RailStaff November 2017

NOVEMBER 2017 | ISSUE 240

OH, WHAT A FEELING

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NEWS PEOPLE EVENTS HEALTH & SAFETY COMPANY FOCUS TRAINING CAREERS

Jack and Tamper Unit (Plain Line & S&C)

Capabilities • • • • •

Fully remote control S&C and Plain line tamping machine The JTU is specifically designed to be delivered by road and lifted onto track utilizing either machines on site or a lorry crane It is fitted with twin Kingshopher tamping banks (four tools each) these can be moved laterally and used independently to achieve access between the various obstructions within S&C and plain line The lift frame is fitted with clamps which can lift off the rail head and 50t lift and slew rams with capabilities of 300mm lift and 100mm slew The machine is compliant in accordance with RIS-1530-PLT Issue

Benefits • • • • • • • • • •

Fully remote control SPJT Removes the element of jacking and packing the track by manual labour Removes manual labour from a risk environment reducing fatigue Cant & Slew capabilities – there is no other machine of this size capable of carrying out the combined works S&C capability Compaction feet option to aid compaction between the sleepers Can be towed to site via another OTP Can be used independently (as well as combined with the complete concept) The next steps for the JTU – will be able to communicate with certain TMDs to allow for auto alignment The machine is compliant in accordance with RIS-1530-PLT Issue

For further information please email: david.richardson@stobartrail.com

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CONTENTS NOVEMBER 2017 | ISSUE 240

KILIMANJARO TREK RAISES £80K FOR STREET CHILDREN | 14 A team of 12 intrepid rail professionals has completed a seven-day expedition to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

THOUSAND PLUS FOR BORDERS RAIL | 16 The Campaign for Borders Rail celebrates reaching 1,000 members.

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017 | 23

16

Learn all about the winners of this year’s RailStaff Awards.

HIGH-SPEED EDUCATION | 74 Students have been welcomed through the doors of the National College for High Speed Rail for the first time as the country prepares to train a high-speed workforce.

HS2'S UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE | 76 How HS2 is reshaping the traditional approach to railway research and training in Britain’s universities.

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T H G I L T O P

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LIFE AFTER CROSSRAIL | 80 80

TfL and PROCAT will lead a new chapter at Crossrail’s Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA).

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Staff

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

NEWS

5

Hasta La Vista

Contact us: Publisher:

Paul O’Connor

Editor:

Andy Milne

Production and design:

Adam O’Connor

Production Editor:

Marc Johnson

Reporter:

Stewart Thorpe

Senior Writer:

Colin Garratt

Track Safety:

Colin Wheeler

Event Sales:

Jolene Price

Advertising:

Asif Ahmed

Craig Smith

Jake Flower

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Despite its current difficulties in Catalonia, Spain retains a strong hold on the affections of all who visit and dwell there.

The traditional greeting - Hasta La Vista, which did so much to humanise Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2, means until I see you again. A more whimsical translation might render it: Hasten the Vision. For where there is no vision the people perish.

RailStaff is published by RailStaff Publications Limited A Rail Media Publication

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© All rights reserved. No part of this magazine can be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

As Britain faces arguably its greatest challenge since May 1940 it is heartening to know that the rail industry is already hard at work coming together to provide the steelribboned highway of the future. Post-Brexit Britain will live or die by its ability to build new businesses and commerce, to tap into the resources and ingenuity of all its peoples.

Prominent among Britain’s assets stand our own fellow rail staff from every walk of life and every culture across continent and Commonwealth. © Shutterstock.com

Top grade transport is the essential channel, the artery, that carries the lifeblood of a determined and positive economy.

The industrial rebirth of the railway illustrates what can be achieved by drive and determination. Once condemned to managed decline, rusty rails and weed grown ballast, the railway never gave up. That it did not do so is in large measure a triumph for the staff who stayed the course, those who invested whole careers in the railway and braved derision for so doing. Take a bow!

In the Terminator series, the Schwarzenegger character turns from cyborg assassin to being on the side of the saints. It would be unkind to draw parallels between Arnie and our friends in Westminster but certainly almost everyone’s rooting for railways now.

The example of the railway resurrection should serve all who hesitate, who suffer loss, personal injury, tragedy and reversal. Rust can be polished away, weeds pulled up. The human spirit is indomitable, powerful beyond belief.

Develop a vision of the future that is entire, whole and completely satisfying. Commit to the vision and hit the road on the roaring engines of opportunity: Hasta la Vista baby, indeed.

This is my last editorial for RailStaff. I’m stepping down after 20 very happy years. Many thanks to Tom O’Connor and the team and our supporters right across the railway. Most of all my grateful thanks to you, personally, for reading these down the years. It’s been a pleasure. Vaya con dios! andy@rail-media.com "A 20-year partnership between editor Andy and myself as owner of Rail Media has been a unique and exciting experience.

My heartfelt thanks to Andy and I wish him every success in the future."

Tom O'Connor

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NEWS

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

Where Right and Glory Lead Prince Harry turned out to congratulate Network Rail recently.

The company’s work encouraging members of the Armed Forces to join the railway received the royal stamp of approval as representatives of Network Rail were presented with an Armed Forces Covenant Gold Employer Recognition Scheme award by HRH Prince Henry of Wales.

The Gold ERS award is the Ministry of Defence’s prestigious badge of honour for organisations who have demonstrated outstanding support for the Armed Forces community. The rail industry has a long tradition of supporting members of the armed forces - including serving Territorial Army members. The industry is keen to recruit services personnel. A significant number of Network Rail’s workforce come from an Armed Forces background.

Darin Gray has worked for Network Rail for 10 years and is a principal conformance engineer with one of its subsidiary companies, Network Certification Body. He has also been an Army Reservist for 28 years, serving as Corps Colonel for the Royal Engineers – motto Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducu - Where Right And Glory Lead.

Combining a reservist role with a civilian job is tough but highly rewarding. Says Darin, ‘Striking a balance between family, work, Reserves and some down time has been my hardest challenge but I’ve managed by prioritising things to maintain a healthy balance. Having a supportive employer has been instrumental to helping me achieve that.’ He went on, ‘I’ve had many opportunities to travel and train alongside highly gifted people including serving in Afghanistan for six months and a year as a full-time Commanding Officer.

‘I’m hugely grateful to Network Rail for supporting me…’

Jacobite rescue A stranded family of six canoeing in the Highlands of Scotland - were surprised when their call for help was answered with seeming promptitude by the legendary Jacobite Express steaming to their rescue. The train, which doubles as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films , was immediately familiar to the children.

The Cluett family were stranded when their canoe washed away during the night. Although warm and in no immediate danger in a

remote bothy in Lochaber, sensibly Mr Cluett - pastor of a church in Stirling - contacted police for advice. Rather than walk down the railway line - never a good option - local police arranged for the next train coming by to stop and pick them up.

‘I’m slightly sad because I’d lost my boat,’ Pastor Jon told reporters, ‘But the kids, when they saw the steam train coming! All sadness left their little faces and was replaced by excitement.’

Kind staff ushered them aboard and took them to a station nearby where they had left their car.

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HRH Prince Harry; Mark Carne; Leanne Wood, Network Rail defence engagement manager; Darin Gray; The Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP

Barmouth Bridge celebrates anniversary Barmouth Bridge, which carries the railway over the Mawddach estuary in Cardigan Bay, has celebrated its 150th anniversary. First opened in 1867, the single-track, largely wooden viaduct is a gradetwo-listed structure and one of the longest timber viaducts still in regular use in Britain.

It stretches 800 yards and is supported by 113 wooden trestles.

A special train composed of Riviera Trains’s Mark 1 carriages and hauled by DB Cargo ran from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli, travelling along the whole of the Cambrian Coast Line and over Barmouth Bridge. The service was arranged in collaboration with Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail.

Barmouth Bridge was built as part of the then Aberystwyth & Welsh Coast Railway and designed by the Welsh civil engineer Benjamin Piercy and English civil engineer and architect Henry Conybeare. They chose to build the bridge from timber as this was cheap to import and the material has stood the test of time,

despite several close calls.

The bridge was nearly destroyed in 1946 when a live naval mine washed ashore. The mine even brushed against one of the bridges wooden pillars, but did not detonate. In 1980 it was discovered that marine woodworm had eaten into 69 of the supporting pillars. This caused locomotive-hauled services to be banned and the bridge was later closed for six months for temporary repairs before undergoing major repairs between 1980 and 1986, re-opening to locomotive hauled trains once again on 13 April 1986.

Says Andy Thomas, route managing director for Network Rail in Wales, ‘Barmouth viaduct is one of the most iconic structures in the whole of Wales, connecting people for 150 years and boosting economic growth by bringing tourists to the area. We are working closely with Cadw and Gwynedd Council on our plans to refurbish the viaduct to secure its long-term future, so that it can continue to play a crucial role for the local economy for many years to come.’

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

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Rail college opens doors Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening MP officially launched the National College for High Speed Rail in Doncaster last month. With a second campus in Birmingham, the new college will train 150 students across both sites during the 2017-18 academic year. At full capacity the college will train 1,200 people a year.

The National College for High Speed Rail is part of an industry-wide strategy promoted by RailStaff - aimed at getting more young people to take up careers in railways. Engineering, design, planning and construction skills are essential as Britain looks to invest billions of pounds in modernising the rail network.

Over the next five years, rail chiefs estimate businesses in Britain will need 182,000 new engineers every year. Right now, the UK is falling short by 69,000 engineers a year.

The rail industry in particular faces even further skills shortages, with one in five rail engineers currently aged 55 or over. Britain’s long overdue move into high speed rail is set to create 25,000 new jobs including 2,000 apprenticeships. The HS2 effect means careers in the industry are set to become even more sought after.

The college will play a key role in generating the workforce of the future which

will design and build Britain’s new high-speed rail network and a rash of rail infrastructure projects. It has recently created the UK’s first Certificate of Higher Education (CHE) in High Speed Rail and Infrastructure, which people in Doncaster can now apply for.

Says Clair Mowbray, chief executive for the National College for High Speed Rail, ‘This is a momentous day at the National College for High Speed Rail, as we officially launch and welcome our first learners and apprentices into Doncaster. We’re extremely grateful to the Government, Doncaster Council, and all of the employers for the support the college has received to get to this stage. However, the work has only just begun; we want to make sure that we have a workforce that has the skills to not only deliver HS2 and other major infrastructure projects, but also become the pioneers of the UK’s new high speed rail industry. Now that the building is complete and fitted-out with the latest cutting-edge technology, our focus turns exclusively to our learners and building the capacity of the college to help solve Britain’s productivity crisis and engineering shortage.’

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said, ‘The college will play a vital role in training the thousands of skilled engineers needed to build HS2 and other projects right across the country. HS2 is crucial to ensure the Government delivers on its promise to spread wealth beyond London and the south-east.

Up to 25,000 jobs and 2,000 apprenticeships will be created by Britain’s new railway.

Another 3,000 people will operate HS2 and it is estimated that growth around new HS2 stations will create another 100,000 jobs. But as well as creating skilled jobs, apprenticeships and business opportunities, it will also mean real day-to-day improvements for people across the country by providing more seats and more trains for passengers across the North and the Midlands.’

Apprentice push for Manchester Manchester’s apprentices are in line for a cheaper commute, thanks to an offer from transport bosses.

The scheme, run by Transport for Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, means apprentices can receive a free bike or 28day travel pass to help them on their trip to and from work.

Eligible apprentices, who can struggle with transport costs as they are not entitled to discounted travel, can apply for the free 28-day travel pass – valid on all Metrolink trams.

Changyu Yang, apprentice at Longsight Police Station with his free 28-day travel pass, with Councillor Sean Anstee.

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NEWS

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

Boulderisation protects Settle and Carlisle Huge boulders are being used to protect the Settle and Carlisle Railway from the stormswollen torrents of the River Eden in Cumbria.

The railway, which runs 70 metres above the river, was forced to close for more than a year in February 2016 after a 500,000-tonne landslip.

Restoring the railway - an essential freight and passenger artery - required what has been described by Network Rail as one of the most complex and largest railway repairs history.

As part of the final phase of its £23 million repair, Network Rail’s orange army has packed 20,000 tonnes of “rock armour” into the banks of the River Eden to guard against erosion caused

by future heavy rainfall. Such erosion triggered last year’s land slip at Eden Brows, just north of Armathwaite, near Carlisle. The line reopened in March this year after more than a year of work.

Hard working rail engineers secured a vast concrete track base to the steeply-sloping bedrock of the Eden gorge.

Now if the earth gives way at this location in future, the railway will not. With the railway secured, Network Rail has since installed rock armour for added resilience.

Says Martin Frobisher, managing director of Network Rail’s London North Western route, ‘The future of this vital economic artery through Britain’s most beautiful landscape is secure, thanks to the work of our brilliant orange army.’

Actors, royals and kids salute Paddington Box office sensation Paddington Bear was honoured at his eponymous station when members of the Royal Family joined actor Hugh Bonneville and other members of the cast of the movie sequel, Paddington 2.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined Prince Harry at the station to greet 130 children from around a dozen of the 30 organisations supported by the Royal Charities Forum.

The children then sped off on a luxury Pullman express for a

day in the English countryside.

The Belmond British Pullman was hauled by DB Cargo’s Class 67 No.67014 on the outward leg and steam loco, ‘Tornado’ No.60163 on the return trip.

Queen congratulates diamond driver A former British Rail driver was surprised to receive a letter from the Queen.

All change?

No thanks!

‘Keep us on the train, even if it means a longer journey!’ That’s the message from passengers, according to Transport Focus.

Passengers prefer being kept on a train, for up to 40 minutes longer than usual, rather than switch to a bus when their journey is affected by planned engineering works.

Chief executive Anthony Smith said, ‘Welcome investment in the rail network does mean that there will be short-term disruption for some passengers. But there are ways of reducing its impact.

‘There have been some improvements in this area but we urge industry to continue putting passengers at the heart of planning for all new engineering works.’

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George Christie and his wife Margaret celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary recently. Mr Christie was occasionally seconded to drive the Royal Train.

Says Margaret Christie, ‘The card was a lovely surprise. We knew nothing about it.’

George and Margaret Christie

celebrated their special day with friends and family and were delighted to receive a letter from the Queen.

George, 88, and Margaret, 86, are both from Keith, in Moray - one time Banffshire - and met in 1953 at a bonfire held to celebrate the Queen’s coronation.

The happy couple were married in 1957 at St Rufus Church in Keith. They moved to Dundee in 1972.

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Scoffield takes top spot Ian heads GTR finance Chris Scoffield has stepped up to a new role as managing director of Galliford Try’s successful Rail, Aviation & Environment business unit.

Chris, previously the unit’s commercial director, succeeds Nick Salt following his promotion to managing director of the infrastructure division last month.

Chris joined Galliford Try in 2014 as head of work winning as part of the company’s acquisition of Miller Construction.

Says Nick Salt, ‘Chris has a wealth of experience in regulated public sector frameworks and will be responsible for growing our presence in the rail, aviation and environment sectors.’

Ian McLaren will be joining Govia Thameslink Railway as chief financial officer on 11 December.

Chris graduated from Loughborough University with a first-class honours degree in commercial management and quantity surveying in 2004. He is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors.

Currently finance and contracts director at London Midland - since 2014 - McLaren has worked in the transport, technology and professional services sectors and has held senior level appointments in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United States.

As well as leading GTR’s finance team, Ian will be responsible for procurement and IT activities. He replaces Wilma Allan, who is taking up the role of chief finance officer at London City Airport.

Sarah Barnes joins D2 Rail D2 Rail has appointed Sarah Barnes as its new programme information manager.

Sarah will be responsible for further developing D2 Rail’s Building Information Management (BIM), visualisations and information management services.

The objective is to implement information management strategies and introduce visual elements and techniques to rail infrastructure projects.

With over 10 years of experience in the rail and construction industries, Sarah has a strong background in document control, project controls, and information systems management.

Prior to joining D2 Rail, Sarah worked for engineering and design firm WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff as information systems manager and EDMS team leader. She was responsible for leading a team of specialists, which provided services including BIM, document control, CAD QA, 3D modelling, signal sighting, survey management and consents management.

Sarah also spent five years working for international engineering enterprise Laing O’Rourke, gaining programme management experience in both

construction and rail infrastructure environments in document control, project controls management and design management.

Says Sarah, ‘I am excited to be appointed as D2 Rail’s programme information manager and to be part of the success story of this innovative and forward-thinking business. My focus will be on instilling robust management strategies for my department across all projects we are involved in, and ensuring all design and delivery activities are compliant and of the highest possible standard. As a business, D2 Rail is constantly looking to improve its software development, and aims to continue to use BIM and visualisation techniques to benefit construction projects. I’m looking forward to being part of this process and using my industry experience and collaborative working skills to help the business achieve its goals.’

During her career, she has worked in pivotal roles on projects such as the HS2, East West Rail, Northern Hub, North West Electrification, and Manchester Metrolink.

Says David Diesbergen, managing director of D2 Rail, ‘I am delighted to welcome Sarah Barnes to the D2 Rail

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team, she will be a great asset in strengthening the existing team and in supporting our vision of becoming the rail industry’s preferred programme management consultancy and helping us continue to lead the way in project advancement.

Sarah’s vast industry knowledge and expertise will be crucial as she works to develop our BIM, visualisations and information management offerings to our clients. She will use her leadership skills to motivate and inspire, creating a positive environment for the team to succeed in.’

D2 Rail has been involved in several high-profile rail projects in 2017, including being appointed as the information controller for the Liverpool Lime Street station rail rejuvenation project and leading the project controls function on Network Rail’s Ordsall Chord project.

Says GTR chief executive Charles Horton, ‘I very much look forward to working with Ian and I know he’ll add real value to the business. His broad experience and intimate knowledge of the rail and technology industries will help keep our transformation of the GTR network on track to deliver a better railway and excellent service for our customers. I am very grateful to Wilma Allan, who has led finance teams in Govia for the past 15 years, for her very significant contribution to GTR. Her commitment and professionalism have been outstanding. She will be missed by me and many others across the company and I wish her all the best for the future.’

Taylor takes rail lead Daniel Taylor has been appointed as the head of Ford & Stanley Rail.

Says Daniel, ‘I have been blessed and privileged to work with some great people during my career as one would expect working for the likes of Rolls-Royce and the British Army. However that statement has never held more meaning than when referring to the team I have the pleasure of working with here at Ford & Stanley.

‘I’m delighted to be appointed as the “captain at the helm”; charged with excitement yet with absolute clarity and determination for what needs to be achieved in order to continue the phenomenal record of success the company has followed to date.’

Top team boost for All Foundations

RISQS-accredited piling and civil engineering contractor, All Foundations, has appointed two senior executives to secure the rapid growth of its rail and construction business.

Neal Willis joins from the senior management team at Expanded Geotechnical. Neil becomes All Foundations’ new operations director. Chris Henry joins the company from Van Elle as business development manager.

The appointments demonstrate a significant investment in senior talent at All Foundations, based in Blackwell, Derbyshire. The company has opened a new rail division and the construction side has experienced a strong 12 months.

The company purchased two additional Casagrande B175 XP piling rigs and installed

a comprehensive new site personnel training plan as it now operates on more sites than ever before.

Says Shahrooz Zojaji, director, ‘We are investing in specific talent to enhance and develop specific areas of the business. We are delighted to be joined by Neal and Chris, two people who represent the finest talent in the industry, who will help drive the business forward in the strategic key areas of construction and rail. Both have been handpicked to bring their specific skills to All Foundations, to the benefit of the business and our expanding client base.’

Neal Willis, who as resource leader for Expanded Geotechnical, was responsible for all plant and labour, will oversee many of the day-to-day business functions of All Foundations. Says Neal, ‘I was struck by the passion Shahrooz and the team have for the business, and the ambition they have to do things bigger, better and stronger, which is something we as engineers are always taught to strive for. The business is growing and so this is an exciting time to join. I am determined to use my experience to help continue to drive that growth.’

Arup makes highspeed appointment Arup has appointed experienced railway professional Andrew Went to a newly created role to head up the consultants highspeed rail business.

Andrew, who will become Arup’s global high-speed rail leader, previously worked for Network Rail as development director for Crewe Hub. He spent six years on secondment within HS2’s route engineering department.

As well as working on HS1 and HS2, Arup has helped deliver high-speed systems around the world, including in China, the USA, Portugal and Southaast Asia.

Says Andrew, ‘High-speed rail is one of a number of key components of an integrated transport system.

‘Within Arup’s global transport team, we work with clients to create an integrated and intermodal transport solution that links cities, urban areas and supports regeneration and economic growth.’

Says Stefan Sanders, Arup’s UKMEA rail leader, ‘Andrew is one of the industry’s leading experts in high speed rail, and his appointment presents an exciting opportunity for us to further develop our offering in the UK and globally. ”

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David joins SNC-Lavalin David Wells has joined SNCLavalin’s expanding UK Rail & Transit team as business development manager.

Wells was previously business affairs and industry engagement director at the Railway Industry Association. David ran RIA’s interest groups, which covered a broad range of railway disciplines, including track, energy and signalling. He also chaired crossindustry working groups on railway infrastructure competences and efficiencies.

During his 13-year career working with railway suppliers, David Wells has managed relationships with British and European infrastructure managers, train operators, safety and standards bodies, government departments and other railway organisations. His early career includes time at Mott MacDonald and in international trade.

As business development manager, David will work on behalf of SNC-Lavalin’s UK Rail

Infrastructure Systems product area, with account management responsibility for a portfolio of rail infrastructure sector clients.

David will strengthen relationships with existing RIS customers and expand the company’s client base, building upon the successes of the UK Control Systems, Route Systems and Energy Systems teams.

‘David joins SNC-Lavalin at an exciting time of change and opportunity,’ says Michael Grace, regional director, Rail & Transit UK. ‘His extensive railway supply chain knowledge, industry reputation and experience will help to drive the growth of our RIS service offering. We are delighted to welcome him to the team.’

New manager for SWGR SWGR has appointed Daniel Lovett-Horn as its new regional sales manager, based in Manchester.

Daniel has an extensive background in sales, working for recruitment agencies and payroll service providers.

Prior to joining SWGR he spent 10 years with umbrella accounting and payroll business ICS as sales manager. In his spare time Daniel is a keen musician and plays guitar in a heavy rock band.

Says Daniel, ‘The company is very ambitious and I am looking forward to helping it achieve success, through building on our existing client base and extending the portfolio of many of our customers with further specialist services.’ SWGR was established in 1988 as a provider of welding and construction engineering resources to the oil and petrochemical sectors. Now multidisciplinary, it supplies training,

manpower provision, minor works contracting, PPE provision, disaster recovery and occupational health services.

Says Terry Flynn, managing director of SWGR, ‘Daniel has been brought into the business to expand our sales provision within England. He will drive our growth strategy in the southern regions, looking to improve our performance and efficiency when delivering for key clients, as well as exploring opportunities for business with new customers. I am delighted to welcome him to the business and wish him every success during his career with us.’

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RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

Kosovo rail leaders visit Britain Rail chiefs from Kosovo have been over in Britain checking out railway safety as guests of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

The trip, in early October, was the second project arranged between IOSH and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Organisations represented on the trip were Kosovo Railway Infrastructure (Infrakos), train operating company, Trainkos, and the Kosovan rail regulatory body.

The EBRD is supporting the upgrading of the southern section

of what is known as Rail Corridor 10 in Kosovo. This railway links the Kosovo-Serbia and KosovoMacedonia borders.

Delegates visited Bombardier’s rail maintenance depot, the Great Central Railway and its recentlylifted bridge, and a level crossing.

They were given an explanation of IP signalling by Network Rail

Going Gran Paradiso

and Collis Engineering and also heard from IOSH Railway Group members working for national rail organisations.

Says Refet Citaku, from Infrakos, ‘We took many ideas from our visit, including revising our internal regulations and improving train facilities for disabled people. We will share our experience with the

FirstGroup's 10K graduate challenge The newest recruits to FirstGroup’s graduate scheme have embarked upon a charity fundraising challenge.

Staff from Advanced Resource Managers (ARM) have raised more than £20,000 for charity after scaling the Gran Paradiso peak in Italy.

The money raised will go to children’s hospice Naomi House & Jacksplace.

The intrepid climbers managed to make it within a hundred metres or so of the summit before they had to head back down for safety reasons.

Writing in a blog post following the climb, Mike Gawthorne, chief executive of ARM’s parent company Serocor, said, ‘In simple terms, it was amazing, humbling, physically challenging and very emotional. Every single person who took part said it was the most extreme challenge they had ever done.’

He added, ‘For a team of novice climbers, everyone did so well and pushed themselves to their absolute limit. It was an amazing adventure.’

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rest of the staff who did not have the chance to participate in this study tour.’

IOSH Railway Group chair Keith Morey said, ‘This is an excellent opportunity to collaborate with rail networks from other countries.

The delegates from Kosovo were very engaged and interested in what we showed them.’

Between now and next February, two teams of five will compete to raise as much money as possible for the company’s charity of choice, Prostate Cancer UK. To complete the challenge, the teams must plan a series of large and small events to meet their fundraising goals.

Last year’s graduates competed in a half marathon, organised collections on board buses and trains, and held a charity football tournament at Huddersfield Town’s football stadium. This year, the groups

have been set a further challenge; to beat the previous record of £10,000 set by their 2016 predecessors.

Says Sian Hilling of FirstGroup, ‘The Graduate Challenge is designed to help our new graduates develop their communication, financial management and planning skills.

By working as a team, they have an incredible opportunity to raise huge amounts for Prostate Cancer UK and help prevent more men dying from prostate cancer.’

Each team of graduates will receive just £100 in seed funding and will then set to work on creating a fundraising strategy.

They must use those resources to bank, at the very least, £2,500 by the end of February 2018.

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NEWS

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

Kilimanjaro trek raises £80k for street children A team of 12 intrepid rail professionals has completed a seven-day expedition to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and at the same time raise money for the charity Railway Children.

At a height of 5,896m, the group had to contend with the effects of altitude, including headaches, nausea and exhaustion to reach the summit of Africa’s highest mountain. All 12 successfully summited in the fastest time ever achieved by the group’s expedition leader who has now summited Kilimanjaro 24 times.

Says Katie Mason, events manager from Railway Children, ‘The support from our sponsor Turner & Townsend has been amazing and to have raised £80,000 is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved.

This is one of our toughest but most exhilarating adventures. Huge permanent glaciers flow down from the summit, beautiful ice formations and spectacular views of the sprawling savannah below are the reward for pushing their limits both physically and mentally. Funds raised from the trip will go directly to children in need in East Africa, India and the UK. From providing shelter, food, and clothing to medical supplies, education and counselling, we will be able to reach and transform the lives of so many more children.’

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After the trek, the group travelled to Mwanza in Tanzania to visit projects funded

by Railway Children and see at first hand what a difference their fundraising efforts will make. Work includes youth association outreach, work with street gangs, a short-term home and a drop-in centre. The centre meets the children’s immediate needs, including food, a wash and temporary refuge from the streets. The group also went on an early morning street walk and saw the desperate circumstances in which the children live, sleeping in plastic sacks huddled in shop doorways.

Patricia Moore, expedition team member and managing director for Infrastructure at Turner & Townsend, said, ‘Having conquered the mountain, our cherry on the pie was experiencing first hand Railway Children’s invaluable work in Africa. I was struck by how much the kids needed, not just the basics of food, shelter, education and healthcare, but human contact and kindness as well. The charity’s strategy of reunifying street connected kids with their families and working progressively with the family unit to strengthen it provides a sustainable and comprehensive solution to a complex problem. I am proud that Turner & Townsend was able to sponsor the expedition and I will

never forget waking up above the clouds, the mixed bag of rail industry professionals that went on to share some profound experiences and Railway Children who got us there.’

Andy Ridout, managing director of Advance-TRS, completed the mountain climb just a few days after crossing the line of his third ironman triathlon. Andy is currently trying to raise £100,000 for the charity.

Says Andy, ‘This challenge will be made a whole lot easier with your generous donations, and I can’t do this without your help. Any amount that you can donate will be warmly received and goes directly towards helping the world’s most vulnerable children.’

Railway Children’s next adventure ‘Ride India’ - will be a 450km bike ride through Rajasthan that also includes a project visit in Delhi. Fancy getting involved? Go to www.railwaychildren.org.uk/rideindia.

Bridget Rosewell (Volterra), Sadie Morgan (DRMM), Clare Alderson (Worldline), Jo Shepherd (Wordline), Patricia Moore (Turner & Townsend), Mark Whitehouse (Virgin West Coast), Peter Broadley (Virgin West Coast), Nigel Dorman (Virgin West Coast), Patrick McGrath (Virgin West Coast), Andy Spencer (Network Rail), Nevin Reddy (Bechtel) and Andy Ridout (Advance Recruitment).

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RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

The Campaign for Borders Rail now has 1,000 members - the dynamic campaign reached the milestone early in October.

Thousand plus for Borders Rail

Membership is at an all-time high. Campaign spokesman, Simon Walton, said this was a clear call to continue working for a through route across the Borders.

‘We have always looked on the huge success ofthe Borders Railway as a first phase towards our commitment to a railway that connects Edinburgh, Midlothian, the Borders and Carlisle. The full economic benefit, and the potential for a socially inclusive and sustainable network, can only be fully achieved by completing the rest of the line,’ says Simon.

‘The surge in our paid-up membership, and the many

thousands who view, follow and contribute to our social media channels prove there is an unfulfilled desire to give the Borders the boost they need through completion of this railway project.’

Balfour Beatty goes coast to coast Balfour Beatty Rail’s cycling team overcame two broken ribs and four falls over the course of a 969-mile bike ride to raised more than £32,000 for charity.

Cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats on the Deloitte Ride Across Britain (RAB) cycle ride, the team were battered by heavy winds and burnt up to 4,000 calories a day but finished the course in nine days.

The money raised will go to

Cancer Research UK, Unicef and Railway Children.

Balfour Beatty Rail managing director Mark Bullock, who led the team, said, 'Balfour Beatty’s thanks go to the RAB organisers and all those who donated so generously to the variety of charitable causes that are benefitting from our efforts.

'The 2017 RAB was truly an epic experience; and it is not over yet as the Balfour Beatty team are still accepting donations.'

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Buried treasure The secrets of Mesolithic stone tool makers, mysterious Roman skulls, and victims of the Great Plague are investigated in a Crossrail archaeology book series which brings to an end one of the largest archaeology programmes ever undertaken in Britain.

The construction of the Elizabeth line gave archaeologists a unique opportunity to excavate normally inaccessible sites from almost every significant period of London’s history. The analysis of tens of thousands of artefacts unearthed from over 40 sites across the capital has painted an extraordinarily detailed picture of London’s development and the lives of people who lived and worked in London.

Says Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail chief executive, ‘The Crossrail project has given archaeologists a once in a lifetime opportunity to study historically significant parts of London. We’ve uncovered tens of thousands of artefacts and items spanning 55 million years

and pieced them together to tell the story of this vibrant city and the people who have lived and worked here for 8,000 years.’

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

Memorial run for Paul McCann Rail staff from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) finished the Great Eastern Run at Peterborough in October in memory of their 32-year-old colleague, trainee driver Paul McCann, who tragically died running the same half marathon last year.

Best friend Reece Hill, 30, who secured his job as a train presentation team leader with GTR for Great Northern thanks to Paul’s help, joined co-worker shunter Gavin Smoker of Welwyn Garden City sidings on the 13-mile course. They were supporting Paul’s 60-year-

old father Mick and brothers Richard, 35 and twin Graham, 33, who also ran the course.

Reece said Paul’s death was heartbreaking, describing him as a ‘loveable character who always had a smile on his face.’

Paul was a father of two and died only weeks away from completing his driver training.

After completing the race in one hour 45 minutes, Reece, who works with Gavin at Welwyn Garden City sidings, said, ‘The race was emotionally draining. Before the start we tried to laugh our way through it but the moment I started running it just hit me - I was

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thinking he should still be here, running this, not me. After eight miles or so I stopped at a water station and just thought ‘I can’t go on,’ but one of the runners saw me and Paul’s name on my shirt and said ‘Keep going for Paul!’ and it got me started again. The support from everybody along the route was amazing.

Paul was very well known and respected in Peterborough.’

Paul died a mile from the end of the run in 2016 and this year’s event has raised over £5,500 for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) to pay for screenings of people aged under 35 to check for heart defects. The friends hope to reach £8,500 which will pay for a free screening session in Peterborough.

Last month, Great Northern and Virgin East Coast train drivers based at Peterborough took part in a memorial football match, with Great Northern winning 10-1, that raised £1,220. In June, GTR also named one of its newly-introduced Class 387 trains after Paul.

Says Steve Castle, Route operations assurance manager for Great Northern, ‘Paul was always positive about his training and was so passionate about becoming a train driver. He told me himself that it was a career he was looking forward to so much and saw it as a real privilege to drive trains over a very busy route.’

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RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

RISAS boost for Unipart Rail Rail industry supplier Unipart Rail has been certified by the Railway Industry Supplier Approval Scheme (RISAS), run

by RSSB. Unipart Rail was formally awarded its RISAS certificate on 28 October, after being certified in July 2017.

The RISAS scheme is the rail industry’s supply chain approval body for critical products and services. It was designed by the railway industry to assure that Safety Case Holders, such as Network Rail, the passenger and

freight operators and other major customers, can rely on the safety of the products and services of their suppliers.

Says Dr Steve Ingleton, engineering director, Unipart Rail, ‘We are very proud to achieve RISAS certification as it demonstrates that our processes and procedures deliver value to our customers whilst enhancing safety performance. Our internal processes for ensuring product quality, compliance with legislation and how we improve the supply chain’s performance and mitigate risks on behalf of customers were all thoroughly audited and the company passed with flying colours. This was a genuine team effort across our organisation to achieve the highly respected RISAS certification.’

Graeme Cox, head of supplier assurance, RSSB, welcomed Unipart Rail. ‘We are pleased to welcome Unipart Rail as a certified member of the RISAS scheme. The scheme continues to grow, and grow stronger, which is fantastic news for the rail industry, improving quality and safety,’ Graeme said.

Going for a logical song Network Rail has generated £35 million from the sale of its National Logistics Centre in Ryton, Coventry to the West Midlands Pension Fund.

Funds generated from the sale will be reinvested in the railway. As part of the sale agreement, the National Logistics Centre will be leased back to Network Rail with a 15-year term.

The sale follows external analysis which suggested introducing a new inventory and order system, meaning the site will eventually no longer be needed by Network Rail.

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Three Bridges depot open day success The Siemens open day at Three Bridges depot, one of the newest and largest maintenance facilities in the country, has been hailed as a great success.

Members of the public were able to check out new trains, take a walk underneath a train in the maintenance pit, sit in a driver’s cab, and ride in a simulator.

Rail staff were on hand to talk about the career opportunities at Siemens and in the rail industry generally.

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP officially opened the new £23 million TMD, which will be used by Northern Rail’s 30 diesel trains and will be a key part of the modernisation of the railway in the north of England.

Part of the wider Great North Rail Project, the depot was constructed by Network Rail.

Alongside the new maintenance depot,

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Northern is making a further investment in Blackburn with a new operations facility.

Opposite Blackburn station, the facility will provide a base for drivers and conductors working in the area.

Says Liam Sumpter, regional director at Northern, ‘The new depot has been constructed to the highest specification and features a six-track train stabling and maintenance building, as well as train washing and fuelling equipment. The

Blackburn site will house trains that will be re-routed following the electrification of the Blackpool to Preston line and, as such, is a vital part of the modernisation of rail in the north of England.’

Rail Minister Paul Maynard welcomed what he described as a big step in the transformation of rail services under the Great North Rail Project. ‘It also demonstrates what can be achieved when government, train operators and infrastructure managers work together to put passengers at the heart of everything we do,’ Mr Maynard said.

Says Andy Morgan at Network Rail, ‘By 2022 the Great North Rail Project will have delivered more than £1billion of improvements for customers across the north of England. By increasing capacity by 40 per cent, passengers will see more journeys on better, faster trains.

As we unlock capacity across the North as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan, Northern and TransPennine Express are upgrading trains and building new ones for customers.

‘We need to ensure there are facilities for these to be cleaned and maintained each night for the benefit of the thousands of customers who travel on them each day.’

efforts of everyone involved in this project which is a significant step towards making all of Scotland’s trains fully accessible.

This milestone, completed ahead of schedule, demonstrates the ways we are realising our aspiration of making journeys

easier, particularly for those passengers whose ability and choice to travel by rail relies on modern, accessible facilities on board. It is also a further example of the ways in which our £5 billion investment is building the best railway Scotland has ever had.’

Blackburn depot heralds Great North Rail Project The latest new train maintenance depot has opened at Blackburn in Lancashire.

NEWS

Scottish fleet accessible Eversholt Rail says all 133 of its trains in Scotland now meet accessibility standards for passengers with disabilities and passengers with reduced mobility.

Hard working staff have achieved this two years ahead of the legal deadline to comply.

With the re-entry into service of its final modernised Class 318 recently, all Eversholt Rail’s trains in Scotland are now equipped with audio-visual Passenger Information Systems, priority seating, wheelchair spaces, accessible toilets and contrasting handrails.

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YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

S L A N IO S S E F O R P L I YOUNG RA 7 1 0 2 K E E W L RAI

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uilding on the success of last year’s launch, Rail Week 2017 showed a new class of prospective rail professionals the exciting possibilities presented by a career in rail.

Held during the second week of October, this year’s Rail Week was supported by 80 organisations and saw 50 visits and events organised around the country.

Young Rail Professionals (YRP) - the campaign lead - estimates that the Rail Week message has continued to grow - this year reaching more than 3,000 young people and their influencers, who can include teachers, parents and careers advisers.

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JOINT INITIATIVE One of the events that signalled the start of this year’s Rail Week was the launch of a new joint initiative between train operator CrossCountry, the Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership (TVCRP) and Newcastle College’s Rail Academy. At its heart, the partnership aims to augment the classroom studies of the academy’s students by giving them more hands-on experience and access to rail industry staff.

CrossCountry’s managing director, Andy Cooper, said, ‘This partnership is a great opportunity for us all to work together to help the Academy’s students gain some real-life railway experience, which will add true value to their knowledge of the rail sector. The North East was the birthplace of the passenger railway, so it is fitting that we help the region’s students as they pursue an exciting career in helping build the railway of the future.’

Head of the Newcastle Rail Academy, Scott Johnson, said, ‘Our partners will bring enormous benefits to the employability of our students. The rail industry is a complex sector. Working with external partners provides our students with ways to better understand and experience the world beyond the classroom.’

Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership officer, Fiona Forsythe, added, ‘We are delighted to be a partner in this venture and already have many projects lined up for everyone to get involved in.

Helping the students experience how a railway works beyond the

classroom can only build their experience and chances of a career in the industry, and it is a joint relationship as they will have a chance to benefit the region and its rail users.’

AROUND THE COUNTRY Three hundred miles south in Chippenham, Siemens Rail Automation hosted a visit at its site, offering tours and posing engineering challenges for its visitors to solve. The company also opened the doors of its Three Bridges depot in Crawley.

There were examples of these kind of initiatives all around the country. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) ran daily events for undergraduate students in London, Network Rail visited John Ruskin College’s annual careers event in Croydon and key stage one and two pupils in Leeds visited a Northern Rail depot.

The opening of two new rail academies during the same week also helped raise the profile of the event. The National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) in Doncaster and Alstom’s new academy in Widnes both opened their doors in the same month.

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

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May-Ann Lew, Rail Week project lead, Young Rail Professionals and consultant at SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit, ‘Rail Week is our opportunity to showcase the range of different careers and skills in our sector and encourage people from all backgrounds to join rail.

‘There are so many exciting and innovative rail projects coming to fruition and it is essential we attract young people to ensure they are delivered. We have had loads of great events so far and the enthusiasm from teachers, students and the industry has been amazing.’

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said the railway had something to offer people from all different backgrounds. ‘I’m delighted to be supporting Rail Week, which highlights the huge range of careers, skills and opportunities open to people from every background. We want to inspire young people, to give them the chance to see that they can make a difference in the rail industry, and it is great that companies across our thriving sector are reaching out to schools, colleges and universities to attract the next generation of rail professionals.’

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2017 //

For the 11th year in a row, the RailStaff Awards proved it is never going to give up celebrating the sector’s people, never going to let them down, never going to run around and desert them. We chose an 80s theme this year – if you hadn’t already guessed.

The RailStaff Awards 2017 once again provided a platform to celebrate a handful of the most hardworking and talented individuals from across the rail sector. The 1980s theming will have left some with a warming sense of nostalgia, but with so many of this year’s 20 winners representing the next generation of rail industry professionals, the decade represents a by-gone era.

This year’s winners highlighted some of the highs and lows of what has been a difficult year for many. There was recognition for those who have supported major projects, such as the Mersey loop track renewal and the works at Waterloo station. There was also a well-deserved reward for the team that was on the front line of the terror attack at London Bridge station.

Opening the awards evening this year, Network Rail’s managing director, Phil Hufton, thanked the staff in London and Manchester who went well above their job description to support the public in some of the worst circumstances imaginable, but he also paid tribute to the room as a whole.

We’d like to congratulate all of this year’s nominees and winners for helping us to continue to make the awards better and better.

If you have a deserving colleague who you believe doesn’t get the recognition they deserve, get thinking about their nomination for 2018. Let’s do it all again.

All finalist and winner information from the night is available at www.railstaffawards.com 23

SERVICE WITH A SMILE OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD

//

It can be rare for good customer service to get the recognition it deserves. Customers are far more likely to write in with a complaint than with a complement.

The same can’t be said for this year’s Outstanding Customer Service winner, who has made a habit of collecting dazzling feedback from the passengers she meets.

PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE Nicola May, a train conductor with TransPennine Express (TPE), took home the 2017 award for her pleasant demeanour and professional attitude.

Her nomination for the RailStaff Awards followed recognition in FirstGroup’s internal awards for its rail, bus and transit staff around the world.

STAND

Her nomination included several examples of the kind of thank-you notes Nicola receives on a regular basis. In one example, she was thanked by a mum for posting back the shoe that her little boy had lost STAND STAND STAND under a train while it was leaving York station.

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Imagine you you Proud sponsor at The RailStaffImagine Awards 2017 for Outstanding could Customer Service Award detect thecould

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Nicola was unable to attend the awards evening so C19 C19 C19 her trophy was collected by Chris Nutton, major projects director at TPE. He said, ‘At TPE, we’ve got hundreds of excellent people working with customers, but Nikki really stands out.

Imagine Imagine Imagine youyou you detect the could could could detect detect detect the the the to the ‘Each and every day bringing her personality

tinythat changes… changes… tiny tinychanges… changes… service she gives on boardtiny our trains.

Always positive even in the most trying of circumstances, recognised by hundreds of our passengers through correspondents and social media.’

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– from the customers back into the organisation.’

He added, ‘We’re very pleased to sponsor this award, and I think we’ve got a very worthy winner there.’

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Highly commended: Faye Lambert, London Midland,

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

WATERLOO ENGINEER LEADS YOUTH CHARGE

RAIL ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

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It is easy to forget that the work undertaken this summer to upgrade Waterloo station and increase capacity on the South Western route represented the culmination of years of detailed design and planning.

Once completed, the Waterloo upgrade will increase the station’s peak-time capacity by 30 per cent. The works carried out in August now allow new 10-car trains to serve the station.

The achievements of those involved was celebrated at the RailStaff Awards, as one of the engineers at the heart of the scheme was named Rail Engineer of the Year.

A civil engineer by trade, AECOM’s Ana Walpole was recognised as an integral part of the team that has been supporting the design and construction work which is bringing the former Waterloo International platforms back into use. She was one of several younger engineers up for this year’s Rail Engineer of the Year title.

For the past couple of years, Ana has been supporting major packages of work for the structural design and assessment of the former Waterloo International Terminal to allow it to be brought back into use for domestic services. The terminal, which had been served by Eurostar services until 2007, reopened temporarily in August and will be fully reopened at the end of 2018.

WAKE UP MESSAGE Ana, who joined AECOM’s structures business in 2013 before moving over to rail, was nominated for the award by her director. Ana was unable to collect the award on the night as she was on holiday, but she didn’t have to wait too long to find out she’d won.

‘I actually woke up to a WhatsApp message the next morning,’ said Ana. ‘I was absolutely gutted to miss the awards ceremony.’

As well as her work at Waterloo, Ana has been heavily involved in a £1.5 million ‘Access for All’ project covering eight stations in the South East. The project has involved assessing the accessibility requirements of the stations and presenting various engineering solutions to Network Rail.

‘I absolutely loved it,’ said Ana. ‘I really like doing early stage design, looking at the whole picture and coming up with different solutions.’

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

Asked what drew her to a career in engineering, Ana said, ‘It’s down to my dad to be honest with you. He’s an engineer and without him I probably wouldn’t have thought about engineering.’

Ana has already received an ICE award for civil engineering, the regional Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation papers competition presenting on rail bridge assessments, and she also featured in the Women in Rail’s Top 20 Rising Stars of Rail.

Ana wanted to thank her director for the nomination and AECOM for arming her with the skills and giving her the opportunities that have led to the award win. ‘It was a great feeling,’ said Ana. ‘Initially I could not believe it.’

SECOND SUCCESSIVE FEMALE WINNER Ana is only the second woman to have won the Rail Engineer of the Year category since the first RailStaff Awards in 2007.

It is, however, the second year in succession that the honour has gone to a female nominee.

Ana, who sits on an equality and diversity board within AECOM’s rail business, said, ‘I’m definitely passionate about increasing the number of women in the industry, and I think we can probably do that in many different ways.’

Colleague Mihai Solomon, who picked up the award in her absence, praised Ana’s ‘inquisitive’ and ‘hard-working’ attitude.

Category sponsors Primat Recruitment said the talent and dedication of people in the sector had been the real driving force behind change over the decades and that, as a proud people-company, it was delighted to sponsor the award.

Highly commended: James Gatley, Linbrooke Servicesand Richard Errington, Stobart Rail.

Rail Engineer of the Year at the 2017 RailStaff Awards

RAIL ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

END OF A TOUGH YEAR FOR BTP //

One of the few uplifting things to follow major tragedies is the volume of praise reserved for members of our emergency services. Those who run towards danger when everyone around them is trying to escape it and those who put their own safety in jeopardy to care for the injured.

While this recognition is unarguably deserved there are some crews whose contribution often goes overlooked.

This year’s RailStaff Awards gave the industry the opportunity to thank a division of the British Transport Police (BTP) that members of the public seldom see but who have one of the most difficult jobs imaginable – a job made that bit harder over the past 12 months.

DVI TEAM

DVI officers have the unenviable task of identifying human remains from incidents where there has been a significant loss of life. The team is made up of policing staff and officers from around the country who work alongside investigating officers to respectfully recover the remains while preserving any forensic evidence.

In the past 12 months alone, the BTP team has been on the scene of the Croydon tram crash, Manchester Arena bombing and the London Bridge terror attack.

The DVI team are regularly called to incidents that extend beyond the railway environment. BTP still has two DVI teams deployed at Grenfell Tower and, prior to that, they had been dispatched to Ukraine to work on the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) and to Sousse in Tunisia where 38 tourists were killed by terrorists in 2015 – 30 of which were British.

Although upbeat about their award win, Byron explained how the past 12 months had taken its toll and described the various support mechanisms in place within BTP that help to identify when staff members may be struggling to cope.

Following the event, BTP’s Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, praised the work of his officers, ‘This is a fantastic achievement for BTP as once again the outstanding professionalism of our people has been rightly recognised by the industry.

‘The DVI team has shown exceptional professionalism in the work they have been involved with at the Croydon tram crash, the Manchester Arena terrorist incident, the London Bridge attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire. They have worked long hours in extremely unpleasant and difficult situations – their dedication has been exceptional.

‘I would like to congratulate the DVI team and the other teams from BTP who were finalists.’

The Rail Team of the Year category was sponsored by Total Rail Solutions (TRS). Total Rail Solutions is one of the UK’s leading providers of fully managed safety critical rail plant services.

TRS chief operating officer Paul Bateman said, ‘Firstly, we’d like to congratulate all of this year’s nominees and winners.

We’ve relished the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our colleagues in the industry, especially those who seldom receive the recognition they deserve.

RAIL TEAM OF THE YEAR

‘It’s been a very tough year,’ said Byron Chamberlain, a Scenes of Crime Supervisor for BTP, collecting the Rail Team of the Year award on behalf of the BTP’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONALISM

‘It would be an understatement to describe this year’s Rail Team of the Year as worthy winners. It’s difficult to imagine the scenes they’ve witnessed and the challenges they’ve faced over the past 12 months. Hopefully, this award shows how much we all appreciate the work they do.’

Highly commended: Old Oak Common Open Day Team, Great Western Railway, and MTR Crossrail Travel Safe Team.

Collecting the award alongside other members of the DVI team, Byron said, ‘You don’t know how much this means, seriously.

And it means so much not just for BTP but for the London region; for our colleagues from the Met, our colleagues from the city.’

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR SIGNALLING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 30

SIGNALLING SUCCESS //

Praised for helping nurture and develop another Network Rail team, IP Signalling Northern LNE’s Construction Team has won the Signalling and Telecommunications Person or Team of the Year award at the RailStaff Awards.

Based out of George Stephenson House in York, the team – working with the Works Delivery Special Projects team – has delivered several major resignalling schemes over the last few years, including North Lincs, Ferriby to Gilberdyke, Brigg, South Kirkby and Huddersfield to Bradford.

In each case, IP Signalling Northern LNE has acted as the principal designer and Works Delivery Special Projects as the principal contractor. Over the course of the last four years, IP Signalling Northern LNE has helped Works Delivery Special Projects grow as a principal contractor – this progress has been reflected by PC License audits and independent CDM audits.

The nomination read, ‘We could not have been as successful as we have been, won the awards we have or been in a position to embrace technology like we have without the support of the IP Team, specifically the construction team lead by Ian Short.’

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

NEW TECHNOLOGY The partnership has enabled the Works Delivery Special Projects team to trial new technology and ways of working that are now being employed in other areas of the business.

Proud sponsor of the RailStaff Awards 2017

Senior construction manager, IP Signalling Northern LNE, Ian Short said he was ‘really proud’ when he found out his team had been recognised. ‘I think mainly because teams like mine who work days, nights and weekends on the front line make things happen without being that visible.’

DIFFICULT TO PICK WINNER Founded in Sweden in 1975, Westermo has been developing industrial communications systems for more than 40 years. The company supplies components for railway communications networks around the world.

Phil Mounter, sales manager at Westermo, said, ‘Westermo are proud to sponsor the RailStaff Awards – in our category Signalling and Telecommunications Engineer / Team of the Year. There are so many people who are deserving of this award it is always difficult picking out a winner.’

Highly commended: Works Delivery Signalling Scotland Route and Siemens Rail Automation Test Team – Manchester.

PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

Reliable and Versatile Train Networks

SIGNALLING AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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SALUTE FOR LONDON BRIDGE STATION STAFF at London Bridge station could never have been fully prepared for the events that // Staff unfolded on the evening of 3 June this year.

Three attackers took the lives of eight people and injured many others outside of London Bridge and Borough Market just a couple of weeks after the tragic events in Manchester.

STATION THE YEAR YEAR STATION STAFF STAFF OF THE

Members of Network Rail’s London Bridge team, who normally fill their days helping passengers with heavy luggage, checking tickets and dispensing the latest service information, found themselves at the centre of a truly horrific scene.

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The team’s bravery and well-measured response has won them the Station Staff of the Year category at this year’s RailStaff Awards on what was a visibly emotional night for everyone involved.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

AMAZING PEOPLE

INSPIRING

As panic took hold outside the station, staff members inside remained calm. Their decision to lock the station down rather than evacuate may well have saved lives. The team also conducted a full sweep of the station for any suspect devices and cared for the distressed people outside of the station, providing blankets, drinks and opening up the station’s toilet facilities.

Station Staff of the Year was sponsored by the Transport Benevolent Fund (TBF) – a registered charity which offers support to transport industry members and their dependants in times of need, hardship or distress.

Arron Raimbault was working in the control room on the night of the incident. He said, ‘No one’s ever prepared for anything like this, but the really good thing is that we are provided with really good training, we are provided with some amazing people and amazing staff, so we’re able to deal with anything that does arise.’

Ian Barlex, TBF development director, said, ‘The attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market were deeply upsetting and you can only admire the composure of the London Bridge team.

‘Those on the front line of our industry have so much to contend with. It makes the professionalism and compassion shown by the team that night all the more inspiring. All those involved deserve our full support.’

Highly commended: Caroline Horne, South West Trains and Marie-Claire Duffy, Virgin Trains.

The nomination gave a special mention to the shift station manager, Adrian Suter, who was there on the night to collect the award.

Reflecting on the award win, Adrian wanted to thank colleagues at Southeastern and GTR. ‘On the concourse, supported by our TOC colleagues, we delivered flagship customer service and welfare to our stranded passengers and members of the public who had ran to the station as a safe haven during the attack.’

He added, ‘In the wake of the incident, I believe it’s something that will change those involved in it forever but displayed a true show of unity across the station in delivering for our customers.’

TBF is proud to sponsor the 2017 Station Staff of the Year award.

With the help of the TOCs, Network Rail and other employers throughout the public transport industry, TBF now has over 52,000 members.

For just £1 a week, a wide range of financial, health and welfare benefits are available to you, your partner and dependent children if you work in the public transport industry... ...people just like you!

STATION STAFF OF THE YEAR

Later on during the awards ceremony, Arron was called to the stage for a second time as the winner of the Rail Person of the Year category. He went on to describe the camaraderie that exists within the London Bridge station team, ‘I mean especially in London Bridge. They come together as a family; not just in big, major incidents but in the smallest of ways. Everyone here has everyone’s back and it just shows in the work that we do.’

0300 333 2000 etd 00 38571 www.tbf.org.uk Transport Benevolent Fund CIO, known as TBF, is a registered charity in England and Wales, 1160901, and Scotland, SC047016.

TBF_People_90x130.indd 1

13/03/2017 16:33

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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RECRUITER / HR PERSON OF THE YEAR 34

RAIL’S TOP RECRUITER Peach’s contribution to rail recruitment was recognised at this year’s // Danielle RailStaff Awards as she took home the Recruiter of the Year award.

Nominated for her drive and professionalism, Danielle ‘wins over candidates and clients alike with her knowledge of roles, the industry and the wide range of services Ford & Stanley can offer’.

TOTALLY UNEXPECTED

Despite having only joined in June last year, the talented contract and interim recruitment specialist has progressed from a trainee to become one of the Derby-based company’s key employees. She was described in one nomination as ‘a credit to her profession’.

‘I’ve been very personable with my contractors and worked closely with them to make sure they – and the clients – are happy.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

Danielle said, ‘This is totally unexpected. There were so many incredible candidates in the nominees that I didn’t think it was going to be me – I’ve only been doing this a year.

‘I love this job. I love being able to get out of the office and talk to different people.’

Sport Games www.railsport.uk FANTASTIC FIRST YEAR

Ford & Stanley’s head of rail recruitment Daniel Taylor added, ‘Danielle has registered a fantastic first year introduction to the industry – this has been underpinned

by Ford & Stanley’s People Programme of realising and harnessing natural talent and potential.’

Paul O’Connor, from category sponsor RailSport, said, ‘Danielle may have only been part of the industry for a short time, but her contribution has clearly not gone unnoticed.

Cheering on people at all stages of their career is vitally important. The rail industry needs to continue to provide a supportive environment if it is to continue to attract the best talent.’

Highly commended: Adam Razzell, ARM and Ossie Phipps, Costain.

Sport It’s a Knockout!

Sport Badminton Sport Chess Sport Cricket

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Recruiter / HR Person of the Year Sport Recruiter / HR PersonDarts of the Year

RECRUITER / HR PERSON OF THE YEAR

Refusing to rest on her laurels, Danielle said she will now be working towards moving up the ranks at Ford & Stanley and to grow a team of contractor specialists.

Sport Winners

Sport Football Sport Hockey

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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A YEAR TO REMEMBER //

It has been a remarkable year for permanent way technician Rebecca Munro. She came into the RailStaff Awards having already been named as the best apprentice in the country twice this year and left with her third trophy of what’s been an incredible 12 months.

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

In her nomination, Rebecca was described by a colleague as a ‘star of the future’ and a ‘superb ambassador for the industry’.

Rebecca, one of only two female students out of a class of 80, achieved the top grade in her Advanced Technical Apprenticeship and is now completing a Higher Level Apprenticeship.

Rebecca’s dedication to her craft is clear. She attends college one day a week – a journey of around 110 miles.

The 21-year-old is already having a positive influence on her organisation. Alongside her day job, she has been appointed as the corporate and social responsibility representative for Mott MacDonald’s York office – a role which has seen her spearhead various charity and community outreach projects.

FANTASTIC RECOGNITION After walking off stage, Rebecca said she hopes the award will encourage other women who are looking at a career within the rail industry.

Rebecca, who is from the village of East Heslerton between Malton and Scarborough, said, ‘I’m so proud I’ve won the award, and I think it’s a fantastic recognition for other women going into the industry to show where you can go with it.’

Rebecca has already achieved her EngTech from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

She performed so well in her interview that her reviewers nominated her for the ICE’s Jean Venables Medal – an honour named after a former ICE president. She now hopes to go on and become an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) with ICE and eventually work towards chartership.

Rebecca, who studied at Norton College prior to joining Mott MacDonald in 2014 as an apprentice civil engineer, explained why she chose to pursue a career in engineering, ‘It’s such an achievement to say I designed this and there’s thousands of people using it every day.’

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

RISING STAR Neil Henderson, railways director, Mott MacDonald, said, ‘Becky is a rising star in the rail industry. She has excelled at college, is hardworking and puts her heart and soul into everything she does. Becky is an important member of our rail team in York and has applied her learning to great effect.

‘She recently received her EngTech from the Institution of Civil Engineers and has already won several prestigious awards in recognition of her excellent work during her short career.

‘Having managed Becky since she joined us, I have seen her go from strength to strength in her professionalism and technical ability.

Additionally, her personal commitment to helping others through various corporate social responsibility activities and mentoring schemes is admirable.

‘It is clear from this dedication that Becky is a deserved winner of the 2017 Apprentice of the Year award as she is a great role model for other apprentices.’

The Apprentice of the Year category was sponsored by global engineering leader AECOM. In the UK, AECOM is supporting major infrastructure schemes like Crossrail and HS2.

Russell Jackson, AECOM’s head of rail, UK&I and Europe, Transportation, said, ‘AECOM is proud to have sponsored the Apprentice of the Year category, and we were incredibly impressed by all of those shortlisted for this year’s award. Attracting talent through a variety of different routes will be key to building capacity and key skills in the infrastructure sector.

‘AECOM believes that encouraging more young people to apply for apprenticeships will be crucial to this long-term approach.’

Highly commended: Christopher Brazier, AECOM and Marisa Bajerski, Network Rail.

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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PROJECT MANAGER OF THE YEAR

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

STAR IN THE IT CROWD contributions of some employees are often clear to many but not always tangible. // The Amritpal Brom’s contribution to the train operator CrossCountry is difficult to ignore.

Amritpal helped to introduce a new IT system that has saved the operator half a million pounds – an achievement that has won him the Project Manager of the Year award.

As well as implementing a new high-speed internet link and delivering a new delay repay solution, he oversaw a complex project to migrate a critical business system.

FASTER SYSTEM Amritpal, who has worked for CrossCountry for two years, said, ‘I’m really shocked to be honest, I did not expect to win… It’s nice to know that people have appreciated my work.

‘There are a whole host of changes we are making at CrossCountry, bringing all the IT infrastructure up to the 21st century, and beyond actually, trying to get ahead of the game and give everyone the right tools to be able to run the trains on the tracks smoothly.

UNSUNG HEROES The Project Manager of the Year category was sponsored by the Network Certification Body (NCB).

Craig Young, who picked up the same award in 2016, said, ‘NCB has evolved in the last few years to introduce project management within the business. This has allowed us to have a greater focus on our project deliverables and improve our customer service. When choosing the Project Manager of the Year we were looking for someone who has made the greatest impact in their role, with a strong focus on their customers.

‘Amritpal came across in his nomination as someone who has gone above and beyond and made a significant change in their business.’

He added, ‘Project managers make sure everything fits in the right place at the right time, it’s one of those unsung hero kind of roles.

‘You might just assume that projects are delivered without any issues, but really someone’s working hard behind the scenes to ensure everything is on track to time and to budget – it’s people like Amritpal who bring all these big projects together.’

Highly commended: May-Ann Lew, Young Rail Professionals and Jamie Howells, Poise Group.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

PROJECT MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Described by colleagues as having a hunger to deliver results beyond expectations, Amritpal is known to roll his sleeves up and help out where needed.

‘One of the great things about IT is that when you deliver something, you can see the reaction, see the users using a faster system that you might have implemented. That benefit at the end is great.’

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INFRASTRUCTURE OR PLANT PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

PLAUDITS FOR SILICA DUST CAMPAIGN

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

Everyone now knows about asbestos but the campaign has shown that the problem goes much further and there’s one area that poses a particular risk to frontline track workers.

Over the past few years, the rail industry has been waking up to the dangers of ballast dust, or crystalline silica to give it its scientific name. Silica dust is produced when drilling into things like concrete, bricks or tiles. Railway workers are also at risk of inhaling silica dust when unloading and handling ballast.

RAISE AWARENESS A team at Doncaster-based VolkerRail won this year’s Infrastructure or Plant Person or Team of the Year category for leading a campaign within the business to tackle the risk of its workforce developing the life-threatening lung condition silicosis.

extra special due to both receiving their accolades for the efforts they have made in making the railway safer.’

HEALTH AND WELLBEING Scott Harrison, a commercial director at category sponsor SPX FLOW, said, ‘Our SPX FLOW teams spend quite a lot of time on track actually doing some of the installation work, supporting the contractors. We see ballast dust as being one of the critical factors on site for health and wellbeing.

This is just such a positive move forward.’

Highly commended: Paul Murphy, Keltbray Rail and Dover Sea Wall Project, Network Rail.

VolkerRail’s ‘Positive Intervention to Control Exposure to Ballast Dust’ initiative is an internal training programme developed by the company’s Supervisors Forum.

The programme has taken various steps to protect its employees from the risk of ballast dust, including holding briefing sessions to ensure staff are competent in using fullface fitting masks and fully understand the long-term health risks they could be exposed to by not following good safe practices.

Jack Pendle, engineering director for VolkerRail, said, ‘As far as the guys who actually did all the work for this, we’re absolutely thrilled for them. It was an absolutely quality thing they did. It’s a real issue for the industry and the work they’ve done is a real step forward.’

Manufactured in the U.K., SPX Rail Systems provides point operating equipment through the Clamplock brand, as well as level crossing barriers.

INFRASTRUCTURE OR PLANT PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

//

Around 8,000 people die every year in Britain from occupational cancers. This was one of the concerning figures that was highlighted by the IOSH-fronted ‘No Time to Lose’ campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of the risk of work-related cancers.

He believes the award will help to further highlight the risk posed by silica dust to track workers.

‘This is the new asbestosis as far as I’m concerned,’ said Jack. ‘This is an absolutely positive step forward. We’ve got a massive health and wellbeing programme in VolkerRail and this was one of the major issues we’ve got.’

VolkerRail’s HSQE manager, Seth Harrison, was also highly commended in the Rail Safety Person of the Year category – a strong endorsement of the company’s health and safety culture.

Ken Robinson, VolkerRail’s specialist businesses director, said, ‘Our employees are the heart of our company and their efforts and dedication are what make us the success we are today. This result is a great achievement and has been made

Tel: + 44 (0)208 526 7100

www.spxflow.com RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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PIONEERING SPIRIT Trains’ Nick Chadwick, who is credited with creating and managing the first driver // Virgin apprenticeship programme in the UK, has been named Rail Manager of the Year.

In his nomination, Nick was described as a ‘visionary leader’ and praised for fostering a positive culture change throughout the company.

RAIL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

As well as his work around apprenticeships, Nick has been the driving force behind new communications strategies designed to better integrate train drivers into the workforce.

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One way he achieved this was establishing a reward scheme which gave drivers the opportunity to gain credits for excellent performance that could be exchanged for gifts.

Since the reward scheme was introduced, the company has seen a 300 per cent increase in the number of drivers achieving a perfect simulated assessment performance.

DRIVER ACADEMIES Shortly after coming off stage, Nick said, ‘The nomination came from a guy who worked with us for a year. He’s gone back to Northern Ireland but he recognised all the things I’ve been trying to do with driver management in terms of change, driver engagement and bringing in new ideas.

‘We started the driver apprentice scheme and we also do a lot of work on driver support post incident using a company called OPC.’ Nick also responded to recent reports about proposals to create new train driver academies. He felt their introduction could have a positive impact. ‘When I go back to the days when I did driver training with British Rail, we had regional train centres, which is the same sort of blueprint of what is trying to being achieved in the industry now.’

He added, ‘It’s about encouraging young people into the industry, making the train drivers of the future and being as diverse as possible.’

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

DELIGHTED The Rail Manager of the Year award was sponsored by recruitment company Advanced Resource Managers (ARM). The company’s head of rail, Adam Razzell, said, ‘We’re delighted to have presented Nick Chadwick with the award for Rail Manager of the Year.

Highly commended: Karen Sherwin, Great Northern and Clare Williams, Southern.

+44 (0)2392 228 228 rail@arm.co.uk www.arm.co.uk

RAIL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

‘We work with managers across many different organisations and Nick’s nomination stood out – especially his work on the driver apprenticeship programme and reward strategies.’

The experts in rail recruitment

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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RBF ‘HEART OF GOLD’ AWARD FOR CHARITY

FINDING A HEART OF GOLD //

The fallout from the Grenfell Tower fire was felt by communities across West London. For an operator like Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which reaches across the capital, its impact was felt by staff and passengers alike.

Determined to support staff across the network and raise money for the Grenfell fire victims, GTR employee engagement manager Paula Hilliard helped organise collections at some of the network’s busiest stations, including King’s Cross, London Bridge, St Pancras, Croydon and Brighton.

Paula and her army of collectors had hoped to raise a couple of thousands of pounds to support those who were caught up in the tragic blaze. In less than a week, they had collected more than £12,500.

Paula, who has worked in the industry for 21 years, won this year’s RBF ‘Heart of Gold’ award for charity.

She added, ‘I am really humbled to have won this award. I see my job as a team effort, supported by station managers, frontline teams and head office.

‘I’m proud to work for GTR – it really is a great company which does a lot to help people less fortunate; the work I do genuinely wouldn’t be possible without the support that I get from across the business. Because of this, this award has been accepted on behalf of everyone in the company that’s helped to raise money, or supported with the Prince’s Trust programme.’

PRINCE’S TRUST Although her fundraising for Grenfell featured highly in her nomination, it wasn’t the only thing to gain the admiration of her colleagues. Paula also coordinates the operator’s programme with the Prince’s Trust, which offers employment opportunities to young people from the local community, and she also oversees the company’s other charity fundraising activities.

Referring to the Grenfell collections, Paula said, ‘It was just something that everybody wanted to get involved in, but we had to turn it round really quickly because we wanted to make sure the money got there as quickly as possible.’

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

Charles Horton, GTR’s chief executive officer, said, ‘Many congratulations to all our colleagues who received richly deserved nominations for the RailStaff Awards.

‘Paula has worked tirelessly with young people as part of GTR’s ‘Get into Railways’ programme with the Prince’s Trust, and more recently has organised fundraising support for a number of young football teams.

‘I would also like to recognise and warmly congratulate our other shortlisted colleagues and teams who have all worked so hard. It’s great to see them commended by the wider industry.’

Charity No. 206316

RBF ‘HEART OF GOLD’ AWARD FOR CHARITY

Heart Award

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RBF PAULA HAS AN ’ ‘HEART OF GOLD

a Well done, Paul

WONDERFUL INDUSTRY The award was sponsored by the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) – a charity which provides support to its rail industry members in times of need.

Faye Jaques, fundraising manager at RBF, said, ‘The quality of nominations was just fantastic this year. Each entry truly showed what a wonderful industry we work in and highlighted the exact personalities we wanted to celebrate, those with a real heart of gold.’

Highly commended: Lesley Soane, Network Rail and Kev Adlam, Branch Line Society.

Heart of Gold Award

Charity No. 206316

Heart of Gold Award

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RAIL SAFETY PERSON OF THE YEAR

SAFETY ABOVE ALL ELSE safety performance of Freightliner’s Birmingham terminal was recognised with a win in // The the Rail Safety Person of the Year category.

Freightliner’s operations manager Adrian Pattison and multi-skilled operative Mark Neal shared the title at this year’s RailStaff Awards. They explained how millions of pounds have been invested to improve safety since the freight operator was taken over by American firm Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) in March 2015. The company’s vision is to become the safest rail service provider in the world.

SAFETY OVER PERFORMANCE Safety supersedes performance in G&W’s business culture, said Adrian, which is driven by a goal of zero workplace injuries.

In September, with workers encouraged to take personal ownership of safety, championed by the management team, Freightliner celebrated 1,000 days injury-free across 12 of its sites.

Adrian added, ‘Since G&W took over Freightliner, its emphasis on safety has been above everything else. Safety is its number one.

‘They have introduced a number of initiatives into Freightliner to bolster what we were already doing.’

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

OPEN-DOOR POLICY Adrian and Mark have worked particularly hard to improve communication within the business, leading tri-monthly safety committee meetings and working closely with colleagues in Birmingham to deliver local safety briefings and training sessions. The pair also encourage an open-door policy when it comes to reporting any potential safety issues.

Adrian added, ‘We have been nominated by our terminal but all Freightliner terminals have been installed with this.

‘It’s an award not just for me and Mark and Freightliner in Birmingham but the company as a whole, for everybody that has taken safety onboard and promoted it within every department and every terminal.’

The Rail Safety Person of the Year award was sponsored by RSSB. Set up in 2003 in the wake of the Ladbroke Grove disaster, RSSB is a not-for-profit organisation which is funded by the industry to share insights and industry best practice around health, safety and wellbeing.

RAIL SAFETY PERSON OF THE YEAR

Graeme Cox, head of supplier assurance from RSSB, said Adrian and Mark’s contribution reached right down to the grassroots level.

He added, ‘The subject of safety can turn a lot of people off but it’s great that Freightliner has brought it to life.’

Highly commended: Seth Harrison, HSQE manager at VolkerRail and Jay Thompson, head of safety, security and sustainability at Greater Anglia.

Proud to sponsor

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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FROM TICKET OFFICE //

When Kai Gohegan joined the rail industry, it was meant to be a stopgap. He arrived at Southern 13 years ago, working in the ticket office of stations on the East Grinstead and Uckfield lines. Now he’s responsible for planning the maintenance for the entire GTR fleet – some 500 trains.

DEPOT STAFF OF THE YEAR

Kai said it was a ‘massive surprise’ to hear his name being called out as the winner of the Depot Staff of the Year award at the 11th annual RailStaff Awards ceremony. The Depot Staff of the Year category was sponsored by security service provider Land Sheriffs.

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‘To be honest it was just nice to come, have the pat on the back and even be included,’ said Kai, who is now based out of the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) control centre at Three Bridges in Crawley.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

TO CONTROL ROOM

Kai’s nomination relates to a piece of web-based software – called Rail Tech Software (RTS) – that he developed which is now being used to plan fleet maintenance across the vast GTR network. Kai, who has no formal qualifications in computer software development, said he sat down one summer determined to come up with a better solution to the outdated paper-based system that was being used at the time.

Nominators described how much the system has improved the accuracy and speed at which important fleet data can be shared around the business.

One wrote, ‘Not being one to rest on his laurels, Kai is continually tweaking these systems always looking to make them faster and simpler for users.

At the same time, he has also developed an app for phones and is currently preparing for the introduction of iPad use which will offer greater flexibility for our teams and further streamline current arrangements.’

The system only went live in January and there are already plans to develop new applications. Says Kai, ’I’m massively proud of what I’ve managed to achieve over the few years but more so because of the feedback I get; genuinely it makes people’s lives easier which is always a good thing.’

DEPOT STAFF OF THE YEAR

RAIL TECH SOFTWARE

MODERNISATION PROGRAMME GTR chief executive Charles Horton said, ‘Kai has overhauled various different systems used to manage train maintenance, and developed a concept for a central system which has sped up processes across the depot.

‘We are excited for the years ahead – GTR is in the midst of a modernisation programme which will offer so much to so many, and the selection of our colleagues at the awards ceremony are very much part of and deserve to be proud of that.’

Highly commended: Scott Wild, CrossCountry Trains and S&C North Alliance Doncaster Depot.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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SAMARITANS LIFESAVER AWARD

EVERY INTERVENTION COUNTS

TALKING SAVES LIVES Samaritans is proud to sponsor the Lifesaver award at this years’ RailStaff Awards 13,000 rail industry personnel and British Transport Police officers have been trained with the skills to help a person in need. These skills can encourage people to talk about their problems and help save lives.

For more info and to nominate a colleague  www.railstaffawards.com

A registered charity

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The Samaritans Lifesaver Award was again one of the standout categories at the RailStaff Awards, as two Land Sheriffs officers were recognised for making a lifesaving intervention in West Sussex earlier this year.

Tek Malla and Purna Gurung took home this year’s award for approaching a potentially suicidal man at West Worthing station and preventing him from taking his own life. Arriving at the station, the two men put themselves between the man and the railway, engaging him in conversation before BTP officers arrived.

After the incident, in an e-mail addressed to Tek and Purna, the man thanked the pair for saving his life.

Land Sheriffs’ managing director, Tyler LeMay, said he was very proud of his team for the seven nominations they received in the Lifesaver category and had particular praise for Tek and Purna. He added, ‘For me it was the way in which they dealt with the individual in a difficult situation – it was above and beyond what you would expect.’

Category sponsor Samaritans was represented by Ola Rzepczynska, project manager of the suicide prevention programme. She said, ‘They went on our Samaritans training course and put their skills, as well as good judgment and instinct, into practice and went on to save someone’s life.

‘We believe in taking the time to identify, stop and talk to somebody and look after them and make sure they are okay.

‘Conversation is a big part of training, as well as spotting the signs and giving them the confidence too.

‘I think it’s quite British, we don’t want to intervene, but actually if we take the time just to ask if someone’s okay, 99.99 per cent of the time they will say they’re fine. The odd time they might say they’re not okay, but that starts a conversation and the process of them actually releasing the pressure off their mind, helping them and getting them on to the path of recovery.’

SAMARITANS LIFESAVER AWARD

ABOVE AND BEYOND

1,500 INTERVENTIONS More than 16,000 members of railway staff have received training from Samaritans since the start of a joint programme between the industry and the emotional support service in 2010. There were 273 suicides or suspected suicides on the railway between 2016/17 and more than 1,500 interventions reported during that period. A huge number of nominations were submitted in the category again this year, representing the scale of the challenge still facing the industry but also the positive influence the programme is having.

Mark Carne, Network Rail’s chief executive, said, ‘In recent years the rail industry has made significant strides with its partners in preventing suicides on the railway. In the last two years, we have seen 47 fewer people take their own lives on our rail network which is a sobering thought. Network Rail is proud of the work the industry’s people do in preventing suicides and helping some of the most vulnerable in our society.’

Highly commended: Samaritans Lifesaver Award – James Graysmark, London Midland, and Esther Burns, Virgin Trains West Coast.

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KEPT IN THE LOOP MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

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Delays and closures are part of life on the railway – passengers, given time, can understand and accept that. It is how the industry communicates with its customers that is often the difference between a successful project and a chaotic one.

Earlier this year, Merseyrail undertook one of the biggest infrastructure projects in its history.

The successful communications campaign that surrounded it has been recognised by the industry, winning the Marketing and Communications Person or Team of the Year category – the first year the award has been included in the RailStaff Awards roster.

SIX-MONTH PROJECT In January, Merseyrail began a six-month project to renew the slab track within the Wirral loop line tunnels that run beneath the River Mersey, connecting the Wirral to Liverpool. Altogether, the project required around 1,600 tonnes of old concrete to be removed. Around 170m3 of new concrete was then pumped into the tunnels and 2.4km of new rail laid on top.

But the engineering challenge was just part of it. For the first six months of the year, Wirral line services were unable to travel beyond Birkenhead Central and Birkenhead North. The result for passengers was 30 minutes added to their journeys and replacement buses and Mersey Ferry services.

Merseyrail’s customer relations, social media and marketing teams worked together to ensure passengers knew how services would be affected and where to find alternative transport information. The campaign included customer giveaways, which saw the operator handing out bacon sandwiches and sweets to passengers.

‘It’s the biggest project that Merseyrail’s ever undertaken,’ said Tracey Upton, Merseyrail’s area station manager at Liverpool South Parkway station.

FALL IN COMPLAINTS Tracey said the campaign required Merseyrail to work closely with local authorities and community groups. To illustrate the success of the campaign, Merseyrail said the number of complaints actually fell during the works. Passenger studies conducted before and halfway through the works also reflected positively on the level of engagement delivered by the Merseyrail team.

She added, ‘This affected a number of my stations. It was a number of my staff that were there delivering on the ground… I’m made up to receive this on behalf of the team. From behind the scenes and out there on the ground because it was a big joint effort.’

Keltbray sponsored the inaugural Marketing and Communications Person or Team of the Year award. Keltbray Rail is an industry leader in the delivery of OLE systems and the company has one of the largest fleets of rail electrification MEWPs in the country.

Paul Murphy, Keltbray Rail’s operations director, Wales & Western, said, ‘We were pleased to support this very well-attended event with rail professionals from across our industry. It’s an evening that provides recognition and appreciation for the people who deliver great work on our railways, and was very well organised and an enjoyable evening overall.’

Highly commended: John Kennils, Freyssinet and Joanna Hemmings, Network Certification Body ©STO

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MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

P R O U D

S P O N S O R

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

We deliver significant value and quality through the multidisciplinary talents of our people and the strength of our teams.

This extensive knowledge and experience supports and maintains our customers’ assets across all phases of the project lifecycle.

Proud sponsors of the Lifetime Achievement Award, RailStaff Awards 2017

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

AWARD OF A LIFETIME //

SPX FLOW’s Scott Harrison said he was ‘speechless’ after winning this year’s Lifetime Achievement award – here’s betting many of his colleagues and peers will feel, if anything, it is overdue.

Throughout his career, Scott has played a significant role in shaping the future of the industry. One example was his input into the development of the COSS role.

‘Not bad for a Donny lad,’ as his wife Polly pointed out in his nomination.

COMPLETE SHOCK When he started all those years ago, Scott had only planned to work within the industry for six months. More than 20 years later, he says it was those around him that made his mind up to stay.

‘I’m so overwhelmed to be honoured in this way; it was a complete shock but I am hugely grateful,’ said Scott.

SHAPING THE WORLD The Lifetime Achievement category was sponsored by Costain. In a supporting statement, the company said, ‘Costain is delighted to be supporting the Lifetime Achievement Award.

‘We have been shaping the world in which we live for the past 150 years by providing innovative engineering solutions to improve people’s lives.

‘As a key delivery partner in the rail sector, we offer a broad range of integrated consultancy, asset optimisation, technology and complex delivery services. Everything we do focuses on driving increases to our clients’ operational capacity, efficiency, and customer service.’

Highly commended: Stephen Freeman, Stanway Consulting and Karl Watts, Rail Operations Group.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Scott began his career in rail with Amey Seco in the 1990s and has spent stints with Torrent Trackside and Network Rail. He joined SPX FLOW in 2015 and is now the company’s commercial director for hydraulic technologies and global rail systems.

‘During my career in the rail industry, I have been really lucky to have worked with some outstanding individuals and wonderful teams, without whom I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that I have had. This award should honour those people’s contribution as much as mine, without them I would still be fresh off the starting blocks.

‘Thanks to everyone who has been involved, and the wonderful team at Rail Media for another great night’s awards. The 1980’s theme really took me back to the start of my career – but don’t tell anyone!’

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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REWARDING POTENTIAL engineer Conor Maton from rail telecommunications leader // Electrical telent has won this year’s Graduate of the Year title.

GRADUATE OF THE YEAR

Born and raised in Coventry, Conor studied electronic engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. He joined telent in 2015 and has made a big impact in a relatively short period of time.

He was described by colleagues as a ‘highly capable engineer’ and as having an ‘enormous amount of potential’. One of the nominations read, ‘Conor constantly displays a positive attitude and maturity beyond his years of experience. His strong desire to learn – not just the immediate tasks in hand, but also the broader aspects of the project delivery – have expanded his role to make him become a key critical member of the project team.’

CROSSRAIL WIN The 26-year-old was credited with helping the company to win an important contract to supply an IP WAN comms network for the Crossrail project in London. Following the contract award, Conor showed an outstanding level of dedication to learn about IP Networking technology and fully understand the project delivery.

As well as his work as an engineer, Conor also represents the company as a STEM ambassador, promoting engineering as a fulfilling career path.

Conor said, ‘I feel absolutely incredible. It was just nice to be nominated, let alone to win.

‘I know I’ve worked hard the last 12 months but to actually win the award is just incredible.

‘I’ve got to thank the guys at telent for supporting me through the graduate development programme and a thanks to everyone that nominated me.

‘From here, I want to finish the graduate scheme, push on to some more major projects for telent and Network Rail and hopefully win the next award.’

NEXT GENERATION Graduate of the Year was sponsored by train operator Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – the custodian of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail franchise.

GTR chief executive Charles Horton said, ‘The Graduate of the Year category is so important as it demonstrates GTR’s commitment and interest in the next generation of talent for the rail industry.’

Highly commended: Fiona Power, Costain, and Ruth Shevelan, Mott MacDonald.

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GRADUATE OF THE YEAR

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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TRAINER OR TRAINING TEAM OF THE YEAR

GREATER ANGLIA TEAM STAND OUT

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High retention rates and the delivery of a busy schedule of coaching development sessions were just two of the reasons that Greater Anglia’s learning and development team took home a trophy at this year’s RailStaff Awards.

Greater Anglia’s nine-person team has helped make learning and development one of the top three most improved areas of the business.

GROW The team has delivered more than 60 one-to-one feedback sessions over the past year and implemented the ‘Grow’ development programme within the business. The team recorded 21 promotions among its Grow participants within 12 months of the programme coming to an end.

One of the nominators wrote, ‘The Grow programme recognised and celebrated the fact that each person in our organisation is unique, with different styles, needs and expectations. Within these differences are great strengths for the organisation. Being taught how to recognise and make the best of them is invaluable in my position as a customer service supervisor and enables me to adapt accordingly depending on the individual.’

Greater Anglia’s trainers also designed and delivered the first internal Non-Technical Skills (NTS) programme for the operator’s customer service teams.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

TEAM EFFORT Learning and development manager David Haskell said the award was down to ‘a team effort.’ He added, ‘I’m ecstatic, this award is well deserved. We’ve put a lot of hard work in over the last 12 months.

‘It’s down to the whole team’s commitment, enthusiasm and proactive approach. We have changed the way we do things, being more creative, introducing a more coaching style of leadership and encouraging staff to make decisions.’

Greater Anglia’s Jay Thompson was also highly commended in the Rail Safety Person category as was Chris Compton in the Train Driver of the Year category.

Seaton Rail was the sponsor of this year’s Trainer or Training Team of the Year award. Founded in 1995, Seaton Rail offers a variety of services to the rail industry market, including track safety management services, labour supply and rail industry training.

Director Laura Walker said, ‘Greater Anglia invest a lot of time in their colleagues and peers and I think it is always important to push yourself forward.’

Highly commended: Station Staff – Training Team Larbert Training Centre, Network Rail and Virgin Trains West Coast Talent Academy, West Coast Trains.

TRAINER OR TRAINING TEAM OF THE YEAR

PROUD SPON S O R S O F TR AIN ER O R T RAINING TE AM O F THE Y EAR Th e RailStaff Aw a r d s 2017 Our services include;

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We have an outstanding reputation in the rail industry and strive to build long term, trusted relationships with all our clients.

We form collaborative partnerships to achieve maximum productivity and performance metrics to get the job done!

Call now on 01262 608313 or email: info@seaton-rail.com For more information, please visit www.seaton-rail.com

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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DRIVING DEDICATION //

Northern train driver Colin Newton was a little bemused when he came off stage after winning the Train Driver of the Year award.

‘It’s a bit weird getting nominated just for doing your job,’ said Colin.

TRAIN DRIVER OF THE YEAR

In February this year, Colin, who has been driving for Northern for three years, performed CPR on a passenger who was having a heart attack on his train.

After stopping the train, Colin informed the signaller of the situation and called for an ambulance before attending to the passenger.

Colin, who is based in Leeds, stayed with the passenger until paramedics arrived, but despite his best efforts, the passenger passed away.

TRUE PROFESSIONALISM

p sp rou on d so r

Train Driver of the Year 2017

Colin said he believes he only did what anyone would have done in the situation. His colleagues, however, disagree.

His nomination read, ‘During the short time that Colin has been with us he has demonstrated true professionalism and dedication to his role of train driver again and again by consistently delivering excellent customer service and going what is well and truly above his role.’

Adding, ‘Thoughout this highly pressurised situation Colin remained calm and professional at all times.

He showed true compassion and heroism in a selfless act to save another.’

‘We get paid to do a job and I did my job, and that’s it,’ he added. ‘This is just an added bonus.”

HIGHLY VALUED Mark Goodall, general manager, West Midlands, for category sponsor London Midland, said, ‘He’s so unassuming. As you heard him say, in his opinion, he’s just doing his job. He’s obviously doing it to an incredibly high degree and it is good to actually say to these people well done, thank you, you’re highly valued.’

Highly commended: David O’Connor, Southeastern, and Chris Compton, Greater Anglia.

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TRAIN DRIVER OF THE YEAR

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RAIL PERSON OF THE YEAR

TOP ACCOLADE FOR LONDON BRIDGE CONTROLLER his seat in the control room at London Bridge, Arron Raimbault watched as the // From station found itself at the centre of one of this year’s major terrorist incidents.

Having already gone up on stage to collect the Station Staff of the Year award with his London Bridge colleagues, Arron was surprised to hear his name called out again for one of the most prestigious awards of the night.

Colleagues praised the ‘fantastic’ operational support he provided to staff on the ground.

‘I’ve always sort of been at the back cheering people on, but to win something like this is just amazing,’ said Arron. He said the entire team had been surprised and touched by the number of customers who came up to them in the days after the attack to thank them.

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Having already gone up on stage to collect the Station Staff of the Year award with his London Bridge colleagues, Arron was surprised to hear his name called out again for one of the most prestigious awards of the night.

Colleagues praised the ‘fantastic’ operational support he provided to staff on the ground.

IMMENSE BRAVERY Rail Person of the Year was sponsored by infrastructure group Balfour Beatty.

Satnam Thiara, business development manager for Balfour Beatty Rail, said, ‘Arron showed an immense level of bravery at a time where the threat to life was at its highest level at London Bridge station. He showed great initiative to help deal with that situation in the best way possible and helped to safeguard the travelling public. This deserved the accolade on the night.

‘The RailStaff Awards is a great opportunity to thank everybody who works in the industry, especially people like Arron. It was a fantastic evening and allowed us to meet and talk to fellow industry professionals in a more relaxed way.’

RAIL PERSON OF THE YEAR

‘I’ve always sort of been at the back cheering people on, but to win something like this is just amazing,’ said Arron. He said the entire team had been surprised and touched by the number of customers who came up to them in the days after the attack to thank them.

PERSONAL THANK-YOU Arron and the London Bridge team were personally thanked on the night

by Network Rail’s managing director, Phil Hufton, who opened the awards evening.

In his welcoming address, Hufton reminded everyone about the various terrorism related incidents that railway staff have had to contend with over the past few months. ‘I think what I’d like to do is firstly pay tribute to everybody in the room but especially to those members of staff that were involved in the atrocities that happened in Manchester, in London Bridge and, of course, Parsons Green.

‘I was extremely fortunate to meet a number of the people that were involved on those dreadful evenings and I know there’s a number of people here tonight. The work that they did, they put their own lives in front of some of the most difficult and challenging times that some people will ever experience in their lives and for them to do that is just remarkable.’

Highly commended: Pete Donnelly, CrossCountry and Octavia Neeves, Network Rail.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2017

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Rail Asset Management Summit 28th February 2018, London

With millions of assets across the rail network, how the industry manages those assets directly correlates with the bottom line and a network that runs efficiently and safely.

SESSION 1:

Moving from BIM to Asset Management

SESSION 2:

Managing rolling stock and associated assets

SESSION 3:

Infrastructure - how to manage so many diverse assets

SESSION 4:

How could assets be better managed in the future?

Secure your place at:

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RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

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EVENTS

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CONFERENCE

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VISIT

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NOVEMBER

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RAIL NETWORK RESILIENCE

13th-15th November Amsterdam

conference conference exhibition

RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKING network awaards

23rd November Roundhouse, Derby

www.terrapinn.com/conference/

tech exhibition tech press conference press conference

2nd November London (ARUP)

dinner free

www.rinevents.co.uk/

TRANSPORT LED conference conference DEVELOPMENT exhibition tech exhibition

network

www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com network awaards awaards dinner dinner

14th November

tech press conference press conference

DECEMBER

DLA Piper, London SMART METRO (CBTC conference free free network conference WORLD CONFERENCE) exhibition www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com network awaards tech exhibition 6th - 8th November Novotel Paris Est

INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY free conference free conference SUMMIT exhibition tech exhibition

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10TH ANNUAL SCOTTISH RAIL CONFERENCE conference exhibition

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5th December Edinburgh, Scotland

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conference IMECHE INTRODUCTION exhibition TO ROLLING STOCK tech press conference

7th November IMechE London

network awaards

www.imeche.org/training-qualifications dinner

free

conference

IMECHE TRACTION exhibition AND BRAKING tech

free

tech 15th - 17thpress November conference press conference Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia free

8th November network IMechE London

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network

conference

dinner

free IMECHE VEHICLE DYNAMICS AND VEHICLE conference – TRACK conference INTERACTION exhibition tech exhibition

9th November press conference tech press conference IMechE London network

www.imeche.org/training-qualifications network awaards awaards dinner dinner

free

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exhibition

15th November IMechE London

www.rolling-stock-maintenance.com network

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network

dinner

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DEVELOPING A TRANSPORT free STRATEGY FOR THE MIDLANDS conference exhibition

dinner free

www.imeche.org/training-qualifications

free

conference

tech 6th - 7th December press conference London

qualifications

awaards

dinner

ROLLING STOCK MAINTENANCE

IMECHE – TRAIN CONTROL exhibition free free AND SAFETY SYSTEMS tech

www.imeche.org/training-

press conference

www.mackayhannah.com/conference network

www.irits.orgawaards network

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tech press conference

RAIL AND METRO CHINA conference conference EXPO exhibition tech exhibition

tech 14th December press conference Birmingham

tech 21st - 23rd November press conference press conference Shanghai, China

www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/ network conference

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en.railmetrochina.com network awaards

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free

RFEM – CHRISTMAS LUNCH

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ROLLING STOCK free conference awaards free conference PROCUREMENT FORUM exhibition 15th December dinner tech exhibition network

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FAR TOO MANY MISTAKES! REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY NEED TO BE MANAGED AND STRENGTHENED

N

ovember 18th this year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Kings Cross Fire in which 31 people lost their lives. There will be a gathering to mark the anniversary beneath the plaque and clock at the station. Memories are mercifully short; but we do well to stop and think when such anniversaries come round.

Also as I began to write there was sad news of a multiple fatality level crossing accident in Finland on October 26th. Both are grim reminders of what can happen when things go wrong. The Karis to Hanko passenger train stuck an off-road troop carrier on a level crossing resulting in the four fatalities and injuries to another eight people. The crossing is about 50 miles south of Helsinki.

Near miss at Broad Oak Level Crossing The Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s (RAIB) Safety Digest 13/2017 describes an incident at Broad Oak Level Crossing that occurred on 29th June this year. At 1020 that morning a passenger train passed signal EDH91 at green whilst travelling at 70 mph before passing over Broad Oak Crossing. The train driver saw vehicles passing over the crossing with its barriers raised as he approached. He made an emergency brake application and sounded his horn for 6.5 seconds.

The crossing was under the control of a Network Rail Mobile Operations Manager (MOM). On hearing the approaching train he operated the switch to lower the barriers. Amber lights operated for around 3 seconds before the red signals started to flash as the train arrived at the crossing whilst

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

still travelling at 17 mph. CCTV images show a car crossing just 180 metres in front of the train whilst the barriers were still raised.

No understanding agreed The crossing was under manual control whilst signalling maintenance work was being carried out.

The Rule Book requires the signaller to place the signals at danger to protect the crossing but this had not been done.

Signaller and Maintainer should reach an understanding on duration of the work and agree a time for completion. This was not done either!

In normal operation 27 seconds elapse between the crossing lights first flashing amber, and a train arriving at the crossing. It was agreed that local control would be taken. This was done at 0936 and shortly afterwards the MOM advised that he was ready to act as level crossing attendant. At 0948 the Signaller called the team leader to take a line blockage but the latter said he did not need one as he had a lookout in place.

The Signaller agreed to call back when a train had passed on the Down Line. At 0957 the Signaller told the team leader that there was now a gap between trains and authorised the MOM to take local control of the crossing.

Colin Wheeler.

Protecting signals not at danger After track circuit testing the crossing was returned to automatic control in time for a train to pass at 1011. Local control and testing resumed at 1013. Just 4 minutes later the Leader rang the Signaller to say the work was finished; but one minute after that he asked for more time!

Knowing a train was due the Signaller refused that request but the crossing remained under local control by the MOM. When the Margate to St Pancras train (six-car Class 395 EMU) passed through Sturry Station it operated the first treadle for Old Oak Level Crossing. Nine seconds later it passed Signal EDH91 green aspect, occupied the track circuits and would normally have caused the traffic signals and barriers to operate; but the crossing was still under local control.

RAIB found that the Signaller had not placed protecting signals at danger whilst the crossing was under local control, although the Canterbury West Signaller has the facility to do so. A reader has already written to comment that

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the technician and MOM should have known that the signaller was a “relative rookie” to the Box and advised against putting the barriers on manual without protection/possession whilst testing.

Magdalen Road Level Crossing near miss RAIB have reported on another level crossing near miss that occurred at 0851 on the morning of August 9th this year. Magdalen Road Level Crossing, Watlington (controlled from the nearby signal box) was open to road traffic when the 0754 Kings Lynn to Kings Cross passenger train crossed it very narrowly missing a car. The train was travelling at slow speed having just left Watlington Station.

Astonishingly the Digest says that neither the signaller, train driver or his instructor reported the incident. Fortunately a member of the public did! The Signaller had failed to put the crossing into manual control before authorising a train to pass the protecting signal at red.

Trains approaching from both directions When trains approach from Kings Lynn the signaller closes both Magdalen Road and Watlington Road crossings. He then clears the protecting signal so that a train can pass over both crossings. Once the train has passed both crossings re-open automatically; except when they are under manual control.

On August 9th a track circuit failure in the Kings Lynn area was causing disruption. At 0833 a train approached from Kings Lynn and at 0841 another was approaching from Kings Cross. The Signaller closed both crossings and tried to clear both the protecting signals.

Although the signal protecting

trains from Kings Cross cleared the other one did not. RAIB’s report says that it failed to clear “for reasons unknown”!

Twenty seconds after the train from Kings Cross arrived, the Signaller (believing that the signalling fault was preventing the clearing of the protecting signal) authorised the Kings Lynn train driver to pass signal MR6 at danger but told him to “check the route and be cautious over the points and obey all other signals”.

The Signaller forgot!

The Kings Cross train departed from Watlington Station and after it had passed over Magdalen Road level crossing 36 seconds later, the crossing re-opened and vehicles began moving. The signaller had forgotten to put Magdalen Road on manual control before authorising the Kings Lynn driver to pass the protecting signal at danger.

Signallers have “route cards” reminding them of their nonroutine duties, but he had not consulted them. However the route cards were found not to include a reminder about putting the barriers onto manual control when authorising a driver to pass a protecting signal at red.

Six cars crossed Magdalen Road after the train had passed Watlington Road crossing. Two vans crossed whilst the train was stationary in platform 1, but neither the driver nor his instructor noticed them or that the barriers were raised! Understandably a reader has written in about this report suggesting that the mistakes made by the individuals involved should not have happened.

He is critical of the signaller for “failing to take basic precautions when calling a train past a red signal” and of both the driver and instructor for failing to keep a

proper lookout when cautioned past a red signal. I share his concerns.

Track workers near miss at 125 mph An investigation is underway following a near miss at 1122 on the morning of October 5th at Egmanton, Nottinghamshire.

The 1003 Kings Cross to Leeds passenger service narrowly missed striking a team of trackworkers near Egmanton Crossing between Newark Northgate and Retford on the East Coast Main Line. The train was travelling at 125 mph when its driver saw the group and sounded his horn, but saw no response. He sounded the horn again and made an emergency brake application. As he got nearer the group began to move to the cess but the last of them got clear very late. The train came to a halt almost a mile beyond where the emergency braking began.

The driver believed he had struck members of the group and was understandably distressed.

RAIB has begun an investigation to determine how the work was planned, how the Safe System of Work was implemented, management competence, nontechnical skills of the team and any issues of workload and fatigue.

Less than half a second to spare On Monday September 18th a passenger train travelling between Crewe and Runcorn at 125 mph “encountered three lineside workers on Dutton Viaduct”.

According to the RAIB they moved clear of the track “with less than half a second to spare before the train passed them”. There were no injuries but unsurprisingly the train driver was shaken by the experience. Following their preliminary investigation the RAIB intend to publish a Safety Digest.

Train hit the buffers at 4 mph On 23rd October RAIB published its Safety Digest following the Platform 9 Kings Cross buffer stop collision (pictured) that occurred at 0623 on the morning of Tuesday August 15th this year. The four car Class 387 passenger train forming the 0513 from Royston was still travelling at 4 mph when it hit the buffer stops pushing them back RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

by a metre. Four passengers and one crew member suffered minor injuries.

The train passed the Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) sensor at just 9.2 mph set at 53 metres from the buffers; well below the intervention setting of 12.5 mph. Braking began 6 seconds later but then 9 seconds elapsed before the emergency brake application just 3 seconds before impact.

Awake for fifteen and a half hours The Digest says “the driver was suffering from fatigue and apparently experienced a “microsleep” in the last few seconds of the approach”.

After passing the TPWS she “briefly closed her eyes because they felt tired and were stinging”.

When she opened them again she was close to the buffer stops and it was too late to avoid the collision. Her shift began at 2155 and was due to finish at 0630 (i.e.

8 hours 35 minutes). The RSSB advocates 8 hours maximum for a first night shift and no more than 4 hours before a break. Her scheduled break was 0300 until 0330 hours.

Great Northern’s fatigue procedure dated from October 2010 and guidance published by ORR and RSSB had not been used to update it. Working her first night shift after four rest days she had been awake for fifteen and a half hours at the time of the accident.

Accountability Management, supervision, accountability, motivation, responsibility are what unites the incidents I have described this month.

When individuals make mistakes of a basic nature and do things which they shouldn’t they should be held personally accountable. Improving systems is a good idea but for many years yet we will still need to rely on trained and competent people doing their jobs well. Supervisors and managers need to be there to support them and ensure that any who are failing are removed.

All of the incidents featured this month could easily have resulted in fatalities. I am pleased that none of them did. Maybe we need to consider whether ORR needs to take action more often?

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I

t’s the small details that matter, says Amtrain’s Sheila McKenna. Having someone on the front desk to greet new learners may not seem so fundamental but it can make a big difference. This has been the training provider’s ethos since it first opened its doors 20 years ago.

Amtrain was established by husband and wife Andy and Sheila McKenna in 1997. Like so many small businesses, it initially operated out of the family home and provided training courses in portable buildings on the site now occupied by Network Rail’s training centre in Walsall.

In 2008, the company moved to new premises off the A38 in Fradley, where it is to this day. Earlier this year, Amtrain acquired a purpose-built training site formerly owned by Balfour Beatty at Hoo Junction in Kent as it looked to expand to meet the industry-wide demand for skills.

‘There’s a shortage of skills within the industry generally,’ said Andy. ‘The training sector has an ageing profile as well. As a company, we’ve done work to redress that, training two young people through apprentice programmes to become trainers and developing the existing staff with a wider range of skills and competencies.’

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DOUBLE THE SIZE Amtrain, which is a member of the Association of Railway Training Providers (ARTP), offers a diverse mix of training courses, including track inductions and PTS, COSS, lookout/site warden, crane controller, engineering supervisor, the list goes on. It is also one of the last companies to still offer steam crane training.

Amtrain has almost doubled in size from those early years. It now has a team of 12 trainers and has travelled around the world providing its railway training services.

Flexibility is key, says Andy. As well as delivering courses from its own premises - often at very short notice - Amtrain also works with customers to create and deliver training programmes that meet quite specific requirements. The company recently trained all of London Midland’s senior conductor staff to use a new onboard ticketing terminal.

The company tries to respond where it can to the changing demand for skills and ensure its trainers are equipped to deliver the training required.

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WHEN SMALL DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE AMTRAIN'S ANDY AND SHEILA MCKENNA TALK ABOUT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE MIDLANDS-BASED TRAINING PROVIDER

‘We’re generating the skills that are required to satisfy the market,’ said Andy. ‘We’re finding there’s a big demand for piling courses and MEWP courses because rail electrification has created a demand for those skills.’

Around half of Amtrain’s trainers come from either a further or higher education teaching background. Both Andy and Sheila are from an education background, working at the same college in the West Midlands before setting up Amtrain. Andy, who has had a lifelong interest in railway preservation, said the service provided

by Amtrain’s trainers was based on a deep understanding of how people learn.

‘It’s a good mix,’ said Andy. ‘The educational skills in some way are more important than the technical skills.’

it also provides medicals and alcohol/drugs screening. Amtrain is now looking at how it can support the medical requirements of other industries.

Ten years on from their move to Fradley, Andy and Sheila remain enthusiastic supporters of the industry. For Andy, the job

is a fantastic opportunity to explore parts of the network he has revered for years. ‘There’s some fabulous engineering works out there.

We can get up close and touch them.’

For Sheila, the training is its own reward.

‘We’re enthusiastic. We love what we’re doing. We’re here for the customers.’

HAPPY BUNCH Sheila is one of Amtrain’s COSS trainers, but in her previous life she was a sign language interpreter for deaf people. ‘You can make people feel very good about themselves just with little things that you do,’ said Sheila, who described how Amtrain has worked hard over the years to create a comfortable environment for learners. One example is the additional work the team do with learners for whom English isn’t their first language.

Amtrain benefits from having retained a wealth of knowledge within its training team. ‘As a company, we’ve been pretty lucky because staff turnover is very low,’ said Andy. What’s the secret to the company’s high staff retention rates? ‘Because we’re a happy bunch.’

In fact, the business is looking to grow further and add to its training staff in the coming months; it’s a bigger challenge than it sounds because of the general lack of training staff but not an impossible hurdle to overcome.

The company is also continuing to look at how it can add to its offering. For example,

Andy.

Sheila.

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HIGH-SPEED ED STUDENTS WERE WELCOMED THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEPTEMBER AS THE COUNTRY PREPARES TO TRAIN A HIGH-SPEED WORKFORCE

N

ick Kataria, 32, has turned his back on a long career in the travel industry to pursue his dream of becoming an engineer. Leaving the family business and quitting work entirely, he is one of 150 learners of different ages and backgrounds that have joined the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) to establish a career in Britain’s new multi-billion pound high-speed rail industry.

‘Engineering is always something I’ve been interested in but never really had the chance or opportunity to take. I saw this one and I took it,’ says Nick, who isn’t put off by the 50-mile commute he faces each day to get from Stafford to NCHR’s Birmingham campus. ‘I know what opportunities and prospects are available here.’

GOLDEN TICKET

Nick's story is just one example of many who are being trained or retrained to support the development of HS2. The not-for-profit organisation Engineering UK estimates that Britain will need 182,000 new engineers every year until 2022. Currently there is an annual shortfall of 69,000. When you add the fact that 20 per cent of engineers are over 55 years old into the equation, you start to understand the scale of the skills shortage and the part NCHSR will play in reducing it.

But Nick hasn’t enrolled at NCHSR to make up the numbers, he sees it as a pathway into a successful career in Britain and abroad; he sees it as a golden ticket. Nick says he wants to play a part in the construction of HS2 and then become a high-speed ambassador for Britain on the world stage. ‘With HS2 going on for the next five to 10 years, we will be UK-based but then once that project is finished the world is our oyster.’

NATIONAL COLLEGES NCHSR is the third and largest of five national colleges to open. Created by the Government but led by employers, the colleges have been set up to develop specialist skills for producing Britain’s future workforce. As well as NCHSR there are dedicated colleges for nuclear, onshore oil and gas, digital skills and creative and cultural industries.

Following a consultation process, Birmingham and Doncaster were chosen as the sites for NCHSR in 2014 from a shortlist that also included Derby and Manchester. Birmingham was chosen for being at the heart of HS2 and Doncaster because of its established links to rail industry businesses.

In addition to £40 million from the Department for Education, the college has received £12 million investment from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Sheffield City Region LEP as well as £10 million in industry donations.

In September 2017, the college had a soft launch when the first students began - or as college CEO Clair Mowbray put it, ‘when our heartbeat started to happen.’

In addition to the initial cohort of students, a further intake is expected in January and then April, with the college catering for up to 1,200 once it reaches full capacity.

Students in Birmingham will largely focus on civil engineering and command, control and communication while the Doncaster site will specialise in track systems, rolling stock and power.

Both sites have been kitted out with cuttingedge technology, including virtual reality training on board two Eurostar power cars, an augmented reality classroom and a dedicated BIM cave.

EDUCATION More than 40 companies came together to help shape the college’s curriculum - in particular companies that have an international reach such as Siemens, Alstom and Colas Rail - specifying the skills they need in return for sending apprentices there, committing to take from the talent pool and to mentor full-time learners.

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DUCATION experience here at the national college is not available anywhere in the world. A college that is dedicated to high-speed rail, rail and infrastructure modernisation.

‘We are setting ourselves up to be agile and flexible to respond to that demand to make sure we are tailored to what the industry wants.’

Nick Kataria.

HS2 MILESTONE Experts from a wide range of companies will form the core of the teaching staff alongside permanent teachers from the education sector and former engineers turned teachers.

Some of the students at the college will be undertaking a one-year Certificate of Higher Education in High Speed Rail and Infrastructure - the UK’s first, which has been accredited by Sheffield Hallam. This level 4 qualification provides an initial introduction to the high-speed rail sector followed by a choice of seven specialisms.

PIONEERS Clair Mowbray said in the college’s brochure that one of her priorities is to attract as diverse a group of students as possible – to create a human legacy as well as a physical one. In the industry, 94 per cent of rail engineers are white and 92 per cent are male. However, a third of college applications were from females and almost 50 per cent from those from different ethnic backgrounds.

She also described the first students as the pioneers who will shape NCHSR for future learners. Clair added, ‘The learning they will

The college’s opening is the latest milestone in the development of HS2 in Birmingham and the country. Andrew Cleaves, lead board director for employment and skills, Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP, described the college as ‘the first tangible sign of the huge potential that HS2 offers Greater Birmingham.’

He added, ‘The new campus in Birmingham will be a catalyst to upskilling and raising the aspirations of this region’s young population. It will equip them with the tools required to build, operate and maintain a 21st century railway, delivering further growth and benefits to Greater Birmingham and beyond.’

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HS2'S

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

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eeds is truly embracing its inclusion on the HS2 route map. As well as a station and being home to one of the two depots being built for the second phase of the project, the University of Leeds will soon start work on a £10 million integrated high-speed rail test centre. It’s one example of how HS2 is reshaping the traditional approach to railway research and training in Britain’s universities.

In October, the University of Leeds announced it was establishing a new Institute for High Speed Rail and System Integration. The institute, which has brought together 40 academics from around the university, will have the UK’s first dedicated, integrated high-speed railway infrastructure and vehicle test facility.

The site in Leeds will focus on several areas. It will look into design and manufacturing issues - including the development of low-cost titanium for rolling stock components and traction systems - asset management and maintenance, digital engineering and robotics, and overhead line technology.

Ian Roche, head of innovation for HS2, said he believes the centre will be a world leader and will ‘accelerate’ the vehicle and systems integration testing for HS2.

The brand new facility, which the university hopes to open within the next couple of years, is being built close to the site of the future HS2 depot near Leeds. Among other things, it will have a rolling rig that will be used to test how trains travelling at speeds up to 400km/h interact with the track infrastructure.

The rig will be able to simulate the particular track geometry of any route and could be used by manufacturers to test new trains - perhaps even the highspeed train that will eventually be operating on HS2.

‘It has a strong vision about where it wants to go,’ said Professor Peter Woodward (pictured), who is heading up the institute, describing the university’s vision to become a centre of excellence in highspeed rail.

DE-RISK HSR Peter was appointed earlier this year as the new chair in high-speed rail engineering for the University of Leeds, prior to that he had been an industry sponsored professor of high-speed rail at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Peter said the institute’s testing

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UKRRIN

© University of Leeds

facilities will help de-risk the advance of highspeed rail in the UK. ‘We will be able to look at how trains talk to infrastructure, how they then talk to signalling, command and control systems… The difference with what we’re building here is the capability to put any track geometry you want through it. It’s not going to take the place of full-scale testing on a track but it’s probably the step before that.’

The institute will support the high-speed colleges, providing candidates with a clear pathway to pursue their education in railway engineering beyond the level offered at the Doncaster and Birmingham schools.

Working with industry, the university is currently preparing a new set of courses to complement its high-speed rail agenda. ‘This is a developing picture but it’s developing very rapidly,’ said Peter.

Prior to the Leeds announcement, HeriotWatt University revealed that is supporting the testing of high-speed slab-track systems.

The university’s GRAFT facility (Geo-pavement and Railway Accelerated Fatigue Testing) can mimic the speed and dynamic loads of a high-speed train and simulate wear and tear equivalent to years of regular passenger service.

Heriot-Watt University is a member of the UK Railway Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), a coalition of eight UK universities leading on high-speed rail engineering research.

UKRRIN has received funding totalling £92 million - £28.1 million from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) and £64 million from industry partners - to develop new facilities for digital systems, rolling stock and infrastructure research.

The 10-year research programme is supported by various industry partners, including Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, IBM, Unipart Rail, SMRT, British Steel, RSSB, Thales, Hitachi, AECOM, Aggregate Industries, Atkins, Pandrol and Progress Rail.

The University of Birmingham will become a centre for excellence in digital systems, while teams from the University of Huddersfield, University of Newcastle and Loughborough University will focus on rolling stock and

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the University of Southampton, University of Sheffield, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and Heriot-Watt University will lead on infrastructure.

Launching UKRRIN in the summer, Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Southampton, said in a statement, ‘This major funding award is excellent news for the University and demonstrates once again how industry and academia can work in partnership for the benefit of the nation as a whole.

‘Combining our specialist knowledge with that of partners at Sheffield, Loughborough, Nottingham and Heriot-Watt, we will advance fundamental science to tackle the problems currently undermining the UK’s rail infrastructure and help create a sustainable network fit for the future.’

BACKBONE The University of Leeds may soon become part of the UKRRIN partnership too. Peter was supportive of the initiative and said talks were ongoing. ‘The universities will form a backbone in terms of skills, in terms of technology development,’ said Peter.

HS2 will no doubt lean on the lecture theatres and labs of Britain’s universities to turn what is currently a theoretical railway into something tangible.

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INTRODUCING THE DIGITAL SYSTEMS INNOVATION CENTRE FOR RAIL

T

he railways were considered a sunset industry by the late 20th century due to the rapid development of the automobile and airplane.

How things have changed: The great success of the Japanese Tokaido Shinkansen line, as well as the development of the French, Korean, Spanish and, more recently, Chinese high-speed railway networks changed history.

Populations continue to grow, rapid urbanisation around the world is leading to megalopolis and citizens demand better mobility. High-speed inter-city railways and new, efficient metro systems are becoming common place in advanced economies.

Convenience, efficiency and speed are valued by customers and the railway industry is revolutionising local, national and international transportation.

The Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) at the University of Birmingham is Europe’s largest university-based centre of its kind, with more than 140 academics, researchers and professional support staff and some 200 postgraduate taught and undergraduate students. BCRRE engages with industry and academia nationally and internationally and delivers world-class research outcomes and high-quality education programmes. The main research activities of BCRRE include railway operation and simulation, power and energy, traffic management and control, system condition monitoring, etc.

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CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE Early in 2017, The University of Birmingham successfully bid for substantial funding from the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and now leads a £92 million network of industry and academic partners, comprising three major Centres of Excellence which involve eight UK universities and 20 industry partners over an eight-year funding window. The Centres of Excellence will be the first elements of the industry-led UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), within which Birmingham will lead the Digital Systems Innovation Centre (DSIC).

The DSIC will build on the expertise of BCRRE and the UK’s industrial base to deliver a step-change in digital systems capability for the railways. It will provide a systemwide approach to transform the results of academic research, industrial development and innovation into tangible business benefits. Housing openly available facilities, key areas of technology will include railway control and operations simulation, condition monitoring and sensing, data integration and cyber security. DSIC will also offer technology incubation opportunities.

In the area of railway control and operations simulation, the DSIC team will develop macroscopic and microscopic railway simulators using data supplied by project partners. The simulation can then apply advanced algorithms, for example to modify rolling stock performance, operational rules, amend timetables, or implement smart driving strategies to improve network punctuality and energy consumption, without affecting an operational railway system. The DSIC will include a comprehensive simulation and testing lab for design validation and

verification, and for hardware- and softwarein-the-loop testing.

In condition monitoring and sensing, projects will include developing and configuring instrumentation and processing systems that can be used to measure, track and predict the health of various railway subsystems. Such systems can be used to improve operational reliability and support business cases for variations to existing maintenance procedures.

EMERGING FIELD The growing data integration and cyber security area covers data modelling and architecture and the integration of operations and customer-facing systems. This exciting, emerging field delivers appropriate information and knowledge through efficient data processing and algorithms. The opportunities offered in this field cover almost every element of the railway system.

Professor Clive Roberts, director of BCRRE, and Felix Schmid, director of education of BCRRE, look forward to the new railway revolution. ‘These are exciting times for railways. Society relies on railway systems more than ever; they have become integral to how people live and economies grow in the 21st century.

‘Our work in research and education is having an impact across the globe in realising the transformational benefits of railways.’

As a world-leading rail research centre, BCRRE is looking forward to working with research and industry partners across the world to deliver innovation that establishes the UK. Written by Ning Zhao, Jenny Illingsworth and Felix Schmid.

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LIFE AFTER CROS TfL and PROCAT will lead a new chapter at Crossrail's Tunneling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA)

F

orget the waves, Britain ruled the rails throughout the 19th century.

Driven by innovators such as George Stephenson, Great Britain pioneered the first steam locomotive and built thousands of miles of railway through major cities and rolling countryside sometimes beneath them too.

Britain led the world.

During the 20th century, the rise of motor vehicles saw priorities shift and rail funding cut. With little demand to sustain the skills base, the supply of skilled tunnel workers and engineers diminished.

The decline of the UK’s coal industry significantly contributed to this loss.

A NEW GENERATION With the onset of mega projects like Crossrail and HS2, the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) was established in September 2011 to train a new generation of highly skilled underground construction workers.

Over the course of almost seven years, the academy has provided training to more than 20,000 people. This includes continued professional development courses to those already in the industry and apprentices, © Ten

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98 per cent of which have gained full-time employment in their chosen career with starting salaries of up to £18,000.

Founder Crossrail was the main beneficiary from the pipeline of talent to begin with.

Building the central core of 42km bored tunnels would not have been possible, explained deputy director of operations Danny Fox, who oversees recruitment and training, had resources and the few individuals skilled in underground construction and tunnelling not been centralised through TUCA. With construction of the Elizabeth line almost complete ahead of the December 2018 launch, ownership of TUCA was passed to its parent company Transport for London (TfL), which awarded Prospects College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT) a contract to run the college in March. The arrangement will last for five years.

‘It is absolutely vital that any training establishment keeps up with the cuttingedge developments in training and skills,’ said Danny. ‘And I’m delighted with the development work that is going on here TUCA has the best [tunnelling and under construction] skills training you can get anywhere in the country, and indeed probably Europe.’

THE NEXT CHAPTER With Crossrail nearing completion and PROCAT onboard the college is diversifying.

Moving ahead PROCAT has relocated its specialist training in rail engineering – courses such as rail traction and rolling stock, signalling and telecommunications - and construction civil engineering from its Basildon campus, Essex, to TUCA in Ilford, east London. As part of this move, PROCAT’s test train track is being moved to TUCA too.

‘There was a sense that TUCA had come to its natural end,’ said PROCAT chairman David Sherlock at the academy’s relaunch event in September. ‘It was set up originally for Crossrail, which is essentially now finished, so this is giving TUCA a degree of permanency, a long-term vision and role which it didn’t previously have and which it needs - it is a fabulous facility.

‘This is going to be the next chapter for it, and I hope a rather more diverse one.’

Crossrail isn’t the only huge infrastructure project that needs a supply of skilled construction and tunnel workers. There is also the Northern line extension, Crossrail 2 and HS2 as well as non-rail projects like Thames Tideway and new National Grid electricity cable tunnels under London.

TUCA Designed by Capita Symonds and constructed by VolkerFitzpatrick, the purposebuilt college building is almost entirely windowless and cuts an imposing figure in the surrounding area with its black and red exterior.

On the ground floor, the college has a number of spacious workshops covering electrical engineering, a concrete testing laboratory and huge TfL workshops, which are under construction, as well as an impressive tunnel mock-up. Upstairs there are more conventional classrooms, computer rooms and a virtual reality suite, which allows students to experience skills such as electrical installation, to better prepare them for the workplace.

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SSRAIL © Ten

The marriage between Crossrail and TUCA might be over but the two will keep a number of important links.

Crossrail’s backup control centre - in case its Romford centre breaks down - is situated on the campus and it will be conducting its maintenance and station staff training there thanks to an Elizabeth line station mock-up that is currently being built. And, of course, there’s a Morgan Sindall-branded TBM that sits in the car park.

the collaboration between itself and businesses to align to what the industry needs. At TUCA, the likes of Atkins, Thales, Bombardier, Balfour Beatty, telent, Keolis-Amey Docklands, TfL, Crossrail, Virgin Trains East Coast and Eurostar all support the academy in one way or another.

Thales, for example, supplies the equipment for the academy’s test track and many use the facility to train apprentices and staff.

Working underground may put off some applicants - especially the claustrophobic - but PROCAT chair David Sherlock said there are many reasons why youngsters should pursue careers in the field. One of which is the chance to join a field in which Britain has a long history and contribute to the resurgence of a traditional skill.

He said, ‘This is rebuilding some of that with an international

career in mind – and a highly paid one at that.’

As work on Europe’s largest infrastructure project comes to a close, TUCA is evolving to meet the industry’s needs and construct a legacy of its own.

With many more thousands of young engineers to be developed, who knows, we might one day see the next George Stephenson pass through its doors.

© Ten

THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN PROCAT is a further education college which specialises in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing and has sites in Canvey Island and Basildon.

In TUCA, the further education college believes it has something it can be particularly proud of.

‘It’s like the jewel in the crown for PROCAT,’ explained TUCA principal Ros Parker, who has been at the academy for a year.

Ros said that PROCAT would not be able to do what it is able to achieve without its industry partners, and praised

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SKILLING A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE

T

he general manager of training provider Scot-Train, Sandy Murray, says one of his company’s focuses is on flexible workforce development - finding where rail industry skills overlap with other industries and how skills from other sectors can find a home on the railway.

The term was adopted by the Scottish government for the launch of a new £10 million fund in September to promote the upskilling and re-skilling of Scotland’s workforce to address emerging skills gaps.

NEW FACILITY Scot-Train is part of SWGR, a specialist services provider which was established in 1985, and began life as Scotweld Employment Services Limited. Based in Glasgow, the company has service centres around the UK. Over the past 30 or so years, the company has added to its offering and now has various other divisions, including rail infrastructure contracting services, industrial supplies and labour supply.

SWGR’s core business has always been to supply and train rail professionals to deliver multi-disciplinary projects. The company proudly promotes its involvement in the Borders Railway project and the electrification of the Edinburgh-Glasgow main line.

In March, Scot-Train opened a new training facility in Petershill Road, Glasgow.

The company is now keen to promote the opportunity the facility represents for the rail sector in Scotland.

The Petershill Road site, which is located close to Barnhill railway station, is Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) approved and licensed to deliver Network Rail training and assessment courses, including track induction, personal track safety and overhead line electrification. Facilities include three training rooms, a conference room, an IT suite, as well as a full-scale track and overhead line facility.

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NEW AVENUES ‘We’re planning to diversify into other areas to increase our portfolio as well,’ said Sandy.

The opening of the new training centre effectively doubled Scot-Train’s training capacity, but Sandy is quick to highlight the company’s presence around the country.

As well as the Glasgow site, Scot-Train has another NSAR-accredited facility in Rochester - this is on top of the training it provides for customers at their own premises.

Scot-Train currently has a team of five trainers and is looking to expand and explore new avenues. The company already offers occupational health services to rail clients from its medical centre in Glasgow, but Sandy says he sees an opening to pursue opportunities in the construction and engineering market at large.

‘We have the facilities available to offer a one-stop provision for rail, construction, welding, occupational health and many other training services, and can tailor courses to specifically meet clients’ requirements. We want to build on our existing reputation as a trusted provider of training services to expand our offering to other sectors, and I believe we are now in an excellent position to do so.’

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FOR MORE COURSES, DATES AND LOCATIONS PLEASE CONTACT OUR GLASGOW AND WIGAN OFFICES: GLASGOW T: 0141 892 6666 E: Glasgow@orioneng.com

People are our business worldwide Delivering the best in training and rail personnel – join our community today.

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OrionRail.com

WIGAN T: 01942 466090 E: Wigan@orioneng.com

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

Primat is a top 50 UK recruitment company.

We have supplied specialist recruitment and workforce assurance services for almost 40 years.

PTS TRADES & LABOUR

SAFETY CRITICAL

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

PERMANENT WAY

COMMERCIAL

primatrecruitment.com

way People

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

RAILSTAFF NOVEMBER 2017

CAREERS

87

Specialist recruiters for the built environment Advance TRS is a niche recruitment consultancy specialising in the provision of highly skilled technical professionals for the built environment.

Signalling | Civils | Telecoms | Project Services | M&E | E&P | Permanent Way 01483 361 061

info@advance-trs.com

www.advance-trs.com

www.trsstaffing.com

0845 463 5952

Global Scale. Local Focus.

Offering Specialist Resourcing and Head Hunting capabilities to the Rail market Project Director (1x Mainline, 1x London Underground) London – Permanent – Up to £85k p.a + £30k benefits

– Rail and Infrastructure Vacancies Currently Available – Project Managers Birmingham / Bristol / London £40,000-£55,000 p/a NEC contract exp

Quantity Surveyors / Commercial Managers London / Birmingham / Bristol £40,000-£65,000 p/a + package

P6 Planning Engineers

Engagement Advisor

London / Birmingham / Bristol £40,000-£65,000 p/a + package

Birmingham / Leeds / Manchester £220 per day – Inside IR35 Station enhancement background required

Traction Power Design Engineer

Environment Manager

Route Engineer

Telecoms Design Engineer (SISS)

Birmingham £325 per day – Inside IR35

Birmingham / Manchester / Leeds £325 per day – Inside IR35

Project Manager – Development Concept / Feasibility

Project Manager – Delivery

Commercial Manager (Mainline and London Underground) London – Permanent – Up to £85k p.a + benefits

H&S Manager x2 (Mainline)

Midlands/London – Permanent – Up to £425 a day or £65k p.a. + benefits London – Contract – Up to £400 a day Midlands or Glasgow – Contract – Up to £350 a day

CAD Technician

York – Contract – £35 to £40 an hour

Senior OLE Design Engineer

York or Derby – Contract or Permanent – £400 a day or £££ Competitive

Principal OLE Design Engineer

Derby – Contract or Permanent – £££ Competitive

Building Services Electrical Engineer Berkshire – Contract – Up to £350 a day

London £350 per day / £55,000 p/a

London £350 per day / £50,000-£60,000 p/a Station enhancement

TRS Staffing Solutions are international engineering recruitment specialists.

We recruit for major national and international projects for leading national rail organisations, main contractors and consultancies.

OLE CAD Technician

York – Contract or Permanent – £££ Competitive

careers@suitablecandidates.com | www.suitablecandidates.com

Please email your CV to jonathan.miles@trsstaffing.com or if you’d prefer to discuss any roles call +44 (0)20 7419 5800 FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

KEEPING YOU RIGHT ON TRACK

RAILWAY MEDICAL SERVICES FROM EXPRESS MEDICALS

Express Medicals have been providing railway medical services since 1996.

We provide medical examinations and drugs & alcohol testing to meet Network Rail, London Underground and DLR standards.

ONGOING SUPPORT

PROMPT SERVICE

If you have a requirement for such services please do not hesitate to contact us.

MEDICAL EXPERTS COUNSELLING DRUG AND ALCOHOL SERVICES HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

TRAVEL HEALTH

PHYSIOTHERAPY

WELLBEING

RAIL MEDICALS

Marketing and Sales Team

020 7500 6900 020 7500 6901 www.expressmedicals.co.uk www.expressmedicals.co.uk

Marketing and Sales Team Marketing and Sales Team

VACCINATIONS BLOOD TESTS

MARKET LEADERS