RailStaff August 2013

helping to build the nation

For information please call: 0845 543 5953 or visit:

www.mcginley.co.uk

McGinley Support Services provides the industry with the staff and resources to design, build and maintain Britain’s rail infrastructure.

www.railstaff.co.ukTHE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY

RailStaff

PAGE 5

Class 800 Heads East.

National Track PlantExhibition report.

The National Track Plant industry’s‘Track Innovation Showcase’.

Hitachi Rail awarded a £1.2 billionorder for Class 800 trains.

Issue 189 / August 2013

PAGE 37

Continued on PAGE 4

Railway Children founder, David Maidment OBE, was startled to find himself at the centre of a train namingceremony at the National Track Plant Exhibition at Long Marston. The naming came as a complete surprise toDavid. Unsuspecting he pulled the curtain cord to reveal his own name. Pictured: Steve Featherstone, David and Stephen Haynes.

PAGE 18

Maidment names Class 66

Paul Seller has returnedto Lloyd’s Register Rail.

Such is the sense of dynamismand confidence this year in the railindustry that it is hard not to seeRailStaff this month as a ‘phew-what-a-scorcher’ summer special.HS2 has cleared what we hope isits last legal hurdle.

The National Track PlantExhibition has been a hugesuccess. Staff up and down thenetwork are raising money forcharity. New works continuedriving forward a host of capacityenhancing initiatives.

But for many this summer marksthe passing of someone they love.The sun shines in vain on themourner and bereaved. In thesepages we remember two down toearth railway supporters, JohnDennis and Colin Nash. Bothenjoyed family life, a beer withfriends on a summer’s eveningand the prospect of talking aboutan industry they served withexemplary commitment.

Their silence is hard to bear.Moreover, as autumn approachesmany railway staff will retiretaking with them irreplaceableknowledge. They can have thesatisfaction of knowing theircareer marked the turn aroundand the expansion of an industryonly recently written off as aneconomic basket case.

The sum total of what the railwayhas achieved over the last few yearsis much greater than the sum of itsparts. Analysts struggle to explainsuch arithmetic. Whilst

acknowledging their skill, the widerindustry has a deeper, better answer.

People pull together on therailway. The rail industry issuccessful because of thehundreds of examples ofindividual effort, professionalismand career commitment.

Those who mourn should takecomfort that this industry is abetter place because of the servicerendered by the departed. Theirexample will serve as ourinspiration, their achievement onlyrecognised in the final audit of ourtimes.

www.railstaff.co.uk 3

“The rail industry is successful because of thehundreds of examples of individual effort,professionalism and career commitment …”

PAGE 6 PAGE 40SPECIAL FOCUS

Publisher: Paul O’Connor

Editor: Andy Milne

Production and design: Adam O’Connor

Senior Reporter: Jonathan Webb

Writer: Nigel Wordsworth

Track Safety: Colin Wheeler

Pictures: Colin Garratt

Advertising: Asif Ahmed

Craig Smith

Paul Curtis

Contact Email AddressesNews: [email protected]

Pictures: [email protected]

Adverts: [email protected]

Subscriptions: [email protected]

Contact DetailsRailStaff Publications Ltd

Ashby House, Bath Street,

Ashby de la Zouch,

Leicestershire, LE65 2HF.

Tel: 01530 56 00 26

Web: www.railstaff.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

Printed by Pensord.

RailStaff is published by

RailStaff Publications Limited.

A Rail Media Publication.

RailStaffContact us:

COMMENT

CIRAS: Fit for today,ready for tomorrowPaul Russell is looking at someradical changes that wouldtransform the way CIRAS isfunded and operates.

Four squarerail arithmeticRail operators are generating morethan four times as much moneyfor government to reinvest in railthan 15 years earlier.

Plant & Equipment FocusIn September’s RailStaffRailStaff reports in detail on the the latest developments in plant andequipment that were on display at the National Track Plant Exhibition, heldat Long Marston in July.If you want to contribute, get in touch now. Please contact Paul Curtis or Tom O’Connor on 01530 560026.

Dynamism and ConfidenceHS2 has cleared what we hope isits last legal hurdle

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM

4 www.railstaff.co.uk

Railway Children founder in Train Name Surprisewhen David Maidment OBE wasapproached to help unveil a nameplate on a Colas Rail Class 66 locohe stepped up to the plate withouta second thought.

The Railway Children charity iskeenly supported by railway staffup and down the network andDavid, who founded the charity,has proved a busy ambassador forthe cause. David was visiting theNational Track Plant Exhibition atLong Marston where the 219exhibitors and 3,700 visitors raised£8,750 for the charity.

Says David Maidment, ‘Thenaming was a complete surprise.Initially I was unaware that anengine was to be named, then whenasked to perform the ceremony, Iassumed the locomotive was toreceive the name ‘Railway Children’and I was speechless - well nearly -when I unveiled my own name onthe side of the Colas Rail heavyfreight engine.’

Organised by Network Rail andsupported by the Rail Alliance andthe rail engineer magazine, theNational Track Plant Exhibitionbrought together suppliers of plantand equipment and leadingdecision makers, engineers andcontractors from the rail industry.

People were able to watchdemonstrations of rail mountedequipment on the rail connectedsite and compare notes in aninformal atmosphere. The wholeevent reflected the continuing risein rail industry confidence. Manyof the visitors had long supportedthe Railway Children taking part invarious network-wide fund raisingactivities.

Says Steve Featherstone ofNetwork Rail, who organised theevent, ‘A few weeks ago I did the

Three Peaks Challenge by Rail onbehalf of Railway Children. Thisgave me an opportunity tounderstand some of the greatwork the charity does. Much ofthat work is a result of the visionand passion David has shownsince founding the charity in 1995.

‘Stephen Haynes, (ManagingDirector, Rail Services, Colas Rail)had provided engines as logisticalsupport for the show and he askeddid we know anyone deserving ofan engine naming. It was apleasure to invite David to unveilthe nameplate and recognise theoutstanding contribution that hehas made to Railway Children andto the wider railway industry.’

Connecting peopleDavid Maidment set up Railway

Children in 1996, following anencounter with a young girlbegging on a railway station inIndia. For the past 18 years, he hasdedicated his life to raisingawareness of the plight ofchildren living alone and at riskon the streets and railwayplatforms.

Adds Tom O’Connor of the RailMedia Group which supported theevent, ‘The train naming capped arelaxed and hugely beneficial twodays. Communication is thecentral purpose of the railway.

‘Every day rail helps men,women and childrencommunicate by connectingpeople with their homes,businesses, schools and places ofwork in comfort and safety.Passengers are looked after asmuch by track side staff, engineersand fitters as by train crew andstation staff.

‘It is a face-to-face, peopleintensive, industry. Helping peoplein the industry itself tocommunicate and better progressnew plant, technologies and ideasis essential if we are to continue togrow the railway.

‘All of us at Rail Media arecommitted to helping the industrycommunicate with confidence andprecision. It is fitting that oursupport for the little people so lessfortunate than ourselves shouldhave been reflected in the trainnaming by David Maidment - anexemplar of the compassionate,can-do and practical qualities ofthe rail industry. Long may thework of the Railway Childrencontinue.

‘Long Marston was a camera shotof the industry at its best. Manythanks to Network Rail’s SteveFeatherstone and his team and allwho supported the National TrackPlant Exhibition, which was aresounding success.’

Andrew Robbins reports on theNational Track Plant Exhibition inthis issue.

“I was speechless -well nearly - when Iunveiled my ownname…”DAvID MAIDMENT,THE RAILwAy CHILDREN


NEwS

t: 08456 773002 e: [email protected]

iwww.healthcare-connections.com

! "#$%&'(!)&*##+%+,

! -*.,!/!0(&121(!3#4t%+,

! Medicat%1+!52#&6%+,

! 074#+&#!"'+',#8#+9

! :#'(92!).*;#%(('+&#

! <'&&%+'t%1+!5(%+%&4

! "'+',#8#+9!=#>#**'(4

! ?8@(1A##!B#((7#%+,

@Healthcare247

Saving You Time & MoneyHealthcare Connections believe in a flexible, proactive approach to managing your occupational health needs. As well as providing individual Network Rail & London !"#$%$&'!"( )#"*+,-./( 0#( &1#$( ,( &187%+#$! C=DEFE!8#$%&'(!4#*;%&#G(%#2!%(3&'(4,+5(&!(6$,+5(7,.6#$8

Specialising in the rail industry, we design tailored solutions to meet your needs. Short notice bookings welcome.

The Intercity Express Programmehas made further progress thissummer as Patrick McLoughlinconfirmed a £1.2 billion order for afleet of Class 800 trains for the EastCoast main line.

The 270 carriages will beassembled at Hitachi Rail Europe’snew purpose-built factory inNewton Aycliffe, County Durham.The fleet forms the first part of anoverall £5.8 billion Intercity ExpressProgramme. The class 800 serieswill be operational on the EastCoast Main Line from 2019.

Says Transport Secretary PatrickMcLoughlin, ‘By signing this deal wehave provided further proof of ourdetermination to transform Britain’srailways into a world-classoperation through continuedinvestment and state-of-the-arttechnology.

‘This new order for class 800series trains is part of theGovernment’s commitment toinvest in our nation’s infrastructure.

This will not only deliver significantbenefits to passengers by furtherslashing journey times andbolstering capacity, but will alsostimulate economic growth throughimproved connectivity betweensome of Britain’s biggest cities. Thisis good news for rail passengers andfor British manufacturing.’

The rail plant in County Durhamwill be operational from 2015. SaysAlistair Dormer, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Hitachi Rail Europe, ‘Thisfollow-on order by the Departmentfor Transport is great news forpassengers on the East Coast MainLine who can look forward toquicker journeys travelling on high-quality trains, with more seats andpassenger space, built to the latestsafety standards.

‘This order is a tremendous boostfor Hitachi Rail Europe’s new factorywith its 730 future employees inCounty Durham and for the Britishsupply chain. This order extendsfirm orders at the factory until the

end of the decade with significantcapacity remaining available forfurther UK and export contractsactively being pursued.’

Last year the DfT agreed an initialorder for 596 carriages with AgilityTrains, a consortium of Hitachi andJohn Laing. As well as building atNewton Aycliffe, Hitachi is alsoplanning to construct maintenancedepots in Bristol, Swansea, westLondon and Doncaster, and willupgrade existing maintenancedepots throughout Britain to servicethe class 800 series trains.

The first batch of class 800 seriestrains will enter revenue-earningservice on the Great Western Main

Line in 2017 and on the East CoastMain Line in 2018. The full trainfleet will comprise 122 completetrain sets, some five-vehicles longand others nine-vehicles long.

A class 800 series train has ahigher seating capacity than existingunits in its class. A 9-car train willhave wider aisles and 131 moreseats than the equivalent Intercity125 High Speed Train (HST) and 188more seats than a comparable off-the-shelf new 9-car train, with nocompromise on leg-room.

For an equivalent 200m train, theclass 800 series train provides over30% more seated capacity than anexisting diesel Intercity 125 (HST).

Class 800 Heads East

Rail operators are generating morethan four times as much moneyfor Government to reinvest in railthan 15 years earlier, according toa report, ‘Growth and Prosperity,’published by ATOC.

The startling report is based ondata analysed and collated byKPMG. By significantly growingpassenger revenue whilecontaining costs, wily train

operators have increased themoney they generate forGovernment to reinvest from £400million in 1997-98 to £1.7 billion in2011-12.

This money is helping to reducepublic subsidies and sustain thebiggest investment programmeseen in railways in decades. At thesame time, the operating marginsof train companies have remained

modest, most recently on averagearound 3% of turnover.

The key factor driving the £3.2billion increase in passengerrevenue has been the phenomenalrise in passenger journeys. 96% ofthe increase in revenue has comefrom passenger journey growth, asopposed to 4% from fare changes.The report has the backing of theRail Delivery Group.

Says Tim O’Toole, CEO ofFirstGroup plc and Rail DeliveryGroup Chairman, ‘By working inpartnership with Government,

NetworkRail andthe restof theindustry,franchisedtraincompanies willcontinue to strive for a bigger andbetter railway. This is not simplybecause encouraging more peopleto travel by rail is good for ourbusiness, but because it is vital forthe future of the economy and thecountry.’


NEwS

Four square rail arithmetic

Eurostar sales revenues poweredup 7% during the first half of 2013.

Passenger numbers continue toincrease with more than 200 extraservices laid on to help meetdemand over the summer period.The new service to Provence hasproved a great success with manytrains running at full capacity.

ProvencalBonus

Speaking at the Durham MinersGala, RMT General Secretary BobCrow called for the launch of anew political party to betteradvance the interests of workers.

In a statement Mr Crow urgedthe trade union movement tosupport the creation of a newparty to challenge head on thepro-business, anti-worker agendaof the three main political parties,Tory, Labour and Liberals.

InfluenceSays Bob, ‘We have seen Ed

Miliband dancing to the tune ofTony Blair and the rest of the NewLabour conspirators as he seeks tohack away at the last remainingshreds of influence held by thosewho created the Party that heleads, the trade unions.

‘If others want to stick aroundand be insulted by those whoseonly interest is our money and not

our ideas then that’s a matter forthem, for the rest, there is a wholeworld of opportunity outside theconstraints of the Labour Partyand RMT would urge them toembrace it and join us in this newpolitical project.’

FreedomHe continued, ‘RMT was expelled

from the Labour Party almost adecade ago and in that time wehave actually increased ourpolitical influence as we have hadthe freedom to back candidatesand parties who demonstrate clearsupport for this trade union andits policies.

‘If others now join us after thecontempt that they have beenshown by Ed Miliband, thentogether we have a world to win.This is a moment of hugeopportunity for all those sick andtired of Labour’s embrace of pro-

business, pro-EU, neo-liberalpolicies and we should seize itwith both hands.’

The Durham Miners’ Associationorganised the first Gala in 1871 inWharton Park, Durham. Itdeveloped into the largestunofficial miners and trade uniongathering in the United Kingdom.At its peak the Gala attracted over300,000 people. Banners would bebrought on foot from collieries allover the north east.

Bob Crow calls for new political party

of the increase in revenue has come

from passenger journey growth,

as opposed to 4% from

fare changes

96%

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM


Clean sweep for John Dooley

Lee Carmody has been appointed group health andsafety manager at engineering and rail infrastructurecompany, Spencer Group.

The promotion comes following Carmody’s initialthree month period with the business as a riskadvisor. Lee has 20 years’ experience of the rail andcivil engineering industries. He has been appointed toco-ordinate best practice across the business.

‘Spencer Group has a reputation for striving forexcellence in everything it does. There are no halfmeasures and I am very pleased to have beenappointed to this role,’ says Lee. ‘Almost on a weeklybasis, Spencer Group becomes bigger and stronger. Myrole is about taking the excellent work which is beingdone in different areas of the business and embeddingit across everything we do.

‘There can be no corners cut when it comes tohealth and safety in the industries which Spenceroperates in and I am confident in saying that it is thenumber one key performance indicator for thebusiness already. In the coming weeks I will bereinforcing the message that everyone within thebusiness must get behind what we are trying toachieve.’

Lee Carmody started his career working for BritishRail, later gaining experience in rail maintenance andrenewals for infrastructure companies. Most recentlyhe worked for Hewlett Construction Group and before

that GrantRail Ltd. Often acting as the point of contact for day-to-day

advice and assistance, Mr Carmody has a prodigioustrack record in championing safety improvement. Hehas extensive experience in accident and incidentinvestigations.

Mr Carmody is a member of the InternationalInstitute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM), theInstitution of Occupational Safety and Health and theInstitute of Environmental Management andAssessment.

Carmody heads safety at Spencer Group

A former BR carriage cleaner hascapped a 30 year career on therailways by being promoted on-board operations manager FirstHull Trains.

After a long career workingmainly as a train manager, unionrepresentative, standards managerand station manager, John Dooleyhas now taken up the post at thecompany’s headquarters in EuropaHouse in Hull.

John started his working life as acarriage cleaner with British Railin 1983 at Heaton Carriage Sidingsin Newcastle when he was just 17.‘My dad worked on the buses andmy mum was a clippy so transportof some kind was always going tobe something I went into itseems,’ says John. ‘I saw an advertfor a job at British Rail in schooland was taken with the idea. Iabsolutely loved my first day ofwork experience and as they say,the rest is history.’

Mr Dooley progressed through

different jobs, eventually becominga passenger guard working out ofNewcastle before taking on thesame role but based at Hull, wherehe has spent the majority of hiscareer since. However he did havea five-year hiatus from Hull whenhe lived in Brighton and worked inLondon King’s Cross as First HullTrains station supervisor.

‘Being a railwayman issomething which stays with youfor life. My friends are railwaymen,you can stand in a pub in any partof the country and if you meetsomeone else who has worked onthe railways there is an immediatebond, a shared interest andunderstanding,’ says John.

‘I’m really pleased to have beenable to work my career in theindustry and I have been happyever since I joined First Hull Trainsafter what will be 10-years now. Iused to love listening to the oldtales when I grew up with theolder generations of railwaymen

and women and I suppose now Iam one of the elder statesmen –it’s me saying ‘I remember when’now but I see the sameenthusiasm in some of theyounger staff members as I recallhaving myself. It’s an industry Ihave always loved and one Ialways will.’

After rail privatisation, Johnworked within numerous franchisebusinesses, including Arriva and

Northern Spirit, as a guard. SaysKeith Doughty, First Hull Trains’service delivery director, ‘John is anasset to the business, he is an assetto the city and he is a great man tohave around the place. Heunderstands what we are trying todeliver and works hard to geteveryone working towards thesame goals. I think he is a greatappointment and I am sure he willdo a fantastic job.’

Railway vehicle EngineeringLimited has appointed PeteErwin as Professional Head ofEngineering and a non-executive director.

Erwin began his career in theearly 1970s as an apprentice atDerby Carriage Works, movingon to BR’s Research division,and prior to rail privatisationInterfleet Technology. Mostrecently he has worked as Headof Fleet at Network Rail’sNational Delivery Service.

Starting in July, Pete will takethe lead in developing RVEL’sengineering standards andpolicies as well as acting as thepublic face of the business. SaysAndy Lynch, Managing Directorof RVEL, ‘I am delighted thatPete has chosen to join RVEL.He brings a wealth ofengineering experience andpractical problem solving skillswhich will help the business tocontinue its focus on meetingthe needs of our growingcustomer base.’

Erwin joinsRvEL


PEOPLE NEwS

Fred Maroudas is the newChief Financial Officer atEversholt Rail.

Fred succeeds SimonPurves and will join thebusiness on 2nd September.Mr Maroudas had previouslyworked as Finance Directorfor Heathrow Airport.

Fred is Deputy Chairmanof Local Partnerships, thejoint venture between theLocal GovernmentAssociation and HMTreasury, and is a Director ofthe UK Green InvestmentBank. He has a BA (Hons)degree in History and is a

qualified solicitor. Mary Kenny, Chief

Executive Officer of EversholtRail, said, ‘We are lookingforward to welcoming Fredto Eversholt Rail andworking with him and ourrecently appointed ChiefOperating Officer, AndyCourse, on the strategy totake the business forward.’

Maroudas serves as adirector of the RailwaysPension Trustee CompanyLimited. He served as aDirector of HeathrowFinance plc from July 31,2009 to October 08, 2012. He

served as a Director ofHeathrow (SP) Limited(formerly BAA (SP) Limited)from July 31, 2009 to October8, 2012. He was responsiblefor financing at HM TreasuryTaskforce and PartnershipsUK. He served as a Directorat Network RailInfrastructure Finance Plc.

Maroudas moves to Eversholt Rail

Cross London Trains, XLT, theorganisation set up to purchaseDesiro City trains from Siemensand to lease them to theThameslink franchise, has madetwo senior appointments followingthe recent contract award for 1,140new rail carriages.

Andy Pitt has joined XLT asExecutive Chairman. Pitt is currentlya non-executive director ofTransport Catapult Systems Limited.He has previously worked asmanaging director of South WesternTrains Limited and was rail businessdevelopment director forStagecoach Group plc. He is aformer member of the ATOC board.

Pitt organised the £1 billionprocurement of SWT’s Desiro fleet.Charles Doyle will join Cross LondonTrains as Managing Director fromTransport for London where he has

spent the last seven years in variousfinancial positions, most recently asa Principal of Commercial Finance.

In his time at TfL Charles wasinvolved in a number of rolling stockand infrastructure PFIs andprocurement programmes. BeforeTfL, Charles ran his own transportbusiness, and spent 11 years as aCorporate Financier in the City for JPMorgan and Robert Fleming.

XLT’s shareholders are 3iInfrastructure plc, Innisfree PFISecondary Fund 2 LP and ProjectVentures Rail Investments Limited,a Siemens Project Ventures groupcompany.

Sir David Higgins has been namedco-chair of the new ConstructionLeadership Council together withbusiness secretary vince Cable.

The Council will oversee efforts toimplement the recommendationsof the Construction 2025 strategydocument.

The Construction LeadershipCouncil is the latest in a long line ofattempts over the years to providean effective pan-industry forum forworking with government, datingback at least to the NationalEconomic Development Council,whose construction committeefinally withered on the vine in theearly 1990s, to be replaced by theConstruction Industry Council.

The Construction 2025 documentsets out four measurable objectivesto be achieved by 2025. These are:• a 33% reduction in both the ini-

tial cost of construction and thewhole-life cost of assets

• a 50% reduction in the overalltime from inception to comple-tion for new build and refur-bished assets

• a 50% reduction in greenhousegas emissions in the built envi-ronment

• a 50% reduction in the trade gapbetween total exports and totalimports for construction prod-ucts and materials.

The rail industry’s pioneeringwork on reducing costs on majorprojects and ensuring they come inon budget and on time will bevalued by the council. AndrewWolstenholme of Crossrail is alsoon the council. Sir David iscontinuing as chief executive ofNetwork Rail.

Higgins to headConstruction Council

Charlie Hodgson has been appointed ManagingDirector - Rail Development at Go-Ahead. Hesucceeds Alex Hynes. Hodgson joined Go-Aheadgroup in April 2012 as Director Business Analysisresponsible for rail strategy and overseeing railfranchise bids at Go-Ahead.

Before that he was at KPMG for nearly five yearswhere he supported Govia on its winning SouthCentral franchise bid in 2009. Further railexperience includes a three year stint at the DfT asfranchise sponsor and before that a 12 month spellat the Strategic Rail Authority as an economist.Charlie read Economics at Manchester University.

Says David Brown, Group Chief Executive of Go-Ahead, ‘Charlie’s experience and expertise will beinvaluable over the coming months as we work tosecure new business including DLR, Thameslinkand Crossrail. I am pleased that the depth andexperience within our Rail Development teammeans we can promote an internal candidate.’

Charlie goes ahead

Cross London Trains teamappointed

“XLT was set up topurchase Desiro Citytrains from Siemens…”


Making sure public money inrailways continues to be wellspent, Chancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne, visited railwaystaff hard at work doubling thekemble – Swindon line in July.

This summer between 9thAugust and 2nd September, mixedteams of over 600 people will be

out in force to reposition six milesof existing track. Signalling andtelecoms equipment along the linewill also be moved in order tomake room for the installation of12-miles of additional track.

The chancellor enjoyed meetingstaff and reaffirmed the CoalitionGovernment’s backing for rail. ‘It’s

great to see this work underway,delivering a scheme that willimprove connectivity and boostthe economy in Swindon and thebroader south-west. I hugelyenjoyed meeting those working onthe scheme,’ said George Osborne.

‘We need to invest in the long-term infrastructure that will equipour country to compete in theglobal race over the comingdecades. That’s why we’reupgrading the Swindon to Kembleline, part of the largest investmentin our railways since Victoriantimes and spending more than£300 billion on infrastructure overthe next Parliament.’

The Beeching closures continueto be rolled back. Says PatrickHallgate, route managing directorfor Network Rail Western, ‘We areentering a very exciting phase ofthe project as we will be restoringthis stretch of railway to what itwas before Beeching.

‘The investment on Swindon to

Kemble railway is vital to meetgrowth and to secure a rail futurefor passengers. In addition, goodrail links stimulate private sectorinvestment and enable sustainedproductivity. The railway givesmore than it takes and byinvesting in schemes like theredoubling of Swindon to Kemble,we are also investing in the futureof Britain.’

Once the scheme is completed in2014, the railway between Swindon,Stroud and Gloucester will becapable of running more trains andproviding a better service. FirstGreat Western can’t wait.

Says Mark Hopwood, FGWmanaging director, ‘We have beentalking to our customers aboutthese improvements for sometime and we are grateful to themfor their feedback and help inrealising this project. This upgradeis vitally important to improve ourcustomers’ travel experiences forthe future.’

Mixed Doubles for kemble


NEwS

Thursday, October 3rd sees thereturn of the Rail vehicle Enhance-ments Show to Pride Park, Derby.

The free to attend show,organised by Kevin Lane fromOnyxrail invites rolling stockengineering consultancies, leasingcompanies and train operatingcompanies to meet with expertsfrom leading companies including,Brentto Industry, Creactive Design,DC Airco, Icomera, Infodev, Televic,and many others to discuss howtheir products, services or designscan help improve current rollingstock assets.

Following on from RVE 2012 heldin London and Derby, RVE2013 willfeature more companies bringingtheir products and services rightinto the heart of the rail industryin Derby.

TechnologyKevin Lane, show organiser

commented “Technology such aspassengers seeing how full each

carriage of an approaching train ison their phone, sending texts orRSS based bulletins directly toinformation screens on the train,providing location based advertisingor advising drivers of the optimalspeed to improve punctuality andminimise energy usage all soundsfuturistic but all of thesetechnologies are available today andcan be installed retrospectively toexisting rail assets.

Uplifts are driven by the need tobe innovative in the franchisebidding process, or to look moredeeply into how assets can remainnot only leasable but of increasedvalue to operators whilstdelivering real benefits to thepassenger or the operator.”

DesignPassengers want a good travelling

experience, to be well informedand to travel in cool carriages. Theyalso expect value for money withinthe ticket price. These demands

provide challenges tooperators balancingservice and cost.

MaintenanceThe need to

keep rolling stockin continuedservice meansthat investmentin rolling stockassets is essentialto ensure that theyare up to date, meetpassengerexpectation and aresought after by trainoperators. These initiativesmake it all the more timely totake the opportunity to overlaymaintenance and refurbishmentwith vehicle enhancementprogrammes.

The event for 2013 is beingsupported by the rail engineer,RailStaff and The Rail Alliance andwill be bigger, broader and better

thanRVE2012.

There are a fewexhibitor spaces left if you wouldlike to exhibit.

Attendees to this free event canbe assured of a rewarding visit soput RVE Derby on 3rd of October inyour diary. Register for free onlinenow at www.rve2013.co.uk

Technology, Design, Maintenance - RvE2013

Major improvement work on the railway betweenwarrington and Preston was successfullycompleted after nine consecutive days of intensiveengineering.

Four life-expired junctions were replaced andthree miles of track re-laid boosting line speedsand guaranteeing reliability. According to aspokesman, hard working staff consumed 900barrels of water and slathered on 3,000 bottles ofsun cream used as track temperatures rose as highas 46C. The nine day project pushed ahead through

one of the hottest weeks of the year. Says Martin Frobisher, area director Network Rail,

‘I was in the cab of the first test train over the linethis morning and I’m pleased that under sometough weather conditions we’ve been able todeliver on time, this vital improvement which willmake journeys on the west coast main line morereliable and punctual.

‘I would like to thank passengers for theirsupport and cooperation during the closure, as wellas our industry partners who we worked veryclosely with to prepare for and deliver this criticalproject.’

Usually, Network Rail would have carried outwork of this kind over a number of bank holidayweekends requiring train services to be replacedrepeatedly by alternative transport. By carrying outthe work in a nine-day continuous spell thissummer, engineers were able to complete thereplacement of four junctions around 16 monthsearlier to avoid disrupting rail travel plans formany weekends and nine bank holidays over thenext two years.

‘I congratulate the engineering team at NetworkRail for completing this very challenging piece ofwork on time. A key section of the West CoastMain Line will now immediately provide betterreliability for our customers and in the longer termis another stepping stone in our quest for fasterjourney times for Anglo Scottish services,’ says PhilBearpark, Production Director Virgin Trains.

virgin Trains’ Pendolino fleet hasbeen upgraded and overhauled.

In a special thank you event atAlstom’s Longsight TraincareCentre in Manchester theLongsight team were joined bysenior management from bothAlstom and Virgin Trains to markthe end of the £60m process.

Says Mike Hulme, Vice PresidentTrain Life Services UK & Ireland forAlstom, ‘There’s been a real buzzevery time I’ve been on site andI’m very proud to have been partof the organisation that deliveredthese two very complexprogrammes.’

The last of the H3 Pendolinos –390002 – is now back in service,having been turned around by theteam at Longsight in just over afortnight.

‘The H3 programme was alreadypretty complicated and then wedecided to make it even morecomplex by also carrying out theintegration of two extra cars,’ saysMike Hulme.

The Pendolino fleet has been inservice for more than 10 years andhas completed an additional 2.5million miles of reliable service

since the H2 overhaul. In additionto the overhaul work, theLongsight team extended 31 of thenine-car trains to 11 cars at thesame time.

Says Tim Bentley, ManagingDirector of Alstom’s West CoastMain Line activities, ‘We’redelighted to reach the successfulconclusion to a hugely complexand challenging activity.’ Hepraised the combination ofengineering capability across thegroup and the local expertise of

staff at Manchester. Chris Gibbs, Chief Operating

Officer at Virgin Trains, was equallydelighted with the overhaul. ‘Iknow there’s a huge amount ofwork that goes into it – you’vedone your jobs very well. On behalfof not just our staff but also ourcustomers, I’d like to say thank youfor doing a top quality job.’

Top performing staff at Longsightalso completed the overhaul ofNorthern Rail’s 17-strong Class 323regional fleet this month.


A Ffestiniog & welsh Highland Railwaylocomotive has been fitted with thewhistle from Mallard’s 1935 sisterlocomotive, Silver king, to mark therecord breaking 75th anniversary run ofthe A4 Pacific Mallard.

One of LNER’s best-known drivers, BillHoole, drove Gresley’s A4 Pacificsregularly between London and Scotland.Hoole moved to Porthmadog to become adriver on the Ffestiniog Railway when heleft King’s Cross shed. He was given theengraved chime whistle on his retirementin 1959. Last year it was presented to theF&WHR by Hoole’s grandson, Bill Poacher.Red Garratt NG/G16 No. 138, built inManchester in 1958, now carries thewhistle.

In 1959, another A4, Sir Nigel Gresley,driven by Bill Hoole, set the post-warspeed record of 112 mph, also on StokeBank. He was later unofficially reportedas having driven the same loco at 117mph. Hoole drove on the FR from 1959until his death in 1979 and is buried inMinffordd Cemetery. His gravestone readsBill Hoole: Engineman Extraordinary.

welsh whistle

Staff Buzz praised

Sun blockade

“We’re delighted toreach the successfulconclusion to ahugely complex andchallengingactivity….”

TIM BENTLEy,MANAGING DIRECTOR OFALSTOM’S wEST COAST MAINLINE ACTIvITIES


NEwS

Transport for London to take over commuter services

Two rail staff who met at workhave married.

Wendy Coleman is a systemsand compliance manager at VirginTrains. Andy Garrett is a cateringand logistics manager also atVirgin. The pair have been togetherfor ten years.

Systems and logistics finally fellsmoothly into place at a sumptuouswedding.

A pair forall seasons

Saved on the 4th July

The DfT has approved Transportfor London plans to take overcommuter services that run fromLiverpool Street to Enfield Town,Cheshunt via Seven Sisters andChingford.

This Includes 25 stations. TfL willbecome responsible for 23, whiletwo larger stations, LiverpoolStreet and Cheshunt, will remainthe responsibility of Network Railand Greater Anglia.

Says Mayor of London, BorisJohnson, ‘You only have to look atthe success of London Overgroundto see how TfL taking over thiscommuter service will transformthe journey for passengers. It willalso open up the North-East ofLondon and drive jobs and growthin Tottenham and beyond.’

TfL promises better reliabilityand smarter, cleaner, stations. Nodate has been fixed for thetransfer, although TfL hopes that itwill be during 2015. As withLondon Overground, TfL will

appoint a private sector operatorto run these services on its behalf.

Says TfL’s Managing Director forLondon Rail Mike Brown, ‘We arepleased that the Department forTransport has agreed to devolverail services to TfL so that we canmake improvements for the

thousands of passengers usingLiverpool Street to Enfield Town,Cheshunt via Seven Sisters, andChingford services. We will makethese services more reliable,upgrade facilities at 23 stationsalong the routes and ensure we arefully accountable to our

passengers. ‘There is much work to be done

to ensure a transition ofresponsibilities in 2015 and also toestablish a close workingrelationship with Greater Anglia sothat where we share tracks, we areable to operate efficiently.’

Independence Day celebrations almost came to apremature end for one wheelchair user on thewashington D.C. subway system.

The disabled man lost control of his electrifiedwheelchair and powered over the edge of theplatform onto the railway tracks. However an offduty soldier, Michael Menchaca, saw what hadhappened and jumped down onto the tracks. Thesubway system in Washington has third railelectrification.

Menacha was able to undo the man’s seat belt andwith the help of another passer by lifted the man tosafety. The rescue was brought off as staff watchedthe incident on CCTV and rushed to stop trains onthe line. ‘I was just doing the right thing prettymuch like anyone would have done,’ Army SpecialistMichael Menchaca told WJLA News.

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM


Early bathfor engineers

vital Skills Training, part of vitalServices Group, is celebrating thelaunch of its Level 3 RailEngineering partnership withTresham College of Further andHigher Education, kettering, afterthe first 16 learners commencedtraining.

The group is the first toundertake the NVQ Level 3, whichcombines practical training as wellas classroom-based tuition.

Both organisations are membersof the National Skills Academy inRail Engineering (NSARE) and thisis the first time that Tresham

College has been able to deliverspecific NVQ Level 3 courses inRail Engineering to meet the needsof a growing region.

The apprentices, who are agedbetween 16 and 18 years old,started their courses on Monday29 July 2013 and will regularly visitVital’s base at the GreenacresCentre in Mowmacre Hill toundertake practical training on theGreat Central Railway.

The Level 3 qualification will bethe skill level required on theMidland mainline, which runsthrough the area.

The group was welcomed on siteby Vital’s education and trainingdirector Lawrence Dobie. He said:“We are delighted that the firstLevel 3 apprentices have startedon the programme.

“The course will provide thelearners with the skills, knowledgeand experience they need to be

competent rail engineers and weare so pleased to be workingtogether with Tresham College tooffer something which we believeto be unrivalled in the region.”

Rachel Kay, Tresham College’sManaging Director and DeputyPrincipal, added: “This is an idealpartnership for all concerned. Bothparties are committed to providingopportunities for people from allbackgrounds and giving them thesupport they need to achieve theircareer goals.

“This new programme gives ourstudents a chance not just to earnwhile they learn, but also to entera vibrant industry where there is ahuge demand for suitably qualifiedstaff. We’re confident that this willbe a long and successfulpartnership that will offer youngpeople an exciting and viablecareer path.”

To find out more aboutapprenticeships at Tresham visitwww.evolve-tresham.co.uk or visitwww.vital-skills.com or call 0161836 7024.

The rail industry is stepping up efforts toattract young people to the cause this summerwith a special course at Bath University.

Says Gil Howarth, Chief Executive of NSARE,‘We are delighted to be working with TheSmallpeice Trust and LRF to raise awareness ofthe exciting career opportunities railwayengineering can offer young people.’

Over 100 potential teenage engineers attendedthe three day taster course at Bath University.Organised by the National Skills Academy forRailway Engineering and the Lloyd’s RegisterFoundation the course explored the design,construction and operation of railways.

The 13-14 year olds looked at railwayengineering through a series of presentationsand practical exercises. Working in teams, theytackled real-life challenges on projects designedand facilitated by young engineers fromindustry.

The companies taking part were Babcock Rail,FirstGroup plc, Network Rail and Transport forLondon. Projects included designing andbuilding: a railway track complete with bends,bridges and tunnels and an operationalsignalling system.

Says Eileen Kinghan, Director of Grants at LRF,‘For a third year, LRF agreed to supportSmallpeice’s railway engineering Science,Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)Days and a residential course. The Smallpeiceinitiatives give young people an understandingof the skills they need to develop to equip themfor the new and increasing opportunities thatwe are seeing in this fast-moving sector.’

The LRF and NSARE are also sponsoring anadvanced Railway Systems Engineering coursefor 15 to 17 year olds this summer which willtake place at the University of Birmingham.

Says Dr Andrew Cave, Chief Executive of theSmallpeice Trust, ‘We are most grateful for thecontinuing support from NSARE and LRF on thisprogramme. Rail is one of the greenest forms oftransport and massive investment is beinginjected into our railway infrastructure.

‘Giving young people the opportunity todiscover for themselves the excitement,challenge and reward of a career in railwayengineering is vital in encouraging theengineers of tomorrow while equipping them tomeet the social, environmental and economicchallenges of the future.’

vital training for Tresham rail apprentices

Trainer Sean Whittaker (left), Lawrence Dobie (right) and Rachel Kay (second from right)

with Vital apprentices at Tresham College.

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM

Twelve months ago when webegan contributing to thismagazine, we found ourselveslooking positively towards thefuture of the rail industry, excitedabout the prospect of trainingopportunities that would deliveron the many large scale projectsin the pipeline.

Now, a year on, and just a fewmonths away from the start ofControl Period 5 (CP5), it feels like agood opportunity to take stock ofwhere the industry stands.

During 2012, major changes tothe training review process sawthe previous Achilles auditreplaced with NSARE’s

accreditation scheme. Initiallyviewed as a controversial regime,the change from what wasessentially a tick box exercise to arenewed focus on quality of thelearner experience, has reallychanged things for the better.

A positive moveThis was evidenced in the first

round of inspections whichrecognised six providers asoutstanding. Out of those re-inspected in round two, a numberof other organisations haveimproved their grades from goodto outstanding - a positive movefor the industry.

Whilst this is a positive outcome,there is still some way to go,especially as David Cameron haslabelled the significant railwayupgrades to begin in 2014 as the

‘biggest modernisation of ourrailways since the Victorian era.’

It is concerning that NSARE hasidentified that only 17% of theengineering workforce hasqualifications at higher academiclevels (above A-Level). Thishighlights the major gap in skillsand is something that willcontinue to increase unless radicalaction is taken.

Strategic relationshipsAs we all know the nature of the

rail industry is that large-scale,capital investment projects cantake decades to plan andimplement and I welcome theRailway Technical Strategy’srecommendation that we shouldbe developing strategicrelationships to learn best practicefrom other industries so that we

can minimise the risk in adoptingnew skill sets.

In recognition of this, employersare beginning to demand betterquality training and facilities fortheir employees. An example ofthis was in a tender we recentlyreceived which requested evidenceof how we brief our trainers andassessors, how we monitor andevaluate their performance andthe scope and location of ourtraining facilities.

It’s promising to see that acrossthe industry, employers, trainingproviders, suppliers and supportorganisations such as NSARE, areall working together towards thesame end goal of developing askilled, quality workforce that isequipped to deliver on the manyexciting opportunities that lieahead of us.


CAREERS

Helping our clients get from...Track OLE &

IsolationsSignalling & Telecoms

Building and Civils

Recruitment

BA

Web. www.vital-rail.com Email. [email protected] Tel. 0845 894 9020 Fax. 0845 894 9699

TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE

By Lawrence Dobie,Education and Training Directorat vital Services Group.

TRAINING... sponsored by vital Skills Training

with the hot spell baking thecapital, TfL is advising passengersto carry water, not to travel ifunwell and to take care what youwear.

New air conditioned trains,which have been running on theMetropolitan line for the lastcouple of years, are now being putinto service on the Hammersmith& City line. Later this summer theCircle line will have airconditioned trains. Meanwhile twoof London’s busiest Tube stations,Green Park and Oxford Circus arebenefitting from the stationcooling systems that wereinstalled last year, which reducetemperatures at platform level.

Other work to improveventilation shafts, restore out ofservice fan systems and portablefans will also be helping coolpassengers this summer. However

the big challenge remains coolingthe deepest parts of the LondonUnderground. The tunnels onlyallow enough room for trains.There is no space for airconditioning ducts.

Says Phil Hufton, LU’s ChiefOperating Officer, “The new airconditioned trains have proved amassive success on theMetropolitan line and nowcustomers on the Hammersmith &City are starting to feel thebenefits. Throughout the comingmonths further new airconditioned trains will beintroduced on the Circle line. Butwe know there is still a lot to doand cooling the other deeper linesof the Tube remains a considerableengineering challenge, but onewhich we are actively addressing.’

In the future running trains witha smaller kinematic envelopecould allow room for air ducts. Thenext generation of undergroundtrains will also be engineered togenerate less heat.


Passengers who may havemoaned at the opening musicaljingle before public serviceannouncements at GlasgowCentral are rejoicing at thestation’s new status as a livemusic venue this summer.

Every Friday evening at fiveo’clock, live bands play on themain concourse. The scheme lastsuntil September. The ‘Virgin Trainspresents… Live at Central’ ideaproved a hit during the GlasgowInternational Jazz Festival lastJune. Now an extendedprogramme of events has been puttogether throughout the summer.

The Live at Central concerts arepart of a cunning plan by staff atNetwork Rail and Virgin Trains totransform the station into acultural hub ahead of the 2014Commonwealth Games.

Says Ross Moran, Network Rail’sStation Manager at Glasgow

Central, ‘Our vision for Central isclear: to be the most innovative,creative and exciting station in theUK. For us, it is simply not enoughto be a venue where people idlywait for trains. We aspire to be acultural hub: a city within the city,where music and the arts can becelebrated.’

Bands playing Live at Central thissummer have included Burt andthe Bacherettes, Oompah Brassand Penman Jazzmen. Says MartyMcGowan, Virgin Trains’Commonwealth Games LiaisonManager, ‘Glasgow Central Stationis more than just a transportationhub, it’s also a central stage and aplace of excellence for us to showoff some of what our fine city hasto offer. We are especially excitedto be showcasing some really greatacts as we move closer to 2014,mindful of what a year this will befor the City of Glasgow.’

Live at Central

Barry Donovan, Maria Donovanand David Melbourne fromNottingham City Council arejoining the railway this summer toact as ambassadors at the station.

An extensive £100m project willsee Nottingham re-signalled, sixmiles of track re-laid and threejunctions replaced. Two levelcrossings will be replaced withfootbridges. Three signal boxes andTrent power signal box are closingand their functions transferred to

Derby signalling centre. Nottingham station will be

refurbished and a new platformadded. The ambassadors will bejoining railway staff at the stationto advise passengers. Trent PowerSignal Box bowed out after 44years of service on Friday 19 July.Train 5D05, an empty stockmovement from Eastcroft depot toDerby, was the final servicesignalled out by the box thatevening just before 11pm.

All change at Nottingham

Drawing on its Dutch heritage,Greater Anglia has built a bicyclecentre at Chelmsford station.

The new CyclePoint combinessecure cycle parking with cycle-hire and maintenance facilities ina single location. Such centres area common sight in Holland. LocalMP for Chelmsford and transportminister, Simon Burns MP, joinedRuud Haket, managing director ofGreater Anglia to open the first ofthe new CyclePoints.

Greater Anglia is planning otherCyclePoints at Cambridge,Colchester, Ely, Ipswich andNorwich stations. The Day’s Yardsite between the station and thecar park has space for 1,000 cycles.

Says Simon Burns MP, ‘Used incombination, bike and rail offersone of the most environmentallyfriendly forms of travel. That iswhy DfT have provided £200kfunding towards this innovativenew cycle hub which will givepeople more options to makegreener travel choices.

‘I am pleased that Abellio areusing their experience andknowledge in the UK to introducemore ground-breaking cyclefacilities. This is the sort of thing weneed to be doing across the countryto make it easier for people to cycleto and from the station.’

CyclePoint represents asignificant investment of £680k byGreater Anglia, with support fromthe Department for Transport(DfT), Essex County Council andNetwork Rail.

Park’n’Pedal

STATIONS

Hot news

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM


The first National Track Plantexhibition, held last month atLong Marston, showcased thebest of the industry innovations –and generated good business.

Over two blazingly hot days inJuly, a huge contingent of railcompanies and kit rumbled intoLong Marston, Warwickshire, forwhat amounted to the trackplant industry’s first countyshow.

Over 3,700 visitors and 219exhibitors flocked to the NationalTrack Plant Exhibition; organisedby Network Rail, Rail Media andnetworking group The RailAlliance.

Billed as “The Track InnovationShowcase”, the event was the firstof its kind to be held in a rail-connected venue. This allowedheavy rail-mounted plant, such ascranes and tampers to be broughtin – hence the need for everyoneto wear full PPE.

Once a train depot for themilitary, the site is currently usedby owners MotoRail Logistics andother companies to store rollingstock and plant, and as a trainingfacility.

Range of suppliersFrom massive cranes and

tampers to handheld tools, the

show spanned the track plantindustry – from conventionalplant to some unexpectedofferings.

Areas covered included: trackplant hire, fuel systems,electronics, communications,sealants, track crossover systems,track safety protection, acousticfencing, the Territorial Army’sonly dedicated rail engineeringunit, emergency lighting, blastprotection, environmentalmanagement, surveying, civils,generators and industrial gases.

There were also talks fromsenior figures from Network Railand other contractors, a

hospitality tent, demonstrationsand opportunities for visitors totry out new kit for themselves.

“Many of the facilities here havebeen provided by the exhibitors,”said Sharmila Sohanpal, ofNetwork Rail’s organising team.

“People were keen to getinvolved as well as exhibit. So wehad Aggreko, for example,providing the generators, MacRaildoing visitor and exhibitor check-in, and security from OnGardeand Black Diamond Security. Inaddition, A Plant suppliedwashroom facilities, andWestwood the catering.”

best in showTrack plant event


NATIONAL TRACk PLANT EXHIBITION

Showcase for innovationUma Shanker, Head of Business

Improvement and Engineeringfor Network Rail’s InfrastructureProjects Track Programme,explained the reason for theshow.

“Control period five (CP5) from2014-2019 will bring hugechallenges for us. The industryneeds to find innovative andcollaborative ways to work, andthis exhibition acts as ashowcase for that.

“At this show, people can talk toeach other, and bounce ideasaround. On top of this, they cansee machines operating and livedemonstrations in anoperational, rail-connectedenvironment.”

Live track renewalVisitors and decision-makers

had their pick of exhibitors tolook over – from Network Rail tosmaller suppliers of tools, plantand equipment, such as Dual-Inventive.

A highlight was the “live” on-site renewal of 400 metres oftrack – the first-ever at aEuropean track plant show –planned and delivered byBabcock and a team of itssuppliers.

Bruce Wright, Babcock BusinessImprovement Manager, said theaim of the renewal was to showhow innovative plant andconstruction techniques coulddeliver a conventional trackrenewal with a minimal labourcontingent.

“It was a real team effort toovercome difficult site conditions,such as interfacing with theexisting track work, whichconsisted of 75 lb rail bolted

directly onto mass-producedconcrete sleepers, installedduring World War II.”

The delivery team includedstaff from Babcock, McCullochs,Quattro, Torrent, Morson, 3DTrimble supplier Korec, andSwietelsky Babcock Rail, whichprovided the tamper to finish therenewal off.

Simon Higgens, SeniorProgramme Manager, said therenewal had gone well.

“We wanted to demonstrate tothe wider industry what’s outthere and what’s available, andwe did that.

“Given the tight possessionregimes we’ll see during CP5, Isuspect that a lot of thetechnology used at Long Marstonwill become commonplace.”

Commercial successThe relaxed atmosphere and

sunshine stimulated commercialactivity at the event. Deals werestruck, product awareness raised,and new contacts made –between companies and NetworkRail, and among the suppliersthemselves.

A case in point wasneighbouring exhibitors KeltbrayAspire, with its ranks of plant,and Avonwood, manufacturer ofthe Zonesafe vehicle protectionsystem for pedestrians.

Paul Murphy, Head of Rail Plant,Keltbray, explained: “We were atthe show to demonstrate toNetwork Rail our capabilities,such as bridge and tunnelmaintenance, track renewal, railpiling and overhead lineinstallation.

“But it’s also been good fornetworking purposes, and fordoing business. For example, wehad a look at our neighbourAvonwood’s Zonesafe road railvehicle (RRV) proximity warningsystems. We’ve now arranged totrial two of their systems, with aview to potentially purchasingthem, depending on the trialoutcomes.

Joe Rinaldi of Avonwoodexplained how Zonesafe works.“Zonesafe is a proximity warningsystem for any vehicle or RRV onthe railway. Pedestrians workingnear the vehicle wear an RFID(radio frequency identification) tag.If a pedestrian gets within anadjustable detection zone, from 3-9metres’ distance of the vehicle, a



control box in the cab sets off avisual and audible alarm, alertingthe driver of the pedestrian’spresence.

“Paul saw how the systemworked, liked it and bought thesystem for a couple of hisprojects.”

Small is beautifulPast the looming 500-tonne

Ainscough crane near the siteentrance, dozens of road-railvehicles (RRVs) ranked along thelines, and the live track renewal,was the small exhibitors’ area –dubbed “Marrakesh Village” byorganisers.

There, rows of small whitemarquees hosted some of themost exciting developments forthe future of track. FromMcMurtry’s remote-controlledrobot mowers to Cintec’s water-filled blast protection for buildingsand Arbil’s sleeper-lifting devices,the village proved a hotbed ofinnovation.

At the far end of the field, in a

roped-off area, a tracked robotresembling a model of a World WarI tank was busily driving around.“These are remote-controlled slopemowers,” explained RichardMcMurtry of the Gloucestershire-based McMurtry Ltd.

“They can be used on steepslopes, up to 45 degrees, wherehealth and safety issues mightlimit the use of strimmergangs.This is our first venture intothe rail market, so we’ve beentalking to Network Rail about howto get product approval.

New products to marketNetwork Rail’s Steve

Featherstone, Programme Director,Track, sponsored the event for thecompany. “A lot of suppliers have agood idea, but don’t know how tobring it into the industry, so ourproduct acceptance people madethemselves available to explainhow we approve new products andservices.

“They also kept an eye out foranything that might prove usefulfor helping us meet ourdemanding targets over the nextfew years.”

Chris Browne, Senior Engineer,Plant and Traction & Rolling Stock,was a member of Network Rail’sproduct acceptance team. “The

event was an ideal opportunity forus to talk through our approvalssystem and explain why we have it.

“A lot of companies need supportwhen they’re first breaking intothe rail industry, and we helpedpoint them in the right direction.We also helped bringmanufacturers together, toimprove their products for theindustry’s benefit.”

Larger suppliersBut while Network Rail product

approval was key for manycompanies, larger suppliers werescouting too. Ben Mills, BusinessImprovement Engineer for TrackPartnership – the infrastructurepartnership between LondonUnderground (LU) and BalfourBeatty Rail – said the partnership’steams had visited almost all thestands at the show, looking fornew ideas and meeting existingcontacts.

“We’re rewriting the process ofhow we replace track on theUnderground. Every secondcounts, and we have to work hardto minimise disruption for the fourmillion people who travel daily onthe Tube. To support this challenge,we looked for, and found, all sortsof useful kit at the show.

“For example, we recently



introduced LU’s first new sleeperfor 30 years – the Cemex 1502 withPandrol’s Fastclip FE fastening. Atthe show, we were able to talk toour suppliers about the next stepsfor the system.

“Then there’s the Unimog RRVfrom Mercedes-Benz-Zagro, whichfeatured on Balfour Beatty’s ownstand. Using Unimogs means wecan extend the scope of trackrenewals, and we also spottedother equipment that we cancombine with to make our workeven more efficient.

“We’re also bringing in the Non-intrusive Crossing System (NICS),so it was good to see that companyat the show. The NICS allows us tocreate virtual sidings and crossingpoints, helping to transform ourapproach to renewals inengineering hours on theUnderground. In turn, this willreduce station closures andminimise disruption.”

Visitor reactionColas Rail provided a number of

live demonstrations with the 125tonne rail mounted Kirow cranelifting a locally stored tank wagonhigh into the air (pictured, page 20)and the PEM/LEM machinesdemonstrating their uniquecapability to not only lift and movetrack panels and S&C units by railbut to ‘walk’ these units whentrack is not available.

Also, two track relayingmachines (TRM’s) demonstratedtheir capabilities to remove andinstall track panels quickly andsafely.

Over at the live renewal site,visiting Network Rail ProjectManager Simon Brett declaredhimself impressed. “It’s a chanceto see things outside the box intrack renewal – things that are onoffer that we don’t do now, butcould help us increase ourefficiency in future. Seeing it in theflesh definitely brings that home.”

Network Rail colleaguesFrancesca Wallace, Access Planner,and Lisa Riley, Planning Specialist,said their visit had beenworthwhile. Said Lisa: “It’s beenuseful for us, and very interestingto see things like the live renewalsand the demonstration of thermitwelding. We spoke to lots ofpeople, and even had a chance tosit in the Network Rail helicopter!”

End of the showAs the show ended, hundreds of

weary, but satisfied visitors beganto stream out the gates, passed bysome of the larger pieces of kit ontheir way home. Over inMarrakesh village, Bryan Blareau ofHenry Williams – manufacturers oftrackside equipment includingfishplates, clamps and controlcabinets – was one of the last tofold his tent and leave.

“We’ve made some goodcontacts,” he reflected. “I’ve nothad much chance to look around,apart from our neighbours, butwe’ve seen the people we neededto see. For us, it was mainly aboutraising our profile, and I thinkwe’ve done that.”

For organiser Colin Flack, chiefexecutive, Rail Alliance, suchopinions were more than welcome.“This has been a proper tradeshow, but I think people enjoyed itbecause of its informality.

“The big rail exhibitions arebrilliant and have a place, but thissort of event gives people at allsort of levels a chance to talk toeach other; to meet people and seewhat other companies are doing.

“The next stage for this event, Ithink, is for a much larger supplychain to get involved. It’s a greatstart.

wh

y at

ten

d?

HS2: the wider network, the wider bene�ts

industry leaders group

Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum, Curzon Street, birmingham, b4 7xg.

Thursday 19 September 2013

On September 19th, at Curzon Street Birmingham, Greengauge 21 is holding the one must-attend conference on HS2 for 2013. At this crucial stage, we are taking the opportunity to answer the key questions that still surround HS2.

Our aim for the day is simple: to transform any lingering perception that HS2 is of limited, narrow bene&t. It isn’t: its bene&cial effects extend right across the national rail network. Its impact on the economies of all of the cities and regions it serves will be highly bene&cial – both locally, and ultimately, to the national economy and exchequer.

On the day, we will be showcasing Network Rail’s new research into HS2’s impacts on the wider network, presenting &ndings for the &rst time in a public arena.

We will learn from HS2 Ltd about the new results from its leading edge work examining how the project will impact on city and regional economies, moving beyond the con&nes of traditional transport bene&t cost appraisal. Again, this will be the &rst opportunity to discuss and debate this work in a public arena.

We will hear from a leading independent economist why the north of Britain should be better linked to London and the south east.

The conference is being sponsored by the HSR Industry Leaders Group – a group of private sector businesses that want to see HS2 develop and (ourish.

The day will be attended by key decision makers from both the private and public sectors.

Make sure you are there!

Conference sponsored by:

Conference supported by:

The great advantage of theRailStaff Awards and one whichsets it apart from so many otherworthy award schemes is theinvolvement of the people itcelebrates. Railway workers upand down the network and fromevery part of the industry are freeto send in nominations and tovote on the outcome. This is moreimportant than it seems.

The rail industry is now leadingthe economy by example.Confidence, value for money,emphasis on career developmentand responsible working practicesall have lessons for the widercountry which we serve. Therailway had to learn the hard way.

This was an industry only a fewshort years ago slated for manageddecline and post-Beechingeuthanasia, a sort of Liverpoolp-way. Instead by dint of hardwork, professionalism andadmittedly tremendous strokes ofgood fortune - the risingimportation of Chinese whitegoods and London’s economicupsurge - the railway fought back.

Ingenuity and initiativeRail freight continues to grow.

Investment and major projects areforging ahead. Trains now carrymore passengers than they did intheir hey day 70 years ago. Thatthey do so on half the amount oftrack is in no small part down tothe ingenuity and initiative of thepeople the RailStaff Awardssalutes.

New projects including newrailways, new stations,electrification and track doubling

are delivered on time and onbudget. There are lessons here fora country struggling to findstability in a changing world. It isno coincidence that our lighthearted Back-to-School theme thisyear shines a light on rail’s lessonsand logarithms. It is important tobe involved, to vote.

Public disdain for politics is at anall time high. Many people arguethere is scant difference betweenthe three major parties. Throw inthe sight of MPs being jailed andthe whole profession is debased.

Boldness is not a crimeThis is unfair to the many MPs

who work long and hard out ofconviction. However they fail totake risks to get their messageacross. Boldness is not a crimeand voters respond to it quitewell.

Look at the success of NigelFarrage, even nowconsidering his mistakenstance on HS2. Look tooat Bob Crow’s call for anew true socialistparty. The sight of theno nonsensesecretary of theRMT entering theHouse ofCommons andberating the be-suited ones will be wondrousindeed. Can Bob and Nigel restoreconfidence in our democracy?

A healthy democracy starts withthe people themselves – demosmean people – getting involved,

arguing, discussing and thenvoting. Always remember to vote.Once again the railway, byselecting and voting for its ownheroes, demonstrates democracyin action.

The RailStaff Awards is all aboutthe people who do the work. Thosethat excel are rightly recognised bytheir friends and colleagues. Welook forward to saluting them andcelebrating an industry thatcontinues with confidence to lightthe way ahead.

Voting finishes on 16thAugust – so take a

look now andmake your votecount.

WWW.RAILSTAFFAWARDS.COMAWARDS PARTY: 5th OCTOBER, BIRMINGHAM

Recognising the people who keep the UK rail industry moving.

Railway Lessonsfor Democracy

RailStaffAwards

Amy Selway of Transport for London won last year’s Newcomer-Graduate of the year 2012.

FirstGroup backs LifetimeAchievement Award

Green Light for Westermo

PAGE 27

PAGE 29

www.railstaffawards.com 27

helping to build the nation

Experts IN support services for infrastructure markets

0845 543 5953 www.mcginley.co.uk

McGinley Support Services are pleased to be sponsoring

Rail Infrastructure Team of the Yearat the Railstaff Awards 2013

www.firstgroup.com

Proud sponsor of the Lifetime Achievement Award

at the RailStaff Awards

FirstGroup is the proud sponsor ofthe Lifetime Achievement Awardat this year’s RailStaff Awards.

The company is Britain’s largestrail operator carrying more than310 million passengers per annum.It operates First Great Western,First Capital Connect, FirstTransPennine Express, FirstScotRail, First Hull Trains andLondon Tramlink.

It runs regional and commuterservices, open access and light railoperations as well as high speedinter-city trains and overnightsleepers – everything from local

services to long distance expresstrains. The company has a strongtrack record of investment withmore than 700 new vehiclesintroduced and punctuality andperformance increasing acrosseach of their franchises sinceFirstGroup commenced operation.

The company is committed tomaintaining a leading position inthe market through the upcomingfranchising competitions.

FirstGroup is also one of Britain’sbiggest bus operators running morethan one in five of all local busservices. In North America it is the

largest provider of studenttransportation with some 50,000yellow school buses and operatesthe iconic Greyhound coach services.

Says Tom O’Connor, managingdirector of Rail Media Group,‘FirstGroup has been a stalwartsupporter of the RailStaff Awardsand railways and the people whodeliver them. The LifetimeAchievement Award is verypopular and it is entirely fittingthat a company which grew froman employee-management buy-out to a hugely successfulinternational transport businessshould be backing this award.’

Delivering excellenceVernon Barker, Head of

FirstGroup’s Rail Division, said:‘The Lifetime Achievement Awardrecognises people who put theircareers and much of their lives into delivering excellence in the railindustry.’

He continued: “Right across the

industry we work with staff at alllevels who work hard to deliverservices, look after customers andkeep the railway safe andsuccessful. As I visit our offices,booking on points, maintenancedepots and stations – right acrossour operating companies – I see atfirst hand the great work beingdone by colleagues day and night,24/7. It remains a privilege towitness the commitment andprofessionalism of staff.’

‘The railway, for many in theindustry, is a way of life. Unlikemost other sectors it is notuncommon to find colleagues with30, 40 and 50 years service. Thereare thousands of people, includingmany at FirstGroup, who haveserved the rail industry faithfullyover many years.

‘The Lifetime AchievementAward reflects the passion andcommitment of men and womenthat have dedicated their careersand lives to manning our trains,selling tickets, operating signalsand building and maintainingtrains and track. They are the realheroes of the industry.’

FirstGroup backs Lifetime Achievement Award

2828 www.railstaffawards.com

» A professional network» Area events» Academic qualifications» Professional Development» CPD schemes

Our membership includes anyone involved in railway operations in the UK.

To find out what are you missing out on visit…www.railwayoperators.co.uk

hemesCPD sc»

elopmentevessional DofPr»Academic qualifications»

entsea evAr»korwessional netofA pr»

orsatoperyaailw.rwwwo e yo find out what arTTo find out what ar

h ations in ty operaailwrlud ur membership incO

.ukcos.ou missing out on visit…

.he UKed in lvovone inydes an

PROUD TO SPONSOR

THE DAVID MAIDMENT AWARD

FOR CHARITY AT THIS YEAR’S

RAILSTAFF AWARDS

!""!#$%&$!'$(#)**+,$

2013

-%.+,/,0'1&$2345

' ' ' '2 ' ' ' '2

6)7+$%&$!'$ 08+/!!7

!"#$%&'(#!)*

+++,)(-./%&'(,*&0 !"#$%&'(#!)*

!"#$%&&$'()$*+,,$-*./((0123"#$!456373!89":2;<7=6:>?=1

@AB$C7=6:$A"?$38$2$"!2D34<$D!83<4!7E$1246F2?G67!7$ 24D$ 86::"3!7$ =F$!"!?G7=;1!?H243?2"E$ "3<HG34<$ 24D$!"!?G7=43?$ 8="6G3=48>$ I!$ :7=J3D!$?=8G$ !FF!?G3J!$ 8="6G3=48$ G=$ 31:7=J!$7!"32K3"3GLE$7!D6?!$1234G!424?!$24D$H!4?!$ 7!D6?!$ "3F!$ ?L?"!$ ?=8G8$ F=7$723"$ 24D$ G7248:=7G2G3=4$ 34D68G73!8$GH7=6<H=6G$GH!$M=7"D>

!"#$%&"%'(")'"!#$%-1'-234"((%3526*3"*%&+,%-,.!

!

2929

westermo Data Communicationsis sponsoring the Signalling andTelecommunications Engineer ofthe year award at this year’sRailStaff Awards 2013. The newaward highlights important workbeing progressed by railwaysignalling and telecoms specialiststhroughout the industry.

Says Phil Mounter, InfrastructureProjects Sales Manager atWestermo, ‘It is important torecognise the contribution madeto railways internationally byrailway signal engineers. Having acategory devoted to Signalling andTelecommunications Engineers isimportant.

We decided to back this newaward as a way of saying thankyou to the many signalling andtelecommunications engineers atwork in the rail industry andbecause we wanted to givesomething back to our customers,suppliers and staff.’

Says Tom O’Connor, managingdirector of the Rail Media Group,‘Comprehensive re-signalling andbetter telecommunications meansthe need for new technologies andengineering skills has never beengreater. We are delighted towelcome Westermo to the RailStaffAwards. I quite agree with Phil thatwe need to recognise the uniqueachievement and hard work ofsignalling and telecoms engineersin the rail industry.’

Data integrityWestermo products are built

using high quality, military-gradecomponents with low powerconsumption and data integrity inmind. Westermo offers some ofthe most reliable, secure andenergy efficient products on theindustrial market today.

Founded in 1975 in Sweden,Westermo now has a global reach.In Britain Westermo has been

supplying Ethernet and serialindustrial communicationsdevices to the rail industry formany years. New ideas, topquality equipment andlistening to the concerns ofthe engineers themselves hasplaced Westermo among themarket leaders in signallingand telecommunications.

Says Phil, ‘Every day we speakwith signalling andtelecommunications designers,installers, maintenancetechnicians, engineers andmanagers. This gives us a greatadvantage and explains whyleading S&T engineers chooseWestermo when building missioncritical communications networks.’

Spread of best practice is integralto the Westermo approach. ‘Everyyear we host an annual railsummit where we invite the UK’sbest S&T engineers along to learnfrom each other and show thelatest products,’ says Phil. ‘Thisyear’s event is at the ScienceMuseum in London on Wednesday30th October. We plan to invite the

firstSignalling

and Telecommunications Engineerof the Year to come to the summitand open the day.’

The RailStaff Awards recognisethe achievements of railway stafffrom train drivers to engineers andtrackworkers to train planners.This year’s RailStaff Awards takeplace at the BirminghamInternational Convention Centreon 5th October 2013 and are opento all who work and support therailway industry. For more info seewww.railstaffawards.com and forWestermo seehttp://www.westermo.co.uk

www.railstaffawards.com

Green Light for westermo

3030 www.railstaffawards.com

The Transport Benevolent Fund is

proud to sponsorthe Station Staff

of the Year award again this year.

With the help of the TOCs,Network Rail and other

employers throughout the public transport industry we

now have over 40,000 members.For just £1 a week a variety of

benefits are available to you, your partner and dependent children.

Join today!

0300 333 2000etd 00 38571

e-mail [email protected]

TransportBenevolentFund

The Transport Benevolent Fund (known as TBF) is a registered charityin England and Wales (1058032) and in Scotland (SC040013)

again this y awof the Year r

Station Sthe proud to spon

Benevolent Fun The Transp

ear ward

Staff nsor

nd is port

Join t

partner and dependent chbenefits are available to you

For just £1 a week a var now have over 40,000 mem

public transport indus employers througho

Network Rail and With the help of the

again this y

today!

hildren. u, your

riety of mbers.

stry we out the

d other TOCs,

ear.

www.tbf.ore-mail [email protected]

etd 00 380300 333 20

in England and Wales (1058032) and in Scotland (SC040013)The Transport Benevolent Fund (known as TBF) is a registered charity

rg.uk FundBenevolentTransport

rg.uk 8571

000

032) and in Scotland (SC040013) SC040013) (known as TBF) is a registered charity gistered charity

t

Network Rail is proud to sponsor the RailSta4 Awards 2011It’s your hard work – the individuals and teams within our industry – that’s helping us build a better railway for Britain.

From pioneering investment and development projects, to innovations that make everyday services faster, smarter and safer, we believe in recognising the excellence that’s enabling the transformation of our network.

That’s why we’re very proud to once again sponsor this year’s RailStaA Awards.

Helping Britain run better networkrail.co.uk

Network Rail is proud to sponsor the RailSta4 Awards 2013

From pioneering investment and development projects, to innovations that make everyday services faster, smarter and safer – we believe in recognising and celebrating the individuals and teams that are enabling the transformation of our network.

That’s why we’re very proud to once again sponsor the RailStaA Awards.

A better railway for a better Britain

networkrail.co.uk

PROUD TO SPONSOR

Rail Engineer of the Year 2013

Morson Group operates through two main subsidiaries, MorsonInternational and Morson Projects. Morson International is the UK’s No1 Technical Recruiter and provides specialist engineering and technical personnel. Morson Projects provides outsourced engineering and project management design services. To date,Morson Group has presence is 57 office locations across the globe.

W: www.morson.com

T: Manchester 0161 707 1516

E: [email protected]

T: London 0207 633 2040

PROUD TO O SPONSOR

Rail Engineer o

PROUD TO

of the Year 2013

O SPONSOR

: Manchester 0161 707 1516T

.morson.com: wwwW

: London 0207 633 2040T

E: [email protected]

3131www.railstaffawards.com

08457 90 90 90*

www.samaritans.org

In partnership with

A registered charity * Please see our website for latest call charges

Whatever you’ve done.

Whatever life’s done to you.

Call Samaritans.No pressure.

No judgement.

We’re here for you.

Samaritans/Network Rail Partnership are proud

er wue oe sesael* Pytirahd ceretsigeA r

pnI

ork Rail Ptwans/NeSamarit

sgerahcl lat csetar lo fetisbe

hti wphisrentrpa

oud e prship arartner P

NEwS


Maria backs Samaritans

Sea-bay sensation at SwanageA special six-car diesel passengertrain from London used the newlyrestored bay platform at Swanagefor the first time since 1966.

SouthWest Trains supplied trainand crew for the UK Railtoursexcursion special. The ‘PurbeckAdventurer’ used two three-coachClass 159

diesel units coupled together. Toaccommodate the six-coach‘Purbeck Adventurer’, the SwanageRailway fully restored and broughtback into use its secondary bayplatform No. 1 at Swanage station– a platform that will be used for a

two-year trial train service tothe main line at Warehamfrom 2015.

Says Swanage RailwayCompany chairman PeterSills, ‘It was a verysuccessful day andhopefully the first of many

with 370 passengers being broughtinto the Isle of Purbeck to enjoythe delights of Corfe Castle andSwanage – thereby giving a boostto local businesses. The SwanageRailway contributes in excess of£10 million a year to the Purbeckeconomy.’

Maria Fowler, (The Only way isEssex) recently helped raiseawareness of the Samaritans.

Having recently calledSamaritans herself, Maria has first-hand experience of the value oftalking. ‘Samaritans is a fantasticsource of support. I only wish I’dgot in touch earlier,’ says Maria.

‘Talking to them really helped. Itwas like having a non-judgemental friend, somethingthat is hard to come by in real life.It is so important that people talkabout their problems, and if thingsare getting too much, Samaritansis available, any time of the day ornight.’

Samaritans is working closely

with the railway industry – toreduce the number of railwaysuicides. People can get involved inthe campaign by simply texting‘SUPPORT’ to 70123 to make a £3donation.

Says Catherine Johnstone,Samaritans CEO, ‘It’s hugelyimportant to talk about yourproblems, and Samaritans is herefor anyone going through a toughtime.’

This year Samaritans celebratesits 60th anniversary. Founder ChadVarah took the first call to theservice on 2 November 1953.Samaritans is on 08457 90 90 90and in Ireland on 1850 60 90 90.Visit www.samaritans.org

From left with the train in the bay platform at

Swanage – holding a photograph of a steam

train in that same platform in 1966 – are driver

Matt Southern, who drove the train out of the

bay platform, guard Ian Valet and driver Rob

Thompson who drove the train into Swanage.

© A

ND

REw PM

wRIG

HT

work on preparations for HighSpeed 2 linking London,Birmingham, Manchester andLeeds powers ahead thissummer after the Court ofAppeal threw out furtherattempts to derail the scheme.

The government will beintroducing legislation inParliament later this year to takeforward HS2. Objectors usedseven broad areas to challengeboth the economics and theroute of HS2.

Says transport minister, SimonBurns, ‘By dismissing all sevengrounds of appeal and decliningto refer the case to Europe, this isthe second time in four monthsa court has rejected attempts toderail HS2. Parliament is theright place to debate the meritsof HS2, not the law courts, andwe will introduce the hybrid billfor phase one before the year isout.

‘I urge opponents not to wasteany more taxpayers’ money onexpensive litigation and insteadwork with us on making HS2 thevery best it can be. We continueto move forward apace with thecrucial business of getting thescheme ready for construction in2017 and delivering enormousbenefits for the country.’

HS2 clearslegal hurdles


what does the name MTR meanto rail passengers in the Uk? EvenLondon Overground customerscould be forgiven for not instantlyrecognising the name - despite thefact that the company has jointlyoperated trains in the capital forthe past six years.

In Hong Kong, however, MTR isking of public transport. Thecompany operates 46.4 per cent ofthe franchised public transportnetwork and last year reported anunderlying profit of £800 million. Ithas the combined role ofinfrastructure manager and trainoperator, both leading majorexpansion projects and taking onthe responsibility of moving closeto two billion people every year.

More than 30 years after openingits very first line in Hong Kong,MTR is continuing to build moreand is currently delivering fivemajor infrastructure projects inthe region, including the ExpressRail Link which will connect thecity with mainland China’s high-speed network.

Although Hong Kong remainsMTR’s stronghold, the company isgradually taking charge of moreand more railways around theglobe. In 2005, MTR decided toextend its reach, launching newbusinesses in Europe andAustralia.

The company now carries afurther 3 million passengers a dayin services outside of Hong Kong,with more in the pipeline.

Despite obtaining operatingcontracts in London andStockholm, MTR Europe chiefexecutive Jeremy Long, who wasapproached in 2005 to lead theEuropean arm of the business, saidthe company has ambitionsbeyond the UK and Sweden.

‘I think the next most interestingmarket to us is Germany,” saysJeremy, who began his career in rail15 years ago, co-founding GBRailways. ‘We’ve begun to look atGermany only more recently.We’ve yet to submit a bid, but it’sour intention that we do start tobid in Germany.

‘We were engaged in the processthat had started last year for partof the Berlin S-Bahn. That’s atender that the Berlin authorityintends to proceed with.

‘There is quite a significantpipeline of tenders in various otherregions and we’ll consider whichof those are the right fit for us.’

The Hong Kong effectAs well as adding new franchises

and concessions to its portfolio,MTR wants to get involved in moreprojects outside of Hong Kong.

MTR took over operations on theStockholm Metro in 2009, havingunsuccessfully competed foranother commuter railway in thecity. Now four years into itscontract, the company has

Marc Johnson reports

MTRLong vision


FEATURE

contributed to the Stockholm 2070study - a long-term strategy whichlooks at how the city’s metrosystem will need to grow over thecoming decades to accommodatea swelling population.

Says Jeremy, ‘We are clearlyfocussed on today’s railway anddelivering high performance onthe metro, but one of the keyaspects at the moment is the levelof crowding.

‘The level of growth the systemis seeing in inner-urban and metrosystems, not just on our systembut the city as a whole, is growingand we’ve simply tried to set outsome thoughts as to how the citymight cope, looking long term atthe growth needs.

‘We’ve known for some timethere are plans to extend thenetwork to increase its capacitybut also to develop a lot morehousing and commercial premiseswithin Stockholm.

‘We would welcome theopportunity to look at how wemight use what MTR calls its railand property model to partdevelop, part fund or get involvedin optimising rail and residentialproperty.’

To apply the Hong Kong model inEurope, Jeremy believes that it willmean working more closely withMTR operations around the world.‘It’s about drawing the skills andthe common expertise from thegroup. Not even just from HongKong,’ says Jeremy.

‘There are now common areas ofexpertise developing, for examplebetween us here in Europe andAustralia. There’s expertise thathas now shown itself and provenitself in some of the new startups,the big startups, that have beentaken up in mainland China.’

Going undergroundIn 2014, the winner of the

Crossrail concession is expected tobe announced and MTR iscompeting against Arriva,Keolis/Go-Ahead and NationalExpress for the honour. It is a winthat would propel the MTR nameinto the consciousness ofcommuters around the capital.

Speaking about the Crossrailproject, Jeremy said, ‘TfL, I think,are pleased with what LondonOverground has achieved. We havecontinued to see very highcustomer satisfaction and we’re

achieving high-operationalperformance that’s required. Outof that has come obvious interestin looking at the Crossrailopportunity which will be very,very important for London’stransport system.

‘I think it’s pretty clear that TfLwant Crossrail to be one of theworld’s best metro services. Werecognise that and so it will beabout meeting the challenge of theITT, that we expect to see in acouple of months’ time, andresponding to their bid early nextyear.’

“There is quite asignificant pipeline oftenders in variousother regions andwe’ll consider whichof those are the rightfit for us…”JEREMy LONG,CHIEF EXECUTIvE OFFICER,MTR EUROPE

© E

LLIN

OR

HA

LL

© M

TR

STO

Ck

HO

LM

will Dunnett has stepped up to take the helm atFirst Hull Trains.

Dunnett becomes managing director after twoyears as commercial director at First Hull Trains.Will plans to work closely with the existingexecutive team building on a major strategicbusiness review of First Hull Trains.

Completed in February 2012, Dunnett’scomprehensive review has been heralded as theblueprint from which record-breaking passengernumbers have been reached for the business. Hewill report directly to FirstGroup’s Rail Divisionmanaging director, Vernon Barker.

Will Dunnett started off as a marketingmanager at Plaxton Coach and Bus in 1995. He

joined Jarvis in 2000 becoming group sales andmarketing director. In 2005 he went to Q-Park ashead of marketing, staying two years. Then camefour years as marketing director at Superbreak.

Dunnett joined FirstGroup in 2011. First HullTrains, an open-access operator, provides 90 directservices a week to London, calling at Brough,Howden, Selby, Doncaster, Retford and Grantham.

Says Vernon Barker, ‘I am delighted to welcomeWill to his new role. He has shown excellentleadership in his role as commercial director overthe last two years during which time the businesshas gone from strength to strength.

‘He will lead the First Hull Trains team at a veryimportant time for the business, and for the city

as we look to consolidate First Hull Trains’position as the operator of choice on the EastCoast Main Line.’

Passenger numbers surged through 2012 byalmost 10 per cent. Exponential growth hascontinued through 2013.

will Dunnett heads First Hull Trains

Quattro Group has been boughtby its management team led byFinance Director David Callé.

Previous owner, John Murphy,has retained a significant stakein the business and has takenover as Executive Chairman.David Callé takes on the role ofChief Executive Officer.

Quattro Group was founded byJohn Murphy in 1989 and hassince grown into a £40mbusiness. Quattro is one of theleading suppliers of operatedroad rail plant in the UK and oneof the largest operators ofenvironmental machines.

Says John Murphy, ‘Having builtthe business over the past 24years, the time is right to furtherits development by passingcontrol to the managementteam. Over the past five years,this team have helped developthe business into the leadingRRV provider in the country andthey are perfectly placed tocontinue driving it forward.

‘The buyout is all aboutmaintaining the momentum ofthe organisation, and my newrole as Executive Chairmanmeans I will remain involved asthe management team takeQuattro Group on to the nextphase of its development.’

New CEO David Callé has beeninvolved with Quattro Groupsince delivering the acquisitionof BCL Rail Plant in July 2008, amove that doubled the size ofthe organisation. In May 2009David joined the Board asFinance Director.

Says David, ‘This buyout isabout continuity. The evolutionof Quattro Group began five yearsago with the acquisition of BCLRail Plant and the business hasdeveloped every year since. Weare delighted that John isremaining involved with thebusiness and excited by theopportunities that we have tobuild on the strong platforms hehas created.’

Quattro stages MBO


Tom Taylor is to join the Officeof Rail Regulation in October asdirector of Corporate Operationsand Organisation Development.

Cathryn Ross, currentlydirector of Rail Markets andEconomics, is leaving theorganisation in October to takeup the role of chief executive ofOfwat. Tom joins ORR from theDepartment of Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (Defra),where he is currently financedirector.

He led Defra’s contribution tothe 2010 spending review andalso spent time on loan to theOffice of Climate Change. Tomjoined the Civil Service in 1994and went on to work in theDepartment of Social Security -later Department for Work andPensions. He has an MSc inEconomics, a postgraduatediploma in public finance andleadership and is a CharteredPublic Finance Accountant.

Tom TaylorJoins ORR

Gareth Richardson has beenpromoted managing director ofTXM Plant Holdings.

Eight months ago TXM PlantHoldings acquired NetworkRail’s plant business, NDS PlantLimited. Renamed TXM Plant,Gareth Richardson became RailDirector and has managed theday to day business operationsever since.

Nick Barker, previouslyinterim Managing Director, hastaken on the role of chairmanof TXM Plant. Keiron Gallimoreand Laurence Seward continueas main board directors. BeforeTXM Gareth was operationsdirector with Paul John Plant. Hewas national rail manager atHydrex between 2002 and 2008.He joined Hydrex from BalfourBeatty Rail Plant where he wasroad rail manager.

Gareth enjoys quad bike ridingin Wales, clay shooting andcountry sports.

Richardsonheads TXM

Richard Brown has beenappointed as a non-executivemember of the Department forTransport Board by TransportSecretary, Patrick McLoughlin.

Brown conducted anindependent review of thedepartment’s rail franchisingprogramme in 2012 following thecancellation of the Inter City WestCoast franchise competition.Richard Brown was Chief Executiveof Eurostar from August 2002 toApril 2010 and was previouslyCommercial Director of National

Express Group plc, where he set upits UK Trains Division.

Currently the Chartered Instituteof Logistics & Transport’s RailProfessional Sector Ambassadorand Vice President he was also theInstitute’s President in 2008/9.

Brown conducted anindependent review of thedepartment’s rail franchisingprogramme in 2012 following thecancellation of the Inter City WestCoast franchise competition, towhich the government hasrecently responded.

DfT move for Brown

Paul Seller has returned to Lloyd’sRegister as TransportationDirector.

Mr Seller had been working forBombardier in Berlin as a directorof product safety andhomologation – the art of securingapproval certification for newproducts. At Lloyd’s Register Paulwill be responsible for overseeingthe growth of its consultancy andassurance services for the railindustry.

The business already holds abroad portfolio that extends acrossEurope, the Middle East and Asia.In the past year Lloyd’s RegisterRail has secured high-profileassurance roles on Crossrail,Etihad Rail and the extension ofthe Taiwan High Speed network.

Paul Seller has 26 yearsexperience of engineering andgeneral management within therailway sector and previouslyworked for Lloyd’s Register

between 2001-11, during whichtime he developed its independentverification and validationservices, managed its UK railservices team and was the globalBusiness Development Director forits services to the rail industry.

Paul will be based in Lloyd’sRegister’s central London offices atFenchurch Street. Lloyd’s RegisterRail is a team of rail industryexperts within the Lloyd’s RegisterGroup working to improve thesafety, quality and performance ofrailways across the world.

Seller’smarket

Andrew Pollins, Dominic Boothand Mark Phillips are joining theBritish Transport Police Authorityalong with Stella Thomas, whowill represent the interests ofpassengers in wales andCatherine Crawford, representingpassengers.

Crawford is a former ChiefExecutive of the MetropolitanPolice Authority, a post she heldfor 10 years. The new boardmembers will take up theirappointments from September foran initial term of four years. TheBTPA was established in 2004

Says Rail Minister Simon Burns,‘The calibre of these newappointments is extremely highand I look forward to seeing thembolster the work of the Authority,particularly when representingthose rail passengers.’

Andrew Pollins is currentlyDirector of Finance for LondonUnderground. Dominic Booth hasbeen the Managing Director ofAbellio Transportation Group since2007. Mark Phillips is currently theBid Director for National Express’sCrossrail bid, and has 26 yearsexperience in the rail industry.

Famous five join BTPA


PEOPLE NEwS

In Scotland Transport Minister,keith Brown, has launched adedicated British Transport Policeteam to patrol the Borders -Edinburgh railway project.

The railway police will workclosely with Network Rail and BAMNuttall, to keep the 30 miles ofnew railway free from crime. Theteam includes an inspector, asergeant and seven constables.

Says Inspector AngelaMcGregor, who leads the team,

‘At this early construction phase,the team is working with thosewithin the footprint of the majorproject to explain the role of BTP.

‘Officers are engaging withresidents, who have not had aworking railway in their area formore than 40 years, to addressany concerns they may have,make them aware of safetymeasures required as well asproviding essential security andcrime prevention advice.’

Police team for new railway

PEOPLE NEwS


Richard Rowland has beenappointed Performance Director atFirst Capital Connect as part of aninitiative to give Network Rail moreopportunities in the evening and atweekends to maintain and upgradethe track.

Richard has been with First Groupfor eight years, initially with FirstGreat Western before moving to FirstCapital Connect in 2009. With over25 years experience in the railindustry Rowland started his careerin retail and station managementwith British Rail. He rose to becomeCustomer Service Director ofThames Trains.

He has also been a member ofsuccessful franchising bidding teamsand was responsible for the sale ofthe Merseyrail Electrics franchise onbehalf of the Strategic Rail Authority.His more recent career has been inrailway operations and performancemanagement in First Group.

Operations Director JackieTownsend will continue to be

responsible for day-to-dayoperations but will have a new,specific role reviewing ways FCC canimprove services on the London toBrighton and Wimbledon loop southThameslink route.

Says Jackie, ‘We need to look athow we work together withNetwork Rail and Southern at timesof disruption, and improve theexchange of travel informationbetween train companies. The aimis for a seamless service between

both companies with thepassengers at the centre of ourdecisions.’

More train washing andadditional cleaners on trains willboost cleanliness this summer. Anemergency vehicle will be locatedat Brighton for driver managersand engineers to respond faster totrain faults. FCC is also fieldingmore customer service staff on thesouthern part of the Thameslinkroute.

Performance role for Richard Rowland

Arthur Leathley, genial head of communications at virgin Trains, isleaving to become communication director at the Department ofEnvironment and Climate Change.

Says Arthur, ‘This is a fantastic opportunity. Energy and climate changematter to every individual and every business. The task forcommunications is clear: to demonstrate that the UK has secure, clean,affordable energy supplies and to drive international action to mitigateclimate change.’

Arthur moves onJason Butterworth and AdamMcAllister have joined Macestrengthening the top team at thecutting edge consultancy andconstruction business.

Having previously worked for WSP,McNicholas, NG Bailey and Carillion,Jason Butterworth (left) has beenappointed Director of Design &Transportation. Jason played apivotal role in the growth of WSP’srail business including high profileprojects such as Crossrail BondStreet Station, West Coast Main LineElectrification and Thameslink’s

London Bridge Station. Adam McAllister (right)will take

the construction lead role for therail business working closely withNigel Cole. Adam joins Mace fromKier, having previously worked forBirse Rail and Alfred McAlpine.Throughout his career Adam hasgained invaluable experienceworking on projects such as theKing’s Cross Station RoofRedevelopment, Crossrail AdvancedWorks, West Coast MainlineUpgrade Projects and the recentredevelopment of Epsom Station.

Double Bill for Mace

Dominic Cheetham joinsNetwork Rail’s dynamic PR teamas deputy communicationsdirector from 9th September.

The former Sheffield Starreporter worked for BBC RadioSheffield and YorkshireTelevision. The news broke onthe nationally revered YorkshireDay – 1st August. After workingfor the press Cheetham wenton to work for YorkshireElectricity in corporatecommunications. At British Gas– Centrica – he wascommunications director.

In 2004 he joined Serco asDirector CorporateCommunications staying untilApril 2012. More recentlyCheetham was an associatedirector of Jalebi and ran hisown business, Red KiteReputation Management.

Dominic joinsNetwork Rail

Arthur Leathley (left) with David Taylor from Thales who climbed Kilimanjaro in aid of the Railway Children.

40 www.railstaff.co.uk40 www.railstaff.co.uk

CIRASThis August will see Paul Russellmark his first full year as the Headof CIRAS, the Uk Rail industry’sconfidential reporting and analysissystem.

The year has been an interestingone with many challenges and onethat has been used to shape thefuture of CIRAS. Here he explainswhat has been done to date andwhat he believes lies ahead.

On arrival at CIRAS back inAugust last year, Paul had justcompleted a four year journey asan Assurance Director in theTransport division of Serco. Herecalls, “This allowed me to workacross many diverse cultures.Introducing a competencemanagement system in the iconicDubai Metro was a year longproject and saw me staying in theUAE on and off over this period”.

Russell says this experience wasnew to him, with the companyhaving to recruit over 3000personnel from over 25 differentcountries. “It was an incrediblechallenge. We had to introduce acompetence management systemand apply it to over twentydifferent nationalities andcultures. Not easy”

However, Russell found that insome cultures, the management ofstaff can be different. “In the UKwe encourage staff to refuse towork via a Policy if they have beenasked by someone to carry out atask that may be in breach of therules or is inherently unsafe.

‘Some nationalities have adifferent approach to worker-manager relationship and somecultures will see their employeesfollow the instruction given tothem regardless of whether theyknow it’s wrong. I found thatstrange but once you know thecultural differences, you then haveto take that into account”.

Paul reflects, “Serco were

applying best practice in the UAEbut had to engineer it in a way totake into account all the diversecultures”. He had other projectslater in Australia and then inDelhi, India, which he said wasanother massive learningexperience.

Today Paul is much closer tohome and travel these daysexpands the width and breadth ofthe United Kingdom. “One of myfirst tasks was to engage with theCIRAS scheme subscribers at alllevels, from front end employeesto senior management”.

He continues, “I’ve not finisheddoing the rounds yet and still havemany stakeholders to meet withand engage. It’s important to usthat we ensure all levels of acompany understand CIRAS andhow the system operates”.

We have been busy re-emphasising what CIRAS is andwhat it isn’t. We aren’t awhistleblower and I would like tomake that absolutely clear, nor arewe an alternative reportingsystem.

But what we are is a safetyreporting system thatcomplements a company’sexisting safety reporting systems.Staff should report safety concernsinternally, always. However Iunderstand that in the complexworld that we work in, sometimesreporting internally can provedifficult, or indeed may have beendone but with no positiveoutcome.

Sometimes the margin betweenan accident occurring or not, is tooclose for comfort. I believe whatCIRAS offers is valuable andbeneficial to organisations in itsability to provide them with asafety net, a confidential route thatstaff can take, that in the majorityof cases, results in a positive safetyoutcome.

Fit for today, ready for tomorrow Paul Russell.

© S

HU

TT

ERST

OC

k.C

OM

INTERvIEw

www.railstaff.co.uk 41www.railstaff.co.uk 41

The alternative is that somethingunsafe remains in the systemwhich could result in an incidentoccurring. The cost of this can befar reaching and may not onlybring about financial loss orreputational damage butultimately it can result in injury oreven a fatality.

We offer a company that safetynet. Staff can ring our confidentialreporting line and we will, on theirbehalf, liaise with the organisationto help bring a resolution”.

Russell has slowly introducedchanges to how CIRAS operatesand initiated an independentreview of the scheme back inJanuary. This resulted in a numberof improvements being identifiedand some that he stresses arecritical to how CIRAS is perceived.

“Our Governance arrangementsare such that we have to betransparent in everything we do.We are a not for profit scheme andhow we operate and what it costsis as important to our stakeholdersas it is to us.”

Russell is looking at some radical

changes that would transform theway CIRAS is funded and operates.“I have a good team around me andsome seemingly impossible tasksnow feel achievable, but we have alot of work to do and delivering isalways what really matters.”

The biggest change to CIRASthough, is in the form of its newStrategy which was recentlyapproved by the CIRAS Committee.“This is why I came here” Russellstates. “The new Strategy allowsCIRAS to look at other transportproviders other than just heavyrail and offer the same serviceswhilst maximising the opportunityto learn.

This sits well with many of thecurrent rail providers, as several ofthem are already part of muchlarger owning groups with othertransport interests. However wemust always protect the scheme’sroots, rail, and effectiveGovernance ensures that.”

The Strategy is due for launch inApril 2014 but Russellacknowledges that there is muchstill to do before CIRAS is ready for

lift off. “We are undertaking twotargeted awareness campaignsacross rail in the latter part of2013. ScotRail, where CIRAS began,is helping us re-engage and get theright messages out to users of thescheme as well as the managers.

‘We are also in early planningstages with Greater Anglia andhope to roll out the same formatas we do in Scotland. What hasnow been termed “The ThreeCities Campaign” will take place inGlasgow, Edinburgh and Perth.

Russell, originally from Glasgowhimself, says, “North of the border

is going to be busy for us and wehave also just recently signed upnew light rail tram operatorEdinburgh Trams.”

CIRAS is certainly re-engagingand under Russell’s leadershiphas made a conscious decision toshift the perceptions of CIRASfrom a “whistleblowing” scheme,to one that supports learningfrom culture issues, accidentsand incidents by providing anadditional safety net mechanismand capturing events that maynot otherwise have beenreported.

Freepost CIRAS Text 07507 285887Freephone 0800 4 101 101

CallYour company is serious about health and safety.

They subscribe to CIRAS because it is part of their safety strategy.

They want your health and safety concern raised and resolved. Your best first action is to report it internally. Use all available channels. However if you need to speak with someone independent confidentially, call CIRAS.

TRIED REPORTING YOUR HEALTH & SAFETY CONCERN INTERNALLY? STILL CONCERNED? NEED AN INDEPENDENT AND CONFIDENTIAL ROUTE?...

“We offer a company that safety net. Staff canring our confidential reporting line and we will,on their behalf, liaise with the organisation tohelp bring a resolution”PAUL RUSSELL,HEAD OF CIRAS

Twenty six of England’s signalboxes have been given Grade IIlisted status by the Departmentfor Culture Media and Sport.

Network Rail is decommissioningmechanical signal boxes toconsolidate signalling into 12regional centres. Says HeritageMinister, Ed Vaizey, ‘Our interest ineverything to do with trains andrailways…is one of our mostendearing and enduring nationalpreoccupations.

‘Signal boxes are a big part ofthis….It is greatly to Network Rail’scredit that they have worked so

constructively with EnglishHeritage to bring this project tosuch a successful outcome.’

Installed from the mid-19thcentury onwards, signal boxesnumbered around 10,000 at thepeak of their use in the 1940s.Today fewer than 500 are still inuse by Network Rail.

Signal boxes were built in highlyvisible spots at stations or levelcrossings to an infinite variety ofdesigns, sometimes with beautifuldetailing and embellishment farbeyond what is needed forpractical purposes.

The boxes were constructed bothby specialist contractors like Saxby& Farmer and individual railwaycompanies, each developing theirown distinctive style. Many stillretain their original operatingequipment and have becomemuch loved local landmarks.

In the north of England, HebdenBridge Signal Box built in 1891, oneof only a handful of Lancashireand Yorkshire Railway boxes tosurvive in anything like originalcondition, has a time warp quality,where both it and nearby listedstation buildings still retain theiroriginal 1914 signage.

The East of England boasts wellpreserved boxes built for the GreatEastern Railway like the one atDownham Market, whichcomplements one of the mostattractive small stations in EastAnglia, and the wonderfullyelaborate example at Brundall

which was built in 1883 andunusually is built of wood blockscut to resemble stone.

At Totnes in Devon, the largesignal box, built to the GreatWestern Railway’s standard designused between 1896 and the 1920s,has what are in effect a series ofbay windows to give the signalmana clear view down the line andstriking contrasting blue brickwork.

With the removal of the originaloperating equipment, the buildinghas now found a new use as acafé. Totnes shows that, althoughthere can be issues with accessand location, decommissionedsignal boxes can sometimes berejuvenated. They have beenreused as cafes, museums or

holiday lets and, in some cases,moved to new locations, often onheritage railways.

Says John Minnis, SeniorInvestigator at English Heritage,‘We are delighted to be working inpartnership with Network Rail aspart of our National HeritageProtection Plan to seek out thebest examples of historic signalboxes up and down the country.

‘These are very special buildings,at one time a familiar sight on ourrailway system. Today’s listings willensure that many of these highlydistinctive designs, which were fullof character, are protected foryears to come providing a windowinto how railways were operated inthe past.’


Listed Statusfor signalboxes

Brompton Road tube station,which closed in 1934, has beenput up for sale.

The station was originallyopened in 1906 by the GreatNorthern, Piccadilly andBrompton Railway (GNP&BR) onthe Piccadilly Line, positionedbetween Knightsbridge andSouth Kensington. The buildingwas designed by Englisharchitect Leslie Green andsports his distinctive oxblood-red tiled facade and semi-circular first floor windows.

Tube stationFor Sale

Bournemouth West Junction signal box.

Skegness signal box.


Relaxed planning rules and a simplifiedprocedure for modest extensions to heritagelines are among the supportiverecommendations proposed by the All PartyParliamentary Group on Heritage Rail.

Another success story in Britain’s rail industryis the upsurge of interest in traditional railways.Heritage lines are growing in popularity and are

now worth £250m to the economy, according toa report by the All Party Parliamentary Group.

Over 100 heritage railways and tramwaysattract tourists and provide local employmentas well as valuable skills training andapprenticeships. Heritage railways provideemployment for over 3,700 staff nationally anda productive outlet for 18,500 loyal volunteers.

45 years after the end of steam on BR, over750 steam locomotives remain hard at work onheritage railways. More surprisingly, a total of520 steam charter trains - more than one a day- ran on the national rail network last year inaddition to the heritage lines.

Says Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest andChairman of the Group, ‘Britain pioneeredheritage railways and is unique in the extentand richness of its railway heritage. This reportis the first time the extent and success of theheritage railway movement has been fullyassessed and the results are impressive.

‘What has been achieved has been remarkableand with a few recommendations toGovernment and the continuing enthusiasm ofthe army of railway volunteers and the loyalstaff, we believe a lot more can be achieved inthe future.’

Emboldened by his recent interview inRailStaff, transport minister Simon Burns MP,said, ‘Britain has a great rail heritage and aswell as preserving an important aspect of thenation’s history, heritage railways also make animportant contribution in supporting tourismand local economies. We are looking closely atthe report and will consider its findings.’

Pictured: Mark Garnier MP delivering a copy of the report to the

Secretary of State Eric Pickles.

Top backing for Heritage Railways

vintage steam engine 52322 hasarrived at Ecclesbourne valleyRailway and this summer will bepulling passenger trains betweenwirksworth and Duffield.

Built in 1896, 52322 hauled trainsamongst the cotton mills ofLancashire. Based in Lees, nearOldham for much of her life, thelocomotive was purchased forpreservation in 1960 and is one ofthe most attractive examples of aVictorian locomotive in operationon Britain’s heritage railways.

52322 rests at Idridgehay on 19thJuly 2013. Photo: Andrew Fowler.

vintageSteam

Shed master heads NorthFormer king’s Cross shed master and legend amongrailway staff, Peter Townend, thought he would neversee A4s 60008 Dwight D Eisenhower and 60010Dominion of Canada again after they left the Uk forAmerica and Canada when they were withdrawn.

When he heard that both locomotives were returningto Britain as part of the Great Gathering at the NationalRailway Museum he just had to be reunited with them.Peter Townend looked after 19 A4s at Top Shed, thewidely used name for King’s Cross depot.

Peter, now a sprightly 87 year old, started his railwaycareer at Doncaster works in 1941 as a premiumapprentice. He took up the post at King’s Cross in 1956,describing the five years he spent at the depot as,‘Probably the hardest I have experienced but I am gladI had the opportunity to be associated with the depotin all its vicissitudes whilst steam traction was still atits peak on the Great Northern main line.’

Despite his fondness for steam Peter is a realist. ‘Theend was inevitable, people generally were notprepared to accept the dirt, grime and smokeassociated with steam traction and there were manymenial unpleasant tasks that had to be carried out inprimitive conditions at depots which few men reallywanted to do,’ he said.

Now living in Devon, Peter still travels around the UKto visit LNER themed events. Ironically, manysupporters of A4 designer Sir Nigel Gresley claim thatGWR, the initials of the Great Western Railway thatserved Devon until nationalisation in 1948, stand forGresley was right!

HERITAGE


This summer is much better thanthe last couple of years, but no-one can feel the same aboutrailway safety either here or inmainland Europe.

I must begin with the RailAccident Investigation Branch(RAIB) alert, (sadly not yetfeatured on Safety Central) of thecontractor working on a NetworkRail Infrastructure Projectssignalling job near Poole Station,Dorset. He is a very lucky man!

At 1030 on Friday 12th July hewas struck by a train butmiraculously escaped with onlyminor injuries. He was working ata line-side equipment cabinet 380metres London side of thestation. He collected someequipment and was walkingalongside the Up Line whenstruck a “glancing blow” frombehind by the steps of a five carClass 444 train travelling to Poole.

No lookout or?I am indebted to a reader for his

observations from an over-bridgeat Petts Wood Junction on theCharing Cross to Dover line. Thegang were on the Slow Lines withthe two Fast Lines open to traffic.When a train passed thesounding of the train horn wasnot acknowledged.

The gang appeared to havetaken my enthusiasm for theabolition of the use of lookoutswith flags, horns and whistles too

far. There was no sign of any formof protection at all as you can seein the pictures!

More instructions and rules?Last month I featured reader’s

comments under the heading“New Initiative Overload”questioning the quantity of newinitiatives and the lack ofinvolvement of track-workers.Back in 1993 Graham Ecclesproduced a report on tracksidesafety. Under the heaading “Rules,regulations and otherInstructions” he comments thatthese are; “produced bymanagement to protect itselffrom criticism, too many of themand written in language difficultto understand and open tomisinterpretation, never fittingthe local situation” .

His research revealed that over70% of those killed had neverbeen involved in a reportableaccident before and 72% of thosewere “compliant people who

would always try and find a wayof completing a task.”

He comments that working withthe adjacent line open to traffic“cost the lives of 12 people in thelast 10 years and that theintroduction of the red/greenzone concept or theimplementation of a speedrestriction on the adjacent linemakes little difference to theoutcome”.

The campaign that resulted wassuccessful. It relied on a tracksafety group drawn from all overthe railway but almost exclusivelyof front line troops. It had thepower to propose, reject orapprove ideas for safer working.

Supervisors and local engineermembers were respected bycolleagues and the reputation ofthe group meant that everyonewould be listened to when theyquestioned proposedimprovements.

My memories are that the mosteffective changes came from

track staff. Most important wasthe awareness and commitmentthat resulted due to the respect oftrack staff for the group.Consequently I have seriousreservations about theHeadquarters’ “Workforce Safety& Compliance Team” that hasproduced the “Adjacent LinesOpen” instructions forcompliance by August 5th.

Skills valued and peopletrusted?

Instructions, risk assessmentsand method statements etc. areall useless, unless there is acommitment from everyone. Siteaudits with a tick box pro-formaare not the way either. Visitingwhen least expected andlistening to track workers iscrucial.

Being seen to take on boardtheir concerns, do somethingabout them and returning tolisten again will result inimprovements. The enemies to

SAFETYColin [email protected]

™

FETYS FIRST

sponsored by

Near Fatal Accident at PooleAnd my concerns for the future

this are cynicism, disbelief inmanagement’s motives, short-cutculture and commercialpressures.

I question whether safetyconcerns are best addressed byheadquarters groups developing“better safer” ways of doingthings? Anyone charged withdoing so must spend at least athird of their time on trackworking with and listening totrack staff employed bycontractors and subcontractors aswell as the infrastructure owner.

The biggest mistake is takingaway the opportunity for skilledpeople to interpret instructionsand use their expertise. Too manyare saying their skills are nolonger valued so they just do asthey are told!!

Fatal accidents around EuropeThere have been dreadful

accidents in France, Spain andSwitzerland. At Bretigny-sur-Orgein France the train derailment ofthe rear part of the train wascaused by a loose/detachedfishplate that ended up jammedin the crossing. Six people losttheir lives and 62 were injured.

Around 80 people were killedwhen the high speed trainderailed on a curve in Spainwhilst travelling at over twice thepermitted line speed of 80 kph (50mph). It is unclear whether or notthe driver was still talking to theTicket Collector on a mobilephone as his train derailed.

I am interested having beeninvolved in the investigations intotwo train derailments on the 50mph restricted Morpeth Curve(both of which were caused byspeeding).

The head on collision inSwitzerland between twopassenger trains was unexpectedgiven that country’s pride in itsrailway system. The lesson is thatthere is no room for complacency.

From what we have heard anyof these accidents could havehappened here. Unless we domore our turn for a seriousaccident may come. Recent RAIBreports and alerts make soberingreading.

RAIB alerts and reportsOn May 31st an accident

occurred at Balnmore automatichalf barrier level crossing at 0305in the morning. Although the

track over the crossing was underpossession, the half barriersremained in the raised positionand the road traffic controlsignals were not operating.

As a Road/Rail Vehicle towing atrailer with weed sprayingequipment went over the crossinga car was forced to swerve toavoid hitting it and ran intoadjacent metal fencing resultingin minor injuries to its twooccupants.

At Butterwood level crossing onTuesday 25th June this year an“incident” occurred at 0735. Thebarriers were in the up positionwhen a single car Class 153 unitcrossed. A power supply failurethe previous evening had disabledthe automatic barriermechanism.

The showing of a flashing redrather than steady white lightshould have warned the traindriver but this was missed. Thedriver realised the barriers wereup when he was 160 metres fromthe crossing travelling at 40 mphbut was unable to stop in time.RAIB are investigating bothincidents.

The derailment of a freight trainat Shrewsbury on 7th July 2012makes disturbing reading. Theleading bogie of the 16th wagonderailed all wheels as it passedover a set of points at just 14mph. The derailed train ran on for65 metres causing “significanttrack damage”.

The cause according to RAIB –“points were unsafe due to wearand damage”. The report statesthat the defects were neitheridentified by inspection norprevented by maintenance!

It goes on to say that the regimein place at ShrewsburyMaintenance followingmodification of the standard in2008 was “inconsistent” and thatregular detailed inspectionsceased in 2008, leaving onlyweekly patrolling and 13-weeklysupervisor’s inspections.

RAIB has published their reporton the incident that happened atBradford Interchange at 6-50 amon the morning of March 25th2012. As a road/rail dumper wasbeing lowered back onto its roadwheels it ran away for 380 metresdownhill coming to rest when ithit the platform 1 buffer stops.Thankfully the operator managedto jump clear.

The report concludes that thedumper was not fully braked as itwas removed from track and addsa concern about “the level ofsafety assurance when modifyingroad/rail vehicles.”

Recent level crossing incidentsstrengthen my concerns thatlocal delegation and goodrelations with neighbours to therailway need to be reinforced.

On Sunday July 14th a Class 170DMU collided with a car towing atrailer on the user workedcrossing known as Jetty Avenue18 near Woodbridge in Suffolk.The train was travelling at slowspeed and there were no injuries.The crossing provides access to aboatyard and mini warning lightswere being installed at the time.

Two days later at ButtingtonHall, a user worked crossing nearWelshpool, the Birmingham toAberystwith/Pwllheli train hit atractor and trailer on a privatecrossing used by a farmer for fieldaccess. Two agricultural workers,the tractor driver and just two ofthe train’s 140 passengers were

slightly injured. The farmer had brought in a

harvesting contractor who hadappointed an attendant for thecrossing. The RAIB say the“system of work had brokendown”.

There was nothing wrong withthe user’s approach to crossingthe railway using Lindridge FarmLevel Crossing near Bagworth inLeicestershire on March 22ndlast year. He asked and receivedthe signaller’s permission tocross but as he walked to openthe far gate he saw a trainapproaching.

The signaller’s workstationcommissioned over two monthsearlier on, showed the crossing inthe wrong place and a trackcircuit was wrongly named.

The use of track workers skillsand enthusiasm all need to beimproved. The plethora ofinstructions has brought theindustry to the point where “justdo what I tell you” is the generalmessage. Now surely everyonecan see that it will never work?


It’s quick, it’s easy to use, it’s cost effective.

The QuickBand® armband system from Safeaid is very versatile and effective. The range covers all competencies and

now includes the NEW combination inserts offering even better value for money.

CALL FOR YOUR

FREE TRIAL TODAY*

The QuickBand® armband with interchangeable inserts.

Inserts can also be made to order.

IN STOCKFOR NEXT DAY

DELIVERY

NATIONWIDE

*Offer applies to companies only. Please contact us for more details.

Call 023 9225 4442You can view and buy all of our products online at safeaidsupplies.com

HEALTH & SAFETy


The Night Riviera has celebratedits 30th birthday.

Cornwall’s night sleeper link withLondon was re-launched as theNight Riviera on 11 July 1983.Currently it is run by First GreatWestern and runs in bothdirections between LondonPaddington and Penzance. Since2008 passenger numbers on theNight Riviera have risen by 10%

year-on-year. The first sleeping car train on the

Great Western Railway wasintroduced at the end of 1877 fromLondon Paddington to Plymouth.First Great Western, which has runthe service since 2006, providedpassengers with a specialanniversary cup cake and a glassof Camel Valley Brut fromCornwall.

Night Riviera celebrationsA former Silverlink 313 has taken the first of a series of test runs in itsnew role as a Network Rail test train.

Train 313121 has joined the mellow-yellow fleet as a laboratory train forthe ERTMS programme. The train will be used on the ERTMS NationalIntegration Facility (ENIF) when it opens later this summer. Alstomrefurbished the unit at its Wembley depot and fitted its own train-borneERTMS kit, along with CCTV, workstations for engineers, extra batteries topower the equipment, a kitchen, and, in a notable first for a class 313, atoilet.

Says Gary Porter,Network Railprogramme director,traffic managementand ETCS, ‘ERTMS willplay a vital role inchanging the way weoperate our railway.Crucially, our facility atHertford and this Class313 will give us agreater depth ofknowledge of thesystem as we prepareto roll it out on thenetwork.’

Test train on trials

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin visitedStewarts Lane depot on 30 July to view the firstSouthern class 377/6 to be delivered.

The visit coincided with the anannouncement that the contract withBombardier to supply a further 116 vehicles hasbeen confirmed in a deal worth £180 million.News of the new contract will provide a boost toworkers at the Derby plant.

Reflecting on this Mr McLoughlin told

RailStaff, ‘I think Bombardier has put it behindthem. There was disappointment and I sharedthat disappointment, but the amount ofinvestment we’re putting into the railwaysmeans that there are more orders comingincluding the order for Crossrail trains that willbe determined next year. I think there’s everyopportunity for Bombardier to compete.’

The class 377/6 is the latest in a series thatdates back to 1997. The design philosophy

behind the Electrostars stems from railprivatisation when train builders had theopportunity to ditch a made for measureapproach and opt for an off the shelf designthat was a non-specific, go almost anywheretype of train.

Improvements in the 377/6, which makes useof the class 379 body design that is compliantfor crashworthiness and tunnel operation,include the use of traditional windows asopposed to ribbon glazing and there is a slightdifference in body profile at floor step level. Thetrain also has new software for the Orbitamaintenance management system.

Before the first class 377/6 can enterpassenger service it has to accumulate 1,500miles of trouble free running and undergocompatibility tests to ensure that it can operatewith earlier variants of Southern class 377s. Thefirst unit is expected to enter service inSeptember, with the whole fleet ready for theDecember timetable change.

McLoughlin hails Stewarts Lane star“…more orders comingincluding the order forCrossrail trains that will bedetermined next year…there’s every opportunity forBombardier to compete…”TRANSPORT SECRETARy PATRICk MCLOUGHLIN


ROLLING STOCk

A factory on rails will slash yearsoff the time it takes to electrify theGreat western main line.

Network Rail is working withGerman manufacturer, Windhoff,to build a High Output PlantSystem (HOPS) special train to dothe job. With 235 route miles toelectrify between Maidenhead andSwansea the new 23-vehicle trainwill be able to work west, buildingthe railway electrical infrastructureas it goes.

Adjacent lines will remain opento traffic – albeit at reduced speed.HOPS carries enough supplies andequipment to avoid having tobring anything to the trackside onlorries. Staff can be picked up atstations en-route. The train dividesinto sections or consists. Theseinclude pile drivers and vibrators, aconcrete mixing unit, equipmentthat will help raise 30 masts anight and an electrical consist.

The individual portions of thetrain – the consists – can bedetached and set to work inseparate sections of the project.Each consist will include two MPVs(multi-purpose vehicles) with fulldriving cabs, powered by MTUpower packs, which can be drivenat 60 mph off-site.

On site driving cabs will allowthe train to be driven very slowlyin possessions, such as wheninstalling contact wire. Around 200people will work on the HOPSproject overall, employed byoperator Amey, and recruited fromalong the route of the line.

Factory trainto electrifywest

First Capital Connect’s fleet ofClass 365 trains is to betransformed with fresh interiorsand better accessibility as part of a£31m investment.

Eversholt Rail Group leases thetrains to FCC and is funding thework, which will be carried out byRailcare at its Wolverton plant.Also included in the project is amajor overhaul of the trains whichwill ensure their continuedreliability. The first new-look trainis expected to enter service at theend of 2013.

Says David Statham, ManagingDirector, First Capital Connect,‘Everything our passengers tell usshows that a clean andcomfortable travellingenvironment is important to them.This major investment in one ofour biggest fleets of trains will giveus just that, a brighter, new-looktrain cabin with better informationand better facilities for people with

disabilities.’ There are 40 four-car 365s in the

First Capital Connect fleet. Theywere built by ABB at York from1994 to 1995. Says Mary Kenny,Chief Executive Officer, EversholtRail (UK) Ltd, ‘We are delighted tobe funding this investment in theClass 365 fleet and helping toimprove the journey experiencefor FCC’s passengers. We believe

refurbishment is an efficient wayof bringing benefits to both thetrain operators and users.’

Eversholt Rail Group ownsapproximately one third ofBritain’s stock of passenger trains,some 3,500 vehicles, and morethan 1,000 freight wagons andlocomotives. Over the past twodecades, it has invested more than£2bn in rolling stock.

wolverton makeover for 365s

Staff at Litchurch Lane in Derbyare celebrating Bombardier’snew contract to supply a newfleet for Southern.

The new contract is worth£180m and is for the supply of116 coaches, an improvedversion of the Electrostar. SaysSouthern Managing Director,Chris Burchell, ‘We haveworked extremely hard to be aneffective delivery partner to theDepartment and we are verypleased to have reached thisimportant milestone in theprocurement of new rollingstock. This will provideessential capacity to allow ourindustry to grow.’

The new carriages should beready in 2015 and the contractprovides for an extra 140vehicles if needed.

Southerncomfort forBombardier

Regional Director Robbie Burns

with the piling rig on the HOPS.

Windhoff

project manager

Peter Formann.

Network Rail has won a GreenApple Award for protectingbiodiversity during the building ofa new flyover at Heathrow Junction- part of the Crossrail project.

The new flyover will allowCrossrail and Heathrow Expresstrains to join the Great WesternMainline towards Paddingtonwithout causing disruption toother services. The Green AppleAwards are presented each year toorganisations which carry out

projects that enhance theenvironment.

A number of wild orchids, newtsand fish, and a metre long eel, wererelocated at the junction. The awardwas presented to Clare Rice,Network Rail construction manager,Dave Jones, designer Jacobs’ seniorecologist and Elwen Tasker,contractor Carillion’s environmentalmanager at the award ceremony. Photo: Dave Jones, Clare Rice,

Doreen Lawrence OBE and Elwen Tasker.


NEwS

Green apple for flyover

Over 180 rail apprentices havejoined main line operations teamsafter completing the first year oftheir training at HMS Sultan.

On-the-job training takes overnow as the apprentices continuewith Network Rail’s 3-yearadvanced apprenticeship scheme.Lewis Ashton, 21, has recentlyjoined the track team based inYork.

Says Lewis, ‘I heard about thescheme on Facebook and I joinedbecause I wanted job security andto learn a real trade. The wholepackage was really attractive;pension etc and the qualificationsare transferable so it seemed asecure career to get into.

‘There’s a good balance betweenyounger and older apprentices andits good that we’re all in ittogether. I’m itching to get out onthe track and start really working -I can’t wait to get stuck in.’

The first year of the award-winning three-year scheme isspent at Europe’s largestengineering training facility atHMS Sultan in Hampshire. There,apprentices specialise in track,

signalling, telecoms andelectrification and plant. Duringtheir second and third years theywork on the rail network’s frontline, gaining vital experience asthey train to become maintenancetechnicians.

Throughout this time theyregularly return to HMS Sultan forfurther courses and training to addto the experience gained on therail network. Says Phil Verster,Network Rail’s route managingdirector, ‘With the huge challengeswe face maintaining anincreasingly busy network weneed a highly skilled anddedicated workforce, so I’m verypleased to welcome Lewis and allour new apprentices onto therailway for the first time.

‘Our experienced engineers willfurther the apprentices’ on-the-jobtraining, teaching them all theyneed to know to becomeinvaluable members of theNetwork Rail team. They can beproud to be part of a companywhich helps move four millionpeople and millions of tonnes offreight every day.’

Sultans of swing

Tilting beer sensationCelebrating its continuing successin the west, virgin Trains hasteamed up with Macclesfield’sRedwillow Brewery to launch abrand new beer called Tilting Ale.

The beer will be served on boardtrains. Enthusiasts claim to bealready acquainted with theconcept. Virgin describes the beeras light, hoppy and arriving righton time with a clean bitter finish.‘We’re always looking at ways toimprove the choice and quality ofthe food and drink on sale fromour on-board shops,’ says VirginTrains Onboard ProductDevelopment Manager Rob Taylor.

‘Real ale is growing in popularityand we’re delighted to have beenable to partner with a brewery soclose to one of our stations.’RedWillow was founded byCaroline and Toby McKenzie in2010. ‘We’re really excited to havebeen given the opportunity byVirgin Trains,’ says Toby.

‘We are striving hard to introducereal quality ale to a much wideraudience and we couldn’t have

picked a better company to workwith. It’s particularly pleasing forme as prior to setting upRedWillow with Caroline, I used totravel from Macclesfield to Londonevery day with work. The serviceonboard was, and still is, second tonone so to be chosen to be part ofthat is a big feather in the cap forthe brewery.’

Keyline is the industry’s leading supplierin the UK for TERRAM Hydrotex™We have the full range of TERRAM Hydrotex™ products in stock andavailable for 24/7 deliveryFeatures:

Network Rail approvedgeocomposite alternative to sandblanket Prevents sub-grade erosionand the upward movement of clayand silt particles Makes installation quicker andeasier, no need for excavation anddisposal of fill materials Network Rail PADS No PA05/05451

Registered

TRACKSIDE TUNNELLING PLATFORMS STATIONS TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT TRANSPORT LINKS SITE SAFETY

www.keyline.co.uk

JB70188 11/12

Contact the Keyline National Rail office for more information on: 0844 892 2677 or email [email protected]

Terram and Hydrotex are registered trademarks of Fiberweb Geosynthetics Ltd

JohnDennis


The enduring popularity of rail hero, JohnDennis, was amply testified by the huge crowdpacking into All Saints Church, kemble to thestrains of the Moody Blues for a Service ofThanksgiving on one of the hottest days of theyear.

John died of cancer on the 8th July, aged 65.Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne he readGeography and Economics at Bedford College,London. In 1970 John Dennis joined British Railas a graduate trainee on the London MidlandRegion.

Later he worked in Stoke on Trent and wasinstrumental in setting up TOPS - the TrainOperating Processing System. As BR moved tosectorisation – a series of rail businesses –John was appointed customer servicesdirector of the newly formed RegionalRailways.

Switching from the passenger sector Johnmoved to Railfreight Distribution, BR’sinternational freighting arm charged withrunning freight trains through the ChannelTunnel as soon as it was opened. Later Johnjoined BR’s privatisation unit.

By now his knowledge of the emergingrailway was much sought after and he went towork for the newly created Railway Forum. Theobject was to give the industry a unified voice.The Railway Forum really hit its stride underAdrian Lyons, ably supported with facts, figuresand dark detail by John.

In December 2003, he was tempted away toATOC as Communications Manager where hisdeep knowledge of the railway was muchappreciated and deployed in the developmentof initiatives to promote the industry’s successand growth.

It was John who worked out the industry wascarrying over one billion passengers a year andgave RailStaff one of its most memorable frontpages. John Dennis was a firm supporter of theRailStaff Awards from their inception.

Away from work John was a committed familyman. Together with his wife Sue he raised threefine daughters, Rachel, Sarah and Rebecca. InKemble he was a strong supporter of the localRotary Club and deeply involved in village life.

John was a keentraveller. He quartered Europe annually usinghis railway priv-passes and later travelled onthe Trans Siberian Express pushing on acrossChina to Hong Kong. Family holidays wereplanned meticulously and John was a keenwalker and cyclist.

At his retirement Diana Lucas of RSSB spokefor many when she said, ‘People like Johnmake up the backbone of the industry. He wasthere to offer a considered judgement andprofessional eye on proceedings whilemaintaining a sense of humour. I speak for allwhen I say we will miss him a great deal.’

Adds RailStaff editor, Andy Milne, ‘Many of usdrew upon his knowledge and wise counseldown the years. Whatever mystery heunravelled was always tempered with humourand laughter. He had a true Geordie sense of theridiculous. I think I shall miss that most of all.’

Rachel and Ian’s wedding was brought forwardand staged in the hospice just a few days beforehe died. The Wedding Service itself went aheadat All Saints as planned the following week.

Quite by chance on leaving thechurch, family and friends were comforted tohear a steam train thundering throughKemble. As it cleared the station the engine letgo a long shrill whistle, seemingly in salute.

Knight inWhite Satin

Crossrail(see inside back cover for details)

RailStaff.co.uk

November 2009

Issue 144For even more news and jobs, see www.railwaypeople.com

Railway staff face a troubledChristmas as rail hero John Dennissteps down after a long andsuccessful career on Britain’srailways.Always at the forefront of progressJohn is leaving his high powered po-sition at ATOC where he was Corpo-rate Affairs Manager. Throughouthis career he has been a force for uni-ty and cohesion in the rail industry.John, 62, has taken early retirementfollowing a bout of bad health andjoint inflammation – unkindly nick-named ‘Dennis Elbow’ by friends. Originally from Gateshead, JohnDennis joined British Rail as a grad-uate trainee in September 1970 aftera blissful youth during the swingingsixties. His biography, ‘From WhitleyBay to West Kemble,’ throws littlelight on a notoriously private charac-ter. After joining BR in the MidlandsJohn went on to work at Stoke onTrent and was involved in introduc-ing TOPS, Train Operating ProcessingSystem – designed to improve perfor-mance. This gave him a thoroughknowledge of train operations both inthe freight and passenger sectorswhich stood him in good stead in theyears ahead.

Following BR’s move to sectorisation– creating a series of rail businesses- John was made head of CustomerRelations for Regional Railways. Thecustomers concerned were quite of-ten local authorities of bewilderingpolitical complexity. Howeverwhether talking to loony left councilsor be-whiskered colonels John wasable to draw with equal dexterity onhis Gateshead street-cred and Novo-castrian sophistication.Happily he was instrumental inthe introduction of Pacer trains, class-es 140-144 and thanks to his pioneer-ing work with TOPS was uniquely po-sitioned to keep track of where theyended up. John ‘Cascade’ Dennis re-mains a mythical figure in PTE histo-ry to this day. He then joined Railfreight Distribu-tion – the BR Board’s internationalfreight business – to prepare for theopening of the Channel Tunnel.Thanks to his efforts BR had a fleet ofadapted French locos, the BB22000sand a pool of over 3,000

UIC–compliant wagons ready to rollthrough the tunnel the moment itopened. The passenger service hadto wait another year. ‘John was thereal euro-star,’ reflected a colleague.So popular did he become with theSNCF that cheminots at Calais com-missioned a new version of Blondie’shit single ‘Denis, Denis.’ His enthusi-asm for the Tunnel and long distancefreight was so infectious civil servantsnicknamed him ‘Dennis the Venice.’Following the opening of the Chan-nel Tunnel John was drafted in tostrengthen the Board’s beleagueredprivatisation unit. Childhood experi-ence running a fruit and veg stall inSeaton Carew was to prove invalu-able.John’s unique powers of reconcili-ation and dialogue were called onagain following privatisation when hejoined the newly formed RailwayForum as Communications Director.Tensions between bus companieswere promptly lowered by the Pacerpioneer. Pacers were designed alongthe lines of a bus. All I did was takeoff the ‘Shop at Binns’ signs John oncesaid with customary modesty.In December 2003 John went toATOC at the launch of an upbeat pro-industry initiative that he has donemuch to sustain. Since joining ATOCthe industry has won backing for theelectrification of the Great WesternMain Line, opened the network’sfirst high speed rail link, High SpeedOne, and started work on Crossrail. John is planning a trip to Australia.He remains a keen long distance cy-clist – a habit that dates from an ear-ly paper round in Byker. Mr Dennis al-ways spends a week every year trav-elling by rail through out Europe us-ing BR priv passes. Companions re-mark that he seems equally at homehaggling in the grand souk in Istan-bul or reading Goethe in the beer gar-dens of Augsburg. Says Diana Lucas of RSSB, ‘Peoplelike John make up the back bone ofthe industry. He was there to offer aconsidered judgement and profes-sional eye on proceedings whilemaintaining a sense of humour. Ispeak for all when I say we will misshim a great deal and wish him wellfor the future.’

Rail Shock AsJohn Dennis Quits

Quite by chance on leavingthe church, family andfriends were comforted tohear a steam trainthundering through Kemble.As it cleared the station theengine let go a long shrillwhistle, seemingly insalute…


OBITUARIES

Colin NashTelling a Thousand Stories

Colin Nash was born inwolverhampton on 5th June 1941.

His father was a locksmith.Upon leaving Art College Colinjoined Chloride Batteries as anengineer, working inPeterborough. After being maderedundant in the late 1980s hemoved to Uppingham andsought a complete change ofcareer.

Colin was determined to getinto photography which hadalways been his hobby. To thisend he telephoned Sal Sheul ofBAPLA (British Association ofPicture Library Agents) and sheput him on to Milepost, where hewould find the job satisfaction hewas looking for. A keen beerdrinker Colin was noted for hisown home made brew.

Colin Nash died suddenly atMilepost 92½ on 3rd July. Sincejoining the company in 1991 hedevoted his life to theorganisation supporting itsmandate to promote the case forrailways. A keen photographerhimself he readily identified withthe quality of Milepost’s picturelibrary.

At Milepost Colin Nash wasable to give unfettered attention

to railways by allowing hisbeliefs and instincts to mature.At his interview to join thecompany in 1991 Colin statedthat he was the closest thing toperpetual motion they wouldever see and he spent the nexttwenty years proving it.

He never stopped for lunch orcoffee breaks and it was totallysymptomatic of the man that athis passing he was working withdirector Colin Garratt on anupbeat feature for RailStaffmagazine.

Colin Nash’s love ofphotography made him adefinitive Picture LibraryManager. Over the years hedespatched thousands of imagesfor use in every conceivable way.His own photography progressedsuperbly at Milepost and hebecame a crack railwayphotographer in his own right ashis work on successive years ofthe Virgin Trains Calendar clearlyproves.

The Garratt/Nash partnershipwas to exert a tremendousinfluence on the development ofrailway photography - their workhas never been bettered.

Eventually there was nothing at

Milepost to which Colin Nashcould not turn his hand;cataloguing, computer andkeyboard skills, admin, accounts,design, marketing, railwayhistory and world railways today.He was a superb handy man tohave around from bookshelves toblocked drains, the answer to theproblem lay in his voluminoustool bag.

Says Colin Garratt, ‘Colin Nashwas the ultimate continuity man– he could have made a fortunein the city. He could have sixdifferent jobs sizzling away indifferent parts of the studiowaiting for him to hone his skillson each with his unique blend ofalchemy, reliability andmasterful precision.’

Perhaps his greatest attributewas the cheerful optimisticdemeanour he projected to theoutside world. Nothing was toomuch trouble. He epitomised the‘can do’ philosophy. He was agood man and an honest onewho captivated everyone hecame into contact with. Therailway industry has lost a greatsupporter. Colin Nash died at theage of 71 and is survived by hiswife Anne and daughter Abigail.

© M

ILEP

OST

921 ⁄2

| RA

ILPH

OTO

LIBR

ARy

.CO

M

© M

ILEP

OST

921 ⁄2

| RA

ILPH

OTO

LIBR

ARy

.CO

M©

MIL

EPO

ST 9

21 ⁄2 | R

AIL

PHO

TOLI

BRA

Ry.C

OM

CAREERS


www.trsstaffing.com

Rail and Infrastructure VacanciesTRS Staffing Solutions are international engineering recruitment specialists. We recruit for major National and International projects for leading National Rail organisations, main contractors and consultancies. Currently we have vacancies for the following:

+44 (0)20 7419 5800 or email [email protected]

Please send your CV or if you’d prefer to discuss a role in more detail and in con!dence, please contact one of our specialist consultants on

Rail, Infrastructure & Construction

Signal Design Project Engineer (Signalling & Telecoms)London - £350 - 500/dayMainline Project Experience, IRSE Licence or relevant signalling experience

Cost EngineersLondon- £35 - 60K or £300 - 400/day Utilities, Airport or Rail experience with a Civils background

Rail Project Managers, Site Agent & Sub-AgentsRegional- £35 - 55K or £250 - 400/dayExperience on rail Civils works – Bridge refurbishments, embankments and Earthworks

P3e PlannersLondon, Swindon & Midlands - £300 – 400/dayExperience of Network Rail projects, Primavera experience essential

E&P/OLE EngineersLondon/Manchester/Birmingham - £35 - 60K or £350 - 500/dayWorking on major new projects

Principal & Senior Civil/Structural Design Engineers - CRELondon, Manchester, Warrington & York - £40 - 60K or £350 - 450/day Rail experience including station, platform & bridge designs

Due to telent Rail’s continuing success and planned growth, we have a number of newand exciting projects and are looking to recruit new talent who will make a realcontribution to our vibrant team.

We deliver

• Control Systems – SCADA and MICA• Operational Communications, including GSM-R, RETB and Trackside Telephony• Station Information Systems, including Help Points, Customer Information

Systems, PA Systems and CCTV • Asset Maintenance at over 1,300 stations, including Asset Condition Monitoring

With our dedicated team of specialists, we are uniquely positioned to service thischallenging and evolving rail market.

Roles we are looking to fill:• Senior Project Managers• Project Managers• PICOTs• Engineering Managers• Project Engineers• Software Engineers• System Design Engineers• SCADAEngineers

What you will get in return:• Salary commensurate with

experience• Competitive benefits• 33 days leave• Career development• Company personal pension scheme• Flexible working• Great team atmosphere

Who we are looking for:• Relevant experience• Excellent communication skills• Team working and interpersonal skills• Self-motivation and initiative

Application details:

To apply for our positions, please sendyour CV to [email protected]

telent offers a wide range of network and communication services across a varietyof industries, from telecommunications and transport to utilities and the emergencyservices. We currently employ 1,500 employees and operate from our main sites inWarwick, London and Chorley.

telent has a history of delivering solutions to mainline rail, light rail and the undergroundfor over 30 years. From specialist consultancy, detailed system design, installation andcommissioning, to long-term asset support and round the clock maintenance.

telent is an equal opportunities employer, committed to diversity and inclusion.

RECENT WINS - SCADA, RETB, ACM, PA, CCTV, MICA & MAINTENANCE

Recruiting Nationwide

telent is growing

Great Opportunities



CAREERS

Production Manager Salary depending on skills & experience Acton Depot, Horn Lane, Acton, London, W3 0BP

Owned by Deutsche Bahn, Europe’s largest freight haulier, DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd is one of the fastest growing private rail companies in Europe, providing a range of freight haulage, engineering, maintenance and IT services.

An exciting opportunity has arisen at Acton, which is one of the busiest and diverse locations within DB Schenker Rail UK. We are looking for a customer focused manager to lead and manage a designated group of train drivers, Groundstaff and Engineers to deliver a high performing work force. This role is both challenging and varied, with a real emphasis being placed upon ‘real time leadership’, it will appeal to someone who is prepared to challenge the unacceptable and potential candidates must possess a sense of urgency and have the ability to meet set timescales.

Duties of the role will include but not be limited to the following: Daily line management of Traincrew; Assessments and compliance; Leadership and management skills; Investigate accidents, incidents, poor performance and record sickness occurrences; Attend incidents and derailments assuming the role of RIO (Rail Incident Officer) including on-call commitment; Cost control and budgetary controls and team coaching/methods of instruction training.

The ideal candidate will be qualified in Rules & Regulations within the rail industry and have at least 3 years management experience in a field operations role; have a proven track record of leading successful teams; management of safety critical operations; managing customer traffic flows, and services bought in from others and management of KPIs and Service Level agreements with internal and external customers.

For more in-depth information on this position please log onto our website at www.rail.dbschenker.co.uk/careers

The interview process will consist of a competency based interview and individual presentation. The successful applicant will need to comply with DB Schenker Rail UK’s policy on drugs and alcohol.

To apply, send your CV and covering letter (including your notice period) by email to [email protected].

Closing date for applications is Friday 30 August 2013.

DB Schenker Rail is an equal opportunities employer. www.rail.dbschenker.co.uk

Documents

RailStaff August 2013