RailStaff November 2014

RailStaff

Health and Safety Stobart Rail Plant

THE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY www.railstaff.co.uk

Issue 204 | November 2014

stobartrail.com

Nearly 1,000 railway staff packed into the Ricoh Arena to celebrate the RailStaff Awards in its new home in Coventry. Dressed as clowns, jugglers, animals and acrobats, men and women and family friends partied the night away at the circus-themed celebration of rail industry success.

Page 25

SHOCK AS RAIL WINNERS run away to Join Circus IN THIS ISSUE CROSSRAIL OF THE NORTH

FINCHPALM

NICCI OBREY JOINS ABELLIO

East-West rail link connecting the two prongs.

Back to the future.

Customer service manager for Greater Anglia.

Page 4

Page 50

Page 9

@StobartRailLtd

STEVE FERRINGTON – HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGER Steve joined Stobart Rail in 2001, working part-time on Saturday night during possession works. In recognition of his excellent work ethic and positive attitude he soon became a full-time employee.

Steve has been involved with delivering a variety of projects including earthworks, drainage, slab track and structures.

During his time with Stobart, Steve has gained competence in various key safety critical roles, for example: COSS, machine controller, crane controller and tandem lift crane controller. Using his own initiative, Steve undertook training to become a plant and machine operator which included being competent at loading shovel, telehandler and RRV operation. Steve also qualified to carry out rope access work and to operate a chainsaw.

In 2005 he was promoted to ganger in charge of a gang of five men. Keen to progress during 2006, Steve became a full-time engineering supervisor taking responsibility for worksites within possessions.

In 2008 the opportunity became available, within Stobart Rail, for Steve to take the role of health, safety and environment (SHE) advisor, working for the SHE manager. During his time as a SHE Advisor, Steve successfully passed his NEBOSH certificate, internal auditor course and became a competent person for noise and vibration at work.

In 2014 Steve was promoted to SHE manager for Stobart Rail and has two SHE advisors within his team.

Steve added: “during my time at Stobart Rail I have seen a lot of changes, especially the growth of the company. From the initial investment of training me to work on the rail infrastructure via my PTS card, to funding my NEBOSH diploma in occupational health and safety, which I am currently in the process of completing. I can honestly say that Stobart Rail is a company that strives to provide an excellent training and development programme for their employees, in order to deliver a sustainable future for the company”.

“As the SHE manager for Stobart Rail, my job would be much more challenging if it wasn’t for the fantastic team that is Stobart Rail. From the lads on the ground, to the Directors at the top, we all work hard to achieve the same goal – a project delivered safely, on time and to the highest possible standard”.

“I believe that in the next five years Stobart Rail will continue to grow and I look forward in continuing to being a part of this innovative organisation”.

Stobart Rail plant Stobart Rail have invested, maintained and continually improved its own plant for over 20 years.

If you need reliable plant to support your maintenance / refurbishment / renewal activities on the

UK rail network look no further than Stobart Rail. Our comprehensive fleet of Road Rail Vehicles, track reballasting machines and specialist on track plant will exceed all your expectations and

requirements. The fleet is maintained by our own maintenance staff and supported in the field

by mobile fitters. Ongoing innovation and high levels of quality maintenance ensure that all our plant is reliable, cost effective and fit for purpose.

If you would like to discuss your requirements or would like further information on the fleet and its support mechanism please feel free to contact us and we will be pleased to help you.

Dave Richardson Plant Manager t. 01228 882 300 e. david.richardson@stobartrail.com Gary Newton Contracts and Estimating Manager t. 01228 882 300 e. gary.newton@stobartrail.com Andrew Sumner Business Development and Stakeholder Manager t. 01228 882 300 e. andrew.sumner@stobartrail.com

stobartrail.com

COMMENT

November 2014 | RailStaff | 3

RailStaff

Interstellar

Contact us:

The news of Virgin Galactic’s spaceship crash above the Mojave desert has been greeted with reprehensible delight by some sections of the media. Sir Richard Branson’s quest to take ordinary men and women into space is met with derision.

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While investigators determine the cause of the crash, Branson announced he is pressing on with the programme.

He is right to do so.

Since the end of the Cold War, space travel has been reduced by budget cuts and an earth-bound political class, in both Russia and America, more content with social engineering and meddling in countries deemed safely within their gravitational pull.

Yet mankind needs its dreams of travel to the stars. Movies anticipating man’s eventual reach beyond our galaxy regularly capture the imagination.

Branson and numerous other private-sector space pioneers should persevere. Early manned flight was equally difficult and condemned at the time as foolhardy. Sir Richard was ridiculed for introducing tilting trains on the WCML. Go back further and travelling on a steam train at over 20 miles an hour was deplored by finger-wagging physicians who thought the human frame would shake itself apart. Even sea explorers inched cautiously to the edge of a flat world, inspired by old men’s tales and Viking sagas. © SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

No matter how far we fall and fail, people need vision or they perish In the turgid deliberations of our time it seems the force of gravity has increased. Yet we continue to watch and listen to stories about travel to the stars.

Our governments, however, remain unconvinced, their silence as cold and empty as the furthest reaches of deep space.

No matter how far we fall and fail, people need vision or they perish. Hope and vindication lie over the next horizon.

We should never lose sight of the stars.

Many have quoted Oscar Wilde but none better than Irish writer Brendan Behan, who once described himself as a drinker with a writing problem. One

evening under a clear sky he left a Dublin hostelry and trod a pavement made slippery by an early frost. Behan slipped and fell off the kerb onto the street. As luck would have it a police officer saw this and approached him, recognising the writer.

‘Shall I help you up, sir?’ asked the Garda with a gentleness not always associated with his colleagues.

‘Why would you want to do that’? said Behan rolling over on his back and looking up at the night sky.

‘Mr Behan, you’re lying in the gutter.’

‘Maybe I am. But I’m looking at the stars.’

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

16

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Rail Freight Focus in December

Tired of saying goodbye

Everest Challenge

Transporting freight by rail is now more efficient, more cost effective and growing year on year. RailStaff talks to freight operators, suppliers and customers. If your company is involved in rail freight, get in touch with us now and promote your business to the whole rail industry.

Please call us today on 01530 816 440 or email freight@rail-media.com

Overnight possessions and weekend working plus long journey times to and from work make work place fatigue a clear and present health hazard.

Andy Ridout has announced that he will take part in a trifecta of fundraising challenges in 2015, with a trek to the base camp at Mount Everest in aid of Railway Children.

NEWS

4 | RailStaff | November 2014

HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins has urged the creation of a new east-west rail link between the two prongs of Britain’s future Y-shaped high-speed rail network.

The conclusions of his report, ‘Rebalancing Britain: from HS2 towards a national transport strategy,’ have been broadly welcomed by the government, which is dubbed HS3.

Higgins envisages a new intercity railway between Manchester and Leeds. This trans-Pennine route will unite a series of smaller projects, upgrading existing lines and constructing new tunnelled sections some of which can be delivered during existing electrification programmes, says Higgins. Journey times between Leeds and Manchester could be halved from 55 minutes to 25-35 minutes. In turn this will help create a ‘Greater North’ economic region to rival London and the South East. Sir David, with his habitual Australian pragmatism, suggests setting up a five-city authority called Transport for the North to maximise the new high speed rail network and deliver a more complete transport strategy.

Sir David believes the new link could be as important to the north of England as Crossrail is for the South East. He said, ’Improving connectivity is vital if Britain is to compete in the knowledge economy in which this country has a competitive advantage, but in which ease of travel is an essential element. Knowledge based companies whether they are in high-tech manufacturing, the creative industries, finance or the law, have to be close, or feel close to the talent, skills base, support network, knowledge pools, collaborators and clients necessary to create the hot-house atmosphere in which they thrive. That is why reducing the journey times between and within our cities isn’t just desirable for both passengers and freight. It is a strategic necessity.’

Crossrail of the North It has been estimated that the line could cost around £6-7 billion to construct - significantly less than the £20 billion Crossrail 2 price tag. Speaking at the launch of the report, Prime Minister David Cameron said, ‘I think it’s really important for our country that we make high-speed rail work for Britain as it has for other countries.’

localised issues The report also made several recommendations about a number of localised issues along the HS2 route. It concluded that the line should be extended to Crewe by 2027 – six years earlier than the original timetable. It also pointed to a need to further review the location of high-speed rail stations in Leeds, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands. In Leeds that means looking at how the city’s main railway station can be redeveloped to accommodate HS2 rather than sending high-speed trains south of the River Aire to a new station at New Lane. It was also Higgins’ belief that Meadowhall, not the city centre, was the right location for Sheffield’s HS2 connection.

The One North report published in August suggested the east-west link should have freight terminals at either end, like Eurotunnel, creating a drive-on facility for road freight. The freight industry has already been trying to open a dialogue with HS2 about exactly how it can benefit from the new railway, whether that takes the form of high-speed freight or extra train paths on the West Coast main line. Maggie Simpson, Rail Freight Group (RFG) executive director, said, ‘Rail freight needs to be at the heart of any strategy to improve transport links from Liverpool to Hull.’

Says Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, ‘Our northern cities are on the brink of an economic transformation and today’s report (27 October) underlines how we can secure this by bringing those cities together to maximise the benefits of good transport links. HS2 is crucial to this, and I welcome Sir David’s findings on how we can ensure the phase two route delivers maximum economic benefits throughout the Midlands and the North. But as he says, it is only through linking the east and west of the region that we can really unlock these benefits, not just along the route itself but right across the north.’

The report has now been submitted to Parliament and a detailed plan for the Phase Two route is expected in 2015.

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 5

Talent is an Asset Network Rail is increasing its investment in the talent of the future by raising the number of places available on its graduate and work placement schemes by over 40 per cent.

The company is looking to recruit 145 graduates – up from 100 last year – to join its 2015 graduate scheme. Around a third of the places will be open to those with engineering degrees, with the company keen to attract people from a wide mix of academic backgrounds for the remainder.

A further 40 places are available on the company’s

one-year work placement scheme. Open to secondyear undergraduates, the scheme gives students the chance to obtain invaluable workplace experience.

Says Fiona Tabraham, senior resourcing partner at Network Rail, ‘Network Rail has £38 billion to invest over the next five years so there’s never been a better time to get on board as we build the railway network of the future. Our graduates are given responsibility from day one, building up the core skills that they need to become future leaders of the business. Anyone interested in a career that makes a difference to people’s lives should join us on this journey.’

Alex Waller joined the graduate scheme in 2013, having completed a masters degree in chemistry at the University of Birmingham.

Says Alex, ‘I loved the idea of being involved in projects of such a scale and impact. Having no formal experience in project management or the rail industry, I was worried that I would be out of my depth, but I received a fantastic level of training to bring me up to speed. My first placement was in business improvement, which was a great introduction to some of the difficulties facing the industry and the processes being implemented to solve them.

‘My second placement was in a delivery unit, getting involved with work on the track. I’m now managing a multimillion pound track renewals project, which is a daunting task but the support from the business has been fantastic. Since I joined, I haven’t looked back.’

Healthcare Connections With the end of the year fast approaching, have you met your commitment to drug and alcohol screen 5% of your safety critical workforce?

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Don’t forget your random screens

NEWS

6 | RailStaff | November 2014

Pye in the Sky? ‘It’s been one of the fastest new station builds we’ve ever done if not the fastest,’ says Tony Potter of the Department for Transport (DfT).

Pye Corner, a new station in the west of Newport, South Wales, has been built in just 34 weeks.

‘What is phenomenal is the speed it’s all come together,’ adds Tony.

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer visited the station which is expected to open in December. The station will

provide connections to Cardiff and Ebbw Vale.

Says Baroness Kramer, ‘Pye Corner is a great example of how our record investment in the railway is building a network that meets the needs of local people and provides real benefits to the economy.

‘More than £38 billion will be spent in the next five years on modernising the rail network, giving passengers across the UK better journeys.’

Work started on the station in April this year. The DfT worked closely with Alun Griffiths contractors for the platform and car park works and Network Rail.

Ghost Dance for Old Nick After nervous complaints by passengers about ghosts at Leamington Spa station, Chiltern Railways has decided to employ a supernatural liaison officer.

Nick Rees, already a popular station host with customers, has been promoted to the new role. Ghosts have been sighted in two particular areas of the station which was built in the late 1800s.

Says Nick, 58, ‘I get on with people and I can make anyone smile. I suppose that’s why I can go about my duties as a supernatural liaison officer. I respect them and they respect me.’

One of the haunted areas is a disused basement on platform 3 which has

a partially blocked off staircase that seemingly leads to nowhere. The other area is the upstairs office building where staff regularly see and hear things including doors slamming and electrical equipment turning on and off.

Staff members at Leamington Spa report paperwork thrown about, drawers left open and hearing footsteps.

Says Stephen Herbert, a night time security officer at the station, ‘Leamington Spa station is one of the most haunted places I have been to and I’ve been to many! I often see and hear ghosts on both platforms but from what I have seen they are nice ghosts and have good energy.’

see a military band as well as a free exhibition, created by the Rail Delivery Group, which brings together Network Rail and Britain’s train and freight operators, telling the story of the vital role Britain’s railway and its workers played in World War One. Network Rail has a long and proud tradition of supporting the work of the British Legion and our armed forces and is proud to do so again this year.’

2014 marks the 91st year of the London Transport Old Comrades

Association who will continue the tradition of marching alongside the Armed Forces and laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in the annual Remembrance Sunday parade on Sunday, 9 November.

London’s bus staff were given the right to march by King George V who granted this honour to the staff of the London General Omnibus Company in 1920, in recognition of the services rendered by the men who drove buses to the front line in France and Belgium from 1914 - 1918.

Rail Backing for Poppy Appeal Stars like Barbara Windsor, Brian Blessed, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry have been heard on London Underground (LU) stations and 11 Network Rail main line stations urging support for London’s Poppy Day and the Royal British Legion appeal.

The aim is to raise as much money as possible in a single day to support the whole Armed Forces family.

To mark the centenary of the First World War, TfL has created a special poppy design with the line from the famous First World War poem by John McCrae, ‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow’.

Poppies were displayed on all LU and DLR trains. Two Tube trains, one on the Metropolitan line and one on the Circle line, a London Overground train and 10 London buses were completely wrapped in the design. The design is featured on

2,000 limited edition Tube maps and several LU stations and Network Rail stations have been decorated in special poppy livery.

TfL provided free travel to all London Poppy Day volunteers on 30 October.

Says London’s Transport Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, ‘This time of year is always poignant as the nation remembers those who made such profound sacrifices, and this year is particularly important as we mark the centenary of the start of the Great War.’ Train companies provided free travel to all volunteer collectors coming to London from 29 to 31 October, to support the London Poppy Day fundraising event.

Says Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, ‘Each of our managed stations in the capital is doing something special to mark London Poppy Day, as well as hosting volunteer collectors.

Visitors to London Victoria station will

PEOPLE

8 | RailStaff | November 2014

Power Graduates Get to Work

All aboard HS2

Joshua Flynn, who graduated from Aston University with a BSc in Business and International Relations, has become one of the latest recruits at UK Power Networks graduate trainee scheme.

Three new non-executive directors have joined the board of HS2.

The company which owns and maintains the electricity distribution network for London, the South East and East Anglia is expanding its presence in the rail industry.

Joshua will be working on High Speed One, the London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway and Network Rail as well as the Ministry of Defence and Heathrow and Gatwick Airport.

Over the next two years, Joshua will receive extensive technical training, flexible work placements, leadership development and support.

Joshua has been placed within UK Power Networks Services (UKPN Services) - the non-regulated part of UK Power Networks. UKPN Services runs safe and sustainable high voltage electrical and multi-utility networks for owners of major infrastructure.

UK Power Networks has taken on 14 engineering graduates, five commercial/business graduates and one in information systems, matching last year’s bumper intake.

Emma Nicholls, head of organisational development at UK Power Networks, said, ‘Graduates play an essential role in the future of our business. Our graduate development programme trains and develops the engineering, business and IT talent of tomorrow.

‘We invest more than £330,000 per year in these programmes. It is critical that we recruit and develop top graduates and undergraduates to fill essential roles to make sure we keep power supplies safely flowing to millions of homes and businesses.

‘We designed our graduate programme to foster personal and professional growth, shaping future leaders of UK Power Networks and the industry as a whole.’

Christine Emmett, Neil Masom and Baroness Jo Valentine have been appointed by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to push forward the construction of Britain’s high-speed rail network.

HS2 Ltd chairman David Higgins said, ‘Delivering HS2 will be as complex as it will be significant for the country. We therefore need board members who understand the technical, financial and community issues that will confront us.

Jo, Christine and Neil, working with the existing members of the board, will bring the cumulative experience we need for the massive task we face. I am delighted to welcome them to the board.”

Says Neil Masom, ‘I am extremely pleased to have been invited by the Secretary of State to join HS2’s board.

It is an extremely exciting project that has huge potential to act as a catalyst to boost British industry and create new economic opportunities.”

Weld Success for ISSL Alex Fleming has joined ISS Labour as welding manager for Scotland.

Alex brings with him many years of experience supporting both Network Rail and the major renewals contractors with thermic welding, grinding and inspection services.

Alex, along with ISSL’s rail manager for Scotland, will shortly take occupancy of the company’s new 6,500 square feet rail depot in East Kilbride. The move comes as ISS Labour’s Thermic Track Welding business continues to expand.

Launched in July under the technical guidance of head of welding, Phil Miskell, the business now has nine experienced teams delivering welding services across London North Western region and throughout Scotland.

Says Phil, who joined ISSL from Network Rail where he was senior asset engineer for London North Western region, ‘We are steadily building a portfolio of satisfied clients and the initial reaction that we’ve had to the launch of the business has been really pleasing. It’s given us a good platform to build on.

‘From the outset we’ve set ourselves very

high standards and we’re being selective in our recruitment to ensure that the delivery of our welding and the attitude displayed by our teams is first class.

We directly employ everyone to help get the calibre of staff we’re looking for, and we’ve engaged some excellent supervisors to oversee our operations.

‘I’m looking forward to developing the business to suit the needs of our clients and to see how we can take a fresh look at track welding and perhaps challenge some existing practices. We want to try to help deliver time savings to our clients without compromising safety or the integrity of the end product.’

This month the Manchester welding teams will move along with ISSL’s LNW Track, Civils and OLE businesses to a new 16,000 square feet facility in Manchester that will feature a 30-metre twin-track training span.

Says ISSL managing director Gary Beeston, ‘We are delighted with the progress ISSL is making within the industry having opened three new business units and two more regional offices this year.

2015 will see further geographical expansion with the addition of a new signalling business. We are closer to meeting our aspirations to be a national rail supplier in all our business areas.’

PEOPLE

November 2014 | RailStaff | 9

Overnight Sensation Peter Strachan is on his way back from Australia. Aberdeenborn Strachan is to run Serco’s Caledonian Sleeper franchise which begins in April 2015. He joins Serco Caledonian Sleeper from Serco’s business in Australia.

Prior to joining Serco in 2013, Peter Strachan was director general Major Projects for the Department for Transport. He was involved in the London 2012 Olympics and chaired the Crossrail joint sponsor board.

Strachan quit the DfT in the wake of the West Coast franchising controversy.

He was managing director of Arriva Trains Wales and was route director for Network Rail London North Western.

In Australia, Strachan was chief executive of National Express Group’s rail division in Melbourne and latterly he headed the TransLink Transit Authority in Brisbane.

Strachan will lead the Serco team responsible for transforming the Caledonian Sleeper into an outstanding hospitality service emblematic of the best of Scotland.

Strachan is a career railwayman who joined BR as a graduate trainee 34 years ago. He was educated at Kirkcudbright Academy and Durham University.

Eversholt Rail appoints Chief Financial Officer David Stickland is the new chief financial officer for Eversholt Rail.

Stickland joins Eversholt Rail from LeasePlan UK Ltd, part of the LeasePlan Corporation, among the largest vehicle management groups in the world, where he was chief financial officer from 2008.

A varied international career has seen David working in the Netherlands, Dubai, China and Denmark. A chartered accountant, he has worked for Serco Plc, Avis Europe Plc, IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, he went on to read geography at the University of Southampton and later gained an MBA at Manchester University’s Manchester Business School.

David lists his interests as running, snowboarding, music and raising a happy family.

Says Mary Kenny, chief executive of Eversholt Rail, ‘We are pleased to have David joining us as chief financial officer.

He brings strong financial experience and will prove a valuable part of the executive team at Eversholt Rail.’

Hale and Hertford Rail Mission for Rachel

Nicci Obrey has joined Abellio Greater Anglia as the new area customer service manager for Tottenham Hale and Hertford East, responsible for all stations in between including Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Waltham Cross and Enfield Lock.

Nicci has a background in customer service, most recently as the customer services duty manager for MBNA Thames Clippers. She managed a team of 120 and was involved in the London Olympics.

Says Nicci ‘I am delighted to join the team at Abellio Greater Anglia. I am already enjoying the role and believe I can bring new skills to the position that will have a positive impact on my area. I look forward to working with my recruitment-lg_Layout 09/01/2014 team to improve customer1service still

Rachel Dalby has joined the Railway Mission as the new marketing and fundraising officer.

Rachel is now co-ordinating publicity and communications for the growing work of the Railway Mission. She will also be working to secure increased funds for the work of the railway chaplains.

further over the coming months.

Nicci, 30, lives with her partner Ben, and two step-children, Harry, 5, and 12:49 George,Page 3. 1

With previous experience of fundraising and media work for Christian and secular charities, Rachel has a successful background in the voluntary sector. Her aim is to help the Railway Mission engage more with railway staff and potential funders.

Rachel originally trained as a journalist and has worked as a writer

Ganymede has a long heritage of providing contingent labour to safety critical aspects of the rail industry. As a Link-Up approved supplier, we provide semi-skilled and

and editor for regional and national publications.

She has also worked in radio, education and public relations.

She became a Christian in her thirties and is a member of the local Baptist Church in south Leicestershire which she attends with her husband, Russell, and son, William, 8.

Away from work she spends time with her family and enjoys cycling and hillwalking.

To find out how we can help to fulfil your labour supply needs, contact us for further information:

skilled labour, on call off and temporary

Call us: 0845 880 8104 or Email us: info@ganymedesolutions.co.uk

term contracts.

www.ganymedesolutions.co.uk

RAIL ALLIANCE

10 | RailStaff | November 2014

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

Brisk Business for Rail Alliance New Members The future is certainly bright as we move into the darker months ahead.

Port Talbot-based firm the Aluminium Lighting Company is beginning to break into the rail market. It is a success story that is down in part to our work assisting the Welsh Government to showcase the capabilities and potential of Welsh SMEs looking to diversify or grow existing businesses in the rail sector.

This is all good news and with over 100 companies attending each of their last three seminars, there is even talk of establishing a Welsh Rail Alliance! In all seriousness, this is a great example of how we can assist the development of Rail SMEs in Wales as one thread of activity coming from the Rail SME Mentoring Programme.

More good news: The Rail Alliance will soon be able to announce two new staff positions in the coming weeks and, all being well, a third new appointment in the New Year. This level of staffing, coupled with our recent growth rate in terms of attracting membership bodes particularly well for 2015 and beyond and will enable us to extend our reach to the north of England as well as establishing stronger footholds in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Even more good news: We have all been working extremely hard over the past weeks since our participation at Innotrans which saw over 65 of our members exhibiting in around the hallowed halls - and there are so many of them. However, the good news from all this frenetic activity is that we anticipate at least 25 more companies will join the Rail Alliance. We are particularly grateful to UKTI staffs for their help in offsetting the cost for many of our members’ attending this show through their Tradeshow Access Programme (see https://www.gov. uk/tradeshow-access-programme for more information).

Onwards! We look forward to our next event on 20 November in the AiTL Room, off Platform 1 at Euston Station - by kind permission of Network Rail. This event will include a presentation from the Head of the London Underground Station Works Improvement Programme (SWIP), Sherif Narouz and his team.

The SWIP is an exciting prospect, established to act as an internal contractor to self-deliver works for London Underground and wider elements of TfL. The programme consists of 145 staff with over £100m of projects, working on an average of over 50 sites a night, 365 nights a year. If you would like to hear more about this programme and what it might offer you by way of opportunity, please keep 20 November free in your diary to attend our meeting.

To reserve your space please contact Rhona Clarke on rhona. clarke@railalliance.co.uk or 01789 720026. This meeting will also include presentations from James Lewis from Network Rail on Shift 2 Rail, an EU-wide collaborative programme to invest just under €1 billion in research and innovation to get more passengers and freight onto Europe’s railways, as well as a presentation from Edwin Barker, the Delivery Manager for FutureRailway, knitting together the research and innovation themes for this part of the event.

Dilax Systems UK Ltd (DILAX Systems UK Limited are an established supplier of Passenger Counting Systems to the UK rail industry, with over 1000 rail vehicles installed with our system in the UK and Ireland. We provide a complete solution, including all hardware and software, to enable flexible reporting of passenger load information matched to timetable data automatically. Passenger load data is available in real-time. All system components are designed in-house to railway quality standards. DILAX are Link-up audited and IRIS certified. DILAX also supply Seat Management systems including seat occupancy and seat reservation solutions. We support our customers with project management, commissioning and installation expertise..) www.dilax.com Safe Route FM Ltd (Provider of pedestrian tunnel systems) www.saferoute.co.uk iGuzzini Lighting UK Ltd (Suppliers of innovative LED lighting solutions for interior and exterior projects. We can provide design solutions and advice on all aspects of lighting, from office/functional lighting to platform and architectural lighting.) www.iguzzini.co.uk

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

Panasonic System Communications Co. Europe (Panasonic System Solutions deliver large scale integrated B2B technology solutions and services for the transportation industry which allow organisations to achieve class-leading levels of performance, service and productivity. That means increasing returns on your investment and decreasing costs of technology ownership.) www.business.panasonic.co.uk Lindapter International (Inventor and pioneer of steelwork clamping systems for applications such as structural connections on station buildings and bridges as well as secondary connections of station fittings and electrical equipment.) www.lindapter.com Sicut Enterprises Ltd (Manufacturer and seller of composite railway sleepers and bearers and associated products.) www.sicut.co.uk R&I Consulting (Rail and logistics advisory services.) www.railandinfrastructure.co.uk Dyer Engineering Ltd (Dyer Engineering specialise in precision machined, high integrity fabrications, comfortably handling repeat batches of components through to bespoke, large scale fabricated structures.) www.dyer.co.uk

FEATURE

November 2014 | RailStaff | 11

NCB - Enhancing Engineers People building a career in the rail industry are being urged to consider working for the Network Certification Body.

Formed from an established group of industry experts, NCB was set up in April 2012 as an independent subsidiary company of Network Rail to provide rail conformance and certification services.

NCB has full accreditation as both a Notified Body (NoBo) and a Designated Body (DeBo).

Authorised to assess rail safety and conformity under European and British technical standards and legislation, NCB

was created to offer better assistance in the conformance certification market.

Says Mark Thickbroom, NCB’s finance and commercial director, ‘At NCB we’re challenging you to turn a traditional career path on its head.’

Mark goes on to map out a typical rail engineer’s career. ‘You go to university and graduate in an engineering discipline: mechanical or electrical or similar; you get onto a management training scheme and pass through several departments. Your first ‘assistant’ role is in something like projects or design.

‘After a few years gaining some great

‘If you’re interested in joining us to kick start your career enhancement, do get in touch,’ says Mark.

NCB – we enhance you!

on-the-job experience you move departments and achieve the role of an engineering manager, becoming professionally qualified along the way.

‘A series of upwards moves through projects, planning, vehicle build, operations and maintenance might follow. Maybe having pulled together 30 - 35 years of experience you might consider moving into a safety conformance role…..’

Sound familiar? NCB is challenging rail engineers to consider coming to its world sooner rather than later.

‘If you come to us, you’ll gain invaluable safety conformance and certification skills and awareness,’ says Mark. ‘Armed with a wealth of knowledge, making you a far more effective performer, you’ll then find it easy to move on to your next more operational role. You’ll be better placed to carry out projects on infrastructure,

vehicles and plant and a whole host of related tasks with a clear understanding of common safety methods, interoperability and other legislation – in short come to NCB to get the career enhancement you need.

‘We aim to enrich and develop your engineering skills, and you’ll recognise the benefit of coming back to us again during your career. When you’ve gained as much experience as possible, in a variety of disciplines, you’ll probably find you want to stay with us and we’ll welcome you with open arms.’

NCB is right at the forefront of new ideas and technologies. Joining sooner rather than later could be the short cut to greater career success.

‘If you’re interested in joining us to kick start your career enhancement, do get in touch,’ says Mark. ncbenquiries@networkrail.co.uk

NEWS

12 | RailStaff | November 2014

Multi-currency Disability Travellers on the Heathrow Group Backs Express can now book Heathrow Express tickets in US dollars, Euros New Line as well as in Sterling.

The new multi-currency purchasing service, available across all digital platforms, means Heathrow Express customers can avoid foreign exchange charges - which are typically between 2 per cent and 5 per cent on credit cards. Says Fraser Brown, commercial director, ‘This is an important step in our strategy to reach an international marketplace. By offering our products in US dollars and Euros we are moving from a UK-centric approach to an international one.’

An award-winning disability group that helped design the Metrolink system has given its backing to the new Wythenshawe and Airport line, which opens this month.

The Disability Design Reference Group (DDRG) has had a hands-on role in designing the expanded Metrolink network. DDRG teams have been busy visiting all 15 new stops to see how well they meet the needs of disabled people.

Says Andy Walker, a wheelchair user and DDRG facilitator, ‘Over the past few years, we’ve seen dozens of new Metrolink stops opening. Our group has had the opportunity to make sure each and every one of them will meet the needs of people with a range of

Cracking on with Crossrail Work on Crossrail 2, the north - south rail link, could start as early as 2019 - just one year after Crossrail 1 opens.

The DfT is now progressing the scheme. Detailed proposals will go to public consultation with permission sought in 2017.

Crossrail 2 will run from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire to Epsom in Surrey. The central section will comprise 22 miles of twin tunnels from Wimbledon to Tottenham Hale and New Southgate. The new railway would pass through central London’s Tottenham Court Road, Victoria, Chelsea and Clapham Junction.

The price tag for Crossrail 2 is £20bn.Says Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, ‘Crossrail 2 is a vital project, not just for the capital, but also for the regions from which people travel in to London on packed trains each day of the week.

‘With London’s population soon to surpass its previous 1939 peak of 8.6m, and with more people travelling by Tube and rail than ever before, we need additional rail capacity to support future growth.

‘For the capital to remain globally competitive there needs to be continued investment in our transport network and that’s why we have to get cracking on planning for Crossrail 2. It’s an essential infrastructure project that will deliver thousands of new homes and jobs, as well as helping to keep our great city moving.’

impairments. The Airport line is clearly going to be great for all the new areas it serves and we’ve been pleased to look at all 15 new stops and make sure the finished product is as accessible as possible.’

Members of the Disability Design Reference Group (DDRG) visit the new Wythenshawe Town Centre Metrolink stop – in front of the town’s new transport interchange, due to open next year.

Return to Kenilworth Rail services are set to return to Kenilworth under plans for a new station finally announced by Warwickshire County Council.

Work is expected to start next summer. The town’s previous station was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts. The news comes after years of campaigning. Local people are right behind the scheme.

The new station, in Priory Road, will connect Kenilworth with Coventry and Leamington Spa.

FEATURE

November 2014 | RailStaff | 13

Ardwick’s Open Day Siemens offered whistlestop tours of its Ardwick Traincare facility on 25 October as part of the Manchester Science Festival for which it is the headline sponsor. David Shirres reports.

Ardwick depot was opened in 2006 as the main depot for the maintenance of a new fleet of 51 x Siemens Class 185 Desiro DMUs which were introduced following the 2003 TransPennine Express franchise award. In 2013 the depot was electrified and extended by 10 metres to accommodate the 10 Class 350/4 EMUs introduced on Manchester to Scotland services on completion of phase one of the North West electrification.

Siemens opens one of its depots to the public each year and this year was Ardwick’s third open day. As well as being part of the Science Festival, it was also linked to the National Autistic Society (NAS), with whom the depot has a long-standing relationship.

Mark Lever, chief executive of the NAS, said, ‘The railways are of great interest to many people living with autism, so we are delighted that people will be given this rare opportunity for a behind-the-scenes tour of a real train care depot.’

Over 500 people took advantage

of the depot tours for which the prebooked tickets were sold out. Those on the tour were given a guide with 25 technical questions, the answers to which were on display boards. The tour included a class 185 DMU raised on jacks, a walk through a class 350/4 unit and a chance to see the wheel lathe, bogie drop, engine and other components. In the refreshment area, staff were on hand to explain the engineering careers that Siemens offers.

A lucky few had a chance to try out the depot’s driver simulator.

However, for many the highlight of the day was the chance for a cab ride in Britomart, an 0-4-0 saddle tank built in 1899 by Hunslet of Leeds for a North Wales quarry, which has been on the Festiniog railway since 1965. A siding

outside the depot was temporarily converted to dual gauge for this 597 mm gauge locomotive.

As highlighted by the article in last month’s Railstaff, ‘Railway Engineering for the next generation,’ Britain has an engineering skills shortage. More needs to be done to encourage schoolchildren to study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). For its part, Siemens announced its Curiosity Project in September. This includes sponsorship of the British Science Festival and those in Manchester, Edinburgh and Cheltenham up to 2017 as well as the Big Bang Fair, which was attended by 75,000 school visitors. In addition it will fund 1,600 school teachers to benefit from the Prince’s Teaching Institute programme to inspire more effective

maths and science teaching.

The Manchester Science Festival aims to inspire people to learn more about why science is amazing, great fun and an essential, accessible part of everyday life. It is fair to say that the Ardwick Open Day did just that.

NEWS

14 | RailStaff | November 2014

Hawk Talk at Bearsted

Princess Royal Opens Kemble

Bearsted station, gateway to Leeds Castle in Kent, has been fitted with the 1000th and 1001st lifts under the Access for All scheme, funded by the government and built by Network Rail.

At the grand opening, local MP Sir Hugh Robertson posed with a hawk from Leeds Castle, symbolising clarity of vision on the railway.

The lifts mean that families coming for a day out will no longer have to carry pushchairs and luggage up the stairs to cross between platforms at the 130-yearold station.

Network Rail’s route managing director for the South East, Dave Ward, said, ‘It’s not just families who benefit from these lifts but anyone who finds stairs a challenge. The railway should be for everyone and we are working on a series of projects across Kent to make that happen.’

HRH The Princess Royal has officially opened the newly redoubled railway line between Swindon and Kemble in a ceremony at Kemble station.

Railway staff and contractors spread approximately 215,000 tonnes of ballast, positioned 60,000 metres of rail and sited 70,000 new sleepers to

reinstate the second line between Swindon and Kemble, which was removed in 1968.

The Princess Royal arrived by train from London Paddington and met rail staff from Network Rail and First Great Western at Kemble. She then unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the line, which has been in use since the project was completed in August.

Master of the RVELs Patrick McLoughlin joined rail staff and local leaders to open RVEL’s new railway paint shop in Derby.

A delighted Secretary of State said, ‘I’m very pleased to have officially opened RVEL’s new paint shop today - part of a £500,000 investment that will create more skilled jobs right here in the railway city of Derby.

‘RVEL have exciting plans for growth and I look forward to seeing their progress in the coming years.’

RVEL’s Kelvin Workshop, the Rail Vehicle Paint Finishing Facility, is part of RVEL’s £487,000 investment in its RTC workshops on London Road, Derby. Part of the cost has been met by a £165,000 grant from the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund.

RVEL’s investment in Derby continues the company’s ambitious plans to increase its £12 million turnover by £5 million a year as well as create over 30 new jobs. The new jobs will be a combination of project managers and paint shop personnel, as well as skilled engineers, welders and fitters.

Says Andy Lynch, managing director of RVEL, ‘We are very grateful to the Secretary of State of Transport for taking the time from his busy schedule to open

RVEL’s new paint facility. This new facility shows RVEL’s continued commitment to Derby as the centre of our UK operations and will enable us to offer an enhanced range of services to existing and future customers.

‘Last month, we announced a 51 per cent investment in RVEL by US company Loram. Loram

recognise that Derby is at the heart of the UK rail industry.

Derby City Council’s councillor. Alison Martin joins Andy Lynch, MD of RVEL, in welcoming the Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP to the official opening of RVEL’s new Derby paint facility.

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 15

© ALSTON

Brains Trust At 29 years old, the Railway Heritage Trust (RHT) is itself an established part of the railway community.

The conservation of the nation’s railway heritage continues apace with intelligent use of RHT grants totalling £1.79 million this year. The RHT backed 54 projects, ranging from the refurbishment of stations such as Nottingham, Llandudno, Manchester Victoria and Wakefield Kirkgate, to erecting an historic sign in the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms at Sowerby Bridge. A former Parcels Office at Scarborough was turned into an arts studio and a new clock installed at Frodsham.

It has been another busy year for RHT, which maintains a healthy eye on the future as well as the past.

Spencer Rail backs supply chain charter

A Winter’s Tale

Rail infrastructure firm Spencer Rail has launched a new charter in a bid to provide industry leading performance.

Following the end of the summer season, railway staff and contractors on the Isle of Man are getting on with repairs to the Manx Electric Railway.

Spencer has put together the ‘Supply Chain Partners Charter’ to acknowledge its commitment to working collaboratively with its supply chain businesses to provide industry leading quality whilst managing collective social, economic and environmental impact.

All 30 of Spencer’s supply chain organisations signed up to the charter following a workshop led by Simon Noble, with Darren Coote and Murray Hetherington heavily involved in the pre-workshop activities.

Mr Noble, commercial director at Spencer Rail, said, ‘The Supply Chain Partners Charter provides us and our supply chain partners with a clear vision of how we operate; it gives us criteria by which to evaluate our performance across a number of areas.

‘I am delighted that all 30 of our supply chain partners have agreed to follow these guidelines in a bid to constantly deliver the best possible service and, in turn, raise the standard of project delivery across the rail industry.’

During the workshop, Spencer outlined the charter’s objectives in seven categories – health and safety, communication, continuous improvement, financial and commercial, relationship management, sustainability and quality of service. The charter includes a no-blame clause and emphasises safety, good communications, honesty and integrity.

‘The Supply Chain Partners Charter provides us and our supply chain partners with a clear vision of how we operate...’

The fastest growing membership charity in the public transport industry. Just £1 a week covers you, your partner and dependent children. & 0300 333 2000 8 www.tbf.org.uk e help@tbf.org.uk

The repair costs of almost £1.3 million have been approved by Tynwald, the Manx parliament.

Ballure Bridge is receiving special attention after staff identified several corroded sections and worn-out rivets. The 52-metre bridge above Ballure Glen, built between 1897 and 1899, carries two of the MER tracks. Other work will make it a busy winter on the Manx rail network.

as TBF h to... d movoeom Houseane L hL w

Ne ck Churc U L a 101 B ndon E1 1 records. r Lo te you upda tact Please ll other con the A in a m re details ame. s

The Transport Benevolent Fund (known as TBF) is a registered charity in England and Wales (1058032) and in Scotland (SC040013) TBF_RO&RS_WeeklyAds_190x50.indd 9

02/05/2014 11:47

NEWS

16 | RailStaff | November 2014

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Tired Goodbye of Saying

Fatigue in the workplace is attracting new attention in the rail industry. Overnight possessions and weekend working plus long journey times to and from work make work place fatigue a clear and present health hazard.

Moreover rail managers report that many track workers rather than stay in lodgings locally between shifts prefer to drive home - thus cutting further into down time.

Fatigue is a very real hazard in the workplace and impacts health, concentration, conduct and capability.

Fatigue is a risk factor on night shifts and after a succession of shifts where inadequate rest periods have been taken.

Dr Steve Malleson, Chief Medical Officer of Express Medicals Ltd, reports.

Some of the most important ways in which performance may be affected include :

• Reduced concentration with poorer decision-making and judgement.

• Slower reaction times.

• Being less alert and less vigilant.

• Impaired bodily and visual coordination.

• A tendency to increased emotional upset.

Such effects already have serious implications for those involved in safety critical roles. However they also impact workers in customer-facing service jobs, administrative jobs and those involved in making senior managerial and boardroom-level strategic decisions.

In short, fatigue can adversely impact a business at many levels with potentially disastrous personal and organisational consequences.

Studies have demonstrated the high impact of fatigue in the workplace. In the UK it is estimated that approximately 21 million people suffer from some degree of insomnia. The financial cost to the NHS of sleeping pills alone is some £50 million per annum.

There are a variety of causes as to why a worker might become exhausted. The causes can be separated into a number of categories : • Lifestyle factors and the challenges of daily life.

• Psychological challenges, leading to stress and depression.

• Certain medical conditions, including so-called “primary sleep disorders”.

• Alcohol.

• Medication.

• Drug abuse.

It may be simple to adjust daily routines to ensure that enough time is set aside for sleeping and resting.

However, often it may prove difficult to uncover the true causes and provide remedial action. Sometimes only a very careful history, alongside a willingness to open up, will enable the contributing factors to be identified.

In the workplace, the provision of an EAP (employee assistance programme) may be a source of

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 17

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

advice and support on a range of personal, practical, financial, legal and professional issues.

Lifestyle changes might include losing weight, reducing alcohol consumption, taking more exercise, learning to cook, improving household management and adjusting work-life balance to make available more time for family, friends, interests and simple relaxation.

There may be issues of drug addiction to face and deal with, including addiction to certain prescribed medications and abuse of illegal drugs. Where psychological factors are paramount it may be beneficial to provide supportive therapies to help. Possibilities include counselling, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), mindfulness training, meditation techniques, yoga, pilates and relaxation classes.

Investigate appropriately Fatigue can be a symptom of the body’s reaction to various medical conditions. Common examples include anaemia, thyroid problems, eating disorders, depression, infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, cancers and sleep disorders. Where there is an underlying medical condition, it is important to promptly investigate appropriately so as to

arrive at a diagnosis. Thus treatment can be given and, hopefully, energy levels will be restored with a return to good health.

A common underlying cause of fatigue is the primary sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnoea [OSA].

A person affected by OSA repeatedly stops breathing in his or her sleep for short periods of 30-60 seconds. The body’s response to this is to repeatedly wake up that individual. Thus a cycle of exhaustion is established with many possible complications for both personal health and workplace performance.

A lorry or train driver exhausted by OSA could easily fall asleep whilst on duty, for example. Where OSA is suspected there are special sleep study investigations available and a number of helpful treatments.

In summary. Fatigue is a significant workplace hazard which employers need to be aware of and in a position to manage effectively. Fatigue may result from a variety of causes. Sometimes the cause will be obvious and simple to deal with. In other cases it may require careful history investigation and research to reach an explanation.

A variety of approaches may be required to successfully manage fatigue in the workplace. Employers must recognise their responsibility

to manage the risks from fatigue, irrespective of how willing employees might be to work extra hours and longer shifts.

Employers should appropriately risk assess working-time arrangements and can use the HSE’s guidance : The Fatigue Risk Index. Employers are recommended to have in place a specific policy designed to address the problems arising from working and shift patterns so as to safeguard employees and employers alike from the potential consequences of uncontrolled risks like fatigue. By minimising the risks of workplace fatigue it is likely that health, wellbeing and workplace performance will all benefit.

Dr Steve Malleson MBBS MFOM, Chief Medical Officer, Express Medicals Ltd. www.expressmedicals.co.uk workhealth@expressmedicals.co.uk Tel : 020 7500 6900.

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

NEWS

18 | RailStaff | November 2014

Durham Success for Hitachi The new rail assembly plant at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is ready for fitting out - just a year after work started on site.

Keith Jordan, managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd, hosted a special ceremony with Michael Chicken chief executive of Merchant Place Developments and Mark Perkins, chief executive of Shepherd.

Perkins paid tribute to local suppliers and the workforce. He said, ‘Countless dedicated and highly skilled people, across the entire supply chain have been responsible for getting us to this important stage in the development of Hitachi’s new manufacturing facility. We’ve brought together the very best construction and engineering talent from across the North East to work collaboratively on this landmark project, which is set to transform Newton Aycliffe into a European rail manufacturing hub. There’s still a lot of work to do on site, but I’m pleased to say we’re on track to deliver a truly world-class facility next year.’

The interior fit-out of the hub has already started. The £82 million Vehicle Manufacturing Facility is expected to be complete by mid-summer 2015. Once completed, the Newton Aycliffe centre will serve as Hitachi Rail’s headquarters for train manufacturing and assembly. It will be the base for the construction of the new Great Western main line and East Coast main line trains the company is building for the government’s Intercity Express Programme (IEP), as well as the new AT200 trains for Abellio’s ScotRail franchise.

Newton Aycliffe looks set to become a big local employer, leading County Durham’s resurgence as the home of railways.

Hitachi Rail Europe has also decided to establish its UK design office in the new facility. The Design Office will employ 12 staff tasked with interior design work for the AT200 trains, including the trains destined for the ScotRail franchise. The eventual size and scope of the design office is dependent on future workload.

Says Rail Minister Claire Perry, ‘We are investing

Perry: Roll On IEP Rail Minister Claire Perry has met students at Birmingham University and toured a mock-up of Hitachi’s new IEP train in Warwick.

Perry says she relished the opportunity to hear the views of young engineers ‘who could be playing a major role in the future of our railways.

She added, ‘I was especially pleased to meet so many women who are involved in the engineering, design and management of one of Britain’s

key growth industries. Like them, I can’t wait to see the first of these trains rolling out on our network.’

The Intercity Express Programme will see a total of 866 carriages manufactured. The new electric

and bi-mode trains will run on the Great Western main line from 2017 and the East Coast main line from 2018, bringing more capacity, as well as quicker, more reliable and greener services for thousands of passengers.

record amounts in transforming our railways over the next five years as part of our long-term economic plan, including the delivery of 122 Intercity Express trains to run on the Great Western and East Coast main line routes. The new trains will be assembled in Britain at the state-of-the-art factory in Newton Aycliffe and will play a key part in transforming travel for thousands of passengers on some of our busiest rail lines. The new factory at Newton Aycliffe will benefit the North East’s economy for years to come, creating hundreds of jobs and apprenticeships and showcasing the fusion of British and Japanese engineering excellence.

It is great to see railway industry jobs returning to the North East, home of the Stockton-Darlington line where Britain’s railway journey began.’

Says Keith Jordan, managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe, ‘Today’s topping out ceremony signifies a milestone in the construction of our Vehicle Manufacturing Facility in Newton Aycliffe. This is no longer just a concept - everybody can see for themselves the sheer scale of the site that will act as the hub for our rail manufacturing work in the UK and across Europe. With the establishment of our design division, we further enhance professional opportunities and our commitment here in Newton Aycliffe and the North East of England. This will be our UK and European rail centre, where we design and build trains for Great Britain and the rest of Europe. I would like to thank Merchant Place Developments, Shepherd Construction, Network Rail and the many suppliers for all the hard work they’ve put in over the last year to reach this stage, and am now looking forward to the final completion in 2015.’

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 19

Strong demand for stands at Railtex Demand for stand space at next year’s Railtex exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham is the strongest it has ever been for one of these shows, according to organisers Mack Brooks.

Exhibition manager Heidi Cotsworth said, ‘The response so far from companies wishing to take part in the show has been very positive. By mid-October three-quarters of available space had been booked. Compared with the same stage ahead of the last Railtex in 2013, this means that sales are 15 per cent up.’

Feedback from exhibitors at the 2013 show confirms the value of the event.

This endorsement came from Paul Foulkes, project manager at Bombardier

Transportation, ‘Railtex is the perfect opportunity for suppliers in the rail industry to exhibit their products. A lot of the names here are quite familiar and it’s a perfect arrangement to display what’s new and novel and what companies are bringing to the market.

‘We’re a global name and we are well known in the industry but it gives us the opportunity to connect with our

customers face to face.’

Alstom Transport’s Jo Doxey said, ‘I think the advantage of having something like Railtex is that it just brings so many people together from so many organisations – so many different aspects of the industry, so many different elements that come together to build the whole rail industry and the whole rail network, and these people can talk and get to know each other and it’s just an opportunity to see how big the industry is.’

And Dave Bennett, business manager at Topcon GB, commented, ‘The exhibition is a great place for rail industry professionals to come and network. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase our innovations.

‘What it’s given us is the ability to show off the new products that we’ve brought out this year and get them in front of the right people in the industry. We’ve just had a fantastic amount of business leads from the show.’

In all, 432 companies exhibited at Railtex 2013, with a remarkable 98 per cent saying they received positive business enquiries and 99 per cent reporting that they had achieved their aims.

The show attracted some 8,200 visiting rail industry professionals from 49 countries – up 19 per cent on the 2011 show. Data gathered by the event’s organisers indicates that 63 per cent of visitors had immediate purchasing power and nearly twothirds were directors, partners or managers. A further quarter were engineers and technicians.

Many of the features that have

contributed to the continuing success of Railtex will be incorporated in this 12th event in the series. Visitors and exhibitors will be able to gain insights into developments in industry policy and technology at free presentations taking place in two areas in the exhibition hall.

The Seminar Theatre will be the venue for industry presentations highlighting innovations and trends in rail technology during a a wide-ranging programme devised by the rail engineer. And the Knowledge Hub will host keynote speeches from industry leaders, project updates covering major UK rail schemes and The Platform will be the setting for open forum discussions on topical industry themes.

Exhibitors will be displaying their products and carry out demonstrations on The Track, sections of track laid in the exhibition hall, and The Yard will be an indoor area where plant manufacturers, sellers and hirers can showcase their products. Also returning to Railtex will be the Recruitment Wall, featuring exhibitor vacancies and enabling visitors to discuss their potential next career move directly with the company.

There will be plenty of networking opportunities too. Among these will be the Railtex Awards Dinner, celebrating exhibitors’ achievements.

Early booking for a table is recommended as the 2013 event was a sell-out.

The dates for Railtex 2015 are 12 to 14 May next year. The show website HYPERLINK “http://www.railtex.co.uk.” www.railtex.co.uk has more details and includes the latest list of exhibitors.

Rail Safety Summit 2015

KEYNOTE SPEAKER, DAY 1

LONDON 30/04/15 - 01/05/15

KEYNOTE SPEAKER, DAY 2

Mark Carne

Charles Horton

Chief Executive

Chief Executive

Network Rail

Govia Thameslink Railway

In association with:

Day 1:

A meeting of rail safety minds

Day 2:

CIRAS - Confidential Reporting for Safety

How do we continue to make sense of safety?

Are we addressing the concerns of the workforce?

Following the success of last year’s Rail Safety Summit, we are delighted to announce that our sixth event is now expanded to two days, and will be held on Thursday 30th April and Friday 1st May at the Royal College of Physicians, London.

The Rail Safety Summit has become THE conference for rail safety executives, infrastructure owners, train operators, rail stakeholders

and training professionals, with leading ďŹ gures from the rail safety, security, risk assessment and training professions all in attendance.

An Advisory Board has been developed for the 2015 Safety Summit.

This esteemed group of people come from all areas of the Rail Industry and are best placed to know what the current burning questions in the industry are that need to be answered.

Book your tickets now at www.railsafetysummit.com

TRACK SAFETY

22 | RailStaff | November 2014

“HEST BANK”

A PLACE THAT COULD SO EASILY HAVE BEEN A MULTIPLE FATALITY SITE! AND TWO OTHER ACCIDENTS THIS YEAR THAT COULD EASILY HAVE HAD FATAL CONSEQUENCES SAFETY Colin Wheeler colin@rail-media.com

At 1423 on the afternoon of Monday 22nd September 2014 a group of nine track workers were packing ballast under Up Line sleepers on the West Coast Main Line just south of Hest Bank between Carnforth and Lancaster.

Network Rail had appointed both the Controller of Site Safety (COSS) and the two lookouts who were using the Look Out Warning System (LOWS). The static warning unit was sited adjacent to the work gang, and the Up-side lookout was standing about half a mile away due to the curvature of the line restricting the sighting distance.

Just 4 seconds to get clear At 1423 the Edinburgh to Manchester Airport passenger train approached from the north but no site warning was given according to the preliminary RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) report.

The contract track staff took “evasive action” when they saw the train just 4 seconds before it reached them.

Some could not get to the place of safety, so pressed themselves up against the parapet of the bridge on which they were working. The train passed at around 80 mph; permitted line speed at that point is 125 mph. No injuries were caused according to the report, but there could so easily have been nine or more fatalities!

Severe electric shock The following day 23rd September, a train driver received a severe electric shock and was seriously injured by damaged overhead line equipment (OLE) near Sutton Weaver on the Crewe to Liverpool line. It was around 7 pm as the driver slowed down whilst approaching a red signal. As he did so, he saw a damaged section of OLE so stopped short of the signal. He reported it to the signaller before getting out of his cab.

Shortly afterwards he came close to or made contact with the damaged overhead line that was still energised.

He received a severe electric shock. His accident was detected as a fault and the line breakers opened turning off the power. The train manager and a doctor travelling on the train attended him until the emergency services arrived. The RAIB investigation is underway.

Engineering train collision at Kitchen Hill The RAIB report into this accident has recently been released. It occurred at 1325 hours on Sunday January 12th this year. Kitchen Hill is a track access point about 5 km north of Penrith Station on the West Coast Main line.

The possession on January 12th was some 60 km long and contained no fewer than 8 worksites as well as the one (Worksite F) where the accident happened. Originally the 6 km long worksite was planned to extend to Long Ashes user worked crossing, but Network Rail’s management briefing pack showed that it was later decided to place the marker boards 5 km further down the track at the northern end of Plumpton Loop.

A tamping machine and four engineering trains were needed for the worksite, so the Engineering Supervisor (ES) had an assistant to help him. The ES decided to place the marker boards adjacent to Kitchen Hill some 3.7 km south of the planned north end of Plumpton Loop location.

Driver jumped clear before impact The report refers to the lack of understanding between the driver and

the ES on the whereabouts of the marker boards and the speed (40 mph or “at caution”) with which the train was to approach the boards.

A second train was waiting at the marker boards for permission to pass out of the work site to the north. The second train approached the north end marker boards and ran into the stationary train at 17 mph, pushing it forward by around 20 metres. Its driver jumped from his cab just before the impact, and luckily only sustained an abdominal injury, requiring a single night’s stay in hospital.

RAIB’s recommendations include using the signalling system to control trains during engineering works, reviewing ways of detecting the positions of trains when signalling systems are suspended, planning and the addressing simultaneous train movements to and from work sites.

Defective rail collapse On 2nd October this year at around 2-30 am, a freight train (Class 66 with 21 loaded coal wagons) derailed between Porthkerry No 1 Tunnel and Porthkerry Viaduct on the line from Barry and Bridgend. Extensive track damage was caused as the derailed wagons were dragged 80 metres before the train came to a halt. RAIB are investigating but have already said that “preliminary examinations revealed that a defective rail collapsed”.

Tight curve no check The RAIB report of a freight train derailment on October 15th last year has recently been published. The accident happened close to Primrose Hill Station in northwest London. The fifth wagon

TRACK SAFETY

in the train derailed and the train then ran on to the junction near Camden Road Station where an empty container toppled off and damaged the OLE. The cause was a combination of poor track geometry and asymmetric loading of the wagon that derailed.

The report makes three recommendations. It calls for guidance to managers on their actions when track recording does not happen, consideration of factors that contribute to the derailment of unevenly loaded wagons and clarification of requirements for the design and acceptance of freight wagons.

The report also highlights the fact that the curve where the derailment occurred has a radius of 187 metres; less than the 200 metre minimum requiring a check rail to be provided. However the report also says that the Track Maintenance Engineer believed it was a freight only line which would have exempted it from the requirement!

Cyclic top and steel sleeper maintenance Another report refers to yet another freight container train derailment that occurred on the same day last year. At 8-15 pm the train derailed four miles south of Gloucester Station whilst travelling at 69 mph. Cyclic top (track with regularly spaced dips in both rails) was the defect that resulted in the last wagon derailing, resulting in four miles of damage to track, four level crossings, two bridges and the signalling.

Beginning in December 2011 a series of speed restrictions had been imposed due to track dips with each one being lifted after repairs.

Four of the seven RAIB recommendations are aimed at Network

November 2014 | RailStaff | 23

Rail, covering drainage in the area, managing cyclic top and providing staff with ways of measuring it and “investigating how cyclic top can be effectively repaired on steel-sleepered track.”

20 months gap between yearly examinations It was at Denmark Hill Station on 1st August 2013 at 4 pm when concrete cladding fell from a bridge onto the station platform as reported by RAIB. The cause was the “gradual deterioration of the fixing arrangement”. The investigation found that the problem was first reported 4 years earlier.

The examiner’s information had not been entered promptly into a database, communications between asset management and works delivery “were sometimes ineffective” and works were not precisely specified.

Around six weeks before the incident the Director Route Asset Management raised his own safety concerns, but the contractor rejected them. Examinations that should be undertaken every twelve months had been allowed to slip to the extent that gaps of 18 and even 20 months between examinations had occurred.

Personal responsibility and accountability Hest Bank I suggest provides good reasons why signalling based automatic track warning systems need to be installed on higher speed main lines so that lookouts are not needed.

Alternatively we need to restrict red zone working to areas where line speeds are similar to those on “A class” roads!

In respect of the events at Primrose

Hill, Gloucester Station and Denmark Hill I have one major concern. When I occupied safety critical posts looking after the inspection and maintenance

databases, asset and work delivery management are all working separately with apparently no single accountable engineer taking overall responsibility.

of railway infrastructure I made it my business to continuously check that inspections were done to the necessary standard and remedial work done when needed. I knew if I failed I could lose my job.

Judging by the comments made in the RAIB reports, I am concerned that

At Denmark Hill it reads as if despite the concerns of the Network Rail Director (a Chartered Engineer), a member of the contractor’s workforce decided, wrongly, that no work was needed! The inspection and reporting of rail flaws will surely feature in the RAIB’s Porthkerry report.

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24 | RailStaff | November 2014

Brunel Medal for Orange Army The team of engineers who worked round the clock to reopen the Dawlish railway following storms that breached the sea wall has been awarded the prestigious Brunel Medal at the 2014 Institution of Civil Engineers Awards.

The Orange Army caught the imagination of the public and their courage and hard work has now received further well-deserved recognition.

The Brunel Medal, named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, recognises individuals or teams who have shown excellence in civil engineering. Fittingly, this year it goes to a team who repaired part of a railway Brunel himself designed.

Opened in 1846, the South Devon Railway is accustomed to extreme weather conditions. However, the severity of the storms in February 2014 was extraordinary. Between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth 4.5 miles of railway infrastructure was severely damaged, including a 100-metre breach to the Dawlish Sea Wall.

On 6 February, less than 48 hours after the first call, a joint team comprising Network Rail, BAM, AMCO, Dyer & Butler, Sisk and Tony Gee & Partners came together to plan the

repairs. As they got to work another storm struck on 14 February, battering the 10-tonne shipping containers which were being used as a temporary breakwater. Works came to a halt and the damage caused a 20 per cent increase to the overall project scope.

Through late February and March, the team worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week to repair and reinstate the line, but in early March they faced a further challenge - 25,000 tonnes of material had sheared away from the cliff face and onto the track near Teignmouth. A controlled landslip was created using several high pressure water cannons, turning the red earth into slurry to run off into the sea, whilst minimising damage to the infrastructure below.

Works continued with an average of 300 people each day and 150 each night working tirelessly to re-open the line. Eight weeks on from the first storm, after battling high waves, rain,

gales and a further landslip - the rail link to South and West Devon and Cornwall re-opened on 4 April.

Says ICE vice-president Tim Broyd, ‘If any project is worthy of the Brunel Medal, it is this.

‘Considering the extent of the damage and the relentless conditions the engineers were faced with, it is quite extraordinary that they were

able to get the track up and running before Easter - two weeks ahead of schedule – to avoid further damage to the regional economy. The teamwork, inventiveness and sheer determination were inspiring – a shining example of civil engineers doing what they do best.

I have no doubt that if Brunel was with us today, he would be extremely proud - congratulations to all involved.’

BIG TOP SENSATION SWEEPS RAIL ‘I must thank Pat Tollar in the Rail Media office,’ said Sally Ralston of Merseyrail at the RailStaff Awards 2014. Sally had nominated several people for awards, blissfully unaware that she herself was about to win the David Maidment Award for Charity.

‘She’s here, I’ve seen her, but she’s dressed as a cat.’

Pat, office manager and general fixer, is a mainstay of the RailStaff Awards and, an accomplished runner, comes into her own the night of the RailStaff Awards. An annoyed looking lion padded by. ‘No, no, he’s a rail engineer writer, Sally.’

The RailStaff Awards grows bigger and more colourful year by year and is fast becoming a big green light for railways. Fancy dress, pioneered

by Rail Media director Lianne O’Connor, has become another hit aspect of the RailStaff Awards.

According to events manager Karen Payne, this year’s circus theme was eagerly taken up by over three quarters of the 1,000 people attending.

Bar code zebras Many people dressed as animals, many more as clowns. Several turned up in top hats and evening dress - ringmasters who‘d cut their skills on all night possessions, lion tamers fresh from duty at customer relations centres, acrobats who performed wonders of re-rostering and blockade management. High wire performers, well versed in the intricacies of overhead line electrification, compared notes with bar code zebras from civil engineering outfits. Fancy dress makes for good conversation.

‘What part of the railway are you with?’

‘I’m not. I work for the Northumbria Police,’ said a clown.

‘CID?’ ‘No, I’m here with my partner from Newcastle Travel Centre - she’s up for an award.’

Colin Flack, chief executive of the Rail Alliance, hosted the proceedings and he started the evening with an odd request. ‘Put your hands up,’ he said, ‘if you nominated somebody for an award.’ Many people did so and Flack said, ‘Be proud of what you have accomplished.’ The nomination writers, often modest to a fault, looked around and took a bow.

This simple gesture exemplifies what the RailStaff Awards stands for. It is a testimony to an industry-

wide conspiracy to support and encourage the men and women we work with, to thank them, tell them they’re valued and that they can achieve anything in life.

Devotion and passion Jim Syddall of Network Rail re-iterated this in his opening speech, ‘Tonight we recognise and celebrate the railway’s most valuable resource; its people. It’s your devotion, your passion, that make it what it is today.’

Tall claims though these might be we at RailStaff have the facts to back them up. Quite often senior railway managers will point out that they started on the ballast and worked their way up. Just a few days later it was our sad duty to record the death of Michael Sata, former porter at London Victoria and a worker on Zambian railways. Sata rose to become president of Zambia. The lesson is: be mindful of whoever you work with. Encourage them, be supportive of them, for they might be the next president of your country, the future leader of a company or life changing charity.

Many at the RailStaff Awards talk of the railway family, a community that includes Graduate of the Year Antoine Mailfert, from Quimper in Brittany, and Gordon Reed from Bishop Auckland in County Durham who joined the railways in 1948 and received this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s a massive industry that despite the safety critical nature of the job and the attendant tragedy of any transport system, doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Railway humour Talk of family and community may sound old hat in some quarters but it’s for real in railways.

After receiving their award, winners are whisked away by Karen Payne and the person giving the award, spirited across the arena to a secret bar for a glass or two of champagne and a brief chat with RailStaff reporters Andy Milne and Marc Johnson.

The sudden change of events often completely unsettles the winners. Railway humour comes to the rescue of even the most dumbstruck.

‘I never thought I’d win a thing like this,’ a typical winner said.

‘I know, I wrote your nomination, mate,’ his colleague quipped. ‘A right dog’s breakfast.’

‘Well anyway it’s a fine effort, very well

deserved,’ said the sponsor who presented the award. Everyone raised glasses and drank deeply.

‘Every dog has its day,’ Pat ‘Catwoman’ Tollar observed passing round more champagne, ‘But you know what? The nights belong to us cats.’

It is worth recording that without our backers the RailStaff Awards would not exist. Less well known is the welcome service they render back stage to shell shocked winners. Our sponsors are the men and women at the cutting edge of our industry, their ingenuity and initiative threading the industry’s future. Despite hard-nosed commercial success and high tech ingenuity these backers retain a deft human touch. Good that they do otherwise winners would be left to the tender mercies of the press - Johnson and Milne and Amy the photographer. The men and women from our backers really make the event what it is - a family affair.

A Brill Name Towards the end of the evening the last category - Train Driver of the Year - came through. ‘I’m so thrilled you won!’ Pat said. ‘Oh really why?’ said Ersan Sokmen, with the broadest grin of the night, surely a reassuring sight from end to end of the Hammersmith and City Line.

‘The name, it’s such a brill name…’

Ersan and his three colleagues fell about laughing at this. The other winners and the photographer had left by now, but Ersan and his drivers lingered over a drink.

They wanted a photo taking and one of them had a camera. Happily the guy from the Ricoh Arena, serving the fizz, Colin, is studying to be a professional photographer and he offered to take the shot.

‘Come on Pat. We want you both in this.’ The four drivers and Pat set off to stand in front of the white back screen. ‘You too, Andy…’ one of the LU drivers said. ‘You sure you want me in this,’ said Milne, mindful that a good journalist should never really be part of the story. ‘Yeah, yeah, get over here,’ he said. ‘You’re both family…’

Thank you to all who contributed to the RailStaff Awards. Next year we will have our own station at the Ricoh Arena - bigger, better and with even more green lights for railways.

THANK YOU TO INCANDESCENCE CIRCUS PERFORMANCE, E2 AND SPLAT ATTACK FOR HELPING MAKE THIS YEAR’S EVENT SUCH A SUCCESS.

Outstanding Customer Service Award for Natasha Wilding

Natasha receives her award for Outstanding Customer Service

Natasha Wilding, Head of Stations, Northern Rail, wins the Outstanding Customer Service Award 2014.

Says Nicola Hosty Head of HR Support Services at Northern Rail, who herself won Rail Manager of the Year at the RailStaff Awards 2012, ‘Natasha is the Head of Stations for Northern Rail

and the purpose of her role is to ensure our customers receive the best possible service. Natasha does this day-in, dayout, motivating and engaging every one of her 750 staff to deliver customer service across the North of England.’

‘Thanks to all my team,’ says Natasha, ‘Without their help, support and focus none of this would have been possible.’

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26

This year Northern Rail - keen supporters of integrated transport had three major events to contend with: the Tall Ships, Tour de France and Liverpool Giants. Passenger volumes soared at Northern stations. Natasha Wilding put together a plan and called in staff volunteers. Many staff answered the call and worked in teams to help deliver the plan and ensure passengers reached their destination and were able to get home. Volunteers were briefed and quality of service was maintained throughout.

Natasha Wilding ensured all relevant people were consulted in the event planning process and developed a consistent message for all staff, ensuring all were engaged and motivated. She kept in contact with other departments, including Ops Control and Traincrew Planners.

Says Nicola, ‘Customers received the best possible service despite the sheer volume of people arriving at these events. All employees felt they were part of something special. Natasha then personally thanked everyone for their assistance. Natasha doesn’t treat large events any different to small events, she understands the task at hand, knows what she has to do to deliver it and does this with no fuss.’

Natasha Wilding has also been

praised for implementing a new Station Management structure, creating an environment more sympathetic to delivering better customer service.

Thanks to Natasha there is now a HUB station manager where the biggest events happen and a clear responsible person.’ With over 25 years’ experience of railway operations Natasha Wilding is at the top of her game and among Northern Rail’s fast growing staff base of high achievers.

‘She is well respected within the business with customers, colleagues and stakeholders and is a humble, genuine person,’ adds Nicola.

The Outstanding Customer Service Award is sponsored by GB Railfreight one of railway privatisation’s outstanding success stories. GBRf’s team of 600 people operates 650 trains a week, moving 15% of Britain’s rail freight with 99% reliability. GBRf staff are in charge of a fleet of 58 locomotives and over 1,000 wagons, transporting goods for customers including E.ON, Network Rail, EDF Energy, UK Coal, Merrill Lynch, Tarmac, Drax and Crossrail Ltd. GBRf’s specialist teams design transport answers for companies working in coal, biomass, infrastructure, petrochemical, construction and intermodal.

Highly Commended Elaine White from Bodyguard Workwear Jonathan Connolly from CrossCountry

Track Triumph for Dominic Trueman Dominic Trueman of London Underground is 2014’s Rail Engineer of the Year. More services and more and longer trains on London Underground are having a direct impact on the track. Minimising wear and tear is essential to the long term health of the world’s original metro system. ‘I’d like to thank George Noorden, the track engineer, for nominating me and for his support,’ says Dominic.

Says George Noorden of London Underground, ‘Dominic, rather than taking the comfortable position of carrying out his assigned role supporting the existing processes that limit the risk of failures and delays, is leading innovative engineering solutions.’

For example to reduce the wheel spin effect from sudden acceleration Dominic is working with train manufacturers to reconfigure the traction package. He and his team have developed alternative rail head profiles which change the position of wheel to rail contact in order to reduce rolling contact fatigue and wheel squeal. New methods of data analysis are helping too.

Says George Noorden, ‘Dominic

realised that revised management for London Underground’s legacy of fabricated crossings is needed to limit repair weld….. As such he directed his engineering team to take ownership of the inspection and welding process.’

Dominic is the LU Engineering ‘centre of information’ for all rail defect management (RDM). Other RDM tasks saw Dominic producing an ultrasonic interval inspection programme to ensure inspections are focussed at the right place, based on tonnage and failure history, and making changes to support the introduction of ‘inspect and verify B Scan’ ultrasonic equipment to replace the ‘stop and check’ equipment.

Dominic Trueman has achieved an exceptional engineering output within the first year of managing his team of four staff and taking on the supervision of three trainee engineering graduates and work experience students. It is only five years since Dominic completed the LU graduate training scheme as an Assistant Track Engineer. After a spell in Australia he has now taken on the role of Senior Engineer having gained Chartered status.

The rail engineer of the Year is sponsored by Morson Group, a leading provider of professional staff and engineering design solutions.

Dominic receives his award from Gary Smithson

Gary Smithson, associate director at Morson Group, believes the Rail Engineer of the Year Award was a natural fit for the business. ‘We work in engineering. Our DNA is engineering,’ enthused Gary.

Morson has a presence in 57

office locations across the globe; this includes management teams that are embedded on-site at client locations. For over 45 years, Morson has supported the rail industry with the supply of skilled resources to projects throughout Britain.

Morson International is the UK’s No1 Rail Supplier.

We proudly sponsor the Rail Engineer of the Year Award.

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27

Team Award for Dawlish Signal Army The Dawlish Storm Damage Signalling Reinstatement Team, which includes people from both Network Rail and Amey, wins this year’s Rail Team of the Year award.

‘We’re very proud to be involved in such a fantastic achievement,’ says Andy Gibbs. ‘Thanks to Amey and Network Rail for a fantastic joint effort.’

Says Katie Hancock, CDI AndersElite safety and compliance manager, which sponsored the award, ‘You’re nothing without your team on the ground.’

In February 2014, the Devonshire seaside town of Dawlish was hit by extremely severe storms, causing 3.7 miles of damaged railway including an 80 metre hole in the tracks at the low level sea wall. A second storm on 14 February further increased the damage extending the hole a further 40 metres, and caused geotechnical damage to a cliff at Teignmouth giving way to a landslide. The hard work of the Orange Army caught the imagination of the

Katie Hancock presents the team with their award.

public as the rail industry rose to the challenge of restoring the railway at Dawlish. An essential element of this was the Dawlish Storm Damage Signalling Reinstatement Team.

Says Andy Gibbs, ‘Network Rail engaged a locally-based Amey team to assist in achieving accelerated

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reinstatement of signalling in order to return the line to service immediately the civils and permanent way construction was complete. To achieve this Amey and Network Rail needed to work closely together and break boundaries in design and construction production approvals timescales in a controlled manner without risk to infrastructure or personnel.’

Thanks to quick thinking, teamwork and initiative, the Dawlish Storm Damage Signalling Reinstatement Team brought the railway back on stream safely and expeditiously.

In just four weeks, following Network Rail SDG design of an emergency solution, Amey installed previously removed axle counter equipment, replaced damaged or broken AWS/ TPWS equipment, completed alterations at lineside locations like Dawlish Relay Room, Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth Relay Rooms. This was all in achieved in readiness for the re-opening.

Rail Team of the Year award is sponsored by CDI AndersElite, Rail & Safety Critical Recruitment Experts.

Speaking about the event itself, Katie Hancock said, ‘I think at the end of the day it’s a community and it’s such a

great thing to draw everyone together.

We understand how hard everyone works in the industry.’

With offices throughout the UK, CDI AndersElite is an established provider of permanent and contract staff to the rail sector. With over 20 years’ experience, we are specialists in providing staffing and recruitment solutions to the industry, delivering three tailored service offerings: Recruitment, Talent Management and Contract Management & Procurement.

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Orchestral Manoeuvres in Newport

Phil presents the award to Paul.

Paul Carney, the engineering manager for Atkins Rail Engineering Projects on the Cardiff re-signalling scheme (CASR), has won this year’s Signalling and Telecommunications Person of the Year award. Says Paul, who is based in Newport in Wales, ‘It is an honour to be recognised for work done, but I’m just the conductor of a very good orchestra.’

As part of the project Atkins was tasked with the introduction of the new Frauscher (FAdC) axle counter train detection system.

Says Conor Linnell, Programme Director Wales & Western for Atkins, ‘Paul was faced with developing from scratch a dedicated IP transmission system to support the first introduction of Frauscher axle counters into the operational railway in the UK. He worked closely with Westermo and Atkins UK and off shore (India) resource and the Frauscher innovation team in Atkins to provide a technical solution that not only met Network Rail contract requirements but went one step further to provide system enhancements and solutions to aid the operational railway in terms of greater system availability.’

The project involved all aspects of UK signalling, design, construction, test and verification.

Says Shelly Jones, who works for Atkins, ‘Through hard work and determination Paul has managed to pull the various facets of the scheme successfully together and deliver a reliable and safe migration from what was very old signalling infrastructure to a modern state of the art system.’

Paul was able to get all parties working and thinking together in an impressive display of co-operation and

professionalism.

Says Conor Linnell, ‘Paul worked with a product supplier, Atkins Metro team in Plymouth and co-ordinated this with both the project team and the Atkins innovation team leading on the Frauscher introduction. Concept design was produced, went through a number of joint review sessions, a test rig was built with support from Westermo and Frauscher. The system tests and paramenters were set and agreed with NR support and access to Thales transmission labs.’

The Signalling and Telecommunications Person of the Year is sponsored by Westermo.

‘We’re a telecomms company first and foremost,” says Phil Mounter, infrastructure sales manager for Westermo. ‘The rail industry has been very good to us as a company and really, we feel that we should give something back.’

Westermo designs and manufactures robust data communication devices for harsh environments. Westermo supplies products that provide network communication infrastructure, derived from proven commercial technology, for control and monitoring systems that are used where commercial grade products are not sufficiently

resilient. Westermo was established in 1975. The head office is located 100 miles southwest of Stockholm in Sweden. Over the past three decades Westermo has grown with sales and support units being established in Sweden, UK, Germany, France, Singapore, North America and China as well as partners in many other countries of the world.

Proudly sponsoring ‘Signalling & Telecomms Person of the Year’ Proudly sponsoring Proud sponsors of the RailStaff 2014 ‘Signalling & Telecomms PersonAwards of the Year’ Westermo is a global player in mission criticalAwards data communications Proud sponsors of the RailStaff 2014 solutions. Westermo products thrive in the harsh environments of Westermo is aatglobal player in mission critical data communications the trackside the edge of today’s enterprise networks. solutions. Westermo products thrive in the harsh environments of theQuality trackside at theaudited edge ofbytoday’s … systems leadingenterprise global railnetworks. companies Designed for highaudited reliability and long life leading … Quality systems by leading global rail companies to reduced maintenance costs … Designed for high reliability and long life leading … Legacy serialmaintenance communications to reduced coststo Ethernet IP networking solutions … Legacy serial communications to Ethernet … Secure and resilient networking solutions IP networking solutions Tested and to EN50121-4 EMC standard and … Secure resilient networking solutions operational at extreme temperatures … Tested to EN50121-4 EMC standard and … Wide range at of extreme Networktemperatures Rail operational accepted products … Wide range of Network Rail … accepted Low power consumption helping products to build sustainable railway … Low power consumption helping to build sustainable railwa railway

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Brunswick Hero Wins Station Staff of the Year George Warriner, who works at Brunswick station for Merseyrail, has won the Station Staff of the Year award. Says George, ‘It’s just amazing. I’m very proud. I’d like to thank Nick Scarborough and all our people - it’s a combined effort and we’ve got a great team at Brunswick.’

Brunswick is a busy station in the Toxteth district of Liverpool serving residential areas and the nearby Brunswick Dock business estate. Sadly over the last year George Warriner has been involved in two on-track suicides and a third attempt which he managed to stop. Says Merseyrail’s Corporate Social Responsibility manager, Sally Ralston, ‘During each of the incidents, George remained calm and professional during what would be an extremely traumatic experience on each occasion.’

The first incident occurred on a busy August Bank Holiday Saturday afternoon. Both platforms were busy and a large group of children were on their way to Southport for a day out. A

George with John Sheehy, TBF

woman walked over the bridge and onto the Hunts Cross platform. As the next train approached, she jumped in front of it. Children on the opposite platform saw exactly what happened.

The second incident occurred earlier this year in February, when a man was

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seen walking down the track towards Liverpool. When George approached him he was very distressed and threatened to reach for the live rail.

George rang for an isolation of the track, and then spoke calmly to the man and talked him into getting off the track. Police then arrived and the man was unharmed.

The third incident happened during July. The 8.20 to Liverpool was pulling in when an elderly lady jumped in front of the train. George once again sprang into action, securing an isolation and alerting emergency services.

Says Sally Ralston, ‘During the first incident, George had to deal with shocked and traumatised customers, including children, who had witnessed the incident. He successfully moved them far away from the scene of the incident and liaised with local bus drivers, who agreed to carry the customers to their destinations.

George supported the train crew, including the driver who was understandably in a very distressed state.’

In all three incidents George Warriner acted with calm and professionalism and great sensitivity.

Says Sally, ‘As a result of George’s actions during all three incidents, Merseyrail was able to deal with the emergencies in the quickest, most effective way. George wasted no time in requesting isolations, supporting drivers and guards who were in shock.

He displayed excellent customer services and crowd control skills in quickly evacuating platforms.’

Station Staff of the Year is sponsored

by TBF, supporting those who work in the public transport industry in Great Britain when they are in need, hardship or distress. Says John Sheehy, TBF general manager, ‘The category that we sponsored makes up a large part of the public transport industry and it’s only right that they’re recognised on a night like tonight.’

Speaking of the RailStaff Awards he said, ‘It is a valued part of appreciating the people that work on the front line.’

Almost anyone is eligible for help and may join TBF, which is a registered charity. TBF has helped thousands of members and offers an extensive range of benefits. TBF was originally established to help families of London public transport workers serving in the First World War.

Highly Commended Alison Clement from Virgin Trains Roy Gregson from Northern Rail

Nottingham Star Wins HR Awards

Abi Smith of RBF with Lisa (left) and her award.

Lisa Brackner, who runs Human Resources and Recruitment at Bridgeway Consulting, has won this year’s Recruiter and HR Person of the Year award. Over the last 13 years Lisa Brackner has worked her way up from administrator to Associate Director Human Resources.

Her career mirrors the success and expansion of Bridgeway Consulting itself.

Says Lisa, ‘I’m shocked! I’d like to thank the rest of the HR team, I couldn’t do my job without them.

I would also like to thank my family for all their support with my career and obviously Pino De Rosa and Brian Maddison for providing the opportunities. I think this shows how committed to staff development the company is and I am sure this will continue.’

Says Paddy Dingwall, Director, Business & Engineering Systems at Bridgeway Consulting Ltd, ‘Lisa Brackner, joined Bridgeway in 2001 as an administrator and has taken over the HR responsibilities as the business has expanded and was made HR manager in 2002. This increasing responsibility has required her to juggle raising a young family with her day job and studying for her postgraduate certificate and diploma in personnel management, achieving Chartered Status in 2006. In 2011, she joined the Bridgeway Leadership team and her calm, methodical approach has been much valued by her colleagues who are always willing to listen to her opinions.’

Colleagues at Bridgeway describe Lisa as unflappable and able to meet every new challenge bowled at her.

For instance in September 2013, Bridgeway took on 60 new staff to run

a new contract the company had won.

The team had to be on-board and ready to start work on November 18th.

Says Paddy Dingwall, ‘Alongside her routine day job, she came up with a plan that streamlined the recruitment process, dealt with the requirements of TUPE, (Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment) ensured new staff received induction briefings in time to start work on schedule.

As part of her plan she cajoled other managers and business support staff to give of their time to support the recruitment process and none of us would have dared to refuse! Lisa led by example in working long hours both in the office and away from home when needed and always found time to talk to our new employees helping them to settle in a way which reassured them that they had made the right decision in joining Bridgeway.’

Speaking about the event, Abi Smith, executive director at RBF, said, ‘It’s about staff and recognising their hard work and commitment.’ The Recruiter and HR Person or Team of the Year 2014 is sponsored by RBF

(Railway Benefit Fund) which works exclusively for people associated with the rail industry who find themselves in financial hardship, often through no fault of their own. RBF has a proud heritage and has been

supporting people since 1858. Today RBF is a modern, forward thinking organisation, firmly focused in its purpose to offer a range of services to railway people looking for support and helped over 500 people last year.

Highly Commended Ian Scotchford from Network Rail Lenny Aristodemou from Network Rail

31

Dale Wins Apprentice of the Year

Tricia O’Neil of Cleshar looks on as Dale triumphs.

Dale Jarvis of First TransPennine Express is this year’s Apprentice of the Year.

Praised by staff and customers alike, Dale is much in evidence at Huddersfield station helping passengers. He made a major contribution to the railway’s work in support of the Tour de France.

‘I’m over the moon,’ says Dale. ‘It’s amazing and such an honour. I’d like to thank my dad, Scot James, for encouraging me to go for the railway and everyone at First TransPennine Express for their encouragement and friendship.’

Says colleague Abigail Richards, ‘Dale keeps himself calm at all times.

We have a particular passenger that has a fear of travelling and in times of disruption this passenger can become difficult as she panics and screams when she gets scared. Dale helped

keep this passenger calm by reassuring her he would stay with her and make sure she gets on the train.

Dale took the passenger to the guard as the train arrived and asked if she could sit in first class… as the train was over crowded and the movement of

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the train makes her feel uneasy.’ Dale Jarvis helped seat and reassure the passenger and liaised with the guard.

‘Although the lady was slightly upset by the disruption she was happy with her journey and returned to travel by train the following week,’ adds Abigail.

Dale Jarvis joined First TransPennine Express after visiting an open evening with his father, who is a conductor on TPE. Railway careers often run in the family and Mr Jarvis must be congratulated for providing one of the most effective customer care professionals on the network. Dale has helped teenagers, cyclists and a whole range of passengers both on routine days and during severe service disruption.

‘It’s something that we really take very seriously,’ said Tricia O’Neill, chief executive officer for Cleshar Contract Services. She added: ‘It’s a great route into our industry and without a shadow of a doubt, there’s a shortage of skills at the moment.’

The Tour de France saw 12,000 people using Huddersfield station on one Sunday alone. Dale volunteered for duty. Says colleague, Salim Akbar, ‘Dale, with the help of the

management team, controlled the crowd by ensuring the platforms where not overcrowded, by making a queueing system and by going into the queue to offer the passengers train information. Because of the heat he helped distribute bottled water.’

Despite the huge numbers customers responded well. Adds Salim, ‘The outcome was that we did not receive any complaints from the passengers and we ensured that the day passed off without any incidents. For a young person to handle himself in this way was great and its been a pleasure to know Dale.’

Apprentice of the Year is sponsored

by Cleshar Contract Services, a leading multi-disciplinary service provider to the railway industry offering a complete service from major design and build projects to track maintenance services. Cleshar’s apprenticeship scheme is the cornerstone of a comprehensive training and development programme.

It sets the foundation for developing the high standards demanded by Cleshar and customers in establishing workforce competency and ensuring a sustainable future.

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32

Stefano Agnello from Network Rail Tony Cheung from London Underground

Man Who Gave Gravesend New Start Paul Devoy of Network Rail wins Project Manager of the Year 2014 for turning around the challenging Gravesend station project. ‘I’m astonished,’ says Paul. ‘It’s such a big thing and I feel knocked sideways. I’d like to thank the programme manager, Paul MacManus.’

Says colleague, Paul MacManus, ‘Paul inherited an under performing contractor team to deliver a high profile project with a high political agenda in a difficult rail-locked, road-restricted area on a busy Kent commuter route.

The project had a tight and immovable deadline.

Gravesend Station was the last station to be remodelled as part of the South East Train Lengthening Programme. The size of the station, the complex nature of the layout, its listed status and difficult location made it by far the most complicated of all the stations on the programme.

Gravesend was also the last station to be completed prior to the introduction of the new 12-car services.

Paul MacManus takes up the story.

‘The main construction phase was planned to be delivered during a 15-day blockade over Christmas 2013/14. This included remodelling of track layout, construction of new island platform, extending two existing platforms, removal of existing footbridge and water tower and the installation of a new AfA compliant footbridge.’

‘Paul recognised the fragmented nature of the project team and immediately set about establishing a co-located project office close to the site inviting all members of the wider project team including the contractor, sub-contractors, client and train operating company teams into this single location in order to create an all-inclusive office. Paul set up a series of team building exercises to remove all signs of corporate individuality

Paul receives his award from Adam Todd of Progress Rail.

thus creating a single, homogenous, Gravesend Remodelling Project Team.’

The result was the creation of a cohesive office conducive to the delivery of the project, a can-do attitude with creative delivery solutions and new innovations.

‘It was Paul’s sheer hard work and tenacity that took each element, tackling personality issues, company loyalties and addressing behavioural issues at the outset,’ says MacManus. ‘His leadership of the team created a delivery-focused project environment creating a great teamwork atmosphere, encouraging the right behaviours and attitudes leading to creativity and the use of innovative project planning solutions in advance of the main works.’ The project was delivered in readiness for the introduction of 12-car running on the Kent Route.

Project Manager of the Year is sponsored by Progress Rail Services UK Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. Adam Todd, head of business development at Progress Rail, said that project management is, ‘absolutely critical to the safe and effective delivery of improvement projects.’ Speaking about the event, he added, “It’s a really good opportunity for people to get recognition for things

they think to be everyday but are actually exceptional.’

Progress Rail Services manufacturers permanent way infrastructure, specialising in the design and manufacture of permanent way trackwork and materials for mainline, freight, industrial and light rail customers in the UK and globally.

Progress Rail Services UK Ltd proudly sponsors

"Project Manager of the Year" at the RailStaff Awards 2014

Progress Rail Services is the U.K.’s largest manufacturer of permanent way infrastructure, specialising in the design and manufacture of permanent way trackwork and materials for mainline, freight, industrial and light rail customers in the UK and globally.

RailStaff Awards recognises the Professionalism, Innovation, Service and Excellence of individuals and companies in the rail industry.

Join us on 25th October 2014 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

For more information and to book your place visit www.railstaffawards.com

Highly Commended Linda Miller from Crossrail Graeme Follin from Northern Rail

33

Lifetime Achievement Award Gordon Reed has won this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr Reed started his railway career at Darlington’s North Road and Stooperdale Works in October 1948. Still working as a regular volunteer at the National Railway Museum, Gordon first served an apprenticeship as a boilersmith.

Eventually he became the Chief Welding Inspector of British Railways Eastern Region.

‘I’d like to thank the heritage railway guys on the Worth Valley Railway, and all my old pals on Eastern Region at BR. I’d especially like to thank everyone at the National Railway Museum,’ said Gordon. ‘Most of all I’d like thank my sweetheart and wife, Joyce, who has stood by me through the years of shift work, nights and weekend work.’ Joyce Reed was at her husband’s side as he received the award. Joyce and Gordon

Award winner Gordon with sponsors, First Group.

are originally from Bishop Auckland in County Durham.

Gordon has devoted over 25 years of service to the National Railway Museum.

His expertise and knowledge of the railways and steam locomotives has proved invaluable to the NRM. In 2012, he restored to working order City of Truro, claimed to be the first British steam locomotive to achieve

We’re all proud to sponsor THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

at

100 mph in 1904. City of Truro had unfortunately developed boiler leaks and the Museum considered retiring the locomotive.

Says Matt Hick Volunteer Officer at the NRM, ‘Gordon volunteered his services to repair City of Truro, to ensure it could appear at Railfest and carry on delighting spectators.’ The job proved a challenging undertaking. ‘The work involved expanding and re-beading small tubes and re-riveting stays in the locomotive’s firebox,’ says Matt. ‘Gordon skilfully repaired City of Truro and without his work this famous locomotive would have been unable to steam at Railfest.’

Since Gordon started at the National Railway Museum in 1987 he has given his time and knowledge freely and used his experience gained from a career in the railways to aid the engineers and rail operators with boiler repairs and maintenance. Mr Reed has been instrumental in the restoration of several locomotives at the NRM including the famed Rocket, Mallard, Duchess of Hamilton, and Green Arrow.

When the age of steam drew to a close, Gordon became a Track Welding Inspector on the West Riding District of British Railway. He rose through the ranks to become the Chief Welding Inspector of British Railways

Eastern Region. Ever keen to impart his knowledge to others, Gordon has written a text book on welding for the London Underground. Gordon’s other great volunteer commitment is with the Keighley and Worth Valley steam railway, for which he has spent 15 years freely working on and inspecting the steam boilers of their locomotives.

Says Matt Hick, ‘Gordon has show an unwavering devotion to the railways in the 66 years he has been involved with them, and holds a true passion for the industry.’

Lifetime Achievement Award is sponsored by FirstGroup plc, the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.9 billion a year. FirstGroup employs approximately 120,000 people and transports more than 2.5 billion passengers a year.

Highly Commended Ian Scotchford from Network Rail firstgroup.com

34

Lenny Aristodemou from Network Rail

Charity Crown for Sally Sally Ralston, who has helped raise over £500,000 for various charities, has been named as the winer of this year’s David Maidment Award for Charity 2014. Sally works for Merseyrail as Corporate Social Responsibility manager. Named after David Maidment, founder of the Railway Children charity, the award recognises the great efforts made by staff across the industry to raise money for an inspiring variety of deserving causes.

Sally is involved in a wide range of events both at work and in her life generally from the Bike & Go launch this year to the famous ‘Polar Express’ for children on Merseyside every Christmas. She supported the set up of Merseyrail’s new female football team and helped organise the music event, Merseyrail Sound Station. This saw local bands and singers performing live on Merseyrail stations.

‘My thanks go to all staff at Merseyrail for their support. We couldn’t raise the money for charity that we do without them,’ says Sally. ‘Many thanks too to our stakeholders - we have had to ask for a lot. It’s not just me it’s a massive team effort.’

Richard Fostier, chief executive officer of Colas Rail, welcomed Sally’s achievement and described the RailStaff Awards as an opportunity to ‘gather the industry’ together and to recognise the achievements of outstanding individuals.

A whole string of awards have included ACoRP Community Rail Awards for two of Merseyrail’s most challenging stations under the ‘Best Station Volunteer Projects’ award.

Ellesmere Port station won the community category in the Cheshire Best Kept Stations 2012 awards.

Maghull station was recognised as the best train station at the Royal Horticultural Society North West in Bloom.

Says Andrew Parry of Merseyrail, ‘Out of our 65 stations, Sally has set up 48 station adoption schemes, with more planned. Today, adopted stations are more pleasant than before.

Many now have attractive plants and flowers-beds as well as artwork on the walls.’ Through Sally’s approach, with volunteer groups, the stations have been improved and have won awards and positive press coverage. Sally has, ‘Also made our stations feel like a living, breathing part of the community and put a human face to Merseyrail,’ says Andrew.

Award winner Sally with Richard.

The David Maidment Award for Charity is sponsored by Colas Rail. The Colas Group is the world leader in road construction. The railway division is one of the leading providers of rail infrastructure services in the world. In the UK Colas Rail combines the engineering skills of all specialist businesses to

provide total solutions in all aspects of railway infrastructure, from high speed rail systems to light and urban rail. Colas is part of the Bouygues Group, a diversified industrial group.

With a turnover in excess of €33.3 billion and operations in over 80 countries, it has more than 128,000 employees.

The Colas Group is a world leader in railway infrastructure services Our capabilities: Track Renewals Rail Plant & Freight Services Multi-disciplinary Railway Projects Design & Survey Training

Highly Commended Bill Cooke from Network Rail

Proudly sponsoring David Maidment Award for Charity

Warren Johnson from Heathrow Express

www.colasrail.co.uk

020 7593 5353 35

New awards ceremony

with a twist Rail Media is launching a new rail awards ceremony in November where you don’t need to enter to be a winner.

The ‘Rail Exec Most Interesting Awards’ has been set up to draw attention to some of the most challenging and ingenious industry projects and initiatives from the past 12 months, as decided by the team at Rail Media.

The editors and writers of The Rail Engineer and RailStaff will pick some of their favourite railway infrastructure projects, technological innovations and safety programmes, among other areas, in order to recognise and highlight the industry’s achievements as a whole.

Taking on a Manhattan theme for 2014, the Rail Exec Most Interesting Awards will quickly become the place to celebrate your company’s achievements and cap off the end of another successful year.

Says Rail Media events director Lianne O’Connor, ‘The RailStaff Awards broke the mould first. They are for people, not companies. The nominees and their partners get a chance to dress up in fancy dress and enjoy a Saturday night out with excellent entertainment and then dancing to a great live band.

If you have spoken to a member of the team then you could very well be on the list already.

‘There are still awards to present, but it’s all done in a relaxed manner that is in keeping with the theme of the evening - a celebration of the people who work on our railways and their individual achievements.

The awards will take place on Saturday, 29 November, at Athena in Leicester. Designed in 1936 as an Odeon Cinema, Athena is now one of the East Midlands’ most extraordinary venues.

‘We hope to continue this theme with the Rail Exec Most Interesting Awards and reward the organisations, as well as the people, who offer solutions to the industry’s various challenges.’

For more details see www.railexec.com

RAIL EXEC

Most Interesting

awards

Fatigue Pioneer Wins Safety Award Brian Paynter, of Network Rail’s National Track Delivery Team, has won this year’s Rail Safety Person of the Year award. Brian is based in Bristol and has spent 26 years in the rail industry.

Says Keith Gibbs, Senior HR Business Partner - Network Operations at Network Rail, ‘Brian Paynter is currently a Programme Manager for Switches & Crossings as part of the Network Rail IP National Track Delivery Team. This year he has led a number of large programmes including high profile sites such as Watford Junction, Cardiff and Southampton.’

Keith goes on to describe Brian’s, ‘relentless drive for safety across our work sites.’ For example, says Keith, ‘On arriving at site, the workforce are greeted with motorway style matrix signs, reminding them of the life saving rules, the need for close calls to be reported etc…’ He has also pioneered new work in the field of human fatigue.

‘With most track renewals being undertaken overnight, fatigue has

Proud Sponsors of

ASSURANCE & COMPLIANCE SERVICES

Brian looks the part, as he collects his award.

and remains an issue. Brian has led an initiative to help understand this by way of commissioning a survey of working practices. This revealed some startling results. Of the 360 workers surveyed, 94% said they would return home despite most working 12-hour shifts. The average journey time home was between 60-90 minutes.

Rail Safety Person of the Year SAFETY CONSULTANCY

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

LEADERSHIP, TEAM AND BEHAVIOURAL TRAINING

SITE & GROUND INVESTIGATIONS

STRUCTURES EXAMINATIONS

GEOMATICS

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM)

ACCESS AND ISOLATIONS SERVICES

DIVING

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PERMANENT WAY

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38

www.bridgeway-consulting.co.uk enquiries@bridgeway-consulting.co.uk 0115 919 1111

27% would have passengers in their vehicles. He then looked to broaden the survey and our understanding of contributing factors to fatigue: 25% of workers did not have any food with them for a night shift. 37% said they use energy drinks and perhaps most concerning was that in the day before their night shift, only 2% of the workers said they had slept!

These findings have led Brian to develop a number of local initiatives such as providing Fruit and Cereal bars for major work sites. This is an ongoing initiative and he has shared the findings with our own Fatigue working group as well as the TSA and working in partnership with both to improve matters for not just Network Rail employees but the industry as a whole.’

Steve Diksa, assurance services director at Bridgeway Consulting, presented Brian with his award. The RailStaff Awards are, ‘fast becoming a calendar event,’ says Steve. He added, ‘It’s just great this recognition for people who go out day in day out, night in night out . Just to get together one evening and have some time off is great.’

Said Brian on receiving his award, ‘I feel absolutely overawed. I’m lost for words. I certainly didn’t expect to win

Highly Commended Martyn Guiver from Northern Rail

Engineering the future

the award as I believe I was only doing my job as a programme manager by setting an acceptable standard for safety on site and also showing concern for the health and well being with my work on fatigue management.

The fact that three individuals from different parts of the company took the time and effort to nominate me makes me very proud and the recognition this has given me means that I will cherish the award. I owe thanks to the three individuals who independently nominated me, Joan Heery, Caroline Higgins and Keith Gibbs and also the many people who have supported me with some of the safety issues and improvements that I have attempted to drive through in my work.’

The Rail Safety Person of the Year award is sponsored by Bridgeway Consulting Ltd, one of the leading consulting and contracting companies in the UK today. With a reputation built on delivering multi-faceted projects in the Railway, Highway and Civil industries, Bridgeway Consulting provides a service of exceptional value to all of our clients. Bridgeway Consulting’s diverse portfolio of services ensures clients benefit from a ‘one stop shop’.

Clare Williams from Southern

Old Oak Common in Team Victory

Patrick presents the team with their award.

The Tech Team at Old Oak Common, First Great Western, has won the award for Depot Team of the Year 2014. ‘It’s good to see Old Oak Common recognised,’ says Ajmal Akram, Depot Engineering Manager. ‘It is a fantastic achievement.’

Depot workers at Old Oak Common set about upgrading depot communications. Their pioneering system is now being replicated at almost all FGW depots.

Notice boards, telephones and dog eared manuals have been replaced by smart technology and real time info systems. Costs associated with printing notices and manuals have also been reduced. Constant phone calls to the Yard Team Leader concerning train positioning can prove a major distraction and a potential safety risk.

Says Surjit Bharj, ‘Old Oak Common worked with Navaho Solutions and implemented major changes which would change the way all FGW depots work.’ The plan unfolded in three stages.

He went on, ‘Several digital boards were installed at OOC using Navaho Solutions, a plugin was designed by the OOC team and was then created by Navaho. This enabled any poster or brief to be uploaded onto the screens and sent to all the screens at the same time.’

The system can set an expiry date and also allows remote monitoring.

The second part of the plan saw Tablets tried out at the depot. These connected to the FGW Intranet and enabled instant viewing of all technical documents using WiFi. This enabled staff anywhere within the shed to have access to the network. Thirdly a new touch screen interface panel was created with the assistance of Navaho Solutions. This enables the Yard Team to enter sets arriving at the depot. It is updated in real time and the data is displayed on another screen in the main Team Leader’s office. The system is linked to FGW Control. All maintenance staff receive live updates.

Old Oak Common’s communications system is regarded as among the best in the business and has now been rolled out to other FGW depots. Old Oak Common first opened in on 17 March 1906 and has long been at the forefront of traction maintenance on

Highly Commended C’Shift (Bounds Green Depot) from East Coast Trains Singlewell IMD from Network Rail (High Speed)

the Great Western network.

Depot Team of the Year is sponsored

by Mane Contract Services. Says Patrick O’Reilly, Mane’s rail director, ‘Good depot teams are one of the essentials of the industry and are what make the railway the success it is. We’ve supplied staff to the rail industry for 20 years, and we like to show our support for the industry.’

Mane provides Technical Recruitment solutions worldwide, specialising in supplying to the Rail, Aerospace, Automotive, Construction, Engineering, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas sectors.

Successfully leading the market for over 20 years, teams at Mane open doors to unique opportunities all over the world – placing your expertise where it’s needed most.

Market Leaders Market Leaders Market in rail Leaders in rail Market in rail Leaders recruitment recruitment in rail recruitment recruitment Proud Sponsors

Proud Proud Sponsors Sponsors Depot Team of the Year Depot Team Proud Sponsors Depot Team of of the the Year Year Depot Team of the Year

Technical Recruitment Specialists Call now on: 01923 470 730 www.mane.co.uk rail@mane.co.uk 39

Samaritans Awards for Matt Southern Railway’s Matt Lenton wins this year’s Samaritans Lifesaver Award. Matt was unable to attend the RailStaff Awards and two friends from Southern, Hannah Watson and Kate Scotford-Sneezum, collected it on Matt’s behalf. Says Hannah, ‘He’s lovely and totally deserves to win, he’s currently on holiday abroad with his wife.’ Kate agrees, ‘He’s modest and quite humble about it.’

Modesty apart Matt saved a man’s life at a Southern station last Christmas and the man, now a grandfather, later wrote in to Southern to thank him.

Southern’s CSR and Partnerships Manager, Andy Harrowel describes a cold evening last Christmas. After a busy shift, Rail Neighbourhood Officer (RNO) Matt Lenton identified an individual who was about to take his own life at Hassocks station. Despite having finished work, Matt went out of his way to approach the individual, moved him to a safe location and then

spent several hours helping to talk through the issues which led to the situation. Matt took the gentleman home, ensuring he had support there, as well as giving him his own mobile number so that he could contact Matt any time in the future if life got too much.’

The man later wrote in and Southern released part of the letter in support of the nomination. ‘If it wasn’t for the kind, considerate nature of this guy and his ability to see the need in others I may well not be here today. He changed my outlook on life and I now live everyday to the full. My daughter and her partner are expecting their first child, so I’m going to be a grandad, something I could have missed if it wasn’t for him. I and my family are forever thankful and I have recently called him to tell him. He congratulated me and my family and explained that this is a prime example that things do get better…. I am forever in his debt.’

Without Matt’s dedication to others it’s highly likely that this individual would have committed suicide. From a

SAMARITANS/ NETWORK RAIL PARTNERSHIP

Kate accepts the award on Matt’s behalf from Ola.

railway perspective this would have resulted in a distressed driver and thousands of passengers experiencing disruption, during what was already an especially difficult period for travelling.

Most importantly without Matt’s action there would have been a devastated family and a new born child who would never have known their grandfather.

Says Ola Rzepczynska, Samaritans programme manager, ‘What we wanted to recognise was the people going above and beyond their job roles. It’s a very courageous thing that Matt did and his story is extremely powerful as is the way he was able to

use his skills.’ Ola praised all railway staff like Matt. ‘We can’t do without them,’ she said. ‘They’re going out and saving lives on the railway.’

Samaritans have been in partnership with Network Rail since 2010 and have trained over 5,000 rail industry staff with the skills to approach and listen to a person in need on the rail network.

The Samaritans sponsor the special Lifesaver Award reflecting an industry wide desire to recognise people who have proved that by engaging with someone and encouraging them to talk about whatever may be bothering them we can save lives.

are proud to be sponsoring the Lifesaver award at this years’ RailStaff Awards Talking saves lives Over 5000 rail industry staff and BTP have been trained with the skills to help a person in need, and are using these skills to prove that encouraging someone to talk about their problems can save lives.

For more info and to nominate yourself or a colleague go to

www.railstaffawards.com A registered charity

Highly Commended Ian Scotchford from Network Rail

In partnership with

Lenny Aristodemou from Network Rail

40

Team win for Spencer Rail

John presents the team with their award.

Spencer Rail’s Gravesend Station Remodelled Team has won this year’s Rail Infrastructure and Possessions Team of the Year 2014.

The Gravesend Station Remodelled Team brought the Train Lengthening Programme in Kent to a successful conclusion and increased rail capacity on one the country’s busiest commuter routes. The complex programme and the difficulty of securing site access made this arguably the most challenging remodelling scheme of the entire programme.

A new platform was built and two others extended to accommodate 12car trains. The main part of the works carried out by Spencer Rail involved the substantial alteration of the track layout to accommodate the new island platform and extend the existing platforms. New signals were installed using a lightweight ground-based maintenance solution. The old lattice footbridge was removed.

Central to the success of the project was the 15-day blockade over Christmas 2013. The Spencer Rail team conducted a large amount of preparatory work to ensure that disruption to services was kept to an absolute minimum.

Collaboration between various contractors and staff was important.

Says Joe Booth, Marketing Manager at C Spencer Ltd, ’This involved pooling our resources to get the most out of working together – and our stakeholders really felt the benefits.

Joint meetings and safety forums added real value to our work…Getting everything in order at the outset proved challenging. The lesson for us was that for every minute spent planning, hours and hours of benefits are achieved further down the line.’

Despite appalling weather and with almost 1,000 staff on site, the job proceeded smoothly with no reportable incidents. As a result, the newly-rebuilt station was brought into operation in time for the first train in the early hours of 6 January 2014.

‘A number of lessons have been learned from Gravesend Station Remodelled. Chief amongst these are the benefits of co-location and a collaborative approach with the

principal contractor; and developing a close interface with regional maintenance and network operations teams. These lessons are being implemented on future Spencer Rail projects,’ adds Booth.

David McLoughlin, managing director at Spencer group, said, ‘I am delighted that Spencer Rail has once again been awarded one of the UK rail industry’s most prestigious awards. It is testament to the continued hard work and efforts of all at Spencer.’

Rail Infrastructure and Possessions Team of the Year 2014 is sponsored by

McGinley Support Services Ltd. John Jebson, head of safety at McGinley Support Services, praised the event for, ‘recognising people in the industry that actually do the work.’ As one of the largest specialist recruitment businesses, McGinley Support Services is a 24-hour business. Recruiting for over three decades, the company helps in rail and other areas of civil engineering.

McGinley is among the largest suppliers of contingent labour to Network Rail and a significant provider of executive and technical staff to the rail sector as a whole.

Highly Commended Holme Tunnel Reconstruction Project Team from Network Rail/AMCO Amey Enterprise Substations Team

41

Father Christmas is Rail Manager of the Year A customer services director who once played Father Christmas on board a train carrying special needs children wins the Rail Manager of the Year this year. Keith Jipps, Customer Service Director at Govia Thameslink Railway joined Thameslink in 1999 and worked in revenue protection, retail management and as head of stations.

Keith was unable to attend the RailStaff Awards and Paula Hilliard picked up his prizes on his behalf. Says Paula, ‘He’ll be thrilled, he thoroughly deserves it. His people skills are phenomenal. I’m the Engagement Manager - so he makes my job easy!’

Keith Jipps has been praised by colleagues for his commitment, breadth of interests and approachability. Says Mark Rankine, ‘Keith is 100% committed to the business and to his team, he is always supportive, approachable and makes time, listens then gives necessary

Paula Hilliard receives the award for Keith from Steve Galluci.

guidance and advice when needed.

He encourages learning and self development for his whole team from top to bottom. He even recently personally presented certificates to staff that had gone the extra mile to achieve their customer service apprenticeships.

SHORTERM ARE PROUD TO SPONSOR Rail Manager of the Year Category at the Rail Staff Awards 2014

Shorterm Group is a railway recruitment specialist with more than 35 years’ experience placing permanent and contract staff across all major rail projects.

For more information call our rail team

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‘Keith has also had a hand in giving young people a start with a railway career in association with the Princes Trust project. He even gets directly involved in Customer Services Management workshops developing his Managers, writing training programmes and directly participating in sessions. This is something that is not normally heard of from someone of his level.’

This is the real secret to Keith’s success - encouraging staff, taking an interest in them. ‘Keith always strives to keep his team engaged with charisma and zest,’ says Mark. ‘I have seen at first hand managers and staff inspired to go the extra mile especially for Keith because of the respect, dedication and trust that he commands. His studious visionary approach, years of experience and encyclopaedic knowledge of the rail industry are absolutely second to none, which has certainly benefited me personally.’

Staff feel valued and are encouraged to take personal ownership of what they do. Colleague Dominic Morgan agrees and points to enhanced staff morale and engagement. This has helped during the transition from First Group to the new Govia regime. ‘His

team ethos drives the success we now have. The company is motivated and has an extremely strong customer focus and has invested in its people like never before,’ says Dominic.

‘This has been achieved by focusing on both customers and safety and by developing staff and engaging with staff and giving employees the opportunity to get ahead. This has brought about an extremely happy working environment and instilled a sense of pride across the team.’ With huge investment in the Thameslink network top performing staff will be delivering one of the most upbeat success stories in the new rail industry.

Rail Manager of the Year is sponsored

by Shorterm Group. Says Steve Galluci, ‘It’s great to be sponsoring such a prestigious award and to see people giving back such a lot to the rail sector. Well done, Keith.’ An accredited provider under RISQS (formerly Linkup), Shorterm provides managers, engineers, safety critical and support staff across a wide range of rail projects throughout the UK. In addition the company is also the leading provider of engineering staff to the rolling stock sector.

Highly Commended Adam Smith from London Underground Calum Laird from Progress Rail Services

42

72899.014 Shorterm awards advert 90x130.indd 1

01/09/2014 17:15

Antoine à Grande Vitesse Antoine Mailfert from Quimper, a student at the University of Western Brittany, has won the Graduate of the Year 2014.

Antoine spent two summers working for East Coast and provided timely assistance at the Tour de France. ‘This is very unexpected but I am very glad.

I’d like to thank Tony Brown, chief engineer at East Coast and George Linnane, production and project manager at Wabtec Rail,’ says Antoine.

Antoine Mailfert, a French national, approached East Coast Trains Ltd for a placement as part of his degree course. Antoine is studying Mechanical Engineering at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale.

Says James Thorley, HR director at Signalling Solutions, which sponsors the award, ‘We have a world of talent already in the industry but what we do need is to get new talent coming in.’ He said the company supports the awards because they look at ‘real people’ who make ‘a real contribution to the rail industry.’

Says Tony Brown, Chief Engineer at East Coast Trains Ltd, ‘Over the past two summers Antoine has been placed with the Wabtec Rail air conditioning support team based at Bounds Green and has been key to managing the project to

refurbish every Mark 4 HVAC module at the depot. Antoine has developed the store’s management system which now controls over 400 different stock items and introduced software which automatically reports on the HVAC module reliability.’ These reports have themselves improved reliability and helped with enhancements and investment.

‘Antoine also led our Tour de France launch at King’s Cross, which as a French national was a complete hit with passengers and staff alike,’ says Tony Brown.

Antoine may have initially faced a language barrier but he overcame it to become a valued member of the team. Now fully bilingual, with excellent communication skills, Antoine has worked tirelessly whilst on placement to achieve real results at Bounds Green.

‘The transformation of the HVAC repair centre at Bounds Green is in part down to his efforts,’ says Tony. Not only has he become a great ambassador for France but he has proved a real bonus for the railway industry. Work by Antoine has helped reduce complaints and increase reliability. ‘Antoine has overseen a 30% reduction in overall passenger complaints caused by air conditioning failure on our trains,’ says Tony. ‘Antoine is a complete self starter and is a credit to this business and his university.’

Founded in 1971, Université de Bretagne Occidentale now hosts 18,000 students. The main campus is in Brest with satellite campuses in Quimper and Morlaix.

Graduate of the Year 2014 is sponsored

by Signalling Solutions Ltd (SSL), the Alstom/Balfour Beatty joint venture. SSL is encouraging more graduates to join the railway and has launched its own Graduate Trainee Programme. Working with its key stakeholders Signalling Solutions continues to build on its strong reputation with the introduction of ‘Integr8 Modular Signalling’, ‘Atlas 200TM ERTMS’ and ‘ICONISTM Traffic Management.

Award winner Antoine (left) with James Thorley from Signalling Solutions.

GRADUATE OF THE YEAR 2014 PROUDLY SPONSORED BY SIGNALLING SOLUTIONS

Highly Commended Sophia Morgan from Network Rail

excellence in train control

Stephen Head from Young Rail Professionals

A Balfour Beatty and Alstom Company

www.signallingsolutions.com

43

Samaritans Wins Training Team of the Year A special team of instructors, the ‘Managing Suicidal Contacts and Trauma Support’ training team, from Samaritans, has won this year’s Training Team of the Year Award. The team, Jason Alexandre, Rob Christopher and Steve Tollerton, delivers life saving courses, initiated by Samaritans in partnership with Network Rail which, train and educate rail industry staff who may come into contact with members of the public who are at risk.

Jason, Rob and Steve receive their trophy from Ray Butchart (left) of SETEC.

‘It is very rewarding and people really engage with it,’ says Steve Tollerton.

Rob Christopher says, ‘We’d like to thank the team, especially Joelle Lever.

She organises all the courses and makes sure we are in the right place at the right time.’ However, the team reserved their special thanks to all who have been on the courses. ‘They are the guys who put it into practice. We do the easy bit, they do the hard bit,’ said Jason Alexandre.

Says Ola Rzepczynska of Samaritians, ‘Jason, Rob and Steve, our Samaritans, Network Rail and London Underground trainers, have been traveling tirelessly across the country training rail staff and British Transport Police as part of a wider industry programme tackling suicides on the railways. They have been

PROUDLY SPONSORING TRAINER/TRAINING TEAM OF THE YEAR

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS

craig.king@setecltd.co.uk | 07748 32 88 31 44

delivering two courses: The Managing Suicidal Contacts (MSC) course, which equips frontline staff with confidence and skills to make an intervention with a potentially suicidal individual and The Trauma Support Training course (TST), which equips managers with the skills and knowledge to deal with traumatic events and incidents and to assist their staff in their recovery.

Since the launch of the railway suicide prevention programme in 2010, over 7,000 people have been trained on the railway network by the trainer trio, and a further 700 have been MSC trained on the Underground network over the past year.’

Rail staff report many incidents of would-be suicides talked out of the situation. People who have been on the courses report back very favourably.

The Samaritans’ courses are working well and saving lives. ‘Jason, Rob and Steve receive consistently excellent feedback for every course they deliver, which deals with the very difficult and emotive subject of suicide. Reports of interventions made by rail staff have been steadily increasing, with 230 reported directly to Samaritans, with many more that may not have been reported to us. Many of these

interventions can be attributed to the fantastic training courses and the skills and techniques taught by our trainers which have empowered and enabled industry colleagues to save lives on the railway. Our trainers have also taken the Managing Suicidal Contacts training course to Europe and delivered it to railway colleagues in Holland, who have created a very similar course as a result of it being so successfully received, which they are now delivering front line members of staff across their rail network,’ says Ola. Training Team of the Year is sponsored by SETEC. Says Ray Butchart, technical director at Setec, ‘It’s very nice to see these guys get this, highly deserved.’

SETEC is the technical expertise and skills business, supporting the rail sector in specialist engineering and training & competence activities.

Considerable experience in railway signal engineering, electrical & electronic engineering, sales and business development supports a comprehensive and training and competency organisation. SETEC delivers solutions for all railway projects and operations where safety critical activities are undertaken.

Highly Commended David Haskell from Abellio Greater Anglia Workplace Coach Assessor Team

LUL’s Ersan Sokmen wins Train Driver of the Year 2014 A happy Ersan (right) receives his award from Frazer Brown.

Ersan Sokmen, a London Underground driver on the Hammersmith and City Line, wins this year’s Train Driver of the Year Award. Prompt action

by Ersan saved a woman’s life and he has been praised by colleagues at Hammersmith Depot and throughout London Underground.

‘I’d like to thank everyone in LU, my manager Andy Bamber, who wrote the nomination, Lee Watson, head of depot at Hammersmith and Lota Anyyakora for all their support,’ says Ersan.

Says Andrew Bamber, ‘Train Operator Ersan was driving his train on the Hammersmith and City line on the London Underground when, as he entered the west bound platform at East Ham station, he noticed a female passenger walk to the edge of the platform and sit on the edge with her legs over the track.’ He made a split second decision to stop the train and in doing so saved the woman’s life. ‘He quickly made an emergency application of the train’s braking system and managed to stop short of the passenger. He then went to her assistance as he could see she was under the influence of alcohol or

drugs and wanted to prevent her from injuring herself. She then informed him she wanted to jump in front of his train and kill herself. At this point she then made an attempt to throw herself onto the live tracks.’

Ersan grabbed her arm and managed to pull her back just as she was about to fall onto the live rails. He held on to her and using his handheld radio put out a mayday call to the control room requesting traction isolation. He held on to the passenger and continued talking to her to calm her until help arrived.

‘By his swift actions he saved the female passenger from being fatally injured. He prevented the other passengers on the platform from witnessing a horrific situation and then calmed the intoxicated passenger,’ says Andrew Bamber. ‘He displayed great situational awareness and dealt with the passenger with great professional integrity and compassion.’

Train Driver of the Year is sponsored

by Heathrow Express, ‘Frontline colleagues are the touch point with our customers and our services,’ said Fraser Brown, commercial director at Heathrow Express. ‘Awards like this highlight the great work they do.

They’ve all done a fabulous job and

Highly Commended

the travelling public should be proud of them.’

Heathrow Express is a nonfranchised, non-subsidised private company which owns its own trains, the stations at Heathrow, and the entire below-ground section of the line between London Paddington and the airport. Heathrow Express is

the fastest and most reliable way of travelling between Heathrow and central London, with trains taking just 15 minutes between Paddington and Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and running every 15 minutes. There are 150 trains per day, transporting an average of 17,000 passengers daily. The service celebrated its 15th birthday in 2013.

PROUD TO SPONSOR TRAIN DRIVER OF THE YEAR

The smarter way between Heathrow and central London.

Martin Sullivan from Virgin Trains heathrowexpress.com

twitter.com/heathrowexpress

Sam Oranga from London Underground

45

Nicola Pops Up as Person of the Year

Jim Syddall of Network Rail presents a happy Nicola with her award!

Nicola Griffiths, a Customer Service Assistant in the Booking Office at Crewe, wins this year’s Rail Person of the Year. Nicola works for Virgin Trains, which runs the station, and came up with the idea of ‘Community Platforms’ aimed at supporting small businesses with pop-up shops at stations.

Jim Syddall, Network Rail acting route managing director LNW, presented the award and made a stirring speech at the start of proceedings. Says Jim, ‘It’s really important for us to recognise people as much as we possibly can.’ Network Rail sponsors the award.

‘It’s really shocking, I’m really surprised and absolutely elated to have won this award,’ says Nicola. ‘I got the idea watching fans of Crewe Alexandra travelling to an away game and a man was selling fan leaflets from a shopping trolley..’

The phenomena of pop shops is increasingly popular across the network.

46

Nicola Griffiths has pioneered pop shops on the WCML. The pop ups give local businesses and community groups an opportunity to highlight their business or project. Pop ups can help charities raise funds and recruit volunteers.

Says colleague Joanna Buckley, ‘Nicola has been released from her position as Customer Service Assistant in the Booking Office at Crewe Station

to develop her idea. She has worked hard building relationships within the communities across the West Coast Mainline by making contacts with local charities, community groups and businesses. Her first trial was so successful that she has received many requests from small companies and charities who would like to be involved.

Customers have been able to have

their brows threaded, buy jewellery, pottery and paintings, all while waiting for a train or changing at Crewe Station. It’s all thanks to Nicola and the enthusiasm and passion she has. She has worked tirelessly and completed many 12 hour days to ensure everyone who has set up a pop up shop has been looked after. She has done some amazing work and really deserves this

recognition. It’s become clear that it isn’t enough to just have pop up events to support business so Nicola has set up a business network for everyone involved in pop up to meet on a regular basis. As a company we are able to offer a number of training courses to the businesses and community groups through our Talent Academy.

We work closely with Virgin Start Up so businesses seeking finance and advice are able to apply for a loan and gain invaluable advice and support through a dedicated mentor.’

The pop ups have helped develop better community and commercial relations. ‘This fantastic idea gives people the opportunity to get their business seen, as well as providing them with the platform to promote their business, engage with integrity and let people know what they can do,’ says Joanna ‘Products made by some of the businesses will hopefully be on board our services soon reinforcing our support to local and regional suppliers.’

Rail Person of the Year 2014 is sponsored by Network Rail which owns operates and maintains the rail network, delivering improved standards of safety, reliability and efficiency. Current

investment programmes to enhance and modernise the network are the most ambitious ever seen on Britain’s railways. Railway people at all levels are key to success. It is their commitment that enables millions of others to travel across Britain by rail.

Highly Commended Katrina Joyce from First TransPennine Express Revd Stephen Sorby from Railway Mission

Network Rail is proud to sponsor the RailStaff Awards 2014 It’s the hard work of individuals and teams within our industry that’s helping us build a better railway for Britain. From pioneering investment and development projects, to innovations that make everyday services faster, smarter and safer, we believe in recognising the excellence that’s enabling the transformation of our network.

That’s why we’re very proud to once again sponsor this year’s RailStaff Awards.

Building a better railway for a better Britain. networkrail.co.uk

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NEWS

50 | RailStaff | November 2014

Finchpalm

Back to the future

Finchpalm, the well-known supplier of specialist resources to both the rail and wider construction sectors with a history dating back nearly 40 years, is back. Since its acquisition by BAM in 2001, the company formed part of the larger BAM Nuttall operation, but following a successful management takeover in January 2014, the brand has made a much welcomed return.

Managing Director John Murphy has been part of this journey, having joined Finchpalm in 1995. Setting up a new business is never easy but given John’s distinguished career with the company combined with Finchpalm’s established track record of providing highly skilled resources across a broad spectrum of disciplines, the future looks bright.

With its new headquarters in Watford, Finchpalm has broadened its range of services from its traditional strength of supplying resources for safety critical roles across London Underground to developing its capabilities to meet the changing needs of the national rail network. Given the backdrop of the continuing upgrade of the world’s first metro system and Network Rail’s ambitious plans for CP5, in addition to both Crossrail and High Speed 2, John believed it was the optimal time to expand Finchpalm’s offering.

Following this expansion the company can now provide contingent labour for track and civils as well as safety critical disciplines after recently becoming Link Up approved.

In March 2014, Finchpalm as a standalone entity gained its ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 accreditations. It is the company’s continuous aim to provide a quality service to its clients and this cannot be achieved without effective management of risk for all stakeholders. Finchpalm has adopted

the ethos of safety management based on risk assessment and control, promoting this approach across all activities.

In August this year, Finchpalm secured a three-year labour supply contract with BAM Nuttall, allowing it to supply labour to the contractor and further emphasising the excellent relationship Finchpalm enjoys with BAM Nuttall.

Supporting the Local Community Away from the workplace, John continues his once promising football career, albeit in the vets leagues at this stage, and places the nation’s favourite game at the heart of Finchpalm’s community support initiatives. As well as sponsoring a number of junior teams across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, John has continued Finchpalm’s annual charity match against the Spurs Legends. The team is made up of a combination of Finchpalm employees, clients and other stakeholders, and this year’s game at St. Albans saw them record a famous 3-2 victory

against a Legends team, comprising Darren Anderton, Mark Falco and David Howells, with non-playing guest appearances on the day from the likes of Ossie Ardiles, Ray Clemence and Pat Jennings. All funds raised went to Cherry Lodge Cancer Care, a Hertfordshire-based charity which supports individuals and their families living with cancer. The next game is already pencilled in for April 2015 and again will take place at St. Alban’s City Clarence Park Stadium.

Moving Forward Finchpalm’s ultimate objective is to become an all-round light rail services provider and the first choice for leading organisations across the industry.

To help meet this objective over the next 12 months the company will embark on a major recruitment campaign. Currently, Finchpalm is looking for candidates across numerous disciplines covering both the national rail network and London Underground. (Please visit www.railwaypeople.com for latest vacancies).

Given Finchpalm’s extensive

experience of providing resources to London Underground, the company benefits from a pool of highly skilled operatives and thus is well positioned to support clients delivering Crossrail as the pace quickens ahead of its planned opening in 2018.

In a busy first year of operation, John takes great pride in the fact that the company has supported a number of major projects and successfully developed Finchpalm’s client base.

As John commented “we would invite both current and potential new clients to visit our recently relaunched website (www.finchpalm.co.uk) to learn more about the company and the services we provide. We would be more than happy to discuss your current and future requirements in more detail and provide the resources needed to help deliver your projects on time and to budget” In the day-to-day activities of the business, John is supported by Accounts Manager Renata Vyturiene, who manages a highly motivated office team. Renata joined Finchpalm in January 2014 having worked for Bam Nuttall for 5 years.

Rail and Construction Sectors

FINCHPALM has a strong track record supplying resources to London Underground and as part of the company’s continuing expansion of services, we are now a Link-up Approved Supplier to Network Rail of: •

Contingent Labour – Track and Civils

•

On Track Protection and Warning Services

(PC, ES, COSS, Lookout, Site Warden, Auxiliary Staff, ATWS Operator)

Temporary, Contract and Permanent Staff can also be provided as per your requirements.

Contact the FINCHPALM team to see how we can help meet your needs. We look forward to working with new and existing clients to deliver rail projects around the UK. Our competencies include: •

ISO 9001 : 2008

•

OHSAS 18001 : 2007

•

Link–Up

•

Builders profile

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES If you are looking for a new challenge and want to make a real contribution to the success of our business, please visit our website or send your CV via email or post to:

FINCHPALM, 54 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1DU, Hertfordshire.

Tel: 01923 438 196 • e-mail: info@finchpalm.co.uk • www.finchpalm.co.uk

NEWS

52 | RailStaff | November 2014

Tangled Web at Waverley Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s first novel, Waverley, at the railway station named after the book.

Says Network Rail station manager and RailStaff Award winner Juliet Donnachie, ‘As the only station in the world named after a novel, I like to think that Waverley Station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways.

‘Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it’s appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland’s capital continues to acknowledge his influence. Waverley Station is steeped in history - it has been the stage for millions of stories since the Victorian era and I think Sir

Pop Goes Rugby

Walter would have liked that.’

Waverley tells the story of Englishman turned Jacobite Edward Waverley.

Set in 1745 Scotland, Waverley falls in love with the daughter of a Jacobite baron and is drawn into the rebellion and the attempt to restore the Stuart monarchy. The book has enjoyed renewed interest this year.

Says Douglas McNaughton, manager of the Great Scott! campaign, ‘By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George RR Martin, author of the phenomenally popular Game of

Railway Returns to Corwen

Rail star Nicola Griffiths, winner of Rail Person of the Year at the RailStaff Awards 2014.

Local community businesses came together at Rugby station last month to get involved with the increasingly popular ‘Station’s Pop-up Shop’ initiative, brainchild of Virgin Trains’ awardwinning Nicola Griffiths.

‘The POP-UP event at Rugby went really well. We have plans for a 17-station POP-UP launch and our first joint venture with Network Rail at Euston Station on Saturday, 6 December,’ says Nicola, who won Rail Person of the Year at the RailStaff Awards 2014.

For a year now, pop-up shop events along the West Coast main line, organised by Nicola and friends at Virgin Trains, have supported 120 local businesses. The huge footfall through mainline stations offers small independent community businesses the chance to market what they produce to a far wider range of potential customers than normal.

Says Nicola Griffiths, ‘I am delighted

Thrones series.

‘Waverley isn’t a boring, dusty old story - it’s essentially an action movie.

The naive young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape. That’s basically the plot of Star Wars.’

Quotes from Sir Walter have been written across the floors and walkways of Waverley Station, including the famous line: ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave / when first we practise to deceive.’

Railway enthusiasts are celebrating the first train to arrive at Corwen on the Llangollen Railway in nearly half a century.

that the pop-up shop events proved so popular with customers and business owners. Community shops don’t always get the exposure they need to thrive and become successful. So for them to be able to use our stations to show customers what they have to offer is a great way to get their name out there.

‘I am very proud to be able to give something back to the communities

we serve and of which we are an integral part.’

Pauline Meredith, owner of Meredith Crafts based in Crewe, makes and sells her own creation of beaded jewellery in gold and silver. She took part in the Crewe Station Pop-Up shop event earlier this year. ‘Virgin Trains pop-up shops were a fantastic way to spread the word, promote my business and make sales on the day,’ says Pauline.

Volunteers at the Llangollen Railway have worked for four years on a twomile extension from Carrog. The line originally closed in 1964. Says George Jones, of the Llangollen Railway Trust, ‘This project has been a great challenge, but its completion is a great achievement for all those involved in the many aspects of its construction.

The further challenge is to tackle Phase 2 and build the proper terminus nearer to the town centre.

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 53

Gore Tops List W. L. Gore & Associates, has won the number four spot on the 2014 list of the World’s Best Multinational Workplaces compiled by the Great Place to Work Institute, based in San Francisco.

Success is all down to staff participation and a culture of creative engagement.

‘At Gore, we take great pride in

our culture and recognise the very important role it plays in driving business success,’ says chief executive Terri Kelly, who joined Gore as an engineer more than 30 years ago.

‘By fostering an environment where people feel motivated, engaged and passionate about the work they do, we are better able to tap into our potential and create innovative products that truly make a difference in the world.’

Gore makes waterproof Gore-tex fabric, life-saving cardiovascular devices, filtration technologies and electronic cables.

Train driver duets with West End star

Steve Strachan, 43, a train driver with Abellio Greater Anglia, has sung on stage with West End star Kerry Ellis in front of an audience at Stevenage’s Gordon Craig Theatre.

The duet was part of a fundraiser backing production of Kerry’s solo album.

Steve, from Bishop’s Stortford, is a regular singer and is performing in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar

this autumn with the Bishop’s Stortford Musical Theatre Company.

Says Steve, ‘I’ve done shows at Rhodes since 2009 and you still get nerves, but the nerves were 10 times as much. The spotlight was just on us two.

It was great fun. There’s a 30-second instrumental break in the song, so I spun Kerry around a couple of times.

She’s an absolute diamond, and she has an amazing voice. I think nothing will ever beat this. It was an amazing evening.’

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NEWS

54 | RailStaff | November 2014

More Than a Match

Chris Nutty is an educational project worker for the train drivers’ union ASLEF. Here he tells the story of a little known piece of London’s East End history, set besides the mainline outside Liverpool Street station.

Travelling on the train out from Liverpool Street on the former Great Eastern mainline, on the left hand side of the track between Bethnal Green and Stratford, there stands a large Victorian red brick tower surrounded by a complex of buildings (above). Today, this is a gated community of luxury apartments, but back in the 1880s the same buildings had a very different use.

They were the Bryant & May match factory. 1,400 workers were employed there, most of them young girls and women. The working conditions were appalling, they were on low pay, fined for any infringement, worked long hours and suffered the constant threat of contracting the industrial disease, phosphorus necrosis. This enters the body via the teeth and gums and eats away at the jaw, causing foul-smelling decay, and brain damage. White phosphorus was used in most matches from the 1840s to the 1910s. If they did contract the disease the fact would be hidden from their employer because they knew it would lead to being

dismissed. Without work they’d starve.

Things came to a head in 1888 and the matchwomen went on strike. Bryant & May were furious and threatened to sack them all and employ new workers. So the stage was set for a David and Goliath conflict that is surely a screenwriter’s dream, if the current crop of British industrial relations films such as ‘Made in Dagenham,’ ‘Pride,’ and ‘Enemy Within’ are anything to go by.

Like the Ford women workers at Dagenham, our matchwomen faced bigotry and prejudice and, like the Ford workers, they won their cause.

This story was brought to life on an educational walking tour organised

by ASLEF and run by Dr Louise Raw. Louise has written a book on the matchwomen’s strike, ‘Striking a Light’, and she has made many TV appearances with people like Amanda Vickery, Barbara Windsor, and Len Goodman. Louise used original photos of the women so she can put

names to the faces of those involved.

Her research into the subject also disproved the popular idea that it was the well-known liberal Annie Besant who was the brains behind the strike and not the matchwomen themselves.

Dr Raw has delivered many lectures on the matchwomen’s strike, but this was her first walking tour of the area where it all took place. East Midlands Trains driver Tim Waterhouse said of the walk, ‘I’ve really enjoyed the tour. Louise has really brought the Matchwomen’s story and the Victorian East End to life.’

The use of white phosphorous was eventually outlawed by international agreement in 1906.

Louise also organises a Matchwomen’s Festival once a year celebrating what the women achieved.

The next event is 4 July, 2015.

For more information about the Matchwoman check Louise’s websites at www.louiseraw.co.uk and www. matchfest.co.uk

NEWS

56 | RailStaff | November 2014

Mini Bonus for Oxford Passenger trains may once again run on the Cowley branch in Oxford. The freight-only line is still used by the Mini car plant at Cowley and Chiltern Railways is now looking at plans to re-open the line and create two new stations at Oxford Science Park and Oxford Business Park.

Early in November, rail chiefs were planning to run a special charter train over the line to win support from industrialists and city leaders.

Says Rob Brighouse, managing director at Chiltern Railways, ‘Investment in rail has the enormous ability to stimulate the economy.

The Cowley proposition will help Oxfordshire compete on a global level by linking areas of future employment and housing growth such as Bicester as well as the region’s leading innovation hubs. We strongly believe that investment in this project will open up exciting opportunities for the region.’

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith welcomed the plan. ‘It would open up more travel options for local residents

and help ease the car commuting pressure to the Science Park and the Business Park, where congestion has been getting worse,’ he said.

The new service will prove popular locally. Says Andrew McCallum, secretary of Rail Future’s Thames Valley branch, ‘Rather than occupying space at Oxford, trains can run down to Cowley, which could take about five minutes, drop people off, come back in another five minutes and then go back to London.’

Chiltern Railways plans to open a new Oxford Parkway - London Marylebone link via Bicester in September 2015. Services to and from Oxford city centre should follow a year later.

Investment in rail has the enormous ability to stimulate

An engineer who saved the London Underground from flooding during the Second World War and thereby saved the lives of thousands of people who sheltered on the railway during the Blitz, has been honoured with a plaque on the river wall at Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament.

Sir Thomas Peirson Frank established a secret rapidresponse unit to deal with the destruction of London’s flood defences caused by the Luftwaffe’s intensive bombing raids. Recent fieldwork and research by archaeologists from the Thames Discovery Programme (TDP), has revealed the extent of his unit’s heroic efforts.

Mindful of Abwehr agents operating in London, Peirson Frank and his men worked in secret as the prospect of war loomed. Specialists identified the most vulnerable sites and set up secondary flood defences. Then during the war when the bombing was at its height, they went into action on 121 occasions, working on damaged flood defences as the battle raged overhead.

Peirson Frank, a respected civil engineer, was originally from Kirbymoorside in Yorkshire and worked for London’s civic authority on public utilities. He later became president of the Institution of Civil Engineers

the economy.

Sheffield Welcome for German Firm Pittsburgh-based L.B. Foster Company says it is to acquire the railway tuning unit, FWO, of Balfour Beatty Rail. The German business provides track lubrication and switch roller equipment.

‘The FWO ESA Electronic Track Lubricating systems and associated specialist knowledge of wheel/rail interaction is an ideal fit with L.B. Foster’s existing solution portfolio,

marketing expertise and R&D competencies,’ says Peter Jones, managing director of Sheffield-based L.B. Foster Rail Technologies (UK) Ltd. The FWO business unit currently employs a team based in Bochum, North Rhine - Westphalia, and has established sales in Europe and South America. ‘I am delighted that the key employees in this business have decided to join the L.B. Foster team and help strengthen our position in the European market,’ added Jones.

Vampire Special Northern Rail named a class 156 ‘Bram Stoker’ on 1 November, All Hallows Day at Whitby.

The train is named after the Irish author who set part of the continuing best seller, Dracula, in the town. The tale seems to take on new life year after

year. Whitby attracts regular visitors and readers of the original vampire novel.

In 1890, Stoker began to research and write Dracula. That August, his family holidayed in Whitby and he spent considerable time undertaking local research which would significantly shape the book.

Engineer’s Secret War Honoured

(ICE). Thanks to his pioneering work, London was saved from the catastrophic consequences of a flood defence breach. Thousands might have perished in the London Underground where they sought refuge. Low-lying areas of the capital would have been submerged.

Martin Frank, grandson of Sir Thomas Peirson Frank,

said, ‘The demands at the time for secrecy meant that this work was never widely recognised and so it is fitting, even after all these years, that we will have this plaque to remind future generations how close we came to catastrophe and how much we owe to Sir Peirson and his team.’

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 57

No Time To Lose

Golden Sleeper

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is spearheading a campaign to reduce workplace related deaths by cancer.

As the last rails were laid in the Gotthard Base Tunnel deep below the Swiss Alps, track workers and engineers celebrated by laying a golden sleeper 54 metres from the south portal.

More than 8,000 people die a year from cancer and around 14,000 contract the disease following exposure to work-related carcinogens, figures show.

Diesel exhaust fumes, silica dust or asbestos fibres all contribute. The figures far outstrip those for fatal incidents in the workplace. However, the invisibility of carcinogens, the length of time involved before the disease manifests itself and a general lack of knowledge continue to produce this staggeringly high number of preventable deaths.

Says IOSH head of policy, Richard Jones, ‘We need a concerted joint effort to educate and protect future generations from work-related cancer.

Simple actions today will save lives tomorrow - there really is no time to lose in tackling this global tragedy.’

Led by IOSH and backed by business leaders, academics and charity Macmillan Cancer Support, the ‘No Time to Lose’ campaign is calling for better collaboration between government and employers to beat occupational cancer.

A national database of work-related carcinogen exposure, more research into the potential cancer risks of new technologies, a greater focus on work cancer in medical courses and awareness training for apprentices are all part of the call to action.

railway tunnel in the world.

The railway tunnel is primarily aimed at taking freight transiting Switzerland between Italy and Germany off the country’s road system.

Renzo Simoni, chief executive of AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd, said, ‘An important milestone in the Gotthard Base Tunnel has been accomplished on time. The work is on schedule. The timetable for opening in June 2016 is valid.’

The tunnel, which is on course to open in 2016, consists of two 35-mile long single-track tunnels, connected together every 325 metres by cross passages. It is the deepest longest

Grand Hibernian A new luxury train is set to launch in Ireland in 2016, says Belmond Ltd, which runs railway cruises, safaris and luxury hotels. The Belmond Grand Hibernian will provide luxury overnight rail journeys sweeping across open country and along Ireland’s dramatic coast line. Trips will cover the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Belmond has acquired 10 carriages from Iarnród Éireann which will now be transformed into a luxury sleeper train with accommodation for up to 40 people.

Says David Franks, chief executive of Iarnród Éireann, ‘We are proud and delighted to welcome Belmond

Grand Hibernian to Ireland’s rail network. Our railways provide a unique aspect on the countryside, towns and cities of Ireland. Rail is therefore a key element of our national tourism product, and the launch of Belmond Grand Hibernian represents a strong endorsement of Ireland as a destination by Belmond.’

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NEWS

58 | RailStaff | November 2014

Winter Warmer from TBF In an old story with a railway twist a new driver on his first trip up the main line was accompanied by a traction inspector. The job of the TI was to encourage and reassure the new driver who, on this occasion, was a bit nervous.

Held at a red light after the young driver had applied brakes with commendable promptitude, the old traction inspector looked up the line and said, ‘You know any prayers?’ ‘No, I don’t sir. I don’t know how to pray.’ Still looking up the line, the traction inspector replied, ‘You will soon, son.’

The annual Railstaff Carol Service, organised by TBF, the Transport Benevolent Fund, is an altogether more cheerful affair. Held at St Mary’s Church, Eversholt Street, London, at 1230 on Thursday, 18 December, the Carol Service is open to people of all faiths and none. Eversholt Street runs up the right hand side of Euston station in the direction of travel.

Celebrations start early Most people celebrate the 12 days of Christmas from 24 December. The rail industry, however, fields thousands of staff on week-long blockades,

possessions and works making good use of the mid-winter break to progress dozens of projects undisturbed.

Happily, thanks to the TBF, celebrations start early and are full of the flavour right down to the mince pies - of the festive season.

As well as the Railstaff Carol Service on 18 December, TBF also organises the Transport for London Annual Festival of Carols at St Martin’s in the Fields on 10 December at 1900 and carol singing at Marylebone station at 1700 on Wednesday 17 December - with a collection for the Transport Benevolent Fund.

Now in its 91st year with a membership at over 43,000 the TBF holds a unique place in the rail industry. 2014 has proved a busy year for the TBF.

Healthy feedback Prosperous though the new rail industry might be, too many are left behind, troubled by debts, health and housing issues. TBF offers a wide range of benefits including health, legal advice, convalescence and cash help for members and their dependants.

TBF trustees understand the industry and the needs of staff. The charity supports those who work in the public

transport industry when they are in need, hardship or distress. Almost anyone who works in the industry may join TBF. Members can continue membership in retirement. It is not possible to join once you have retired.

Contributions are just £1 a week.

TBF generates a healthy amount of feedback and it is good to know that a transport charity is having a practical effect on the welfare of many of its members. ‘I would like to thank you all for your recent help and make you aware of the heart-felt gratitude. The help that you afforded me and my family at this tough time has helped me a great deal,’ writes a member in Norwich.

Help ranges from paying a utility bill to providing a mobility scooter. ‘I have to tell you that having the scooter has transformed my life and made it a lot more bearable. It’s a complete godsend - I can now visit friends and go everywhere. A big thank you for your help and kindness,’ says a member in Welwyn Garden City.

London’s Transport Choir At all three carol services, London’s Transport Choir will be leading the singing. One of the hidden delights of transport folklore, the London Transport Choral Society has provided music for the corporation’s Annual Festival of Carols held at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square for over 60 years. In 2002, the society merged with the former

British Railways Choir, the St Marylebone Singers, to become London’s Transport Choir. Singers from London Underground, all of TfL, various train companies and railway organisations, band together singing secular and sacred music with harmonies that inspire closer working relationships right across the industry.

The choir has been rehearsing and recently performed at Southwark station as part of London Underground’s London Poppy Appeal. Next year the choir has been invited to collaborate on possible new compositions celebrating the romantic possibilities offered to passengers travelling on the London Underground. Tasteful suggestions to the editor, please.

A Good Cause TBF is a good cause and the carol services are generally well attended.

They offer a unique chance to meet up with old friends and new away from work. Traction Inspectors with their usual brand of cautionary theological advice are also welcome.

The Transport Benevolent Fund was originally established to help families of London public transport workers serving in the First World War. A permanent trust was set up in 1923.

The Transport Benevolent Fund is a registered charity (in England and Wales no. 1058032 and in Scotland no.

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NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 59

Zonegreen Makes New Point A new points converter will soon be making life easier for shunters and drivers in yards still using lever-operated points.

Sheffield-based Zonegreen has launched what it calls the Point Converter to automate traditional manual levers, often found in depots and sidings.

Says Christian Fletcher, Zonegreen’s technical director, ‘Although automated points are usually installed in new depots, heavy hand operated switches are a common sight at older facilities and put significant physical strain on the driver or shunter.

Accidents at points are also very likely, as they are often located in hazardous external areas with uneven terrain and

obstacles, increasing the risk of slips, trips or falls.’

Zonegreen’s Point Converter attaches directly to the hand point mechanism and moves the switch with a hydraulic actuator. Multiple units can be linked and operated from a distance, using a remote handset that enables predefined routes to be programmed in advance. Switch position can then be moved automatically, allowing a train to reach its desired location

without physical intervention and exertion.

According to figures compiled by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), injuries to drivers and shunters account for almost one third of all accidents in rail yards and depots, with 68 per cent of these resulting in major injuries. Operating manual points also has occupational health risks, increasing the likelihood of lasting damage to the back, shoulders or neck.

Academy Status for Kings Heath Work is proceeding apace on the new National Training Academy for Rail at Kings Heath in Northampton. Transport minister, Baroness Kramer, visited the site to encourage the workforce and reiterate the government’s determination to help make good the skills gap in the rail industry.

‘The academy for rail... is a crucial part of the government’s long-term

economic plan to secure a better future for Britain. Generations of young people will benefit from the apprenticeships and training provided here to find new jobs and get on in life,’ said Baroness Kramer.

‘It is great to see this academy well on its way to becoming a much-needed facility to support our railways which are being transformed, thanks to our plans to invest more than £38 billion over the next five years.’

Once complete the academy will

include seven classrooms, a large workshop with an overhead crane, embedded tracks, AC and DC power, compressed air supply, an access pit and an auditorium. It is expected to open in autumn 2015.

The Department for Transport, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering (NSARE) have provided £3.5 million for the National Training Academy for Rail, with industry partner Siemens contributing the rest.

Says Christian, ‘The simplest way to improve safety standards in the rail industry is to remove individuals from the most dangerous situations and our latest technological innovation does just that. Our advanced research and development skills have led to the creation of the Points Converter, and we are confident it will help prevent accidents and reduce employee suffering and lost work days.’

Polmont Thomas Rides Again An emaciated dog spotted by the railway near Falkirk had only hours to live, animal rescue staff have said.

A passenger spotted the dog, since named Thomas, and alerted the SSPCA. Thomas was lineside half a mile from Polmont railway station.

Says Inspector Leanne McPake, of the SSPCA, ‘Thomas is severely emaciated and was so weak he was probably only hours from death when we found him.

He wasn’t moving and couldn’t stand up. It’s very lucky he was spotted by an observant train passenger as he may have been injured or even killed on the tracks.

‘Thankfully Thomas is responding well to treatment, but it’s still early days and he has a long way to go.’

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60 | RailStaff | November 2014

Spring Carnival Ball for Railway Benefit Fund

Railway Benefit Fund offers chance at London Marathon

Tickets are available now for RBF’s first-ever Spring Ball fundraiser, which will be held at the centre of railway history, the National Railway Museum in York, on 23 April 2015.

With a carnival theme – and of course the lure of the industry’s heritage – the Spring Ball promises to be a fun night out for people throughout the industry, wherever they work.

Organised by RBF’s northern committee, the ringmaster of the event is Sean English, Grand Central’s Chief Operating Officer. Says Sean, ‘RBF’s Glasgow dinner has grown to be a huge success, and we are now at the point where we are confident ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ SUPPORTING RAILWAY PEOPLE enough to stage something different for RBF’s first major northern event. We think our carnival theme allows people to really let their hair down.’

Roll up and get your tickets now. A table costs just £1,000 while individual NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM seats are £110. ‘It’s a great 23rd cause, and I’m sure most APRIL railway people think the 2015 same,’ adds Sean.

7pm for drinks, 8pm for dinner ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Tickets are available FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BOOK e-mail asmith@railwaybenefitfund.org.uk through RBF in Crewe. or Telephone Abi Smith on 07768 511917 Go to www.rbfcharity.org. uk for more details, call www. rbfcharity.org.uk 07768 511917, or asmith@ railwaybenefitfund.org.uk

RBF

SPRING Carnival BALL THURSDAY

Registered charity number 206312

Flyer A5 V2.indd 1

RBF, the railway’s own charity, has been given a place to run in the 2015 London Marathon and is now asking people to register their interest for the slot.

The place will go to the person who pledges to raise the charity’s minimum sponsorship of £2,000.

The world famous race through the streets of London takes place on 26 April, 2015. Next year’s official online ballot is closed - so the RBF could be a good way to get a place to run.

RBF is asking aspiring railway runners to get in touch and say why they want to run the marathon. Maybe there’s

an interesting or heartwarming story which has inspired you to want to take part.

The charity will cover the £100 registration fee if the applicant agrees to raise the minimum sponsorship. RBF will also give the lucky runner an RBF t-shirt and publicity support.

RBF’s last London Marathon ‘railway runner’ was Graham Meiklejohn in 2010. Graham raised a magnificent £5,000, finishing in an impressive 4:01:37.

To register your interest in running for the RBF in 2015, please contact Abi Smith on 07768 511917 no later than the 30 November 2014.

of enterprise and public sector customers, including service providers and the defence industry. Key customers include Virgin Media, LINX, Interroute and British Aerospace.

Under the agreement, telent will retain the Telindus Camberley base and its lab facilities, which will complement telent’s existing research and development facilities in Warwick and London.

With a global reach, telent works with Transport for London, Network Rail,

various train companies as well as BT, Virgin Media, Sky, Vodafone, Merseyside Fire & Rescue and the Metropolitan Police. Recently telent was awarded contract extensions to continue to provide Station Information Systems and Security maintenance for Abellio Greater Anglia, Northern Rail and Merseyrail. The work involves looking after all station information systems, including CCTVs, customer information screens, help points, public address systems and clocks.

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New talent for telent Technology services company telent, which supplies network and communications services to the rail industry, is to acquire Telindus UK. ‘This deal represents an important step for telent and will bring a transformational strengthening of our ICT capability,’ says Mark Plato, chief executive of telent. ‘We have been investing in growing our capability in IP networking and in the delivery of end-to-end ICT solutions for some time now.

The acquisition of Telindus takes us to another level, providing a step

change in our core expertise and capabilities with key industry partners and introducing us to a range of new customers and markets.’

Based in Camberley, Surrey, Telindus delivers ICT solutions including network infrastructure, data centre and security, plus professional and managed services. Staff at Telindus UK will provide a significant pool of additional talent and expertise. The company has an annual turnover of over £45m with a wide range

NEWS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 61

Profile Point:

VGC

The economic cycle has an impact on workforces throughout the country. In bad times companies are forced to review staffing levels, training budgets are reduced, and skill levels can stagnate. However when an upturn returns, the demand for skilled workers rises very quickly.

While many companies struggle to find enough qualified and competent people, VGC has been rising to the challenge of managing and developing resources during economic cycles for over 50 years, anticipating and diminishing the impact of the shortage of skilled workers.

Pryce explains: ‘We’ve been able to attract and retain excellent people because we show them how much we value them. The way we continuously train and develop our staff demonstrates that we’re committed to tackling the skills’ shortage in industry head on, and is fundamental to being able to deliver exceptional service to our clients and providing sustainable employment opportunities for our people.’

Successive policies

Ahead of the game

The company has created a bank of skilled staff, and by investing in training, multi-skilling its people and focussing on policies of promotion from within and success planning, it has ensured that staff have the expertise to tackle urgent client projects when required.

Among the company’s initiatives were the introduction of apprenticeships, graduate schemes, paid internships and work experience, and other formal training programmes.

VGC Training - recently awarded an ‘outstanding’ status by the National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering – maintains and develops staff skill levels, responding quickly to training and competency management needs.

This approach is important for VGC’s ability to attract and retain the best people. Group services director Ciara

Strong partnerships with clients have meant that VGC has been involved in the early planning stages of projects, and can anticipate demand for skilled staff. By being ‘ahead of the game’ both VGC and its clients can be thorough and targeted in their planning and preparation, and ensure that skill levels, sustainability, equality and diversity, and other best practice standards, are satisfied, if not exceeded.

This forward planning has allowed VGC to supply a large number of staff to major schemes such as Crossrail and the North West electrification scheme. The company has already begun preparations and will be ready to meet staffing requirements for forthcoming projects such as HS2 which is estimated to require 40,000

still retain the family values that were the bedrock of our business when we started in 1960.

VGC began life in 1960 when brothers Vernon and Colin Clements set up V G Clements Contractors Limited to provide construction services in the London area.

Vernon and Colin ran V G Clements Contractors Limited - now widely known as VGC - until their retirement in 1985 and passed the torch to Sean Fitzpatrick and Bart Keaney.

VGC has worked on high-profile people - and EGIP. VGC is certainly contracts, including the Channel playing its part in tackling the skills Tunnel Rail Link, Queen Elizabeth II shortage facing the construction and Bridge, Manchester Metro and Sheffield engineering sector at present.

Supertram.

We deliver people, contracts and Encouraged by its success in services to the construction and rail railway projects, in 1998 the company industries. Our divisions operate in all established a dedicated rail industry types of civil engineering environments division headed by Laurence McKidd, including roads and bridges, airports, formerly a project director with nuclear facilities, utilities, mechanical Balfour Beatty. New contracts with and electrical services, and heavy and London Underground, Euston Station light rail systems.

Remodelling and the Heathrow Express At any one time, we may be working Rail Link soon followed and further on over 50 projects, and while our enhanced the company’s position in a workforce now over 1,000 strong, competitive 90x130is (October)_Layout 1 we 16/10/2014 15:05 market.

Page 1

People, contracts and services We provide people, contracts and services to the construction and rail industries.

We are dedicated to delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions for our clients, and to building long-lasting partnerships with them.

vgcgroup.co.uk 08456 201 201

62 | RailStaff | November 2014

Everest Challenge for Andy Ridout

RAILWAY CHILDREN

RAILWAY CHILDREN

November 2014 | RailStaff | 63

Andy Ridout, managing director of advance Training & Recruitment Services, has announced that he will take part in a trifecta of fundraising challenges in 2015, starting in March with a trek to the base camp at Mount Everest in aid of Railway Children. Carl Taylor reports.

In little over a year, Andy has managed to raise more than £13,500 as a result of his impressive Ironman victory in late 2013 and the Tour de Yorkshire sporting event, cycling the first stage of the Tour de France with colleague Paul Merton.

The recruitment chief is now determined to add to that remarkable tally, and aims to raise more than £6,500 in 2015, topping the grand total up to an extraordinary £20,000.

As well as climbing up Everest, Andy plans on cycling a thigh-burning 302 kilometres through mountainous Welsh countryside in an event aptly dubbed the ‘Dragon Devil’ in June, whilst late 2015 will see Andy relay swimming through the English Channel for Cancer Research UK; a year long mega-triathlon!

Following TV’s Brian Blessed at this year’s Roundhouse networking event dinner, Andy delivered a rousing speech on behalf of Railway Children, urging rail executives from across the industry to join him in a once in a lifetime excursion in aid of an incredible cause.

Resting at 17,575ft above sea level, Everest’s Base Camp is the famous camping plain with breathtaking views of the Nepalese Himalayas. The expedition is expected to take around 12 days to complete, with Andy and company trekking more than 113 kilometres.

A previous expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro organised by Railway Children raised more than £194,000 and it is hoped that next year’s total will be even higher.

Railway Children is an international children’s charity that works to reach homeless children on the streets of the UK, East Africa and India. In the UK alone, a child runs away from home every five minutes, forced to flee as a result of poverty, abuse, violence or neglect. ‘That’s a frightening statistic that requires immediate attention’ says Andy.

‘As a father of four myself, hearing some of the horror stories that these children live on a day-today basis is extremely harrowing. The innocence of children is a priceless commodity and one which is cruelly taken away by those who seek only to coerce and exploit. For those of us who have children, it’s a cause that hits close to home as we often forget how unfortunate many other children are in this world.’

Andy was recently nominated for the coveted ‘David Maidment Award for Charity’ at this year’s RailStaff Awards, by Dave Ellis, corporate partnerships manager at Railway Children. His nomination came as a result of the continued fundraising and awareness that he has generated for the charity over the past few years, namely from the Ironman which created a huge amount of buzz throughout the industry.

‘I’m delighted to have become a finalist for this prestigious award two years running now. We are very proud of our corporate partnership with Railway Children and will continue fundraising and generating awareness wherever and whenever we can.’

Andy’s determination and commitment is evident for all to see. His rail recruitment and training consultancy, advance-TRS, now turns over in excess

of £5 million per year, recruiting 20 in-house staff at its new Guildford-based headquarters. ‘We are now working very closely with the industry’s biggest contractors on the UK’s biggest projects; I’m extremely excited for what we have planned in 2015 and relish the challenges that lie ahead.’

Andy will be carrying a giant banner to the base camp at Everest. There are limited sponsorship opportunities to add your company’s logo to this banner and have it proudly lifted 17,000ft high in the Himalayas.

Photographs of Andy holding the banner will be used in numerous press releases, social media and e-mail marketing campaigns, so it is a fantastic opportunity to benefit from some great PR whilst saving the lives of children worldwide.

To discuss sponsorship opportunities, call Andy directly on 01483 361 061 or e-mail ar@advance-trs. com Donate before Andy’s expedition in March by visiting his fundraising page today at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndyRidout You can follow Andy’s progress from now until late 2015 by visiting www.advance-trs.com/fundraising

NEWS

64 | RailStaff | November 2014

Great War Railwaymen A railwayman who has served in the Territorial Army has written a book about the sacrifice of the thousands of railway staff who died in the Great War. Jeremy Higgins, who lives in Daventry, Northamptonshire, is currently director of customer service at CrossCountry trains and was inspired by a brief glance at a war memorial at Leamington Spa station when he returned from duty in Iraq in 2007. He looked again and found himself wondering about the men behind the names engraved on the stone. Seven years later his book, Great War Railwaymen, which looks at over 1,000 railwaymen killed in the conflict, was published last month.

‘My aim with the book is to try to remember these people who served and died and bring out what happened to a modern audience. I also wanted to raise money for the Army Benevolent Fund, The Soldiers’ Charity and the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF). It has taken me seven years to research 12,500 of the 20,000-plus railwaymen who died in the Great War. The story is fascinating and hopefully will be of interest to all.’

Among the many stories, the example of Sergeant HB Parkin, a York-based clerk with the North Eastern Railway who served with the West Yorkshire Regiment, stands out.

Parkin was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Conduct Medal for fighting off a German attack on his own. The citation reads, ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, during a very heavy bombardment of the line followed by a raid of storm troops, though wounded during bombardment, he refused to leave his post and though all his men

were eventually killed or wounded, he succeeded in holding out single handed and in killing an officer and two men who penetrated the post. He was again severely wounded and, on arrival of reinforcements, was found propped against the trench in a pool of blood. But for his courage the enemy would have succeeded in a lodgement in our line.’

Jeremy Higgins says many railwaymen also served at sea and in the air. He would like to hear from anyone with information about individual railway workers who served in the Great War. ‘So far, I have researched 12,500 railway workers who died, but I am keen to find out more about those that came back. Over 180,000 railwaymen

served in the First World War. I don’t believe any other organisation contributed more. Of those, 20,000 died.’

The book, ‘Great War Railwaymen’

by Jeremy Higgins, is available from Amazon. For more information about the book e-mail: jeremy-higgins@hotmail.co.uk

drug dealer?

Child trafficker?

Pimp? paedophile? rescue worker?

alone and Every five minutes a child arrives India. in rm tfo pla y lwa desperate on a rai

HELP US GET TO THEM FIRST. CALL 01270 757 596

railwaychildren.org.uk/rescue

Yes! I’ll help your rescue workers reach even more children.

Here is my gift of £10

My own choice of £

I enclose a cheque/postal order/charity voucher made payable to Railway Children OR please debit my Visa/Mastercard/Switch/Maestro/CAF Card.

Security Code

Card No. Start Date Title

/ First Name

Expiry Date

/

Issue No. Surname

Address Postcode Email address

Telephone

Switch/Maestro only

Make your gift worth a quarter more – at no extra cost to you.

I am a UK taxpayer and I would like Railway Children to treat all donations that I have made, as well as future donations as Gift Aid until I notify otherwise. (Please tick) Signature Date I confirm that I have paid income/ capital gains tax, at least equal to the amounts of gifts made to all charities and Amateur Sports Clubs in the same tax year as the donation has been made.

I understand that VAT and Council Tax do not qualify.

We’ll never share your details with other organisations We’d like to let you know from time to time what we’re achieving with your money, and about other aspects of our work. You can always tell us, at any point, if you’d like us to stop, or only get in touch at certain times. If you do not wish to receive updates from us, please call us on 01270 757 596 Please return this form with your donation to: Freepost Plus RRHJ-ESZK-EYCG Railway Children, 1 The Commons, Sandbach, CW11 1EG Telephone: 01270 757 596. Email: hello@railwaychildren.org.uk www.railwaychildren.org.uk/rescue Reg charity number 1058991

O13RSF

OBITUARY

66 | RailStaff | November 2014

From Victoria to Victory:

Michael Sata Michael Sata, 77, President of Zambia and one time member of British Rail, has sadly died in hospital in London where he was receiving medical treatment.

Mr Sata swept to victory in Zambia’s presidential elections three years ago, at the head of the Patriotic Front party; his fourth attempt at the presidency.

Mr Sata, a committed Catholic and family man, held a variety of jobs in his youth, including a spell as a railway porter at London Victoria. He had previously worked on Zambia’s rail system and served there as a police officer.

A committed trade unionist, he remained a man of the people, with a hearty suspicion of intellectuals.

Born in Mpika in 1937 and from a

poor background, Michael Sata was largely self-educated, putting himself through GCEs in 1963. He went on to study Political Economy at Lomosonov State University in Russia and Political Economic Planning at the London School of Economics.

In the 1980s his political career took off when he was appointed district governor of Lusaka, the Zambian capital. Sata set about aiding the economic boom by strengthening transport infrastructure and building stronger bridges that symbolised his later political career. He went on to serve variously as minister for housing, social affairs and later health under the Frederick Chiluba administration.

Sata was an effective leader, able to outsmart civil servants and opponents alike with a ruthlessness

that earned him the nickname King Cobra. Sata dealt with Lozi secessionism in Western Zambia with his characteristic brusqueness.

However, he was a kind and deeply committed family man, and is survived by his wife, Christine and eight children. Sata believed in the unity of working people and helped meld Zambia’s 73 tribes into a unified and vibrant nation. Typically

he worked closely with Guy Scott, who became vice-president and is now interim president. Scott, born and bred in Zambia, is white. Sata put Scott in charge of relations with Chinese investors, of whom the president remained wary.

Michael Chilufya Sata died on 28 October 2014. ‘We will miss our beloved president and comrade,’ said Mr Scott.

Play your part in railway history Here at the National Railway Museum we are very proud to be recognised as the world’s leading railway museum and the most visited museum outside London with over 800,000 visitors each year.

Our visitors come from all over the world because they are fascinated by our collections and the story they represent.

As a national charity, we rely on the support of people young and old to preserve and care for our collections now and for the generations to come.

One way of supporting our work is to leave a gift to the National Railway Museum in your Will. A legacy gift of any size really does make a huge difference to our work and the future of the Museum.

As a Railway Magazine reader, we know that you care as much about our railway heritage as we do, so if and when the time is right for you to include a legacy in your Will, please remember us.

The National Railway Museum Development Team • Leeman Road • York • YO26 4XJ • 01904 686 285

RailwayPeople.com Fast track your career

Helping you find the right people for your projects since 2001

www.RailwayPeople.com

CAREERS

November 2014 | RailStaff | 69

Find more jobs at:

www.ata-recruitment.co.uk @ATA_jobs

GLOBAL REACH, LOCAL DELIVERY

Locomotive Technician

Rolling Stock Maintenance Technician

Salary

Senior Mechanical Engineer – Rail

Salary

£27,500 + shift allowance

Salary

£32,000

Locations

£45,000

Locations

Locations

Nottingham

Peterborough Opportunities now exist for experienced Locomotive Technicians to join a global leader in rolling stock maintenance.

The Role: • Planned preventative maintenance, repair and servicing of diesel locomotives to ensure fleet reliability.

• Fault-finding on both electrical and mechanical systems.

• Conduct modification programmes as required.

• Carrying out Safety Critical work to strict company guidelines and industry standards

Derby

The Role:

The Role:

Working with the production and engineering functions undertaking maintenance assessments on reliability to the relevant standards in accordance with rules, work instructions, method statements and company procedures.

With a ‘hands on’ approach undertaking daily fault diagnosis assessments and reporting the results to management.

To take responsibility for the delivery of work packages ensuring technical, quality, financial and delivery requirements are met whilst ensuring customer satisfaction. To contribute to the development of the capability and technical excellence of the Mechanical Engineering Department.

For further information on the above roles or to enquire about other vacancies with ATA, please contact the Rail team on: 01332 861326 or email your details to civils@ata-recruitment.co.uk referencing RAILPRO + JOB TITLE

WE’RE HIRING The QTS Group is one of the UK’s largest multi-discipline contractors, providing specialist services in Rail Engineering, Infrastructure and Training.

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We are looking to expand our workforce and currently have openings for the following positions: • Project Manager & CRE - Preston Office (LNW) • Project Manager & CRE - Wakefield Office (LNE) • Technical Bid Writer - Preston Office (MUST have Rail & Civils Experience) • Site Managers - (LNE & LNW) • Civils Graduate Engineers - Preston Office (LNW) • Rail Safety Critical Trainer - Drumclog Office (HQ) MUST be able to deliver PTS, COSS, ES,

Lookout, further competencies plus OTP Controller and Operator would be an advantage

We are always looking for new talent, so check our website regularly for any new openings or send your CV and covering letter to the email address below.

Email us your CV today

Recruitment@qtsgroup.com

We offer services such as railway contracting, civil engineering, training and drainage for the rail, transport, utilities and construction sectors. The company has grown to become one of the UK’s largest providers of rail contracting, working very closely with Network Rail and other major suppliers. With various engineering and infrastructure contracts, as well as providing market leading training courses, QTS Group is a one stop shop for most business needs. We are always looking for new additions to our team, so if you think you have what we need, get in touch. Visit our website to find out more about us.

CAREERS

70 | RailStaff | November 2014

Recruitment Open Day

Crewe

Traincrew Depot Manager Closing date: 28 November 2014

An opportunity has arisen for a Traincrew Depot Manager to join the Operations team at Crewe.

Reporting to the Senior Train Crew Depot Manager, the post holder will have total management and budgetary control and responsibility for driver standards for the Intermodal Traincrew based at Crewe.

A detailed knowledge of Railway Group Standards for Traincrew operations and rules and regulations is essential to ensure Freightliner remains compliant with its safety case in relation to Traincrew operations.

Candidates must have at least five years experience working with Traincrew, and have current Traincrew competencies, also be prepared to undertake rigorous training to meet the expected level of professionalism in all of the following:

Wednesday 19 November 3pm - 8pm

Newport Gwent Dragons Rugby Club Rodney Parade, Newport, Gwent, NP19 0UU Kier Infrastructure is expanding and we are looking for talented professionals in the disciplines below who want to join our exciting projects. We have secured a place on the Wales and Western CP5 Framework with Network Rail and have a visible workload in the region for 5 years plus. We are currently delivering Port Talbot Parkway Station Regeneration and Windsor Road Bridge.

• • • • • •

Financial awareness – training will be given for budget control Traincrew diagramming and traincrew management competencies Liaising with T & RS and Inland Logistic Centres as required Interpersonal skills and man-management skills Management of attendance and discipline Incident investigation, including Root Cause Analysis

There will be an “on call” commitment, working unsocial hours will not be uncommon, and there will also be a requirement for overnight stays.

The successful candidate must possess the following competencies: • Rules & Regulations • A1 competency assessment • Root cause analysis

• Signal sighting • Training and Briefing • Qtron download analysis

Full training will be given to exceptional applicants who do not possess the above competencies.

Freightliner is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Please note that the company operates a strict drugs and alcohol policy.

Please send all applications via email to: DeanC@Freightliner.co.uk or post to: Corinne Dean, Freightliner Ltd, Basford Hall, Off Gresty Road, Crewe, CW2 5AA

We are looking for: • • • • • • • •

Project Managers Site Managers Engineering Managers CEM Sub Agents/Agents Quantity Surveyors at all levels Planners Possession Planners/Planning Managers Design Managers

Subscribe to our free publications at www.railsubs.com

We are also looking for General Operatives and Skilled Labourers to join us on both our Wales and Western Network Rail Framework and on our Hinkley Point C Joint Venture Project.

If you are interested in joining our team, drop in anytime between 3pm and 8pm on the 19 November, where our senior team will be available for an informal discussion regarding vacancies.

If you are unable to attend or would like a confidential discussion, please email ben.gladston@kier.co.uk Please bring your CV, copies of your qualifications or competence certificates together with your Passport and proof of address.

Kier is an equal opportunities employer.

www.rail-media.com

Signalling the future of your career Signalling Solutions is a company formed by combining the complementary signalling resources and products of Alstom Transport Information Solutions UK and Balfour Beatty Rail Projects.

If you are looking for a new challenge and want to make a real contribution to the success of our business, we have opportunities across all our locations in the following disciplines: • Design • Testing • Planning • Project Management • Quantity Surveying • Installation Management • Project Engineering • Health, Safety and Environmental • Systems Engineering

If you want to work with a forward thinking company and the latest cutting edge technology, apply today.

In return for your commitment and contribution, you can expect an excellent package and the opportunity to shape your career the way that you want, with training, development and career planning.

All the advertised positions have the following benefits: We offer a competitive salary plus a range of benefits including a contributory pension and 25 days holiday.

To view and apply for our jobs please visit www.signallingsolutions.com/jobs.php

For further information, or to make an application: Tel: +44 (0)1923 635 089 email: recruitment@signallingsolutions.com

a Balfour Beatty and Alstom company

CHARITY

72 | RailStaff | November 2014

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