RailStaff - Issue 281 | September-October 2022

KWVR FOUNDERS DAY | 20

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway recently celebrated its 60th anniversary and David Shirres was there.

EXPERT COMMENTARY: RAIB HUMAN FACTORS TEAM | 22 RailStaff caught up with the RAIB human factors team to discuss its role in accident investigations.

FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: CHALLENGES AND NEXT STEPS | 26 McGinley Support Services has studied the effect of the cost-of-living crisis on employee well-being and staff retention.

PROTECTING

WORKERS

FROM NOISE-INDUCED HEARING LOSS | 28

Noise-induced hearing loss is preventable, but the effects are permanent and can seriously impair workers’ lives.

RAILSTAFF AWARDS: THE BIGGEST NIGHT IN THE CALENDAR | 38 Dig out your tuxedos and dust off your cocktail dresses, the industry’s biggest celebration is just weeks away.

Staff A SHINING LIGHT THROUGH THE FOG

Track safety: Colin Wheeler

Advertising: Asif Ahmed

Craig Smith Chris Davies Tiffany Frost

Contact email addresses News: news@rail-media.com

Track safety: colin@rail-media.com

Pictures: pictures@rail-media.com

Adverts: adverts@rail-media.com Subscriptions: manda@rail-media.com

Contact details RailStaff Publications, Rail Media House, Samson Road, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 3FP. Tel: 01530 816 444 Fax: 01530 810 344

All images © Network Rail

This editorial usually begins by mentioning the major events that have taken place between each edition – but where on earth do we start this time around?

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September stunned the country, bringing its people together in mourning. A new era was ushered in – one that felt daunting but strangely hopeful. One month later, the newly ascended King Charles III is already saying goodbye to his first Prime Minister who, after taking some time to consider her position decided that, yes, tanking the economy was a good reason to step down. What has followed is turmoil which may result in the return of a former, disgraced PM, ousted for breaking his own rules.

This is not just a rant, please bear with me.

The current madness in Parliament will have repercussions for us all. Those who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis will find themselves in greater difficulty, but the impacts on the rail industry cannot be ignored. Strikes like those which have hampered operations in recent months become all the more likely if the workforce is struggling to cope with rampant inflation and interest rates. Additionally, a revolving-door of government ministers dashes any hope of continuity in policy. One can only hope that some stability is achieved.

Now, on to other things. This edition features a focus on safety, wellbeing and environment – all of which are of critical concern to the rail industry. To begin, we sat down with Becky Charles, Tabitha Steel, and Mark Young, all of RAIB’s Human Factors team. They chatted to us about their role, RAIB’s remit, and how accident and incident investigations actually work.

We then pivot to an issue that’s just as sobering. In recent months, McGinley Support Services has investigated the country's economic woes and the impact they are having on the wellbeing of the

industry’s workforce. Its report also lays out the expected effect on staff retention and recruitment.

The wellbeing theme continues with a look at the problem of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). This preventable condition is all too common among track workers but can be mitigated with some very simple equipment.

Colin Wheeler ties up the focus. His regular safety bulletin considers the numerous nearmisses reported last summer and asks how many more we can accept. He then provides an overview of the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB), discussing its remit and key strategic aims.

Following on from this, Fiona Westcough, chair of Young Rail Professionals (YRP), celebrates the return of Young Rail Tours (YRT), one of a number of YRP’s initiatives aimed at inspiring and developing the next generation of railway talent. YRT delivers affordable, accessible, and inspirational study tours for rail industry colleagues. This year, it visited Milan.

Given the country’s current state of affairs, who could say no to a holiday abroad? Indeed, jumping ship altogether sounds like a good option. As Australia continues to roll out many major rail projects, Arc Infrastructure is seeking talented employees to help operate its considerable rail network and infrastructure. The company is currently looking for Network Controllers, more commonly known in the UK as Signallers. If you have the required skills, this could be your chance to get out.

Finally, despite the whirlwind of events all around us, the RailStaff Awards stands out as a shining light through the fog. There is only one month to go until this year’s special event, which celebrates all that is great and good about the industry. Hang in there, dust off your glad-rags, and join us for a night where our troubles seem far, far away.

Comic book celebrates Metro workers

A specially stylised comic book has been published to celebrate the work of frontline staff on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Local artist Mike Duckett drew the 40-page comic – titled ‘Some people call us checkies’ –for the ‘everyday superheroes’ who undertake customer service and revenue protection roles on the Metro network.

Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, said the finished artwork was a fresh and contemporary way of celebrating the efforts of its workforce, and it has distributed copies to the thousand staff that it employs.

Duckett, an illustrator from Bardon Mill in Northumberland, has used the medium of comic book art to feature the frontline staff as they look after customers, challenge ticketless travel, and provide a reassuring presence on stations and trains.

He said: “The finished comic celebrates the everyday work of frontline Metro staff as they perform their duties.

“They do a brilliant job. I’ve already got to know many of them and it’s pretty cool to think that they will be immortalised in the finished comic.

“As an artist this has been a great project for me to be involved in. I love comic book art and it was fantastic to be able to get out there and sketching ordinary Metro staff while they’re at

work, whether that is helping a customer use a ticket machine or helping a person with the gatelines.

“The Metro is an iconic transport system, and I don’t think it has ever been represented through this type of artwork before. It’s a new and very contemporary way of celebrating the Metro and its staff.”

The project, part of the big Metro Community Takeover, saw Duckett travelling across the Metro network to meet with and bring to life the stories of some of Metro’s 120 customer service advisors.

Customer services director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “We are excited to be showcasing the work of our staff through the medium of modern art as part of our Community Takeover.

“Nexus has a long tradition of promoting public art on Metro, but this is the first time that we have commissioned comic book art.

“The finished comic is unique, and is a fantastic tribute to everyday life on Metro. We look forward to giving out copies to our

workforce.

“The illustrator, Mike Duckett, worked across the Metro system to draw the staff while they were on duty. Everyone has really enjoyed being a part of it.

“Over the last year Metro has been turned into a platform for community arts and live performances by creative people from across North East England over the coming year as part of the Metro Takeover, our biggest ever community arts programme funded by Arts Council England.”

The Metro Takeover programme involves major regional arts organisations running community projects and commissions which are being showcased at stations across the busy urban transit system by Metro’s operator, Nexus.

Between August 2021 and spring 2022 Metro was brought to life in new ways through dance, song, music and visual arts projects involving people right across the region and funded by Arts Council England.

HS2 Ltd has celebrated the start of the next phase of tunnelling on the enormous infrastructure project, launching the first of six tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will dig over 26 miles of tunnels under the capital.

HS2 Ltd’s CEO, Mark Thurston was joined by local teacher, Sushila Hirani, after whom one of the tunnel boring machines at the West London site is named, as it begins on its five-mile journey.

“Sushila” is the fourth of 10 HS2 tunnel boring machines to be launched. The milestone highlights the progress being made on building Britain’s new high speed rail network, creating jobs, and providing contracts for businesses now. Later this year a second TBM, named after 18th century astronomer Caroline Herschel, will also be launched from the West London site to build the second of HS2’s twin-bore tunnels towards central London.

Each weighing over 2,000 tonnes and measuring 140 metres in length, both TBMs will bore five miles non-stop for 22 months, except Christmas Day and bank holidays, to Greenpark Way in Greenford, where they will

be dismantled and lifted from the ground.

Separately, two other equally massive tunnel boring machines will set off towards Greenpark Way from HS2’s Victoria Road site in 2023 to build a further 3.4mile twin-bore tunnel. Together the quartet of TBMs will build 8.4 miles of twin bored tunnels between West Ruislip and the new high speed rail super hub station at Old Oak Common.

Another 4.5 mile twin-bore tunnel extending from Old Oak Common to Euston will complete HS2’s journey to its London terminus. Each TBM is operated by 15 people, working in shifts. A team of around 40 people assembled the TBMs, with 56 companies involved in getting the site ready and machines launched. In total the 10 TBMs will create 64 miles of tunnels on HS2 between London and the West Midlands.

Five million journeys

Over five million passenger journeys have been clocked on the Northern Line Extension since it opened in September 2021, according to Transport for London’s (TfL’s) latest data.

The extension’s two new Tube stations, at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, have given a huge boost to the area’s connectivity, reducing journey times and helping to support the ongoing delivery of around 25,000 new jobs and more than 20,000 new homes.

Battersea Power Station is the busier of the two new stations with approximately 80,000 trips per week and almost 15,000 trips routinely recorded on the busiest day of the week (Wednesday). Nine Elms station attracts more than 40,000 trips each week and almost 8,000 trips on the busiest day. In June, TfL doubled the frequency of trains on the

extension, from six to 12 trains per hour during peak times, and from five to 10 trains per hour at off-peak times.

The latest modelling indicates that annual passenger journeys on the extension are predicted to continue growing and could reach up to 10 million trips per year in 2024/25. This is due to factors including London’s continued recovery from the pandemic, the ongoing growth and regeneration in the Battersea and Nine Elms areas, and the increased number of trains per hour on the extension, which is making it more popular with customers with reduced wait times.

Battersea Power Station on the London Underground’s Northern Line Extension.

Key destinations for trips made from the new stations at Battersea and Nine Elms include Bank, London Bridge, Leicester Square and Waterloo. Analysis of journey times before and after the opening of the extension found it has led to an average 17-minute reduction in passenger journey times between the area and the City and West End, representing a decrease of almost 50%.

Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “We opened our new Northern line stations with great pride and excitement a year ago and it has been fantastic to see how quickly they have become part of the fabric of the city as people have returned in increasing numbers to the Tube network following the pandemic.

“Since June, we’ve doubled the number of trains serving the extension to give our customers a more frequent service to align with growing demand. Transport plays a critical role in opening up jobs, housing and leisure across the city, with these two new Tube stations clearly demonstrating how faster transport links help neighbourhoods develop and thrive.”

Almost 200 people donned their walking shoes to do the Elizabeth Line Rail Trail this weekend and raised over £43,000 for Rail Aid 2022.

The inaugural event attracted participants from over 20 companies to walk the 15 miles above ground, between Woolwich and Paddington, checking in at each station along the route to collect a stamp.

TfL Commissioner Andy Byford and the entire MTR Executive were amongst the walkers who enjoyed a fun filled day, with each step raising money for vulnerable children.

Jack Miller, Group Director of Fundraising for Railway Children said: “What started as a germ of an idea 9 months ago turned out to be an incredible experience. We can’t thank TfL, MTR and SMBC Leasing enough for backing the idea and making it a reality.

With almost 200 participants from across the industry, it was amazing so many turned up to take part. The atmosphere was so positive and upbeat all the way and every step raised vital funds to support vulnerable children.

“A huge thank you to all our volunteers and we hope everyone who took part enjoyed it as much as we did.

Elizabeth Line Rail Trail

© TfL

© TfL RAILSTAFF SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 NEWS 7 7

Northern ramps up accessibility

Northern has officially opened a new ramp unveiled at Accrington station to give passengers using the Burnley-bound platform step-free access.

Wayfinding signs and lighting have been updated at the station, creating a better experience for customers. Improvements have also been made to the car park including resurfacing work and the addition of two new disabled spaces.

The funding is used to create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to the platform. This includes providing lifts or ramps, as well as associated works and refurbishment along the route.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern said: “This improvement work is part of our wider project to transform our network and encourage people to use public transport – no matter their circumstances.”

In the last two years Northern has also introduced a new mobility scooter scheme allowing users to travel to and from more than 100 stations across the Northern network as well as a priority seating card to make using the train easier for people with visible and nonvisible disabilities.

The free card is specially designed to give people with a range of conditions that make it difficult to stand the confidence to ask other passengers to give up a priority seat, and the opportunity for others to offer theirs.

Chris added: “We want to make our stations, trains – and our wider network – as accessible as possible, and these schemes are the next step in the journey to deliver a Northern that works for everyone and makes a positive difference.”

Sara Britcliffe, MP for Hyndburn, who officially opened the ramp, said: “I am really glad to see that the work has been completed and I want to thank all involved. Working closely, we are looking at how we improve our transport in Hyndburn and how we make our stations accessible for all. We are looking to get funding for future projects as part of our levelling up plan, working with the Government and stakeholders.’

HS2 boosts career prospects

HS2 Ltd’s graduate programme has helped to launch the careers of more than 50 former students since it first began in 2016 and 12 graduates from 10 UK universities are the latest to secure a place on the coveted two-year scheme.

The Class of 2022 will be split across HS2’s engineering, project management, commercial and IT teams, with each new entrant completing rotational placements in their subject area. The bespoke programmes provide candidates with industry experience in their chosen field, whilst supporting the multi-phase delivery of Europe’s biggest infrastructure project.

At peak, HS2’s construction is forecast to create 34,000 jobs, with a programme of works spanning two decades as the railway extends from London, through the Midlands and on to Manchester. Investing in future talent reflects HS2’s drive to upskill the next generation to ensure it has the highly skilled workforce in place it needs to deliver all three phases of the project.

Karen Davis, HS2’s head of talent and development, said: “HS2 is a long-term project on a scale like no other and our investment in training and development is critical to addressing the UK’s skills gap.”

“Our graduates will work alongside, and be mentored by, some of the very best talent in our industry, giving them the best possible start to their careers.”

Seven of the 12 new recruits opted to leave the towns and cities where they had studied, while the remaining four felt the opportunities

HS2 is creating locally provided the best possible start to their careers.

Florence Westwood studied at Nottingham University and wanted to build a career in the transport sector, leading on the planning, execution, and management of major projects. She now lives in Solihull and will join HS2’s project management team.

Florence said: “Securing a place on HS2’s graduate scheme has put me straight onto the career path I wanted to follow. This is a revolutionary project and I know HS2 offer great training and development opportunities, so I’m excited for what the future holds.”

HS2 launched its Skills, Education and Employment strategy in September 2018 and set a clear commitment to developing a diverse workforce that addresses the gender and age imbalances that are commonplace across construction and rail engineering.

With over a quarter of the UK’s rail engineers aged over 55 and predicted to retire in the next ten years, investing in future talent is crucial to ensuring the UK has the skills it needs to support the Government’s commitment to major infrastructure and transport improvement programmes.

Students joining this year’s programme have graduated from Nottingham, Loughborough, Brunel, City, Birmingham, Coventry, West England. Nottingham Trent, University College London, and Queen Mary University of London.

For details of all the latest vacancies and opportunities to work on HS2 visit hs2.org.uk/ careers.

dirty truth about rail cleaning...

63% of cleaners were struggling to make ends meet BEFORE the cost of living crisis

Rising prices mean that a cleaner on the National Minimum Wage would need a £2,000 pay rise to have the same spending power as last year

Cleaners get no company sick pay

69% of cleaners say they have gone into work sick because they can’t afford not to work

Cleaners get no travel facilities

The number of cleaners has been cut leaving people overworked and underpaid.

NEWS IN BRIEF A triumph of design

Christmas fundraising begins

The Christmas season is fast approaching, and Railway Children has released the latest range of festive cards and gifts to celebrate.

The charity Christmas cards are always popular and offer a great opportunity to give something back to those that may be facing a difficult time at Christmas, with profits going towards Railway Children’s work in reaching and protecting vulnerable children in India, Tanzania and the UK. This year’s range of rail-related cards include five new designs for 2022, along with the old favourites, and a new twin-pack available this year. Railway Children has even been able to keep the cost down to just £5 for a pack of ten, thanks to the generosity of the artists used who again offered their services for free.

As well as the Christmas card range, Railway Children is selling a range of Happy Future charity gifts too. Each one will provide life-changing funds for children and families around the world so buying one is a great way to show your loved ones just how much you care. There are several new gifts in this year’s range, including Emergency Essentials. This gift pays for the vital food, drink and care a child in India receives when they arrive at one of Railway Children’s Child Help Desks – often the first they have had in some time and a crucial step in their journey to safety.

To order Railway Children Christmas cards visit www.railwaychildren.org.uk/shop

Hedgehog highway

Network Rail has completed one mile of boundary fencing renewals with a difference on Glasgow’s south side.

Hedgehog-friendly holes have been included in a timber fencing renewal at Muirend to allow the creatures to move freely in and around railway property. Hedgehogsized holes at regular intervals have been cut along the bottom of new close boarded timber fencing to create ‘Hedgehog Highways’ which allow the animals to move safely between their foraging habitats and their nests.

Historic sign restored

Teams from Network Rail have painstakingly restored an iconic railway sign just north of York station following a request from the daughter of the man who made it almost 90 years ago.

Pauline Kerr contacted Network Rail to request that the sign, which marks the half-way point between Edinburgh and London, be cleaned and restored. The sign was made and installed in 1938 by Pauline’s Dad, Ken Bainbridge, from Newton-on-Ouse. Ken made the sign when he worked as an engineer’s apprentice aged just 17. Building the sign took Ken two weeks and saw him craft the 50-foot sign by hand, using a chisel, saw and drill.

The re-opening of the newly transformed Whitechapel Station, part of the new Elizabeth Line, has been called ‘a triumph of design and build’ by the Director for Rail at BakerHicks, the design, engineering and project delivery firm which took the project from RIBA Stage 3 to deliver the new design concept for the station through to completion.

James Howles says he is proud to have played a role in the project’s design and delivery.

“This is a historic project that will deliver improved transport infrastructure for generations to come,” he explained.

“The sheer scale of the mission, plus the fact it was conducted in a live environment so as not to disrupt existing rail services, was a triumph of project management. It was hugely complex, and the team went above and beyond to ensure the design was delivered to specification. It is a graphic illustration of the experience and dedication of our teams, and we look forward to seeing the difference it will undoubtedly make to its local community.”

BakerHicks provided multi-disciplinary design services, including architecture, Building Information Modelling (BIM), civil and structural engineering, and mechanical, electrical, and public health engineering for the station.

Working closely with the Crossrail team and the main contractor, BBMV (the Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, VINCI Construction joint venture), they were instrumental in ensuring designs were in line with, and adhering to, all Crossrail and London Underground specifications and standards, whilst the station and lines remained in operation.

The much-publicised project focused on the repair and overhaul of the original Victorian façade, and the construction of a modern ticket hall and concourse, the latter featuring a planted rooftop to offset some of the carbon emissions produced or embedded in the construction process. It also serves to improve air quality and reduce noise. Glass above the concourse allows daylight into the station and down to the platforms, and new lifts and escalators have also been installed.

BakerHicks also provided key enabling works to facilitate the new station configuration, as well as ventilation, cooling

and emergency systems design, including an innovative underground staircase pressurisation system. This was unique in that there were no specific industry standards for underground pressurisation, so BakerHicks’ engineers worked closely with the Crossrail team to build their own standards. To achieve this extensive energy assessments and thermal analysis was carried out, ensuring the systems met safety requirements.

The station forms part of the Elizabeth line, which was the largest construction project in Europe, and runs for over 100km through central London, from Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east to Reading and Heathrow in the west, and has a total of 41 stations, including 10 major new stations and 26 miles of tunnels. A vital interchange station, Whitechapel connects the Hammersmith & City, District and London Overground lines, as well as the new Elizabeth line, providing travellers with improved transport links and increasing central London’s rail capacity by ten percent.

Steve O’Sullivan, BBMV Project Director, commented: “As I reflect on this incredible feat of engineering, I have never been more proud of what our team have delivered. It truly is testament to the collaborative culture of our joint venture, who have persevered throughout the challenges faced by the global Covid-19 pandemic. We now look forward to watching as the station plays a role in transforming travel across London, whilst also supporting wider regeneration in the local area through job creation and opportunities for local businesses.”

© Baker Hicks

© Baker Hicks

Rail passengers in the West Midlands will soon have the chance to climb on board a brand new train fleet – the first to be introduced in the region in more than a decade.

A total of 26 Class 196 trains are being introduced as part of West Midlands Railway’s £690 million investment in new trains and infrastructure.

The first trains in the fleet will enter service on the Shrewsbury Line in coming weeks, serving destinations including Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Telford.

A special event to celebrate the fleet’s impending launch was held at Wolverhampton Station today, with guests including West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and passenger groups.

It has also been confirmed the first train in the fleet will be named “Charles Darwin” in honour of the Shrewsbury-born naturalist recognised as one of the greatest Britons of all time.

Ian McConnell, West Midlands Railway managing director, said: “These brand new trains will provide a much-improved travelling experience for our customers with smart air conditioning and power points at every seat.

“We have had to wait a little while to introduce these trains due to the pandemic but I am delighted our customers will

WMR unveils new fleet

soon be able to experience the trains for themselves.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “I want to see a golden era for rail travel in our region and this £690 million investment from West Midlands Railway is a vital and very welcome element in realising that overall vision.

“These fantastic new trains will make a real difference for passengers – improving the travel experience, connecting communities and providing extra capacity – which is much needed as public transport usage continues to climb post-pandemic.

“This announcement celebrates a genuine success story and is a great example of what public-private partnership working at its best can achieve for local residents.”

The diesel fleet, consisting of 80 carriages in total, has been constructed by manufacturer CAF at its factories in South Wales and Spain. It is the first new train fleet to be introduced to the West Midlands franchise in more than a decade.

From next year, trains in the fleet will also serve the Hereford Line, connecting Birmingham with destinations including Bromsgrove, Droitwich and Worcester.

Greater Anglia tackles trespassers

Greater Anglia has implemented additional measures to help keep people safe at some railway stations on its West Anglia route, after figures from the past year revealed trespass incidents caused almost three days’ worth of delays.

New measures have been installed at some of Greater Anglia’s busiest railway stations between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street to help keep people away from the tracks, after figures showed trespass incidents delayed trains by more than 65 hours over the course of a year.

Additional fences, gates, and witches’ hats – rubber spikes on the ground which deter people from accessing the track – have been introduced at several stations, to help keep people safe.

Greater Anglia works with the charity Samaritans, which offers

training to all rail staff across the country. Almost 500 members of staff from Greater Anglia have taken part in the course which teaches rail staff how to recognise someone who may be vulnerable, how to approach them and start a conversation.

They are taught some of the essential listening skills that underpin Samaritans’ volunteer services as well as how to get the person to a place of safety and refer them onto friends, family, the British Transport Police or Samaritans to receive further support.

Samaritans are available all day, every day on 116 123.

Greater Anglia

Lincoln’s latest cohort of students have been taught a lesson in rail safety, after worrying CCTV footage shows a man stumble across a level crossing.

Captured at a level crossing in the heart of the city on Lincoln High Street, the video shows a young male ignore the obvious alarms, jump over the crossing’s barriers, and stagger across the two live tracks.

Within seconds, a fast and heavy freight train blasts through, blaring its horn.

With more than 200 trains speeding through this crossing each day, it is paramount that both newcomers to the city and long-term residents understand how to use it safely.

Elisha Allen, Community Safety Manager for Network Rail, said: “This behaviour is incredibly dangerous and deeply concerning. The individual involved recklessly risked their life to stumble just a few metres further forward.

“The level crossing on Lincoln High Street is a busy and active route across the railway, and it can present a real danger if not used correctly. People need to be

Safety shock for students

well aware of the dangers, pay attention to the unmissable alarms, and remain incredibly vigilant when crossing the tracks, particularly while under the influence.

Network Rail, the British Transport Police and East Midlands Railway have joined forces to deliver a vital safety session for freshers as part of the University of Lincoln’s ‘staying safe on a night out’ week.

British Transport Police Chief Inspector, Ricky Sweeney, said: “The railway is no

Alstom proves hydrogen's effectiveness

Alstom has demonstrated the effectiveness of its hydrogenpowered Coradia iLint passenger train after it completed a 1,175km journey across Germany without stopping to refuel.

Alstom used a vehicle belonging to LNVG, the transport authority of Lower Saxony, Germany, and also partnered with the gas and engineering company Linde.

“We are pleased to be leading innovation in this area as the first railway manufacturer in the world to offer a passenger train based on hydrogen technology,” said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Alstom.

“With this journey, we have provided further proof that our hydrogen trains have all the prerequisites to replace diesel vehicles.

“We are immensely proud of the pioneering work we have done in introducing hydrogen to rail transport.”

Starting in Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, the train travelled through Hesse to Bavaria, all the way to Burghausen near the German-Austrian border before coming to a stop in Munich. Following this remarkable journey, the train will now head for the German capital. Several trips through Berlin are on the agenda as part of InnoTrans 2022 from 20-23 September.

There is great international interest in sustainable mobility. In addition to the contract with LNVG for 14 Coradia iLint trains for operation in Lower Saxony, Alstom has been commissioned to supply 27 Coradia iLint trains for use in the Frankfurt metropolitan area.

Outside Germany, Alstom is building six Coradia Stream hydrogen trains in the Italian region of Lombardy, with an additional option agreed for eight more vehicles.

place to take a shortcut.

“Getting somewhere a little quicker is not worth the risk, and we have seen first-hand that this can lead to tragic consequences or life-changing injuries –both outcomes are avoidable.

“The public continue to be our eyes and ears, and they can help us by reporting any concerns or incidents to us directly by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40.”

SWR's net-zero roadmap

South Western Railway (SWR) has announced a landmark commitment and roadmap to deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2040 at the latest, 10 years ahead of the UK’s overall legal deadline to be net zero by 2050.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has backed SWR, in collaboration with Network Rail and other key stakeholders, to deliver the UK rail industry’s first robust, transparent, and cost-effective roadmap to net zero.

This can lead the way for the decarbonisation of the whole UK rail network, soon to be overseen by the new Great British Railways, building a modern, innovative, and sustainable railway fit for the future that can attract customers back after the pandemic.

SWR plans to cut its carbon footprint with challenging, science-based targets, in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This follows commitments made by FirstGroup last year, the first UK public transport company to commit to net zero targets.

These targets have been independently assessed and will be audited by climate experts at the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an internationally recognised authority which helps companies to set emission reduction targets in line with the latest climate science.

The bespoke roadmap to net zero has been designed according to the latest analysis of SWR’s climate impact: over half (52%) of emissions are from supply chains, 45% from running train services, and 3% from buildings such as depots and stations.

Progress will be carefully monitored with tools such as the Rail Safety and Standards Board carbon calculator used to measure SWR’s embodied carbon footprint, while suppliers will be requested to provide Environmental Product Declarations or other carbon data.

© Network Rail

© South Western Railway

A family-friendly first

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) will open the first Family Lounge on the UK rail network at London King’s Cross Station this week.

The Family Lounge has been specially designed to help make rail more family friendly and to give families a dedicated space to wait for trains, with plenty on offer to keep children entertained and parents relaxed.

Located on the main concourse next to the Travel Centre, the Family Lounge is easy to

access and boasts a variety of seating options including beach huts with table-top games, a soft play area, and an impressive bespoke designed Hornby train set which is certain to entertain children and parents alike.

Children will be inspired with a heritage wall featuring items that have been donated by the National Railway Museum in York as well as video content from LNER’s award winning ‘In the driver’s seat’ series, which gives viewers a glimpse of what it is like to be an Azuma train driver.

As part of the creation of the Family Lounge, the Travel Centre has also been refurbished, with a moss wall now separating the two areas, complimenting the green credentials of rail travel, and will provide a comfortable breastfeeding space.

The new facility is designed to welcome more families who choose to travel by train, with a recent survey conducted by UK parenting network Mumsnet, finding that an easy travel experience is important to 93 per cent of people when planning a day trip.

of water from the train onto the track when a slippery rail is detected.

Northern is fitting new technology to a number of its trains to help combat leaves on the line and stop disruption for passengers during autumn.

Leaf fall can cause chaos across the rail network during the autumn. Leaves stick to damp rails and are compressed into a smooth, slippery layer, reducing trains’ grip.

Railway lines are currently cleaned using railhead treatment trains, also known as RHTTs, but there are only a limited number of these trains available.

RHTTs are also expensive to run, so they are mainly used to clean high-traffic, intercity lines, which means some lines are left untreated.

But Northern is now fitting new ‘leaf-busting’ technology to 16 of its 170 passenger trains which will operate between Leeds, Harrogate, and York, as well as routes between Sheffield, Doncaster, Hull, and Scarborough. These areas are some of those most affected by poor autumn conditions.

The technology – Water-Trak – has previously been tested on the Northern network and creates rainy-day conditions on the rail surface by spraying a small amount

This might seem as if it has the opposite effect – but the team discovered that leaf coated rails only become slippery if damp, noting that trains still stop safely in heavy rain.

Two of Northern’s Class 319s fitted with Water-Trak have been successfully operating in passenger service since late October 2021. The trials with Northern are being run thanks to funding from Network Rail’s Performance Innovation Fund.

Rob Cummings, seasonal improvement manager at Northern, said: “This is the next step in finding a solution to tricky autumn conditions. One of the biggest risks to our performance during October and November is leaves on the line, but by helping to develop new innovative technology we aim to deliver the very best service for our passengers.”

John Cooke, Co-founder at Water-Trak, said: “We are really excited to be working with Northern to show how Water-Trak can help to solve the age-old problem of leaves on the line.”

Hitachi Rail unveiled its new ‘Blues Train’. Built for Trenitalia, the cutting-edge battery hybrid train will reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption by 50% and has the ability to arrive at and depart from stations completely under battery power.

The train will be the first ever ‘tri-mode’ (using battery, electric, and diesel power) to enter passenger service in Europe. Its inauguration comes ahead of its introduction into passenger service in Italy later this year. It is based on Hitachi’s Masaccio platform. The total Blues framework agreement with Trenitalia includes the supply of up to 135 trains worth €1.2 billion.

The Blues train, represents a significant breakthrough, with its ability to operate seamlessly on electrified and non-electrified lines. On electrified routes, it uses pantographs to draw power from the overhead lines. However, when it moves to non-electrified lines, usually smaller regional routes, a combination of battery and diesel power takes over.

Hitachi's 'Blues Train'

When it is near a station, the batteries power the train completely, eliminating emissions including harmful NOx and reducing noise pollution. The battery is able to recharge while the train is in operation, both in diesel and electric mode.

The fleet’s top speed is 160km/h and the extra power offered by the on-board batteries means the train’s acceleration and performance is superior to existing diesel trains, allowing it to offer reduced journey times.

The Blues train is equipped with European Rail Traffic

Nexus welcomes new apprentices

Nexus has welcomed its 2022 cohort of apprentices, following an extensive recruitment campaign earlier this year.

Ten people, aged from 17-38, are starting their training in a variety of roles, including Metro track and signalling engineers, business administration, Shields Ferry crew, and automatic fares collection.

Some will learn the skills needed to look after the 77km network of Metro train tracks, 270 signals and all ticket machines, while others will be working within key business units behind the scenes in Nexus.

Katie Goldston, 19, has started an apprenticeship in Infrastructure, where she will gain a working knowledge of all the signalling, electrical and telecommunications systems on the Metro network.

She said: “I had previously started a degree in Law, but I didn’t get very far before I realised it wasn’t for me. I wanted something more hands on and practical, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. It’s completely different but it’s been great so far, I’m learning so much.”

Another new starter, Brogan Clarke, age 17, started an apprenticeship in Automatic Fares Collection, where he’ll be part of a team responsible for the maintenance of all ticket machines, validators and gatelines on the Metro network.

He said: “I knew I wanted to do an apprenticeship, because I wanted something that was hands on and varied, so this seemed ideal. I’m looking forward to getting started with the team and working towards my engineering qualifications.”

Nexus has a successful track record in recruiting apprentices, with most of them progressing on to permanent full-time employment or higher-level training after serving their time as trainees.

Management System (ERTMS) digital signalling, which has up until now only been used on high-speed trains. This system supports the reduction of the railway’s energy and emissions footprint by regulating the speed, acceleration and braking of trains. ERTMS also boosts safety by enabling the automatic activation of train safety functions, including emergency braking in case of danger or if trains exceed the track’s line speed. ERTMS is recognised as the European rail standard, making the Blues Train highly interoperable and suitable for operation across Europe.

Andrew Barr, Group CEO, Hitachi Rail, said: “The Blues train, with its pioneering battery hybrid technology, is a hugely important way for railways across Europe to reduce their carbon emissions, while improving passengers’ journeys.

“We’re thrilled to unveil this technology here in Berlin and to begin passenger service in Italy later this year. We know that decarbonising transport is a vital mission around Europe, so we’re delighted to provide our customer with effective solutions that lessen the impact on the planet.”

Deaf pupils help shape HS2

HS2 and Braidwood Trust School for the Deaf hosted a red carpet premiere on 30 September for a short film they have worked together to create. ‘HS2: Building a railway for everyone’ highlights the power of hearing in a station environment and shows how the school’s pupils are working with HS2 to ensure Britain’s new railway is inclusive and accessible for all.

It is estimated that there are approximately 11 million people in the UK with a hearing loss, which makes it the second most common disability, but the lack of visible signs that a person might need additional support when at a station or onboard a train can add to the challenges the Deaf community face.

When HS2 enters service at the end of the decade it will welcome millions of passengers

with multiple and diverse needs. The innovative partnership with Braidwood School is just one of the ways that HS2 is listening and learning from disabled people to drive positive change.

Train travel is a daunting prospect for many of Braidwood’s 70 pupils and the learning and research project with HS2 was the first time that some of its pupils had ever boarded a train.

KWVR

FOUNDERS DAY

The five-mile Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) is a steeply graded single-track branch line that has a junction station at Keighley on the Leeds to Carlisle main line. From there, it climbs up the Worth Valley through Haworth, of Bronte sisters fame, to Oxenhope.

When the branch closed in 1962 a meeting was held to consider how it could be re-opened. It was here that the KWVR preservation society was formed. A company was also formed to buy the line outright, lease access to Keighley, and operate a train service. British Rail agreed to sell the line for a remarkably favourable £34,000 to be paid in 25, annual, interest-free instalments. Ownership of the line was transferred to the KWVR in 1967.

The line was re-opened on 29 June 1968 on a day when, due to a national train strike, no other trains were running. This was the second preserved standard gauge passenger railway re-opening. The first being the Bluebell line in 1960.

To celebrate its 60th anniversary, the KWVR recently held a Founders Day for those who joined the Society before its June 1968 re-opening. Having been a volunteer in the late 1960s, I was honoured to be one of around 70 early members present, though of these only a handful were at the 1962 founding meeting.

HARD GRAFT

Chairman Matthew Stroh started the proceedings by thanking everyone for helping make the railway possible and overcoming significant challenges. This theme was taken up by former Chairman Graham Mitchell who paid particular tribute to the hard graft of early members who physically rebuilt the line after British Rail left it in a poor condition.

Graham noted that the majority at the 1962 founders meeting just wanted their railway service back and had no interest in railway preservation. However, in the six years for which line was closed, its regular users had found other ways to travel so the line re-opened as a preserved steam railway. Recognising the need to support the community, the railway offers local residents a discounted fares railcard.

He felt that much of the success of the railway was due to the way it collaborated with other groups especially the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust, Vintage Carriages Trust (VCT), and Bahamas Locomotive Society (BLS), of which the last two are based at Ingrow station.

After the speeches, the 13:35 train from Keighley had two coaches reserved for the founders, one with a real ale bar serving Worth Valley pale Ale. This train was hauled by Taff Vale Railway No 85, a 0-6-2 tank

Oxenhope Shed.

locomotive built in 1899 for service on the steep Welsh Valley lines.

On arrival at Oxenhope, there was an opportunity to visit the three-track shed which housed some of the railway’s locomotives and coaches before getting the train back to Haworth for a tour of its well-equipped locomotive sheds. In the shed was one of the railway’s most powerful locomotives. No 5850 is a 2-8-0 built in Ohio and shipped to Poland during WW2. After its withdrawal it went to a railway museum in Warsaw until USSR officialdom realised that the museum had an American locomotive. After complex negotiations, No 5850 was brought to the KWVR.

RAILWAY CHILDREN

Other founders’ tours were arranged at Ingrow and Oakworth. At Ingrow, the Museum of Rail Travel houses the carriages restored by the VCT, and BLS has its locomotive workshop and museum which explains the history of the steam locomotive.

The other tour was at the immaculately restored gas lit Oakworth station and its particularly well-preserved Midlands Railway goods shed. This is best known for being a location for the 1970 film ‘The Railway Children’ and its recently released sequel ‘The Railway Children Return’. For the original

film, KWVR persuaded filmmakers to keep the name of Oakworth. Railway ticket sales doubled after the film’s release.

To accommodate this extra demand, in 1971 a loop was provided between Damens and Oakworth for which a signal box was acquired from the nearby Frizinghall station. In 1989, a turntable acquired from Garsdale was installed at Keighley.

In the railway’s early years, I often worked at Damens station, Britain’s smallest standard-gauge railway station. My duties involved operating the level crossing which was worked from a groundframe in the stationmaster’s house garden. Before signals could be cleared, this was unlocked by keys that were released when crossing gates were locked against road traffic. The station is a request stop. On the infrequent occasions when a ticket was sold, the train had to be flagged to a halt. I wondered how much coal the engine used when restarting on the 1 in 64 gradient at the station.

Today, the single coach length platform at Damens has a ticket office, waiting room, toilet, and signal cabin. In 1971, control of the crossing was transferred from the groundframe to this cabin which was rescued from Earby on the closed Skipton to Colne line. The original station building, which was completely rotten, was replaced in 1993.

PROUD HERITAGE

This year, the KWVR celebrated its 54 years of operating the line between Keighley & Oxenhope and has now operated the branch for longer than any other organisation in its 155year history. It was one of the first preserved railways that set the scene for many other heritage railway re-openings. The Heritage Railway Association now represents 173 working railways (around 70 being standard gauge) that attract 13 million

visitors each year. Between them they have 560 miles of track, 800 steam locomotives, 4,000 employees and 22,000 volunteers.

At a time when British Railways were withdrawing their last steam locomotives, it was difficult to imagine that 50 years later, there would be so many preserved railways. Over the years it has been good to see this heritage railway expansion and how this reflects Britain’s huge interest in its railways.

2-6-2T locomotive 41241 in Haworth shed. This hauled the 1968 opening train. A condition of its purchase from British Railways was that it could not be painted black, hence the non-authentic crimson livery.

Inside the Oakworth booking office.

The diminutive Damens station.

EXPERT COMMENTARY

RAIB HUMAN FACTORS TEAM

RailStaff regularly reports on the investigative findings of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), but what exactly is the organisation’s purpose and how does it respond to accidents and incidents on the rails? We caught up with Becky Charles, Tabitha Steel, and Mark Young of RAIB’s Human Factors team to discuss their work and the role of human factors in the investigation of unfortunate events.

Hi everyone, thanks for joining us. To start off, could you provide us with an overview of the RAIB, its work, and how it came to be?

Mark: RAIB is the independent safety investigator for the UK railways. We were formed as a result of Lord Cullen’s investigation into the 1999 Ladbroke Grove disaster. At that time the UK had an independent Air Accident Investigation Branch and an independent Marine Accident Investigation Branch, but we didn't have a similar independent body for rail. We began our work in October 2005 and since then we’ve completed over 500 investigations, bulletins and safety digests.

We're independent of the industry, so we're not part of Network Rail, the British Transport Police (BTP), or the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). We work separately, but alongside them, so we’ll share certain parts of evidence that we collect with them, but one part that we absolutely cannot share – and this is laid down in legislation – is witness evidence. Our role is purely about safety learning rather than blame or prosecution, and we want witnesses to be open and honest with us as far as they can be.

Our remit only covers accidents involving moving trains, so we don't get involved with things like slips, trips, and falls at stations, trespass, or suicide. We are obliged to

investigate certain types of incidents, for instance those involving fatalities, serious injuries to five more people, and those causing extensive damage, i.e., damage of over £2 million.

Thankfully, the UK Rail Industry is a very safe one and we don’t have to deal with many major accidents, but we do investigate incidents and near-misses as well. We investigate those on a discretionary basis and the primary criterion for what we investigate is the potential safety learning that can come out of it. At the end of the day, our investigations are written up as reports which are made public on our website, and our primary instrument for improving safety is the recommendations made in those reports.

How exactly does the RAIB respond when an incident occurs? How are you made of aware of these events?

Mark: When an incident or accident occurs which is within our scope, the industry is dutybound to notify us. That alert will be received by one of our inspectors who’s been rostered as a duty coordinator. The duty coordinator will triage that initial call and decide if it’s within our scope or is something that’s of potential interest to us. If it is, we'll deploy one or more of our rostered on-call inspectors to the accident site to gather evidence for what we call a preliminary examination.

When we get a call, we aim to be out of

COMMENTARY

the door and on the way to an investigation site within 30 minutes. Since we are based in Farnborough and Derby, the Emergency Services will likely be on site before we arrive, but legislation means that at the more serious end of the spectrum, they can't touch or move anything without our say so.

So how does Human Factors fit in to this?

Mark: There is a common perception that Human Factors is all about human error, but it’s not just about what people have or haven't done wrong on the front line. Of course, we do have to look at this, but from our perspective human factors as a discipline goes much wider than just those individual actions and decisions. It's all about the influences on peoples’ performance at a systemic level. We're much more interested in how a person came to be in a particular place at a particular time, how they came to make particular decisions, and what influenced that. That may be the environment they're working in, the equipment they’re using, the procedures they're working to, and the training they’ve received. Their state of mind, level of fatigue, distractions, and workload are all extremely important factors, as is the culture of the organisation they're working in, and how things like safety management systems are implemented. Safety on the front line goes much deeper than the actions of one or a team of individuals.

How do you go about starting an investigation? What are your first steps and what are you looking for at that point?

Mark: In the first instance we’re trying to understand what happened, as best we can, on the basis of the evidence returning from the site. That includes surveying, photography, physical evidence from the vehicles and infrastructure involved, and witness evidence from the people involved.

We have about 40 staff, roughly split 50/50 between our Farnborough and Derby offices and roughly half of those are inspectors.  Every Monday, in branch, we have a preliminary examination review meeting. If there has been a deployment in the previous week, or couple of weeks, inspectors will come back from that and present to the entire branch. Everybody attends that meeting and contributes to the Branch’s decision as to whether or not we’ll take that forward for an investigation or do something different with it, such as one of our safety digests which is a shorter version of a report.

You need to strike a balance between not prejudging what might have happened but also having some sort of theory to structure your evidence collection strategy. If you were completely open-minded, you’d just collect everything, and you can't really do that.

Normally, when a call comes in, let’s says there’s been a derailment, you get an idea of the conditions surrounding it because of the

way it’s called in and you might start forming some impression. If it's in the middle of the night, and it's a freight train, you might start thinking about whether fatigue played a part, and what questions you might have to ask the driver.

Once you’re at the site, the preliminary examination process is a really crucial time, because you're not going to be able to go back to and get that evidence again. It's always best to get more evidence than you need and end up not using it than not getting enough and potentially missing the key piece that you need. Another thing is that memories fade very quickly – they’re very perishable in terms of evidence.

Witness evidence is very important to us and we get interview training. Due to legislation, if an event is deemed to be an accident and not relate to serious criminality we take primacy on the investigation and we should really be the first to interview those involved as soon as possible after the event. However, when we arrive on site, those involved in the event might also be traumatised. We’ve got to try and manage that as well. They might need to go home and get some sleep before talking to us but, as soon as we reasonably can, we'll get an interview with that person to get that best evidence out of their memory.

We have to build a good rapport with witnesses too. We don't just steam in and start the interview straightaway. We'll spend a good 10-15 minutes building a rapport with the

witness, explaining who we are, explaining the no blame aspect, and explaining the fact that the interview is protected under legislation. We also have to remember that although we’ve conducted many interviews ourselves, for the witness it’s probably the first they’ve ever had to do. It's a big event for them, especially coming after a traumatic incident. Part of our job is to manage that process, and ensure they understand what the outcome of the interview will be.

a follow-up meeting at a later date. The idea is to offer advice and reassurance to people and direct them to further help if required. It's been very successfully implemented. We use a similar process for people who may have to look at distressing images as our work may involve looking at CCTV footage or photographs which can be potentially traumatic.

How do

become an RAIB inspector? Is any particular specialisation required?

Becky: We all come into the branch with our own specialisms. We've got track engineers, level crossing specialists, surveyors, etc. Everyone that comes into the branch is very experienced in their own specialism and I’d say that’s the key to becoming an accident investigator. Once an application is accepted, we're all trained to the same level and given everything we need to fulfil the inspector role. One way it’s been described is that we’re the GPs of the rail industry. We all know a bit about everything, and then we all have a greater depth of specialism in a particular area. The reason for that is because we could be sent to anything. Any one of us could be deployed next week to a derailment or a signalling failure. We have to be able to go out there and know what we’re looking at and, more than anything, be able to talk the language. For instance, if we’re talking to S&T engineers we need to be able to understand what they’re talking about, but also make them confident that we know what’s going on, and that we’re collecting the crucial evidence.

Alongside all of that, we have Mental Health First Aiders within the branch, and we also get involved with a lot of wellbeing initiatives. These things are good not just for our own internal support, they help us do our job better. We go out and meet with the bereaved and the injured on a fairly regular basis, and although we’re not counsellors, things like Mental Health First Aid training can make us more sensitive towards witnesses in those situations.

Mark: Our Annual Report for 2021 was published back in May and one of the main issues to come out of that was around track worker safety. That covers all kinds of things like poor decisions and local management issues, all the way up to organisational matters. Another issue that stands out surrounds level crossings.

looking at the organisational factors. That means not only looking at, say, the safety management systems in place, but also to look at the safety or reporting culture, underneath all of that. In human factors, we try to make a distinction between how people think work is being carried out, and how the reality of that may differ.

Finally,

is there anything about your

work

that you’d like to make rail staff more aware of?

Tabitha: In our branch we use a process called TRiM (Trauma Risk Management). That means that if someone has been deployed to a site which could be potentially traumatic, one of our TRiM practitioners will go through a risk assessment process with them when they come back into the office. This is to discover whether there are any issues, and there’ll be

In terms of Human Factors, the recurring issues we see are generally things like workload, stress, distraction, and fatigue. Being a 24/7 industry, fatigue comes up as a problem very regularly. The most recent report I worked on, published back in July, was a quite serious Signal Passed At Danger (SPAD) at Sileby, near Loughborough. Fatigue played quite a large role in that incident. The incident came at the end a long night shift, and night shifts are not very good for our bodily rhythms. While the industry runs around the clock, and a lot of work takes place at night, the human body isn’t necessarily geared up for that, and it’s important to manage that risk.

Tabitha: One of the pieces of work that we’ve done in the branch is to make sure that investigations are going deep enough and

Mark: One thing we try to emphasise to the people we interview is that the evidence they give us is purely for the purpose of improving safety. We do not apportion blame and we do not share interview transcripts.

Also, it’s important to remember that most of the time, people carry out their jobs safely and correctly, but every now and then things can go wrong. Nobody ever goes out to have an accident – we’re all just trying to get our job done and go home safely.

Human factors go much deeper than focusing on the one person who made a mistake. For us, human error is the start of our investigations, not the end because that one error came at the end of countless inputs. In the event of an incident or accident, people find it very easy to blame themselves, but there’s always more to the story. We’re here to understand exactly why those errors are made so they can be prevented in future.

you

It must be a tough role at times. What support do you receive if you’ve visited a traumatic scene?

Are you seeing any key trends or themes behind the causes of recent incidents or accidents?

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FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

CHALLENGES AND NEXT STEPS

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone. With basic goods, energy and fuel, and mortgage costs or rent all rising, many of us are being pushed to the edge of what we can afford. In recent months, McGinley Support Services investigated the crisis and the potential effects it can have on the wellbeing of staff, plus the retention of workers. The work aims to provide some practical advice to managing these issues.

COST OF LIVING PRESSURE FOR THE PRECARIAT

Inflation has been rising since early 2022 and could hit to 13% by Q1 2023. Meanwhile, the energy price cap is due to rise to £4300 by April 2023 now the proposed cap of £2,500 has been scrapped. According to HMRC and the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average person in the UK, who earns a salary of £24,600, is expected to be around £4,500 worse off per year.

Unsurprisingly, many workers at all levels are extremely worried about their finances.

“We all live to our means,” says John Jebson, McGinley’s OHSE Director. “This crisis will also affect higher paid managers, planners, and supervisors who may have larger mortgages and credit. We had several years of low interest rates and low-cost borrowing, so people got used to that but now face high increases”.

However, it’s the lower earners who will be impacted most. “All credit will get harder to obtain and become more expensive. As a provider of contingent labour, McGinley is concerned inflation is disproportionate to those workers with poor credit or lower earnings”.

John added, “workers on low hours with commitments will be particularly affected. Those on zero hours contracts – sometimes referred to as the precariat class – are more likely to struggle to get mortgages and loans, or any credit, and often are charged a higher rate if they can get it”.

SAFETY AND WELLBEING AMIDST VOLATILITY

The predicted impacts on the safety and wellbeing of workers make for stark reading. The research – carried out by McGinley together with labour desk partners Danny Sullivan Group and VGC Group focused on the Construction sector, finding that over 44% of workers cite financial worries as their biggest cause of mental distress. And this is compounded by finding that 84% do not feel comfortable to speak to their colleagues or employers about this.

Many workers, then, are suffering in silence and bringing that distress with them to work. People in crisis may act in unpredictable ways and make decisions that are not compatible with safety. This can manifest itself in the form of workers who may be easily distracted while operating dangerous machinery, or construction staff taking risks that they usually would not. Fatigue is also a major problem for staff who are under a heavy mental load, as sleep can affected by stress.

Intervention now will provide more stability for workers, which reduces mental health problems later. The link between finances and risky behaviour was seen clearly during the covid pandemic, when 54% of construction workers polled admitted that - due to the financial implications of taking time off - they would go to work even if they tested positive for Covid-19.

TRAINING BOOSTS

STAFF RETENTION

The effects of the current economic climate go beyond safety and wellbeing in the workplace. The situation also has implications for the recruitment and retention of staff throughout the rail industry.

“If a worker has a family or other responsibilities and cannot meet the basic needs to support this, they may be forced to find other ways to cope” says John. “Examples may include moving jobs for higher rewards in other industries, which worsens labour shortages, or workers doing second jobs to support their income, causing greater fatigue”.

“The financial crisis may also leave companies less able to

invest in training and upskilling, meaning workers miss the opportunity to earn more had they been trained. Those skills that remain and are in scarce supply are in high demand, which is good for those individuals but bad for industry, especially those without fixed contracts and commitments.”

MORE COMMITMENT TO WORKERS NEEDED

Thankfully, the research also identifies measures clients and contractors can take to ensure their workers are safe and not being overwhelmed by the current financial climate. Communication is key - firms must talk to their workforce about their experiences of the cost-of-living cost increases, and ask what can be done to help.

The research was presented to Network Rail at a Supply Chain conference, with many questions focussing on what action can be taken now. This needs tackling across the whole supply chain in a collaborative way, including potential contractual changes and commercial rate adjustments.

“We know that wages for many roles have remained stagnant for several years so most working people in our industries have seen a gradual erosion of their real earnings. Minimum wage and living wages are often talked about, but we need to understand if our workforce earns enough to survive. Providing a higher hourly rate helps but not if only a few hours are available.”

Consistent engagement with staff is also crucial. Ensure front line supervisors are equipped to supply key information or government updates, or invite speakers to attend worksites to provide practical advice for workers.

Firms can also consider more practical assistance. For example, some companies in infrastructure have introduced cost of living payments to recognise the issues and demonstrate they care.

McGinley’s research refers to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – an assessment tool intended to reflect the universal needs of a society. Meeting level 2 requirements is crucial in all walks of life, says John.

“Without some practical solutions, our workforce and their families may be forced to look for other work or sectors or make some poor behavioural choices. We know when someone is in financial crisis it can be overwhelming. Their attention will not be on their job and their mental health will suffer.”

“There are solutions, ranging from fixed hours and better rates, to employment benefits such as tax advice, childcare and education. Overtime can be an option but remember the work life balance”.

Look out for more information in the next edition of Safety in Rail, or contact John Jebson.

McGinley Support Services is one of the UK’s largest specialist recruitment businesses providing the rail sector with permanent, contract, and temporary staff at all levels. www.mcginley.co.uk

Advice and support for construction and railway workers facing financial hardship can be found at: Lighthouse Club – www.lighthouseclub.org – Tel: 0345 609 1956

Railway Benefit Fund – www.railwaybenefitfund.org.uk – Tel: 0345 241 2885

Anyone suffering mental distress can find help and support with the Samaritans - www.samaritans.org – Tel: 116 123

PROTECTING WORKERS

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is preventable, but the effects are permanent, resulting in life-changing injuries that can seriously impair a worker’s quality of life.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations follow European Union Directives to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise. The level at which employers must provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones is compulsory at 85dB(A) (daily or weekly average exposure) and the level at which employers must assess the risk to workers' health and provide them with information and training and access to PPE is 80dB(A). Noise levels between 80-85 dB(A) are comparable to the sound of heavy traffic or a noisy restaurant. Employers must always remember hearing protection is a first-aid measure or the last resort. It’s key to control noise at the source to as low as reasonably practicable as the starting point for noise safety.

NOISE MONITORING

Railway workers engaged with track maintenance are at risk of experiencing significant hearing loss due to frequent exposure to very loud noises in repair and construction. Research published by the British Medical Journal has found that some railway workers have a significant hearing loss of ˜5dB caused by work-related noise1. Hearing damage can make workers vulnerable to other workplace risks should it limit their ability to be aware of their surroundings and identify hazards such as moving trains.

Noise monitoring can identify problem areas and ensure employers adhere to health and safety regulations. However, professionals undertaking the monitoring should be trained and prepared sufficiently with the right equipment as minor errors in noise level estimates can lead to major errors in exposure calculations. Inaccurate estimates can risk worker health, employer prosecution, and unnecessary expenses undertaking exposure-limiting measures based on inaccurate data.

Two pieces of equipment used for the assessment are the sound level meter, primarily designed as a hand-held device used by an operator, and the noise dosimeter, which a staff member wears for their working shift. A sound level meter is an ideal solution for measuring the overall noise level of a task, piece of machinery or area. On the other hand, dosimeters are best for personal noise measurements where workers are mobile, or it is difficult or unsafe to get close to employees with a sound-level meter because dosimeters are smaller and body-mounted. For example, a dosimeter would be ideal for workers exposed to many different noise levels and irregular working patterns.

SAFETY MEASURES

If a risk assessment establishes that noise levels pose a risk to workers, personal hearing protection should be supplied immediately while other more permanent solutions are implemented. However, personal hearing protection should only be considered the primary solution when all other options have been exhausted as control of noise at the source is the ultimate priority. Other measures can reduce exposure by reducing the time a worker is exposed to loud noise, such as physically separating staff from the noisiest areas or rotating shifts to spread individual exposure.

PERSONAL HEARING PROTECTION

When selecting hearing protection equipment, employers should consider the relationship between hearing protection and other personal protective equipment (PPE). For example, an employee wearing prescription or safety glasses will not obtain

an adequate fit from a standard earmuff, so plugs or semi-inserts may be more suitable.

In working environments where hard hats are worn regularly, a hard hat with built-in hearing defenders should be considered. Worker responsibility also plays a crucial role. Removing PPE, even for short periods, has a significant effect on exposure. It’s therefore crucial that hearing protection is comfortable.

Employers must also understand the process of reducing sound, known as attenuation. If a protector with too little attenuation is used, then employees will not receive enough protection. However, too much noise reduction can create feelings of isolation, and an employee may need to remove their PPE to communicate. In addition, over-attenuation can cut out safety warnings such as fire alarms, resulting in further risks to workers. Generally, businesses can avoid over-protecting workers by ensuring the level of exposure is not reduced to a level below 75dB(A).

KEEP YOUR WORKFORCE SAFE

Employers in the rail sector have a responsibility to prevent damage to their workers’ health. There are also measures that can be taken by workers to ensure that they are cooperating with their employers for the sake of their own health. Wearing PPE and learning about the importance of noise monitoring can both help in reducing the rate of NIHL.

For more information about its noise monitoring solutions visit www.casellasolutions.com/uk/en.html

Tim Turney graduated as an engineer from Queen Mary and Westfield in London. Since starting at Casella in 1998, Tim has been involved in the acoustics and air sampling industry, specializing in measurement and instrumentation technologies.

CLOSE CALLS

HOW MANY CAN WE STOMACH?

Individuals and teams make mistakes – it’s a fact of life. But I believe vertical slice audits and unannounced safety visits would help to prevent them. I also recommend that management regularly sits down and listens to those who do the work - human factors are important for all.

Trapped and dragged incident on Manchester Metrolink

On 20 September, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) published Safety Digest 04/2022 about an incident that occurred at 11:17 on the morning of 27 May, where a passenger’s bag became trapped in the doors of a departing tram, trapping their hand. The incident, which occurred at Shudehill Tram Stop in Manchester, shared similarities with a number of previous incidents. As the tram arrived the passenger was walking along the platform with a companion and used a contact “touch in” device adjacent to the ticket vending machine. After touching in, the passenger started boarding as the doors began to close but then stepped back. The passenger’s bag was trapped with their hand caught in its strap.

The tram driver checked that the green “doors closed” light was illuminated and then started to drive away. The passenger was dragged for 13 metres before extricating their trapped hand and falling onto the platform. The tram driver was focused on a tram signal, and the pedestrians and vehicles in the road ahead. The driver was unaware of the incident until subsequently told about it by the Metrolink Operator. The Digest says that the cause was the driver failing to complete the final safety check before moving the tram away from the stop. “Consequently, the driver

was unaware that the passenger was in an unsafe position when they decided it was safe for the tram to depart.”

The drivers’ Rulebook requires three checks using the tram’s CCTV system before the doors are closed to make sure the doors are clear before starting off. Once doors are closed, a second check using CCTV is intended to look for “trapped passengers or objects”.

Once satisfied, the tram driver may turn the selector switch to “drive”. The CCTV selector allows the driver to display either side of the tram, and images of the platform, from front and rear cameras similar to those provided by road vehicle wing mirrors. The Rule Book mandates a third check before the tram moves off to ensure nothing is trapped. The interlock system is designed to automatically reopen if objects of 30mm or more are detected. If objects less than 30mm

are trapped, such as coats or bag straps, the “doors closed” light may still illuminate!

RAIB’s reconstruction of the incident showed that when the driver made the first CCTV check the intended passenger could have been masked from view by the ticket machine.

Mistaken reliance on the door interlock system was also a factor in a December 2017 incident at Radford Road, Nottingham, when a pushchair was trapped and dragged.

Colin Wheeler.

RAIB has also previously investigated similar occurrences in Croydon, Bury near Manchester and Wood Street in northeast London.

Trams and train doors have obstruction detection devices, but they only detect objects that are 30mm or more in diameter. A fact that should be more widely publicised. The frequency of trapped and dragged incidents also deserves more attention. Is it reasonable to expect light rail, tram, metro, and indeed drivers of local trains to make multiple checks using CCTV before moving off?

There has to be a better way.

Near miss at Paddington Subway Junction

At 01:17 on the morning of 18 July, two trackworkers at Paddington Subway Junction in London were involved in a very near miss.

The RAIB news story says they were facing away from the approaching train but moved clear with just “one or two seconds to spare”. It adds that the train was travelling at a mere 24mph when the near miss occurred. RAIB has decided to issue a Safety Digest. From my own experiences I recall the fatigue which is often experienced in the very early hours of the day.

Near miss at Penkridge

A week earlier on 11 July, a very near miss involving two trackworkers occurred at Penkridge in Staffordshire at six minutes after midnight. The trackworkers were investigating an overhead line fault that was preventing the use of electric traction, causing the disruption of train services. They were almost struck by a freight train travelling at 61mph just south of Penkridge station, Staffordshire. The track workers moved clear of the path of the train

less than one second before it reached their position. Another train was passing the track workers on an adjacent line as the freight train approached them.

RAIB has begun its investigation which will consider “the actions of those involved, arrangements to protect trackworkers from moving trains, rules and responsibilities, working patterns of relevant staff, how competence of staff was managed, and relevant underlying factors”.

BESRs not implemented.

A new pneumonic (at least new to me) has entered the railway jargon dictionary - BESRs which refers to the imposition of Blanket Emergency Speed Restrictions. RAIB is investigating a number of instances of over speeding between 18-19 July, which occurred despite the imposition of BESRs due to the accurate forecast of extremely hot weather.

The RAIB website shows the eye-catching design of the notices that were produced for train operators and their drivers.

It has identified two incidents of over speeding on the Western Route on 18 July and two more incidents that occurred in Wales on 19 July. Despite the clarity of its notices, RAIB has said that “drivers had not clearly understood the BESR’s”.

The RAIB has decided to issue a Safety Digest. My expectation is that their focus will include the management supervision and methods used by driver management as

well as the understanding of BESR’s by drivers. It will be interesting to read just how the train operating companies attempted to contact and instruct their drivers about the BESRs.

Wrong electrical section switched off

On 13 September, Network Rail’s Safety Central website issued a Safety Advice following an incident which could have resulted in fatalities. There has been a delay in publication as the incident occurred back on 1 June. Off Track and OLE staff from the Ipswich Delivery Unit were on site at Arlesford clearing vegetation that was overhanging the return conductor. They had a Safe Work Pack and it had been determined that an ‘OLE switch off’ (not an earthed isolation) was needed due to the proximity of the vegetation to the live OLE.

The switch off was taken by the Nominated Person and the Off Track team then started to clear overhanging branches. One of the branches fell onto the overhead lines resulting in two team members receiving electric shocks. An incorrect electrical section for the electrical switch off had been requested, so the work area OLE was live. In addition, approved isolated tools were not being used. Two team members attended A&E but were uninjured.

Prohibition notice

Network Rail’s Safety Central website issued a Safety Bulletin issued on 27 September following a visit by ORR inspectors that resulted in a prohibition notice.

During the ORR inspection on 2 September, unprotected edges to the decking of a house crane maintenance gantry resulted in a prohibition notice being issued. The plating doors had been removed and not replaced, leaving the gantry in an “unsafe condition”. At the time of the inspection there was nothing in place to prevent anyone accessing the ladder and gantry or “falling through the gap in the deck of the gantry causing a significant injury or death.”

Improvement notices

I welcome the publication of the ORR’s annual review of Network Rail’s stakeholder engagement for 2021/22. Sixty percent of those surveyed gave a “good” rating - a drop of 13% compared to the previous year. To date this year six improvement notices have been served. They include: failing to provide adequate welfare facilities of drivers and conductors; failing to take sufficient precautions securing unbraked railway vehicles; and failing to make sufficient risk assessments for the health and safety of employees working at the Hilton Level crossing and Hartlebury Station. ORR also found failings in the review of risk assessments for railway operatives under the control of Eurotunnel.

Writing about all of these unfortunate events convinces me that much more needs to be done to improve safety. How many close calls or near misses will there be before someone is badly hurt or worse? The six ORR improvement notices may, by some of us, seem to be a very restrained response to the continuation of unsafe working.

Safety Bulletin

A serious incident has taken place

Scope: All Network Rail line managers, safety professionals and accredited contractors

Ref: NRB22-09

Date: 27/09/2022

Location: Sudbrook Pumping Station

Contact: Lisa East - Head of Safety, Health and Environment Wales and Borders

Overview

During an ORR inspection at Sudbrook Pumping Station on 21st September 2022 it was highlighted that there were unprotected edges to the decking of a House Crane Maintenance Gantry (highlighted above).

Following the last use of the gantry the plating doors, which mitigate the risk of falling from height, had not been returned to their intended state (closed) therefore leaving the gantry in an unsafe condition.

At the time of the inspection there were no measures in place to prevent anyone accessing the ladder, gaining access to the gantry and potentially falling through the gap in the deck of the gantry causing a significant injury or death.

Discussion points

• Do you and your teams have the appropriate controls and permits to work in place to undertake work on this type of structure?

• Only competent persons with a Safe System of Work are permitted to access any at height locations. If permits are required, they must not be signed off until all control measures are verified and safe.

• Are you satisfied that your arrangements for this type of activity are being used effectively in your area?

• How do you assure yourself and others, that the control measures are correct and safe to undertake the planned task?

• When work has been completed, do you always verify all areas have been made safe and locked off before signing off your permits

Remember, if you do not feel that you have a safe system of work in place, use the worksafe procedure.

OFFICIAL

Sudbrook Pumping Station Prohibition Notice

Part of our group of Safety Bulletins

Sustainable Development

Infrastructure Taking Safe Decisions

Passenger and Public Safety Workforce Health

Rolling Stock and wellbeing

Safety Intelligence

Workforce Safety

Since 2003, the Rail Safety and Standards Board has worked collaboratively with the rail industry to make Britain’s railway safer, more sustainable and more efficient.

If you work in rail, your organisation is probably already a member of RSSB. Giving you access to our huge body of industry knowledge, covering everything from models and tools to information and best practice.

RSSB’s huge body of knowledge is used daily by thousands of our members. So when you want to get up to speed on anything rail-related, make RSSB your first stop.

To explore what’s on offer or register for access, visit rssb.co.uk/firststop

We’re with you every step of the way

RSSB.

SAFETY REGULATION

FOR OUR DEVELOPING TRAM AND LIGHT RAIL SYSTEMS

By definition, trams run on rails and may use rails on roads and streets, as well as some on rail dedicated routes.

Metros use rails and are of a lighter axle loading and lower speed than main line or heavy rail routes and often use tunnels to access city centres. Additionally, we have local rail routes into and around many cities and large towns.

Heavy rail is professionally supported by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) which is a member-supported organisation, and train operators are required to be paying members of it. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) relies on the RSSB to research and develop safety initiatives for the heavy rail sector. Trams are a successful late starter so far as commuters into our city centres are concerned. In some places, Metros systems and local heavy rail services do not connect directly into the main line railway systems.

The founding of a Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) was proposed in one of the recommendations made by the RAIB (Rail Accident and Investigation Board) in its comprehensive and thorough report on the Sandilands Croydon Tram tragedy. Initial funding of it has at last been agreed. For the future, do we need a mechanism of licensing with annual fees to support the new LRSSB whose remit is arguably wider and more complex than its big brother the RSSB?

INITIAL FUNDING

Following a recent audit of its progress by the ORR, the LRSSB now has funding of £3.3 million for three years and there is also funding for UK Tram. In total, £4.5 million has been agreed. In a statement the ORR said “the LRSSB has added value to light rail, improving the understanding of risk”. It also comments on the business plan which calls for “even closer relationships with operators, owners, unions, statutory bodies and other key organisations”. The ORR acknowledged that the LRSSB needed

a long-term strategic plan, with clear governance and funding. The ORR findings were first published on 28 March.

KEY STRATEGIC AIMS

The LRSSB’s seven key strategic aims include “the production of new safety guidance, updating existing documentation, driving innovation and exploring new commercial opportunities”. The LRSSB was established in 2018 under the guidance of the Department for Transport. Its current terms of reference were set out in May 2021 and include developing systems to aid the management of risk and standards which offer guidance to its members.

The LRSSB aims to encourage the delivery of improved and safer light rail networks for the benefit of stakeholders and customers. It aims to assist members seeking to act on future recommendations made by both the ORR and RAIB. To help members identify common issues, it has adapted and adopted a Tram Accident and Incident Reporting system, known as TAIR, which is freely accessible for use by duty holder members.

Unsurprisingly, the LRSSB annual report refers to a post-Covid delay in progressing its “Digital Reference Library”. The organisation is required to take action on future recommendations from both the RAIB and ORR. The codification of standards, guidance, and the dissemination of good practice are also amongst its objectives.

LAURA REARDON

On 2 October, the LRSSB announced the appointment of Laura Reardon as its Head of Safety Risk Management. She was previously employed by Atkins SNC Lavalin for 13 years as a consultant, leading a risk and safety team with responsibility for engineering safety management. She was involved in the rolling out of the light rail safety risk model.

“Be smart around trams” is the LRSSB’s latest video released in time for the clocks going back this Autumn. It is an animated video which urges pedestrians to take extra care as the nights draw in. The organisation has also just published a “comprehensive fire safety guidance for tramways, metros and similar transit systems"

FIFTEEN RECOMMENDATIONS

The 15 specific recommendations made by the RAIB’s comprehensive report on the Sandilands tragedy are still being addressed and may be described as a work in progress. The first two refer to the setting up of the LRSSB with “common standards and good practice guidance”. The third highlights the need for tram operators to work together and includes the introduction of automatic braking, “the physical prevention of overspeeding”, and use of alert control systems.

Recommendation four calls for the use of Driver Protection Devices to detect lapsing driver attention and alertness. The next recommendation calls for a review of signage, lighting, and the provision of enhanced chevron signing.

Recommendation six calls for research into “improved passenger containment” and refers to both tram doors and windows.

Seven and eight refer to emergency lighting and the need for a review of the options for rapid evacuation when a tram is on its side.

Recommendation nine required the ORR to review the “regulatory framework” for tram operation and how best to continuously improve tram safety. Number 10 specified that route risk assessments were required from Transport for London and Tram Operations Ltd. Eleven referred to the use of tram protection devices, whilst twelve emphasised the need for a programme of “greater communication between colleagues and senior management”

together with “a focus on customer service and disability awareness”.

Recommendations 13, 14 and 15 are all aimed at Tram Operations Ltd and Transport for London. Thirteen calls for improved processes and equipment but adds the words “where necessary”. Additionally, it calls for the use of public complaints and employee comments in evaluating safety risks. Fourteen is aimed at the improvement of processes used for the inspection and maintenance of tram CCTV equipment to “greatly reduce the likelihood of recorded images being unavailable for accident and incident investigation.”

Almost equally critical is the final recommendation. It highlights the need for revised maintenance and testing documentation to take account of experience gained, and modifications made, since the trams were brought into service, ensuring they are kept up to date.

EXPERT RAIL TRAINING AND ASSESSMENTS FUSION PEOPLE

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With decades of training and assessment experience working with the leading Rail companies across the UK, Fusion People is proud to provide friendly, comprehensive, and impartial advice and guidance on rail training and assessments.

The company’s professional, customerfocused, industry-leading rail training is managed by Sean Whittaker and Lesley Doyle, who have connections throughout the industry and a strong reputation for delivering first-rate training.

Through this team, Fusion People continues to provide the friendly and flexible service it has become renowned for. The company is also expanding its business, providing current and future clients with outstanding service on a national basis. As a progressive and forward-thinking

business, Fusion People is keen to form collaborative partnerships with other NSAR training and assessment providers, and other RISQS accredited rail and construction businesses. It is also keen to form collaborations with providers and companies that work closely with Service personnel transitioning to civilian life.

APPROVED AND VERIFIED

Fusion People has been awarded assurance as a training and assessment provider by NSAR, RTAS 0465, and Network Rail. It is also ISO 9001; ISO 14001; ISO 45001, and RISQS audited and verified. The company has signed the Armed Forces Covenant and is a proud recipient of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award.

In addition to its Warrington training facility, it has the use of an approved outdoor track area for TIC courses, and the use of a state-of-the-art internal/external OLE training span, to facilitate the delivery of AP and NP courses.

THE BIGGEST NIGHT IN THE

The event of the year is nearly upon us. On 24 November the great and good of the rail industry will convene to celebrate the incredible work of those teams and individuals nominated for a RailStaff Award.

Running since 2007, the Awards have got bigger and better each year, and 2022’s extravaganza is sure to wow everyone who attends.

ITINERARY

On the big night, guests will be welcomed into a bustling alpine party village, complete with log cabins, entering the scene through a snow-dusted, fir tree forest. Once inside, they can meet friends for cocktails in the venue’s double-storey ski lodge or make their way straight to the main bar to mingle, before being seated at their table for a delicious meal.

Fantastic entertainment and the Award presentations will follow, but the real party begins once every winner has been announced. As casino tables open, indoor fairground rides burst into life and the dance floor welcomes those with the energy to dance the night away.

TIMINGS FOR THE EVENING

• 18.00 VIP Guest Arrival & Drinks Reception with canapes

• 18.30 Guest Arrival & Drinks Reception

• 19.00 Dinner

• 21.00 Entertainment & Awards Presentation (with interval)

• 23.00 Disco & Fairground Rides

• 00.00 Midnight Breakfast

• 01:00 Carriages

YOUR HOST FOR THE NIGHT

The RailStaff Awards is honoured to be joined this year by comedian and actor Ed Byrne who will be your compère for the evening. Well known as a regular face on Mock the Week, Ed has enjoyed a long career in comedy, enjoying huge critical and popular success in the UK and Ireland.

As well as appearing on television, radio, and the big screen, Ed has performed on hit tours and countless sold-out stints at the Edinburgh Fringe, being nominated for the Perrier Award in 1998. Since then, he has achieved the comedian’s dream, developing a huge international following and performing to sold-out venues across the globe.

THE CATEGORIES IN FULL:

• Apprentice of the Year

• Award for Charity

• Covid Hero – Outstanding Individual Award

• Covid Heroes – Outstanding Team Award

• Customer Service Award

• Depot Staff Award

• Digital Railway Person (S&T) or Team Award

• Graduate or Newcomer Award

• Health & Wellbeing Award

• HR, Diversity & Inclusion Person or Team Award

• Learning & Development Award

• Lifetime Achievement Award

• Marketing & Communications Team Award

• Rail Civils / Infrastructure Team Award

• Rail Engineer of the Year

• Rail Manager of the Year

• Rail Person of the Year

• Rail Project Manager Award

• Rail Team of the Year

• Recruitment & talent acquisition person or team of the year

• Safety Person or Team Award

• Samaritans Lifesaver Award

• Station Staff Award

THE JUDGES

From rail managers to customer service assistants, apprentices to training managers, the full breadth and depth of job roles are represented in submissions for the 23 awards categories, and we received a record 143,000 votes to decide this year’s finalists. The task of deciding the winners now goes to a judging panel of 21 individuals, plucked from throughout the industry. The panel includes:

• Adeline Ginn MBE - Marketing, Legal & EDI Director, Egis Transport Solutions

THE CALENDAR

•

• Dyan Crowther - Chief Executive Officer, High Speed 1

• Fiona Westcough - National Chair 2022/23, Young Rail

Professionals

• Martin Tugwell - Chief Executive, Transport for the North

• Matt Atkins – Editor, RailStaff

• Neil Robertson – CEO, NSAR

• Peter White - RailStaff Awards, Rail Person of the Year Winner 2019

• Tim Hedley-Jones - Executive Director, Railway Heritage Trust

• Andy Moss - Managing Director, Employer Solutions, City & Guilds

• Ashley Spence - Company Director, Ontrak Recruitment

• David Diesbergen – CEO, D2 Rail

• Glynis Appelbe - HR Director, G&W UK/Europe Region

• James Andrews - Head of Engineering, Amey

• Jo Gretton - CEO, Telent Technology Services,

• John Jebson - OHSE Director, McGinley Support Services (Infrastructure) Ltd

• John Sheehy - Chief Executive Officer, Transport Benevolent Fund CIO

• Julie Bentley - Chief Executive Officer, Samaritans

• Kamal Basra - Managing Director, Bodyguard Workwear Ltd

• Kenny Burton - Rail Director, Resourcing Solutions

• Mark Coleman - Managing Director, GeoAccess

• Mike Morgan-Batney - Communications Business Partner, Heathrow Express

SEE YOU THERE!

Now all there is to do is dig out your tuxedos and cocktail dresses and keep your fingers crossed - the industry’s biggest celebration of its people is just weeks away.

Tickets for the RailStaff Awards are now available for teams and individuals, so make sure you book now to ensure you don’t miss out.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS

TheRailStaffAwards rail-media @railstaffawards

Dr Jenny Illingsworth - Strategic Development Manager (NCATI), BCRRE at University of Birmingham

RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2022 THE FINALISTS

It’s been another record-breaking year here at RailStaff Awards HQ. From contractors to customer service assistants, train drivers to training managers, the full breadth and depth of job roles are represented in submissions for the 23 awards categories. Now the voting stage is over, the shortlists for each award are revealed. Judges now have the difficult task of whittling hundreds of hopefuls into dozens as the final preparations are put in place for the big event on 24 November.

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

• Bob Bryce - Govia Thameslink Railway Limited

• Amaan Shaban - SYSTRA Ltd

• William Horne- Telent

• Izzabella Emmins - MTR

• Stephen Snow - South Western Railway

• Chloe Farrell - Merseyrail

• Charlie Johnson - Inspire (Structures) Ltd

• Kate Rogers - Avanti West Coast

• Nicholas Bignell - Amey

• James Mather - Freightliner

• Esperanza Torres Jimenez - Amey Consulting

• Kai Stratton-Taylor - AECOM

• Daniel Arthur - Avanti West Coast

• Marnie McKay - Atkins

• Thomas Gubb - McGinley

AWARD FOR CHARITY

• Rail Enforcement Team, Great Northern Lily’s Rainbow - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Sheree Whetren - South Western Railway

• Hatch End Station - Arriva Rail London

• Charles Dickson - Southern

• Susan Temple - ScotRail

• Nicola Dawson - ScotRail

• Karen Pryer - Avanti West Coast

• Sam Jennings - Advance TRS Ltd.

• David Fawcett - Amey

• Network Rail and Inspire EngineersNetwork Rail / Inspire

• Martin Green - Avanti West Coast

• Neil Lathom - Freightliner

• Brian Hopkinson - McGinley

• Sharon Smith - McGinley

• James’ Place Virtual Challenge TeamMerseyrail

COVID HERO - OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL AWARD

• Susan Wren - Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA)

• Sophia Davies - Great Western Railway

• Evrad Kameugne Kounchou - Aid Disinfection Services Ltd

• Ashleigh McIlroy - Translink - NI Railways

• Sheree Whetren - South Western Railway

• John Sidebotham - Network Rail

• Lisa Brown - Avanti West Coast

• Gavin Dicks - LNER

• Harry Levey - Network Rail

• Zoe Shaw - Avanti West Coast

• Julie Watson - MTR Elizabeth line

• Roger Johnson - Lundy Projects Limited

• Charles Dickson - Southern railway

• Sharon Smith - McGinley

• John Webster – Carlisle

• Runcorn Station - Avanti West Coast

• Samaritans Rail Training Team - Samaritans

• Claire Lillie - Transport for Wales

• Marketing Team - Southern Rail & Gatwick Express

• GTR – Train Presentation Teams - Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd

• SNGX Santa Train – Southern Rail & Gatwick Express

• McGinley & Network Rail High Output TRS & Stressing Teams – McGinley

CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD

• Sheree Whetren - South Western Railway

• Angela Milton - Greater Anglia

• Charles Dickson - Southern

• Clare Harding - G&W FreightLiner

• Diana Schiparieff - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Deborah Hubner - Network Rail

• Christophe Bourgeois - Crosscountry Trains

COVID

HEROES - OUTSTANDING TEAM AWARD

• Rail Enforcement, Great Northern & Thameslink - GTR (Great Northern)

• Virtual Cake Sale - Great Western Railway

• Service Quality Team - Northern Trains Limited

• Norwich Greenwich Trains ManagersLondon Underground Ltd

• Hospital Heroes - ScotRail

• George & Team Stourbridge Junction - West Midland Trains

• Bournemouth Cross Country Team - Cross Country Trains.

• Metro South Operations - Southern

• Mersyrail Health & Safety RepresentativesMerseyrail

• Charlene Pearson - MTR Elizabeth line

• Daniela Nardi - Thameslink (GTR)

• Joana Amoh - Carlisle Support Services

• Kate Townsend - Chiltern Railways

• Asif Ismail - Chiltern Railways

• Joan Bennett-Durkin - Merseyrail

• Oliver Clarke - Northern Trains Ltd

• Sayid Mohammed - C2C trenitalia

DEPOT STAFF AWARDS

• Jonathan Louis - Southern Railway

• Martin Ling - Freightliner Maintenance

• Emma Knowles - MTREL

• Thomas Fagan - Merseyrail

• Jason Steel - Scotrail

• Steven Deane - GTR

• Robert Lloyd - Freightliner Maintenance Limited

• Keith Sheppard - Merseyrail Electrics

• Shane Hill - Freightliner

• Carl Channell - GTR

• Jake Harwood, Duane Fryer - Northern

• Marianna Busuttil - GTR Southern

• Abbie Wood - Network Rail

• Logistics Team Manchester - Network Rail

DIGITAL RAILWAY (S&T) PERSON OR TEAM AWARD

• Alasdair Bathie - AECOM

• Matthew Teller - Govia Thameslink Railway

• David Moore - Network Rail

• Oliver Turner - GTR

• Callum Stopforth - Alstom

• Oliver Turner - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Telent Public Wi-Fi Installation Delivery Team - Telent

• Marnie McKay - Atkins

• Intellignet Infrastructure - Signalling TeamNetwork Rail

• Jonathan Billington - Alstom Transport UK Ltd

• Graham Hill - Alstom Transport UK Ltd

• Nathan Wilson - Alstom

• Product Systems Engineering - Alstom UK Ltd

• Safety Task Force - Network Rail

GRADUATE OR NEWCOMER AWARD

• Peter Jackson - Arriva Rail London

• Louis Szymanski - D2 Rail

• Alison Clark-Dick - Network Rail

• Daisy Daymond - Network Rail

• Nick Coman - Telent Technology Services

• Bingru Liu - Atkins

• Nina Tamarra - AECOM

• Madeleine Coyle - Network Rail

• Rebecca Collins - Network Rail

• Eleasha Kell - AECOM

• Akin Adegbenro - Siemens Mobility UK

• Petra Holeckova - KONUX

• Adam Dennis - Lundy Projects Limited

• Lucy Govey - McGinley

• Scott McCloud - MTR Elizabeth line

HEALTH & WELLBEING AWARD

• Sheree Whetren - South Western Railway

• Caitriona O’Brien - Network Rail

• Nicola Evans - South Western Railway

• Linda Cray - Network Rail

• Jo Boocock - Network Rail

• Milena Swieboda - Arriva Rail London

• Nicola Dawson - ScotRail

• Alex Keeler - Amey

• Heather Waugh - Freightliner

• Lucy Cashin - Network Rail

• Samantha Winfield - Great Western Railway

• Simone Carter - West Midlands Trains

• Marianna Busuttil - GTR Southern

• Tim McCarthy - GTR

• Marlon Brooks – Southern

HR, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PERSON OR TEAM AWARD

• North West and Central Resourcing TeamNetwork Rail

• Diversity and Inclusion Team Network Rail D&I Team - Network Rail

• Capability and Development Team Organisational Capability - Network Rail

• Shane Andrews MBE - Network Rail

• David Johnston - Avanti West Coast

• Sharon Salmon - Network Rail

• Sue Thorpe - LNER

• Lucy Cashin - Network Rail

• James Dobson - Avanti West Coast

• India Chaplin - Network Rail

• Ian Puckrin - Network Rail

• EDI Charter Working Group Team - EDI Charter Working Group

• Sonia Hazel - Network Rail

• Paul McGunnigle – White - Trenitalia c2c Ltd

• Ciara Thorn - Network Rail

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT AWARD

• Laura Young - Greater Anglia

• Carlos Maldonado - Heathrow Airport Ltd

• Adrian Libberton-Rowe - London Underground

• Keith Musgrove - Network Rail

• Andy Hill - Freightliner

• Alan Godding - Greater Anglia

• Tracy Donohue - GTR

• Matthew Burgess - GTR

• Amanda Hopkins - CrossCountry

• Mark Kirton - GTR

• Daniel Dale - Merseyrail

• Daniel Grice-Lloyd - Network Rail

• Ryan Thompson - Inspire Structures LTD

• Peter Woodbridge - Siemens

• Holly Hardy-Johnson - Avanti West Coast

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Andy Nwich-Holdsworth - Network Rail

• Ralph Cooper - Thameslink

• Thomas Michalek - Avanti West Coast

• Kirti Sidpura - Avanti West Coast

• Maureen Davidson - Scotrail

• Allan Lewis - Network Rail

• Graham Marris - Inspire (Structures) Ltd

• Gordon Burns - Avanti West Coast

• Steve Tollerton - Samaritans

• Peter McLaughlin - Avanti West Coast

• Alan Atkins - CRSA

• Vicki Beadle - Network Rail

• Roger Phelps - Dean Forest Railway

• David Godley - Network Rail (retired)

• Alan McLeish - QTS Group

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS TEAM AWARD

• AB2K - AB2K

• Digital, Social Media and Film - Network Rail

• David Ross - ScotRail

• ScotRail Communications Team - ScotRail

• TfW Rail Comms Team - Transport for Wales

• Transport for Wales Brand Team - Transport for Wales

• The Making of Miles - EMR

• Rail Forum - Rail Forum

• Ricardo Rail Marketing Team - Ricardo Rail

• Lynn Crump - Genesee & Wyoming Uk (Freightliner)

• QTS Marketing Group - QTS Group Ltd

• Northern Marketing and Communications Teams - Northern

• Aintree Grand National Team 22 - Merseyrail

• Alison Clark-Dick - Network Rail

RAIL CIVILS / INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM AWARD

• Wales Earthworks ExaminationsGeoAccess working in collaboration with NR Wales Geotech Team

• Intelligent Infrastrcuture Civils TeamNetwork Rail

• TRU – Lineside Civil Design Team (Derby)Amey Consulting

• Rail Consulting South - Amey Consulting

• Lundy Projects WCML Project Delivery Team - Lundy Projects Limited

• Whitecrss Recovery Team - Rail Systems Alliance Scotland

• Lundy Projects TRU Delivery Team - Lundy Projects Limited

• AECOM Mining Legacy Team - AECOM

• Works Delivery Track ScotlandNetwork Rail

RAIL ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

• Shaziya Patel - NR - Network Rail

• Alasdair Bathie - AECOM

• Omar Al-Haffar - Amey

• Ben Cleary - Amey Consulting

• Nathan Sealy - Amey Consulting

• David Payne - MTREL

• Nick Schofield - Freightliner

• Jason David Petersen Moss - Quattro Plant

• Olaia Sanz Borika - Amey Consulting

• Mark Pellatt - Freightliner

• Nick Rook - Alstom Transport UK Ltd

• Phil Corns - Alstom Transport UK Ltd

• Nathan Wilson - Alstom

• Loren Swatton - Trenitalia c2c

• Chloe Thomas - Transport for Wales

RAIL MANAGER OF THE YEAR

• Jaimie Butel-Foley - Coyle Rail

• Dave Stamper - Merseyrail

• Laura McLaughlin - Northern

• Jonathan Kirby - Greater Anglia

• Abdul Rehman Savant - Systra Ltd

• Sujeet Chandra - AECOM

• Lauren Heap - Southeastern Railway

• Zack Jenkin - Great Western Railway

• Michael Trippitt - Merseyrail

• Drew Burbidge - ScotRail

• Alex Hornby - Network Rail

• Melanie Byrett - West Midlands Trains

• Simone Carter - West Midlands Trains

• John Harris - MTR Elizabeth Line

• Nathan Sobers - Chiltern Railways

RAIL PERSON OF THE YEAR

• Sheen Mathew - Merseyrail

• Rebecca Vandyke - Govia Thameslink Railway

• James Edwards - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Jonathan Callis - Network Rail

• Amy Bessie Matthews - Freightliner

• Richard Bark - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Phil Lees - CrossCountry Trains

• Robert Agnew - McCulloch Group

• Sarah Bennett - Great Western Railway

• David Ross - ScotRail

• Laura Latham - Merseyrail

• Jake Whiteman - CrossCountry Trains Ltd

• Mark Reach - Avanti West Coast

• Jayne Rodger - Network Rail

RAIL PROJECT MANAGER AWARD

• Alex Richardson - Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA)

• Ricky Barsby - LNER

• Stuart Broom - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Matt Horvai - South Rail Systems Alliance (AECOM)

• David Stinton - AECOM

• Tara Scott-Browne - AECOM

• Michael Currie - Network Rail

• Shagufta Hussain - WSP

• Paul Breese - MTR Elizabeth line

• Oliver Turner - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Rachel Haden - telent

• Matthew Jones - Amey Consulting

• Paul McJennett - Network Rail

• Shelby Coates - Alstom Transport UK Ltd

• Debbie Osborne - Chiltern Railways

RAIL TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Kilsby Delivery Team - Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA)

• Renewals Team - Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA)

• Bristol East Junction Renewal - Southern Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA)

• UK Rail for Ukraine - Network Rail

• Southeastern Passenger Services and Train Crew Rosters - Southeastern

• TFWRL Resources - Transport for Wales Rail Limited

• Dartmoor (Okehamptone) Project TeamGreat Western Railway / Network Rail

• Carlisle East Supervisoring Team - Carlisle Support Services

• Train Planning, Train Service Delivery, Resourcing & Rosters - Great Western Railway

• Rail Rehabilitation Team - City & Guilds

• Johnston Station Staff - ScotRail

• Wolverhampton Customer Experience Team - West Midland Trains

• McGinley & Network Rail High Output TRS & Stressing Teams - McGinley

• Aintree Grand National Team 22 - Merseyrail

• Community Champs at Manchester and Stockport - Avanti West Coast

RECRUITMENT & TALENT ACQUISITION PERSON OR TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Chloe Singleton - Arriva Group

• James Ayres - Construkt RS

• Kenny Burton - Resourcing Solutions

• Madeleine Phillips - Mott MacDonald

• Russell James - D2 Rail

• Wales & Western Resourcing TeamNetwork Rail

• Thomas Gubb - McGinley

• Alstom Advance TRS - Alstom & Advance TRS

• Northern Recruitment Team - Northern Trains Ltd

• Michelle Burningham - Trenitalia c2c Limited

• Emily Haggard & Chloe BertenshawNetwork Rail

• Matthew Foote - Network Rail

SAFETY PERSON OR TEAM AWARD

• Cultural Fusion Teabreaks - Network Rail

• Safety Task Force - Network Rail

• Marie Chisholm - Avanti West Coast

• Bessie Matthews - Freightliner

• Harrison Jones - AECOM

• Sultana Pasha - MTR Elizabeth line

• Ryan Robinson - Lundy Projects Limited

• Work at Height Collaboration NR, W&W, Taziker, & Pasma - Network Rail

• Works Delivery Trach Scotland - Network Rail

• Hi 5 Safety Team - Freightliner

• Daron Flegg - Telent

• Jane Hepburn - Vital Human Resources Ltd

• Security Team - Merseyrail

• Travel Safe, Travel Smart - SouthEastern Trains & Network Rail

• Nathalie Morgan - Great Western Railway

SAMARITANS LIFESAVER AWARD

• Agnes Oiaiya - Carlisle Support Services

• Arran Eccleston - Carlisle Support Services

• Sue Bateman - West Midlands Trains

• Dale Lowe - GWR

• Shane Davis - Network Rail

• Marrily Runoona-Rutsito - Network Rail

• Kay Bonner - LNER

• Richard Baker - MTR Elizabeth line

• Joel Jackson - Vital

• Morgen Chabata - Vital Human Resourcs

• Margaret Sexton - West Midlands Trains

• Keren Chambers - West Midlands Trains

• Amir Aziz - GTR

• Andrew Cook - GTR

• Jay Lee Jordan Woodhouse - Avanti West Coast STATION

STAFF AWARD

• Samantha Lavender- West Midland Trains

• Sheree Whetren - South Western Railway

• All frontline station staff that worked through covid - All TOC companies & Network Rail

• Chandra Nama - MTR Elizabeth Line

• Rebecca Shaw - Avanti West Coast

• Marie Bowie - Avanti West Coast

• Iola Kholer - Transport For Wales

• Andrew R Clare - Avanti West Coast

• Alex Lucas - Greater Anglia

• Rav Dharmendrakmar - Mtr

• Paul Gregg - Govia Thameslink Railway

• Tony Baker - c2c/trenitalia

• Lorna Bathgate - ScotRail

• Alex Brooks - Southern rail

• Jonathan Morris - GTR, Great Northern

RAIL MANAGER

OF THE YEAR - D2 RAIL

The Rail Manager of the Year award is one of the most popular and coveted of the Rail Staff Awards. Rail managers are the glue that hold the rail industry together, but they are often overlooked in today’s busy work environment. Managers need praise every bit as much as the teams they lead, and the aim of this award is to make them feel valued and appreciated.

Railway managers face a unique set of challenges as passenger loadings increase, freight volumes grow, and more capital is invested in expanding capacity. Making it all happen is everyone’s responsibility, but the onus of meeting budgets and deadlines falls on front line managers. It is a hard task, and the RailStaff Awards goes some way to recognising those that go over and beyond. This year, the Rail Manager of the

Year award is sponsored by D2 Rail, the programme management solutions provider for mainline and mass transit rail projects. D2 Rail is an expert in delivering fully integrated client support, from early-stage advice to completions management, including specialist areas such as efficient railway access, capacity and timetable planning and operations support.

DEMANDING ROLES

D2 Rail is led by CEO and founder David Diesbergen, who formed the company in 2011 following a successful project management and engineering career spanning almost three decades. His aim was to fill a gap in the marketplace, supporting clients throughout the lifecycle of their construction projects, helping them to achieve their goals of delivering their projects on time and to budget.

“We’re particularly pleased to sponsor the Rail Manager of the Year Award which

highlights the great work and achievements of those who have taken on very demanding leadership roles,” said David.

“People who understand what the rail industry needs – where and when in terms of staff – add real value to the ever-increasing portfolio of projects and organisations taking forward an expanded, better performing network.”

Indeed, D2 Rail has some skin in the game at this year’s awards, with two employees nominated in the Graduate of the Year category (Louis Szymanski) and Recruitment and Talent Acquisition Manager of the Year (Russ James). Those nominated along with everyone at D2 have played vital roles in the growth of D2, enabling some of the most iconic work to be undertaken in the UK in recent years.

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Previous winners of the Rail Manager of the Year award have been nominated for a wide range of achievements. Heathrow Express station manager, Brian Keenan took the award in 2015. Brian had resuscitated a passenger after they’d had a heart attack. Brian acted quickly and proficiently,

RAIL

performing CPR on the gentleman who was taken ill on the train inbound from London Paddington.

He continued to provide CPR and use the station defibrillator until paramedics arrived at the scene and was praised by the paramedic crew for his efforts. It was mentioned that had Brian not attended so quickly, the passenger would have lost his life.

But you don’t have to save a life to win the award. 2019 winner, Kevin Tarrier, was instrumental in the restructure of operations control role at Heathrow Rail. He has faced many challenges but dealt with the situation in a manner that has gained great respect, even from those moving out of the Heathrow Express business.

Carys Thomas from Great Western Trains took the award in 2018. Carys was awarded for her work with the local community in Bristol to enhance the city’s railway stations, as well as inspiring young people to use the rail network and consider a career in the industry.

Virgin Trains’ Nick Chadwick won in 2017. Nick’s work to improve driver recruitment, performance and engagement was recognised when he was nominated for developing and managing the very first Train Driver Apprenticeship programme in the UK, and for implementing cutting-edge post-incident diagnostic, investigation, and support for train drivers.

Award winners are those individuals who go way above their station to provide first class service, improve the experience of passengers and staff, champion training or safety initiatives, or whose efforts benefit the wider community.

“We are looking for someone who is an outstanding manager and a true professional and who shows outstanding leadership skills and goes above and beyond for their team, David says.”

BODYGUARD WORKWEAR

BACKS RAILSTAFF AWARDS

Since 2007 the RailStaff Awards have celebrated the individuals who go above and beyond to keep the country moving, and each year the event enjoys the support of industry bodies large and small. This year, Bodyguard Workwear is proud to be a part of the 2022 Awards and, if prizes were handed out to companies, it would clearly be a contender.

With over 40 years’ experience in manufacturing and distributing PPE and safety workwear, Bodyguard Workwear combines an in depth understanding of safety clothing with expertise in garment design and manufacture.

SAFETY CONSCIOUS

It’s no surprise then that the company is committed to staff welfare and wellbeing. It continuously invests resources into researching and developing solutions to ensure workers remain safe on the rails and stay comfortable while they’re at it.

“We specifically manufacture a lot of our own products, which include high visibility clothing, footwear, and gloves,” says Managing Director Kamal Basra. “This is a unique selling point, giving us control over the quality of our garments and providing an opportunity for innovation.”

“That innovation is made in collaboration

with our customers,” says Narinder Panaser, Bodyguard Workwear’s Key Projects Manager. “In many instances our customers have come to us with challenges and we’ve worked together to create solutions, so we can we develop feature rich and functional products to suit their requirements.”

Managing performance and fatigue on the lines can save lives, and the firm is one of the few licenced manufacturers of GORE-TEX and Vapourking garments.

“This gives customers the confidence that their workwear is fully waterproof and breathes better when workers are out in the elements,” says Kamal.

And users of all shapes and sizes can be similarly reassured. Bodyguard Workwear is committed to inclusivity, producing fitted garments specifically for female workers.

“Female PPE is very important to us,” says Narinder. “It's not acceptable to give men’s workwear to female engineers and hope that it fits properly. It doesn’t do anything at all to aid inclusivity and can have impacts on performance and welfare. We provide a wide range of ladies’ workwear all suited and made to fit perfectly and comfortably.”

SUSTAINABLE

Environmental issues have become a critical concern in the 15 years since the first RailStaff awards began. While sustainability may have been a buzzword

back in 2007, it’s now high on everyone’s agenda and a top priority for all industries. Bodyguard Workwear is committed to making its business practices sustainable and passing these benefits on to customers.

“Every one of our customers benefits from the work we do around sustainability,” says Kamal. “We’re a Gold member of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and we have designed a range of garments under our ECO-WORKWEAR brand made from recycled plastic. Essentially, we're taking lots of plastic out of landfill, spinning it into yarn, and making it into high visibility garments which are fully accredited to all Network Rail standards.

“Just under three years ago we also started to eradicate single use plastic packaging from all our garments and, by the end of 2023 we will have saved over 100 tonnes of single use plastic waste going to landfill. It's a huge effort.”

But it doesn’t stop there. Bodyguard Workwear also keeps an eye on its customers’ consumption and provides regular reports on the savings they can make to their carbon footprint.

“What we can also do is look at future trends and what the customers are forecasted to spend, say in the next 12 months, and we can give them a carbon forecast on what they're potentially going to save going forward,” Kamal says.

recyclable as possible, so that any environmental gains are not lost when a product is past its useful life.

“This is the responsibility of all manufacturer’s now,” says Kamal. “We have to make our products in a more environmentally friendly manner and ensure that, at the end of a product’s life, it can also be recycled. Sustainable manufacturing doesn’t end when an item comes off the production line.”

ESSENTIAL WORKFORCE

The RailStaff Awards champion individuals who have saved lives, turned their careers around, conquered adversity, and provided stellar customer service. The last event saw over 900 people in attendance, with 1,300 nominations, and 100,000 votes cast. The event exists to recognise an essential workforce that can be underappreciated despite the vital role it plays in daily life.

“There are some absolute stars in this industry,” says Kamal. “Rail workers provide a frontline service on a par with the NHS, the police, and the fire service, and with all the same dangers involved.

“Personally, I think we should recognise rail workers each and every day, and the RailStaff Awards is an excellent way of celebrating the individuals who make the industry what it is.”

CELEBRATING OUR HIDDEN HEROES

Every day, the country’s rail network is kept running safely by countless talented teams and individuals. At the same time, others are designing new systems or writing new protocols to keep rail travel smooth and efficient.

The Digital Railway Person or Team Award celebrates these hidden heroes, and highlights the pioneering work carried out by the industry’s signalling and telecommunications specialists.

CROSS SECTOR COLLABORATION

Amey Consulting is proud to sponsor this year’s award, which reflects how the fields of

control, telecommunications, and signalling are evolving and becoming more automated. And, in a bid to increase efficiency, introduce innovation and reduce cost, Amey Consulting is looking at several initiatives that will enhance the S&T industry.

One is the introduction of readily available technology, known as ‘commercial off the shelf’ (COTS), rather than expensive, bespoke technology. Driving this is the desire to learn from other sectors – utilities, power generation, aviation and defence. The railway doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas, and lessons can be learned from what other sectors are doing, just as they can learn from rail.

As part of this process, Amey Consulting, Sella Controls

and Network Rail have been working together to provide a real alternative in the signalling market. The product is the SIL 4 (safety integrity level 4) programmable logic controller (PLC). The safety control technology is used in numerous safety applications worldwide – including nuclear, oil and gas, chemical plants and even amusement parks.

A UK FIRST

Amey Consulting has trialled the first UK application of this safety PLC technology at Magdalen Road in Anglia. The PLC is easily programmed using standard languages, with no specialist railway specific training required. The PLC also has significant diagnostic power, with the ability to provide direct fault-finding information to enhance maintenance. A direct connection has been provided to standard Network Railapproved data loggers so that condition monitoring and alarms can be provided direct to the intelligent infrastructure server.

The safety case was developed to provide open access to the technology for other signalling suppliers and consultants that do not have a technology of their own. This involves a licence fee and using the applications manuals and safety approach developed by Amey Consulting which, together with Sella

Controls, forms the core of the system authority that provides and monitors training and competence. Sharing access to the COTS safety PLC technology introduces competition into the signalling market in the UK and provides a modern digital solution for all suppliers.

TAFF’S WELL DEPOT

On the Cardiff Metro project, Amey Consulting is designing and installing the safety PLC as part of a cost-effective interlocking and signalling control system for the fully signalled depot at Taff’s Well. The control system is also based on standard COTS components and looks like a typical Network Rail display but uses pull down menus and windows similar to a standard computer, making it easier to use. Additional functionality has been added to the screen at the request of the depot operator to track the status of trains in the depot.

HEROES

FUTURE FOCUSED

Amey Consulting and Sella Controls have designed numerous future concepts for the PLC, including a replacement FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) system, tokenless-block system, safety transmission system and a universal object controller as a replacement for trackside SSI TFMs. The PLC can also work with an off-grid power supply and has been tested with wireless and radio networks in Europe to avoid the need for long fibre runs in rural areas.

The low power consumption of the units provides a more carbonfriendly and sustainable solution than traditional systems. The UK signalling industry can look forward to a modern flexible technology that provides the opportunity to introduce innovation and reduce cost at the same time.

GETTING TOGETHER

The RailStaff Awards looks for individuals or teams who go above and beyond, think outside the box, and deliver for their clients, customers, or communities. At the last event, the Digital Railway Person or Team Award went to Network Rail’s Intelligent Infrastructure Track Team. The team had created a predictive single-interface tool that would tell engineers where and when a track fault was going to occur.

The RailStaff Awards is an opportunity to get the industry together and celebrate success. In the true spirit of collaboration, it’s also a chance for like-minded people to mix, mingle, and talk shop. After all, signalling and telecoms engineers are all in the communications business, and discussing and refining what they do is essential. No train moves without S&T professionals in the background. Their role is of huge significance and deserves to be celebrated.

WE CAN BE HEROES

The 2022 RailStaff Awards is the first since 2019. The 20202021 events were cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

For many, those strange and traumatic days already seem a lifetime ago but, while it’s healthy to move on from such events, we must remember the sacrifices made by countless people throughout the country.

To highlight the fantastic contribution made by rail staff throughout the pandemic, we’ve added two new categories to this year's RailStaff Awards – The Covid Hero Outstanding Individual award and the Covid Heroes Outstanding Team award. Both are dedicated to those who went the extra mile during the crisis, and who showed resilience, dedication, and initiative in the face of adversity.

Nominees are those who found innovative ways to help customers, implemented procedures at work to protect at-risk groups, masterminded communication plans to keep in touch with their community, or simply lent an ear and a helping hand to a vulnerable person.

PROMOTING THE INDUSTRY

The Covid Hero awards are sponsored by Young Rail Professionals (YRP), the networking organisation founded to promote the rail industry as a great place to work, inspire the next generation of railway talent, and develop young people to reach their potential.

YRP brings together people from all aspects of the industry, whether they are involved in engineering, train operations, maintenance, regulation, marketing, human relations or otherwise. To inspire its members and enhance their careers, it delivers regular networking and development opportunities, including technical

seminars, presentations, site visits and socials, at both regional and national level.

The organisation also delivers a number of flagship initiatives including their Annual Dinner & Awards, Rail Week, Young Rail Tours, Heritage Engagement and STEM outreach as well as a multitude of collaborations with other organisations including the IMechE railway division, the Railway Study Forum, Waterfront Conference Company and Women in Rail.

INDIVIDUAL HEROES

The Covid Heroes awards honour all of those who helped pull the Rail Industry through some very difficult times, or who took their own time to lift the circumstances of the communities around them.

Those nominated in the Individual category include Susan Wren from Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA). Susan was put forward for her instrumental role in organising the Doncaster depot where she and almost 200 people work. Colleagues praised her ‘relentless’ efforts and organisation of the depot by ensuring hand sanitiser, wipes, floor stickers, and desk screens. On top of this, Susan rang around local hotels to check if they were open and serving food for teams staying over. Railway operations did not stop through the pandemic and Susan did her utmost to tackle employee fatigue.

LNER chef Gavin Dicks has also been selected for his response to uncertain times. As a result of the Covid-19 restrictions in spring

2020, Gavin and many of his frontline colleagues were stood down from their day-to-day duties. In response, Gavin was one of the first colleagues to sign up to the LNER Reserves, the company’s advice and support network run by volunteers across the route. Gavin became a regular volunteer at FareShare, a national food charity, offering his services several times a week. He clocked up hundreds of volunteering hours over the course of the pandemic, which FareShare has calculated helped them to provide 11,372 meals across the North East of England.

A TEAM EFFORT

Among the teams nominated are the Samaritans Rail Training Team. In March 2020, the Covid outbreak led to the immediate cancellation of all Samaritans face-to-face rail industry training courses. The training team – Steve Tollerton, Jason Alexandre, Chris Berriman and Sheena Reeves – realised the pandemic’s possible impact on the nation’s mental and emotional health and its subsequent effect on rail staff and personnel who would potentially have to deal with greater numbers of vulnerable people presenting at railway stations.

The pandemic accelerated the suicide prevention programme’s plan to create an online rail industry course and, despite the pause in training to set up and publicise the availability of the new modules, the team achieved the incredible feat of training almost 2,300 staff through 20202021.

ScotRail’s Hospital Heroes have also received a mention. This team of volunteers arranged safe collection and delivery of toiletries and food and drink supplies for staff and patients at a number of Scottish hospitals including Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Princess Royal Maternity, Royal Alexandra, Inverclyde Royal Hospital, and the Gartnavel and Beatson Oncology Centre.

The team was initially approached by the Lord Provost of Renfrewshire, asking for donations of biscuits for the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Thinking that if one hospital was struggling for supplies, there were likely problems at other hospitals. Over a period of three months our colleagues gave their spare time to ensure that the much-needed donations made it safe to the hospitals.

Whoever takes the awards on 24 November will be most worthy winners. They’ll also represent the entire swathe of nominees who, due to their selflessness, compassion, and grit, are equally deserving. The Covid Heroes Awards are for everyone who made a difference during such a difficult and distressing time.

Committee Members

YRP is run by passionate volunteers, based across the country. Each region has its own committee that meets monthly. We also have a national executive committee providing support to all of our regions.

Corporate Members

Are you a company operating in the rail industry with a keeness to promote, inspire and develop the next generation of railway talent? If so, you could make a huge difference by joining us as a Corporate Member.

Join us

You could make a huge difference by joining YRP as either a Corporate Member or Committee Member. Add value to your business and career by joining today.

Contact: YRP National Chair Fi Westcough, Fiona.Westcough@ youngrailpro.com

DEDICATED TO STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Heathrow Express is once again sponsoring the Learning and Development award, having done so in 2020 and 2019. A non-franchised, unsubsidised private rail company, it runs up to 150 services a day between London Paddington and Heathrow airport, welcoming an average of 17,000 passengers on board daily.

Learning and development is key to the UK railway industry. It’s necessary for the continued improvement of the services offered to consumers and to ensure ongoing innovation across the sector. Closer to home, it’s central to the premium offering provided by Heathrow Express

and the high levels of customer service given by staff both on board and in corporate teams.

With this in mind, Heathrow Express is looking for a winner whose commitment to learning and development continues to have a positive impact on those around them, their business, and the rail industry more generally, whether that’s in their day-to-day job or via voluntary work.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

The winners at the previous awards took the prize due to their work on using technology to improve rail safety awareness in the community. The Motion Reality team – a not-for-profit arm of engineering firm Motion Rail – toured schools and Big Bang Fairs, using specially designed virtual reality (VR) software to increase children’s

understanding of the dangers of playing on the railway through ‘gamification’.

The aim of the project was to reduce incidents by letting children use the VR experience to get safely across a level crossing through a sequence of tasks. Another program was designed to raise awareness of the time needed to move out of the way when a train is coming. The programme’s appeal to the computer-game generation was obvious.

The University of South Wales assessed rail safety knowledge in children before and after undergoing the Motion Reality training. Knowledge and retention improved by 42% on average, once people had gone through the course. Since 2018, more than 300,000 people have used the system.

BESPOKE OPPORTUNITIES

Since the lifting of restrictions post-pandemic, Heathrow Express has continued to adapt to the ‘new normal’ within the rail and travel industries, ensuring that the business has been able to meet customers’ needs as they return to business and leisure trips. Learning and development for staff has been an important part of this process. It’s about identifying the smallest way to make a difference and being agile enough to put them into practice.

Mentoring, bespoke training opportunities, and on-the-job coaching have all been key to making staff feel supported and equipped to maintain high standards of customer service. In turn, helping us ensure that customers enjoy fast and reliable journeys, and leave with high levels of satisfaction.

At the end of 2020, six newly converted electric trains were

brought into the fleet. The new class 387 carriages replaced the Class 322 fleet which had been in service since Heathrow Express launched in 1988. Each of the new trains is 160 metres long and has the capacity to carry 748 passengers.

The new fleet offers a tailored experience for air travellers, with specially designed storage racks that mean extra space is available for luggage, 4G enabled Wi-Fi, and at-seat power. Those travelling in Business First also benefit from extra legroom and a personal table to work from.

TIME TO CELEBRATE

2022 has seen the implementation of initiatives that further enhance the onboard experience. In March, the Onboard Entertainment system was launched, which allows passengers to access a variety of newspapers, magazines, games, and the latest flight information for free. July saw the introduction of the Business First Fast Track service, which enables those with a Business First ticket to benefit from using the priority security lane at the airport. Finally, from September, it’ll be possible to purchase tickets for travel on the Heathrow Express via the Uber app, meaning a more seamless travel experience from Heathrow to London Paddington and beyond.

Taking just 15 minutes to reach Terminals 2 & 3 via non-stop services, Heathrow Express continues to be the best mode of transport for customers who want a premium, non-stop service between London and Heathrow.

There are plenty of celebrations on the horizon too. In 2023, Heathrow Express will be marking twenty-five years of operation with an exciting calendar of events and enhancements for the passenger experience. Stay tuned in for announcements.

THE NEXT GENERATION CELEBRATING

Astrong focus on the development of apprentices is an investment in the future. That’s true for both individual companies and the rail industry as a whole. Apprentices provide new solutions, new energy, and a fresh perspective that every organisation needs to thrive

The Apprentice of the Year award recognises the outstanding contributions of individuals who are new to rail, whether they’re straight out of education or who have chosen to take a career change later in life. These individuals have all shown exceptional skill, tenacity, and professional achievement.

PROUD SPONSORS

This year, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) sponsors the category. GTR is the UK’s largest railway franchise, network operating services from London to Cambridge and Bedford in the north, and to Brighton and the South Coast. With over 7,400 staff, the company manages 239 stations and delivers 24% of all passenger rail journeys in the UK.

With such a wide scope of operations, GTR is always on the lookout always looking for intelligent, driven people to join its team, and its apprenticeship programme forms a key part of its plans as it continues to modernise its train services, infrastructure, and working practices.

An apprenticeship is an ideal way to learn a new role – not only do apprentices receive great training, they also learn the realities of the day-to-day job. GTR delivers high-quality apprenticeships that give staff the time to develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviours that enhance their careers and offers nationally recognised qualifications for all of them. It offers a competitive salary, rail-specific benefits, and a real sense of achievement.

DIVERSITY

It’s a common misconception that the only people who can benefit from an apprenticeship are fresh out of school. GTR is committed to diversity and its schemes are open to all. This year the company embarked on its Women Returners programme which aims to tap into the talent pool of professionals who have taken a career break and are looking to get back into employment.

Women Returners specialises in enabling all professionals who have taken a long career break to get back to fulfilling work in a supportive way. The high-calibre returner talent pool is made up of (mainly women) candidates who have taken a career break for childcare, eldercare, or for other reasons.

Successful candidates will benefit from a formal training programme, which includes a Level 3 apprenticeship. Full-time employment at GTR is given at the very start of the training period, and tailored career support is provided, not only for the recruitment and onboarding process, but three months into the training programme too.

TRAIL OF SUCCESS

Zoe Auld, now a Station Dispatch Team Leader at Avanti West Coast, took the title of Apprentice of the Year at the previous RailStaff awards. Not only were her co-workers at Virgin Trains blown away by her contribution to the company, so was the judging panel.

The Manchester Metropolitan University student was completing placements around the business as part of her higher-level degree apprenticeship and left behind a trail of success.

At the age of 18, Zoe became the youngest qualified route controller in the organisation and at a busy Christmas period she helped frontline staff by learning to dispatch trains during industrial strike action. She also played a key role in the launch of the company’s ‘Back on Track’ staff app. As part of staff training, she took the time to explain to each individual how the app works and how they can interact with it, making sure to spend enough time with those that weren’t as tech savvy.

On top of all of this, during her placement Zoe re-located from Scotland to Birmingham, all while studying and getting top grades in her degree.

CONCLUSION

Apprenticeships are more important than ever. As the country continues its recovery after the pandemic it’s vital that the rail industry continues to attract new, talented employees and provide a rounded experience that will boost their careers. These opportunities are crucial to bringing future talent into the sector and shaping future leaders.

The RailStaff Awards applaud the hard work of these employeesin-training and rightly celebrates the achievements of all those nominated for the Apprentice of the Year award. Their ideas, passion, and determination will shape the industry for generations to come.

Well done

Govia Thameslink Railway is proud to mark its commitment to the next generation of talent in rail by supporting the Apprentice of the year Award.

GUIDING THE INDUSTRY

Project managers have always played an incredibly important role in the rail industry, and their skills are required more than ever to drive through the major projects dominating today’s busy railway landscape.

The role can be extremely rewarding. When a large project is successfully delivered, all the effort and determination put in over months or years finally pays off. However, it’s far from straight forward, and often superhuman effort and determination is required to hit deadlines and stay in budget.

Outstanding organisation, terrific time-management and clear communication skills are key requirements of the role, but the finalists of this year’s Rail Project of the Year Award have all surpassed these basic necessities and displayed exceptional abilities to deliver.

INNOVATIVE, EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE

This year, the Rail Project Manager Award is sponsored by GeoAccess - a bespoke asset management company specialising in Inspections and Surveys. Established in 2014 to address the need for inspections on difficult access sites in the rail sector, the company works nationwide, covering a broad range of industries.

Utilising its highly experienced Geotechnical and Structural Engineers coupled with UAVs, ROVs, Rope Access, and Confined Space Techniques, GeoAccess looks at every job holistically. By using tried and tested methods as well as implementing highly innovative cutting-edge techniques, it delivers the most efficient cost-effective solution to its client’s needs.

GeoAccess takes pride in its ability to tackle every job no matter how big or small, with the same professional flexible approach, believing that anything is possible. The company’s mission is to be a world class leader in the services it offers.

“The importance of a good project manager is essential in the smooth running of projects big and small. Working closely with all members of the project team, suppliers to client, their role is pivotal in insuring the team work together to achieve the best possible.” Says Mark Coleman, Managing Director, GeoAccess.

PAST HEROES

Whoever takes the prize at the 2022 RailStaff Awards, will join a long list of project management heroes, who’ve displayed exceptional ability and a deep determination to deliver.

Richard Vernon of Hull Trains took the award at the 2019 awards, the last one before the pandemic hit. Richard joined Hull Trains as a graduate in February 2016. Over the three years to 2019, he worked tirelessly to bring Hull Trains’ £60 million investment in new rolling stock to life.

The committed, resilient, and focused attitude Richard displayed while working collaboratively with Hitachi Rail’s team, resulted in the introduction of Hull Trains’ new fleet being one of the only rolling stock projects in the UK to be delivered to schedule and on time.

ScotRail’s Kirsty Devlin took the award the year before. Kirsty was project manager for the launch of ScotRail’s Class 365 trains, acquired from GTR as a contingency due to delays in the delivery of the new Class 385 trains. She was responsible for bringing in ten new trains in record time - just five months. It was a remarkable achievement that this project went from conception to full delivery in so short a time and Kirsty deserved all the credit she received.

CONCLUSION

Project managers deserve much greater recognition for the work they do. Their hard work and dedication is critical to the safe and efficient delivery of complex projects with minimum impact on the travelling public.

Their contribution is of inestimable value to colleagues and the wider public and they carry the weight of responsibility for any project. Ultimately, the buck stops with them. Project managers are a resilient and hardworking group who guide the industry forward,

and they deserve all the praise and recognition we can give them, so what better way to show our appreciation than to honour them with a RailStaff Award?

GeoAccess and RailStaff wish this year’s Finalists every success on the night.

AWARD ACHIEVEMENT LIFETIME

One of the most prestigious prizes at the RailStaff awards is that taken home by individuals who’ve provided the industry with a lifetime of stellar service.

The Lifetime achievement award recognises those people who’ve invested so much of their own time to delivering excellence for the benefit of customers and colleagues alike, those who’ve displayed a career’s worth of dedication, commitment, and a willingness to go that extra mile.

The rail industry is distinctive in that it’s common to find staff who’ve given 30, 40, or 50 years’ service. There are thousands of people who’ve served the rail industry faithfully over many years.

The Lifetime Achievement Award reflects the passion and commitment of those throughout the industry who’ve dedicated their lives to manning our trains, selling tickets, operating signals, building and maintaining trains and track, and everything inbetween. These people are the real heroes of the industry.

DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

This year, top communications technology company Telent is backing the award.

Telent is a leading technology company and specialist in the design, build, support and management of the UK’s critical digital infrastructure, drawing on decades of experience in mission critical communications and technology. We enable organisations to create, improve and operate the ICT and communication networks that their businesses and operations depend on.

Telent are at the heart of many of the UK’s and Ireland’s best-known organisations, with a strong focus on key areas including transport, emergency services, network providers and the public sector. Our expertise, accreditations and knowledge make us a trusted partner for organisations at the forefront of the digital revolution.

With a strong focus on key customer areas including transport, emergency services, network providers and the public sector, Telent is a trusted partner of many organisations in the UK rail industry, including Transport for London (TfL), Network Rail, and leading train operators and infrastructure companies.

You could say the company has itself provided a lifetime’s support to the industry.

EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE

Ged Mason of Morson Group took the prize at the previous RailStaff Awards. Ged, who joined Morson Group in 1986, became managing director in 1999 and CEO in 2005. He was nominated by colleagues for embracing the family values of the company and building the firm to become one the UK’s largest, independently owned recruitment businesses, with turnover of close to £1 billion.

In 2018, Graeme Brindle of Amey received the award. With a 45year long career in electrical design, commissioning, maintenance and project management, Graeme’s extensive knowledge and experience has been critical to improving safety, implementing innovation and developing generations of electrical engineers. Colleague’s praised Graeme’s “unfathomable knowledge of electrical engineering, deep-rooted passion for the industry, and unique sense of humour.”

A TREASURED ASSET

When asked what his greatest achievement is, 2019 winner Ged said: “Bringing in new talent and seeing them being mentors for the new generation coming through. You have to look to the future for the talent and the apprenticeship programme. I’m very proud of bringing new blood into the industry which is vitally important.”

Indeed, new recruits are essential to keep the UK’s Rail Network moving in the long term, and the RailStaff Awards places great emphasis on recognising the achievements of graduates, apprentices, and new starters.

However, it’s critically important we don’t forget those who mentor them, those who have delivered for the rail industry consistently over many years. The combined experience of these industry veterans is a treasured asset and recognising them for their contribution is a real privilege.

CITY & GUILDS GRADUATE OR NEWCOMER AWARD

SKILLS TO THRIVE

The demographics of today’s rail industry are heavily weighted toward the older generation, who possess a lifetime of experience and whose expertise is crucial to keeping the network running. However, at the other end of the spectrum, the industry is also critically dependent on newcomers who bring fresh ideas, boundless energy, and who are vital to the network’s longerterm operation.

The Graduate or Newcomer Award recognises the outstanding contributions of individuals who are new to the rail industry and who can boast exceptional professional or civic achievements. It highlights the successes of those joining the industry from school or university, as well as those who’ve recently joined from other sectors, seeking a challenging and rewarding career.

Encouraging newcomers is critically important and this award highlights how the industry appreciates new people investing in a career in rail.

City & Guilds proudly sponsors this year’s Graduate or Newcomer Award. The organisation has been a leader in skills development for over 140 years and has worked with countless individuals and organisations to help them identify the skills they need to thrive. It is focused on developing and delivering high-quality training, qualifications, assessments, and credentials that lead to jobs and meet the changing needs of industry.

City & Guilds provides a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) related training including apprenticeships, skills bootcamps, and traineeships in engineering. This places City & Guilds in a prime position to ensure the rail sector has the skilled workers it needs to keep up with today’s pace of change.

“Welcoming newcomers into our industry has never been more important given the skills shortages we face,” says Andy Moss, City & Guilds’ managing director. By raising awareness of the great opportunities we offer, and by enabling people from all walks of life to access high quality training, we can

address these gaps and support the diverse, flourishing workforce that our industry deserves. ”

COMPOSURE AND ABILITY

Evie Barrett, a graduate engineering geologist based in Leeds, took the prize at the last RailStaff Awards. Evie, who works for engineering firm Jacobs, was praised

for her work supporting the construction of a multi-billion-pound high-speed railway in California.

As a member of Jacobs’ tunnelling and ground engineering (TGE) unit, Evie was a key player in developing the geotechnical database needed to allow construction to go ahead.

Evie was part of the team that took ownership of delivering geotechnical engineering data reports in 2018 and then took the significant step up to lead the delivery of geotechnical baseline reports – a move that saw her work above her grade.

She is now responsible for liaising with the Jacobs teams in the USA and managing four teams of engineers in England, Scotland, and Poland to ensure the consistent delivery of these reports.

One colleague commented that Evie had “demonstrated great maturity, composure, and technical ability to ensure that the reports are being delivered on time and to a high standard.”

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Thanks to a number of major government-funded rail projects including HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, the rail industry is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation infrastructure revolution. It is estimated that, on average, between 7,000 – 12,000 additional workers will be required every year over the next five to seven years. These numbers are a stark reminder of the importance of bringing new blood into the industry. And, once newcomers are welcomed in, it’s critically important to recognise their contribution.

The RailStaff Awards brings the industry together for one night to applaud the efforts of its countless dedicated staff who go above and beyond to keep the trains moving and provide a stellar passenger experience. It is only right that we recognise the work and celebrate the progression of those currently entering the industry who will keep it running for decades to come.

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS YOUNG RAIL TOURSINSPIRATION THROUGH TRAVEL

After two and a half years, Young Rail Tours (YRT) delivered its first international tour in style this September by taking a group of 32 eager young professionals on a railway study tour of Milan. Established in 2019, YRT is one of a number of YRP’s initiatives aimed at inspiring and developing the next generation of railway talent. YRT’s mission is simple; to deliver affordable, accessible, and inspirational study tours for colleagues working within the UK Rail Industry.

MILAN 2022

The tour included a visit to the Alstom Savigliano Centre of Railway Excellence where Davide Viale, Alstom’s site managing director, gave the group a presentation and tour of this impressive rolling stock manufacturing facility. Initially founded in 1853, the site manufactures High Speed and Regional rail vehicles for railways around the globe. One of the features that most impressed the group was the facility’s custom-built Virtual Reality suite, in which individuals and groups could inspect and manipulate 3D CAD designs in a virtual space.

The trip also included a half day tour of the Azienda Transport Milanesi (ATM) Metro System. Delegates visited the San Siro Metro Stop which services the famous San Siro football stadium, which featured an innovative crowd control system to maintain safe passenger numbers on the automated metro line. A full-height turnstile gate with automated passenger counters ensures that once capacity is reached for the next train the barriers automatically stop admission until a new train has entered the station, removing dangerous overcrowding within the station or at platform level. Delegates also received a presentation on the full ATM metro system and it’s signalling systems, alongside a tour of the Milan control centre.

A YRT trip wouldn’t have been complete without a networking and cultural event. Delegates spent an evening wining, dining, and enjoying traditional Milanese music at the ‘Spirit de Milan,’ giving delegates the

opportunity to get to know each other and create new personal and professional relationships to help carry them forward in their Railway Careers.

Delegates were also given the opportunity to extend their stay in Milan to include the weekend, which many did. Groups took chance to visit a number of tourist and cultural sites including Lake Como, the Milan Doumo Cathedral and, for the die-hard engineers, the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum of Technology.

TRAVEL PLANS

The YRT committee is busy planning its next international and domestic study tours, considering locations such as Budapest and Wales. A new initiative also being developed to launch in 2023 is ‘The Cities’, which will be a series of full one day tours centred around rail and transport networks servicing key cities or regions across the UK.

YRP would like to thank all YRT organisers for their outstanding effort and time volunteered to organise the tour. In particular, Blair Hutchison,

Fiona Westcough.

safety & standards engineer for Scotrail, who led the delivery of the tour.

We would also like to thank the organisations that sponsored and supported YRT in making this tour possible including: Eversholt, Alstom, Azienda Transport Milanesi, The Institution of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE) – Railway Division Young Members (RDYM), The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) – Young Member Division, and The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) – Railway Technical Network Young Members.

YRT is a not-for-profit organisation and relies on the generosity of industry partners and sponsors to keep its activities affordable and accessible for professionals in the early stage of their careers. The team is looking for new partners and sponsors to work with them next year to continue to grow and deliver an Inspirational programme of events for young rail professionals across the UK.

To find out about these opportunities, or if you have any questions regarding YRT or its future tours, please get in touch with the YRT team on youngrailtours@gmail.com

YRP NEEDS YOU

As a voluntary organisation, YRP relies on the time of committed young professionals to deliver its activities. Without these people, fantastic opportunities such as this trip to Milan, simply would not be able to happen.

We are currently looking for new volunteers to join our various committees and help with a range of functions from tour planning, finance, and marketing. If you’d like to be part of this exciting initiative, please get in touch!

Committee Members

YRP is run by passionate volunteers, based across the country. Each region has its own committee that meets monthly. We also have a national executive committee providing support to all of our regions.

Corporate Members

Are you a company operating in the rail industry with a keeness to promote, inspire and develop the next generation of railway talent? If so, you could make a huge difference by joining us as a Corporate Member.

Join us

You could make a huge difference by joining YRP as either a Corporate Member or Committee Member. Add value to your business and career by joining today.

Contact: YRP National Chair Fi Westcough, Fiona.Westcough@ youngrailpro.com

YOUR CAREER TAKE CONTROL OF

If you’re seeking a career in a satisfying role, there’s no better time to pursue your dreams and relocate overseas. Australia continues to roll out many major rail projects and Arc Infrastructure is seeking talented employees to help manage and operate its huge rail network and infrastructure.

The company operates the only freight rail network in the southern half of Western Australia and connects the countries’ western and eastern states, making it a vital part of the economy of Western Australia. With over 500 employees located across the network, the company has invested over $2 billion in rail infrastructure in the past 20 years.

SIGNALLERS/TRAIN CONTROLLERS EXPERIENCE WANTED

Arc Infrastructure is currently searching for Network Controllers, referred to as Signallers in the UK. The company’s network control team forms a critical part of its business, holding responsibility for the safe and effective monitoring and control of services across its entire rail network.

The Network Controller role shares many of the same aspects as that of a Signaller, with some additional responsibilities. Michael was a Network Rail Signaller in the UK for nine years prior to joining Arc Infrastructure as a Network Controller in 2013.

“I’m responsible for the day-to-day running of trains across the Western Australian network here at Arc,” says Michael. “I work a 24/7 roster dealing with narrow gauge, standard gauge and dual gauge infrastructure. The trains travelling on the network are mainly heavy haul, moving commodities and interstate freight, as well as several passenger services.”

“I’m also responsible for the safety of track workers who require access to the infrastructure for maintenance. This can include liaising

with emergency services if any incidents arise and keeping Train Operating Companies up to date. My role also includes the safe working of on-track personnel while shunting within busy yards and ports, liaising with yard staff, port shunters, team leaders and train management.”

VALUED WORKFORCE

Arc Infrastructure promotes a close team environment where the skills, ideas, and experiences of all staff are valued. It provides a wide range of employee benefits including competitive pay, access to training and development, and discounted health, home, and car insurance.

The company provides a range of health and wellbeing initiatives including fitness challenges and annual skin checks. Employees often take part in volunteering, team sport activities, and team building days. The company puts its employees at the heart of its

business and works to ensure staff feel safe, valued, and fulfilled in the work they do.

The company also pulls out all the stops for those who make the decision to relocate.

“Arc was absolutely brilliant when I decided to relocate,” says Michael. “All of my belongings were shipped for me and the relocation was very, very smooth. I came over here with my young family and the transition was superb.”

A CHANGE OF SCENE

There are countless reasons to join Arc Infrastructure. For one, Western Australia boasts a strong, resilient economy and secure, quality employment opportunities for the long term. The State Government is undertaking a large-scale public infrastructure works program and rail is a major beneficiary of this.

The state is Australia’s largest, and is set across vast, rugged, landscape. When the

workday is over, you can choose your own adventure, whether that’s in the countryside, by the coast, or in the city. Finally, who could say no to warm weather and world-class surf?

It’s as far removed from the brief summers and regular drizzle of the UK as you could hope.

But if you’re concerned about relocating, consider the fact that Australia shares many similarities with the UK, so there’ll be no surprises when you arrive. One of the key

benefits that UK rail staff report after moving to Australia, is that there’s no culture shock when you arrive. There’s no language barrier either, so you can get to work straight away in a role that’s familiar.

You will also be well supported when you start your new role. Successful applicants will be offered excellent training, initially shadowing current members of the team to develop their skills and knowledge in the areas of scheduling, rail safeworking, and all other areas required for the role of a Network Controller.

MAKE THE MOVE

Any individuals with skills and experience in signalling, and who are considering a major change of scene, should consider Western Australia and Arc Infrastructure.

“Arc is a great company to work for,” says Michael. “If you have any problems at all, there’s always someone to talk to. Relocating was a great move for me and my family, and the fact I’ve been here for close to 10 years reflects that.”

Your knowledge, experience and fresh perspective is what we need as we continue to thrive and improve the network with a number of new exciting projects.

A move to Arc Infrastructure may be the best decision you’ve ever made. So, if you’re open to the opportunity of a lifetime, visit www.arcinfra.com/careers

Unipart Rail welcomes Julie Carrier as CCO

Julie Carrier has been appointed chief commercial officer (CCO) at Unipart Rail.

Julie is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers with nearly 30 years of rail sector experience leading infrastructure projects. She was the first director of Northern Powerhouse Rail and has led teams at several organisations delivering innovative solutions for clients.

Julie joins Unipart Rail from SYSTRA where she led the growth of the business in the UK, predominantly in high-speed rail.

“Unipart Rail is a business that is extremely relevant given the challenges the industry is facing,” said Julie.

“To be successful, we must innovate to bring track, train, and supply chain together to improve performance. Unipart is uniquely placed to do that, and I am looking forward to working with the team to promote and develop sustainable, digital solutions in partnership with our clients.”

Neil McNicholas, managing director of Unipart Rail, said: “Unipart Rail is continuing to address the challenges of the rail industry by working in partnership with its partners. Julie brings a wealth of experience of this vital work. I am confident Julie will continue the journey of Unipart Rail by working collaboratively with our partners to deliver technology and supply chain solutions that improve performance, reduce risk, and optimise cost.”

Brian Ferguson to join Porterbrook

Porterbrook has announced the appointment of Brian Ferguson as general manager at Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre (RIC).

Brian will join Porterbrook in December from Gemini Rail Group, where he is currently the operations director. As general manager he will lead all operational aspects of the site and oversee Porterbrook’s programme of investment. Brian will also be responsible for Porterbrook’s heavy maintenance and asset protection functions.

Ben Ackroyd, chief operating officer at Porterbrook said: “Brian joins us with many years of experience in the railway supply chain. He brings an invaluable perspective as we continue to unlock Long Marston’s full potential, and strive to deliver highquality services to our customers. We look forward to welcoming Brian to the Porterbrook team.”

Brian said: “I’m delighted to be joining the Porterbrook team at this very exciting time as it ventures into increasing its capability in providing asset management services for its customers.”

Long Marston RIC is Porterbrook’s 135-acre rail connected site in Warwickshire, which includes a 3.5km test track loop, rolling stock storage, a training centre and high-quality office space. Since Porterbrook took over the site in June 2021 over £3m has been invested to modernise and enhance the facilities.

Coombes appoints rail duo to support civils expansion

Coombes has announced that that Huw Abbey and Paul Fendt have been appointed to head up its rail civils team, as the company looks to strengthen its expanding civils business.

Joining from Network Rail, both Huw and Paul bring a wealth of experience and expertise from a variety of roles, working within the rail sector, including buildings and civils.

These appointments will strengthen Coombes’ existing civils team, which already carries out minor works through existing contracts, including Network Rail’s CEFA framework.

Shane Coombes, managing director at Coombes said; “We are delighted to welcome both Huw and Paul to their new roles. We see construction and civils as real areas of growth for us. By appointing Huw and Paul we strengthen and enhance our offering, which will help us continue to expand and grow over the coming years.”

Huw Abbey, head of Rail Civils, commented: “It’s an exciting time to be joining Coombes, and there are some great opportunities ahead, I am looking forward to helping the business grow.”

Paul Fendt, senior project manager said; “I am thrilled to be joining Coombes as it looks to consolidate its position and grow. I am looking forward to helping develop the Coombes offering and creating further value for our clients.”

Eurostar Group appoints new CEO

Gwendoline Cazenave has taken over as CEO of Eurostar Group.

She succeeds Jacques Damas, who has been CEO of Eurostar since October 2020, and CEO of the holding company Eurostar Group since its creation on 1 May.

With 20 years’ experience in rail transport, Gwendoline brings considerable expertise, energy, and vision to make Eurostar Group and European high-speed rail a success for customers and colleagues.

Whe was an executive at SNCF holding a range of high-level posts including director of TGV Atlantique, the high-speed route operating in the southwest of France, director of finance, strategy and legal affairs at SNCF Voyages, and a variety of strategic and operational roles within SNCF’s regional transport arm, TER.

Gwendoline has held a number of important nonexecutive roles, with a focus and interest in gender equality and environmental initiatives, and these

Sunny Virk joins XEIAD

The civil engineering consultancy XEIAD has announced the appointment of Sunny Virk as its new head of commercial.

Sunny has a wealth of experience in commercial and contract management having most recently worked at HS2 where he was heavily involved at a senior level in various aspects of the Commercial and Contract lifecycle. He has worked on a number of major infrastructure projects dealing with contracts in excess of £1 billon.

Sunny will be responsible for all pre- and post-contract award commercial activity including pipeline management, client engagement, tender preparation, and project commercial management.

are two areas she will continue to drive forward within Eurostar Group. She will be committed to building on the existing culture of customer service excellence shared by Eurostar and Thalys.

Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, and Alain Krakovitch, director of TGV-Intercités and chairman of the board of directors of Eurostar Group said: “We have complete confidence in Gwendoline Cazenave to lead the business, continuing the positive journey of recovery put in place by Jacques Damas. We warmly thank Jacques for his determined approach with all of his teams. He successfully led Eurostar out of an unprecedented situation, which saw 95% of its activity on hold for 15 months, and officially put in place our new business structure.

“We also thank Bertrand Gosselin, CEO of Thalys since 2019, for his work to manage the business during the crisis and for his significant contribution to the continued growth of the company. With her strong experience, Gwendoline Cazenave will continue to successfully bring together Eurostar and Thalys, promoting the development of rail transport in Europe and creating a business which will meet the growing demand for sustainable mobility.”

Rob Taylor named as new Porterbrook CFO

Rob joins from Trenitalia UK where he is currently finance and corporate director. Previously he held senior finance roles at c2c and National Express as well as at EY where he worked in the infrastructure advisory team.

He said: “I am pleased to join Porterbrook at this important time for the railway. With operators facing the considerable challenge of delivering better performance with less cost, Porterbrook’s wellestablished reputation for supporting industry improvements and driving innovation is needed now more than ever. I look forward to joining the team and being a part of the mission to deliver a safe, efficient, and sustainable railway.”

The move comes as a result of the planned retirement of CFO Peter Coates, and Rob will take up the post on 31 October.

“I am delighted that Rob is joining Porterbrook,” said Mary Grant, chief executive officer. “His extensive experience across infrastructure and finance will strongly enhance the expertise of our team as we continue to support improved industry performance and reliability as well as delivering value to our customers and stakeholders.

“I’d like to thank Peter for his huge contribution to the success of the company over the last five years,” she added. “He has been a great asset for the business and I wish him all the very best for his retirement.”

Skanska UK appoints new CFO

Meliha Duymaz has joined Skanska UK as chief financial officer and executive vice president. Meliha is an established finance leader with a breadth of experience across services, operations and major construction projects and will report to President and CEO Gregor Craig.

Meliha joins Skanska UK from Network Rail, where she was finance director for the eastern region running from London to Scotland, its largest regional business with 10,000 employees. In this role she has overseen a significant portion of Network Rail’s investment budget in multi-billion-pound programmes and projects.

Prior to this, Meliha served as managing director for the Anglia Route, leading multifunctional teams responsible for infrastructure management and service delivery for some of the most intensely operated rail routes into London.

Before joining Network Rail in 2012, Meliha worked for a diverse range of organisations including Serco and Huntsworth.

Gregor Craig, president and CEO of Skanska UK said, “I am delighted to welcome Meliha to Skanska UK, bringing her broad experience across a variety of sectors.”

Porterbrook has announced the appointment of Rob Taylor as chief financial officer.

Colette Carroll appointed as Atkins strategic rail market director

Colette Carroll appointed as Atkins strategic rail market director

Atkins has appointed Colette Carroll as market director for strategic rail, responsible for leading its significant portfolio in the UK rail sector.

Colette – who joins from HS2 where she held roles including the land and property director and the delivery director for Phase 2a – brings 20 years’ experience in major programmes and contracts, with a strong track record in programme initiation, turnaround and delivery.

Prior to HS2, Colette held various senior roles in government, including leading a plus £7 billion rail franchise portfolio, and spent five years working on rail planning and infrastructure development for the London 2012 Olympic Games. In 2013 she was awarded an OBE for services to the rail industry.

Colette, who started her new role on 1 September, will oversee Atkins’ comprehensive offering to the UK rail market – which ranges from strategic advisory services to the delivery of large, complex engineering projects – and lead the development of its longterm growth strategy.

Jason Pavey, interim managing director of Atkins’ Transportation division, said: “Colette joins us at a pivotal time as the sector undergoes structural change, while maintaining its focus on improving the passenger experience, meeting net-zero targets and accelerating its digital transformation.

“As such, her experience will be invaluable as we look to support and help shape the future of rail in the UK.”

Atkins is currently delivering services on a number of high-profile rail projects, including East West Rail, the Central Rail Systems Alliance and the East Coast Digital Programme.

Andy Byford set to leave TfL

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that London’s Transport Commissioner, Andy Byford, will leave the organisation at the end of October.

He retires from the role having delivered against the priorities he set at the start of his tenure – to get the Elizabeth line opened without any further delay, and to lead TfL out of the financial crisis caused by the pandemic.

Byford will leave TfL at the end of October, closing out a 33-year public service career.

Current Chief Operating Officer Andy Lord will take on the role of commissioner on an interim basis.

Byford became Transport Commissioner in June 2020, working relentlessly to lead TfL out of the pandemic and to focus the organisation on the work of supporting London’s recovery. Key to this has been the opening of

the Elizabeth line, over which he took personal control and which was opened by Her Majesty the Queen to widespread acclaim on 24 May.

Byford’s other major focus has been on ensuring a longterm funding agreement with Government, which enables TfL to support London’s recovery and gives certainty to staff, suppliers, and stakeholders both in London and in TfL’s supply chain that stretches across the country. Since the start of the pandemic TfL has secured around £6 billion in Government funding against a very difficult economic backdrop.

He said: “When I came to TfL I set two clear priorities – to get the Elizabeth line open without further delay and to lead TfL out of the pandemic and into a financially sustainable future. The opening of the Elizabeth line was, without doubt, the highlight of my career –made truly poignant as it was one

Megan Taylor joins Skanska UK

Skanska UK has welcomed Megan Taylor as Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing.

Megan joins Skanska UK from British Transport Police where she was deputy director of Safety, Health and Wellbeing. She has previously held senior health and wellbeing roles at Network Rail, LNER, Virgin Trains, and Southern Railways.

“Skanska UK enjoys an enviable reputation in health and wellbeing,” said Megan. “Particularly for its progressive work addressing the issue of mental health in the construction industry. I’m delighted to be joining the business at this exciting stage in its development.”

Director of Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Quality, Dylan Roberts said: “Megan fully supports our focus on mental health and comes with many fresh insights and approaches on how we can further improve our knowledge and performance in the fields of occupational health and wellbeing.”

of the last major events attended by Her Majesty the Queen. It was an honour to meet her, and an honour to oversee the transport arrangements for the ceremonial events to mark her passing.

“With a longer-term financial settlement with Government now in place I can now leave with TfL set fair to move positively into the future – supporting London’s recovery from the pandemic and truly becoming the green heartbeat of the city.

“None of this would have been possible without the dedication and brilliance of the TfL leadership team, including Andy Lord who will now take up the mantle of interim Commissioner. Any success we have had, I dedicate to the thousands of transport professionals who set out every day to provide excellent service, to keep London moving, and to build a better transport network and a better city for this generation and

WITH THOUSANDS OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES UPDATED DAILY, YOUR NEXT CAREER IS A FINGERTIP AWAY.

for all yet to come.”

Andy Lord joined TfL in November 2019 as managing director of London Underground, and became chief operating officer for all of TfL’s operations earlier this year. As chief operating officer he is responsible for the safe, reliable, and effective operation of TfL’s entire rail services, which include London Underground and the Elizabeth line, along with London’s strategic road network, bus services, cycle hire, river services, London Cable Car and trams.

We are constantly

Colas Rail UK team.

Our people are our strength, and everyone working for Colas Rail UK plays a vital part in the company’s success.

Joining Colas Rail UK provides the opportunity to not only establish yourself within one of the biggest contractors in the rail industry, but also the springboard to take your career to new heights.

We’re always looking for passionate people to join our business and with several bases across the UK, there are plenty of opportunities to join our Railway family.

We offer an attractive salary and benefits with a culture of can do, empowerment and flexibility, to allow you to make a real difference.

We would like to hear from people who would like to work in the rail industry.

Please register your interest by sending your CV to recruitment@colasrail.com and we will provide you with further information.

looking for new talent to strengthen the

Together

Signalling a career in Western Australia

Signaller / Network Controller Career Opportunities

About Arc Infrastructure

Arc Infrastructure manages and develops transport infrastructure assets that support growth and create jobs in Western Australia (WA). Rail is at the heart of our business, and the 5,500km rail network is the backbone of freight transport in Western Australia. Spanning a region around the same area as continental Europe, from the Midwest across to the Goldfields, and through to the stunning South West and Great Southern.We’re committed to working with industry, our customers, partners and communities to find new opportunities that will support and strengthen our rail network for the benefit of WA.

The Opportunity

Arc Infrastructure’s network control team is critical to our business, and responsible for the safe, economical, and effective monitoring and control of train services across our entire rail network.

We currently have opportunities for experienced Signallers / Network Controllers to join our team and make a difference on our network.

About you

The successful applicant will be an experienced Signaller/Network Controller who remains calm under pressure, is motivated, and is an excellent communicator.

You will be provided with in-house theoretical and on the job training. From our Perth-based network control centres, our experienced network controllers will work with you to help you adapt your skills and experience to our network. You will be working 12-hour shifts on a rolling roster over an average 38 hour working week.

Careers at Arc Infrastructure

Arc Infrastructure has created a culture of team work where diverse skills, ideas, and experience are valued. We promote a work environment that is characterised by personal accountability, mutual trust, and respect. At Arc, we take a genuine interest in our employees and their development. We understand our employees are the key to our success and, as a team, our focus is to ensure they feel safe, valued and fulfilled in the work that they do.

We will provide the successful applicant with a competitive remuneration package starting at $99,000 base salary, plus annual shift allowance of $27,663, plus employer superannuation contributions of 10.5%. In addition, we offer a benefits package including Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance.

ARC’S RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Arc Infrastructure will be in the UK as part of our recruitment drive in early 2023, please scan the QR code to apply.

www.arcinfra.com