INSIDE
Institution of Railway Operators member news, views and events
Issue 35 » October 2014
Learning Products » Membership » Corporate Members » Organisational Reach » Academic Programmes » Areas
Area Events listing on the back cover – visit www.railwayoperators.co.uk to book on events
IRO launches CPD system CPD – or Continuing Professional Development features in most walks of life these days. The concept of taking time to refresh your knowledge and keep up to date with industry developments is not a new one to Operators and many organisations seek to promote it through their own company practices. In support of this endeavour, the IRO is now able to offer a scheme for members who would like to record their CPD hours. We are starting local – with IRO events and conferences but soon hope to roll out to other organisations wishing to get their own events and training programmes registered for development hours. IRO members will all have a barcode based on their membership number as part of their membership card from November 2014. The Area Councils have all received training to use their barcode readers so if you want to start your record of learning – your Institution is behind you all the way!
www.railwayoperators.co.uk Call 03333 440523
1
Learning Products
IRO Operations Learning from Extreme Weather Conference – Resounding Success! At the IRO Conference: Operations Learning from Extreme Weather 2013/14, held at the Charing Cross Hotel, London, on the 13th June 2014, key industry speakers provided an opportunity to showcase their own experiences and reviews of these extreme operating conditions. Three TOC Operations Directors, a Network Rail General Manager, a Passenger Champion and a Flooding Specialist came together to share their experience and learning from the recent extreme weather. Information and innovative solutions were presented, addressing the most complex operational situations caused by high winds, excessive rain, heavy snow and severe flooding that affected all aspects of passenger rail services.
The information and advice delivered throughout the conference was unique and compelling, as such it forms a valuable resource for all railway operators wishing to take on board the experiences of other operators and to hear what methodologies worked and what did not. Delegates were able to take away with them beneficial knowledge, best practice, and importantly, the unbiased views of others who were willing to share their personal accounts of what was undoubtedly a testing time for all involved in rail. In our commitment to offer valuable learning experiences the accounts were filmed so that the value of the learning could be shared large-scale in by the IRO Corporate Members. Have a look at our resources page on the website to see the
IRO Conference presentation sections (Guy Dangerfield: Passenger Focus) www.railwayoperators.co.uk/resources/ If you would like to learn more about IRO Conferences, please contact the IRO by email to info@railwayoperators.co.uk or call the office on 03333 440523.
Scottish referendum impact Scotland’s railway has been seen as a success story in recent years. Since devolution of most rail powers to Scotland in 2005, the rest of the UK has looked on enviously at investment in new lines, new stations, electrification and new train fleets. It is worth remembering that the Scottish Government already produces its own HLOS, specifies and funds Network Rail’s outputs in Scotland, and is responsible for the ScotRail and (from April 2015) Caledonian Sleeper franchises. So, as the dust settles on the Scottish independence referendum, thoughts are turning to what the ‘No’ vote will mean for Scotland’s future, including of course the railways. ‘Scotland’s Future’, published in November 2013 as the blueprint for an independent Scotland, laid out what would have happened in the event of a ‘yes’ to independence. It spoke about ‘greater flexibility and more choices’ for transport, including creating a fully integrated transport system, and aligning transport policy with other infrastructure sectors such as energy. The document proposed a review of
2
the industry’s structure and support, including alternative approaches such as public-supported and not-for-profit models. The opportunity for an increased role in respect of cross border services is highlighted, reflecting current frustrations on this issue. Also mentioned is the potential for increased investment through the borrowing powers of an independent nation, and priority for developing High-speed rail, as well as improving Scotland’s internal Inter City links, with reduced journey time a particular priority. An ambitious agenda, building on the progress made since 2005. So given the 55/45 ‘No’ vote, what can we expect for rail? In the short term, with CP5 under way, the ScotRail franchise result now announced, and the rail industry in Scotland performing well, it is unlikely that we will see major change, with the investment and growth of recent years continuing. But given the commitments made by the UK parties during the frantic last few weeks before the referendum for more devolution of powers to Scotland, might we see some of the ideas from
‘Scotland’s future’ become reality? Details are not yet clear – but there is no doubt that the Scottish Government will be keen to build on the success of devolved rail in the last decade, in growing the network to carry more passengers and freight, and in stimulating wider economic growth and connectivity across the country through better rail services. We can expect plans for even more freedom for Scotland to set its own rail agenda – and perhaps for other parts of the UK to seek devolved rail powers, given the benefits seen in Scotland. The rail industry can play a key part in informing the debate and decision making which will be taking place over the next few months, and in shaping Scotland’s future as part of the United Kingdom. David Simpson
Call 03333 440523
Membership
Royal Charter – an overview A recent survey conducted by the IRO showed that there was a large amount of support amongst the corporate members for the IRO to pursue Chartered status. Kate Smith has provided the following overview. A number of our constituent partners have Royal Charters including the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers as well as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. It is our belief that gaining chartered status would strengthen the Institution and help support its mission of advancing the safe and reliable operation of the railways. What is a Royal Charter? A Royal Charter is a formal document granted by the Sovereign on advice of the Privy Council which grants rights and powers to a body corporate. Dating back to the 13th century, Charters were historically used to create public or private corporations including towns and cities. More recently, new Charters are generally only granted to bodies that work in the public interest such as professional institutions or charities. If we successfully applied for a Charter, we would give up company status and become incorporated by Royal Charter. Grants of Royal Charters are quite rare and are only given to pre-eminent organisations that can demonstrate permanence, thus a grant is recognition that the organisation is of such national importance that it is worthy of regulation in this way (more information can be found on the Privy Council website at http://privycouncil. independent.gov.uk/royal-charters/). Why would the IRO want to apply for a Royal Charter? A Royal Charter would provide recognition of the contributions that the IRO makes to society as well as enhancing the standing of the IRO and its members in working with other bodies. It would also acknowledge that the IRO operates to benefit the public by enhancing the training and knowledge within the railway system thereby creating a safer system.
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
Kate Smith IRO Legal Researcher Additionally, Chartered status is likely to attract further members and provide recognition that the work of our members is to the highest professional standard. Successfully gaining a Royal Charter would also have benefits on an individual member basis. It would mean the IRO could apply to the Privy Council to grant individuals chartered status, promoting the reputation and credibility of these members within the industry. What is the process for applying for a Royal Charter? The process of applying for a Royal Charter is quite lengthy and is likely to take several years. According to the Privy Council website there are a number of criteria that bodies must meet to be granted a Charter, and the IRO may have to consider undergoing some structural changes to fulfil these requirements. Once we believe we are in a position to meet the criteria, the first step would be to contact the Privy Council informally so we could receive a response on the
chances of success. Following this we would consult with our members and associated organisations and if no major objections were raised, members would be asked to give approval for the IRO to lodge a formal petition. Next, the petition would be submitted to the Privy Council. At this stage individuals and other organisations are given a chance to lodge counter petitions. The application would then be assessed by the Privy Council and the IRO would be contacted as to the outcome. If successful we would take the necessary steps to start operating under the Charter. What stage are we at now? We are in the very early stages of the process and are currently conducting research into how to get a Royal Charter and the changes we must undertake to increase the likelihood of success. We are yet to approach the Privy Council on an informal basis. We intend to keep our members up to date with any progress we make.
3
Membership
Operational Planning in the Railway Business – Weekend short course 21-23 November 2014 The next IRO operational planning course will take place at First TransPennine Express Offices, Bridgewater House in Manchester on Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd November. The course leaders are IRO Tutor and Ops Planning Consultant William Barter and FTPE’s Timetable Strategy Manager, David Langton. headway and the number of trains that can be run, the planning rules that result from these constraints and how to define capacity. There will also be coverage of track access agreements and the commercial requirements that define how the timetable looks. The course will examine in detail: resourcing, how train crew diagrams and rosters are compiled and the need for rolling stock to be available and used efficiently in terms of stabling, fuelling and maintenance. Delegates will undertake a series of planning exercises.
This weekend course, open to all members will guide students through the building blocks of planning the railway and how the role of the operational planner is crucial to business performance by influencing revenue, costs and capital investment and forming the basis for many contractual relationships between companies. Topics covered will include the fundamentals of why timetables are required, the effect that the type of signalling can have on the
The course will give an excellent grounding in the core principles associated with the planning and delivery of train services, with specific focus on the rail network itself, timetable construction, network capacity, network access and how these principles need to be applied to ensure services meet commercial and performance requirements. The course is £780 (inc VAT) per person. Includes course material, dinner on Saturday evening and lunch on both Saturday and Sunday. To reserve a place on the course email: learning@railwayoperators.co.uk or call: 03333 440523
The Film Archive of Railway Signalling & People It has been described as the biggest operational change on our railway since the abolition of steam, and members of the IRO will be living and working through it.
institutions, including the IRO, with a view to recording railway signalling as it stood now and before it was consigned to history. Thus the Film Archive of Railway Signalling & People (FARSAP) was born.
The fundamental changes in signalling will transform life for the Railway Operator. In 2013 Network Rail announced a strategy of concentrating all railway signalling activity into a handful of Regional Operating Centres (ROCs) and changes are already progressing swiftly and steadily towards the eventual demise of all remaining mechanical signal boxes, power signal boxes and of most signalling centres.
With funding from the FNRM and the Railway Heritage Trust (RHT) along with Network Rail’s support, a team of volunteers commenced recording in January 2014. The Signalling Record Society volunteers are assisted by the official partners in the project: The Institution of Railway Signalling Engineers (IRSE), Institution of Railway Operators (IRO), National Railway Museum (NRM), Heritage Railway Association (HRA), and the Retired Railway Officers Society (RROS).
Fortunately, we are in a position to record for posterity – and perhaps for guidance and understanding today – these power and mechanical signalboxes, and the life and skills of those who worked in, maintained and designed them. The Friends of the National Railway Museum (FNRM) contacted various professional 4
Our representative, Jim Summers, will be happy to deal with any questions by members. Jim is ensuring that the project records, from an operations standpoint, the background work on why and how
signalling schemes were developed and how documentation, such as box special instructions, was considered and authorised. He has been able to add a special record of how the enhancement of a major city station layout was schemed and staged by a team of engineers and operators, to allow a high level of the train service to continue. History it may be, but the lessons learned are timeless. The project would love to hear from members who worked or still work in a signal box, and can provide reminiscences and/or pictures. Visit the Signalling Record Society website www.sr-s.org.uk/archivevideo.php where you can also see the edited videos of footage and pictures gathered by the volunteers, with some additional information about the location, the box, its equipment, its work, and its people. Jim Summers
Call 03333 440523
Corporate Members
You Asked – We Delivered! In 2013 detailed market research was undertaken with our Corporate Members and other stakeholders*. We got a great response and from the results of the questionnaires we compiled the wish list from our customers shown on the left-hand side of the table below. Much of the focus of 2014 has been to deliver to this list of customer requests. So – how did we do? As the year end fell on 30th September 2014 we are pleased to record a 100% delivery record on the delivery plan. The wishes of the following corporate stakeholders are represented in this analysis: Southeastern, First Great Western, DB Schenker, Chiltern Railways, Grand Central, First Capital Connect, Southern Railway Iarnrod Eireann, First Hull Trains, Cross
Country Trains, First TransPennine Express, London Midland, South West Trains, East Midlands Trains, Translink, Northern Rail, Mersey Rail, Eurostar, First Scotrail, Heathrow Express, Arriva Trains Wales, Greater Anglia, Network Rail: LNW, Scotland, Western & Wales. Centro, ORR, Transport for Scotland, DfT.
You asked…
We delivered…
The IRO should seek Chartered status
The preliminary work is done and on September 9th the IRO Board agreed to proceed with a working party
The IRO should run learning conferences
We ran one in June on Extreme weather, the Performance Conference is on 4th November and two collaborative conferences are planned for February.
The IRO should develop a vocational qualification framework for operations
Vocational elements are being placed in an accredited scheme with our academic partner Glasgow Caledonian University. These are being devised with real career development pathways identified to us by our Corporate members.
The IRO should create cross-company communities of professionals
A group on light rail and a further one on ERTMS have been scoped. More will follow.
The IRO should have a job/career advertisement section
Launching March 2015. In the meantime, the Corporate Members now all have a mini website through the IRO home page.
Distance learning courses
We have introduced a total of 13 new on line learning products this year – all available on IRO LEARN, all requested by current rail operators.
IRO run open programmes where stakeholders’ employees attend alongside other companies
We already run the successful Operational Planning and Practice weekend course and now have nine new programmes (called Ops 180’s) on a range of topics.
Accredited modules run in house by stakeholders’ trainers
Accreditation proposal currently under discussion with Glasgow Caledonian University – decision expected by end of February 2015. The licence agreements are in draft at the lawyers and the materials themselves are being spruced up for launch early next year.
Training stakeholders’ internal trainers
The launch of the Ops 180s as a licence product will be accompanied by Train the Trainer activities in the regions.
Mentoring
Relaunched with refresher sessions for established mentors.
A beginners guide to rail course is needed
Now available as part of IRO Learn -A nine chapter, video enabled course for those new to rail (and a few who are not new but not that sure).
GCU courses customer led modifications
Course review undertaken throughout 2014, will be implemented throughout 2015 for launch October 2015. Heads of Quality and Curriculum appointed.
*The surveys were sent to corporate member TOC/FOC/IMC organisations at MD, Ops/Production Director and HR Director level. Within Network Rail surveys were sent to some central staff and within the ten Routes where the MDs and their HR supports as well as some General Managers were targeted. In addition the ORR, RSSB, two PTEs, the Transport Executive for Scotland and the Department for Transport were also approached. Did you know that the IRO became members of the Market Research Society so that it could opt in to the high standards of the MRS membership for the purposes of the survey?
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
5
Corporate Members
Maximising Performance in Change Tuesday 4th November 2014, Charing Cross Hotel: The Strand, London, WC2N 5HX Following the success of the IRO Operations Learning from Extreme Weather Conference we are holding a further day of learning in London on Tuesday November 4th 2014. Participants will meet with other Operators informed on the implementation of forthcoming projects and technologies including ERTMS, Traffic Management, PPRP and IAP which all offer performance and capacity benefits in their own right. They will have the opportunity to consider how these benefits can be ensured and maximized through implementation and what company processes, practices and culture may be required to be evolved or
safeguarded in advance of the changes. There will also be the opportunity to share some good practice with other Operators around commissioning OTMR packages, establishing an efficient resource base and building resilience. The day will also be chaired by Rob Warnes (Planning and Programmes Director, Northern. Chair of the ATOC Performance Forum.) Throughout the day we will also have a brilliant variation of speakers which will include: Steve Price (ATOC) and Rob Baxter (NR) on Traffic Management; Zoe Edmonds (NR) on PPRP and building resilience; Joel Mitchell (South Western Railway Alliance)
on establishing an efficient resource base; Jason Wade(Northern) and a Southeastern colleague on OTMR; Paul Le Vesconte (ATOC) on ERTMS and Richard Lewis (NR) on IAP. As always we aim to run this event on a not for profit basis and we expect great outcomes for the individuals and companies taking part. At the time of press last minute preparations were underway for the event – a small amount of places may be available if you wish to attend however, if the date has passed please visit our website where you will find video recordings taken on the day.
Corporate Member Pages Over the summer months the IRO Main Office has been working to create a series of pages on the IRO website for each of our corporate members. We are excited to announce that, after much hard work, these pages have now been launched and can be used by all of our members and the public. The pages will offer a brief history of each organisation and will also include various resources such as membership forms for employees of these organisations who are yet to join as a member to the IRO. Each page will also boast a selection of
downloadble posters which our members are welcome to print and distribute to their colleagues in the railway industry. Each page will also function as a tool for those in the railway industry who are seeking new employment and wish to discover the history and values of new organisations. They will also direct users to the IRO’s soon-to-be launched jobsite which will feature current vacancies from
each corporate member – this will allow those seeking employment in the industry the opportunity to see a huge variation of opportunities for career development in one space. You can find these pages by navigating to the ‘About the IRO’ tab at www.railwayoperators.co.uk.
Individual Campaigns Target Corporate Member Operators In September the IRO received an invitation from one of its corporate members, London Midland to run a campaign to promote membership to employees within that organisation who are yet to join. The campaign was a great success and we have since welcomed a vast amount of London Midland employees to the IRO – all of whom are now able to access a comprehensive range of events, development tools and services.
6
First Great Western also welcomed the IRO at their Leadership Conference. Read more about this in the South West Area news (page 22).
As all employees of our corporate members are eligible for free membership it is important to us that we ensure that everyone is given all the information about the benefits of joining as a member. If you would like to discuss creating a campaign tailed for your organisation contact: Simon by emailing simon@railwayoperators.co.uk or telephone 03333440523 (ex. 204).
Call 03333 440523
Membership
IRO Mentoring Scheme – Relaunched In January we ran a special campaign aimed at our Fellow and Member grades which asked them to consider becoming a mentor to another IRO member. We were delighted with the take up! We now have a register of 137 UK wide volunteer mentors, some of whom have made themselves available across multiple Areas. Our volunteers, many of whom are already skilled and experienced in mentoring, were all invited to attend ‘refresher briefings’ this summer. To date 28 mentors have attended briefings held at three locations around the country and we plan to hold an additional session for our mentors in Ireland this autumn. The briefings, which were designed to be interactive and fun as well as informative, have been filmed and can be viewed on our website… although for reasons of confidentiality there is only the facilitator to camera and not the group exercises!
The sessions contained an update on the IRO with the values of the organisation, a description of the 12 sections of POD and an introduction to the all new IRO Learn programmes. Some basic models for mentoring relationships were dusted off and a couple of new ones offered to the group for their consideration. The scheme has a third party Quality Assurance partner who will annually assess the merits and improvement points of the scheme. So, all that leaves is for us to find 137 mentees! Do you think you could benefit from being mentored by the industries finest? It may not be about your career – it may just be about learning for your own satisfaction. If you are interested then fill out the form on the website and get registered.
The Area Councils have nominated representatives to administer the scheme locally and match you up with someone according to your learning objectives your mentor awaits!
Growth in Membership & Engagement The IRO membership continues to buck the membership organisation trend. We continue to grow as more people want to take advantage of what we have to offer. So why not introduce a friend to the IRO so that they can benefit too? They will thank you for opening doors to new opportunities and experience.
We are seeing more people attending our events, following us on twitter, joining our LinkedIn group and using the umbrella of the IRO to make their own connections.
Join the conversation… Keep in touch with us on Linkedin and Twitter www.linkedin.com/company/theinstitution-of-railway-operators www.twitter.com/railwayops
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
7
Membership
We are sorry to announce the departure of Tricia Meade from the team Tricia has been the Learning and Development Manager over many years and has been a huge source of support and help to those who have worked with her during that time. Tricia has decided to dedicate more time to further her own business interests. “My time with the Institution has been both rewarding and challenging. Playing a key role in the establishment and growth of a successful learning and development programme for a newly fledged institution has given me a breadth of experience which is unique. This experience will be invaluable as I now look to take on further initiatives and challenges to further develop my career. I would like to thank the Institution for giving me this opportunity and also the Board, tutors, members and the Stafford team for their support over the years and wish the Institution every success in the future.” Fiona Tordoff , CEO commented– “Tricia has helped to grow the IRO’s courses to what they are now and has been a huge source of support and help to those who have worked with her and to the students on the programmes over the years. I would like to add my personal thanks to those of the Board for her hard work and to wish her all the best with all the new challenges ahead.” Tricia’s last day will be on Friday 31st October , she will be handing her work over to Christine Smith who can be contacted on the Stafford Office number 0333 440523 ext 201.
Member services
Reserve the date… For the 2015 Annual Members’ Lunch and mini-conference on ERTMS Friday April 17th 2015 from 9.00am London venue
8
Call 03333 440523
Membership
Donald Macpherson – an appreciation Donald Macpherson, who died in May at the age of just 55, will be known to many members of the IRO as a long standing tutor and a member of the Scottish Area Council. Meeting him for the first time you might have been surprised to find a guid Scots name belied by a languid English accent; for despite an Aberdeen mother and an Inverness father, and spending most of his life living and working in Scotland, he had been born and brought up in Cambridge. From his father, a noted lecturer on economics at the university, Donald inherited a love of history, ornithology, football and railways – though not his taste for whisky, for Donald was rarely known to indulge in much more than a glass of wine. This was probably just as well, because his many and varied posts on the railway meant long periods on call.
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops” – Henry Brooks Adams
He joined British Rail’s Scottish Region as a management trainee in 1982, after graduating in Classics at Oxford. Intensive training in the theory of rail operations was quickly followed by the practical lessons of working with experienced railway people. A variety of roles saw him constantly moving across Scotland to meet the Exigencies of the Service, rarely able to put down roots in any one place. He seemed to be constantly migrating between Glasgow, Paisley, Dumbarton, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth and other locations, never truly having a “home station”.
“Donald was a truly inspirational character with a great depth of knowledge that he was happy to share with us – students. His passion for teaching shined brightly and was only matched by his compassion for his students.”
In the years before restructuring of the railways he had dealings with passengers, with parcels customers and with freight shippers. But it was as a manager of people, and especially train crew, that he is best remembered. He was ScotRail’s Train Crew Manager in the run-up to privatisation and later Operations Manager for the first ScotRail franchise. His skills as a negotiator and his reputation as an honest broker meant that he specialised more and more in consultation and negotiation to ease in the changes of the franchise system and led to his appointment as Human Resources Director. Donald stayed with ScotRail for a short while after the franchise passed to First Group, again helping to smooth the way for change without it crushing the people involved. He left full time employment in 2005 and subsequently worked on
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
Donald touched the lives of many of our members - here are some of the words of condolence we received.
projects for Transport Scotland and the new London Midland franchise in England, as well as tutoring IRO students. A lot of his time however was spent travelling to be with his elderly parents in Cambridge, and with his sister, niece and nephew in Cornwall – always by train of course, never by air. He will be remembered as genial and self-deprecating; a good listener and an amusing speaker, with a wry sense of humour. He was not one to criticise or belittle anyone but he could always see the comical side of any situation. Wherever he went in Scotland there would be railway people who knew him and sought him out, to tell him what was happening on their patch. They probably didn’t know, but would not be at all surprised to learn, that his middle name was Fairley; for that was how he tried to deal with everyone. Neil Worthington MIRO
“Donald was my Tutor in my very first year of studies on the Certificate course and he was so friendly, approachable and welcoming. He made me feel confident about the course I was starting and made it very clear that he was there to help/guide me. I will never forget Donald because even in later Tutorials, he would go out of his way to talk to the students and he was so easy to talk to.“
“I am in my fifth year of studies with the IRO and I can honestly say Donald was one of the Tutors who really made me believe I could succeed in my studies. I would not be working on my Degree if it wasn’t for Donald; he made me believe I can do it and go through with all the studies.”
“Donald was not only a great railwayman he was one of the most polite gentlemen I have known, railway or elsewhere.”
9
Learning Products
Transnet staff complete railway operations management degrees with Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) On 16th October 2015 the very first graduation event of the South African Railway Operations Programme took place. The day marked the culmination of achievement for the hard working students who were the first through an ambitious and pioneering programme put together by four partners: The IRO, Glasgow Caledonian University. Eightyfive employees, mostly managers from Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Transnet’s largest unit, completed programmes especially designed for TFR. These included Bachelor of Science degrees in Railway Operations Management, Diplomas of Higher Education and Certificates of Higher Education.
• MATLAKALA MARTHA LEKGOTLA
Special Prize
• RODDY ROBERT LOFF
Top Student
• MFANASIBILI ANDREW MABUZA
• ESMERALDA URSULA BURGESS
The graduates:
• PULE PAUL SEKAO
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN RAILWAY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• LAZARUS TSOLO
• MERVIN JOHN MAC DONALD • NONTANDAZO MADIKANE • MFANUFIKILE JOHANNES MADLALA • BUSISIWE SARAH MLANGENI • DUDUZILE MPANZA • NCEDO TIKAZA MPIKASHE • LUCKY BONGANI MTSHWENI • KHENSANI FAITH NGOMANE • SIBONSILE CATHERINE PHAKATHI
• GUGU WANDA
• JAN DANIEL BREYTENBACH • HENDRIK JOHANNES COETZEE • DELBERT WILFRED DEYCE • LOUIS MARTIN ELAND • LUCEIN GOVENDER • AHMED GOOLAM HOOSEN HANSA (with distinction)
CERTIFICATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN RAILWAY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT • ESMERALDA URSULA BURGESS • BUSISWA JOYCE KAKAZA • MANDLA LILI
• HENNIE JONKER
• MMALETSATSI JOYCE NKOMO
• GERT JOHANNES KAPTEIN
• MARILIZE PANTER
• JACOBUS HC KNOETZE
• TSHIAMO DESMOND RAKANANG
• LEANE LUUS (with distinction) • MPUMELELO EUGENE SIHLE MKHWANAZI
Since the launch of the programme in 2012, nearly 600 employees have registered and an estimated 5,000 are expected to graduate through the programme Speaking at the graduation, Mr Molefe, Group Chief Executive of Transnet SOC Ltd said: “We are confident that a significant percentage of graduates will become teachers and votaries for rail spreading knowledge in the same way, planting seeds for future generations to nurture. They need to go out there and sell their vision of what a prosperous, educated and stable Africa will look like.” Programme participants are exposed to a wealth of new ideas and approaches in railway operations. The benefits to Transnet have been immediate and tangible : more skilful colleagues and an improvement in performance and productivity. The Institution of Railway Operators is proud of its place as an originator of the South African programme and was represented at the graduation by Fiona Tordoff CEO.
• MOKONE JOSIAS MOHLAKE • STANLEY ENOCK VAN STADEN • MAGDALENA C WILLEMSE Special Prize Top Student • AHMED GOOLAM HOOSEN HANSA DIPLOMA OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN RAILWAY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT • DANIEL THEMBA BANDA • MIRRIAM MAKIBI GAAREKOE • ANNALIZE-FAREDA HARTZENBERG • CACHANDRA JASSON
10
Call 03333 440523
Learning Products
24th June 2014 - IRO graduation ceremony – Glasgow The IRO is pleased to present the 28 June graduates from our degree, diploma and certificate courses. Well done to you all on your dedication and commitment to your professional learning. Degree – Michael Baneham Iarnród Éireann, Mark Bennett Network Rail, Simon Bott Southern Railway, Simon Cassidy First Great Western, Maeve Custy Iarnród Éireann, Carl Duranthon Network Rail, Steve D’Ath SouthEastern Railway, David Heeney First Scotrail, Paul Howden First Great Western, Ronan Kelly Iarnród Éireann, Phillip Middleton Network Rail, Denis Moloney Coastway Ltd, Christopher Parsons South West Trains, James Prince South West Trains, Lewis Yourdi First Great Western, John Sadler Freightliner Heavy Haul, Kerry Cassidy First Great Western Diploma – Steven Lennon Interfleet Technology Ltd, Nathan Goromonzi LOROL, Geraint Llewellyn First Great Western Certificate (from First Great Western) – Paul Blair, Ashley Bray, Joshua Haskins, Aleka Toogood, Rachel Kevern, Christopher McGeady, Mary Robinson, Susan Wesstle
We welcome our newest students The Institution of Railway Operators welcomed a new cohort of students during the first two weekends in October. Using the London campus of Glasgow Caledonian University as one venue and Irish Rail facilities in Dublin for another, Cohort 12 came together for the very first time from all over the railway. The students had been briefed before by a student guide from their own organisation who have all been through the programme themselves and offered their help back to the programme. At the London launch, feelings of nervous anticipation soon gave way to laughter as new students of all ages and backgrounds were given their student goodie bags and met one another over coffees and breakfast snacks. Staff and Tutors from IRO and GCU were in attendance too to make sure every student got off to the right start.
support them. The tutors emphasised that they wanted students to ring them more and the emphasis was clearly put on solving the problems of tomorrow’s railway rather than learning about yesterday’s railway. Work then began with an overview of how to use the University’s website… essential for any self-respecting distance learning student! After lunch the starter photographs were taken. It was too wet to make use of the venue’s stunning rooftop terrace and so everyone got up close and personal in one of the lecture rooms. Then Certificate, Diploma and Degree students all made their way
to their room for their first tutorial on Personal Professional Development which helps to re-introduce the art of learning. IRO staff can confirm that of those people they asked all said that their nerves had disappeared. The students ranged from Apprentices to MDs and were employed in all aspects of Rail Operations in between. Students who had never met before left the building with some new friends that they could rely on for the rest of their study. Tutors left the building impressed once again by the vitality and energy of the Cohort and eager to pick up with them on their railway studies journey.
Short introductions kicked the day off from Tricia Meade L&D manager, Fiona Tordoff CEO and the new GCU Programme Head Marty Wright. The students were told about the structure of the programme and who was there to
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
11
Learning Products
IRO Students Explore Great Cockcrow Railway On Tuesday 21st October IRO Certificate, Diploma and Degree students met at Great Cockcrow Railway to gain a greater understanding of the industry. Led by the course tutors, the day was a chance for each student to gain a practical insight into how the industry functions outside of their current role in Operations. Throughout the day students were faced with four exercises that covered, signal boxes, crowd control, incident management and single-line working. During the morning students were invited into a live signal box. They were faced with the challenge of communicating with other Signallers on the railway to allow the Drivers to move safely around various routes. Upon first entering the signal box the many of the students felt quite overwhelmed with the process and equipment being used – one student even compares the signal box to the Tardis! As well as learning what each various coloured lever is used for the students also became accustomed to the various descriptions that are used between signallers to describe different trains. For example, the ‘2-2-1’ description was often used during the session and the students soon became comfortable using it. Following this students were invited to take part in a workshop centred around
crowd control. During this exercise the tutors outlined a scenario where a Train Operating Company was faced with the task of devising a plan for handling a large influx of passengers due to a rock concert. Students were required to work as a team to decide upon who they would need to work with, what the risks were and what initial steps ought to be taken. During the afternoon students were faced with a second scenario however, the focus of this exercise was upon incident management. Students were introduced to a scene where a passenger train had broken down and collided with a locomotive which was meant to be providing assistance. Taking on the role of Accident Investigators, students were required to determine what occurred and what the Rules should cover to prevent such a thing happening again. The tutors took on the roles of the Driver of the passenger train, the Driver of the locomotive and the Signaller for that area – students were able to interview each of these witnesses to inform their conclusions. Most students decided that
12
the key cause of the incident was that the driver of the locomotive had exceeded the speed limit in the area. To conclude the day the tutors delivered a workshop on single-line working. During this exercise students were familiarised with the role of the Pilotman, Signaller and Driver when a track is operated as a single line. The risks of this operation were also explored, especially those that can be prevented by adhering to, for example, maximum speed limits for trains running in the wrong direction. Overall, the visit was a brilliant opportunity for IRO students to witness how the railway functions outside of their role in Operations. It was wonderful to see students from different courses working as a team and sharing knowledge with one another. It becomes clear at these events that our students not only gain valuable knowledge and understanding of the industry on their course but also lifelong friends too. Simon Rawlings IRO
Call 03333 440523
Learning Products
Heads of Quality & Curriculum - CertiďŹ cate, Diploma and Degree Three new heads of quality and curriculum have been appointed to lead on quality assurance across a level of the IRO academic programme. The appointments are Lead Tutors from within the existing tutor group of the IRO academic programme. Colin Charman for Certificate level, Andrew Doherty for Diploma level and Piers Connor for Degree level. Their role is to ensure continuous improvement in the areas of standards, content and student experience and to further develop the IRO Quality Assurance system.
developments in operations both in the UK and internationally, to ensure that the Institution is not just relevant but also leading edge.
Along with the CEO and L&D staff, the Heads of Quality and Curriculum will form the Academic Programme Management
Group which will monitor and drive quality improvements across all levels of the programme. Additionally, they will work to improve the consistency of the student experience throughout the respective level and to increase engagement throughout the student experience. They will maintain a watching brief on
Colin Charman Head of Quality & Curriculum Certificate level
Andrew Doherty Head of Quality & Curriculum Diploma level
Piers Connor Head of Quality & Curriculum Degree level
Student Guides Taking forward results from the IRO survey. We have engaged the help of past and current students from the academic programme for this years’ intake of students on the academic programme. Our volunteer student guides have met face to face with enrolling students to take them through the induction briefing and to provide an overview of their individual student experience and provide advice and guidance to help the new students
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
coming into the programme. Some guides have also volunteered to mentor students whilst they are studying. Thank you to the student guides for their support in this new initiative.
13
Learning Products
A new learning and development offering from the IRO Online and blended learning now available. Learning & Development
The POD
Record all your Ops Learning in one place with…
POD is an abbreviation of Professional Operators Development.
MyPOD has many functions – at its most basic it is the identifying code which distinguishes one learner from another.
It is the professional map for railway operators and captures what successful and effective operators know about and deliver across every aspect and specialism of the profession. It covers twelve areas set out in four groups of related disciplines. and ncial Fina nt Planning e estm Inv
It is also the personal planner and tracker for each learner. They can use this to develop themselves and their careers – or
just use it for curiosity. Registering for MyPOD activities is a prerequisite of any uptake in IRO Learn
Emerg e Incident M ncy and anag eme nt
P M erfo an r ag
Ra ilw Bu ay sin O es r s
ce an nt m me e
s ion at t nis tex ga Con
It provides the structure for the IRO Learning and Development courses which can be taken in distance learning or taught formats.
People a nd
Cha nge
er asseng ing P ervices iver S Del Freight and
POD
g llin n Ro a an M et Fle
e r S ring er vic es
Man agi Safe ng ty
ng, eeri d Engin Railway ance an ent Mainten anagem M Renewal S d toc k ag em en t
Tr and ain Mov em Con trol S ent ystems
ing lann g nal P Operatio etablin and Tim
liv De e m sto Cu
Learning & Development
Ops 90 is our name for our online learning provision written by senior industry figures There is an introductory Ops90
Interactive POD
‘Introduction to the Railway Industry’
There is a stand-alone series of 12 Professional Operators’ Development (POD) modules.
Perfect for inclusion in new starter learning provision.
These short programmes all take 180 minutes – hence the name! They are highly interactive, taught programmes which are run by an experienced IRO facilitator in your workplace for up to 12 people at a time.
ns atio t nis ga ontex Or ay ess C w l i in Ra Bus
There are nine of these. Six core operating, two on business factors and one on rail engineering.
Emerg e Incident M ncy and anag eme nt
ce an nt m me e
P M erfo an r ag
People a nd
Cha nge
er asseng ing P ervices iver S Del Freight and Man agi Safe ng ty
POD
14
e r S ring er vic es
E ay an a ilw Ra tM se As
ng d ine er na ing ge m en t
ing lann g nal P Operatio etablin and Tim
liv De e m sto Cu
Call 03333 440523
Learning Products
Two Collaborative Conferences planned for February 2015 The IRO values opportunities to work with other Institutions in Rail and are very pleased to announce a double first in February 2015 of two collaborative conferences. RAILWAY OPERATIONS AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 4th February 2015 at Charing Cross Hotel Sponsored by Atkins The success of a railway depends on integration of the operational and the technical aspects so that they work effectively together. If you are interested in learning more about how the railway should be considered as a whole system when undertaking any change (enhancements, a renewal or a new venture) or want to develop new ideas on whole-railway systems thinking this is the conference for you. We believe it to be a first and particularly recommend attendance for those who: • work on specifying operational requirements and outputs from enhancement projects or wish that those projects were better at delivering the desired outputs. • are Professional Rail Operators, who see final results of putting the operational and the technical aspects of a change together and, sometimes, have to work around the deficiencies. • are Professional Systems Engineers who see the whole railway as a system and are concerned with understanding what
outcomes are wanted from projects and then ensuring that these outcomes are delivered. People attending the conference will take away: • Beneficial knowledge to share back in your company. • Sharing existing best practice drawn from all over the industry. • Valuable insight from senior figures in the industry. • Good practice in applying SE and professional railway operations practice to the whole railway conception of railway projects. • Outputs to assist future projects and to provide a basis for learning and development. • Networking contacts of people involved in railway operations practice, good SE practice and good practice in the whole railway conception of railway projects. • A deeper understanding between the Systems Engineering and railway operations professions.
IRO will be also be participating in the IRSE Seminar “Capability and Competency - the changing requirements for capability and competence in signal engineering and operations” 25th Feb 2015 at London Transport Museum Sponsored by Thalis There will be presentations and panel discussions on the subjects of: • How will ETCS scheme design differ from conventional lineside design and how it will meet the operators’ needs? • What place should simulation and modelling have in the design of signalling systems?
• Exploration of how the automation of design and testing processes will change the requirements for engineering resources and affect the safety integrity of signalling; • Exploration of how the introduction of ATO and driverless trains affects railway operations: • What are the engineering skills needed for the future?
• A review of the mismatch between resource availability and requirements over the next few years and the impact of ERTMS.
• The challenge of continuing recruitment and professional development:
• How resource demand can be reduced by tying down the specification for a project before detailed design commences and avoiding subsequent alterations except under wellcontrolled conditions.
• Simulator training for operators.
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
• When are we ready for a signalling system to enter service?
15
Areas
North East Area
Doncaster Power Signal Box Visit IRO members in the North East had the opportunity to visit to the Power Signal Box (PSB) at Doncaster on 26th June. Covering a considerable portion of the East Coast Main Line from Stoke Tunnel between Peterborough and Templehirst Junction near Selby, it also controls the busy route from Connisborough in South Yorkshire and Thorne on the route to Scunthorpe and Goole. The signal box is a two storey building, housing the ground floor relay room, telecommunications room and standby generator room with the signalling control room on the first floor. Dominating the control room is a 110 feet long illuminated signalling control panel. During the visit to the operating floor, the delegates were able to speak to the signalmen and have the signaling panel explained in detail. They were also permitted into the relay room beneath the
signal box where a senior S&T manager explained the intricacies of geographic relay interlocking, with which he had personally been involved since the box had been commissioned. The delegates were able to appreciate the complex operation of a traditional
‘Entrance – Exit’ (NX) signalbox occupying a key place in a principal Inter City route. This included the technical aspects of making the signalling operate safely and effectively. David Monk-Steel North East Area Council
North East Area
Level Crossings – Managing the Risk Phil Graham. Level Crossing Risk Specialist, Network Rail gave a very interesting and informative presentation to IRO members in York on 20th May 2014. All the 6,500 level crossings on Network Rail are assessed for risk both to users and to the staff and passengers on trains. Of these slightly over 2,000 are located on the LNE / EM Route. Despite the risk of level crossings being the most significant of all risk on the rail network, Network Rail has assessed that overall across Europe only Luxembourg has lower level crossing risks. Crossings are categorised as ‘active’ where the user is controlled by gates, barriers and / or lights, or ‘passive’ where the user is solely responsible for ensuring it is safe to cross. Risks are assessed using a numeric system (ALCRM) and by ensuring compliance with ORR guidance. User acts or omissions, whether deliberate or careless, contribute to 93%
16
of the whole risk. Of this 60% is due to pedestrians. The highest risk crossings are identified and appropriate control measures are, where practicable, applied to control the risk. These measures can include replacement with bridges, or by crossings of higher levels of safety although these options may be expensive, and may fail cost benefit analysis. Active crossings include automatic half barrier crossings that still carry significant risk from user misuse, and will over time be replaced with safer controlled barrier crossings where closure is not possible. Passive crossings include many farm, footpath and bridleway crossings, and where practicable closure is the usual aim. This is achieved by buying out
rights, or diverting the route and may include replacement by a footbridge or underpass. Local public opinion can be a significant obstacle to this programme where crossings are seen as a civic right. On LNE Route 5 crossings are in the worst (category 1) risk group, in category 2 there are a further 57 and in category 3 there are 90. there is a definite programme to reduce this risk at these crossings. On LNE in CP5 over £12 million has been allocated specifically to reduce level crossing risk, and there is also level crossing risk reduction incorporated into other schemes. Nationally there is £99m allocated specifically to reduce this risk. David Monk-Steel North East Area Council
Call 03333 440523
Areas
North East Area
‘Forward Facing Freight’ Paul McMahon, Director for Freight at Network Rail provided a fantastic national strategic and tactical picture of freight today and tomorrow to IRO members in York on Tuesday 8th April. “Forward Facing Freight – developments and prospects of the sector”. The scene was set with a description of the decline in freight from a level of 35 billion net tons per kilometre in 1953, through to 14 billion net tons per kilometre in 1994 and back up to 22 billion net tons per kilometre in 2012 Freight was quoted recently by the Office of Rail Regulation as “the most transformed sector in the rail industry since privatisation”
So what do the freight customers want?
improved the right time departures from 50% to 65%
• Improved reliability and performance • Reduced cost • Greater capacity and capability • Closer relationships with Network Rail • Modern rail linked facilities
Freight is expected to grow quickly, with expected freight market shares rising from 23% in 2011 through to 57% in 2043
Major improvements have been made at Immingham right time departure through the use of control boards. This has
Emrys Warriner North East Area Council
North East Area
Signalling Through The Ages – an interactive experience IRO members participated in a “hands-on” experience in York on 15th July. The NE area council organised an interactive signalling event at the National Railway Museum, hosted by Phil Graham, Level Crossing Risk Specialist, Network Rail. The recently restored simulator, from the Lancashire & Yorkshire School of Signalling Railway in Manchester, is now based in the museum’s warehouse. For over 100 years, the fully operational equipment has been used by trainee signallers to signal the movement of trains around the layout and learn the rules and regulations that ensured that train travel remained the safest form of travel in Britain. Fully restored, the model has returned to doing what it was built for, turning the complex world of railway signalling into an engaging learning experience. Delegates were shown how to operate the layout, using scale model signals operated by perfect replicas of signalbox interlocking and operating block telegraph. Following the session on the model layout, delegates were able to operate a full sized manual signalbox simulator, also housed in the museum, and to observe the repeater displays from York Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC).
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
This proved to be a very popular event, with delegates having the opportunity to try for themselves a hands-on experience of traditional signalling –soon to be a thing of the past. David Monk-Steel North East Area Council
17
Areas
North East Area
Visit to Bombardier and East Midlands Control Centre Members were given the opportunity to visit the production facility of Bombardier in Derby and see at first hand the only new train construction facility currently in the UK. This was followed by a visit to the nearby East Midlands Control Centre to see how the signalling and control centre operated. Each member took away with them a greater understanding of the complexities of building a modern train, and the sheer scale of the operation at Derby was something that had not been appreciated beforehand. Bombardier are currently the only manufacturers of trains in the UK and the extensive site at Derby was operated in a smooth and precise way, with components delivered on a ‘just in time’ basis and resembling a huge Meccano set. A history of Bombardier, plus a history of train-making at Derby was provided as part of a very informative guided tour of the works, which culminated in being the first passengers to sit in a brand new finished sub-surface underground train. The members were very grateful to Kathryn Lancaster from Bombardier for an excellent and welcoming visit. The second part of the day was a guided tour of the East Midlands Control Centre, one of the new Rail Operating Centres being developed by Network Rail. Housing the main Network Rail signalling centre and route control for the East Midlands Route, the East Midlands Trains Control and a significant number of supporting managerial staff for both Network Rail and EMT, the EMCC proved to be a very informative visit. The visit began with a brief look at the heart of the operation, the signalling control equipment, which was a very quiet, air conditioned room where CPU’s and other complex electrical equipment busied themselves delivering the safe passage of trains. A visit of the signalling centre then followed which controls a number of key locations on the route, including the complex centre of Nottingham, which was also the latest additional area to
18
Photo: Nicholas Milligan
the centralised location. Space existed for more signalling workstations to be incorporated in the signalling centre, which will be taken up over the next few years as Network Rail continues its modernisation programme. Members were then given a demonstration of the
signalling simulator that is used to train and assess signallers, and members were then allowed to have a go on the simulator, and sample the type of situations a signaller has to deal with. The visit closed with a viewing of the colocated Network Rail and East Midlands Trains control, which at the time of the visit was relatively calm, but members were assured this was not always the case! The benefits of co-location were clear to see, and those present found it interesting to see, and our thanks must go to Martin Brown for his time to show us this important facility. Jason Wade Chairman North West & North Wales Area Council
Call 03333 440523
Areas
North West & North Wales Area
North West Area IRO Family Day NW Area members and their families, recently had their Annual Family Day Out in Liverpool. This fun packed day included a visit to the Museum of Liverpool to view, among other exhibits, a presentation relating to the former Liverpool Overhead Railway. The party took to the water on board a Mersey Ferry for an informative River Explorer Tour, taking in the sights and learning about the history of the Mersey. Disembarking at Birkenhead, visits to the U-Boat Story and the Wirral Transport Museum, were enjoyed by all. A vintage Omnibus transported the group for the return journey to the Woodside Ferry Terminal.
Back at Liverpool, the party visited Albert Dock and finished the trip off with a delicious meal at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant with a bird’s eye view of the Giant Puppet Parade, as it passed through Liverpool One, which rounded the day off perfectly Tom Cox North West & North Wales Area Council
Midlands Area
Staffordshire Alliance – building a railway for the future The Virgin Trains’ boardroom at Meridian was packed to capacity on Monday 7th April when Suzanne Mathieson delivered a compelling overview of the Stafford Area Improvements Programme (SAIP) and the Staffordshire Alliance which is delivering the works. and the North West, one additional train per hour between Birmingham and Manchester and one extra freight path through Stafford per hour. All these paths will be part of the timetable from 2017. Suzanne described some of the challenges faced by the programme and how the Staffordshire. Suzanne Mathieson, Network Rail Sponsor for the Stafford Area Improvement Programme
Suzanne, Network Rail Sponsor for the Stafford Area Improvement Programme, outlined her presentation with an agenda covering customer requirements, scheme challenges, development of the alliancing structure, communication and access strategy and achievements to date. Suzanne wove each of these topics into a rich picture and showed how SAIP fits closely with the Midlands area theme this year of “Delivering a sustainable and future-proof railway for CP5 and beyond.” For SAIP the customer objective is about faster, more frequent services with improved reliability, delivered by two extra off-peak trains per hour between Euston
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
Alliance has dealt with these. The complexities of such a multi-disciplinary project required a new approach and the adoption of the Australian “pure alliance” model is a first for the UK rail industry. Achieving this has not been without some obstacles, not least within commercial and procurement circles! The partnership of VolkerRail, Atkins, Laing O’Rourke and Network Rail is incentivised on several “key result areas” that have nothing to do with cost, including collaborative culture, community and stakeholder management and operational railway performance. The predominant aim is to establish a genuine sharing of risk and reward and early resolution of issues through open, honest and transparent collaboration and communication.
Suzanne concluded with an overview of communication philosophy adopted, and access arrangements required, by the Alliance. The Norton Bridge flyover is not just new railway but involves 11 new bridges, river diversions, major environmental mitigations, pipeline diversions and numerous changes to roads and footpaths. Effective communication and stakeholder engagement extending from local Parish councils to the DfT has been vital to the success of this. The project was shortlisted in the “Excellence in Environmental Sustainability” category at the 2013 Europe-an Rail Congress Awards and has won accreditation under BS11000, the British Standard for collaborative working. You can read more about the Staffordshire Alliance in the Midlands Area Newsletter www.railwayoperators.co.uk/2014/04/iromidlands-news/ Mike Christelow Chairman Midlands Area Council
19
Areas
Midlands Area
Rail Delivery Group: a whole industry approach The June – and last in the series – event for IRO Midlands took place on Monday 9th at Network Rail’s Quadrant offices in Milton Keynes. IRO members were treated to an excellent conclusion to our programme, discussing the creation of a sustainable and future-proof railway for CP5 and beyond, with a positive and encouraging prognosis from Michael Roberts, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG). Mr Roberts began his talk with an outline of the history of the Rail Delivery Group which was established in 2011, with its origins in the McNulty Rail value-formoney report. At the outset RDG was a voluntary organisation bringing together industry leaders such as CEO’s of TOC and FOC owning groups and Network Rail. Its role has now been formalised and from October 2013 RDG has a new executive function and a vision to make Europe’s best railway even better. Despite persistent media suggestion to the contrary, Britain leads the way on rail in Europe and Michael produced plenty of material to support this. UK rail has the highest passenger satisfaction rating and best safety record of any major European railway. It has grown faster than, for example, France or Germany, in the last 15 years and is regarded by the European Commission as the EUs most improved railway. This success is due to a key difference in the rail industry structure in the UK compared with other railway industries, which is that of diversity of operators on a single network, bringing a combination of private sector innovation coupled with Government policy.
To make Europe’s best railway even better
Michael Roberts, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG)
The Rail Delivery Group ambition for the rail industry is to create even better services at the highest levels of safety with personalised customer experience that is simpler and easier to understand and more cost efficient. The strategy for achieving this is coordinated solutions to cross-industry challenges and collaboration with government, regulators and the supply-chain. RDG has five immediate priorities relating to: Improving customer service; Delivering greater efficiency; Strengthening the benefits of GB rail; Looking forward; and Building confidence. Each of these priorities is underpinned with specific streams of work. For example, Improving Customer Service involves • Work by National Task Force (NTF) on reliability “now” and depends on the National Operating Strategy (NOS) for future reliability improvements through developments such as Traffic Management and connected Driver Advisory Systems.
• Capacity considerations have to be examined, for example in the integration of HS2 with existing services. • Ticketing arrangements, and what can be done to make things easier for customers • Stations—better definition of responsibilities to improve the experience for all users • Safety requires continuous effort in the area of passenger, public and workforce safety. Michael concluded by describing the prize to be had from the future plans for the UK railway as “enormous”. He cited the collaborative nature of the RDG’s aims as key to unlocking opportunities which, for example, could see Network Rail achieve a 50% efficiency improvement by the end of CP5 compared with when it came into being in 2002. This, and many other gains, drives the continued and future support from Government in a mature yet still-evolving industry. Mike Christelow Chairman Midlands Area Council
Midlands Area
Summer Family Day IRO Midlands members enjoy a great family day out on the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway on Saturday June 14, 2014! The day included tours of the carriage and wagon works at Winchcombe, including the newly completed paint shop, and Winchcombe signal box. This was followed by a tour of the David Paige locomotive depot at Toddington. There was even time for sunshine and ice cream!
20
Call 03333 440523
Areas
Midlands Area
DeltaRail visit: IECC and quite a lot besides The May event for IRO Midlands took the form of a site visit to DeltaRail’s offices in Derby where attendees were treated to an in-depth look at the latest developments from the company including its “IECC Scalable” system. IECC – or Integrated Electronic Control Centre, to give it the full title – has been part of the fabric of the modern railway since the 1980s. A joint proposal by British Rail Research and the Department for Transport in 1983 suggested the replacement of hardwired entrance-exit (“NX”) signaller panels with banks of high-resolution VDU monitors, supported by a tracker ball, function buttons and a keyboard. Development and innovation over the following six years culminated in the first IECC being commissioned at Liverpool Street in March 1989. This included a sophisticated automatic route setting capability or ARS. IECCs based on the 1980s architecture were subsequently commissioned at Yoker (1), Edinburgh (3), Tyneside (2), York (3), Sandhills (1), Marylebone (1), Liverpool Street (4), Upminster (3), Ashford (2), Slough (2), Didcot (2) and Swindon (1). The two instances at Slough were later absorbed into Didcot. The use of software-based intelligent control for a signalling application and train control in the 1980s was regarded as a bold step. The outcomes enabled by the development of IECC by BR Research are still informing the way the railway operates today, and to some extent intends to operate in the future. The visit was led by Adam Perry, DeltaRail’s Sales and Marketing Director and supported by a number of Adam’s colleagues. The main topic for the evening was what is known as IECC Scalable. This is a contemporary re-engineering of the classic 1980s IECC using modern hardware and software capabilities. In simple terms, what previously would have required five or six full-height computer cabinets can now be accommodated in just one such cabinet. This clearly offers benefits such as reduced space requirement, power consumption, and environmental control such as air conditioning and so on. But the real
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
benefits come from what the technology offers in functional terms. For example, the use of IP communications between the interlocking and the control system itself make it possible to remotely re-control interlocking equipment without the need for dedicated point-to-point telecoms links; this is known as RIF. This RIF capability has allowed the inter-lockings formerly controlled by Cowlairs PSB to be recontrolled from Edinburgh Signalling Centre. In reality, Cowlairs could be recontrolled from any scalable IECC anywhere in the country! Under scalable, functions within the IECC such as ARS, RIF, Timetable Processor (TTP) and so on are housed on a single blade within the overall processor. These blades talk to each other using modern IT protocols and this makes the whole product ‘plug and play’ - what is referred to as a Service-Oriented Architecture in IT-speak. It also ensures that the functions can be interfaced to other systems, such as real-time train graphing, incident management and so on. Furthermore, the “other systems” don’t even have to be DeltaRail products. Other features include re-configurable workstations, where the operator can select whatever part of the control area he
or she needs to concentrate on, allowing for specific intervention or focus. The functionality also allows areas of control to be moved around between workstations, so enabling the operator to concentrate on managing a particular scenario and allowing a colleague to temporarily look after the rest of the patch. This is a fundamental requirement for the ROCs and their traffic management control systems of the future. The visit included a look at other recent developments in CCF (the graphical representation of trains in real-time), realtime graphing, stock and crew tools and even the use of Twitter feeds as a source of measuring customer satisfaction in realtime. DeltaRail, and their IECC Scalable product, are not part of the emerging traffic management landscape in the UK. Nevertheless, what was demonstrated on this visit showed that the spirit of BR Research is very much alive and shaping opinions in the rail industry of today, and enabled those present to develop their awareness and understanding of that landscape. IRO Midlands would like to thank Adam Perry and the DeltaRail team for hosting the event and all those who attended. Mike Christelow Chairman Midlands Area Council
21
Areas
South West & South Wales Area
FGW Leadership Conference For the first time South West Area council members, Chris Prior and Martin Bonnington ran a stall at the First Great Western Leadership conference held in April this year. It was an excellent opportunity to promote the IRO and to encourage First Great Western employees to join for free so they too can reap the benefits of IRO membership. First Great Western employees were provided with information about IRO activities, including the mentoring scheme, the IRO academic qualifications and short courses. Membership application forms were snatched up during the conference and we are pleased to welcome all the new IRO members to our area. Chris Prior South West & South Wales Area Council
Irish Area
Irish Area
The Irish Area continues to show impressive growth.
Developments in Railway Safety & Standards in Australia
With now over 420 members, the Irish Area has more than doubled its membership since the beginning of the year. We would like to welcome all our new members and encourage you all to take advantage of the increasing number of IRO benefits.
On the 8th October the Irish Area council held its most recent event in Dublin in conjunction with the Railways Group of Engineers Ireland and the Railway Safety Commission. Kevin Taylor, CEO of the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board, Australia gave a very informative presentation on the Developments in Railway Safety and Standards in Australia. This was followed by a lively panel discussion.
Hilton Parr Chairman Irish Area Council
Scottish Area
Join us! The Scottish Area has been reviewing its meeting structure and is now ready to re-launch their meetings with the firm focus on information sharing and discussion on current issues and projects facing the railway industry across the UK. The first meeting in the new format will take place in November with the date to be confirmed early November. The first meeting will consider risk management in projects and how risks are identified and effectively managed. Jim Douglas Chairman Scottish Area Council
22
Call 03333 440523
Areas
South East Area
Creating a Customer Service Operations Culture On Monday 14th July 2014 The Institution of Railway Operators South East area had the pleasure of welcoming James Burt, former Service Delivery Director of Southern, on the subject of creating a customer service operations culture. James began by outlining his career path which started as a British Rail Graduate Trainee in 1983. James explained that from the start he had a passion for service and that this was what attracted him to the rail industry. James divided his talk into six components which he felt were necessary to make an organisation truly customer focused: • Recruit for attitude and train for skills (and never compromise). James felt that the best customer service practitioners love helping people and that this was an attribute which is hard to teach and therefore worth making the effort to select for. • Fixing the hygiene factors which means getting the basics right like pay, tools for the job and rest facilities. James highlighted an example of an ill fitting uniform and the impact that this can have on a person’s motivation to help customers. • A leadership style that models open, honest, timely and simple communication with everyone in the company. James explained that there was a need to move away from communication via union reps and create a direct link with every employee.
• The most important relationship is that between the manager and the employee. This is underpinned by emotional intelligence. James described the importance of building trust by creating quality one-to-one time. It is perfectly feasible for a manager to have one-to-ones with all of their staff twice a year by meeting two of their team each week. • Training and development. James described the importance of experiential customer service training for managers and first line staff, combined with effective follow-through in the workplace. • Managing by walking about. James explained that it was essential that directors and managers model customer centric behaviours in order for encourage and support employees to deliver the best service that they can. James said that his preference was not to refer to customer focused staff as ‘front line’ as this suggests a battleground and an adversarial approach to customers. James prefers to use the term ‘first line’ as this removes the battle connotation and encourages the thinking that first line colleagues stand alongside customers understanding their needs and solving
James Burt their problems, supported by the rest of the organisation. The talk was very informative and very well received by those who attended. For me personally it was great to benefit from James’s wealth of experience and will certainly assist me in my future career. Glen Merryman Chairman South East Area Council
Your feedback is extremely valuable to us… Please take a minute to complete an evaluation card at the next IRO event you attend or, if you prefer, submit your feedback on the IRO website using this link… www.railwayoperators.co.uk/event-evaluation/
Thank you!
www.railwayoperators.co.uk
23
Areas
What’s On in your Area 04 Nov 2014: IRO Conference Operations Learning for Performance Improvement Join with senior managers and professionals from the rail industry at the Charing Cross Hotel, London. Chaired by Rob Warnes (Planning and Programmes Director, Northern and Chair of the ATOC Performance Forum) the conference will explore a range of issues that face the industry. For further details or to book a place contact the office on 03333 440523. 04 Nov 2014: IRO Innovation Concept Awards 2014 See the finalists from across the UK present their ideas to improve the industry, to a panel of industry leading judges. The awards evening will take place after the IRO conference at the Charing Cross Hotel, London. 21 – 23 Nov 2014: Operational Planning in the Railway Business Course This weekend course is suitable for both those who are relatively new to the subject or those who wish to further their career development and progress in this field. For further details or to book a place contact the office on 03333 440523.
Midlands Area For information on Midlands Area events contact Julia Stanyard on 0121 345 3833 or email: midlands@railwayoperators.co.uk. Events start at 17.30 for 17:45.
Irish Area
South West and Wales Area
For information on Irish Area events contact Hilton Parr at i.chairman@railwayoperators.co.uk
30 Dec 2014: Christmas Social Event – West Somerset Railway Visit. This trip is open to all IRO Members (and also to those who are interested in joining), including your partner or guest. IRO Members can book their place via the website, non-members can book places by contacting Martin Bonnington by email: sw.events@railwayoperators.co.uk
Scottish Area For further information on the IRO Scottish Area please contact Jim Douglas on 0141 354 5684 or email at s.events@railwayoperators.co.uk
North East Area 11 Nov 2014: AGM and social Evening, York. The North East Area AGM and social evening will take place at The Windmill, York. 20 Nov 2014: ‘A year in the life of Northern’ A talk by Alex Hynes, Managing Director, Northern. 11 Dec 2014: Christmas Social Evening - Leeds All speaker events are normally held (unless otherwise stated) at the East Coast Academy, Platform 9, York Station, 1700hrs for a 1730hrs start. If you would like to attend any of these events or for further details please contact David Monk-Steel at northeast@ railwayoperators.co.uk
North West and Wales Area For information on North West Area event, please contact Tricia Meade at nw.events@railwayoperators.co.uk For general membership enquires please contact Carl Phillips at nw.chairman@railwayoperators.co.uk
For information on all South West and Wales Area events contact Martin Bonnington by email: sw.events@railwayoperators.co.uk
South East Area 10 Nov 2014: Delivering the national rail investment strategy (HLOS) David Sexton from the Department of Transport will explain the current CP5 strategy but will also look back on CP4 and ahead to CP6. IRO members should book via the website, non-members should contact David Pinder: se.events@railwayoperators.co.uk 18 Nov 2014: New Members’ Reception, London A chance for new IRO members to meet those who have been around for a bit longer, as well as the Council team and invited guests at The Parcel Yard, King’s Cross Station. Time 18:30-21:00 26 Nov 2014: Driver Simulator Visit, Ashford. Visit the class 395 driver simulator. To register your interest in this visit contact Rob Mawby: se.visits@railwayoperators.co.uk For further information on the IRO South East Area contact Jonathan Leithead at se.events@railwayoperators.co.uk
Keep up to date on all Area events! Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to discover more about future Area and IRO events that are happening near you. Tweet us at... www.twitter.com/railwayops
Follow us on... www.linkedin.com/company/the-institution-of-railway-operators
More details of area events are listed on the website at www.railwayoperators.co.uk/whats-on/
24
Call 03333 440523