Bulletin May 2016 - Issue 38, Volume 4

ISSUE 38 | MAY 2016

T H E B I A N N U A L M A G A Z I N E F O R M E M B E R S O F T H E I N S T I T U T I O N O F R A I L W AY O P E R AT O R S

5000 The GTR Story

Charles Horton, CEO of GTR, discusses how the biggest rail franchise in Britain plans to transform customer experience

Social Media Express Daren Wood explores the increasing importance of social media to operators

Student Achievements

Celebrating 5000 Members

Jo Kaye on her new role as Director of Network Strategy and Capacity Planning at The IRO celebrates as it welcomes Network Rail its 5000th member

IRO GCU students celebrate at their graduation

9 Tips for Career Success Industry leaders offer their number one career tip

02 | WELCOME

Chief Executive Officer Fiona Tordoff fiona@railwayoperators.co.uk Membership membership@railwayoperators.co.uk Professional Standards Manager (For Membership and Learning) Liz Walker 03333 440523 (ex. 201) liz@railwayoperators.co.uk Learning and Development learning@railwayoperators.co.uk Industry Learning Manager Steve Ball 03333 440523 (ex. 205) steve@railwayoperators.co.uk Marketing and Communications Simon Rawlings 03333 440523 (ex. 204) simon@railwayoperators.co.uk IRO The Moat House 133 Newport Road Stafford ST16 2EZ 03333 440523 www.railwayoperators.co.uk Opinions expressed in editorial material do not necessarily represent the views of the IRO or its members.

Welcome WELCOME TO THE MAY 2016 EDITION OF BULLETIN, THE INSTITUTION OF RAILWAY OPERATORS’ BIANNUAL MAGAZINE. The Institution has enjoyed an exciting start to 2016. Membership has grown rapidly in recent years and we are thrilled to have welcomed Lucy Garrad, Contact Centre Manager, Chiltern Railways, as the Institution’s 5000th member.

As we look ahead to the coming months this excitement is set to continue as the Institution will be launching a new online Continuous Professional Development (CPD) tool and continuing with the application for Chartered status. The new CPD tool will allow members to record their progression and identify areas for improvement against the Professional Operators Development (POD) framework.

In this issue you can find a range of career tips from industry leaders, read about the growing importance of social media to operators and learn how Govia Thameslink Railway are transforming the customer experience. You can also find details about the upcoming Member’s Lunch where we look forward to welcoming members and guests from across the industry at Aspire, an award winning venue in Leeds dedicated to producing stunning food.

See you there…

The IRO Stafford Team

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to join our growing online community of rail industry professionals. Find out about upcoming events, industry news and more.

Twitter: @IRO_UK LinkedIn: Search ‘Institution of Railway Operators’ Picture Credits: Page 12: © Rail Business Awards, Page 19: Flickr 'Virgin East Coast Class 43 HST - 43229' by Aero Pixels is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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CONTENTS | 03

Issue 38 | May 2016 Features & Interview

9 Tips for Career Success Industry leaders offer their number one career tip

04

Social Media Express Daren Wood explores the increasing importance of social media to operators

06

The GTR Story Charles Horton, CEO of GTR, discusses how the biggest rail franchise in Britain plans to transform customer experience

08

Membership

Rail Business Awards Find out who won this year’s Young Professional of the Year Award

12

Corporate Member News

12

Celebrating 5000 Members We caught up with the Institution’s 5000th member

13

Learning and Development

Students Celebrate Success The Institution is proud to present the latest graduates from its academic courses in Railway Operations Management

14

Introduction to the Railway Industry IRO Learn short course launches at the National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR)

14

Events

Members’ Lunch 2016 Will you be joining us?

Areas

16

Event Review: Principles of Signalling Phil Graham covered the evolution of signalling from the early rudimentary ‘time interval’ arrangements through to the present day

18

Back Page

Upcoming Events Find out what events are being held in your areaIndustry leade

www.railwayoperators.co.uk

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12

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Meet the IRO Area Councils Jason Wade and Nick Edwards speak about their work as Area Chairmen

Event Review: Looking to the Future: A Talk on Interoperability Chris Carson, Head of Business Change, Virgin Train East Coast (VTEC) updated members on the VTEC response in preparation for the Digital Railway and ERTMS/ETCS

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0 4 | I NTERVIEW/FEATURE

9 Tips for Career Success WHICHEVER STAGE YOU ARE AT IN YOUR CAREER, GOOD ADVICE CAN PROVE INVALUABLE. THE INSTITUTION SPOKE WITH A RANGE OF INDUSTRY LEADERS TO ASK WHAT THEIR NUMBER ONE CAREER TIP WOULD BE FOR TODAY’S RAILWAY OPERATORS.

“

‘THE STRUCTURE OF OUR RAILWAY CAN PUT BARRIERS IN THE WAY OF LEARNING ABOUT ALL ASPECTS OF RAILWAY OPERATIONS. IF YOU WORK FOR NETWORK RAIL IT IS HARDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS LIKE TO RUN A TRAIN OPERATOR AND VICE VERSA. MAKE AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND BOTH SIDES OF THE OPERATING WORLD. TAKING PART IN IRO ACTIVITIES CAN HELP, BUT BEING BOLD ENOUGH TO CONSIDER A ROLE IN A DIFFERENT ORGANISATION IS EVEN MORE POWERFUL. BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND ALL ASPECTS OF RAILWAY OPERATING WILL REALLY SUPPORT YOUR CAREER IN THE LONG RUN.’ BEN RULE, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

“

‘Keep your foot on your career peddle.

If you stop sponging up the learnings or it starts to feel easy or indeed all you see is calm water ahead then its probably time to move jobs. Working in project management or being seconded to a post that feels a little scary, even if it's a sideways steps keeps you surprisingly fresh.

If you want to get on find a sponsor.

Especially in the early parts of your career find someone who gets what you are about, they usually are in a senior role in a different part of your business. You will be amazed what a small world we all operate in and having a mentor who you can bounce off, or indeed even better someone who may act on your behalf in a senior level meeting can do wonders for your career.

Not all recruitment is formal, and added responsibility can come your way just by connecting with the right person.

‘IF YOU ALWAYS DISPLAY THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF INTEGRITY, COMMITMENT, DILIGENCE AND LOYALTY AND COUPLE THESE QUALITIES WITH A HIGH LEVEL OF COMPETENCE AND CAPABILITY WITHIN YOUR CHOSEN PROFESSION YOU WILL ALL BUT GUARANTEE A SUCCESSFUL AND R EWARDING CAREER.’ STEVE COCLIFF, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VOLKERRAIL

Finally if you want to progress have a plan to hand. I’m amazed how many really talented people have no idea what they want to achieve and simply go with the flow. You need to understand what your strengths are and those areas that need improvement.

Rail is a great industry, if you want to stick around it why not develop a plan!’

‘Despite being often seen as an engineering heavy industry, the railway is actually about people, more so than it is often recognised. So my tip is about people: know your people, look after and nurture them, they are the only way you will get things done and the amount you invest in them is directly proportional to the effort you will get back.’

WILL DUNNETT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HULL TRAINS

JO KAYE, DIRECTOR OF NETWORK STRATEGY AND CAPACITY PLANNING, NETWORK RAIL

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I N T E R V I E W / F E AT U R E | 0 5

“

1) Try to find a job you love doing - you will be great at it!

2) Keep your Rules and if possible, practical competence skills.

“

‘Remain open-minded and flexible as your career develops. I began my career in the Civil Engineer’s Dept and have been involved in procurement, contract management and performance management on the way to becoming an operator. I have seized opportunities as they have presented themselves which on occasion has meant following a different pathway to that which I had originally set myself. Had I stuck rigidly to the path I thought I would follow I would have missed these opportunities and certainly would not have had the chance to become either one of Network Rail’s Route Directors or even my current role of Operations & Safety Director.’

ANDREW MUNDEN, OPERATIONS & SAFETY DIRECTOR, CHILTERN RAILWAYS ‘Know your business inside out – we should always challenge ourselves and our management teams to know and understand the key performance indicators and the financials of our business.

In making sure we meet this responsibility, we will know where the opportunities are to improve our service for our passengers.’

‘I THINK MY NUMBER ONE TIP WOULD BE FOR PEOPLE TO GAIN AS BROADER UNDERSTANDING AS POSSIBLE EARLY ON IN THEIR CAREER AS TO HOW EVERYTHING FITS TOGETHER, AND HOW ALL FUNCTIONS ARE LARGELY INTERDEPENDENT. TRY NOT TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN ANY ONE FUNCTION OR ROLE AND DON’T BE AFRAID OF MOVING SIDEWAYS FOR LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES RATHER THAN CHASING PROMOTIONS. THEY WILL COME LATER!’

TOM JOYNER, PASSENGER SERVICES DIRECTOR, LONDON MIDLAND

JOEL MITCHELL, DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS & CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, HULL TRAINS

3) Never forget that the people running the railway 24/7 do it in the middle of the day/night, unsupervised and sometimes by torchlight! finally, I was always taught by great operators: 4) Keep the wheels turning and you’ll be alright there is a lot to be said for that!’

TIM SHOVELLER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RAIL DIVISION, STAGECOACH GROUP PLC ‘To understand the cause of something always follow the cause chain right back to the root cause. It’s so easy to be distracted by the symptoms and tackle those instead, so many people do. You’ll know you’ve got the root cause when you can go no further back in the chain of causation. Then that’s the only one you should focus on tackling.’

JULIAN DRURY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, C2C RAIL

Have you considered applying for an IRO Mentor?

Our free Mentoring Scheme is open for all members and aims to put you in touch with a Mentor who will share their wealth of experience and knowledge to help guide and inspire you. Our mentors are all full IRO Members or Fellows and are available across the UK. If you would like to find out more please call us on 03333 440523 alternatively, please email: mentoring@railwayoperators.co.uk

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0 6 | I NTERVIEW/FEATURE

Social Media Express SOCIAL MEDIA IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO THE INDUSTRY. AS AN ENGAGEMENT CHANNEL BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND OPERATORS, TWITTER STANDS OUT AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS USED. DAREN WOOD, SOLUTIONS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, DELTA RAIL, EXAMINES THE ROLE OF TWITTER IN THE INDUSTRY AND HOW VARIOUS APPROACHES TO INTERACTION WITH CUSTOMERS CAN INFLUENCE THEIR PERCEPTION OF AN ORGANISATION. Rail companies serving London received around 2,250,000 tweets in 2015 from approximately 500,000 accounts, an increase of 28% since 2014, underlining the increasing importance of social media as a major engagement channel between customers and operators. While Twitter’s own struggles have been in the technology press throughout the year, it remains popular for fast news and business-tocustomer conversations, ideal for people on the go with little time and plenty to say.

Various events during the year drove these numbers up: the scenes at London Bridge, the short, intense July heatwave, the timetable changes at C2C and Chiltern, various television programmes, fare increases, free food or beer and the Virgin Christmas trains. Fundamentally though, social media has become so popular because it’s where people go to live out their lives. It’s also adored by the mainstream and local media, providing instant access to stories and “evidence” to desk bound reporters with the prospect of brief fame for tweeters and more importantly, a bigger audience for their views. Reflecting this, we’re also seeing a move amongst operators away from social as an extension of their Passenger Information Systems to a customer engagement channel.

At CommuteLondon, we scan all the Twitter traffic between customers and operators. We monitor for disruption, satisfaction and customer perceptions.

We look at real-time issues that customers

experience and provide analytic tools to understand how customers respond to performance, service quality and the personality put across by the social media teams.

Overall, we see that sentiment levels are more much more balanced than the common perception of an angry crowd raging on Twitter. It’s a shade under half of all Twitter traffic on rail that we classify as negative.

The rest contains a mix of enquiries, help finding lost toys, the occasional MD tweeting their journey and thanks to staff who go out of their way to help. This balance makes it more important that these voices play a role in shaping the service customers receive.

In amongst these voices, we find the stories of people going about their lives, using public transport to reach work, families, events, hospitals, gyms and pubs. Users are extremely willing to describe crowding problems, maintenance issues, a lack off or too much heating, the quality of Wi-Fi or a lack of toilet rolls. What we also see is the influence that the operators messaging has on the reaction of customers. Our analysis highlights a number of approaches that can influence the customers’ perception and ensure that the tone best matches the mood of the crowd.

Here are just three of the message types that have the greatest impact: 1. It’s not my fault, but it is my problem – not our mantra, one we borrowed from Crossrail. It’s hard work on the front line of an industry that has complex regulations and challenging contractual arrangements, but paying customers don’t want to know the latest problem can be traced back to various government agencies; they just want to know that it’s getting sorted. Soon. Those brave enough to shoulder the responsibility receive credit it for it.

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I N T E R V I E W / F E AT U R E | 0 7

2. One channel amongst many – the Social Media team is as much the public face of the company as the station staff.

Customers therefore will increasingly expect consistency.

Consistency rather than repetition of information, and more importantly, consistency of treatment. As with personal interactions, those operators intuitive enough to apply humour, sincerity, sympathy and empathy to the appropriate Twitter exchanges create more positive customer connections 3. What happens to those “passed on to Senior Management” tweets – customers routinely report issues they experience as they move around the networks, from broken seats to slippery surfaces to fallen trees. These often disappear into a “Senior Management” pot, never heard of again. This could be a great chance for some simple public feedback that says “we’re listening and we care”.

www.railwayoperators.co.uk

Social media, when mashed up with other performance and context data as we do at CommuteLondon, provides operators with opportunities to change the relationship with customers. It moves too fast for endless research, but provides the chance to act quickly, identify issues with the greatest impact on customers. As an industry, we expect a lot from our most loyal and frequent customers, social is one opportunity to learn from them and to give back.

CommuteLondon is a DeltaRail brand. Our full annual report is available at news.commutelondon.com/.

0 8 | INTERVIEW/FEATURE

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INTERVIEW/FEATURE | 0 9

The GTR Story Charles Horton, Managing Director, Govia Thameslink Railway GOVIA THAMESLINK RAILWAY (GTR) IS THE BIGGEST RAIL FRANCHISE IN BRITAIN. THE COMPANY, WHICH OPERATES THE THAMESLINK, GREAT NORTHERN, SOUTHERN AND GATWICK EXPRESS AIRPORT SERVICES, CARRIES 237 MILLION PASSENGERS THAT GENERATE £1.3 BILLION EACH YEAR. AS WELL AS OPERATING OVER 3,200 SERVICES EACH WEEKDAY, GTR MANAGES 236 STATIONS AND 6,800 STAFF THAT HELP TO DELIVER THIS VAST OPERATION. Simon Rawlings spoke to Charles Horton, Chief Executive Officer, GTR, to find out more about the progress that has been made so far and how the company plans to transform customer experience across the network.

The structure of GTR’s seven-year franchise puts the passengers at the heart of organisation. Can you explain what is unique about the franchise and how it is focused upon improving the passenger experience?

The GTR franchise is unique in the sense that it focusses on supporting the successful delivery of the multi-million pound Thameslink Programme. Because of the particular challenges associated with delivering such a major infrastructure upgrade on a live running railway, the nature of the contract is different from many other franchise agreements. The way in which it works is that the passenger revenue we collect is passed on to the Department for Transport (DfT) and, in return, we receive a fee for running the franchise which can be varied, up or down depending on our performance.

The indicators that we are measured against are very much the things that passengers are interested in, such as the reliability and punctuality of train services.

It’s also about passenger satisfaction with the services we provide, and making sure people pay what’s due. Those measures form a way of making sure that the passenger is very much at the heart of our thinking because the incentives we have are very much passenger focussed.

The big challenge is about supporting the delivery of this huge infrastructure upgrade which will absolutely transform what

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passengers get right across the network, particularly on the Thameslink part of the business. What that will do is boost capacity on our network: 10,000 extra seats into central London every weekday, a 50% increase in passenger capacity through the core in central London, new trains across our network, more services, changes to the way in which we run and manage our stations, changes to the facilities on those stations and customer service training. There are lot of things there that will support a very different experience for passengers in a positive way.

You have previously spoken of the benefits of utilising the expertise from the previous franchisees. How important has this exchange of knowledge been?

It has been extremely important; we were privileged to inherit some really good practice from three businesses we integrated into GTR. Many people will not know that GTR was not just an amalgamation of the previous First Capital Connect franchise and the Southern business, a small part of Southeastern was also brought into the business. With a new Director team and the experience from those two businesses, we have brought in some really good practice that we have tried to mould together and make something which is even better than it would have been with those businesses being separated out.

With this in mind we were able to deliver key improvements fairly rapidly. Those that come to mind include the smooth transition of people into new organisation, the successful introduction of new Class 387 trains on the Thameslink route, the timetable change on the route out of King’s Cross creating 15,588 more off-peak seats a week, and the reduction of fraud through our safety and security initiative. More recently we started running our brand new Gatwick Express trains.

The key thing about bringing this business together is that it allows us to coordinate and manage services across the whole area and to deliver the big transformation and change in a more coordinated and effective way than would have otherwise been possible. We are about learning from other’s experience, not only from the businesses we have brought together under GTR, but also more widely in the industry. There is a Hackney phrase, “Steal with Pride”, that I very much believe in. It’s really important not to have any sort of arrogance about your own ideas, and what we’re trying to do, is to bring the best ideas from everywhere in the industry to make this business work better for passengers.

1 0 | INTERVIEW/FEATURE Do you think that, as an industry, we could do more to share best practice to benefit passengers?

I think we are good in parts at doing this, and there are some good things which we do already. Through the ATOC Rail Delivery Group there are a lot of good things being done where people share ideas. For example, I chair the RDG Operations Council, and we have really good discussions around the many ways in which we run businesses, particularly on operational safety and operational management.

I think as an industry we could build on what works well because there is an opportunity to be even better at sharing good practice and ideas. Institutions like the IRO are another forum for sharing those good ideas and practices because I think many of us in the industry share a belief that no one organisation, individual or body has the monopoly of good ideas. What we should be doing is to look to understand what works for others and seeing how it can apply to the situation we’re in.

As part of an extensive investment programme that aims to transform the passenger experience, GTR has committed to delivering 20,000 hours of customer service training.

How important is this professional development of staff to the organisation and passengers?

It’s absolutely fundamental. The people that work for our business are clearly key to our success and the 20,000 hours of customer service training have been wrapped into what we call our ‘One Step Ahead Programme’. The programme is aimed at building on what’s really good at the moment, sharing the learning between people and making sure that the practice and way of doing things of the many great people in this business delivering customer service is shared right across our business.

Our customer facing teams, on-board staff, station staff, team leaders, supervisors and managers will attend the programme.

Each group will attend extra modules dedicated to their role as appropriate and crucially, it will not just be classroom based as the learning will be transferred into the workplace and also supported with e-learning.

What we’re looking to do is to share what works and what ‘good’ looks like. In doing this we want to help our people understand how they can be more effective and better in their role. We can all be better and do things differently to ensure we make things easier for our customers and that is what this is all about.

As such a large organisation, what steps have been taken to allow GTR to stay in touch with local communities?

The structure of the business and our engagement programme is focused on customers. We’ve got a Stakeholder Management Team, a team of Local Development Managers and a network of Passenger Services Directors who run the business. One of the most important roles of the Passenger Services Directors is to build strong relationships with the community that they’re responsible for serving.

Our Passenger Services Directors work with local authorities, user groups and MPs to understand the needs of their constituents, to see how we can change things in our business to better meet those needs. It’s a very big business, which is centrally coordinated but with a local touch and feel, and emphasis on managing the way in which we work with our communities.

We have a very strong ethos and focus on that with local initiatives in place where local station teams work with the communities, as well as station partnerships.

As well as research and feedback from our customer relations team, we also have a programme of direct engagement with our customers. Managers from across the business take part in our online passenger panel, our two customer cabinets and a programme of 30 meet the manager sessions that take place at our stations across the business every year.

With an online passenger panel of 1000-plus members and two Customer Cabinets, it is clear to see that GTR is committed to listening to the suggestions for improvement from passengers.

How has your organisation improved as a result of this?

The emphasis on listening and taking feedback is important internally with our employees, but also important with our customers and stakeholders. I think we have got a great bunch of stakeholders and knowledgeable user groups that work with us and share their insights and thoughts on what that they would like to see improved in the business. They are a

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INTERVIEW/FEATURE | 1 1

great source of strength for the business. I was speaking at a rail summit in Hastings a couple of weeks ago and there were representatives from many of the user groups there on that day. What they have is not just a focus on simply asking for “More, more, more.” or “This, this, this.”, they want to understand our business and work with us to find ways in which we can work together to meet our joint objectives.

These relationships have helped us to think differently about the way in which we deliver on a very large number of commitments in the franchise agreement.

They have also helped us to see how we can mould those commitments to better meet local needs and also, on occasions, caused us to step back and say, “Maybe that plan isn’t right, let’s see how we can adjust it to do better for the local communities.”.

Where we’ve proposed some changes to a station we have listened to feedback and, as a result of this, perhaps thought again or adjusted a plan to make it better. Our stakeholders’ willingness to interact with us and share their thoughts and ideas is extremely valuable.

Is there anything more you feel the industry could do as a whole to improve the passenger experience?

I think the needs of passengers are pretty well understood right throughout the industry and we need to keep on at those things that really matter to passengers.

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The one thing that we believe in , and that we all as an industry should champion, is to always look to make it easier for passengers to use our services. That simple call to arms goes to the heart of a lot of the things you do as a business and it means you also challenge some of the ways in which you think about things when you put yourself in a passenger’s shoes.

One of the areas where the industry still needs to do more is in relation to passenger information. GTR wants to get to a situation where passengers feel truly in control of their choices in relation to passenger information.

Putting passengers in control of their choices so they always feel that they have the most up-to-date information without exception allows them to make informed choices, because every passenger understands their individual journey better than I will. They are the expert on their individual journey, so what they need to make these choices, such as changing trains, is the confidence that the information they have got is guaranteed to be upto-date. We have made great strides on that in GTR and have made some very good progress although there is still more to do. I think this is something the industry needs to keep on at because it’s so fundamental to passenger’s confidence in us and to them having good journey experiences as well.

As well as a former Deputy Chair of the Institution you are also a Fellow. Why do you think the IRO is important to the industry?

I was very privileged to join the IRO as one of the founding Board members back in 2000 when I worked for London Underground. I came along to bring in the representation of metro operators at the time and I thought the opportunity to have an organisation where the professionalism of the operator’s practice was properly recognised, but more importantly developed, was needed. I was enormously pleased to see this gap being addressed by the establishment of the IRO; it was an amazing achievement.

The foresight, confidence and courage of those who founded the Institution are to be applauded as the benefit to individuals and to the industry of having the IRO is absolutely enormous. Hats off to Richard Morris, Graham Eccles, Chris Green and Terry Worrall, a group of visionary individuals who have made such a difference to the industry through the establishment of the IRO.

12 | MEMBERSHIP

Membership Upgrade Success at RSSB

IRO Member Wins Top Industry Award ON THURSDAY 25TH FEBRUARY THE 2015 RAIL BUSINESS AWARDS WERE HELD AT THE LONDON HILTON ON PARK LANE. As the sponsor of the Young Professional of the Year category, the Institution of Railway Operators (IRO) was delighted to attend this event. On behalf of the Institution and as a member of the IRO Board of Directors, Mark Hopwood, Managing Director, Great Western Railway, announced Ashely Bray, Customer Services Training Manager, Great Western Railway, as the winner of the Young Professional of the Year Award. Dan Holder was also Highly Commended in this category.

The judges said: ‘Ashley has played a central role in developing GWR’s award-winning apprenticeship scheme. He’s highly motivated with a huge appetite in making things happen where there is a business need. Known as the Golden Boy because of his constant and infectious enthusiasm and his substantial achievements, Ashley is clearly a hero within GWR.’ Commenting on his success, Ashely said: ‘I was lucky to be sponsored

by GWR to complete my certificate in Railway Operations Management which I successfully completed in 2014. This coupled with my experience at GWR has enabled me to progress within the business. I am now in the position of Customer Services Training Manager and am currently mentoring a student within GWR who is studying with the IRO.’ ‘I am very pleased to be awarded the Young Professional of the Year award. I enjoy working at GWR and look forward to many years ahead!’

The IRO would like to congratulate all the winners and entrants at this event on their success and effort to achieve excellence within the industry.

THE INSTITUTION WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE EMPLOYEES OF RSSB’S RAIL OPERATIONS TEAM WHO RECENTLY BECAME MEMBERS AND FELLOWS OF THE INSTITUTION OF RAILWAY OPERATORS, AND THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (IET).

Following their membership upgrade applications, Gary Portsmouth, Alan Jones and Gerald Riley were announced as Fellows of Institution. Glen Jones, Keith Fox, Glen Brunsden and Roger Badger joined Richard Carr as Members and Simon Peet was also awarded Member status of the IET. Commenting on his colleagues’ success, Gary Portsmouth, Professional Head of Rail Operations said: “This is a significant achievement as it demonstrates a real commitment to continued professional development and a desire to have one’s individual knowledge and experience formally acknowledged by a recognised institution that relates to your discipline. Furthermore, it punctuates our commitment as a team, as we commenced this journey together and decided that we would all achieve this goal collectively and in doing so celebrate as a team once the final award was confirmed.”

Upgrading your IRO membership says something about you. Email membership@railwayoperators. co.uk to find out more about the various levels of membership and how to start your upgrade application.

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Celebrating 5000 Members FOUNDED IN 2000, THE INSTITUTION WAS FORMED FOR ITS MEMBERS AND THE RAIL INDUSTRY, PROMOTING BEST PRACTICE AND REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF RAILWAY OPERATORS AT ALL LEVELS. MEMBERSHIP HAS CONTINUED TO GROW EACH YEAR AND, AS THE FRONT COVER OF THIS ISSUE PROUDLY CELEBRATES, SURPASSED 5000 MEMBERS EARLIER IN RIL.

Founded in 2000, the Institution was formed for its members and the rail industry, promoting best practice and representing the interests of railway operators at all levels. Membership has continued to grow each year and, as the front cover of this issue proudly celebrates, surpassed 5000 members earlier in April.

Throughout March the excitement started to build in the IRO Stafford office as the total membership of the Institution grew nearer to 5000. The team were delighted when Lucy Garrard, Contact Centre Manager, Chiltern Railways, submitted her membership application and became the 5000th member.

Lucy was delighted to learn she had become the Institution’s 5000th member and told us more about her career in the industry so far and reasons for joining the IRO: “I joined the industry working as an Office Administrator with Chiltern Railways in January 2009. Since then I have undertaken various roles in the organisation such as Personal Assistant, Station Manager and currently I am the Contact Centre Manager.”

“I decided to join the IRO after learning that I was eligible for free membership through Chiltern’s Corporate Membership. I feel that the benefits of joining, such as the area events and

Membership at a Glance Locations Great Britain Ireland

3872 518

Middle East

167

South Africa

377

Australasia Europe North America Far East

50 5 10 9

*All information correct as of 01/04/2016

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online learning resources will help me broaden my understanding of the industry more widely. I think it is important to take an active role in your own professional development and look forward to doing this with the Institution.”

The Institution is thrilled to have reached this milestone which symbolises that railway operators worldwide are committed to professional development and raising standards across the industry. The front cover of this issue features a range of photographs that show our members at area events, conferences, seminars, academic course launches and a range of other events. This Institution could not exist without the support of its members, so we would like to thank you for your continued membership and involvement in the various and far-ranging benefits membership brings.

We would also like to take this opportunity to offer our thanks to all of the Area Council Members who volunteer their time to organise and host a varied range of learning events and visits. Their efforts epitomise the Institution’s mission to drive forward industry standards and lead the way as custodians of best practice in rail operations.

14 | LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

IRO Learn Short Courses Launched IRO Students Celebrate Success

THE INSTITUTION OF RAILWAY OPERATORS (IRO) IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE LATEST GRADUATES FROM ITS CERTIFICATE, DIPLOMA AND DEGREE COURSES IN RAILWAY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT. THESE ACADEMIC COURSES, WHICH ARE DELIVERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY (GCU), HAVE ALLOWED EACH GRADUATE TO EXPLORE A WIDE SPECTRUM OF KNOWLEDGE AND IMPROVE THEIR EXPERTISE. Held at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the ceremony allowed graduates to mark this achievement and milestone as they walk across the stage, shake the Chancellor’s hand and receive their certificate. We would like to congratulate the graduates listed below all the best for the future.

Certificate: David Abel (GB Railfreight), Naina Bhuva (Network Rail), Jeremy Grimshaw (Isle of Man Public Transport), Charles Harmer (Transport for London), Ryan Jones (Great Western Railway), Veronica Morrissey (Iarnród Éireann), Liz Walker (Institution of Railway Operators), Robbie Walsh (Iarnród Éireann).

Diploma: Stacey Adriaanse (Iarnród Éireann), Patrick Allinson (Great Western Railway), William Brady (Iarnród Éireann), Paul Buckley (Iarnród Éireann), Colin Craig (ScotRail), Adrian Dolan (Iarnród Éireann), Robert Evans (Chiltern Railways), Laurence Howard (Iarnród Éireann), Ide Leonard (Iarnród Éireann), Jane Linskey (Translink), Brendan Mackin (Iarnród Éireann), Jim Mason (Chiltern Railways), John Melville (Virgin Trains), Feargal Morrin (Iarnród Éireann), Walter Morrissey (Iarnród Éireann), Brenda Mary Orr (Translink), Victoria Osborne (Translink), Aaron Penfold (Network Rail), Richard Redfern (Network Rail), Jodi Rogers (Great Western Railway), Tom Silsbury (CrossCountry), Marc Silverwood (Northern Rail), Craig Simmonds (Network Rail), Scott Storey (ScotRail).

Degree: Anthony Monaghan (Iarnród Éireann), Declan Monahan (Iarnród Éireann).

If you would like to find out more about the learning opportunities offered by the Institution please visit www.railwayoperators.co.uk/learning-development or email learning@railwayoperators.co.uk

AS YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE, THE IRO LEARN WEBSITE HOSTS OUR POPULAR ONLINE OPS90 PROFESSIONAL OPERATORS DEVELOPMENT COURSE. ALONG WITH THE INTERACTIVE INTRODUCTION TO THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY COURSE, OPS90 HAS ATTRACTED GREAT INTEREST WITHIN THE INDUSTRY. THERE ARE CURRENTLY ALMOST 80 ACTIVE ONLINE USERS WORKING TOWARDS COMPLETING THE 12 INDIVIDUAL POD MODULES IT CONTAINS. The Institution’s online learning opportunities are of growing interest to a broad spectrum of industry sectors, ranging from TOCs and FOCs to prominent rail operations contract services, each finding them complimentary to their own in-house training and induction programmes.

Every member who embarks on the online Ops90 course has access to the learning resources relating to each section of the course and, on successful completion of an interactive online module test, can print off a certificate validating their success. Progress through the course can be as rapid or leisurely as the student desires. Progress through each section is logged which allows students to pick up where they left off at a time that is convenient.

In contrast to the Ops90 course, the online ‘Introduction to the Railway Industry’ course has been popular with those who are new to the industry. It also caters for those who have moved into the industry or for established employees who work in peripheral roles which require them to have a comprehensive picture of the rail environment to excel in their work.

Our one day short course, ‘Introduction to the Railway Industry’, is now being successfully delivered by IRO tutors in partnership with the National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) at their training centre in Northampton.

The course offers a more traditional presentation style learning day which is led by senior industry experts.

Attendees are guided through each facet of the industry which builds a rounded and broad understanding of the rail environment.

Corporate Members of the Institution now have the opportunity for the IRO to run this introductory course at their work base, catering for situations where it could form part of a company training programme or simply allow more freedom to release employees for training.

If the content of the course needed to be in some way specific to the client, this could also be accommodated and we would be happy to receive your enquiry.

The ‘Introduction to the Railway Industry’ short course delivered at NTAR will continue to be scheduled approximately four times a year. Please check the IRO website for information on future course dates or visit www.irolearn.co.uk to find out more about IRO Learn online courses.

Call: 03333 440523

EVENTS | 15

Members’ Lunch 2016 JOIN IRO MEMBERS AND GUESTS FROM ACROSS THE INDUSTRY AT THIS YEAR’S MEMBERS’ LUNCH IN LEEDS.

David Brown Chief Executive, Transport for the North (TfN).

The event will be held on Friday 17th June at Aspire (2 Infirmary Street, Leeds, LS1 2JP), an award winning venue located in the city centre that is committed to producing stunning food. This year’s bespoke menu has been specially created by TV & Film Head Chef, Abi Cope and Masterchef finalist, Tom Rennalds who is Aspire’s new Executive Chef.

We are delighted that this year’s Guest Speaker is David Brown, Chief Executive, Transport for the North (TfN).

David Brown is a prominent leader in northern transport, with over 25 years’ experience in both the public and private sectors covering all modes of public transport.

As Chief Executive of TfN, David is responsible for transforming regional connectivity and driving economic growth in the region. He will oversee the development of TfN into a statutory organisation by 2017, bringing together the northern transport authorities to allow the North to speak with a single voice on the big transport decisions which will benefit the region as a whole, driving growth and successfully securing its position as a true Northern Powerhouse.

David joined TfN from his post as Chief Executive/Director General at Merseytravel and Head of Paid Service of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA.) Prior to this David was Director General of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

TICKETS: £55 per person (including VAT) Tables of 10 are available at £550 (including VAT) If you would like to book a place or table at this event please email simon@railwayoperators.co.uk or call 03333 440523.

www.railwayoperators.co.uk

16 | AREAS

Meet the IRO Area Councils Jason Wade North East Area Chairman, .

Jason works for train operator Northern as Head of Revenue Protection. He began his railway career in 1993 with Regional Railways North East and has since progressed through a variety of roles within train-crew management, safety management, area operations and service delivery. Jason fully supports the ethos behind the IRO and has been a member of the Institution since its early beginnings and Chair of the North East Area Council since September 2008, having been an Area Council member for two years. For Jason, the IRO has provided him with the opportunity to enhance his railway knowledge, whilst meeting new industry colleagues and learning from their experiences. Jason is happy to mentor IRO members to support their career development, having a wide ranging knowledge of the railway industry and a comprehensive network of contacts to enable the maximum benefit to be delivered from the IRO mentoring scheme.

Nick has 35 years operational experience. He works for DB Schenker (Rail) UK Ltd as Operations Standards Manager for and also the Professional Head of Drivers.

He is also the current Royal Train Officer. Nick is currently the Chairman of the industry’s Operations Focus Group as Nick Edwards South West & Wales well as sitting on the ATOC Operations Scheme Council, Area Chairman, Traffic & Operations Management .

Standards Committee (TOMSC), Railfreight Operators Group (RFOG), Red DVD, Opsweb and Right Track Magazine editorial groups.

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You have both been IRO Area Council Members for over 9 years.

How rewarding has this experience been?

Nick: Initially I was a council member but on Lawrie Halls’ retirement from the chair I assumed that position in 2013.

The experience as both member and chair has been very rewarding as we have seen the Area membership grow and a comprehensive programme of events created. It has also been personally satisfying to see the next generation of railway operators stepping up and playing an active part in the running of the Area as well as developing themselves via the opportunities afforded by the Institution.

Jason: I joined the area council in 2007, and was elected as chair in 2008, holding this post ever since. When I was appointed as chair there were quite a few new committee members, and it has been incredibly rewarding to work with the committee to build our area into an active and varied one, and one that supports the wider membership, without whom we wouldn’t exist. I have had the pleasure of representing the area at a number of events and even had a video interview which was very nerve racking!

Recent area events have provided our members with updates on track delivery programmes, as well as gave them behind the scenes access to driving simulators and depots. In what ways do you feel area events can help operators develop?

Jason: The railway, and the role of an operator, is only successful if we understand how it all fits together. We don’t need to be an expert in everything, but to appreciate operations as a wider function means we actually do our own roles better because we understand more. The events also enable members to see wider than pure operations, for example our events that have focused on customers, allow us to appreciate other aspects of the railway system, without which operators would not be needed. Events also help members gain experience for career development, and of course the networking opportunities are invaluable.

Nick: For a long time - far too long - operations and operators tended to be overlooked within the railway in my opinion. The opportunity presented by Area events to operators allow them to see the wider picture of how the railway works and is developing. There is no doubt that the industry is entering a new and exciting phase particularly in my Area where electrification albeit delayed

www.railwayoperators.co.uk

‘‘

AREAS | 17

Never miss an opportunity to learn. There is an old railway saying that you are still learning on the day you retire!”

Nick

will see a new form of traction and brand new trains. As the age profile of operators increases the next generation need to be ready to embrace the exciting challenges ahead and the IRO, in my opinion, is the only organisation that provides the support and development tools for the next generation away from their employers.

What future events can members look forward to from your Area?

Nick: In the next few months in the SW&W area we have a variety of events including presentations and visits. All events are advertised on the website and via personal email addresses. We try and provide a wide range of events from operating experience days to presentations of the complex legal aspects of today’s railways. We always welcome suggestions for events from members and particularly welcome presentations by our members.

Jason: Our current events plan is in place until July, and we are now preparing our new plan that starts in September, so look out for details of those events coming soon. Our next events include a family day on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, a visit to Wabtec in Doncaster and a social evening in York. If anyone hasn’t been to one of our events before, I would be more than happy to meet with them beforehand and explain what we can offer.

The Institution has now gained its 5000th member. What advice would you give to our new members?

Jason: A big welcome to the only professional institution dedicated to operators! But seriously, membership offers so many benefits, and the great part of it is that members can choose to be as involved as they wish.

The more members do get involved, the more they will get out of it, but it really is something members can choose what to do quite freely. Use your membership to help you achieve your aim, whether it is to meet new people, gain a promotion at work or learn more about railway operations.

Membership is fun too, so please try it, `I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Nick: Embrace the opportunities provided by the Institution not only in terms of education, events and visits but in taking the opportunity to network with experienced operators who will be only too glad to help and pass on their experience. Use what the Institution can provide wisely and never be afraid to ask questions and to question convention. The railway going forward is yours; look after it and it will look after you.

‘‘

Use your membership to help you achieve your aim, whether it is to meet new people, gain a promotion at work or learn more about railway operations.”

Jason

Is there anything else you would like to share with our members?

Nick: I have been with the IRO since it began - in fact I’m member 248.

Just to think that since that day the numbers have increased to over 5000 is both astonishing but also not surprising because of what it can offer members who want to forward their career or indeed just understand their current role better. Never miss an opportunity to learn. There is an old railway saying that you are still learning on the day you retire! Never have truer words been said!

Jason: Having worked in the industry for 22 years now, I have thoroughly enjoyed my career, and the IRO has been part of that enjoyment. I would encourage anyone in the industry to join as it does open up a whole host of opportunities. We are about to enter into a big era of change, with a level of investment that is a once in a generation opportunity, and the role of the operator will change too, so why not help shape that future by broadening your horizons and learning about both past and future operations. Our railway needs excellent operators, who put the customer first, and the IRO can play a big part in helping you be ready for the exciting changes ahead.

18 | A R E A S

Principles of Signalling

BY DAVID ARMSTRONG IRO NORTH WEST MEMBERS WERE DELIGHTED TO RECEIVE A PRESENTATION BY PHIL GRAHAM, RECENTLY RETIRED FROM NETWORK RAIL, ON THE ‘PRINCIPLES OF SIGNALLING’.

During his illustrated talk, it was selfevident that Phil was not only a master of his brief from a theoretical and planning perspective, but that he was also very much a hands-on senior manager.

Indeed, until his last days on the railway, Phil enjoyed occasional shifts working his local mechanical signal boxes in the Knaresborough and Harrogate area.

Phil covered the evolution of signalling from the early rudimentary ‘time interval’ arrangements through to the present day. Electric telegraph, ‘block’ signalling, and track circuiting were innovations introduced as time progressed, but the many signal boxes (some 12,000 at the Grouping in 1923, which had reduced to about 10,000 by nationalisation in 1948) indicated the then very labourintensive nature of operating a railway to contemporary standards of safety.

Turning to the present day, the number of staffed signalling installations has

reduced to fewer than 700, which includes traditional mechanical facilities alongside those utilising a number of phases of much more recent technology. Ongoing rationalisation proceeds apace, towards the objective of perhaps as few as only 12 ‘boxes’ or ROCs (as the Rail Operating Centres are known in current parlance) to cover the entire network. To bring us up to date, reference was made to ERTMS/ETCS: the latest European standard.

The actual signals themselves have moved on in stages from oil lit semaphores to LED displays, fibre optics having quickly been overtaken by subsequent developments. During the presentation, various interesting items related to signalling (including staffs/ tokens for single line working) were passed around for scrutiny, and Phil competently answered questions from the floor. A welldeserved vote of thanks was given by Chris Jones-Bridger, those present showing their appreciation in the conventional manner.

That is, however, not the end of the story. Appetites having been whetted, our ‘Family Day Out’ on Saturday 9 July 2016 will be to York. A practical operating session on the National Railway Museum’s ‘Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’ signalling training layout (dating from 1913) has been generously made available to us by Phil and his volunteer colleagues at the NRM. An offer not to be refused, surely, and we are certainly looking forward to it!

Call: 03333 440523

AREAS | 19

Looking to the Future: A Talk on Interoperability

BY DAVID MONK-STEEL AT A RECENT NORTH EAST AREA EVENT CHRIS CARSON, HEAD OF BUSINESS CHANGE, VIRGIN TRAIN EAST COAST (VTEC) GAVE A PRESENTATION TO MEMBERS ABOUT THE VTEC RESPONSE IN PREPARATION FOR THE DIGITAL RAILWAY AND ERTMS/ETCS.

www.railwayoperators.co.uk

At this event Chris explained in considerable detail how VTEC are contributing to the development of the future national control and management systems and are ensuring that this business initiative will benefit VTEC’s customers.

The East Coast main line (ECML) is a Trans European Networks (TENs) route and, as such, is subject to European Interoperability legislation.

It is also important to encompass national legislation such as Railway Safety Regulations 1999, and Railway Operability Regulations 2006 which mandate the progressive adoption of a European Standard operations and safety system, known as European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) which combines advanced Signalling, Train and Traffic Control, (ETCS), Global Communications (GSM-R) and European Operating Rules.

The ECML will be an early cut over to ERTMS with significant changes in how trains will be controlled and operated from 2018 through

to 2024. This will see the actual removal of lineside signals on the south end of the ECML including the complex of Kings Cross, which will be the first such application in Europe at a major station.

The presentation went into great detail about how the project was being taken forward, the human and technical factors that needed to be considered, and the decision making processes being used. VTEC has set up a dedicated team to prepare for this.

This team has already interfaced with other present and future users, including European Railways, Network Rail, other operators in the UK and their own staff and the Trade Unions.

One key initiative already taken has included the supply of iPad’s to drivers to acclimatise them to the Driver Machine Interface (DMI). The training element is likely to be a major factor with more than 50,000 staff needing ETCS training.

Following this Chris then gave an overview of the whole Digital Railway project, which is moving forward and evolving all the time. The IRO would like to thank Chris Carson for his time and for sharing this valuable presentation with members.

20 | DIARY OF EVENTS/CONTACTS

Diary of Events THURSDAY 19TH MAY 2016

Railway Vehicle Engineering in Doncaster

17:00 – 19:30 | DONCASTER – NORTH EAST Members will be meeting on Doncaster Concourse.

THURSDAY 26TH MAY 2016

Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station

16:30 – 19:00 WARRINGTON - NORTH WEST & WALES SSE will be our hosts in showing us around all aspects of the power plant and how the power it generates feeds into the National Grid.

Signalling School, within the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York. Members and their friends and families will be able to observe and operate the extensive model railway layout, which celebrated its centenary in 2013 and was still being used to train signallers until the 1990s.

During our visit, hosted by Phil Graham, there will be a description of basic Signalling Principles, and the opportunity to put them to use on the layout. Those attending will also be able to visit the main Display Areas within the NRM, to see the many historic exhibits.

TUESDAY 19TH JULY 2016

Social Evening at The Windmill

17:00 – 21:00 YORK – NORTH EAST Join your fellow IRO members at The Windmill Inn for an informal social evening.

THURSDAY 28TH JULY 2016

AGM & Chester Station Heritage Tour THURSDAY 16TH JUNE 2016

Virgin Trains Simulator Visit

17:30 – 19:30 CREWE – NORTH WEST & WALES This event will give students a unique chance to drive one of the UK’s newest and most advanced passenger train, the Class 390 ‘Pendolino’.

17:00 – 19:30 CHESTER - NORTH WEST AND WALES Join the North West and Wales Area for their Annual General Meeting, followed by a Chester Station Heritage tour.

Your IRO Area Contacts To get involved with your regional IRO Area or to book a place on any of the events listed please get in touch using the contacts below.

Irish Area:

Hilton Parr i.chairman@railwayoperators.co.uk

Scottish Area:

Jim Douglas s.events@railwayoperators.co.uk

North East Area:

David Monk-Steel northeast@railwayoperators.co.uk

North West Area:

Chris Mackenzie nw.chairman@railwayoperators.co.uk

Midlands Area:

Rachel Heath m.events@railwayoperators.co.uk

South West Area:

Martin Bonnington sw.events@railwayoperators.co.uk

South East Area:

Omar Soares se.comms@railwayoperators.co.uk

Young Operators:

Alex Paddon & Kate Oldroyd ne.youngoperators@railwayoperators.co.uk

SATURDAY 9TH JULY 2016

Friends & Family Day Out

10:00 START YORK - NORTH WEST & WALES The venue for this year’s IRO North West Area Friends & Family Day Out will be the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and LinkedIn to discover more about future Area and IRO events that are happening near you.

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Call: 03333 440523