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INTERVIEWS
RAILSTAFF SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
TASKED TO IMPROVE WHEN NETWORK RAIL WAS SERVED WITH A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT NOTICE, IT CREATED A TASK FORCE TO MANAGE ITS RESPONSE. ITS LEADER, NICK MILLINGTON, RECENTLY SPOKE WITH RAILSTAFF'S COLIN WHEELER
I
n the May/June edition, under the heading of “Safety to improve from July 2022?”, I referred to Network Rail’s response to an Improvement Notice served on them last year by the Office of Rail and Road. This stated that “they have not ensured that appropriate procedures are in place, and suitable equipment is provided, for preventing a person working on the transport system from being struck by a moving train”.
Nick Millington.
At the time, I expressed disappointment with the notice’s compliance date of July 2022 in the light of the most recent fatality, near misses and other incidents, suggesting that earlier improvements were needed. The date was set by ORR, but Network Rail felt I was suggesting things were moving too slowly.
Safety Task Force
In response, I was offered, and was pleased to accept, a virtual meeting with Nick Millington, who leads the Safety Task Force managing the Network Rail response to the Improvement Notice. I thank Nick for finding the time to appraise me of the work done so far to address the shortcomings. Progress has clearly been made, and I now know a little more. In the May/June article, I referred to the £70 million of Task Force initiatives to be implemented. The Task Force is made up of more than 100 full-time staff, whose job is to pull together and make “5,200 milestone changes”. It was set up before the Margam fatalities. Members include safety professionals, work deliverers, and individual teams from the 13 routes and five regions. I was told that 25 per cent of the members are front line supervisors and section managers, which is encouraging.
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