’ says RIA.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

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Whitehorn to head CILT Stagecoach director Will Whitehorn is to become the next president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). He will take over the one-year presidency from Beverley Bell FCILT on 20 May. Will Whitehorn is a Fellow of the Institute and has been a vice-president for the past four years. He learnt to fly at the age of 16 as an RAF cadet. After reading history and economics at Aberdeen University, he began his transport career working for British Airways as a helicopter crewman in the North Sea oil industry. He then became a graduate trainee with Thomas Cook. Later he worked for Virgin Group for 25 years. He helped establish Virgin Atlantic on the global stage before

spearheading Virgin’s move into rail. He was a founding director of London and Continental Railways and went on to lead Virgin’s bid for the West Coast Main Line franchise. In 2004, Will became president of Virgin Galactic, a spaceflight company within the Virgin Group, overseeing the construction of the world’s first commercial spaceship. Says Kevin Richardson FCILT, chief executive, CILT, ‘The appointment of Will Whitehorn as CILT president-elect brings expertise, innovation and a wealth of experience to our institute. I look forward to working with him to grow our institute when he takes up his appointment in May.’ As well as holding several non-executive roles outside the industry, Will is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and The Marketing Society.

Mills joins Deploy David Mills has joined Deploy UK Rail as principal consultant rail. Mills joins from PDS Group, where he worked in transport and civil engineering recruitment for over 10 years. He successfully completed recruitment projects in 17 different countries. David Mills has a BSc in geography from the University of Derby.

TBF is all about people... people in the public transport industry, people just like you!

A wide range of benefits including financial, medical, convalescence and professional advice is available to you, your partner and dependent children for just £1 a week. Call us today to find out how we can help you.

& 0300 333 2000 8 www.tbf.org.uk

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The Transport Benevolent Fund (known as TBF) is a registered charity in England and Wales (1058032) and in Scotland (SC040013)

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New website for Advance TRS

Advance Training & Recruitment Services, the specialist rail recruitment consultancy, is inviting rail professionals to visit its brand new website following a big launch in February. According to Victoria Ridout, Group Marketing Director, the new website and branding have been designed in line with advance’s strategic vision for the next decade and beyond. “Following an unprecedented period of growth in 2014 and 2015, it became clear that our previous website was beginning to show its age and no longer represented our corporate culture and strategic view for the next 5-10 years,” says Victoria. The newly launched site features a clean, modern design, utilising bold and unique

Metro Central makeover Newcastle Central’s Metro station is shutting for three days in March for a £6 million refurbishment. Concourse and platforms will be revamped and brighter lighting installed. Engineers will replace electrical distribution and control equipment as part of a comprehensive modernisation scheme. Metro Central station is used by 5.3 million passengers a year. The work forms part of a £350 million Nexus modernisation programme. Already 25 Metro stations have been improved.

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colours to embody each of advance’s key sector capabilities. The site was designed with user experience in mind and has been optimised to guide visitors to the content they need. Whether you’re searching for your next role, looking for the latest career advice or just wanting to find out more about advance, the site’s new structure makes finding that content far easier. The website is optimised to work optimally on mobile devices after statistics found that almost half of all advance’s site traffic originates from mobile devices. Visitors can find and apply for the latest jobs, register for e-mail job alerts and find the latest career advice all from a smartphone, tablet or laptop/PC. The consultancy has also added a new section to the website dedicated to providing visitors with a glimpse of what goes on behind

the scenes. Here you can meet the team behind the operation, read the company’s mission and core values or find out more about what the consultancy does to help raise funds for charity. “We wanted to make sure the website got more than just a new coat of paint” added Victoria. “We’ve made sure that there is a variety of additional content that’s relevant and useful to both our clients and candidates. This ranges from important information about workplace safety, to just getting to know the team behind advance” added Victoria. Advance Training & Recruitment Services is a specialist rail recruitment consultancy, experts in recruiting highly skilled professionals in Signalling, Telecoms, Civils, P-Way, Electrification, M&E & Project Services. Find your next career move today, visit: www.advancerailwayjobs.com

DJ Steve wows passengers A Southern Rail driver has been congratulated by rail chiefs as a video of his cab-to-commuter banter went viral on YouTube. Steve Copley regularly regales his passengers with quizzes and commentary on journeys in South London and Surrey. On one lightly loaded evening service, he said, ‘The ambassador would like to apologise but unfortunately the Ferrero Rocher has run out this evening….But he is spoiling you by giving you eight coaches and 620 seats.’ Quizzes usually involve a guess-the-year theme. Steve says he came up with the idea whilst being held at a red light. Grateful passengers come up to the cab at the journey’s end to thank and high five the driver. Steve once worked as a DJ. Said a Southern Railway boss, ‘We are delighted that our driver has been keeping his passengers entertained. We encourage

all our conductors and drivers to make announcements and keep passengers informed during their journeys when it is safe to do so.’ Management attitudes to staff communications initiatives have certainly changed. In the same area, a railway man was once suspended by BR chiefs for singing over the tannoy. The last straw came one morning when a long-delayed train finally arrived and the man regaled hard-pressed commuters with a version of ‘Smile as you wave me goodbye.’ Following popular pressure, he was re-instated.

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Farewell Leicester Square Transport for London (TfL) has signed the Armed Forces Covenant and agreed to back military personnel seeking work in the civilian sector.

NEW START FOR OUR ARMED FORCES EX-SERVICE STAFF

The move builds on a scheme that has already helped 27 exservice members back into work. One hundred new jobs are now on offer. Says London’s Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown MVO, ‘Our ex-service placement scheme has been extremely successful, and we’re delighted that, together with our suppliers, we’re going to help even more former Armed Forces members back into employment. We have an engineering skills shortage in the transport industry, and the scheme is helping us benefit from the skills these brave men and women gain during their careers in the Armed Forces.’

On patrol in Helmand

Party surprise for Lucy Staff at St Neots station threw a surprise party for Lucy Conrad, 11, giving presents and sharing a birthday cake with a very popular young passenger. Lucy, who has special needs, loves visiting St Neots station at the weekend with her father, Chris. Her bright personality and enthusiasm has captured the hearts of the staff, eight of whom came in on their day off to present her with presents, including a pink fluorescent jacket sporting her name and a frog, her favourite animal. Chris, a police officer, and Lucy regularly travel together from St Neots two stops to Peterborough and back at the weekend and approached Great Northern staff ahead of her birthday about the idea of the party at the station.

Says Chris, ‘The station staff were superb, coming in on their day off to give Lucy her surprise party. Lucy thought we would go and see a few trains pass by but was surprised and ecstatic to see her station friends and open presents. They had clearly put a lot of thought into the gifts, and she wore her pink jacket all the way to London to watch the Cirque du Soleil, and it was not removed there either!’ Station manager Dominic Morgan admitted, ‘Lucy is a bit of a local favourite. All the station staff look forward to seeing her and her positivity is certainly infectious. I think that warmth of feeling shows in the presents they got her, as well as the fact that many came on their day off and on Valentine’s Day no less!

The scheme is already working for one former soldier. John Wilson was blown up in Afghanistan. Says John, now a traffic controller at TfL, ‘As a young boy, I always wanted to join the army and it was a dream come true when I did in 2008. In 2012, whilst on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, I was hit by an IED which resulted in me losing both my legs. I was medically discharged from the army in 2014 and have struggled to find work because employers just look at me and think I won’t be up to the job.’ That all changed when he discovered TfL’s scheme. ‘I was speaking to the Career Transition Partnership who told me about TfL’s scheme which

sounded like a great opportunity. I was offered a place on the scheme and joined in January 2016. I’m now working in their traffic control team and I absolutely love it. I never saw myself working in an office, but we’ve got a really good team who make every day enjoyable.’ The covenant was signed at TfL’s annual Industry Day at The Crystal in the Royal Docks, which was attended by more than 100 former members of the Armed Forces currently looking for employment.

Great to see support Says Niall Ahern, employment engagement director at the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association for Greater London, ‘TfL already shows great support for the Armed Forces family, recruiting service leavers, supporting reservists, providing discounted travel for the Armed Forces and pulling out the stops to back the Poppy Appeal. It’s great to see Commissioner Mike Brown taking that support a step further by signing the Armed Forces Covenant and backing that up with a set of concrete promises for further action. ‘It’s also a recognition of the value TfL gets from the skills and experience gained by employing both reservists and people leaving the Armed Forces.’ The rail industry is increasingly seeking to recruit former service personnel. It may be a long way to the Tipperary of full employment but schemes like TfL’s are now making good use of the all-toooften overlooked regiments of skilled professionals in the army, air force and navy.

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We listen, you talk

Ian Stevens and Lynsey Pollard.

Many people think they’re good listeners but keep quiet about their own problems, statistics released by Samaritans show. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of people in the UK believe they’re good listeners, but less than a quarter (23 per cent) feel they can talk when something’s on their mind. The figures come as Samaritans launches its ‘We Listen’ campaign. Supported by Network Rail and the wider rail industry, the message is that while it’s easy to hide your feelings, when someone really listens, which is what Samaritans volunteers do, you’re more likely to open up and start working through your problems. Posters in railway stations contain hidden messages where people claiming to be fine reveal that they’re not OK at all. One says ‘I’m alright with being single I guess. It’s not ideal for the kids, but they seem to be coping’, the real message being, ‘I’m not coping’. Another says ‘I’m going to be alright. It’s not so bad spending a lot of time alone,’ where the reality is ‘I’m so alone’.

Brave face The message from Samaritans is, ‘We don’t just hear you, we listen’. Says chief executive Ruth Sutherland. ‘Life’s pressures can build, without you even realising. It’s all too easy to turn away, ignore how you’re feeling and put on a brave face. But you don’t have to do that with Samaritans. ‘Samaritans volunteers make time for you and really listen to you - because simply being RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

listened to can help you put into words what’s really going on in your life and help you find a way through.’ She went on, ‘It might be the pressures of family, relationships, work, health, finances – or anything else. Life can be tough, and it’s a strength not a weakness to reach out for support. Talk to Samaritans for free from any phone, e-mail us, text us or come into a branch and chat face to face. Whatever works best for you, we’ll listen and help you find a way through.’

11,500 rail staff trained Network Rail has been working with Samaritans to raise awareness of the charity’s emotional support services since 2010, along with Britain’s train operating companies and British Transport Police. As well as funding advertising campaigns in stations, in the community and at big events, the partnership has seen more than 11,500 rail staff trained in listening and confidence skills, enabling them to identify people at risk and help them. In the past year, railway staff may have prevented more than 450 people from harming themselves on the rail network. Says Ian Stevens, Network Rail’s programme manager, ‘Millions of people travel by rail and visit stations every day, so we’re well placed and proud to support Samaritans We Listen campaign and help spread the message that you don’t have to go it alone with your troubles when life is tough. ‘Through our industry programme, Samaritans has trained thousands of railway

staff, equipping them with the confidence and listening skills to direct anyone who may be at risk of harming themselves to people who can help, such as Samaritans.’

Call free You can call Samaritans for free any time from any phone on 116 123 - you don’t even need credit and this number won’t show up on your phone bill. You can e-mail jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch. Get on board with our #WeListen campaign by following Samaritans on Facebook www.facebook.com/samaritanscharity or Twitter @samaritans. The TalkToUs 2015 online survey was carried out between 27 May and 2 June 2015. A nationally representative sample of 1,600 adults was surveyed.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

NEWS

Blue light run for railway chaplain A chaplain from the Railway Mission joined BTP officers in Croydon recently to experience front line policing. Chaplain John Robinson accompanied rail managers in a BTP police car as it sped to incidents like trackside trespass and disturbances on trains and stations. Sirens and flashing blue lights do not normally herald the arrival of a railway chaplain. Yet the p-way pastors remain one of the railway’s greatest and quietest resources. Rarely noticed by passengers and public, railway chaplains attend major incidents and are on hand to counsel staff and public alike. Their services are available to all regardless of faith or background. Network Rail mobile operations managers speed to incidents in what is called an Emergency Intervention Unit, skilfully piloted by crack BTP drivers. Says John, ‘Getting to know exactly what challenges BTP

officers - and their counterparts from Network Rail - riding in the EIU vehicles face, was invaluable. The opportunity to build trust and relationships with officers, railway and industry staff means we can be one step ahead in terms of how we provide pastoral care.’ Sergeant Mo Mahmood, who manages the Croydon EIU

team, is full of praise for the Railway Mission and its work. ‘John and his team have been a real asset to our officers and rail staff and always offer valuable support during and after what can sometimes be quite traumatic incidents.’ Sergeant Mahmood added, ‘Recently one of our officers was assaulted but fortunately John was able to visit the hospital where he had been

sent and offer welfare support.’ Based in Rochester, Kent, John Robinson worked in management consultancy for 25 years before going on to study theology at Oak Hill Theological College in South London four years ago. Robinson is a keen cyclist in his spare time. Although bikes cut through traffic quite fast, a trip with the twos and blues and London’s finest is hard to beat.

Cheshire's bridges restored The railway line between Crewe and Manchester and between Sandbach and Northwich has reopened following a £17 million project designed to protect Cheshire’s iconic railway bridges. The Grade-II listed viaducts at Holmes Chapel and Peover received a full makeover including

removal of water stains on the walls, brickwork repairs and waterproofing. At the same time, Network Rail engineers undertook strengthening work to the Hungerford Road bridge in Crewe, Shipbrook Road bridge in Rudheath and to the Whatcroft underbridge and Trent and Mersey Canal bridge in Davenham. Says Terry Strickland, area director, Network Rail, ‘This work was completed with the least amount of disruption to passengers and will mean there will be even less impact on services in the years to come because of the reduced need for maintenance work. Our engineers worked quickly and safely to complete these works on time and on budget, and by completing all of these jobs at the same time, were able to save £500,000 of taxpayers’ money.’ For more on this, see Rail Engineer writer Graeme Bickerdike’s video at Network Rail’s website. FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

NEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Snowhill heats up Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has officially opened HS2 Ltd’s new headquarters at 2 Snowhill, by Snow Hill station in central Birmingham. Up to 1,000 staff will be employed at the new headquarters in Birmingham’s prestigious Colmore Business District. Birmingham will be at the heart of the HS2 network, with new stations at Curzon Street and Birmingham Interchange

when the Phase One route opens in 2026. Connections north to Crewe will open in 2027, with the lines to Leeds and Manchester due to be completed by 2033. The HS2 Phase One Hybrid Bill is expected to achieve Royal Assent by December 2016. Construction on the London to Birmingham route is due to start in 2017. Read Marc Johnson’s interview with John Evans, CEO of the National College for High Speed Rail, for more on HS2.

In Dublin's fair city

The ‘Inspire’ team at Abellio Greater Anglia, winners of the Training Team of the Year 2015 at the RailStaff Awards, celebrated its triumph with a surprise trip to Ireland for the Inspire Ambassadors. The team decided that the prize money should go to recognising the achievement of those who have worked exceptionally hard as role models on Inspire events over the past year. Therefore on the 20 January 2016, a surprise day trip to Dublin was arranged for the Inspire Ambassadors. The trip was was kept secret with help and planning from local managers.

Inspire and the spire To catch an early flight out from Stansted, the group was asked to meet at the airport where the boarding tickets were distributed

and the destination announced. The news was greeted with excitement and delight. Once in Dublin, the group took a turn down O’Connell Street, the city’s main thoroughfare, taking in the sights of the Spire of Dublin, the large stainless steel pin-like monument, as well as the General Post Office - scene of the Easter Uprising which will be commemorated this year. Other sights included the Ha’penny Bridge over the River Liffey, built in 1816, Dublin Castle and a traditional Irish meal in the oldest pub in Dublin - The Brazen Head. Once the favoured haunt of writers like James Joyce and Brendan Behan, the pub is reputed to date form 1198.

Just a perfect day Says Lucy Tomlinson, customer service development programme manager, Abellio Greater Anglia, ‘It was a lovely day trip, made even more special by great company - a fantastic reward for our achievement last year.’ The RailStaff Award-winning team introduced and delivered a customer service programme called Inspire. The aim is to develop and encourage colleagues to put the customer at the heart of the company. Adds Tom O’Connor of Rail Media. ‘I can’t imagine a better way to spend a day than in the historic and vibrant heart of Dublin. The team certainly lives up to its name - Inspire.’

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A winter's tale Could track staff and engineers get their Christmas back? It’s unlikely but transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin wants to see more total blockades when they are needed, enabling quicker and more effective working rather than confining works to times when there are fewer services. ‘Why do we insist on doing engineering works often in winter, at night, over a very long period, rather than putting in place quicker, ambitious plans for major reconstruction with proper alternatives and information for passengers, like the successful project at Nottingham station in 2013?’ McLoughlin made the suggestion as he was delivering the George Bradshaw address in London. True to form, the ex-miner started off by thanking railway staff. ‘I would like to start by recognising the hard work of everyone who makes the railways work. From cleaning staff, to drivers, civil engineers and managers.’ He went on to urge the industry to get the most from HS2, open up new markets and embrace new technology. McLoughlin first entered the DfT as junior factotum 27 year ago. He

reassured his audience, ahead of the Shaw Report, that wholesale re-nationalisation was not on the table. Change was needed in joining up the railway. ‘There is confusion as to who is responsible for what. That holds things back and it adds cost and inefficiency. The answer isn’t to lump everything together, let alone put the state in sole charge.’ McLoughlin said. He wants to make it easier for the private sector to invest in railways. What’s needed is, ‘A clear, accountable system where you know who’s in charge and who needs to put things right when they go wrong… A system where money can be spent where it’s really needed. Not poured in by a distant central structure or misguided regulatory rules. This isn’t, by the way, a revolution. It’s common sense,’ he said. McLoughlin has lasted a long time at Marsham Street and delights in the job. ‘It is an absolute pleasure to be able to work with a confident, expanding rail industry and supply chain. Something that would have been unimaginable to many of my predecessors.’ This Easter over 15,000 railway staff will be working out on track pushing ahead with Britain’s rail resurgence.

RAIL ALLIANCE

NEW MEMBERS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

RAIL SAFETY SOLUTIONS

RAIL ALLIANCE

SUPPORTING THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN

(Independent provider of Track Warning Systems (TWS) to offer safer and greater track access including Magnetic Safety Barrier Fencing. Also offer Network Rail approved training and assessment) www.railsafetysolutions.com

ONSITE (Specialist maintenance contractor dealing with drainage and culvert cleaning, CCTV inspection and no-dig rehabilitation. Supply and installation of temporary dams, concrete refurbishment and sealing) www.onsite.co.uk

EXCALIBUR SCREWBOLTS LTD (Suppliers of range of threaded anchors for all substrates to fix items directly into all major building materials including concrete, brick and timber.) www.excaliburscrewbolts.com As a member of the Rail Supply Group (RSG) Council, the Rail Alliance helped organise last month’s (1 February) RSG strategy launch and is fully behind its mission to build growth in the rail industry and support export. During an event at the Lloyds Bank Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre (AMTC) in Coventry, hosted by Business Secretary Sajid Javid, Transport Secretary Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin and managing director of Alstom UK & Ireland Terence Watson (Chairman RSG), the Rail Supply Group (RSG), the sector council representing the rail supply chain in the UK, presented its detailed plan to improve productivity and secure the future of the railway. The RSG brings together private sector leaders from large and small businesses across the rail industry with Government. The rail sector generates £3.4 billion for the UK economy each year and its supply chain directly employs over 124,000 people, with many more employed in the rail sector as a whole. The strategy supports suppliers of all sizes by improving the conditions across the supply chain. It sets out the RSG’s plan to implement its Productivity Pledge, which commits the rail supply sector to deliver: • A strategic approach to procurement and planning • A clear plan to drive world-class technologies • A coherent skills plan to attract the best talent and increase productivity • A comprehensive package of support for SMEs • A fresh, co-ordinated approach to increase exports and inward investment Colin Flack, CEO at the Rail Alliance said, “The Rail Alliance is at the heart of the UK rail supply chain and with over 350 members representing a diverse range of products and services, we are exceptionally well placed to help support the delivery of the RSG strategic vision.”

ACORN INDUSTRIAL

From left to right: The Rail Supply Group (RSG) chairman Terence Watson, CEO of Rail Alliance Colin Flack and Transport Secretary Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin As part of its commitment to help support members and the wider UK rail industry to meet the demands and needs of the sector going forward, the Rail Alliance is delivering two key programmes: RSG Rail Mentor Programme - specifically developed for SMEs with the objective to either assist companies to increase their existing rail footprint, or to help companies new to the rail market to navigate this complex market. Rail Mentor offers organisations the opportunity of a direct line of communication with the top-end of the supply chain which may otherwise be unattainable and offers assistance and guidance to help fine tune the business offer and meet best practice sector requirements to take businesses through a 3 stage program “Right for Rail” “Fit for Rail” and “Ready for Rail”. Any SME based in the UK is eligible to take part in the programme and it is free of charge to register www.railmentor.com. RSG Best Practice Programme - a unique range of workshops designed to develop and enhance business ability to meet best practice standards as required and expected from the High Speed Rail initiative and the broader rail supply chain. Current activity in the rail sector is not a pre-requisite for participation. Application is by expression of interest and places are strictly limited and they are free to attend. Please see more details at www. rsgbestpractice.co.uk. The sessions will be rolled out over the next few months and will cover the following topics: 9 March: Whole Life Cost / Whole Life Value (AMTC) 26 April: BIM (AMTC) Early May Lean Manufacturing (LOCATION tbc) Late May Off-Site Construction (location tbc)

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(Market leader in distribution of replacement maintenance products specialising in bearings and power transmission linear systems.) www.acorn-ind.co.uk

KWIK-STEP LTD (Supplier of modular platforms and stairways for permanent installation on embankments with minimal groundwork and no foundations.) www.kwik-step.com

21ST CENTURY TECHNOLOGY (Specialist to the transport industry on and off vehicle including on-vehicle FFCCTV and saloon CCTV, DOO and pantograph monitoring, passenger and operational Wi-fi, passenger information and driver advisory services all of which can be incorporated onto 21st Century Technology’s SmartTrain.) www.21stplc.com

GOS TOOL & ENG SERVICES LTD (Leading UK converters of road rail vehicles) www.gosengineering.co.uk

BALDWIN & FRANCIS (Suppliers of switchgear, related systems and services into the most challenging environments) www.baldwinandfrancis.com

HEALTH & SAFETY LABORATORY (Part of the Health & Safety Executive carrying out scientific research, testing, analysis and incident investigation for HSE and commercial clients) www.hsl.gov.uk

HILTI GB LTD (Global manufacturer of fixings/fasteners and power tools etc operating in 120 countries worldwide) www.hilti.co.uk

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

NEWS

Rock around the clock

Voice of New Street goes

New rail financing company Rock Rail has secured a deal, worth over £200 million, to fund Govia Thameslink’s new train fleet on the Great Northern route.

The voice of Birmingham New Street for over quarter of a century is moving on.

The deal with SL Capital and Aviva Investors will see Siemens supplying 25 six-car trains based on the Class 700 Desiro City series. ‘For the past two years we have been developing a new approach to funding rolling stock

in the UK which offers financial institutions the opportunity to invest directly in core rail assets on a basis that generates better value for the taxpayer and passenger alike,’ says Mark Swindell, founding partner of Rock Rail. The new fleet will replace the 40-year-old Class 313s and is expected to enter service in 2018. The trains will run between Moorgate in the City of London and Welwyn and Hertford, Stevenage and Letchworth.

Seated front left to right: Gerry McFadden, engineering director, Govia Thameslink Railway; Mark Swindell, founding partner, Rock Rail; Steve Scrimshaw, managing director, Siemens Rail Systems; Sambit Banerjee, finance director, Siemens Rail Systems.

Andy Smith, who lives in Sutton Coldfield, started work on the railway as part of a British Rail youth training scheme in September 1986. Since then, as well as being a train announcer, he has also been employed as a train planner and station project team member. For almost 30 years, he was the voice of New Street, first on the manual public address system and then through recorded announcements. Andy is sticking with Network Rail and is training to be a signaller. Says Andy, ‘Birmingham New Street is somewhere I feel really passionate about. I’m mighty proud to be part of Birmingham New Street and its history and will miss it greatly. ‘I think leaving now is apt following the rejuvenation of the

station to the fabulous iconic building it is today.’ It’s not the end of his connection with award-winning New Street. ‘I’m hoping to make it back to New Street signal box and signal trains here so I will still be part of the station.’ Good luck Andy - make sure you have all your bags and belongings with you…

Due to expansion we have opened offices in Plymouth and the North West to be able to extend our services to our clients.

Deploy UK Rail are a specialist blue and white collar supplier to the Rail Industry and LUL in Power, Signalling, Electrification, Telecoms and Civils. We have in-depth knowledge of supplying and planning Rail Safety Critical, Civils, Cabling, Troughing, Trades and Electrical resources to the industry specialising in 3rd Rail environments. Deploy UK Rail hold the following qualifications: • RISQS Approved via Audit 5* • RCC (Rail Contractor’s Certificate) to supply SWL (Safe Work Leaders) • RIPS (Railway Interface Planning Scheme) 5* • ISO 9001, 18001, 14001 • ROSPA Bronze We are part of the DE Group of companies which all hold individual RISQS Certification as a contractor which complements the services we offer in Rail by providing expertise in Demolition, Asbestos Surveying and Removal and H&S consultancy specialising in Principle Design Services to clients for CDM. We work closely with our clients to help them achieve their project goals by delivering a professional reliable service which is flexible and adaptable to the ever changing Rail and LUL environment. The core of our business is built up of professionals who have serviced both the recruitment and site requirements for over 10+ years each. We have strong client relationships built on trust and delivery. As a business we are able to supply a turnkey solution P.S.D.S (Plan – Supply – Deliver – Safely). Deploy UK Rail was created with the vision that we can provide a one stop solution to delivering client needs by going above and beyond expectation.

Burdett House, 15-16 Buckingham Street, London, WC2N 6DU Tel: 0207 434 0300 Email us on: railteam@deployuk.com

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Keven Parker, Managing Director, Jobson James Rail.

THE DEVIL IN THE PLAN AHEAD AND TAKE SPECIALIST RAIL-SPECIFIC INSURANCE ADVICE

he wrong sort of insurance almost destroyed a railway worker’s career and dragged on for six years. Sad to tell too many rail companies, contractors and self-employed rail workers are not correctly insured. Plan ahead and take specialist rail-specific insurance advice, that’s the message from top insurance brokers at Jobson James Rail. It is always tempting to accept the cheapest deal but, as someone once said, the price of a commodity will reduce to a point where the commodity cannot fulfil its intended function. The same is true of insurance. It’s easy to feel good about a cheap deal – until the time comes to make a claim. Then the small print can make very painful reading.

SIX-YEAR BATTLE A six-year battle to reach a legal settlement illustrates the importance for railway businesses to use a specialist insurance broker that understands the industry. The unfortunate railway company, whose story follows below, recently approached Jobson James Rail for help – and received advice they should have received in 2009. Jobson James Rail is a UK insurance broker with a rail-dedicated team which is RISQS accredited.

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HURT ON SITE A railway worker with 20 years experience found himself badly adrift in the aftermath of an accident on site. The facts of the matter are as follows. • An individual rail worker was hurt on site. • His own single-employee business had been operating in the rail industry for over 20 years and was working directly for a national rail company and principal contractor at the time of the accident. • As he was working for his own limited company, he couldn’t make a liability claim against his employer because he was his own employer and he had not been negligent. • His company’s insurances were provided by an insurer known mostly for expertise in the agricultural sector. • Due to his insurance advisor’s lack of rail industry understanding, there had been no explanation of what type of accident his employer’s liability insurance would pay for and what it would not. Nor had he been advised that due to the nature of his organisation and its role in the rail sector, he should also have personal accident cover to protect his income. • There was a railway industry exclusion on the policy. • After years of worry over the PL claim and having no working income, this case has taken a terrible toll on the rail worker and illustrates the importance of using a specialist RISQS approved rail insurance broker.

QUOTATION CRITERIA The claimant approached Jobson James Rail after hearing about its professional and knowledgeable approach to arranging specialist insurance for companies in the rail industry. The railwayman was helped by the advice he received and would like to see changes introduced ensuring only qualified and link-up-approved brokers are used to insure those in the rail industry. Keven Parker, rail director at Jobson James Rail, spoke of the widespread use of insurance generalists in the rail industry. According to Parker, 75 per cent of the EL, PL and PI policies he looks at that have been arranged by general insurance brokers contain very relevant exclusions that could invalidate cover for a rail contracting business. ‘Most brokers don’t know how to quote for a rail company,’ says Keven. ‘Many try to get the rail company to fit the quotation criteria used by insurers who know nothing about rail but offer cheap online insurances. The rail company only finds out there is a problem when they try to claim and the insurer refuses to pay citing non-disclosure of material facts about the railway operations.’

BETTER DEALS FOR RAIL It’s a struggle but Keven Parker and his team at Jobson James Rail are determined to get better deals in place across the industry.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

FEATURE

E DETAIL ‘We are in a constant fight to get rail companies to understand our quality and their need for our advice as they don’t know what a good broker will do for them. We will check rail contractors’ contracts to highlight where principal contractors pass on onerous liabilities for accidents back to the Tier 2 rail contractor. ‘Any serious accident or fatality can ruin a rail company’s insurance reputation for years. When we meet rail companies we quickly establish that insurance is not a simple transaction and the buying criteria should not solely be the lowest possible cost, it needs to be a quality based decision to arrange the right cover for the business.’

COMPETENCE ‘We are usually cheaper than other brokers because we write a quality risk analysis describing the rail activities and highlight how safe a rail business is. We also draw attention to its investment in training and competence accreditations for staff. This absolves the rail company of its obligation to disclose all material facts, and we usually achieve the right cover while reducing the premium cost.’ As the pace of investment picks up and more rail projects push ahead, specialised railway insurance has to be in everyone’s interests. The identity of the railway company and the claimant has not been disclosed to protect their anonymity and privacy. However, the lessons of buying the right insurance should be apparent to all.

‘We are in a constant fight to get rail companies to understand our quality and their need for our advice as they don’t know what a good broker will do for them'. For more information, or to understand how Jobson James Rail could benefit your business, please contact Keven Parker: E-mail: keven.parker@jobson-james.co.uk Office: 0121 452 8450 Direct: 07816 283949 web: www.jjrail.co.uk

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NEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Railside residence for Duke of Burgundy A team of Network Rail staff has created a new habitat for one of Britain’s rarest butterflies at a new site next to the London - Birmingham line in Buckinghamshire. Volunteers from the EWR Alliance joined the Upper Thames Branch of wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation (BC) to create new habitat for the Duke of Burgundy colony on a patch of land adjacent to the railway line. The colony currently sits on private land near Princes Risborough, just north of High Wycombe, but the site has recently gone up for sale. BC hopes that creating new habitat nearby

will encourage the butterflies to expand their range, so whatever happens to their current site, they face a more secure future. Upper Thames branch chairman Nick Bowles said, ‘We are thrilled that Network Rail not only allowed us to work on this site, a former breeding ground for the butterfly, but also that so many of their staff volunteered to help. This is all part of our efforts to strengthen the Duke’s population and increase the number of colonies in Buckinghamshire.’ A recent report released by BC and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) found that the Duke of Burgundy has recovered from catastrophic declines over the last 10 years.

NEWS IN BRIEF CHAMPAGNE PERRY

Transport Minister Claire Perry will formally open Infrarail at 10.30 on Tuesday, 12 April. Perry will deliver a keynote address at 11.40 the same day. Perry is a big supporter of Women in Rail and has backed industry plans to recruit more female staff.

TALL DARK AND HANSON GB Railfreight (GBRf) ran its first train for Hanson UK earlier this year as part of a 12-month rolling contract, transporting aggregates from Whatley Quarry in Somerset to Wellingborough Rail Yard. The service continues the availability of the Wellingborough site for the wider rail freight industry, following the end of London Underground use next year.

CHILTERN CHANGE

Lamington Lament becomes Song of the Clyde A northbound Caledonian Sleeper became the first passenger service to use the restored Lamington Viaduct over the River Clyde in south Lanarkshire. The viaduct was damaged by flooding on New Year’s Eve. Works to repair and reopen the viaduct, on the West Coast Main Line, finished two weeks ahead of the projected March reopening date. Floodwater had scoured out much of the

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foundations of the viaduct’s second pier. Engineers worked 24/7 for seven weeks to divert the River Clyde and stabilise the structure. Engineers took advantage of a break in the weather conditions and the earlier than expected arrival of new, custom-made bearings to accelerate the recovery programme. The project has been a huge race against time as staff worked through the worst of January’s storms to save the structure.

The line connecting Leamington Spa, Banbury and Bicester North closes for re-signalling between 30 July and 8 August this summer. Engineers will replace the signalling through the Banbury area. When the line re-opens, it will be controlled from the West Midlands Signalling Centre in Birmingham. As well as a new track and signalling through Banbury station, the project will support the depot south of Banbury, currently under construction.

HEART TO HEART Northern Rail has put in lifesaving defibrillators at 13 more of its stations across the North thanks to a successful partnership with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. Northern already has installed 37 defibrillator sets in the past 12 months at other locations around its network. The cPAD, which are highly visible at each location, are simple and safe to use, with the machine giving clear spoken instructions. No training is required to use cPAD. Once in position the defibrillator will detect the heart’s rhythm and will only deliver a shock if one is needed.

FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

REPORT BY MARC JOHNSON

THE LEGEND CONTINUE THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME POINT DURING THE 10-YEAR RESTORATION OF FLYING SCOTSMAN WHEN EVEN THE MOST OPTIMISTIC OF THE ENGINEERS INVOLVED WONDERED WHETHER THE WORLD-FAMOUS LOCOMOTIVE WOULD EVER RUN AGAIN

he restoration was meant to be a short pitstop but when work began, the scale of the challenge suddenly became apparent. But at lunchtime on 25 February, Scotsman, with its recognisable green livery, pulled into York station for its official ‘Welcome Home’ party.

Well sooted ‘It’s been quite long,’ said Noel Hartley, operations manager at the National Railway Museum (NRM), about the day. Noel, who stood, well-sooted, in the locomotive’s cab following its arrival into York, continued, ‘We were up through the

night preparing the engine, and we left the shed this morning at 03.50. ‘It’s been a really good day. It’s been great that the engine’s performed faultlessly throughout and it’s been… adored by thousands of people along the lineside.’ Flying Scotsman is indeed loved by the public. Much of the £4.2 million cost of the restoration project came from public donations.

Commemorative Whisky The return of such an iconic piece of Britain’s engineering heritage is also big business. To celebrate the Flying Scotsman's comeback, Speyside Distillery, which is located within the Cairngorms National Park, has produced a special edition Beinn Dubh (black mountain) whisky especially for NRM.

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Record breaker Scotsman, now numbered 60103, hauled the very first non-stop London to Edinburgh service in 1928. However, its main claim to fame came in 1934 when it became the first steam locomotive to be recorded doing 100 mph. The 93-year-old locomotive is the last surviving of the 51 original A1 class locomotives which were rebuilt to the A3 specification. Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, Flying Scotsman has had numerous owners since it was retired by British Rail in January 1963, before eventually being brought back into public ownership in 2005. Flying Scotsman’s first private owner was British businessman Alan Pegler. In a video produced by the NRM for the inaugural run, his daughter, Penny, described the moment she found out that her dad had bought the famous locomotive. ‘My father came into my room on a wintry day in January and said today I’ve bought a steam engine. Unfortunately it cost my father his fortune, but it was all worth it because he saved this wonderful engine for future generations to enjoy.’

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

FEATURE

The Flying Scotsman photographed at NRM's North Yard in the snow on the 2nd of March.

PHOTO OPP FAIL

Traditional skills Speaking at the event last month, Colin Green, works director at Riley & Son, which has led the restoration, said that many of the engineers who had worked on Flying Scotsman had grown up on the project. He spoke about the complexity of sourcing the parts for the restoration and the skills needed to carry out the work. ‘We pulled the boiler to pieces, sussed out what was wrong, had to order the new bits… We then constructed it and built the boiler with

all the old technology… It’s traditional skills to the original drawings of what the LNER would have made.’ A series of events will be held throughout the year for what NRM is calling ‘Scotsman Season’. The programme includes exhibitions at the museum in York and a sold-out series of tours around the country. NRM is also inviting members of the public to share their stories and pictures of Flying Scotsman on social media using the hashtag #MyScotsman.

A keen railway photographer was mortified when after waiting hours to catch a shot of the Flying Scotsman on its run to London, the steam loco and train were momentarily blocked out by a speeding Virgin Trains service. Ryan Allen, from Lincolnshire, lamented the photo-bomb foul up on social media. Quick thinking bosses at Virgin Trains were soon in touch. They offered Ryan a free flight aboard Virgin Atlantic to Atlanta, Georgia USA. Tens of thousands of people lined the route as the Flying Scotsman returned to the metals after its £4.2 million refit. The 11-coach train was crammed with passengers, rail engineers and former staff. Virgin Group helped save the loco with a gift of £350,000. Says David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains East Coast, ‘The Flying Scotsman has an incredible history, and we’re proud to be sponsoring a season celebrating its return to the tracks.’ Ryan Allen will be able to capture the iconic loco again soon as it tours the country this month. © Ryan Allen/Twitter

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SUMMITS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Host of the RailBIM Summit David Philp, BIM Director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, AECOM.

100 attendees 13 technical speakers.

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

RAIL BIM SUMMIT

SUMMITS

REPORT BY CHRIS PARKER

DOUGLAS ADAMS, AUTHOR OF THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, CAME UP WITH THREE RULES TO DESCRIBE OUR RELATIONSHOP WITH TECHNOLOGY. NUMBER THREE SAYS: EVERYTHING INVENTED AFTER YOU'RE 35 IS AGAINST THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS.

dams was quoted by WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Andy Powell to open the Rail BIM Summit. It sums up how many in the industry feel when considering BIM. Andy’s next quotation, this time from former Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) president Peter Hansford, was a little more comforting, ‘The term BIM doesn’t matter at all. What we are talking about is the use of digital technology in design, construction and whole life asset management.’ Andy also spoke of Moore’s Law, which states that the power of computers will double approximately every two years. We are facing truly disruptive change imminently. What will be the implications of this for people and professions?

WELFARE Discussion ranged far and wide. Paul Trethaway spoke of the need to put in place, early in any project, a communication plan, linked closely with the common data environment (CDE) that’s required for BIM to succeed. Key benefits include greater safety and improved welfare. Obvious examples include the removal of people from hazardous environments through technologies that eliminate the need for human access, and ensuring that once captured, information is stored centrally and accessible to all who have legitimate uses for it. David Philp spoke of delivering things differently. He too said that it was ‘time to disrupt digitally’, creating data-driven, hyper-connected railways. Several speakers pointed out young people are comfortable with digital technologies and media. The rail industry must make the most of this natural knowledge. According to David, BIM is just a component of a wider scene, so in rail we are in mass transit, we move people or freight. BIM is not just about new projects, but also about operations and maintenance; information from Capex projects must be fed back into operations and maintenance. The first two speakers of the main morning session spoke about connecting BIM to existing infrastructure. Carl Siddons represented Network Rail and James Young, Digital

Engineering Consultants. Network Rail is focussing on BIM, but emphasising that it’s not all ‘building’. Nor is it a product that can be bought and installed like a new operating system or app. It’s more complex and better than that. James described infrastructure systems modelling that is being done by Network Rail and its suppliers, building up a managed component library linked to a system model. The implications for people, whether designers, installers or maintainers are huge. People will need training and development to allow them to deal successfully with such change.

DIGITAL AGE The next speaker, John Kerbey of HS2 Ltd, spoke of what BIM means to HS2 and described the company’s BIM strategy. Notably he said that the three key issues of that strategy were leadership, up-skilling and future-proofing, and two of these three involve people. Skanska provided the next presentation via Ben Felton, giving the contractor’s perspective of ‘How will BIM advance the railways?’ The first thing Ben mentioned was Skanska’s BIM4Rail initiative which he described as ‘connecting BIM with our people’. Ben quoted Mike Putnam, chief executive of Skanska, ‘The digital age is revolutionising how construction does things… We need to stay ahead of the game.’ It should be said that this is as true of individuals as of companies and organisations. Ben said that people are the constant in the construction process. Skanska believes in investing in people, making them aware of the changes technology is bringing. For example, site staff have rapidly taken to it after discovering how easily their site diaries can now be completed electronically by the software. Bernard Fanning from Network Rail reiterated the safety benefits of BIM but from a client’s perspective. He outlined the role of the client, describing what the client must do and what they are accountable for under the CDM Regulations 2007.

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SUMMITS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

CROSSRAIL Benefits of BIM are that all information is held securely in one place and accessible readily to all who need it. Information is controlled, standardised and managed. It can be used to model changes before they are made in reality, or to model after an event to assist in investigation and understanding. A digital model is invaluable for consultation and stakeholder management, as well as in enhancing safety. Malcolm Taylor of Crossrail spoke about how BIM has been embraced by the project. ‘Without BIM it would have been a whole lot harder’ he said. Crossrail has been an enabler of BIM and will see benefits as a result. Bridgeway’s Simon Hatch spoke of how existing assets can be modelled, referring to ‘using BIM to supplement the rail industry’ by integrating information previously held in separate ‘silos’ to better inform operations and maintenance. Bentley Systems was represented by Andrew Smith, whose theme was how BIM can positively influence rail operations and maintenance. ‘It doesn’t matter how much information we have if people aren’t aware of it and therefore are unable to use it.’ Andrew’s words again emphasised the importance of people. Olly Thomas of BIM Technologies reiterated that BIM is not a product that can be bought off the shelf, it’s a process. It’s not a fad, it’s a permanent step change. BIM won’t wait for you, and it’s not an added extra.

‘What skills do employees need to be BIM ready?’ asked GeoEnable’s Steve Eglinton. ‘It depends’ was his answer. What does your organisation do, what are your goals, where are you in the supply chain and what are your time frames? Steve went on to explain and expand these questions. He was clear that it’s not all about technology but that we still need people. The technology is about making people cleverer and extending their capabilities. Steve referred to the people centric challenges such as business continuity, resilience, risk mitigation and more. Steve spoke of the need to up-skill people, to get existing information managers involved in BIM, to determine which skills are required - whether currently available or newly emerging - and said we are likely to need more leaders and fewer managers. The final presentation was made by Andrew Longyear from Cisco Systems. He too related to the importance of people, saying that BIM Level 2 needs to embrace a complex set of people and things to drive innovation.

SECURITY People are important also to the security of the emerging connected world, and this is as true of BIM as anywhere else. BIM data is at risk as is any data, and needs to be secured against those who might compromise it in some way to the detriment of its owners and users. Andrew echoed other speakers in referring to the explosive changes that the technology is bringing, with connectivity expanding rapidly.

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LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CE

R THE GE

RATE TO B LE

11/12 JUNE 2016 The rail industry and community organisations will join together to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 90th Birthday, with the Station to Station Queens Celebration.

Coming to a station near you! We are actively calling all rail industry suppliers to join in and help promote the broad spectrum of career opportunities the industry has to offer

To find out how you can join in this wonderful event please visit our website

www. quee nsce l e b r at i o n . c o m

How can you help? If you are a supplier to the industry and you would like to support this weekend of national celebration, please contact:

Vicky Binley at Nimble Media Ltd

T: 0845 1 700 300 E: info@queenscelebration.com

TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

PAPER, PAPER EVERYWHER REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

(OR MORE ACCURATELY SMART CARDS AND COMPUTER

BUT DOES IT MAKE FOR A SAFER RAILWAY?

Conveyor arm struck at 102 mph, Barrow-on-Soar sidings.

applaud the information provided in Crossrail’s press release of February 26th. It dismisses the use of lagging health and safety indicators such as accident frequency rates in favour of leading indicators. It commends the use of its Health and Safety Performance Index to “drive positive behaviours and a culture to prevent accidents occurring in the first place.” This statement concurs with my own philosophy.

RAILWAY CONTRACTORS LICENSES

In January I referred to a near miss investigated by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) which highlighted the fact that a Work Package Plan for the job was over 50 pages long, only 12 of which were relevant to the person to whom it was issued! Network Rail’s Safe Work Leader initiative has had a mixed reception and despite its introduction date RAIB also found an organisation that was not planning to brief it until this month! Network Rail’s Safety Central website now carries a reminder to Safe Work Leaders that their employers should either hold Principle Contractors’ Licence, or if not they can still use their skills provided they have a “Railway Contractors Licence”.

INDUSTRY COMMON INDUCTION Yet another additional piece of record keeping was referred to in a 16th February letter from Network Rail that reminds everyone working on their construction sites, rail depots and carrying out station maintenance that they need ICI (Industry Common Induction). That becomes a mandatory requirement from June 1st this year. However a letter on the Safety Central website now advises formal letters be written seeking a dispensation if the timescale cannot be achieved, but this needs to be done “no later than 31st March 2016”. It also points out that PTS (Personal Track Safety) does not supersede ICI and “both competences will need to be held in many cases”; before adding that they recommend new staff obtain their ICI before PTS. Apart from additional paperwork and inevitably the people employed to organise it all, so much duplication surely must add to both cost and confusion? RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

“AS FAR AS REASONABLY PRACTICABLE” Changing rules, standards, directives and guidance notes should surely never be prioritised above listening to and motivating those doing the actual work? A reader wrote in recently drawing my attention to the fact that some underbridge parapets on the Didcot to Chester line are lower than the old 1950 (reprinted 1960) Blue Book issued by the Ministry of Transport specified. I do not fully share his concerns. I suggest guidance may be found in the relevant Network Rail or Group Standard. He suggests that 1.37 metres should be the minimum. I believe this is an area where decisions are best left to the responsible engineer.

On existing underbridges reducing the risk of workers and train drivers taking a tumble should be the aim. Listed Victorian built structures can be modified but a listing in the Hazard Directory may also be the best answer. On overbridges the height needed is to reduce the likelihood of debris being thrown onto the railway and in electrified areas making it difficult for anyone to make contact with the OLE. Even the 1950 Blue Book sensibly included the proviso that the standards set out should be complied with “as far as is reasonably practicable”.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

TRACK SAFETY

R RECORDS

CONVEYOR ARM STRUCK AT 102 MPH I continue to admire the detailed investigations and subsequent reports by RAIB, and they keep coming! On 14th February at 1027 am a passenger train travelling at 102 mph collided with a conveyor wagon boom from an aggregate train in an adjacent siding in Barrow-on-Soar sidings (otherwise known as Mount Sorrel). The passenger train was the 1020 East Midlands service from Leicester to York and was a seven car Class 222 diesel multiple unit. Line speed is 110 mph and after the driver applied the emergency break the train came to a stand after a further three quarters of a mile. The train was not derailed but the front cab was damaged as may be seen in the picture. The conveyor arm was damaged and a staff member was seriously injured and taken to hospital by air ambulance. The RAIB have begun their investigation.

DRAGGED ALONG THE PLATFORM AT WEST WICKHAM RAIB have also just published their full report into the serious accident that occurred resulting in life changing injuries. It was on April 10th last year when the

Southeastern train from London Cannon Street to Hayes in Kent stopped at West Wickham Station. A woman passenger travelling in the 4th vehicle of the Class 465 Networker train (made up of two four vehicle units) reached the doors and pressed the illuminated “door open” button. She was unaware that the driver had almost simultaneously initiated the door closing cycle. The sign was still illuminated for opening the doors and the train was stationary. Her backpack was caught by the closing doors which closed more quickly than she expected as she was stepping off the train. They opened again briefly releasing the backpack but closed again trapping the left shoulder strap of her bag.

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EIGHT MONITORING SCREENS Drivers are provided with an eight vehicle monitor bank on the platform at West Wickham. Each screen is linked to a single CCTV camera and measures fifteen inches diagonally. They provide drivers with a colour view of the platform side of the train including all the passenger doors. This equipment is maintained, the screens cleaned and the camera angles checked every three months. This had been done last on February 10th.

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TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

The train had stopped but after ten seconds the trainee driver (who was under supervision of an instructor driver) had pressed the “doors close” button to initiate the door closing cycle. Two seconds after the illuminated door interlock indicated that the doors were closed the driver applied power to start the train and it moved off after another four seconds. As the train moved off it dragged her along the platform until she came free and then fell into the gap between the train and the platform. She suffered life changing injuries as a result.

DRIVERS WERE UNAWARE The doors of the third vehicle of the train had been opened by a male passenger who had safely got off the train. He saw what was happening and tried to attract the driver’s attention by waving. Subsequently passengers on the other platform reported the accident to a staff member in the ticket office who arranged for the third rail 750 volt electrification to be switched off, called the emergency services and reported the accident. The train continued on to the next and final station of Hayes where the driver and his instructor first learnt of the accident. The detailed RAIB Inquiry found that with no doors initially being opened in the 4th vehicle the doors closing warning sound would not have been sounding as she pressed the doors open button. When the doors closed on the

backpack they automatically moved apart releasing it before quickly closing again trapping the shoulder strap. They also found that an able bodied passenger took 8 seconds to reach the door when seated furthest from it, and that the peak door closing force was significantly higher when the doors were only partially opened than when they were opened fully.

PREVIOUS INCIDENTS The train was on time at Wickham and RAIB were told by Southeastern trains that the timetable allows 60 seconds for trains to call at West Wickham and similar stations. For the train involved 4 out of 9 closure sequences that day were initiated in less than 15 seconds but at least 15 seconds were allowed by all other trains in the RAIB’s sample check. According to records checked between April 2005 and May 2015 there have been 66 accidents with passengers “trapped and dragged”. RAIB’s report also states that there is a public misconception that the doors will re-open if someone is trapped.

LEARNING POINTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The report identifies five learning points and makes two recommendations. The first relates to the seconds during which it is possible for a door to be opened after the door closing cycle has begun. The recommendations are

that all train door control systems exhibiting this unsafe characteristic should be identified and corrected and secondly guidance documents should be changed requiring dispatching staff to watch the train doors whilst they are closing. The five learning points include releasing doors long enough for passengers to get on and off safely, effective checking of the doors before setting off and not relying on the door interlocking lights, design of door controls, and finally the use of driving simulators to raise drivers’ awareness of when it is not safe to depart from a station. I still have good memories of using a cab pass to travel over tracks my organisation maintained (and I walked them as well). Listening to drivers concerns and those of the track staff was a high priority. But we did not have so much paper and data to manage. The RAIB report into the tragedy at West Wickham and the accident at Barrow-on-Soar both left me wondering if local managers had concerns about automatic door operation at West Wickham and elsewhere on that route or the use of a conveyor adjacent and close to a 110 mph main line railway. If so was anyone listening to their concerns? But such concerns are of course outside RAIB’s remit. Their reports are not for the purpose of establishing blame or liability. As a natural optimist my hopes are high that the current review of the work of the Office of Road and Rail may benefit railway safety and will not add yet more paper!

Safety S afffe a etty e Summit S ummit

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Tel: +44 (0)1530 816 456 www.railsummits.com @railsummits

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

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

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Rail Safety Summit 2016

RAIL SAFETY SUMMIT 2016 – AGENDA 1. Keynote speaker: Graham Hopkins (Network Rail) 2. The new RSSB’s ‘Leading health and safety on Britain’s railway – A strategy for working together.’

John Abbott (RSSB) and Roan Willmore (Network Rail)

3. Fatigue •

Fatigue risks and management. Mark Young (RAIB)

•

New models/products to lower fatigue such as the wrist bands from Crossrail & TfL & a new shift model. Jill Collis (TfL)

•

External view on managing fatigue. Army. Johnny Shute (ORR)

Safety Summit 5th MAY 2016 LONDON

5. Road Risk

•

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

•

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

•

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

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

6. Workforce safety •

Overview on Workforce Safety in the rail industry, what improvements have been made, the future. Rupert Lown (Network Rail)

4. Health and wellbeing •

Overview on H&W in the industry & the improvements that have been made. Mick Kearney (ASLEF)

•

Design for H&W – High Gate Control Room. Steve Coe (TSSA)

How leaders are empowering their teams to take ownership of their own safety. Emma Head (HS2)

•

Health and wellbeing – what does ‘good’ look like and what benefits can result? David Nancarrow (Atkins)

New innovations programme to improve track worker safety. Pino De Rosa (Bridgeway Consulting Ltd)

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

Purchase your tickets now at www.railsummits.com

INTERVIEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

FROM DEFENCE

TO ATTACK ANDY MILNE TALKS TO NETWORK RAIL'S CHIEF ENGINEER JANE SIMPSON

year into the job of chief engineer Network Rail, Jane Simpson is enjoying it more than ever. This is apparent when we first met - not on a railway siding but at the Rail Staff Carol Service, organised by TBF in London. As rehearsal arias by the London Transport Choir soared aloft, Jane Simpson talked of the need to encourage more young people, particularly women, into the rail industry and agreed to get together in Milton Keynes. Simpson’s job as chief engineer for Network Rail seems at variance with original career advice given to her at school in Coventry: try teaching or being a nursery nurse. Simpson, who works in the Quadrant Milton Keynes, is determined to make sure thousands of other school leavers do not make the mistake of acting on such foolhardy counsels. Shortly after we met at Milton Keynes - the cathedral-like Quadrant is based on the site of the old Hockey Stadium actor Kate Winslet spoke at a Hollywood awards fest. She said, ‘When I was younger, when I was 14, I was told by a drama teacher that I might do OK if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts.’ Winslet went on, ‘So what I always feel in these moments is that any young woman who has ever been put down by a teacher, by a friend, by even a parent, just don’t listen to any of it, because that’s what I did – I kept on going and I overcame my fears and got over my insecurities.’

DOUBLE YELLOW Sceptics may say that’s all very well in the world of the silver screen. Hollywood is full of rags to riches stories - the dramatisation of the American dream. However, the world of the the double-yellow screen (proceed with caution) provides even more conclusive evidence. A growing body of women in railways is making short work of old prejudices and power games. It’s a struggle, but Jane Simpson is determined to play her part in what is now a comprehensive movement shaping the future for railways - both socially and technically. No longer is the railway a muddle and mend affair. Visionary ideas being talked of, mapped out and costed are the very stuff of science fiction. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

The joy of m involved in s types of eng

‘We set the vision,’ says Simpson. The chief engineer at Network Rail heads a department of 300 staff, subject masters and experts in electronics, computing, wheel-rail interface, tunnels, bridges, mining, signalling, buildings and delivery units. It is a wide remit made wider by the exigencies of expansion. The UK needs bigger and better railways. The political will is there - witness cross party backing for HS2. Less clear is how the rail industry is going to assemble the thousands needed to build and run the railways of the future. This does not faze erstwhile defence engineer, Jane Simpson. The best form of defence is attack.

RAIL VISION ‘The joy of my job is I am involved in so many different types of engineering. I love the technical vision that we set out - what railways will look like in 20 or 30 years time.’ If this idea of designing and building new railways can be conveyed to young people and be shown to be fun and rewarding, then the rail vision may just be brought into sharper focus. Like Kate Winslet, no school leaver should be put off applying to the railway by a poor performance academically. Simpson makes a powerful argument for stepping off the academic treadmill and taking up an apprenticeship. ‘I left school at 16,’ Jane says, and adds she did not feel ready to go on to further education. ‘I had not done so

Jane Simpson speaking at an internal Network Rail presentation.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

INTERVIEWS

my job is I am so many different gineering.

Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin unveils a plaque at Eccles station, with the Mayor of Salford, and Jane Simpson.

well at school,’ she admits, being more interested in sports. Simpson is proof that many people are late developers. If school proves a bit of a disaster, the message from the Quadrant is have another shot at it later on.

APPRENTICE TO STUDENT A process of applications for various jobs followed carefully supervised by her father who made her fill out application forms in rough - on a photocopied form - and then do it again neatly. GEC offered her an apprenticeship as a defence engineer. ‘I’d always liked maths and physics,’ she says and her father urged her to capitalise on this. She did well on the four-year scheme gaining an ONC. Then she landed a big break. ’GEC sponsored me to do a degree at Coventry. I went on to do a degree,and I got a first and then did a masters.’ As many adult-onset undergraduates have found, student life was better for having worked in industry. ‘You can work a bit harder because you’re used to clocking in and out. I had a bit of cash because I was sponsored and I lived at home. I enjoyed being a student.’ The degree was in electronics and communications engineering. She went on to read for a masters degree in electrical and electronics at Birmingham University. ‘People mature at different rates.’

OLD RAILWAY Simpson joined BR in 1996 and was based at Quayside Tower in Birmingham. She was one of the last BR graduates taken on. With privatisation, she moved to GTRM for a few years. ‘I was out there working shifts with them,’ she says, revering hands-on experience of running and building the railway, its depots and OLE systems. The railway was quite a change. Jane describes a world of Pirelli calendars and FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

INTERVIEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

few ladies toilets. As she cheerfully reminisces about some depots with no ladies loo, ‘I’d position a lookout on the door.’ She joined Network Rail’s Infrastructure Maintenance department in 2009 and was promoted to director route asset management LNWR in 2011. She became technical services director in January 2014, directing engineering policy, standards, analysis and the R&D team. This was combined with a role overseeing organisational change, business critical rules and safety leadership.

NOT A ROBOT Promoted to chief engineer for Network Rail in January 2015, Jane Simpson is crucially aware of the need to speed up innovation and the delivery of new technologies that will expand and sustain the railway of the next hundred years. The secret of her success has to be in part down to sheer enjoyment of the job. Simpson is a relaxed and engaging person to talk to. She speaks with a refreshing openness, with no sense of another agenda at work. Beefing up how the railway expands and sustains itself is the mainspring of the job. Jane reels off new plans under development. ‘Mechatronics, new ways of moving trains, autonomous intelligence systems and little robots for intelligent inspection on track….’ Some of the research is funded by the European Union through Horizon 2020 - an EU initiative researching science, industrial leadership and solutions to social and economic problems - the transport section has a budget of almost €6 billion. Part of this funds Shift2Rail - Network Rail was a founder member. Shift2Rail aims to double the capacity of Europe’s rail systems, increase reliability and drive down costs and reduce carbon usage. ‘I was keen that we got involved,’ she says.

SKILL GAP Simpson also enthuses about 3D printing. ‘We have lots of problems with obsolescence. Companies have gone out of business. How do we do it? Equipment can be over 40 years old. If you had 3D printing you could print something out on site.’ However, a part of her remit is to address the skill-gap concerns of rail chiefs up and down the country. How do we recruit the next generation? Research shows teenage girls turn off from the idea of engineering jobs by the time they reach 14. It’s equated with disagreeable men in boiler suits, cinder

packed yards and grimy machines leaking sump oil. The role of the railway engineer is different now, says Jane. ‘I couldn’t tell you what an engineer looks like,’ Simpson told school students. ‘Our engineers wear hard hats and orange hi-vis to be safe when they are on track or on site, but they also wear business dress because they are designers, electronic specialists or project managers, where they are office-based.’ It’s a struggle to get this across. ‘We’re working hard to show both sides of the role to reflect this reality and promote the varied role of an engineer.’

FAMILY BALANCE "Teach Scouts not how to get a living, but how to live" Lord Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Scout Movement and first Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association.

A lifelong member of the Scouts, Jane joined the Board of Trustees of the Scout Association last year.

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The domestic picture of Jane Simpson reinforces her view that the future belongs to normal people - women as well as men. She has two children aged 12 and 14. Her husband, Bart, works in software development. ‘Work-life balance is important. You have to get over the guilt of not doing justice to either,’ she says. ‘I get home most nights. When they were younger, I’d get home to see them at bath time and bed time. Now I get in and they both shout ‘Hi’ and disappear,’ We swap anecdotes about the huge amounts of food teenagers consume. Simpson may be an electronic engineer but, ‘There’s no tech stuff at the table. We eat together at weekends. Although during the week, ‘I’ll get in and me and Bart cook and they appear saying: that smells quite nice.’ The family lives at Harbury in Warwickshire - of landslip fame. ‘It’s about a mile from our house,’ says Jane. The geology of the area is Jurassic Blue Lias - layers of limestone and shale and as such is unstable. Early railway pioneers wanted to build a tunnel through the area but decided not to. This really is a place where the earth moves under many a relationship.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

INTERVIEWS

ENDURING LEGACY

BE PREPARED The family goes cycling together and enjoys skiing and hiking. Jane is a regular at the gym. As well as snowboarding and skiing last October half-term, the Simpsons went on a cookery course at La Rochelle. The children learned to cook and make bread, pastry and quiche. Can men multi-skill? Those in Jane Simpson’s life have a better chance than most. A lifelong member of the Scouts, Jane joined the Board of Trustees of the Scout Association last year. She was a Girl Guide and a Scout, gaining her Baden-Powell Award as a Guide and her Queens Scout Award as a Venture Scout. Jane set up a Rainbow unit and has been an adult helper in both Beavers and Cubs. Involvement with the Scouts and Guides gave valuable lessons in leadership. ‘Dyan Crowther suggested I be a trustee. Dyan saw it advertised and said, I thought of you…’ The two are firm friends and she cites Crowther as a major influence on her career. ‘So I applied and said ‘I am the most senior female engineer in Network Rail’. That drew them!’ Dyan Crowther is currently chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink Railway.

The Venture Scouts had a more enduring legacy. ‘One Venture Scout leader, she was only five years older than me but she was in her late teens, said to me ‘I want to be a director by the age of 40’.’ Simpson, from a working class family, had never thought of this. However, Victoria Dix was as good as her word and became managing director of Cohn & Wolfe in 2001. She’s based in Geneva, Switzerland and the two are still in touch. ‘The only person stopping you is yourself,’ Jane believes. ‘Women have a tendency to want to be perfect therefore they don’t apply for roles.’ It’s true - a few railwaymen will always try and wing it at the interview - quite happy with the idea of being promoted one level above one’s competence. Self belief is important. ‘Lots of people stay in their comfort zone. People should constantly push themselves.’  ‘I try and read one or two good self-development books a year. I’m currently reading Heels of Steel by Vanessa Vallely.’ This is worth reading regardless of gender or stage of career development. Vallely went to work in the City aged 15 and rose to the top. Highly recommended.

The only person stopping you is yourself.

MEN WERE ASTONISHED Role models are a recurring theme. ‘I get my graduates out there visiting schools,’ Simpson says. Elsewhere she has paid tribute to those who encouraged her. ‘Role models are crucial to show girls and women what’s possible and where their potential can take them. I was lucky to have a female role model who saw my potential and helped me realise it. Some quite senior men were astonished that I could talk confidently about complex engineering problems, but they soon came to see me for what I could do, not my gender. ‘As the most senior engineer in one of Britain’s biggest engineering companies I know I can help girls along a similar path and be part of something special.’ By 2018, over 3,000 teenage girls at five schools in Milton Keynes will have received advice on pursuing careers in railways. Work experience and open evenings at Network Rail training centres are designed to build confidence among potential applicants and show the railway is now the preserve of those who believe in ingenuity, purpose and doing something positive for the environment.

Regina Tumblepot who in 2013 was voted Apprentice of the Year in the Crossrail Apprentice Awards.

Ambassadors and role models are out in force, Jane Simpson at their forefront, advice and encouragement unstinting. Railway engineering is a great career for girls. She said recently, ‘It’s a fantastic career if you are creative…inquisitive, if you like to learn about what’s going on, if you want to know how things work, if you like being challenged - that’s what engineering is all about… I never do the same thing every day.’ That includes showing up to read the lesson at a Carol Service. Simpson, Crowther and many more like them are comprehensively breaching the orange ceiling. Above all they demonstrate that a career in railways is fun, full of companionship and genuine fulfilment.

Many thanks to Donna Mitchell for her help with this article and to John Sheehy, TBF London.

FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

EVENTS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Asia Pacific Rail is the most exclusive and influential railway gathering in the region.

conference exhibition

conference

EVENTS

MARCH

tech

exhibition

press conference

tech

conference

press conference network awaards

network FUTURE OF RAIL PRESENTATION awaards

14th March, Wiltshire www.imeche.org

exhibition

conference

tech

exhibition

TECHNICAL ASPECTStechOF dinner NEW SLEEPER TRAINS press conference

dinner

exhibition

awaards

network tech 17th March, Glasgow press conference awaards conference www.imeche.org dinner

15th March, London www.imeche.org

tech press conference

21st March, London free www.imeche.org

network

INTERMODAL ASIA conference conference free conference exhibition tech exhibition

RIA INNOVATION CONFERENCE conference exhibition

exhibition tech press conference

dinner

16th March, Oxfordshire press conference www.riagb.org.uk/events-diary tech

network

awaards RAIL INDUSTRY MEETINGS dinner

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

PASSENGER ROLLING STOCK PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE & ASSET MANAGEMENT conference exhibition

tech 16th - 17th March, Washington, press conference USA

www.passenger-rolling-stocknetwork awaards maintenance.com dinner

network

dinner

awaards

free

tech 22nd March, Leicester press conference free www.llepbizgateway.co.uk/ dinner events/first-time-rail-exportersnetwork awaards awaards conference workshop network exhibition dinner

awaards dinner dinner

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

tech press conference

dinner

free

press conference ERTMS AND ETCS, FUTURE tech SIGNALLING IN network OF RAILWAY exhibition conference awaards THE UK dinner

UIC ERTMS WORLD free exhibition CONFERENCE conference tech exhibition

conference

tech 29th - 31st March, Brussels press conference www.ertms-conference2016.com

press conference

22nd - 23rd March, London free

waterfrontconferencecompany.com

network

awaards conference

SAFE RAIL

exhibition tech

22nd - 23rdpress March, conference Washington, USA network www.saferail.ca awaards dinner

free

awaards HIGH SPEED TRAIN TRAVEL dinner dinner IN EUROPE free conference free exhibition tech 31st March, Burton-upon-Trent press conference www.imeche.org network awaards

free

dinner

conference

exhibition conference conferencefree EVENTS KEY conference techexhibition exhibition conference exhibition conference conference

CONFERENCE

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exhibition EXHIBITION exhibition tech press conference press press conference tech techtechconference

TECHNICAL VISIT

GUIDE TO UP COMING EVENTS IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AT A GLANCE

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free

21ST ANNUAL AAR dinner free free RESEARCH REVIEW conference free exhibition

conference free

exhibition

dinner

awaards

awaards PASSPORT TO EXPORT dinner

free

awaards

exhibition 22nd - tech 24th March, Shanghai, presstech conference press conference pressChina conference network www.intermodal-asia.com network awaards

conference free

awaards network

network

dinner

exhibition

WHEELSET, LESS COST, LESS network tech awaards RISK THE CHALLENGE conference SIGNALLING pressNKL conference exhibition dinner

exhibition tech

22nd -23rd March, Hong Kong press conference network www.terrapinn.com/events

conference free

free

conference

ASIA PACIFIC RAIL

press conference

free

conference exhibition

conference

tech

APRIL

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

network

conference

press conference exhibition network

awaards

awaards exhibition YRP BLACK TIE pressANNUAL conference tech dinner awaards DINNER AND DANCE, press conferenceNRM dinner free network awaards

8th April, York network free dinner awaards www.youngrailpro.com/events dinner

exhibition tech

tech 20th April, London

press conference

free

43. CONFERENCE awaards ON press conference dinner MODERN ROLLING STOCK 3rd - 6th April, Austrianetwork

24TH ANNUAL: RAIL FREIGHT GROUP conference CONFERENCE 2016 exhibition conference tech exhibition

network

tech 3rd - 6th April, Washington, USA press conference conference www.aslrra.org network

conference

tech

dinner

SHORT LINE AND REGIONAL free CONFERENCE conference exhibition

press conference

waterfrontconferencecompany.com

conference

INFRARAIL 2016

conference

free exhibition

exhibition

free

network

tech

SCOTRAIL ALLIANCE dinnerdinner – THE FIRST YEAR conference free free exhibition

EXPO FERROVIARIA

awaards

exhibition

dinner US JOINT RAIL tech dinner conference CONFERENCE press conference exhibitionfree

awaards

tech

free exhibition

5th - 7th April, Turin, Italy press conference www.expoferroviaria.com/eng

tech 21st April, Glasgow press conference www.imeche.org

free

12th - 15th April, Columbia,techUSA press conference network www.asme.org/events

network awaards

5th - 8th April, Cagliari,techItaly press conference www.civil-comp.com/conf conference

network

MENA TRANSPORT

awaards conference dinner exhibition

awaards

dinner 3RD RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH conference free exhibition

dinner

network

tech

awaards CLASS 458S – LIVING THE dinner free DREAM conference exhibition

tech

ELECTROTRANS awaards exhibition network press conferencepress conference dinner tech awaards 6th - 8th April, Moscow GROWING THE NETWORK press conference dinner free network network conference conference – THE EXPANSION OF www.electrotrans-expo.ru/en free awaards awaards network exhibition exhibition THE DOCKLANDS LIGHT tech tech awaards dinner dinner dinner RAILWAY NEW OXFORD – press conference press conference conference conference free free MARYLEBONE RAIL LINE exhibition exhibition free network 6th April, Oxford awaards www.imeche.org dinner

tech London 18th April, www.imeche.org

tech

network

exhibition

conference free

tech 7th April, Derby press conference www.imeche.org network

free

IDTECHEX SHOW exhibition tech

conference

27th April , Berlin network www.idtechex.com/events awaards press conference

network

press conference press conference

dinner

awaards dinner

network

awaards

awaards SMART RAIL EUROPE dinner

dinner

exhibition

conference free

tech 19th - 20th April, Amsterdam press conference free free www.smartraileurope.com

IDTECHEX SHOW free conference exhibition tech

28th April , Berlin network www.idtechex.com/events awaards press conference

dinner

network

awaards

free

Congress & Exhibition 25th - 27th April, network Dubai awaards dinner www.uitp-mena.com press conference

free

12th April, Crewetech press conference exhibition www.imeche.org tech

conference

exhibition

network conference

network

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awaardsawaards

tech 12th - 14th April, London press conference press conference awaards www.infrarail.com ww.schienenfahrzeugtagung.at/en dinner

V300 ZEFIRO

EVENTS

exhibition conference tech exhibition press conference tech

press conference

awaards

dinner free

dinner

free

NEW FRANCHISING Delivering a Sustainable Railway for the Future

The event will offer an insight into the how the DfT’s new approach to franchising, which focuses on service quality, and capacity growth will improve rail services across England and Wales. Taking the recently awarded Northern Franchise as an example this conference aims to show how this investment has wider implications for the development of the Northern Powerhouse through new and innovative developments.

Franchise Summit

Thursday 19th May 2016 Addleshaw Goddard Ofﬁces, LEEDS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

It will also highlight how through engaging with key community stakeholders sustainable business growth can be delivered. FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

EVENTS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

conference exhibition

MAY

tech

press conference

RAIL SAFETY SUMMIT

conference

exhibition network conference tech exhibition awaards

conference exhibition

5th May, London dinner press conference www.railsummits.com tech

press conference

free

network

awaards awaards

MAINTAINING THE dinner dinner PENDOLINO - 12 YEARS ON conferencefree

RAIL POWER conference

free

exhibition

tech Preston 10th May, press conference www.imeche.org

exhibition tech

tech 26th - 27th May, London press conference press conference www.terrapinn.com/events

network network

ASIA RAIL SUMMIT dinner awaards awaards

dinner

conference

exhibition free tech free

26th - 27th May, Bangkok, press conference Thailand www.ourpolaris.com/2016/ars network awaards

network awaards RAIL SOLUTIONS ASIA conferencedinner conference exhibition

exhibition techfree tech

11th -13th May, Malaysia press conference press conference www.tdhrail.co.uk/rsa

tech

26th - 27th May, London www.terrapinn.com/events

press conference

awaards

CORE 2016 tech dinner

dinner conference press conference exhibition free

16th - 18th free May, Melbourne, AUS press conference www.core2016.org

network

awaards

dinnerRAIL 2016 LIGHT conference exhibition free tech

26th - 27th May, London www.terrapinn.com/events

press conference

network

awaards

dinner

conference awaards

GLASGOW SUBWAY DEPOT exhibition dinner free

tech press conference

free

19th May, Glasgow network www.imeche.org awaards conference exhibition dinner tech

RAIL EXEC HS2 NETWORK press conference free LUNCHEON network awaards

19th May,dinner Leicester www.railexec.com free

SCANDINAVIAN RAIL DEVELOPMENT 2016 conference

dinner RAILPOWER conference free exhibition

tech 26th - 27th May, London press conference www.terrapinn.com/events network awaards METRO RAIL dinner conference

exhibition free

tech 27th May , London press conference www.terrapinn.com/events network awaards 11TH WORLD CONGRESS ON dinner RAILWAY RESEARCH free

conference

exhibition

29th May - 2nd June, Milan, Italy press conference www.wcrr2016.org tech

exhibition

tech Stockholm, Sweden 24th May, press conference www. scandinavianraildevelopment. network comawaardsdinner free

WORLD METRO RAIL CONGRESS (TERRAPIN) conference exhibition

26th & tech 27th May, London press conference www.terrapinn.com/events

network awaards RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE dinner SUMMIT conference free conference exhibition exhibition tech

tech 30th - 31st May, Vietnam press conference press conference www.irits.org

network network awaards awaards dinner

dinner free

free

network

Infrarail 2016 looks like breaking previous records as more than 200 companies have already signed up to exhibit at ExCeL London.

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dinner

RAILTEL 2016 conference

DOUBLE DYNAMICS FOR INFRARAIL 2016

awaards dinner free

Discover Rail Media at STAND

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Tel: 01530 816 444 | www.rail-media.com | @rail_media

RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

Almost 40 per cent of these suppliers to the rail market are first time exhibitors at Infrarail. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a double bonus for all visitors to Infrarail - 12-14 April 2016. Central to the exhibition at ExCeL London will be a range of high-quality products and services provided by top performing companies - all regular exhibitors. However, this year visitors can check out 75 new companies and discuss a plethora of new product portfolios. Infrastructure and rail industry leaders will be there proving that nothing compares to face-to-face meetings, creating new relationships and consolidating existing ones. If discussion, interaction and generation are the lifeblood of doing business, Infrarail 2016 is the strong heart at the centre of the fastest growing railway in Europe. Among those looking forward to engaging with the Infrarail audience this year are Crossrail, HS2 and the Rail Supply Group. On-site representatives will be able to explain long-term strategies and plans as well as celebrating the double dynamics of current infrastructure achievements and future visions for high-speed rail and other projects. For the first time this year, visitors to Infrarail will be able to set up meetings with suppliers before the event. The Business Matching Service is free of charge and will allow visitors to better plan their visit to the show. Rail Media will be there too and we look forward to welcoming our readers and all supporters of the new rail industry.

O P S

T H G I L T

OR FREE VISIT ON TI REGISTRA n at now ope ail.com www.infrar oor Save £20 on

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

RAILSTAFF'S WHAT DO THEY DO? FEATURE RETURNS TO LOOK AT THE INCREASINGLY INFLUENTIAL ROLE OF TRANSPORT FOR THE NORTH

he new Northern franchise will ‘start the transformation of rail travel in the North’ said Northern Rail’s managing director, Alex Hynes, in a press release announcing Arriva’s success in securing the nine-year franchise. The franchise has made several bold commitments. More than £1 billion will be spent improving services, including £400 million for brand new CAF trains to replace the Pacers. There will be a substantial increase to peak-time capacity, more connections and free Wi-Fi on all trains and stations. It also makes pledges to staff, promising £2.2 million to upgrade staff rooms, to hire at least 20 apprentices a year and to paying the living wage to its employees. Unlike the previous franchise, the new agreement has been let on a growth basis, creating investment for the route that has been sorely needed. The previous franchise was awarded on a presumption of zero growth. Since then, patronage has gone up by 50 per cent - the equivalent of 100 million passenger journeys a year.

RAIL NORTH One of the key stakeholders that fed into the creation of the new franchise was Rail North. Formed around 2012, Rail North represents transport authorities across the North of England and was created as a pathway to devolution. The body has produced a Long Term Rail Strategy (LTRS) for the North and worked closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) to draw up the Northern and TransPennine franchise specifications. The concept of getting the North to speak as one on transport issues was highlighted in 2014 in a report produced by HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins. At the time, he suggested creating a Transport for the North (TfN) body to make the most of the east-west connectivity opportunities created by HS2, which at that time were being overlooked. Later that year, TfN was formed. ‘It fitted the rhetoric that was around the Northern Powerhouse concept, which is about the economies of the North working together as one economy of 16 RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

million people rather than lots of individual smaller authorities and economies,’ said TfN chief executive David Brown (pictured above), who was appointed in November 2015. Starting out as a British Rail graduate, David has spent a large portion of his career drawing up the strategy for regional transport in the North. Prior to joining TfN, he was the chief executive of Merseytravel and before that he held the same title at the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE).

NORTHERN POWERHOUSE In 2017, TfN will become a statutory body, giving it more powers to deliver on its transport strategy for the North. Rail North will continue its franchising role as part of TfN. The body will look at how it can develop both passenger and freight rail services in the North. ‘It’s a challenge because a lot of those things are in their own silos, so bringing them together for one comprehensive strategy for the North which then enables us to make the case for infrastructure, transport infrastructure in particular, is what London has done successfully over the last 15 years or so.’ Asked if he felt that TfN would help drive investment out of London and into projects in the North, David said, ‘I think it’s less about pulling it away from London. I think it’s more about influencing how the money is spent in the North and arguing that more money should be spent on transport infrastructure. Also when that money is there, the North is able to influence the priorities on which that is spent through local decisions but also through national programmes… so that we’ve got Northern solutions for the North rather than decisions being taken elsewhere.’

WHAT DO THEY DO?

FOCUS ON: TRANSPORT FOR THE NORTH

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

FEATURE

‘The Northern business communities are now looking to gear up to have a strong voice on pan-northern issues.’

SMART CARDS This month, TfN will publish a new report which will provide more detail around the organisation’s various objectives; one of these is smart card technology. ‘What is it that people want? Because I think in the past it’s based very much about what technology is available.’ Adding, ‘In London people have adopted Oyster cards, over quite a long period of time. Now people are embracing Apple Pay, or other contactless payment methods, but in different parts of the country people’s acceptance for things are different and their cultures are different. We introduced the smartcard in Merseyside and were conscious that different people have different approaches to the smartcards and to have something that’s fit for purpose for your customers is important, and not what people see elsewhere like London.’ One of the main focuses of TfN is its work with Network Rail and the Department for Transport to look at options to improve trans-Pennine connectivity. An update is due later this year.

‘We’ve had a lot of very positive feedback from the business community,’ said David. ‘The Northern business communities are now looking to gear up to have a strong voice on pan-northern issues.’ He added, ‘Huge private sector investment is going into ports in Liverpool, in Immingham, in Teeside to name a number, and what they’re saying is they need to be able to get their goods and their equipment from those ports into their markets which are in the North of England. It’s no surprise that they use the same arterial routes… but we need to make sure that the growth we’re going to see in freight and logistics in the North is catered for in those routes as well as passenger growth.’ Central to TfN’s aims is economic growth and other regions are starting to take notice. The Midlands Connect Partnership, which is made up of various Local Enterprise Partnerships and transport bodies, is developing a similar long-term transport strategy for the Midlands. ‘Rebalancing the economy’ may be a popular piece of political rhetoric, but it is something organisations like TfN and Midland Connect believes they can start to do.’

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YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

S L A N IO S S E F O R P L YOUWNITGHRTAHIE OLD OUT W E N E H T H IT W IN D AN

Young Rail Professionals recently began their yearly leadership shake up, electing new representatives for chair, vice-chair, secretary and national treasurer. Although this means goodbye for most of last year’s office, it is also hello. Hello to a brand new team, new ideas and new horizons. Meet the leaders driving YRP into 2017…

National chair – Sabrina Ihaddaden After graduating from Lancaster University and the French engineering school Arts et Métiers ParisTech in 2013, Sabrina joined Bombardier Transportation as a graduate engineer. The following year, she was recognised as Young Achiever of the Year by the Chartered Management Institute. Sabrina currently works as a signalling systems engineer for Bombardier Transportation in Derby, close to where she began her journey with the Young Rail Professionals. Sabrina believed in the regionalisation of the organisation and successfully chaired the first regional committee in the East Midlands - a success in no small part due to her confidence and vision. Since 2015, she has played a leading role as national vice-chair, cementing the devolved structure, and now as national chair, she hopes to lead YRP’s growing regional sections.

Vice-chair – Paul Case Paul joined Transport for London in 2013, after graduating from the University of East Anglia with a master’s degree in public policy and management. He is now a project manager for TfL and due to complete his second master’s this year. Paul originally joined YRP as a networking and development committee member in 2015, before RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

Left to right: Sabrina Ihaddaden, Stephanie Coates, Matthew Leavis, Chris Blackburn.

taking the role of national external relations manager. He vows to ‘continue to bring the passion and energy to the role that I have over these last two years’, and aims to help ‘grow and strengthen the organisation, and work across the regions and national executive to make YRP even greater’.

YOUNG RAIL

National secretary – Michael Charteris Michael joined the rail industry two-and-a-half years ago on Network Rail’s project management scheme. Since then, he has worked on a variety of projects including the incredible Birmingham Gateway Project, and is currently assistant project manager of the team delivering the new Bromsgrove station and electrification works. Michael has been very active in the YRP since he joined the rail sector. Particularly notable is his role in establishing and leading the West Midlands regional committee, which he has done with great success. He will no doubt bring his enthusiasm and passion to the role of national secretary.

PROFESSIONALS

2016

National treasurer – Ben Parry

UPCOMING YRP EVENTS March 10 - Monthly Networking Reception by East Midlands - Derby March 14 - “Think Lean” by YRP East Midlands - Derby March 16 - RIA Technology and Innovation Conference April 8 - “YRP Annual Dinner and Dance” - York April 14 - Monthly Networking Reception by East Midlands - Derby June 27 - Rail Week 2016 For more events, visit www.youngrailpro.com/events

Railway Gazette Group

Morson

TRE

SPX Rail Systems

ATOC IET

University of Birmingham DEG Signal Ltd

Porterbrook Aspin Group

RGS Executive

Rail Alliance

After graduating from Salford University with a masters in mechanical engineering, Ben began as a graduate engineer at Bombardier, where he now works in vehicle design. Ben is passionate about driving innovation within the industry - an aim he believes can be achieved by attracting and retaining young talent into rail. This vision brought Ben to the YRP where he has worked extensively with the East Midlands region – first as networking and development manager, and then as regional chair. He is now bringing his drive and belief to the chair’s office to help deliver the YRP’s promise to promote, inspire and develop. The leadership elections and structure are one of the key ways YRP fosters young talent in the rail industry. By affording volunteers the opportunity to lead and allowing them to develop key management skills, the organisation is shaping future sector leaders. Across the regions, elections have now begun for chair and vicechair positions. Best of luck to those in the running, and of course the successful candidates will be in safe hands under the excellent supervision of the new chair’s office!

FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

GEAR+TECH

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

JUST FOR WOMEN

omen are made to feel they have to make do with poorly fitting uncomfortable protective clothing which is often compulsory for their work,’ - does this sound familiar? Safety expert Arco has consulted with female workers across the rail industry to develop the industry’s first comprehensive range of Hi-Vis Hazardwear specially designed for women.

All © ARCO

RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

ALL GARMENTS IN THE RANGE HAVE BEEN TESTED AND APPROVED TO MEET GORT 3279 FOR THE RAIL INDUSTRY On the polo shirts, the ‘brace’ reflective bands have been repositioned so they do not inhibit the chest area, and are made of stretch tape to flex with the garment and be more comfortable for the wearer.

WATERPROOF TROUSERS

GEAR+TECH

An unprecedented demand for new engineering skills in the UK now sees government and industry collaborating to encourage more women into the profession. Network Rail, for example, has set out a programme to attract more female engineering graduates, with the goal of having women make up 30 per cent of the intake by 2019. ‘For PPE to protect you and feel comfortable to wear, it must be properly fitted,’ says Richard Sansom, product and procurement manager at Arco. ‘How can we level the playing field and entice more female workers into the rail sector, if the industry continues to expect them to wear ill-fitting and uncomfortable garments designed for men?’ During Arco’s consultation with female rail workers, one employee talked about excessive heavy fabric because PPE sizes are designed for men. Ill-fitting protective clothing was often more of a hindrance and trip hazard, she said. To introduce customers to the new range of Women’s Hi-Vis Hazardwear, Arco has developed an Expert Guide to offer advice, guidance and information on the new range and videos of the garments can be found online. For further information on the new range call your local branch or visit www.arco.co.uk/womenshivis The full range will be on display at Infrarail 2016 (12 – 14 April 2016, ExCeL London). Visit Arco on stand B17.

The Hi-Vis waterproof trousers offer exceptional comfort for the wearer, whilst giving protection when working in adverse conditions. The range has been designed to fit the contours of the female body and the garments come in standard women’s sizing, for example 8, 10, 12, as opposed to the traditional men’s or unisex sizing of S, M and L. The women’s Hi-Vis Hazardwear range includes a jacket, two styles of trousers, a soft shell and two options of polo shirt.

Arco has also developed a Hi-Vis cargo trouser for a more stylish but practical and comfortable design. Both trousers hold three bands of reflective tape to ensure visibility when trousers are tucked into boots or bending down, to help reduce the risk of accidents or injury.

The Hi-Vis jacket provides a waterproof and breathable shell with a two-band-and-brace configuration, keeping workers both dry and comfortable.

Women are made to feel they have to make do with poorly fitting PPE.

FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

INTERNATIONAL RAIL

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

ST PATRICK'S DAY HERALDS LONGER FREIGHT TRAINS FOR IRELAND

arnród Éireann has started trial runs of longer freight trains. The trials will enable capacity of freight trains on principle routes in the Republic of Ireland to be increased by up to 50 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2016. The aim is to make rail freight more competitive and even more eco-friendly. The first trial was to test the hauling capability of the General Motors Class 201 locomotives up the steep gradients that vary between 1 in 85 and 1 in 140 over the four-and-a-half miles heading out of Dublin Heuston towards Sallins on the main line to Cork. This first trial was successfully completed on Monday, 15 February, with a 1,296 tonne laden train. This is believed to be the heaviest ever to operate on Iarnród Éireann tracks. The next trials scheduled to operate will involve trains of 27 bogie flat wagons for carrying shipping containers (54TEUs long) and a train of 18 loaded pulpwood wagons.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPETITIVENESS In addition to the improved commerciality, longer trains bring improved environmental benefits to rail – moving freight by rail instead of road reduces emissions up to 75 per cent per unit, and longer trains could see emissions reduced to as little as one-tenth of the road equivalent. Says Iarnród Éireann general manger for rail freight Glenn Carr, ‘Iarnród Éireann is working with existing customers as well as freight forwarders, ports and the Irish Exporters Association to identify opportunities and trends for rail freight development within the Irish and European market. Longer freight trains will further enhance both the commercial and environmental competitiveness of rail freight in Ireland.’

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FREIGHT VOLUMES RISE All container traffic is currently based on the busy Mayo hub at Ballina where 18 loaded trains are handled every week. The Ballina to Dublin Port route currently has seven Up and seven Down services each week operated for International Warehousing and Transport (IWT), an awardwinning Dublin based company, whilst the route to Waterford Port has two Up and two Down services on it operated for DFDS Logistics. The Waterford trains connect into shipping services to and from the major international hub at Rotterdam. Bulk trains for pulpwood are operated for Coillte from Ballina and Westport to Waterford several times weekly and on the east coast line zinc ore trains operate from Navan to Dublin Port two or three times daily. During 2015 rail freight volumes on Iarnród Éireann were up by 2.1 per cent compared with 2014 levels.

REPORT BY TIM CASTERTON

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INTERNATIONAL RAIL

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Riyadh reveal It is the biggest metro project underway on the planet; now Siemens has revealed its first complete train for Riyadh Metro. The numbers are staggering: 175 kilometres of railway, 85 stations and 190 trains - all to be delivered in just a few short years. Riyadh Metro will consist of six lines - blue, green, yellow, orange, red and purple. Construction of the trains, which are colour coded to match the lines on which they operate, has been divided between Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier, which are each key members of the three separate consortia building the new railway.

Siemens is the first manufacturer to show off a completed train. The German manufacturer is building 74 two and four-car trains for units 1 and 3 of the Riyadh Metro. Out of the three manufacturers, Siemens is producing the most trains, 74, with Alstom delivering 69 and Bombardier 47. Lines 1 and 2 are being built by the BACS consortium, which consists of Bechtel, Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company and Siemens. The lines will feature a mixture of underground, at grade and elevated sections. Chief executive of Siemens Mobility Jochen Eickholt said that the company’s teams in Vienna and Saudi Arabia had ‘poured all their heart and soul’ into the project. The first train is currently being tested in the climatic test chamber at Rail Tec Arsenal (RTA) in Vienna. Testing is due to begin in the spring at the Siemens test centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany.

SNCF Réseau chairman to step down Jacques Rapoport has tendered his resignation as chairman of SNCF Réseau. Rapoport, who turns 64 in the next couple of weeks, said he would not have time to deliver the planned service improvements that the government and other bodies ‘rightly demand’. In a letter to French transport minister Alain Vitalise, he wrote,

‘Given the scale and complexity of SNCF Réseau, that can only be achieved under a chairman who can inspire and lead this massive effort over a sustained period of time.’ SNCF Réseau was created in January last year through the integration of the maintenance arm of SNCF, SNCF Infra, and French infrastructure manager Réseau ferré de France (RFF).

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RAIL 'NERVE CENTRE' FOR SYDNEY

What’s been described as a hitech ‘rail nerve centre’ is to be constructed in Sydney. The $276 million facility, which will open in 2018, will manage the operation of rail services across Sydney’s suburban rail network, ‘reducing train delays’ and providing ‘faster information to customers’, say Transport for New South Wales. Says Sydney Trains chief executive, and former London Underground chief operating officer, Howard Collins, ‘At the moment we manage the trains and tracks, respond to incidents, communicate with customers and

monitor their safety from different locations and in different ways. ‘One example is that during an incident, there are multiple phone calls made between the person reporting the incident, the person who controls the trains, another party in charge of fixing the fault and the response team in the field. ‘The new centre will mean each of these parties are informed the moment the issue is reported and because they will all be in the same location, receiving more information, they can ensure the best response to get our customers moving again.’

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Natalie Haden

Stephen Schofield

Joining telent after graduation, Natalie has progressed from Project Support to Project Manager receiving extensive training and support including the completion of PRINCE2 Project Management on the way. With experience in both Operational and Station Comms, she is currently managing a DOO CCTV Renewals Project worth circa ÂŁ4 million.

Stephen joined telent 14 years ago as an apprentice. Completing the apprenticeship programme, he took up a position in systems integration. Having progressed to become a System Engineer, he became the lead engineer on a large CCTV networking project. He now leads his own team designing and migrating stations from analogue to IPCCTV.

Mark Warrender

Andy Weller

Mark started out as an engineer for Cable and Wireless 26 years ago and his career has travelled the world since then. He spent the last 4 years working on network infrastructure projects in Australia before joining telent in July to lead our network design team. His team design and build data network solutions for the rail industry, using the latest IP/MPLS technologies to deliver the digital railway.

Starting as a Telecommunications Apprentice 18 years ago, Andy now leads a team of 20 software development engineers who are growing telentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship Station Management System and supporting asset maintenance with business applications. Andy himself is involved in spearheading an R&D programme to provide cutting edge cloud based IoT solutions.

Emi Roberti

Tim Meade

Emi joined telent in 2014 from a specialist CCTV product manufacturing business where he led their software development team. He is now a Technical Architect leading the development of complex video analytics applications for our remote monitoring business and doing research into media distribution and display systems to improve customer information on stations.

Tim joined our Graduate Scheme 18 months ago as a Graduate Project Manager. Based in Warwick, Tim has been working on a Power SCADA project, originally with the Software team before rotating into the Outstations sub-project, quickly earning promotion to Assistant Project Manager.

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[Senior System Engineer]

[Lead Network Solutions Architect]

[Lead Technical Architect]

[Software Engineering Manager]

[Assistant Project Manager]

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

GRADUATE APPROACH

always had the vision that I wanted to go into project management,’ said Mel Gibson - a senior project manager at telent who joined the business five years ago through the company’s graduate trainee scheme. An enthusiastic traveller, Mel has explored Vietnam, Cambodia and Gambia in recent years. Looking at the 33-yearold’s progression through telent, this tendency to take the path less travelled appears both personal and professional. Graduating with a degree in French and German from the University of Manchester in 2005, Mel went to work in European shipping. ‘I enjoyed my job but it was relatively limited in terms of career progression,’ said Mel. Seeing no future where she was, Mel left and moved to Warwick to be close to friends. By chance, she spotted a recruitment ad online for a bid support trainee at telent. She applied and got it.

PATH LESS TRAVELLED Originally from Lincolnshire, Mel arrived at telent’s Haywood Road offices as one of three new graduates. ‘It was a completely new role and in that respect it was quite challenging,’ said Mel. ‘I quite like that. If you’re completely new to something just leap in and give it a go. I seem to have done that quite a lot at telent and you are always supported.’ RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

Starting out as a trainee, Mel was soon promoted to junior bid manager, then bid manager for the well-publicised RETB telecomms renewal programme in the Scottish Highlands. ‘That’s when I asked the business, ‘look I’ve bid this, really enjoyed it, can I go and deliver it’,’ said Mel. Management listened and appointed her as project manager. It’s a move she’s glad she made. ‘It varies completely every single day. That’s what I really enjoy about my job now. One day you might be up in Glasgow meeting the customer, you might be going out to site, you might have suppliers coming in to see you, you might have a weekly team meeting. It varies every single day.’ Mel, one of the youngest female senior project managers within telent, said she feels fortunate to work for a company that has supported her in pursuing an unconventional path through the business, and she believes that the current intake of graduates will be offered the same opportunities.

NEW INTAKE ‘The scheme that they’re on now is fantastic,’ said Mel. This September, telent will welcome 20 graduates. ‘We’re about to have our biggest grad intake this year. We’ve got an engineering scheme and a project management scheme. I work with some of the current grads and a member of my team has just completed the project management scheme. You really get a lot from it.’ Applicants spend the day at telent’s assessment centre where they have to complete a team exercise and a presentation. ‘It’s quite a demanding day,’ said Mel, who recently represented telent at a graduate recruitment fair at Coventry University. In some cases additional places have been created for candidates who are too good to send away. ‘There’s a few people that’s happened to,’ said Mel. ‘I think that’s really

important. We’ve gone through that process with people. We’ve recognised we’ve got someone who’s really good who wants to work with us. Let’s not miss this opportunity. Let’s find a place for them within telent, and it’s worked.’ Following completion of the two-year programme, graduates come away with a project management qualification accredited by the Association for Project Management (APM). New graduate trainees are paired up with both a mentor at management level and a ‘buddy’ at peer level. Mel feels there is now a strong graduate community within telent equipped to support new starters as they progress. ‘The amount of people that are 30 and younger is rapidly increasing compared to just five years ago when I started here. That feels quite exciting. ‘I’m all about getting more women into the industry as well. I think it’s quite a heavily maledominated industry. We’ve got a really good female project manager grad on our team, and I think it’s all about making it a bit more appealing to women.’ Does she see more women joining the industry than when she started? ‘It’s very gradual, but I would say in the next 5 to 10 years, you’ll really be able to see the change.’

TALENTED NEXT GENERATION With RETB now coming to an end, Mel is looking forward to getting the opportunity to take on another big project. ‘What I’d like to do is keep refining my skillset; develop my leadership skills.’

Since joining telent, Mel says she has been given a number of opportunities to train and develop. It’s benefited her own career, but she also recognises how important it is to the company if it is to retain its talented next generation. ‘It’s about recognising people, supporting them, giving them the training they need and giving them an environment that they’re going to want to stay in. ‘I feel that I’ve definitely got a future at telent. I’ve never ever felt like I’ve stagnated. Sometimes, if anything, it’s been more ‘wow, is this challenge too big for me,’ then you always have that support to back you up.’

A WORD OF ADVICE How does Mel feel about the rail industry? ‘I’ve certainly got a lot from it and learnt a lot from it. It’s serving UK infrastructure without which millions of people would not have a means of getting to or from work. It supports the UK.’ In order to support the UK, the railway is an unsociable, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week industry. Rarely does Mel do a typical nine-to-five day. ‘It’s the nature of the role,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to be flexible. Some days you do work very long hours, sometimes it’s very early mornings. You have to have that flexibility as a project manager. You’ve got to be a flexible person, full stop.’ Away from the office, Mel likes to spin; she’s a ‘bit of a spinning class addict’. But there’s always a temptation to check work e-mails or just quickly take that call. ‘I try and be more controlled on e-mail at the weekend because otherwise you just never stop looking at your work phone.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

‘Quite often if you’ve got weekend works going on, there’s constantly something happening every day of the week. You could just keep working, working, working. ‘I really value my time off because it’s quite a demanding job, so I think you really need to appreciate and enjoy your time.’ What would Mel say to university leavers? ‘Something I often say to people is don’t be deterred that you don’t have a technical background going into the rail industry. ‘Don’t be deterred by that because I think sometimes that can be a benefit. Often as a non-engineer you can bring a slightly different approach, a slightly different skillset that complements an engineering-led organisation. I certainly don’t feel that it’s held me back at all.’

TRAINING

‘You’ve got to be flexible. Some days you do work very long hours, sometimes it’s very early mornings. You have to have that flexibility as a project manager. You’ve got to be a flexible person, full stop.’

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

LOST IN TRANSITION

TRAINING

SPOTLIGHT

etting the job can sometimes be the easy part. It’s settling in that can often be tricky. Simple things like getting your uniform and introductory training can be long, drawn-out processes. In many cases, stretched HR teams simply don’t have the resources. It makes the transition far more stressful, for both sides, than it

needs to be. Recruitment consultancy Ford & Stanley specialises in finding and placing people within the rail and engineering sectors. The company’s managing director, James Wall, who has been visiting traction and maintenance depots most weeks for the past decade, said he regularly sees new staff turning up on a Monday morning with no basic tooling, wearing overalls emblazoned with the name and logo of their previous employer. In 2015, Ford & Stanley launched Talentwise - a service designed to build on its traditional recruitment offering for skilled, manual workers. James is convinced it will go some way to stopping this cycle once and for all.

WORK READY ON DAY ONE The philosophy of Talentwise is to make the transition for a new employee a good experience for everyone. It seeks to prepare new employees so they are equipped and ready to work on their first day, saving time and, importantly, making sure they are safe. As well as receiving tools and workwear, Ford & Stanley carries out pre-employment medicals and mandatory drugs and alcohol screenings. It also works with clients, and its experienced training partner Qualitrain, to develop training programmes to suit.

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The philosophy of Talentwise is to make the transition for a new employee a good experience for everyone.

‘In short it can be as intensive or as little, if anything, depending on what the client wants,’ said James. Ford & Stanley doesn’t charge for the extra service. Instead, it picks up the bill for the tooling and training itself, believing that the long-term benefits will outweigh this initial investment. ‘Talentwise is one of the fastest-growing areas of the business,’ said James, and is already improving the experience of people coming to work in the rail industry.

‘People start on a Monday morning and they feel part of the company immediately.’ The professional arm of the business, Ford & Stanley Recruitment, has a similar initiative which helps candidates map out their first 100 days at a new job. Again, the aim is to provide a complete service, to destress and support candidates. In the past, this has involved helping candidates to find somewhere to live or new schools for their children to go to.

We provide our candidates with railway approved tooling, safety work wear and industry accredited training from day one.

Talent. Tooling. Training. For more information contact us on +44 (0) 1332 344 443 or visit: www.fordandstanley.com

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

As well as receiving tools and workwear, Ford & Stanley carries out preemployment medicals and mandatory drugs and alcohol screenings.

SKILLS RETENTION Retaining skilled workers within the rail industry is seen as essential. The skills shortage won’t purely be solved by new apprentices and graduates. Keeping people in the industry is as important as bringing them in to begin with. It’s a fact which was highlighted in a report published by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) last year. It estimated that an inability to retain staff could cost the UK engineering sector up to £9.5 billion in the next 10 years if not addressed. The ACE broke down the costs associated with losing staff of various levels of seniority. It estimated that each time a company loses a senior technician it costs £4,908. Replacing a junior engineer costs £2,912. Even the loss of an entry-level technician costs £2,820. ‘We’ve got a problem of getting people into the industry and also retaining them,’ said James. ‘We want the best candidates coming to us and we can pass the best candidates to our clients.’ James hopes that other organisations start to adopt a similar approach in order to improve the picture around the rest of the industry. ‘As a supplier, we take it as a responsibility to train and improve the candidates that we supply to our clients. We want to proactively address the current skills shortage and further promote rail as the industry of choice.’

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DANIEL TAFT, ELECTRICAL FITTER, RVEL ‘After spending four years in the Royal Navy, naturally I was pretty nervous about applying for a role outside of the Armed Forces. Ford & Stanley approached me about working in the rail industry, which in all honesty I knew nothing about. Jake Rowland, the consultant I was dealing with at the time, provided me with an overview of the rail industry, information about RVEL as a company and went through an in-depth job description, answering any questions I had. ‘The recruitment process was very smooth – Jake made sure I was fully prepared for interview, running through sample questions

and making sure I’d done my research. It was only a matter of days after the interview when I received a phone call offering me the role. I was really chuffed! ‘On the day of my induction with RVEL, Jake was there to greet me in reception with all of the appropriate tooling and safety workwear. It took a huge amount of pressure off me having Ford & Stanley provide everything I needed to start work. Having come from a military background, I had no real idea of what to expect, but Jake really helped me to get over those ‘first day nerves’. I would most definitely recommend Ford & Stanley following my experience as a candidate.’

Delivering the best in training and rail personnel Looking to book a Rail Training Course in January? Orion Group provide on-site training facilities offering a unique live training environment. • Live Rail Track specifically designed for training and testing. • Plant and machinery training areas. • E-Learning Training rooms. • Signal Training room. • Classroom environment training. BOOK A COURSE

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Contact our rail team today: E: wigan1@orioneng.com | T: 01942 466090 | OrionRail.com E: glasgow@orioneng.com | T: 0141 892 6666

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

HIGH SPEED SKILL MARC JOHNSON SITS DOWN WITH JOHN EVANS, CEO OF THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL, TO DISCUSS THE HS2 SKILLS CHALLENGE

he opening of HS2’s headquarters in Birmingham last month was another important date in the project’s long, and at times difficult, timeline. Birmingham is at the heart of HS2 and is set to benefit more than any other city on the route. The supply chain is moving in and developers are fighting for the chance to reanimate an untended corner of England’s second city. Directly beneath its offices at 2 Snow Hill, magenta Midland Metro trams skirt around the perimeter of the adjacent Snow Hill station. Part of the new city centre extension, it is another example of the investment Birmingham is making in rail. As well as being the home to those who are actually designing the railway, 2 Snow Hill is where I found John Evans, chief executive of the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) - the body which will find and train the engineers to build HS2.

PLANNING APPROVAL NCHSR is celebrating its own milestone. As HS2 was cutting the ribbon at 2 Snow Hill, Birmingham City Council was approving the planning application for the college’s Birmingham campus - one of two new government-funded facilities being specially built for the college. While city authorities manage the construction of the new centres in Birmingham and Doncaster, it’s John’s job to develop NCHSR’s syllabus and come up with a strategy to find and train the people needed to fill the estimated 25,000 positions and 2,000 apprenticeships created during HS2’s construction. John, who was appointed in November 2015, divides his time between London, Birmingham and Doncaster, leading a small, but growing, team. During his career, John has held positions at Strathclyde Police, Diageo and British Airways. He joined the NCHSR from FirstGroup, where he was HR director. Part way through the discussion, John slid a laptop across the meeting room table and enthusiastically swiped between artist impressions of the new facilities. One image showed a complete train in one of the workshops. ‘The big logistical challenge at the minute is how we get the train on site!’ said John. RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

Not that there is a shortage of space. The scale of the NCHSR is unprecedented. The two sites will have a combined footprint of almost 13,000 square metres and will cost the best part of £50 million. ‘For me to be able to take my passion for people development into a project like this is probably a one-off chance. It’s great to be involved,’ said John.

COURSE PROGRAMME Courses at the NCHSR will be open to anyone aged 18 or above. Whether applicants are completely new to the industry or experienced engineers looking to develop additional skills doesn’t matter. Through a programme of core modules, new entrants will be given a grounding in the basics of designing, building and maintaining a railway before choosing one area to specialise in. This is designed to give students a solid understanding of a railway as a complete system and not just its component parts. Says John, ‘You need that grounding and bedrock… We want people to know where their work fits into the overall work scheme. So they need to know the language, they need to know what’s going on.’ Courses will take 12 months, on average, to complete, with time split equally between the college, placements and virtual learning. Working with specialist regional providers, the college will be able to create opportunities around the country, not just in the West Midlands and South Yorkshire.

Looking beyond apprentices and graduates, the college will offer conversion courses for qualified rail engineers or engineers coming to rail from another industry.

OPPORTUNITIES From March 2016 onwards, major projects, including HS2, will have apprentice quotas written into contracts, requiring a certain number of apprenticeships to be created relative to the amount of public money being spent. Although NCHSR apprentices won’t necessarily walk straight into a job, John said the college would work closely with HS2’s supply chain to create opportunities for its learners. ‘We’ve got to get those messages through to people and say if you work with us then you place yourself in a really strong position for employment in an industry that’s growing.’ Adding, ‘We can’t guarantee it but you’d be in a pretty good position.’ HS2 will also be an opportunity to create the diverse workforce that rail aspires to. Diversity is essential, John believes, to finding solutions to the challenges that a modern high-speed railway will create. And not just diversity in terms of gender or ethnicity; HS2 will need people with a range of skills and abilities.

It’s about being a world-class centre. HS2 will require people on an ongoing basis.

LS Interior of Doncaster NCHSR site.

Exterior of Doncaster centre is designed to resemble a Victorian rail shed.

‘It’s not a nice thing to do, it’s a need,’ said John. ‘If we don’t tap that wider talent base, we’re failing. And being blunt, we’ve generally tapped only 50 per cent of that talent base, if that, in years gone by. So now’s the chance to really be broad in that.’

WORLD CLASS Although HS2 and the NCHSR are being developed in parallel, and are ultimately working towards the same goal, NCHSR isn’t just a college for HS2. ‘What I would say is there’s HS2 and there’s the college,’ said John. He went on to speak about wanting to see the college become an internationally recognised centre of excellence for rail engineering. ‘Neither Spain nor Japan, nor France or Italy represents a single best practice model. They’ve all got great things going on but there isn’t one single model. So we’ve got the chance here to take the strands of all those areas that are world class and create a single world-class facility.’ Adding, ‘It’s about being a world-class centre. HS2 will require people on an ongoing basis anyway, but if we look at the wider industry then you want people to draw graduates from the college knowing that they’re of a certain standard.’ The next big milestone will be the opening of Doncaster and Birmingham in September next year. The challenge now is to find students to fill the classrooms. To do this, the NCHSR is creating a feeder network of schools, colleges and universities. Says John, ‘Absolutely it’s a challenge, but I think by presenting the rail industry as an employment opportunity to that diverse group, you widen the talent pool and within that pool we know we’ve got to get the numbers. You then say we have an offering that makes you very attractive and work ready on day one. That’s a pretty good combination.’ FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

CAREERS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

Taking your career in new directions

Trainer/Assessor in Rail Engineering (Track)

Salary: Competitive

Location: Sites across East, South and West Yorkshire, Shropshire, Midlands and Greater London AmberTrain, now part of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, provides a vital link between the Rail Industry and skilled resource by offering fully funded training from various sites across the UK. Our courses are designed around getting candidates started within the industry, from work tasters, Traineeships and Apprenticeships delivered at various heritage sites and Her Majesty’s Prisons (HMP)/Young Offenders Institutions (YOI) around the country, offering the best possible mixture of real world learning in a safe controlled environment. Our programme not only provides the skills, knowledge and understanding of the Railway but one that supports progress within the industry. Due to continued growth, AmberTrain are looking for Trainer/Assessors to deliver training on its Railway Engineering programme across East, South and West Yorkshire, the Midlands and Greater London areas. The position requires an enthusiastic, motivated person with experience of working in a P-Way environment.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work with an organisation that has a long history and pedigree, and exciting plans for its commercial training business across a range of engineering related disciplines. Join our network and work with a diverse client base across engineering sectors.

way People.com

Candidates should meet the following essential criteria: • Experience of working in a P-Way environment • Knowledge of small plant and hand tools • Knowledge of NSARE and Sentinel schemes • Ability to work under own initiative Assessment Qualifications (TAQA/A1/D32/D33) and Teaching Qualifications (e.g. PTLLS) are desirable, as is experience of delivering vocational training to candidates of all ages, but qualification development and upskilling is included as part of the role. An ability to train Network Rail competencies is also desirable but not essential. Applicants will be required to work at HMP establishments so will go through a vetting process to work within the National Offender Management Service.

If you are interested in working with us, send your CV and a covering letter outlining your experience and professional qualifications in complete confidence to recruitment@imeche.org

THE HEART OF UK RAIL Launched in 2001, RailwayPeople.com is the largest dedicated rail job site in the UK.

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Keltbray Aspire is one of the fastest developing and most progressive Railway Electriﬁcation businesses. We are the largest Overhead Line contractor in the UK, specialising in OLE Construction and Maintenance to both the Rail Industry and Urban Light Rail Systems. We are currently looking to expand and develop our delivery capability. As such, opportunities have arisen to join Keltbray as:

OLE Supervisor

lnvolving varying shift patterns to suit 24/7 working, initially covering the GWEP/GWRM projects. The role will direct and control site activities including labour, plant and equipment to ensure the safe, eﬃcient and productive completion of allocated work to the required standard. Do you have . . . ? •

An in depth knowledge of Overhead Line Electriﬁcation construction principles

•

Extensive experience working on the rail infrastructure

•

A sound knowledge and understanding of Rail Infrastructure Safety requirements and safety principles

Are you . . . ? •

Able to lead and motivate teams to achieve objectives and targets

•

An experienced OLE Lineworker

•

Trained and competent to OLEC level 4

•

An eﬀective verbal and written communicator

Long-Term Access Planner

SSOW Planner

Do you have . . . ?

•

A comprehensive knowledge of Network Rail Standards and procedure

•

A working knowledge of access planning systems and processes

A detailed understanding of Safe methods of working and best practice on the railway infrastructure

•

Previous experience of a SSOW or Access Planner

Thorough knowledge of the Rule Book Group Standards and other documentation relating to Possessions

•

Excellent working knowledge of SSOW planning tools SSOW (Core Planner level 2) qualiﬁcations

Based out of Newport, Wales, the role will plan long term access for the project, managing it until hand over to the Access Planning Manager.

Are you . . . ? •

Competent in the use of Network Rail Possession Planning System

•

Competent in the use of GZAM system.

•

An eﬀective communicator, both verbal and written

Based out of Newport, Wales, the rote will cover planning work, implementing and/or maintaining Safe Systems of Work (SSOW).

Are you . . . ? •

Competent in the use of GZAM system and in the preparation of all safety critical paperwork.

•

An eﬀective communicator, both verbal and written

•

Able to prepare and implement eﬀective plans

We are also looking to recruit a number of individuals with an engineering degree or equivalent to be part of our bespoke Graduate Training Scheme. An attractive package related to qualiﬁcations and experience will be available for successful applicants. So if you are looking for an exciting and challenging future in Railway Electriﬁcation and have what it takes to be part of a successful team then please forward your CV and work experience to: Kate Swindell - Human Resources Consultant at Unit 12, Crewe Hall Enterprise Park, Weston Road, Crewe CW1 6UA. Or email to kate.swindell@keltbray.com Closing date for applications is Thursday 31st March 2016

Keltbray Aspire Unit 12, Crewe Hall Enterprise Park Weston Road, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 6UA T 01270 254 176 E rail@keltbray.com

F 01270 253 267 www.keltbray.com

CAREERS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2016

www.trsstaffing.com

CROSSRAIL OPERATIONS PLANNING MANAGER Canary Wharf Competitive Salary + excellent benefits

Job Role Rail for London (RfL) are looking for an individual, with experience of operational and access planning in the National Rail environment, to join the established RfL Crossrail Operations team to manage the continuing development of the Crossrail timetable. The initial focus will be towards the opening of Crossrail in 2018/9, but the post will also play a key role in further developing the Crossrail train service into the 2020s, to maximise the benefits from this major project which adds 10% to London’s overall public transport capacity. Having a keen determination to contribute to the development of London’s rail transport provision, you will be given opportunities to work on a variety of projects, allowing you to broaden your skills and experience and contribute to other future projects within the TFL brand. Description Your role will be supporting and providing expert advice to the Crossrail Operations team, the Crossrail sponsors, and working with other key stakeholders impacting the Crossrail Service. You’ll develop train service specifications to meet forecast passenger demand, as well as delivering the continuous improvement of the Crossrail service. You’ll critically review all resource requirements including rolling stock diagrams and the provision of maintenance and stabling facilities, to ensure the deliverability of proposed timetables. You will develop and provide expert advice, and influence key decision making within the Crossrail Operations Directorate, in relation to all aspects of the timetable development process, including reviewing proposals made by the Crossrail Train Operator.

Global Scale. Local Focus. – Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – Rail Project Manager

Site and Construction Manager– Rail

Birmingham, London, York and Derby Degree educated, NEC experience £300 - £450/day or £35K - £65K

London, Birmingham and East Anglia £35K - £55K or £250 - £350/day

Quantity Surveyors / Commercial Managers

Project Controls Manager

London, Swindon, Midlands and York £35 - £65k or £300 - £450/day

Systems and Signal Engineers and Managers - IRSE London, Manchester, Birmingham, York and Glasgow

£40K - £70K or £350 - £500/day

London, Midlands, Reading and Manchester £55K - £70K

Rail Engineers - Track and P-Way London, York, Reading and Milton Keynes £40K - £55K or £300 - £450/day

P6 Project Planners

OLE Engineers / Managers

London, Midlands, Reading and Manchester £40K - £65K or £350 - £500/day

Rugby, Swindon and Derby £300 - £500/day

TRS Staffing Solutions are international engineering recruitment specialists. We recruit for major national and international projects for leading national rail organisations, main contractors and consultancies.

Please email your CV to andrew.johnson@trsstaffing.com or if you’d prefer to discuss any roles call +44 (0)20 7419 5800

Subscribe to our free publications at www.railsubs.com

Benefits • 30 days’ holiday plus public holidays • Pension • Free travel across the entire TfL network for you and a nominated person • Discounted Eurostar travel • 75% discount on National Rail season tickets • Private medical benefit To apply please visit https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/careers/ and search using reference ‘019288’. Closing date: Sunday 27 March 2016 at 11:59pm. We aspire to be as diverse as the city we serve, and we welcome applications from all sections of the community.

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@StobartRailLtd

Stobart Rail Infrastructure Engineering is Our project team have extensive one of the UK's leading names in rail experience on construction of new earth stobartrail network maintenance, repair and embankments and cuttings, stabilisation improvement. Stobart Rail hold both a and re-grading works to embankments Network Rail Principal Contractor's and cuttings, Emergency works, Sea Licence and Infrastructure Rail Plant Operating Licence. Defence works & have Geotechnical Stobart Rail Engineering is Our project team extensiveprojects. We offer nationwide coverage and 24/7 one of the UK's leading names in rail experience on construction of new earth Stobart Rail Infrastructure Engineering is one of the UK’s leading names in rail network maintenance, repair and Emergency response on Earthworks We employ all our staff and operate network maintenance, repair and embankments andown cuttings, stabilisation enhancement. Due to success the following opportunities available for effective team players with Drainage, Bridges & Tunnels, Permanent maintain allworks our career own plant. improvement. Stobart Railour hold both a we now have and re-grading to embankments Way failures. Network Rail Principal and cuttings, Emergency works, Sea the ambition to helpContractor's drive our business forward. Licence and Rail Plant Operating Licence. Defence works & Geotechnical projects. We offer nationwide coverage and 24/7 Emergency response on Earthworks We employ all our own staff and operate Drainage, Bridges & Tunnels, Permanent and maintain all our own plant. Way failures.

ESTIMATOR

QUANTITY SURVEYOR

ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER

Responsible for the tender process from allocation through to award of contract you will produce high quality, commercially viable, work winning tenders.

Responsible for the Rail contracts, you will ensure that the project is progressing in line with the contractual agreement.

Assist the Senior Project Manager in managing all stages of the project.

• Plan and implement to We currently have the following career opportunities available for candidates looking to join our successful and growingcorrect team.processes All roles are Effectively manage multiple tenders at any one • Prepare commercial reports including Cost ensure that all work undertaken is compliant based travelReconciliations, required depending on cash the projects. All candidates must holdand a valid PTS. Salaries timefrom our Carlisle Head office with nationwide Value valuations, ﬂows with all health, safety environmental are negotiable depending on skills and experience. and claims legislation and best practices, and in

• •

Compile tenders correctly including carrying accordance with all Railway Group, Network out take offs, obtaining support from • Exercise full cost control of the project Rail and Stobart Rail Standards ASSISTANT PROJECT operations teams, carrying out tender reviews including providing and monitoring budgets QUANTITY SURVEYOR SSOW PLANNER forecasts conjunction with the to Project • To develop positive relationships with allare PROJECT MANAGER MANAGER and currently have the following available forincandidates looking join our successful and growing team. All roles •We Identify critical deadlines that willcareer impactopportunitiesManager/Managing Quantity Surveyor parties associated with the project based from our Carlisle office with to nationwide travel required depending on the projects. All candidates must hold a valid PTS. Salaries tender completion and Head manage workload produce on SSOW • it isTodelivered • Responsible for all commercial • Assist the•Project Manager • Manage all stages of the project Identifi cation in and implementation of quality • Ensure that time,packs withinin are suit negotiable depending on skills and experience. with Network Rail the and to accordance managing all stages the project, processes to ensure that all work and effiof ciency improvement elements, initiatives you will ensure that budget the agreed quality • Populate information on tender database company standard project is progressing in line with plan and implement correct undertaken is compliant with all • Ensuring that client expectations regarding ASSISTANT PROJECT NR/L2/OHS/019 of people the contractual agreement.quality, programme processes to ensure that all work HSE legislation and best and budgetSafety are wherever QUANTITY SURVEYOR SSOW PLANNER PROJECT MANAGER working on or near the line. undertaken is compliant with all practices. MANAGER possible exceeded • Prepare commercial reports health, safety & environmental •• To worksites isolations including Cost •• To develop To book produce SSOW and packs in • Responsible forValue all commercial • legislation Assist the Project Manager in Manage all positive stages ofrelationships the project and best practices, and using Network Rail Possession Reconciliations, cash flows and with all parties associated accordance with Network Rail elements, you will ensure that the managing all stages of the project, processes to ensure that allwith work GANGERS SECOND MAN X4 CIVIL ENGINEERING OPERATIVES in accordance with all Railway Planning (PPS) and to be claims. Exercise full cost control the project and ensure that it is companySystem standard project is progressing in line with plan and implement undertaken is compliant with all Group, Network Rail correct and Stobart fully conversant with GZAC. of project including providing delivered on time, budget NR/L2/OHS/019 of people thethe contractual processes all work HSE andwithin best Assist thelegislation Site Managers and Foreman in Astoaensure valuedthat member of Stobart Rail Ltd deliveryagreement. As a valued member of Stobart RailSafety Ltd delivery Rail Standards. andyou will be involved and tothe thesite agreed qualitythat whilst working on or near the line. undertaken is compliant with all practices. managing to ensure all work team you will be Responsible forand the monitoring health and budgets team in a wide variety of • You will be required to attend • Prepare commercial reports forecasts in may conjunction with the • To develop positive relationships ensuringis that client expectations undertaken compliant with all health, safety and safety of yourself and all other persons that railway infrastructure work. and be responsible for health, safety & environmental meetings • To book worksites and isolations including Costand Value • To developquality, positive relationships Project Manager / Managing environmental legislation and best practices, and be affected by your actions, or lack of actions with all parties associated with regarding programme legislation and best practices, and the monitoring ofcarry the work All of and our staff are multi-skilled andRail out an using Network Possession Reconciliations, cash flows with all parties with Network in accordance with all Railway Group, Rail ensuring a safe system of work is in place. Quantity Surveyor. Identification the project and ensure that it is and budget areassociated wherever in accordance with all Railway interesting range ofscheduling tasks. System process andand to to be Planning (PPS) claims. Exercise full cost control the project and ensure that it is and Stobart Rail Standards. of quality delivered within budget policiesand possible exceeded. Group, Network Rail and Stobart •on time, Ensure all Company andimplementation procedures ensure that the approved fully conversant GZAC. of the project including providing delivered on time, within budget The successful candidates will holdwith a valid Sentinel and efficiency improvement and to the agreed quality whilst • Ensure the gang or sub-contractors attends are followed at all times Rail Standards. procedures are followed. • Candidates must have PTS and card and monitoring budgets and(PTS minimum). and at to the the required agreed quality whilst site times and comply withensuring that client expectations initiatives. • You will be required to attend COSS certificates. • positive Ensurerelationships good quality of all workmanship all forecasts in at conjunction with the • To develop ensuring that client expectations statutory working hours, shifts and break times regarding quality, programme • You should work well asand partbe of responsible a cohesive for meetings times demonstrating good behaviour onsite / Managing Project Manager with all parties associated with regarding quality, programme team, but mustthe also be resourceful and budget are wherever monitoring of the and workable to • Receive daily/weekly work instructions Quantity Surveyor. Identification the project ensure the thatGanger it is and budget are wherever • and Deputise in his absence work on your own initiative. and briefings from site management, and possible exceeded. scheduling process and to and implementation of quality on time, within budget possible exceeded. implement them by appropriate control ofdelivered the • A flexible approach tothat working hours and ensure the approved must have PTS and and efficiency improvementlocation is essential. and to the agreed quality whilst labour, plant and materials provided • Candidates procedures are followed. • Candidates must have PTS and COSS certificates. initiatives. ensuring that client expectations COSS certificates. • Ensure all gang members carry out all regarding quality, programme instructed tasks to the best of their ability and and budget are wherever HR Manager acceptable productivity TOwith APPLY t. 01228 882 300 possible exceeded. • Understand and implement all safety systems e. hr@stobartrail.com work • website. Candidates must PTS and HRhave Manager: Fullof job specifications available on our COSS certificates. hr@stobartrail.com or Please apply online or email your application, Applications from complete, established gangs are welcome

detailing relevant skills, experience and APPLY qualifications to: TO

Telephone 01228 882300 to request an application pack.

Full job specifications available on our website. Please apply online or email your application, detailing relevant skills, experience and qualifications to:

HR Manager: hr@stobartrail.com or Telephone 01228 882300 to request an application pack.

HR Manager stobartgroup.com t. 01228 882 300 e. hr@stobartrail.com

stobartgroup.com

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