RailStaff February 2014

Nationwide Track Renewals& Plant Hire in CP5

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RailStaffIssue 195 | February 2014 www.railstaff.co.uk

THE MOST POPULAR PUBLICATION IN THE UK RAIL INDUSTRY

RECORD RUN FOR CROSSRAILAndrew Wolstenholme OBE, Crossrail Chief Executive, has praised tunnelling teams for their hard work as he announced that 70% of the tunnel construction phase of the project is now complete. January saw new train tunnels completed and the spectacular breakthrough of three tunnel boring machines.

PAGE 4

AVENTRA - FAITH IN THE FUTURECrossrail contract goes to Bombardier Page 6

RAIL INTERIORS - THE INSIDE STORYShaping a UK Rail Interiors cluster Page 12

SIMON KIRBYJoins HS2 as Chief ExecutivePage 8

IN THIS ISSUE

Andrew Sumner

t. 01228 882 300e. [email protected]

Gary Newton


Dave Richardson


Rail Contracts Manager

Estimating Manager

Plant Manager

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February 2014 | RailStaff | 3COMMENT

Often the railway industry finds itself ahead of the curve in terms of social and environmental progress, albeit unwittingly.

Environmentally the railway is recognised as a clean, green, transport mode. Similarly people realise HS2 will reduce reliance on roads and unite north and south as no other piece of social engineering could.

Socially, too, the railway always found it hard to recruit staff and is in fact run by men and women from a hundred countries overseas. The industry is the richer for the diversity of its staff, as these pages attest.

This social scope extends to passengers. Many elderly people, unnerved by motoring, take the train as do young people. Moreover railways attract people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Campaigns like Thumbs Up are making it easier to communicate with these valued customers.

Lest anyone think the railway is just a soft hearted industry always ready to help out – and this is a powerful argument as any cursory examination of RailStaff Awards makes clear – think again.

With all passengers the railway makes no judgement as to age, intellectual ability or physical make up. Do you have a ticket? That’s good enough for us. The railway, in public at least, is run

by hard headed business types. HS2, Crossrail, electrification will be good for trade, creating wealth and rewarding staff who invest time and talent in this unique industry.

Except that’s not the end of the story. Designers at Bombardier consulted neighbouring railway staff and customers as they developed the Aventra, going far and wide just as colleagues do every day, identifying with the people the industry serves.

Assuredly the point is the industry has managed to marry its commercial dynamic with the oldest of morals: that of looking after your neighbour.

Ultimately a successful United Kingdom will answer the needs of all of its peoples. This will not be achieved by subsidy and intervention but by promoting an economy that catalyses the talents of all who belong to it. The emerging rail industry represents a coming together of social need and economic necessity.

Looking after your neighbour makes corporate and compassionate sense. Once again the railway is unwittingly demonstrating the practicability of this the most ancient of social imperatives.

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Love thy neighbourPublisher: Paul O’Connor

Editor: Andy Milne

Production and design: Adam O’Connor

Senior Reporter: Jonathan Webb

Writer: Marc Johnson

Track Safety: Colin Wheeler

Advertising: Asif Ahmed

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Training Matters - March RailStaffTraining and education are the sure paths to success, not only for individuals entering the rail industry, but for railways as a whole. The skills gap could prove a real constraint as more major projects come on line and Crossrail, HS2 and Electrification need ever more trained staff. Call Chris or Paul on 01530 816 440.

Ten Point PlanRailStaff will report monthly on each one of the ten point plan issues, with the Executive Owner’s specific comments.

Class 700 unveiledRail Minister Stephen Hammond has unveiled a full scale mock up of the Class 700 train. The first of the new Thameslink fleet will enter service in 2016.

The emerging rail industry represents a coming together of social need and

economic necessity.

16 20

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NEWS4 | RailStaff | February 2014

Tunnel Boring Machines Jessica, Ada and Sophia delivered an unprecedented month of burrowing progress in January. Says Andrew Wolstenholme OBE, ‘The tunnelling teams deserve tremendous credit for their safe and efficient progress in constructing this major new railway under London.

‘The end is now in sight for Crossrail tunnelling with over 70 per cent of the new rail tunnels now constructed. The next major element of the Crossrail programme will now begin with the fit-out of our tunnels and stations.’

Crossrail’s western tunnels are now structurally complete with tunnelling machine Ada reaching the end of her journey at Farringdon on 24th January.

Ada set out from Royal Oak near Paddington in August 2012.

Over in southeast London, TBM Sophia has completed Crossrail’s first tunnel beneath the Thames, arriving at the North Woolwich Portal on 29th January, having started south of the river in Plumstead last August.

TBM Jessica has also completed her tunnelling journey from Pudding Mill Lane and broke through into one of Europe’s largest mined caverns beneath Stepney Green on 3rd February.

In addition, tunnelling machine Elizabeth made a spectacular entrance into the new Crossrail station at Whitechapel on 20th January on her journey from Limmo Peninsula to Farringdon. Her sister machine Victoria also broke through into Stepney Green on 30th January.

Civil constructionCrossrail has also finished civil

construction of the first of two new Bond Street station ticket halls. The western ticket hall on Davies Street is five storeys underground. Engineers are now building a passenger tunnel to connect the Crossrail ticket hall with the existing underground station.

The 150 metre long, 1,000 tonne machines create 6.2m diameter tunnels by installing precast concrete segments in rings to line the tunnel. They are pushed forward by hydraulic rams and positioned using lasers and Global Positioning Systems.

Ada’s 6.9 kilometre journey has been particularly challenging for engineers, successfully navigating a complex web of Tube lines, building foundation piles and infrastructure up to 30 metres beneath

central London. This included passing less than a metre above the operational Northern line at Tottenham Court Road.

More than 72,000 pre-cast concrete segments have been used to line the western tunnels and about two million tonnes of earth has been excavated, destined for a new RSPB nature reserve at Wallasea Island, Essex.

Olympic championTunnel Boring Machine Jessica is

named after Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill CBE. TBM Ada is named after Ada Lovelace, who was one of the first computer programmers while Phyllis is named after Phyllis Pearsall who created the London A-Z.

Elizabeth and Victoria are named after Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria. Sophia is named after the wife of Marc Isambard Brunel who built the first tunnel under the Thames. An eighth TBM, Ellie, named after Paralympic gold medalist Ellie Simmonds OBE will be launched soon.

TBM Jessica will be taken to Limmo Peninsula for reassembly where she will construct the new Crossrail tunnels between Limmo and Victoria Dock Portal. The drama continues as the project moves from tunnelling to fit-out.

A Little Bit Of Jessica

Eastbound cavern at Stepney Green awaits arrival of TBM Jessica 3rd February 2014.

February 2014 | RailStaff | 5NEWS

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The Crossrail project has reached the half way stage – on time and on budget. Prime Minster David Cameron joined apprentices, staff and Mayor of London Boris Johnson to check out progress on Europe’s largest infrastructure project. ‘There was a time when some said that building a huge tunnel deep below the streets of London was a mad plan that would do nothing for our economy,’ said Boris Johnson.

‘But as this awe-inspiring project hits its halfway point – we can see how wrong the naysayers were. Crossrail will revolutionise east-west transit in the capital, making London an even more attractive place to visit and invest. This project is not just good for London, it’s good for the whole of Britain, responsible for 55,000 jobs across the country,’ he went on.

Tunnel chiefs were delighted with a recent thumbs up from the National Audit Office. ‘The sponsors (TfL and DfT) and Crossrail Limited have so far done well to protect taxpayers’ interests, by taking early action to stop costs escalating and, during construction, tightly managing the programme,’ said Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office.

Crossrail will add 10% capacity to London’s rail network. It will serve 38 stations, connecting Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east via central London.

Seven 1,000 tonne tunnelling machines have bored over 29 kilometres of new 6.2m diameter tunnels under London with an eighth machine due to launch soon. Construction is also advancing on the ten new Crossrail stations and on works above ground west of Paddington and east of Stratford. 10,000 people are currently working on Crossrail, including over 280 apprentices.

Mad plan makes sense

Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor of London Boris Johnson during a visit to a Crossrail construction site underneath Tottenham Court Road.


In the near future, Londoners travelling on Crossrail will have the satisfaction of knowing their train was conceived, designed and built in Great Britain.

Under the £1 billion Crossrail contract, 65 Aventra trains will be built at Litchurch Lane in Derby and maintained by Bombardier staff at a new depot in Old Oak Common.

The new energy efficient trains are 200 metres long, lighter, faster and capable of carrying 1500 people each. They owe much of their design to the input of experienced railway staff across the industry .

A global centre of excellenceThe head of Bombardier UK, Dr.

Francis Paonessa, praised the efforts of staff who helped design the new train. The Aventra, he said, had been designed and developed in the UK. Winning the contract was, he went on, ‘A credit to the efforts of our entire workforce in the UK, including our 1,600 strong Derby-based

design, engineering and manufacturing team who form a global centre of excellence for the rail industry.’

A new generationAventra’s original design dates from

well before the ill-fated Thameslink bid. Undaunted, designers at Litchurch Lane set about refining their plans for a new generation of top performing passenger-friendly trains. The 100 strong team at Derby was funded by Bombardier, the Aventra sign above the door a steadfast statement of faith in the future.

Using industry-wide contacts and railway staff at almost all of Bombardier’s locations, the design team sat down to work out the ideal train for the market.

Says Jon Shaw, Bombardier’s head of engineering, ‘We have engineers who have been designing UK trains

and building them for years. And that’s something we feel is unique….. we’ve also got depot engineers from Strathclyde to Surrey, all over the place, all looking after trains in the field.

‘How are they performing? Is there something we can do better there? So that was how Aventra was reborn. We took the opportunity to go around and talk to the market and to our customers.’

Jon added, ‘We’re extremely fortunate that they’ve willingly given up a lot of their time to do that.’ The Aventra is a result of the combined thinking of a

generation of railway men and women – including customers, suppliers and producers.

Derby celebrates 175 years in the railway business this year. The first workshops opened in 1839. As the news sinks in and railway staff at Litchurch Lane prepare for production, the future for British train building looks bright once again.

The first trains for Crossrail will be ready by 2018. Not for nothing are the new trains called ‘Aventra’. The name, Aventra, comes from the French: l’avenir – meaning ‘the future.’

Aventra – Faith in the Future

As railway engineers and staff battle to stabilise flood-damaged infrastructure across the network Trish Johnson, regional director of the Institution of Civil Engineers South West, has called for greater investment in protecting Devon and Cornwall’s rail links.

Says Johnson, ‘In the winter of 2012/2013, we saw the railway line into the south west cut off by flooding at Cowley Bridge... We have seen catastrophic damage at Dawlish, resulting in Devon and Cornwall effectively being cut off from the rest of the country.

‘The railway route into the south west was constructed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1840s when flooding of this severity was not a common occurrence. It is time to react to our changing climate and invest in our railway connections.’

Rail engineers are carrying out initial assessments of the damage at Dawlish. Pictures of the washed away railway grabbed headlines as Britain suffered one of the wettest winters on record.

Johnson Urges Sea ChangeIn keeping with a practice set

up by David Higgins, the new Network Rail chief executive will be meeting staff face to face this spring.

Mark Carne, who takes over as CEO on 1st April 2014, will be attending a series of ‘Business Briefings’ for up to 10,000 Network Rail staff during April and May. The roadshows will be staged at 11 locations including Glasgow, York, Milton Keynes, Woking, Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Swindon.

The Business Briefing is an annual event that updates railway staff on the business. Each conference will host between 200 and 600 Network Rail staff. Says Rebecca Harmer of Network Rail, ‘These briefings are our main corporate event for employees, providing the opportunity for anyone from across the business, including front line staff, to ask a question directly to the leaders of the organisation. This helps create conversation around the business in order to work together

towards common goals.’ Mark Carne joined Network Rail

on 6th January 2014. Originally from Cornwall, Carne studied engineering at Exeter University and is married with three children. He joins Network Rail from Royal Dutch Shell where he was chairman of Dubai and Northern Emirates Region.

Network Tour for New Chief

PEOPLE8 | RailStaff | February 2014

New HS2 Chairman, Sir David Higgins, has moved swiftly to expand the top team at HS2 Ltd.

Simon Kirby has been appointed Chief Executive – Construction. Simon joins from Network Rail where he is Managing Director, Infrastructure Projects.

Says David Higgins, ‘As I start my tenure as chairman of this essential project that will free up much needed capacity on our crowded railways, I am extremely pleased that we have secured Simon to run what will be the biggest infrastructure project in Europe, and one of the biggest in the world.’

Over the last ten years at Network Rail Simon Kirby has overseen the largest investment in railways for a century as the industry expands to meet demand. Kirby is credited with helping transform Network Rail’s relationship with its suppliers.

Before joining Network Rail in 2003 Simon was involved in land and naval weapons system projects including the Trident Nuclear Submarine Programme. He was managing director of BAE Systems shipbuilding business before becoming managing director of the BAE Systems Type 45 Prime Contract Organisation.

Simon holds an MSc in Engineering Business Management and is a fellow at both the Institute of Civil Engineers and the Association of Project Management. He is a board member of the Major Projects Association, NSARE, chairman of IUK Client Group and a member of the Government Construction Industry Strategic Advisory Council.

Simon will join HS2 Ltd in June and

become CEO in September. Current HS2 Chief Executive, Alison Munro, will continue in her role until September when she will become Managing Director of Development to oversee the passage of the Hybrid Bill through parliament and the development of Phase Two of the project.

Simon Kirby joins HS2

Hima-Sella’s finance director, John Blackwell, has moved into the managing director’s role at the Stockport-based company.

Blackwell takes over from Ian Wright who remains a full-time director and executive chairman. John Blackwell heads a strong team with Paul Alliott continuing as Engineering Director, Rail Systems. As part of its strategy to deepen its involvement in railways Hima-Sella joined the Rail Alliance in January.

Says Ian Wright, ‘John is ideally suited to take over the role of leading the business, now in its 40th year of trading, and to shape the future development of Hima-Sella. John’s wealth of experience as a proven financial leader coupled with his extensive management skills put him in an excellent position to fulfil this task.’

John Blackwell has a degree in Economics from Bradford University.

Blackwell takes top spot at Hima-Sella

Douglas McCormick, managing director of Atkins rail business, is joining the board of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering as the campaign to expand the industry’s skills base steps up this year.

McCormick, who has a masters degree in Project Management from Herriot-Watt University, is joining the academy as a non-executive director. He has also joined the board of the Institute for Collaborative Working. McCormick joined Atkins in 2007 and was previously commercial director at Trans4m Ltd.

Says Douglas McCormick, ‘Attracting the next generation into engineering is of paramount importance to the industry so that it can continue delivering world-class railways. I look forward to working with NSARE by pro-actively promoting the benefits of a career in rail and up-skilling the workforce.’

NSARE role for McCormick

Swanage Railway continues to grow and has now appointed Simon Hanney as Head of Sales and Marketing, a new post.

Mr Hanney moves to the Isle of Purbeck railway this March. Simon, who hails from Dorset and has a background in sales, is currently the General Manager of the award-winning Epping Ongar Railway (EOR). Simon was also a volunteer and seasonal employee at Swanage in the late 1990s

and early 2000s. Says Richard Jones, General Manager

of the Swanage Railway, ‘We are absolutely delighted that Simon has agreed to join us and I very much look forward to working with him, and wish him every success in this important and challenging role.’

New step for Simon Hanney

February 2014 | RailStaff | 9PEOPLE

Julie Carrier is to head WSP’s fast growing rail business.

Previously programme director at Amey, Julie was also engineering director at Colas Rail Ltd. She has previously worked for Corus Rail Consultancy.

A graduate trainee at CEDG she has an engineering degree from Bradford University. At CEDG she worked on high profile projects including the Edinburgh–Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), and Crossrail.

Says head of infrastructure at WSP, Duncan Symonds, ‘Julie brings with her a reputation for strong leadership, collaborative working, extensive knowledge of the industry and strong client relationship ethos, all of which sits well with our vision to deliver the right solution for our clients, not the most obvious solution.

‘You can only push the barriers when you have the very best talent and that’s what our strategy has been over the last year or so - recruiting the cream of the crop in the industry and harnessing it to provide outstanding services for our clients.’

WSP move for Julie Carrier

Joanna Whittington takes on a leading role at the Office of Rail Regulation as the new Director of Railway Markets and Economics this spring.

Whittington will join the ORR on 3rd March 2014. Responsibilities include reviewing track access charges and helping maximise the efficient use of existing capacity on the rail network.

An economic consultant specialising in transport, Joanna Whittington has also served as ORR’s Director of Economics and Finance leading on the first periodic review in 1998. She subsequently joined the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) in 1999. Most recently at Ofgem she was responsible for regulation of the wholesale gas and electricity markets.

Says ORR Chair Anna Walker, ‘Joanna will be a welcome and complementary addition to the ORR board, strengthening it with her rich knowledge and expertise of the markets and regulation. We very much look forward to working with

her to help grow and improve Britain’s railways.’

Joanna Whittington takes over the role of Director of Railway Markets and Economics from Cathryn Ross who left the ORR late last year.

Turn again

John Larkinson moves to a new job at the Office of Rail Regulation as director, economic regulation.

An economist by trade, he joined the rail regulator in 2005 from the Strategic Rail Authority. New responsibilities include monitoring Network Rail against the challenges of the next five years set out in ORR’s 2013 periodic review.

John will also work closely with ORR’s newly appointed director of railway markets and economics, Joanna Whittington, on the development and preparation of the 2018 periodic review.

Economic regulator

Keyline has appointed Kieran Griffin as its new managing director.

‘We will continue to pride ourselves on the high standards and great value we offer to our customers. Our dedicated Rail Division also continues to grow in significance and we expect a very fruitful and successful 2014,’ says Mr Griffin who joins from Keyline’s parent company, Travis Perkins, where he was Commercial Director.

Kieran joined the company as a management trainee 19 years ago. Last year saw Keyline expanding its rail services. Father of four, Kieran, is a keen West Bromwich Albion supporter.

New role for Kieran Griffin

RAIL ALLIANCE10 | RailStaff | February 2014

log on to www.railalliance.co.ukemail [email protected]

or call 01789 720026.

Join the Rail Alliance nowRail Alliance membership startsfrom just £500 per year

To celebrate the unsung heroes of the Rail Sector, the Rail Alliance was asked to put together a mixture of members’ products to show the diversity that exists in the rail sector.

It was important to us to show how our members had tackled the existing challenges, kept their heads, and developed their products through the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) into production and onto commercial success.

The display took place between 27 January and 7 February 2014 and saw a mixture of exhibitors reflecting those capable of designing, prototyping and producing concept demonstrators as well as those who had fully commercialised products.

We were keen to find members’ products and capabilities that reflected as many of the TRL as possible as well as highlighting genuinely innovative products (whether at the concept demonstrator stage or actually in production).

The exhibitors included the following: Creactive Design, DePe Gears, FT Transformers, GLS Coatings, h2gogo, iLecsys, PreCast Advanced Track, Revaluetech, Southco and Westermo.

We hope to repeat this event in the future and highlight the achievements of our members. Whilst it would be wrong to single any one exhibitor out, the reason for me doing so for FT Transformers is simply to highlight how they have benefited (recently) from

the Regional Growth Fund. This injection of £100,000 considerably enhanced

their product and enabled them to work with the knowledge base (in the form of Bourneville College) – a great example of the different ways that government can offer assistance to SMEs.

Probably no surprise then that this level of technical brilliance saw Richard Bradley of FT Transformers winning the coveted Signalling and Telecoms Engineer of the Year at last year’s Rail Staff Awards – itself an award sponsored by fellow exhibitor at the BIS display, Westermo.

Rail Alliance Members on Display at BISS-Norton & Co Ltd(Leading scrap metal recycling merchants in the UK exporting worldwide with depots in Liverpool, Manchester and Southampton) www.s-norton.com

HIMA SELLA Ltd(Market leader in “engineered solutions” for safety, control and automation applications in the oil and gas, petrochemical, rail, steel and power industries. Current services include completely integrated systems, panel building, sub-assemblies, product development and on-site support. Over 40 years’ experience in designing, installing, commissioning and maintaining complex safety and control systems related to the rail industry) www.hima-sella.co.uk

h2gogo Industries Ltd(Independent design, research and development company focused exclusively on manufacturing, selling and developing products which provide measurable and authenticated improvement in vehicle emissions and potential fuel efficiency. h2gogo’s Engine Carbon Clean solution reduces emissions, improves performance and enhances responsiveness in just 30 minutes) www.h2gogo.com/www.enginecarbonclean.com

Rosehill Rail(Manufacturer and supplier of rubber level crossing systems around the world) www.rosehillrail.com

New Members

Peter Dickson (left) of iLecsys and Colin Flack (right) of the Rail Alliance brief the Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP (centre) Minister for Business and Enterprise and Minister of Energy on the benefits of iLecsys products.

Rail Alliance Members display their products at BIS.

February 2014 | RailStaff | 11FEATURE

The need to consider safety in every aspect of building, maintaining and operating Britain’s railway is clear and at the start of 2014 this focus on safe working began in earnest at the Derby Conference Centre.

On January 23, Carillion brought together more than 30 rail industry suppliers of different sizes and disciplines to demonstrate the common approaches and range of technology that will be keeping workers safe in the New Year.

The catalogue of products encompassed everything from gloves and goggles to a new wireless detection system currently being developed for the rail industry.

As always, the event provided an opportunity to have a play with some of the new safety devices entering the market and several that are already approved and in use.

Sound barrierRentavent, with the help of

an amplifier and decibel meter, demonstrated the benefits of its Soundex enclosures. Put simply, Soundex is a type of foam pad, the biggest of which forms a huge sound barrier designed to stick to exterior fences and absorb a large chunk of site noise. Ultimately, the aim is to help contractors foster friendlier relationships with the communities they work within.

CCTV systems supplier Inside Out Security and Time-lapse Production was promoting its growing time-lapse video service, playing video packages from a number of projects it has already documented. One of these was the careful deployment of a new tram bridge over Nottingham station as part of the NET Phase 2 project.

Safe by designDotted amongst the widgets and

gizmos were four of the UK’s leading engineering consultancies - Arup, Atkins,

Tata Steel and TPS Consult. Rather than manufacturing safety solutions, their role is to try and take risk out of a project entirely.

The ‘Safe by Design’ principle aims to make sure that those who draw up the plans consider the safety issues contractors could face. But it goes a step further. For a major station refurbishment like Birmingham New Street, it is about considering both the risks of keeping a station open during a major redevelopment and the safety issues that remain after completion for those maintaining the new station.

As well as trying to incorporate safety solutions into designs, the aim of the initiative is to improve communication so that contractors are made aware of the risks associated with designs and plan accordingly.

CommunicationGood communication between project

partners was not only the basis of one of the innovations on display by surveying equipment supplier SCCS but one of the common threads running through the exhibition. The EZiCAT i700 Locator uses GPS to map the location of services and provide a more accurate picture of the network of pipes and cables beneath a site.

As well as playing an important part in the early planning stage, communications systems also help ensure safety on site. DBD Communications demonstrated a series of innovations, including its new Apollo multi-user headset system which can connect three to four users as opposed

to the two of its predecessor, Athena. Managing director David O’Connell

said the company was currently experiencing a major growth period, having seen its rail business rapidly develop in the last 18 months.

Schweizer showcased its own range of track warning systems and a potential new entrant to the rail industry, Intellicone, demonstrated a new solution it is hoping to develop for the industry. Currently in use on the UK’s roads, Intellicone is a system of ordinary-looking traffic cones that use sensors to create a safe working zone, which if breached, sends out a warning.

Fencing solutionsHowever, not all safety devices are so

complex. The role of temporary fencing and hoardings is fairly anonymous but without it there would be open access to live sites and a hazardous mingling of heavy equipment with the unwitting general public.

Blok N Mesh has supplied temporary hoardings to Crossrail and King’s Cross and its fencing is also in use on other rail sites around the country. Within sites fencing solutions are making other fairly common areas of risk safer.

MK Engineering Services supplies trailer barrier systems designed to reduce the significant number of preventative injuries that occur when people fall and jump from vehicles during unloading.

Another exhibitor, Skill Fast, has developed a new site limit barrier system, which has only recently received Network Rail approval, that

replaces traditional fixing mechanisms with a clamp and allows much faster installation times - up to 200 metres of barrier can be erected in around 14 minutes.

Treating health like safetySafety will remain on the agenda

going into the spring, with the Rail Safety Summit on April 28 at the Royal College of Physicians, Regent’s Park, London. However, the event on January 23 pointed to growing trends in the discussion surrounding rail safety.

2014 looks to be the year occupational health issues demand more of the floor. Martin Thornton summed up this shift in focus as the need to begin ‘treating health like safety’ while checking visitors for high cholesterol and blood pressure at Carillion’s health check stand.

Just encouraging safe working practices is no longer enough, company’s have a duty of care to promote good health within the workforce. Partnerships such as the one between Network Rail and Carillion are beginning to deliver on this.

The rail engineer was also in attendance, handing out the latest issue but also meeting with many other companies, who perhaps did not get a mention above, such as Collis Engineering, Anderton Concrete, MegaTech Projects, and a great team from Selectequip.

We would also like to congratulate Carrilion on a very well organised and supported event, especially organiser James Steele, who never stopped looking after everyone. Well done.

More safe working in 2014

Report by Marc Johnson

© INSIDE OUT TIMELAPSE PRODUCTIONS

RAIL ALLIANCE12 | RailStaff | February 2014

The Rail Alliance with Coventry University is holding a conference, ‘Rail Interiors : The Inside Story’ 6th March 2014.

This event will aim to explore the importance and needs of the rail interiors sector, look at the latest thinking on rail interiors and, from this, formalise the creation of a Rail Interiors Cluster.

Rail Interiors - The Inside Story will help you get onboard with this step-change in rail and enable you to:• Have the opportunity to influence

the shaping of a UK Rail Interiors Cluster.

• Gain exposure to 1st tier rail companies.

• Network with other key players in the rail sector.

• Access funding programmes.• Prepare for Innotrans in Berlin in

September 2014• Understand the R&D challenge.

Key speakers from the rail industry will be sharing their experience and thoughts on the future of the interiors sector including: • Adrian Shooter, former Chairman of

Chiltern Railways• Andrew Everett, Head of Transport

at Technology Strategy Board

• Will Rogers, CrossCountry Trains. TBC

• David Clark, Future Railways - Enabling Innovation Team. TBC

• Jason Aldridge, Managing Director of Arrowsmith Engineering Ltd, will talk about the merits of collaborative working and supply chain development giving comparative examples from the Coventry and Warwickshire Aerospace Forum (CWAF).

• Colin Flack, CEO of the Rail Alliance, will be chairing the event.

For more information or to register please visit the Eventbrite page at railsinteriorsconference.eventbrite.co.uk.

Rail Alliance to work with BISThe Rail Alliance will be working

with BIS to deliver its Sector Challenge Mentoring Fund for the rail sector. Before Christmas, we entered the BIS Sector Mentoring Challenge Fund (SMCF) competition for matched funding (50%) to deliver well-needed mentoring support to UK-based SMEs looking to develop or enhance their footprint in the rail industry as suppliers.

Thousands of small businesses are set to receive expert help to grow their

business as the successful providers of the £2.6 million Mentor Challenge Fund were announced on 29 January 2014.

Thirteen projects will share £1.27 million of Government funding which has been more than matched by industry for a total investment of £2.69 million. It is expected this will help to sustain and create over 200 jobs, increase skills levels in participating firms and generate increased sales in excess of £7 million.

The projects cover ten different sectors including creative industries, life sciences and manufacturing and will provide mentors to ambitious company bosses in these industries.

Launching the Mentor Challenge Fund during his visit to the Gloucester Engineering Training Group, the Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said: “Growing a business is hard work and we want to do everything we can to support ambitious entrepreneurs. The best source of advice for businesses comes from others in their field who have been through it and can offer practical, trusted advice.’

The £305,000 project will run throughout Financial Year 2014-2015 and will be delivered by the Rail

RAIL INTERIORS: THE INSIDE STORY

February 2014 | RailStaff | 13RAIL ALLIANCE

Alliance. Importantly, this activity is core territory for the Rail Alliance and it is something we have carried out with distinction since our inception. The award of this funding means that we can directly assist many more companies with a more detailed and substantial level of support than ever before.

In particular, this activity will help those companies who have appointed Business Development Managers (BDMs) to develop action plans to better place their company’s goods, products and services in the rail market.

Quite often that BDM ‘force’ is just one person appointed to ‘go after rail’ or, not unusually, to go after ‘transport’ and, more often than not, the ‘knowledge’ for rail in particular can be in short supply.

Importantly, this programme is not aimed at providing marketing support – more to provide a form of toolkit for the BDMs to better understand the needs and requirements of the rail sector and to provide them with the knowledge that will help them to better

understand the sector and its own peculiarities.

It will address issues such as supplier quality assurance and how that fits in with the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS) and how they can best determine their particular route to market.

The scheme goes live 1st April 2014. In typical Rail Alliance style we will be seeing where ‘quick wins’ can be established and we will be keen to hear from UK-based SMEs looking to diversify into the rail market and, quite possibly, UK-based SMEs looking to return to the industry.

Once complete, the legacy of the scheme will be imprinted into that company’s DNA such that it will be able to deploy that mentoring toolkit from within and thereby provide a tailored, organic mentoring capability.

Moreover, for some companies, this programme will be the beginning of a route for success which we can start and others, such as the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), can knit in some of their extant – highly regarded – provision.

Exporting should not be far from a UK SME’s mind and here, the linkage provided by the United Kingdom Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) Passport to Excellence scheme, would form an ideal adjunct to the initial mentoring provision.

Naturally, we will be working with other sectors to see how best we can develop the Rail Mentoring Toolkit.

This is a brand new offering from government and one for which we have been campaigning some time.

It will be interesting to see how its provision can be added to the support that SMEs already enjoy from, amongst others, MAS, Chambers of Commerce, UKTI schemes, not forgetting linkage to, and with, the ever-growing landscape of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

Rail Interiors:Thursday, 6th March 2014

The Rail Alliance, in collaboration with Coventry University, is proud to

offer you a unique chance to explore the latest thinking on rail

interiors and showcase your innovation.

WHEN:

March 6th 2014 - 08:00 - 16.30

WHERE:

Coventry University Engineering and Computing Faculty

REGISTRATION and a detailed programme will be available soon.

In the meantime, please contact The Rail Alliance at

[email protected] for more information.

www.railalliance.co.uk

The inside story

CHAIR:Colin Flack, Chief Executive OfficerThe Rail Alliance


Work on restoring the Flying Scotsman, making it fit for main line operations, will continue after doubts about the feasibility of the project were resolved.

The good news from the National Railway Museum follows a comprehensive examination of the

loco’s side frames and cylinders. Says Ian Riley, Director of Riley & Son (E) Ltd, which is progressing the work, ‘The

frame condition has been found to be acceptable and while the cylinders still need a lot of attention these are relatively straightforward problems which can be readily fixed by our specialist engineers.

‘We are delighted that the restoration

is going to plan and we will continue to work together with the museum to see the restoration through to completion.’

In October last year the NRM decided that the remaining works on the Gresley–designed steam loco, including the alignment of the middle steam cylinder, would take place at Riley & Son (E) Ltd, Bury.

However this came with a caveat that a small section of the main side frames that could not be examined until the steam cylinders were removed would need to be checked out. The condition of this final piece of the iconic locomotive is now known after the cylinders were removed from the frames and all areas received a detailed examination by specialist engineers.

The final assessment of the viability of the restoration has now been made by the Museum and its Trustees and a resounding go-ahead given.

Flying Scotsman Cleared for Take Off

The closure of an unmanned railway crossing over the ECML in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, means Network Rail has now reached its target of closing 10% of Britain’s crossings, 750 in total, by April 2014.

The majority of crossings closed are, like Cardells in St Neots, footpaths or user-worked crossings often on private land and largely used by farmers. However they are also used by delivery and utility vehicles and run across the main line railway.

Says Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations for Network Rail, ‘Britain’s railway is safer

than ever before, but even so there will always be a certain level of risk to motorists or pedestrians where a road, footpath or cycleway crosses the tracks.

‘Network Rail is committed to reduce that risk as much as possible and if we are able to close a level crossing, we will. Reaching our target to close 750 crossings in four years

is good news for Network Rail, train operators and of course the public, but we cannot be complacent.

‘There is much more we can do to make the level crossings that remain, safer and we will continue to introduce new technology, upgrade crossings to include lights or barriers where appropriate and work with schools, communities and other organisations to spread awareness of our safety message.’

A further 500 crossings will be closed over the next five years.

Crossing Closure Target Reached

Virgin Trains has rejected the Network Rail offer of two weekday off-peak slots and two slots on a Sunday on the grounds that their passengers would not be attracted to such trains and thus the service would not be economical.

Local people had hoped that London Euston - Shrewsbury services would commence in May, but this latest development puts this back until at least December. Virgin had originally bid for two return trips, weekdays, departing Shrewsbury at 0706 and 1506 arriving at Euston at 0918 and 1718 respectively returning from Euston at 1133 and 1837 arriving Shrewsbury at 1350 and 2057.

Shropshire Blue


High speed rail is making sunny inroads on the aviation market in Italy.

Ryanair is to axe its flights between Rome Ciampino and Milan Orio al Seriodue because of increased pressure from Italy’s successful high speed rail operation. The final day of flights on the route will be 29th March, with the flight route between

the country’s two largest hubs no longer being viewed as economically viable as passengers switch to rail, which is competitive in both price and convenience.

Analysts believed the airline’s intention to move flights from Rome’s Ciampino airport to Rome Fiumicino was as a result of technical issues, but it has emerged that no connecting flights between Milan and the Italian capital have been scheduled for this summer.

Frecciarossa trains now connect Rome and Milan in 2 hours 45 minutes.

O Sole Mio

More London-bound fresh food and car parts from Valencia in Spain are being carried on High Speed One following a deal between HS1 and DB Schenker Rail (UK).

The freight trains speeding up High Speed One to East London are making good use of the Channel Tunnel and HS1’s European loading gauge. This means freight services can use the wider and higher European-sized wagons employed on the continent.

The extra traffic marks a successful new year’s resolution for HS1 which has been working behind the scenes with rail freight operators to open new markets and more paths across HS1 and Europe.

Says HS1’s Nicola Shaw, ‘HS1 is delighted to welcome additional DB Schenker Rail (UK) freight services onto

the high speed line. This is a big step up for freight on HS1, and is an area in which we continue to grow.

‘The new contract demonstrates the value of the high speed network in the UK. Due to size dimensions of the freight, it is something that can only be carried in the UK on the high speed network, offering the shipper a seamless European rail service. We enjoy a good relationship with DB Schenker Rail (UK) and have always maintained that a partnership approach is crucial to the long term success of the HS1.’

Spanish Freight for HS1 Staff and passengers at Leeds station have been using a thermal

imaging machine to see where they are losing heat.

In a bid to make winter working a little easier, Yorkshire-based thermal experts, Damart donated much needed thermal clothing to Northern Rail station staff and also gave commuters the opportunity to see the benefits of wearing a thermal layer as part of its ‘Warming the Nation’ campaign.

Commuters passing through Leeds station were scanned as they walked past the thermal imaging booth on the footbridge. Thermal imaging cameras highlight where people are losing heat.

They could then try a thermal and see the effect it has on body heat loss.

Says Alex Hynes, Managing Director for Northern Rail, ‘Our teams on the ground at Leeds, whether it be despatchers, station porters, gateline operators or customer service advisors, definitely feel the cold the most when the temperature drops during winter. This fantastic donation of Damart’s famous thermals will help keep them warm while keeping our customers on the move.’

Cold Shoulder Cure


The three shortlisted bidders for East Coast trains will be heartened by the success of the recent behind-the-scenes television series starring top performing staff at the long distance train operator.

All Aboard: East Coast Trains, ended its 10-episode run on Sky 1 HD in January as the DfT announced the three companies to receive Invitations to Tender in February. • East Coast Trains Ltd (First Group plc)• Keolis/Eurostar East Coast Limited

(Keolis and Eurostar International) • Inter City Railways Limited

(Stagecoach Transport Holdings Limited and Virgin Holdings Limited).

Potential operators will need to demonstrate how they intend to use the latest high-tech trains, built by Agility, to develop the service and increase capacity. To pass the rigorous Pre-Qualification Evaluation each of the bidders were asked to demonstrate that they have the financial strength, legal, operational and safety experience to run the franchise. Once in receipt of an Invitation to Tender potential operators will have at least three months to develop their

bids, before the new services start in February 2015.

Meanwhile it’s business as usual off-screen for rail staff at East Coast. ‘Many passengers have contacted us directly to say how much they’ve enjoyed watching the programmes – and our staff are becoming used to being recognised by viewers after their debut on the small screen,’ says East Coast Head of Marketing, Natalie Cowen.

‘We’re thrilled at the success of this unique series, which has given viewers

a revealing insight into the 24-hours-a-day operation which keeps our trains running every day.’

Sky TV’s Chris Wilson thanked staff. ‘It’s been a pleasure to work so closely with East Coast Trains, and we’re delighted with the series, a fascinating, moving and heart-warming glimpse into the lives of the men and women who work both front of house and behind the scenes on one of Britain’s biggest transport networks,’ Chris said.

Silver Screening for East Coast

Despite atrocious weather and the continuing challenge of overcrowding on popular and commuter services, passenger satisfaction with the railways remains at near record highs.

83% of passengers are satisfied with their journey overall, compared with 85% in the Autumn 2012 survey, a record high. 11% said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and just 6% of passengers said they were dissatisfied.

The figures from the Autumn 2013 National Rail Passenger Survey were released by Passenger Focus, the industry watchdog. Heathrow Express beat the average with 96% satisfied.

A delighted Keith Greenfield, managing director of Heathrow Express, said, ‘While we are thrilled to be the top of the rankings for the latter half of last year, we

are determined to improve our service still further for our customers.’

David Sidebottom, acting chief executive of Passenger Focus, sounded a cautionary note. ‘There are gaps of around 20 per cent between the best and worst-performing services, and satisfaction with value for money varied from 28 to 82 per cent.

‘Although generally satisfaction has remained fairly high over the last five years, we want to see a more consistently high level of service for passengers, wherever they may be travelling to and from.’

Satisfaction Survey Backs Rail

Rail Minister Stephen Hammond has unveiled a full scale mock up of the Class 700 train.

The first of the new Thameslink fleet will enter service in 2016. The Class 700 fleet - with 1140 carriages – will double the number of carriages, providing 80 per cent more peak seats between Blackfriars and St Pancras.

Says Stephen Hammond, ‘We are transforming our railways through the biggest programme of rail investment ever. These exciting new trains, combined with the wider Thameslink Programme are a real boost to UK Plc, creating thousands of jobs in construction and across the supply chain, which is driving forward our economy.

‘Once operational they will provide a huge benefit to the hundreds of thousands of passengers who travel into London every day. It will vastly improve train travel providing fast, reliable and more frequent services.’

The new fleet of Desiro trains will be built by Siemens in Germany and maintained at new depots being built in Hornsey, north London and Three Bridges in West Sussex. From 2018 the trains will operate at high frequencies across central London with one arriving every two to three minutes between St Pancras and Blackfriars during the peak.

The new London Bridge main line station will also be completed by 2018, providing capacity for more cross-London services.

Class 700 Unveiled

Over the past few years there has been a significant push to

improve the safety record within the rail industry. This has

often meant significant change both in design and process.

All areas of the industry felt that this often caused confusion

due to the amount of change that happened at one time:

Over the coming year, we will see more change as the

industry streamlines processes through collaboration in a bid

to cut through red tape and ultimately make sense of safety.

is a key challenge in 2014 for the

industry, whether that be through learning from other

industries, through product and process design or

through industry collaboration.

• Which policy to implement?

• Have I missed anything?

• Which part applies to my organisation?

Making sense of safety

SESSION 1 SETTING THE SCENE

SESSION 2 CONTROLLING SAFETY RISKS

SESSION 3: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

SESSION 4: LEARNING LESSONS

OUTCOMES FROM THE DAY, Q&A WITH THE ADVISORY BOARD

Ÿ Problems What are the issues?

Ÿ Case studies Looking back at recent incidents and a look

at the ORR Health and Safety Report

Ÿ Staff welfare Scheme implementation and monitoring

Ÿ Fatigue Designing better shift rosters and including

travel to work time

Ÿ Behaviour Keeping passengers and staff safe

Ÿ Interfaces The many tiers of contractor safety

Ÿ Systems Benefits and burdens of the

LUCAS / Sentinel Integration

Ÿ Lessons Learning lessons from the top

Ÿ Root causes Finding root causes: looking at Tripod Beta

Ÿ Models The Rail Management Maturity Model,

Real world usage

Ÿ Design Building safety into a new railway

MAKING SENSEof Safety

Anson Jack Deputy Chief Executive RSSB

Bill Free Head of Business Development, Rail Carillion Rail

Darren Selman H&S Manager Assurance Crossrail

David Shirres Engineering Writer Rail Media

Dr Ian Gaskin Head of Management Systems, Health, Safety and Environment, TfL

Ian Prosser HM Chief Inspector of Railways and Director of Railway Safety ORR

Paul Clyndes Health & Safety Officer RMT

Peter Sheppard Senior Safety Engineer and Validator Bombardier Transportation

Pino de Rosa Managing Director Bridgeway Consulting

Roan Willmore Safety & Sustainability Development Director Network Rail

Seamus Scallon Safety Director UK Rail FirstGroup

SAFETY SUMMIT ADVISORY BOARD

28th April 2014

Royal College of Physicians

Regent’s Park, London

REGISTER ONLINE

www.railsafetysummit.com

TRACK SAFETY18 | RailStaff | February 2014

On January 22nd John Wright was looking out for an ultrasonic inspection team at Newark Northgate on the East Coast Main Line.

He gave warning that a train was approaching and the team moved to a place of safety as a train approached. He was then struck by the passenger train travelling from the south. Sadly he died several days later from his injuries.

Robin Gisby and David Higgins of Network Rail have asked for the following to be shared with the industry:

“We are deeply saddened to learn that our colleague John Wright has passed away due to the injuries sustained while working at Newark Northgate Station on 22nd January.

‘The swell of colleague support and concern for John since the accident has been overwhelming. He will be missed by all those who had the pleasure of working alongside him during his very many years with the company.”

I understand that both the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) will be investigating further and I recommend looking for the yet to

be released investigation alert from the latter. Our prayers and thoughts meanwhile will be with his family and colleagues.

Kitchen Hill, West Coast Mainline 3 miles north of Penrith

RAIB have released an alert following the accident ten days earlier on Sunday January 12th 2014, resulting in a seriously injured engineer’s train driver. At 1325 hours he was driving a train with ten ballast wagons and a locomotive at each end into a worksite.

Realising that a collision with a stationary ballast train was imminent he applied the emergency brake before he jumped from his cab. He sustained serious injuries.

His train was travelling at 19 mph when it hit the stationary one. The buffers of the first wagon overrode those of the leading locomotive and the leading bogie of that wagon together with the trailing bogie of the locomotive were derailed.

“Share the Pain”I congratulate Steve Featherstone on

his initiative which appears to go a very long way towards fulfilling the need for track workers to be regularly briefed on incidents and accidents.

From his Shrewsbury group comes a report of a night-time Down Road possession to carry out arc welding repairs at Harlescott just 4 miles northeast of Shrewsbury on the Shrewsbury to Crewe line. Bridgeway User Crossing was used to get the welders’ trolley on track.

Having arrived at 2309 on Thursday January 16th, the COSS (Controller of Site Safety) spoke with the Signaller at 2342 to confirm he had placed his protection on the Down Line and the Signaller advised the signals were set to protect the team. The repairs were to be on the Up Line. which was still open to traffic awaiting the passage of the last train.

At just 7 minutes after midnight Arriva Trains Wales Class 175 DMU Manchester to Shrewsbury train struck the welders trolley at 85 mph on that Up Line. According to the RAIB Alert one of the team jumped away from the trolley just before it was hit and the van was parked so close that it narrowly escaped being struck too. Fortunately the train did not derail but

it suffered significant damage including a ruptured fuel tank. Fortunately only one person received any injuries, and they were minor.

Network Rail Safety Alert Dislocated shoulder

Yet another timely sharing of pain is highlighted by Network Rail’s report of a “major RIDDOR” accident that occurred at Cwm Blaenau Gwent on January 12th this year.

A team were working to release a blockage in a flume drain on a steep bank. One member of the group was descending to the foot of the bank when he lost his footing and as a result dislocated his right shoulder. He was taken to hospital.

The final “Share the Pain” item I have seen refers to an incident that will be familiar to many. A young and inexperienced driver was driving a Network Rail Hilux vehicle on January 13th.

On a road with a 50 mph speed restriction he rounded a bend at 30 mph in wet conditions. The rear of the Hilux started to slide and he slid across the other carriageway before coming to rest in a ditch. Fortunately he escaped injury apart from bruising.

I am pleased that all these incidents are available for other rail workers to

2014 BEGINS WITH A FATAL ACCIDENT AND MORE...Sadly 2014 has started in the worst possible way.

SAFETYColin [email protected]

February 2014 | RailStaff | 19TRACK SAFETY

take note of. I remain firmly of the belief that so doing increases awareness and will help reduce accidents in the future.

I was not surprised by learning on January 27th that RAIB intend to “strengthen both its front line staff and support teams by recruiting new professional staff”. Being an eternal optimist I am still hoping for the day when accidents and incidents become so infrequent that both the RAIB and the ORR need to offer voluntary early retirement to staff!

Castle Donington 21st January 2013

At 19.55 a little over a year ago a freight train hauling 26 empty wagons derailed. RAIB have recently published their report which is laudably concise.

The freight locomotive hauling 26 empty wagons was travelling from Crewe Basford Hall to Toton. There had been a number of driver reports of rough riding. It was agreed that repairs and re-ballasting were needed. The latter were programmed for 2016/7.

The 18th wagon was the first to derail, followed by the 19th and when the 20th followed suit, the brakes were automatically applied and the train divided. The RAIB report identifies the underlying cause of the derailment as “track inadequately supported leading to recurrent cyclic top”.

It comments on the “fouled ballast” at the site. Stone blowing through the area had been carried out as

pre-planned on November 20th 2012 but was stopped short of the point of derailment “due to a shortage of time.”

The train continued for another mile with two more wagons drawn into the derailment as it passed a trailing crossover. It finally came to rest near Hemington with the 20th wagon obstructing the adjacent line as can be seen in the picture above.

Time for a change In the last few years our progress

towards zero serious and fatal accidents (let alone zero harm) has stagnated. Our safety efforts and indeed our legislation and investigation processes concentrate on improving working practices, equipment and using more sophisticated plant.

When the “red zone” and “green zone” working definitions were adopted for working with and without trains running, plans for keeping lookouts out of harm’s way by systems providing automatic warnings were given high priority in what was then Railtrack’s safety plans. But these were never realised.

Ten years ago I recall visiting Zurich main Station and going onto track. The leader of our group opened a cabinet at trackside and used his key to activate the permanently installed warning system - no lookouts, advanced, intermediate or touch required. The system was simply an extension of the station signalling.

When High Speed 1 was opened the ORR rightly ruled that working on track whilst trains are running would not be permitted at their line speeds. I suggest that the time has come to extend that

ban to all main 100 mph and above lines in Britain.

We ought to go further and insist that all busy junctions, high speed junctions, areas with more than two tracks, and station areas be equipped with automatic warning systems driven by the signalling. Wherever this cannot viably be achieved possession working must be the rule.

Using flags, whistles and horns to warn of approaching trains as in Victorian times ought to end this year. These measures will reduce the risks but the challenge will remain; namely how we can raise everyone’s (especially management’s) awareness of and commitment to railway safety.

I don’t actually believe we will ever be able to disband the RAIB, but we ought to work to reduce their staff numbers! Remember they are now recruiting again!!

If you disagree please come and tell us why at the Safety Summit on April 28th which this year is in central London.

The rearmost derailed wagon (the twentieth wagon) which ended up foul of the down Chellaston line.

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TRACK SAFETY20 | RailStaff | February 2014

Network Rail has put an executive director in charge of each element of its Ten Point Plan. Safety experts believe this will increase impetus and secure the resources needed to make rapid progress with the wide ranging safety plan. The idea that railway safety is better than it used to be has been roundly condemned by the leadership.

‘We need to stop thinking it’s better now, so that’s alright. It’s not alright and we have a long way to go,’ says David Higgins, current CEO. The aim of the Ten Point Plan is to provide better co-ordination between initiatives and more momentum behind the safety agenda. The ten executives are headed by David Higgins, still in post till the end of March.

1. Roles and Responsibilities Executive Owner: David Higgins, chief

executive – until March.The Problem: Risk can arise where

there is a lack of clarity about who is responsible for safety, a COSS or Team Leader, for example. People away from a work site also have a huge influence on safety. Among others these include work planners, designers and signallers.

Objectives: Clarify which roles impact on the safety of others and set out who’s responsible for safety at what stage of any work process. This will remove ambiguity and reduce risk.

2. Technology Interventions Executive Owner: Jerry England,

group asset management director.The Problem: Eliminating risk is the

most effective way of improving safety. By using technology, Network Rail can reduce or remove completely the need for high-risk tasks to be carried out manually. This will improve workforce safety.

Objectives: Identify highest-risk activities. Seek out technological tools that can reduce or remove direct human involvement in those tasks.

3. DrivingExecutive Owner: Paul Plummer,

group strategy director.The Problem: Recent fatalities and

road accidents have shown there is a clear risk in Network Rail associated with driving road vehicles.

Objectives: Review and clarify how Network Rail staff use vehicles and make it clear to everyone the rules around driving safely.

4. Fair Culture Executive Owner: Gareth Llewellyn,

safety and sustainable development director.

The Problem: Until now there has been no consistent way of dealing with unsafe behaviour and those who put colleagues at risk. Lifesaving Rules, if they are to work, must be enforced with a structure of consequences for all those involved that are agreed and fair.

Objectives: Network Rail has agreed the principles of a fair culture. Network Rail will now make sure the business uses the framework that has been established with the trades unions to treat people that have broken the Lifesaving Rules in a fair, appropriate and reasonable manner.

A fair culture will encourage colleagues to use close-call reporting. Action will be taken as a result of such reports. This will reform unsafe behaviour and reduce incidents.

5. Safety Conversations Executive Owner: Tom Kelly, director

corporate communications.The Problem: To achieve a step

change in safety it is crucial people hear a consistent safety message right

Ten PointPlan

Each month RailStaff will report on one of these ten

point plan issues, with the Executive

Owner’s specific comments

February 2014 | RailStaff | 21TRACK SAFETY

throughout the organisation. Leaders and managers need to be trained to talk to all of their teams about all aspects of safety. Leaders must also listen to what their teams tell them about safety.

Objectives: Network Rail will support a culture where everyone feels they can engage in conversations about safety and know they will be rewarded for raising concerns. The object is to get everyone talking about safety and understanding it is their responsibility.

6. Safe Teams Executive Owner: Suzanne Wise,

general counsel.The Problem: To prevent accidents

from happening, staff need to look out for each other at work. Staff need teams to identify risks locally and create solutions locally. Previously the focus was on investigation post-incident rather than trying to stop incidents happening.

Objectives: Building on work done at the Bristol Delivery Unit, teams will be encouraged to focus on identifying and proactively managing local safety risks. Local teams will be able to capitalise on the expertise of trades union health and safety reps.

7. Learning from Incidents Executive Owner: Patrick Butcher,

group finance director.The Problem: Too often the same

mistake is made twice. The businesses need to learn quickly from incidents and introduce changes that stop repeat incidents from ever occurring.

Objectives: Review how staff learn from incidents and devise ways to roll out lessons and solutions quickly.

8. Planning Safe Work Executive Owner: Robin Gisby,

managing director, network operations.The Problem: At present the way

in which work is planned can lead to safety failures. Too often plans include information that is inaccurate, incomplete, inefficient or hard to understand. This puts people at risk.

Objectives: Introduce planning processes to reinforce safety in the control of work process. Involve people who actually do the work in planning the work. Introduce more visual plans which are quick and easy to understand.

9. Frontline Supervision Executive Owner: Richard Doyle,

director of human resources.

The Problem: On any worksite the frontline supervisor is critical to ensuring the safety of the people working there. It is essential to ensure that all supervisors have the skills to maintain a safe worksite.

Objectives: Once managers have agreed roles and responsibilities for frontline supervisors, they will put in place training for all frontline supervisors to ensure they have the skills they need to do their job and ensure their teams go home safe at the end of every shift – day and night.

10. Safe Contractors Executive Owner: Simon Kirby,

managing director, infrastructure projects.

The Problem: Whilst Network Rail has made progress in improving safety for its immediate workforce, the welfare of contractors and contractors’

contractors needs to be better addressed. Incidents in the last year prove this is an area that needs more attention.

Objectives: Review the safety criteria used when selecting contractors. Look at safety standards right throughout the supply chain. Consider how safety performance is incentivised and suppliers are benchmarked against safety indexes.

‘We can’t leave safety to chance,’ says safety director, Gareth Llewellyn. ‘We need a new safety culture in the business and we need to understand why we’re putting people in unsafe situations.

‘Our ten point plan, which incorporates the Lifesaving Rules, is about bringing everything together. We want to tackle these issues in a co-ordinated way. This is how we’ll achieve that.’

‘We need to stop thinking it’s better now, so that’s alright. It’s not alright and we have a long way to go’...Sir David Higgins, Chief Executive, Network Rail


Rail Media is backing this year’s Community Rail Awards organised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships and to be held in Scarborough on 2nd October.

ACoRP has long provided a fund of good news stories from around the network and is encouraging radical thinking, fresh ideas and more local involvement in railways.

Says Tom O’Connor, managing director of Rail Media, which publishes RailStaff, ‘ACoRP is one of the rail industry’s biggest yet quietest success stories. Hard work, new thinking, verve

and imagination are the hallmarks of Community Rail Partnerships.

‘These largely unseen squadrons of supporters have helped open up rail travel to a wider public and expand local lines and services. It is work of inestimable importance and deserves far wider recognition.’ Rail Media will be sponsoring the Best Marketing Campaign Award.

50 local partnershipsACoRP is a federation of more than 50

local partnerships pioneering hands on practical initiatives aimed at expanding and sustaining local railways. ACoRP’s achievement is now attracting serious attention.

In a recent presentation to the Railway Study Association the DfT’s Interim Franchise Director Peter Wilkinson placed Community Rail Partnerships right at the forefront of innovation.

‘CRPs are not of marginal importance. They are providing real service and deserve to be supported.’ He went on to say CRPs are, ‘Putting real money, real people-power and real innovation into rail. CRPs have re-opened local rail services and transformed long-decaying assets into vital community resources.

‘Take Accrington station for instance: a superb station rebuilding project that has used local materials to produce a truly ‘green’ building. Or the work at Huddersfield, where a solar panel has been installed on the roof of the old water tower, providing power for the

station. I want more of this sort of thing: I don’t believe the big companies have all the answers.’

Producing real resultsACoRP works with local government,

train companies and community groups to develop rail services and make sure the enabling role railways can play is fully recognised and acted upon.

Adds RailStaff editor, Andy Milne, ‘Once again we see ground level railway staff and local volunteers coming up with ideas and initiatives. Peter Wilkinson has hit upon this vein of good fortune for the rail industry and rightly wants to see more of it.

We are right behind ACoRP. The awards evening itself is always a congenial affair with people from all over the railway getting together. Startling as it is to see top rail chiefs mixing with station adopters, students and volunteers it seems to work and the movement itself is producing real results for an industry in great need of popular support and extra capacity.’

RailStaff Backs Community Rail Awards

With just three months to go until Infrarail 2014 opens its doors, online registration to visit the show free of charge is now open. This saves unregistered visitors a £20.00 entrance fee on the door.

Taking place at Earls Court in London from 20 to 22 May, Infrarail is one of this year’s biggest rail events. Already around 140 companies are planning to exhibit, presenting products and services covering every aspect of railway infrastructure.

Equipment and plant will be featured in the Track and Yard display areas. Visitors will also be welcome at the adjoining Civil Infrastructure and Technology Exhibition (CITE), a new Mack Brooks event which takes place for the first time at Earls Court.

Infrarail provides a great opportunity to talk to railway staff and suppliers and learn about their innovations and plans. The commercially astute can sample the mood of the market.

Through a programme of free technical seminars hosted by RailStaff’s sister publication the Rail Engineer, Infrarail also offers early insights into significant industry developments. These seminars form one key element of a

wider programme of Infrarail events open to all. This includes keynote speeches from the Minister of State

for Transport and other industry leaders, Project Updates covering Network Rail programmes and HS2. The Platform is an open discussion forum addressing topical industry themes. Exhibitor job vacancies will be publicised on the Recruitment Wall, arranged by RailwayPeople.com.

On a less formal note, everyone will be welcome at the Networking Reception on the opening day of the show, while the following evening’s Infrarail Awards dinner will create further opportunities to develop business contacts.

Details of all these activities and more can be found on the Infrarail website, together with the very latest list of exhibitors.

A link on www.infrarail.com takes you quickly through the simple registration process. Pre-registering to visit the exhibition speeds up entry and avoids a £20 charge payable for non-registered visitors.

Infrarail - Registration Now Open

Volunteers from the North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership at Alsager station meet local MP Fiona Bruce

18-19 June 2014

Long MarstonWarwickshire

The Largest Outdoor Rail Event in the UK

Network Rail, in association with The Rail Alliance, the rail engineer and Macrail, is proud to present Rail Live 2014: a showcase for railway infrastructure.

2014, which marks the start of Control Period 5 (CP5), will see the whole rail industry continue to embark on one of the longest sustained periods of investment the railway has seen since Victorian tim es. Network Rail will be continuing its focus on safety and delivering value for money through working more closely with suppliers.

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A couple who met at work at Eurostar ten years ago and married last year helped launch

the high speed operator’s new uniforms at St Pancras International.

Train Manager Adele Gent and Station Shift Leader Simon Gent, recreated the famous kissing couple statue at St Pancras just a few metes away from the world famous ‘Meeting Place’ work created by Paul Day. The nine metre high statues themselves were clothed in a mock up of the new uniform. Eurostar celebrated its 20th anniversary recently.

Says Marc Noaro, service director at Eurostar, ‘Our new uniforms signal the next chapter in Eurostar’s story and perfectly capture the glamour and romance of international high-speed rail travel.’

Eurostar is now offering through tickets to Aachen, Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich. Passengers change for high speed ICE Deutsche Bahn trains at Brussels – no seat reservation necessary. Simon and Adele Gent compare uniforms at St Pancras.

Twickenham station is to be smartened up in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

To avoid unseemly scrummaging, Platform 2 will have a greater area set aside for the public to help cope with the growing number of passengers who use the station during stadium events.

A level playing field – or at least step free access – will be introduced between the ticket office and

platforms. New loos and bright lighting, smart resurfaced platforms and a new footbridge will all help fans and players on their way. The Rugby World Cup tournament starts in September.

The sport is increasingly popular overseas and Twickenham is preparing for record numbers of enthusiasts.

The improvements will provide a better station in the long term for the five million passengers who use the station every year. A total of £5.2m will be invested in Twickenham station using funding from the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance, the government’s National Station Improvement Programme and a £1.6m contribution from local councils. Work starts this May.

Quality Tackle for Twickers

Northern Ireland Railways is seeing record passenger figures with almost 13m passenger journeys recorded last year.

Twenty new trains and revamped stations are all helping. A planned £12m refurbishment of the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service should help further. Passenger figures have jumped by 21% since 2011.

Belfast’s new Adelaide train maintenance depot is also proving a big success. The new £28m state of the art depot was built on the site of the former Adelaide freight yard to maintain the 20 Class 4000 DMUs.

These were delivered from March 2011 onwards and introduced into passenger service from September 2011. Once again new trains, smart stations and hard working staff are drawing the public back onto railways.

Record Year for NIR

Valentine view for Simon & AdeleReaders of the rail engineer will

be relieved to learn Isaac Jefferies has joined the team as a part-time proof reader.

Isaac, grandson of RailStaff founder Tom O’Connor, enjoys thinking outside the box and, encouraged by upbeat articles in RailStaff and the rail engineer on the need for young people to join the industry, is considering a career in railway engineering.

Isaac Backs Engineering

February 2014 | RailStaff | 25RAILSTAFF AWARDS

The RailStaff Awards is expanding year on year attracting more nominations, more interest and an ever growing stream of railway staff, friends and families to the event itself, all eager to celebrate the good fortune of being involved in this unique and dynamic industry.

It is a big night and a great chance to raise a glass or two to the 1000s of men and women who work on the railways often going far beyond the parameters of the traditional job description. The winners feature up on stage, in the local press and are rightly lauded by staff and bosses alike.

However it is only right to draw attention to the many runners up. Often these heroes have unique stories to tell, stories of lives saved, people helped and the railway made better and safer as a result.

The RailStaff Awards 2014 promises to be bigger and better than ever before. Like RailStaff the whole idea of the RailStaff Awards exists to serve the people at the sharp end, the track worker out in the rain, the cleaner walking to work at four in the morning, the guard, the cop, the driver, the information adviser on the phone, the helmeted engineer and surveyor.

In keeping with RailStaff’s readership base over the next few issues we take a look at a few of the runners up at last year’s awards. Whether you wear a headset or a hard hat the RailStaff Awards is for you.

Lifesaving Police Team A team of Cardiff-based BTP officers

were runners up in the Special Lifesaver

Award. Their actions prevented a fatality and underscored a network-wide initiative to try and reduce railway suicides.

The Special Lifesaver Award, backed by the Samaritans, aims to recognise the pre-emptive actions of station staff, train crew, track workers and everyone involved in railways who, by timely intervention, prevented a potential fatality.

Prompt action by five Cardiff-based BTP officers, PCs Chris Jones, Kirk Taylor and Clive Ellaway, along with PCSOs Kumar Hirani and Guy Davies, prevented a disturbed man from taking his own life.

Police received a call from Whitchurch Hospital staying that a patient had just left the hospital in an agitated state and was going to Llanishen station to throw himself under a train. The station is quite busy and is on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network in South Wales near Cardiff.

The five officers sped to the station. When they arrived they saw a man walking along the lines approximately 300 metres from the platforms. Although police control requested that all rail movements be halted, two trains were too near the station and could not be stopped at signals.

The man stood between the running lines in front of one of the trains. The train driver had not seen him. However the officers reached the man and pulled him to safety with seconds to spare. He was returned to Whitchurch Mental Health Unit.

Says colleague David Carter, ‘The actions of the officers undoubtedly prevented this man from taking his own life and, as a result, prevented the trauma of being involved in a fatality to the train driver, conductor and passengers.’

‘The British Transport Police are real heroes,’ says RailStaff editor, Andy Milne. ‘The lives they’ve saved and protected are incalculable.’

The presence of a BTP officer on a station remains an enduring testimony to a railway that is safe and comfortable. Few recognise the hard work that goes in to policing Britain’s railways or the debt owed to former officers over a span of 180 years.

Driver Saved Child’s Life The Train Driver of the Year is

synonymous with the RailStaff Awards. Explain to a member of the public what the RailStaff Awards are all about and they’ll often say, ‘Oh right, you mean Train Driver of the Year?’ That’s exactly what we do mean.

Train drivers have a special set of skills, able to work alone, take serious decisions with minimum fuss. They do not suffer fools gladly. Every day drivers pilot 1000s of trains and

passengers in safety and comfort; passengers who are largely unaware of the ceaseless vigilance and professionalism of these exceptional men and women.

Among the most vigilant is London Underground driver, Gary Dobkin, who saved a child’s life. Driving his train on an open section of the District line, Gary spotted a child on the track ahead. He was able to stop in time and alert the Line Controller and have the train stopped in the opposite direction.

With power off Gary climbed out of his cab and went to the child. The ten year old seemed unresponsive and lost. Gary took the uninjured child to safety. It later emerged that the boy was autistic and had wandered onto the track.

Says colleague, Margaret Waite, ‘Gary was able to get the child onto his train without injury by coaxing and assisting him onto the train. He arranged for the child to be met by station staff at the next station.’ The child was later reunited with his parents. Mum and Dad were so grateful for what Gary had done that they insisted on meeting him to thank him in person.

The majority of the London Underground is in fact an above ground railway running through densely populated suburbs. Gary Dobkin was later awarded a gold ‘Make a Difference’ TfL award for his actions that day and was a runner up in the 2013 Train Driver of the Year.

From Headset to Hard Hat

PEOPLE26 | RailStaff | February 2014

David McLoughlin is leaving Network Rail to head up the Spencer Group’s rail business, as CEO Spencer Rail. McLoughlin, 51, is currently Finance and Commercial Director for Infrastructure Projects at Network Rail, a position he has held for three years. He has over 30 years experience in the rail industry, in finance, procurement and operations.

Spencer Group CEO, Charlie Spencer said, ‘David has a vital role to play in setting the strategic direction of the business and the delivery of our key outputs. We need a strong talent base from the rail industry and beyond to help us meet that challenge and David will play a pivotal role in this.’

David is a CIMA qualified accountant, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Surveyors, an associate

member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply and a member of the founding board of the Institute of Collaborate Working. David will be based at Spencer Group’s HQ in Hull overseeing 300 staff in Scotland, Hull and London.

In his spare time David keeps fit in the gym and is a keen yachtsman. He has sailed across the Atlantic and is a keen mountain climber. He will join Spencer Rail in the summer, formally taking on his new role in July.

Mott MacDonald has appointed Nabil Abou-Rahme as director of transport technology services.

Nabil is a chartered engineer who has worked in transport for over 17 years. Prior to his appointment, he was managing director of engineering and design consultancy, Rapp Trans UK and has also worked for Mouchel Highways.

He has been involved in several projects including the National Smart Ticketing Programme in South Africa and the M42 Active Traffic Management Programme. Abou-Rahme read BEng (Hons), Civil Engineering and took an MSc in Transport Studies at University College London. He has a PhD in Bayesian Statistics from the University of Southampton.

Nabil Abou-Rahme spent the first seven years of his career with TRL Limited, Transport Research Laboratory as Principal Scientific Officer.

Abou-Rahme Joins Mott MacDonald

The railway man who once faced down the Kray twins in a railway yard has been appointed chairman of the Delay Attribution Board (DAB) at Network Rail.

Richard Morris, who joined British Rail as a graduate trainee after reading a degree in Classics at the University of Exeter, caps a 44 year career with the new role. Morris is the fourth generation of his family to serve the rail industry.

After training, Richard Morris worked mainly in operations. Rising through the ranks he became regional operations manager for Anglia and eventually Operations Manager at the British Railway Board HQ.

In 1992 he joined Eurotunnel, as Safety Director and was promoted to Operations Director following the Eurotunnel fire. In 1999 he moved to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA) and once it lost its shadow status, he was appointed Executive

Director for London and the South East.

He worked as Operations Director at both London Lines and Chiltern and later went on to take up a new role as managing director of Crossrail (Delivery). His involvement consisted in running the value management exercise, resulting in the project being accepted by the Government.

In 2009 Richard was the Director of Business Continuity for Eurostar. After three years at Eurostar, he retired. He was enticed back to the railway, as a consultant, advising on the operational content of specifications, for the Department for Transport.

Richard is the co-founder and a Fellow of the Institute of Railway Operators. He is married and is the

father to four children. He runs an antiquarian book business and is a published writer. His book ‘Iron in the Blood’ is well worth reading.

Among many anecdotes Morris recalls the case of scrap dealers next to a railway yard encroaching on railway property. Richard marched round and very politely confronted the chap who

appeared to be in charge. Scrap metal near a railway line is always a recipe for disaster. After a tense few moments the man nodded and said, OK, it’ll be sorted. Richard Morris later discovered the man was the infamous London gangster, Reggie Kray. Iron in the Blood is a figurative title and Morris was never troubled by the Krays again.

Richard Returns to the Metals

McLoughlin heads Spencer Rail

Richard Morris with RailStaff’s Paul Curtis.

February 2014 | RailStaff | 27PEOPLE

Engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash has strengthened its rail sector with the appointments of Andrew Shepherd and John Salmon.

Andrew (Left)joins as a Senior Consultant from the Department for Transport’s Rail Accident Investigation

Branch (RAIB) where he was one of 20 rail inspectors covering Britain. Educated at Croydon College he joined British Rail in 1990 as a signalling design assistant.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers and has held senior positions with Alstom, Adtranz and British Rail Signalling Projects. Andrew is based in the Frazer-Nash Dorking office and will work on a range of safety assurance projects within the rail sector.

John Salmon comes to Frazer-Nash from Network Rail. He was educated at Reading School in Berkshire and

read Mathematics at Hertford College, Oxford. He has worked extensively in engineering and railways. A competent Chinese speaker Salmon was once seconded to the Taiwanese High Speed Rail corporation.

At Network Rail John worked as a modelling specialist with a focus on modelling and evaluation of traffic management systems. He will also be working in the Dorking office focusing on Safety Engineering and Traffic Management systems.

Says Richard Jones, Rail Business Manager at Frazer-Nash, ‘I am very pleased to welcome Andrew and John to Frazer-Nash. With over 40 years’ experience between them in the rail industry they bring a considerable breadth and depth of railway technical and operational knowledge.’

Frazer-Nash ExpandsTimothy Jackson is to lead the new business unit set up by French

transport giant, RATP, to run operations in Britain and Ireland.

Based in London, Jackson will report directly to the chairman of the RATP Dev executive board, François-Xavier Perin. Timothy Jackson was educated at Cambridge University where he read Mediaeval and Modern languages - he is fluent in French and German and speaks Russian. Jackson also studied at Harvard Business School.

After gaining banking experience in London, Tokyo and Paris Timothy joined Avions de Transport Régional, an aircraft manufacturer based in Toulouse, in 1992. He went on to become its sales director in 1994.

In 1997 he moved to Angel Trains as International Development Director before being appointed head of Angel Trains International in 2003. He has run his own consultancy since 2010.

In Britain RATP runs the Manchester

Metrolink as well as several bus companies. In Ireland RATP Dev has been shortlisted to run Dublin’s tramway service.

RATP goes to Jackson

Eddie Isaac, 75, has finally retired after a 53 year career on the railways. Edmund Isaac MBE, known as Eddie to friends and colleagues, was a popular figure on the platforms at Leicester station. Eddie, from Antigua in the West Indies, joined the railway in 1961 in London dealing with parcels and then transferred to London Road in Leicester shortly afterwards.

He dealt with the loading and sorting of parcels until the early 1980s. Promoted to Leading Railman he despatched trains and helped thousands of passengers young and old down the years with information and advice. During his time on the railway Mr Isaac received many awards and accolades and in 2004 was awarded an MBE for his service to the rail industry.

In 2008, he became famous around the city when he was photographed for the ‘One Leicester’ promotion with his photo appearing on posters dotted around the city. These carried his message: ‘One thing I love about Leicester is the people. I’ve been here for over 60 years and the only time I’ve ever left the city was to collect my MBE

from the Queen. ‘I’m proud to say I’ve never missed a

day’s service in the 45 years I’ve worked on the station. It’s my second home and my customers make me so happy. I’ve never had a bad day in Leicester, which is why I believe ‘happiness within’ is the secret to good health. Keep happy, keep smiling.’

Says David Horne, Managing Director for East Midlands Trains, ‘Even at the tender age of 75, Eddie is famous for dashing up and down the platforms, calling out to passengers and blowing his whistle as loudly as he can. All the passengers and staff at Leicester have a great deal of respect for Eddie and he will be a big loss to the station.

‘We are hugely grateful for Eddie’s enthusiasm and his unswerving

commitment to delivering the best possible service to our customers over many years at Leicester station. We wish Eddie all the very best for a long and happy retirement.’

A presentation was made to Eddie Isaacs MBE at Leicester station on Friday 10 January after he had dispatched his last train. Says Eddie, ‘For once, I am speechless. My plan is to have a little break now. I want to

volunteer for a few days and pass on my knowledge of trains. I will be back - I will visit the station every day, this is my second home.’

The news was welcomed by local staff. Says travel advisor, Jenna Robinson, 32, who works with Mr Isaac, ‘He is the face of Leicester station and always will be. He is such a happy and great character - he will never be forgotten.’

Face of Leicester takes a Bow


Proud Moment DeltaRail, from Pride Park in

Derby, is to supply its automated wheel and brake measurement system to Sydney Trains.

The rail software firm has won the contract to install its View Systems at several sites in the New South Wales capital. The systems identify wheel and brake pad wear rates, wheel profile, defects and missing components. The systems can be fully integrated with existing Sydney Trains technologies.

Says DeltaRail’s chief executive, Anna Matthews, ‘Sydney Trains has a clear vision and detailed understanding of what is needed to fulfill its requirements. We are delighted to be working with them on this exciting project.’

June Date XC Cup This year’s Cross Country Cup will

take place at Birmingham University on Saturday 21st June 2014.

‘This is slightly earlier than previous tournaments as Birmingham University plans to relay their outdoor pitches in July 2014,’ says Pete Donnelly, organiser. CrossCountry Trains has again agreed to sponsor the football extravaganza. Once again this will be a six-a-side tournament with each squad having a maximum of eight players.

The Joke’s On Us Virgin Trains, official partner of

the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, is knocking 20% off advance fares to Glasgow for festival-goers.

Comedians like Miranda Hart, Sarah Millican, Rory Bremner and Dorothy Paul will be lining up alongside Scotland’s best including Fred MacAulay, Jerry Sadowitz, Raymond Mearns, Des Clarke, Janey Godley and Susan Calman.

Now in its 12th year, the festival has rapidly become one of the most celebrated fixtures on the international comedy circuit and this year it runs from March 14 to April 5.

News in briefTwo days before Burns Night

ScotRail and the British Transport Police confirmed the year–long ban of on-board alcohol consumption has been a great success.

Anti-social behaviour caused by drunkenness has been much reduced. BTP says officers dealt with only four incidents related to a specific alcohol railway byelaw throughout 2013.

In July 2012 First ScotRail banned the consumption and carrying of alcohol between 2100 and 1000. ScotRail staff can refuse travel to those considered under the influence of alcohol.

Says BTP’s Superintendent John McBride of the ‘The message that anti-social behaviour at stations and on trains is unacceptable, is clearly being heeded by those who use the rail

network. We will continue to support ScotRail in ensuring everyone can travel and work without encountering unwelcome or unwarranted disorderly behaviour.’

Most people support the ban. However, devotees of Rabbie Burns speculate the poet might well have

reacted differently. Burns enjoyed a drink as this extract from his 1785 poem ‘Scotch Drink’ makes clear. ‘O thou, my muse! guid auld Scotch drink! Whether thro’ wimplin worms thou jink, Or, richly brown, ream owre the brink, In glorious faem, Inspire me, till I lisp an’ wink, To sing thy name!’

Lisp and Wink

Virgin Trains has signed a deal with Direct Rail Services Limited for the provision of a Class 90 locomotive for use on its Mark 3 set.

The locomotive, from DB Schenker, will be attached to the set at all times with planned work on Thursdays and Fridays. The train will be on standby at other times and also available for Virgin Trains’ growing charter business. The deal runs for an initial two years, with a 12 month review, the locomotive swapping over every 30 days for

maintenance. The plan is to have a dedicated

locomotive - 90034. This is currently under test and is due to visit Toton for a repaint into DRS livery. WB64 works a planned diagram of 1G40 1903 Euston Birmingham and 1B94 2050 Birmingham-Euston every Thursday and Friday.

Rescue Train At The Ready

A team of volunteers at Ecclesbourne Valley Railway has won an award for its restoration of a rare class 119 Diesel Multiple Unit.

The diesel railcar, W51073, was withdrawn from service in 1993 and arrived at the railway as an empty shell in 2006. The team set about restoring the DMU in November 2008. The project represents the first full restoration that has taken place at the railway.

The skills and expertise of the restoration team have resulted in a further boost for the EVR. Other heritage railways are now sending units for restoration by the award winning EVR team. Says team leader, Leigh Gration, ‘I am very proud of the quality of work and dedication of the team in completing such an epic undertaking.’

Restoration Award


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Local young people have helped brighten up Ipswich station. Lapwing Suffolk provides much needed help for people struggling with formal education. Complex barriers to learning can include autism, aspergers/ASD and mental illness.

Lapwing supports around 60 students every year helping them to overcome personal barriers by encouraging them to try new things, make new friends and learn new skills. Thanks to a partnership between Abellio Greater Anglia staff at Ipswich station, ActivGardens and the local town council, hanging baskets and flowers are now bringing a foretaste of spring to the busy station.

The project has provided Lapwing students with valuable horticultural experience. The Lapwing team grew winter flowering pansies and seasonal bedding plants and have tended the finished baskets in glasshouses before bringing them to Ipswich station. The project was sponsored by Ipswich Borough Council.

Left to right, ActivGardens Lead Horticulturist and Trainer Ric Staines, Councillor Carole Jones (Ipswich Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Planning) and Alan Trett Abellio Greater Anglia’s Assistant Customer Service Manager.

Lapwing Lift for Ipswich

Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has officially opened the newly refurbished Ibrox station on the Glasgow Subway.

Ibrox joins Hillhead and Partick as the third station to be completed in the £288 million Subway modernisation programme. After topping up her smartcard Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow Southside, praised the Subway.

‘I am delighted to see these improvements at Ibrox and look forward to the modernisation programme being rolled out across the rest of the subway system. Six of the 15 subway stations are in my Southside constituency and I am a huge fan. It’s a great way to get about Glasgow and I know many of my constituents would be lost without it.’

Sturgeon unveils Ibrox


Ahead of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games this summer, staff and contractors at Network Rail are hard at work sprucing up the railway.

A programme of enhanced maintenance on the railway is pushing ahead and £2m being spent at Glasgow Central, Scotland’s busiest station. Trees and bushes are being cut back on electrified routes into the city. Litter and graffiti will be targeted for removal ahead of the Games on the approaches to busy locations including Glasgow’s Central and Queen Street stations and at Haymarket and Waverley in Edinburgh.

At Glasgow Central the Union Street entrance will be refurbished and smart stainless steel gates installed. The entrance to the lower level station will be upgraded and a new archway created to frame the escalators.

Work to electrify the Glasgow-Cumbernauld line and deliver a new station for the town in time for the Games is expected to be completed on time, with electric trains running by March and the new station open by late June.

Network Rail will also scale back non-

essential engineering work across the Central Belt during the Commonwealth Games. Standby crews will be on duty throughout the Games.

Says David Dickson, Network Rail acting route managing director for Scotland, ‘The work we are undertaking, and robust plans we have in place for the Games, will help to make sure we can keep Scotland moving smoothly this summer.

‘We are working closely with the Scottish Government and our industry partners to prepare for the Games, and by reducing our engineering work over the key period we can keep the railway open later and enable train operators to run more services.’

Game On for Glasgow

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS

RAILWAY SIGNAL ENGINEERING

TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY

Business and local leaders in Liverpool have urged the government to link the city to High Speed 2.

Stopping short at Manchester could spell bad news for an economically resurgent Liverpool. Says Andrew Morris, Director of 20 Miles More, ‘An HS2 link to Liverpool will ensure that the economic growth that is very much in evidence in the city will not be jeopardised.

‘It will also greatly assist the Port of Liverpool which is undergoing a massive expansion to handle the latest generation of carriers by freeing up freight capacity on the West Coast Main Line.’

Currently the Port of Liverpool is being expanded to accept ships carrying 13,500 containers – the current limit is 3,500. Shippers will need more paths for freight trains on the crowded West Coast Main Line.

Putting passenger express services on HS2 makes sense to freight forwarders and Liverpudlians alike. Supporters plan a vigorous campaign to ensure Liverpool is not by-passed by HS2.

Liverpool Urges HS2 LinkFirst TransPennine Express has officially opened its train crew depot

at Newcastle station.

The £92k investment provides new and better accommodation for train crew. Seven new drivers and five new conductors’ posts have been created at Newcastle.

The TCD is on Gunner Street across the road from the station. As part of the TransPennine Plus project, service powers up from 25 to 33 services a day between Manchester and Newcastle this May.

Gunner Street Opens

Nick Donovan, Managing Director (top left) is pictured with some of the new conductors and drivers at the relocated depot.

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Passengers at Blackfriars station in London were surprised to be greeted with hot cups of tea on a cold day in January.

The power to brew the free tea was provided by the solar panels on the new roof. The 4,400 photovoltaic panels cover the roof of the station and produce enough energy to make almost 80,000 cups of tea a day. In fact the solar panel roof provides up to half of the station’s energy.

The revamped Blackfriars station now boasts a new entrance on the south bank of the Thames, four new platforms and a redeveloped Underground station, able to accommodate longer trains and provide a better interchange between First Capital Connect and London Underground services. Blackfriars sits at the heart of the £6.5 billion Thameslink Programme.

Says Simon Kirby, managing director of Network Rail Infrastructure Projects,

‘The dramatic transformation of Blackfriars station from a small and cramped station to a modern landmark is typical of how we are enhancing one of Europe’s busiest rail routes – using smart, sustainable technology to reduce the cost of running the railway at the same time as giving passengers the longer, more frequent trains that are so desperately needed.’

Solar power can be included into major engineering projects says Frans van den Heuvel, CEO of Solarcentury, which installed the panels. ‘Our work at Blackfriars demonstrates two key benefits of solar. First, it can be integrated into the architecture to create a stunning addition to London’s skyline. Second, it can be integrated into the most complex of engineering

projects; in this case being built above a construction site, over a rail track, over a river,’ Mr van den Heuvel said.

‘We are confident that future major infrastructure projects can and will benefit from solar,’ he added.

Tea Time at Blackfriars

telent Technology Services Ltd has been awarded an extension to its rail telecoms support and maintenance contract with Level 3, formally known as Global Crossing UK Ltd.

telent has been working with Level 3 since March 2009 and has now been granted a multi-million pound five year extension to the original contract, ensuring continuity until March 2019.

Level 3’s sophisticated fibre optic operation and associated railway infrastructure is vital to the rail industry

and is used operationally by Network Rail and the vast majority of train operators. The fibre optic network alone spans some 14,000 km. Success is down to the hard work of staff at telent.

Says Steve Pears, Managing Director, telent Rail, ‘I am delighted that Level 3 have agreed to extend their UK on-rail support contract for a further 5 years. This is testament to the hard work, experience and skills of the telent teams in successfully delivering this vital service to Level 3 and indeed all the rail stakeholders whose businesses rely on these services.’

Contract extension for telent


The Crossrail project is rightly making headlines but a little known secret cross rail, deep below London, could be making a comeback.

The London Post Office Railway – dubbed Mail Rail - still connects Whitechapel and Paddington. The six-mile railway was mothballed ten years ago but is still in good working order thanks to Ray Middlesworth who looks after the line. Now plans are afoot to re-open the railway as a tourist attraction.

The British Postal Museum and Archive has submitted plans to Islington Council proposing to reopen a section beneath the Mount Pleasant sorting office as a public museum. The scheme’s supporters hope to raise £2m of lottery funding for what could be a unique subterranean railway experience.

When the railway closed in May 2003 – visitors can still see the duty rosters on the office notice board – Ray

Middlesworth stayed on with a small band of colleagues piloting the empty ghost trains, making sure the tunnels were safe. Ray has worked there for 27 years.

‘They say once a railwayman always

a railwayman,’ says Ray. ‘There was a real family feel, with lots of fathers and sons working among teams.’ Friends among the 220 staff often met up for a drink after the work and staged Christmas parties which included rides

for children on specially converted trains.

Islington Council is expected to make a decision on proposals next month. Once approved Mail Rail could be running once more by 2020.

Hidden Crossrail Makes Comeback

A new rail junction between Langley and Iver on the Great Western Main Line will link Heathrow Airport directly with the West Country.

Currently passengers must go all the way into Paddington. The future rail link, subject to planning permission, will allow passengers to travel from Reading, via Slough, to Heathrow Airport direct. Under proposals put forward by Network Rail a new railway and three mile tunnel will be built to Heathrow Terminal 5.

The current rail link comes off the main line between West Drayton and Hayes and Harlington station. Inspired

by the huge success of the Heathrow Express which opened in 1998 local leaders believe the new rail link will stimulate business in the Thames Valley and the West.

Says Ruth Bagley, chief executive of Slough Borough Council, ‘Studies show that improving access to Heathrow will stimulate growth, and could deliver over £2 billion in economic benefits, over 40,000 additional jobs, and significant environmental benefits.’

Heathrow and the West

To drive down costs and speed up the delivery of HS2 the project should be started at Manchester and Leeds as a well as London, says Sir David Higgins.

Asked to review costs and timescales the new head of HS2 startled ministers by urging simultaneous construction in the north and south. This would cut costs in the long term. Higgins also warned that political wrangling would drive up costs.

The Labour opposition has questioned the need for HS2. UKIP opposes it altogether. However according to Higgins – who officially steps down as chief executive of Network Rail on 31st March - the need for more capacity trumps all other arguments.

‘I travelled recently from Birmingham to London, and I travel that line a lot. It was unbelievably packed, absolutely heaving,’ says Sir David. ‘There are no new train paths. We’d love to put more trains on the west coast…(but)…It’s a very tired, old, smartly refurbished railway line that is right at capacity.

‘It’s the busiest mixed use railway line

in Europe and it’s showing. We can’t get more trains on it.’ Failure to build the high speed railway will result in people queuing to get on mainline trains. ‘You won’t get on trains. It will be like the Piccadilly Line at peak hour. Usually I stand for three trains before I can get on. You’ll be doing that at Milton Keynes. You’ll be forming queues to get on trains.’

Higgins Urges Northern Start

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Southern Railways has teamed up with groups run by people with learning disabilities, to support the Thumbs Up! campaign at all of its staffed stations.

Southern aims to make it easier for people with learning disabilities to use trains. Says Nicola Smith, a promoter of the Thumbs Up! Campaign, ‘It can be quite scary travelling on the train. If you see the Thumbs Up sticker you know you will have better service. It gives you confidence.’

Once every staff member at a Southern station has been briefed on the 10 top tips on how to help, a Thumbs Up! Sticker is displayed in a prominent place at the station, giving confidence to those who see it that they will get supportive service from

the staff that work there. Says Southern’s Accessibility

Manager, Kirsty Monk, ‘We are very pleased to support the Thumbs Up! campaign at all of our staffed stations across the Southern network.

‘Our staff receive training on how to help people with learning disabilities as a matter of course, but the beauty of this campaign is that wherever people go, as long as they see a Thumbs Up! sticker displayed, they can be confident that everyone at the station will use the 10 tips to help them with their journey.’

Fingers and Thumbs

School students in Cheshire are backing High Speed 2 and plans for a new hub station at Crewe.

The Manchester route of HS2 will pass through Crewe. A connection with the West Coast Main Line will be provided just south of Crewe, with the line continuing in a tunnel under the town, heading north.

Cheshire East Council has launched the ‘I Say Yes’ to HS2 and the new station. Local leaders believe the new fast rail link will bring jobs and career opportunities to the historic railway town and Cheshire itself.

Says engineering student Beth Doak, 17, ‘I think it will be good. We’re in a good location so we can go to a lot of places on the train from here. It will bring a lot of engineering jobs and will mean lots of jobs for people when it is finished.’

Miss Doak is studying for a BTech in engineering. ‘It’s progress and I’m all for

it,’ she added. Local campaigners urged students to fill out a feedback form backing HS2 at South Cheshire College.

Local leader, Michael Jones, said, ‘This campaign is all about sending an important message to the Government, that Crewe is the best place to create a gateway to the north and south of the country. We’re delighted that so many local young people are behind the campaign. After all, this will be the generation that will benefit the most out of these ambitious plans.

‘We want to increase the opportunities for young people and ensure that we don’t have a brain drain problem, where home-grown talent goes elsewhere, seeking work and a better lifestyle.’

The local council plans to build a university technical college in Crewe in 2015, for the engineers of the future. Graduates could be involved in building the new high speed railway which will connect Crewe with London in 58 minutes.

Engineering students Beth Doak and Matthew Steele.

Local Youth Back HS2

HISTORY FEATURE34 | RailStaff | February 2014

This year RailStaff will be running a series of articles examining the role of the railways in the First World War. Andy Milne sets the scene.

Every evening at 8 o’clock in Ypres in Belgium, four buglers from the town’s volunteer fire brigade assemble under the imposing Menin Gate. Passers by fall silent as the men sound the Last Post.

The local police chief, Pierre Vandenbraambussche, instituted the practice as an expression of thanks by Belgium for those who died to win back its freedom and independence. The Last Post has been played at the Menin Gate every night since then apart from during the Second World War.

The Menin Gate stands in the east of Ypres. As the sun sets, the buglers and tourists turn back into the town leaving behind them the arch that marks the passage of so many young men who passed that way to the fighting, many never to return.

Ypres, which British soldiers always pronounced Wipers – was almost destroyed by shelling during the First World War. The town has come to symbolise the struggle itself.

WW1 CentenaryThis year marks the centenary of the

start of the First World War in July and August 1914. Notable for its appalling loss of life – over one million men died during the Battle of the Somme alone – the war was the first to be fought on an industrial scale using the full might of factories and machines.

Railways, machine guns and mass–produced ordnance made it one of the most bloody and fatal land wars the world has ever seen. Battlefield railways meant men and munitions could be moved in greater numbers than ever before right up to the front line. Away from the front, whole armies could be moved by rail from one section of the front to another.

Terrible warOne hundred years on it is reasonable

to ask what caused this terrible war. There are two explanations. First culprit was the growing tensions of

an imperialist and unwieldy Europe. Secondly the assassination of a prince and his wife by a terrorist – two murders that gave rise to the death of millions.

Europe, on the eve of the Great War, was largely dominated by empires: The Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and Germany. France and Britain had huge overseas empires. Countries like Finland, Poland, Estonia and Ireland were provinces of large imperial combines that effectively dominated the world.

Poland, a nation since the early middle ages, effectively disappeared in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, not regaining statehood until 1919. The history of the 19th century is one of nations breaking free of old empires.

Greece fought free of the Ottoman Empire, south American republics kicked out Spain. Serbia fought a protracted struggle for independence from both the Turks and the Austrians. However nationalism also led to the emergence of larger homogenous states – a united Germany, forged by Otto von Bismarck.

Play It Again Fred

February 2014 | RailStaff | 35HISTORY FEATURE

Italy also achieved unification. Hitherto both countries had been a patchwork of semi independent states and principalities complete with fairytale castles and armies in red and blue. Functioning democracies like Switzerland and Holland were the exception rather than the rule.

Against this backdrop of story book

hussars and empires the size of a time zone, the immediate origins of the Great War seem banal.

In June 1914 the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, with his wife, Sophia (Pictured below), insisted on travelling to the town of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a Balkan province once occupied

by Turkey but now part of Austria. Travelling through Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophia were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb terrorist (Pictured bottom left).

Of itself the incident, which horrified Austria-Hungary, should have led to no more than diplomatic protest and the trial of the conspirators. Princip was captured and despatched to Austria where he was tried and later died in prison. Princip was incarcerated at a place that became infamous as the Thereisendstadt concentration camp 20 years later in Czechoslovakia.

However, the Serbian military was widely implicated in the plot. Austria-Hungary demanded action and a wide ranging enquiry. Years of rivalry between the powers burst open.

28 July 1914Dissatisfied by the Serbian response

to the assassination, Austria-Hungary mobilised and declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. This in turn precipitated a Russian mobilisation – Russia was a guarantor of Serbian independence seeking to protect a fellow Orthodox and Slavic power.

As the summer boiled on, Russia’s action meant Germany mobilised, alarmed that an Austrian-Russian conflagration would catch it unprepared.

Germany’s Kaiser, Wilhelm II, had known the murdered Franz Ferdinand well and mourned the tragic death of the young couple. Russia was allied with France. Belgium was neutral and guaranteed by Britain.

(LEFT) Soldiers struggling to pull a big gun through mud. The gun has been placed on a track created for a light railway.(RIGHT) Damage to railway lines, Albert, France, during World War I. It is likely that these damaged railway lines were targeted very deliberately. Railway links were vitally important to any army during World War I as they could be used to carry troop reinforcements or new supplies of ammunition and food. Note that a soldier continues to keep guard despite the damage: it is possible that the tracks remain intact further down the line.

(LEFT) Field Marshal (Earl) Haig (1861-1928) and Sir Philip Sassoon (1888-1939) in Haig’s office on a train.(RIGHT) Field Marshal (Earl) Haig (1861-1928) leaving a train to walk over a board path to his waiting car.

(LEFT) Laying railway lines on the ground just captured from the Germans, during World War I.(RIGHT) German prisoners of war, Messines, Belgium, 1917. Five German prisoners of war are pushing a truck platform along a set of tracks. There are two wounded British soldiers lying, covered, on the truck . Behind them another set of tracks are visible.

HISTORY FEATURE36 | RailStaff | February 2014

(LEFT) Train of the Amiens gun, near Amiens, France, 1918. Haig (front left) and other Allied leaders looking at some piece of machinery taken from the train from which the famous Amiens gun had been used by the Germans to fire on the city of Amiens from a distance of about 16 miles (25 kilometres). The gun, originally a naval gun, had been mounted on a railway carriage.(RIGHT) A wrecked German steam-engine, graffiti has been written on it, including the name, ‘C J Griffin’, the motto, ‘Never Budge’ and the sarcastic joke, ‘Lancs Reg Leave Train’.

(LEFT) Wounded Canadians returning from the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, France, 1916. Seven soldiers surround a hand-pushed platform which runs on railway lines. A wounded soldier is balanced on the front and appears to be grimacing. In the background three soldiers continue digging and the Front is visible in the distance.(RIGHT) Pile-driver being used in bridge construction, France, during World War I.

(LEFT) Railway repair depot, Western Front, during World War I. This photograph shows a railway depot. A mobile workshop train is standing on what appears to be a narrow-gauge track, with stabilising ‘legs’ to hold the wagons steady when the workshop was in use. Soldiers are standing in the train and two men in work clothes and broad-brimmed hats (possibly Australian) are on the tracks.(RIGHT) Straight from the ship into the train - oats for our horses, Western Front, during World War I.

(LEFT) Carriages of a wrecked (freight?) train lying in a shell-hole beside bits of broken rail. There seems to be a group of people surveying the scene towards the top right of the picture.(RIGHT) Troops in the snow, Western Front. A line of flat, open waggons laden with corrugated iron, tables, timber and all the other supplies needed to build some form of accommodation for the troops. Some men are already beginning to unload while others are sitting on the end truck, looking at the snowy wasteland that is their destination.

(LEFT) Railway wagons stuck in ice, Western Front, during World War I. This photograph is one of a number which illustrate the very practical difficulties of winter warfare. In this instance, railway wagons appear to have got stuck with ice on the rails. (RIGHT) Four carriages loaded with goods and soldiers are travelling round curving rail tracks. The soldiers are precariously balanced on top of the goods. There is snow on the ground and they are all wearing heavy coats.

February 2014 | RailStaff | 37HISTORY FEATURE

Germany declared war on Russia and then France at the beginning of August. Victory for Germany in any European war depended on knocking out France and facing off Russia. The von Schlieffen plan was put into action. German forces under Moltke invaded Luxembourg and Belgium and swept into France. With Belgium neutrality violated, Great Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August.

Sabre rattlingThe initial stages of the war seemed a

continuation of the sabre rattling that had bedevilled European politics for the past 40 years. Young men going off to join up along with all their friends and brothers from a particular street or village gave small thought to this.

What soldiers they knew were dare devil men who had fought wars in mountain and desert in the far flung outposts of empire. It would be an end-of-summer adventure. They’d be home to get the harvest in, certainly by Christmas.

The conventional view – particularly in Belgium – is that the war was fought for freedom, for the right of a sovereign people to choose their own government and change it every once in a while through free elections. That was President Woodrow Wilson’s view when he finally brought the United States into the war.

The world should be made safe for democracy and sovereign peoples given their own states. The British and French didn’t like it but had to agree. Marxists still argue that conventional democracy merely perpetuates a sort of middle class capitalist hegemony and that both wars were more about class struggle than freedom.

That was not how it seemed in early September 1944 when units of the Polish 1st Armoured Division reached Ypres. All day Polish soldiers and local resistance fighters engaged German troops in house to house fighting. Towards evening scouts reported massive German withdrawals. Snipers left behind continued the killing.

The Last PostAs the gun fire continued, an old

fireman, Fred Arfeuille, slipped across the deserted town, dodging from doorway to doorway. At 8.00 o’clock Mr Arfeuille stood once more beneath the Menin Gate (Pictured above). Alone and bare headed he took out his bugle and taking a deep breath put it to his lips. Despite the crack and zing of bullets he played the Last Post.

Then a strange thing happened. Townsfolk with admitted hesitancy came onto the streets. A café owner rolled up

his shutters. People gathered for a drink with their liberators having overcome their suspicions of these strange men in British Army uniforms. How fitting, some said, that Polish soldiers should liberate this town whose name is synonymous with the struggles of the Great War.

Friends urged Fred Arfeuille to take cover but he wouldn’t. That night Mr Afreuille played the Last Post six times - one for every year of the war. Men of the Ypres Fire Brigade have honoured the dead in this way every evening ever since.

Woodrow Wilson.

OBITUARY38 | RailStaff | February 2014

Former Freightliner marketing manager Neil MacDonald – who has died suddenly aged 68 – was a classic railwayman, successfully spanning the nationalised and privatised eras with a passion for public service and, literally, delivering the goods to the customer.

Born in Dundee in 1945, Neil joined British Railways straight from school in 1962, working at Edinburgh’s Dalry Road motive power depot and Merchiston station until both were shut in 1965.

It was during this period – on 26th September 1964 – that Neil was one of the lucky participants in the rail tour which saw the record-breaking run of Sir Nigel Gresley over the Waverley Route, a railway whose 1969 closure long angered him. He was looking forward enthusiastically to travelling on the revived Borders Railway in 2015.

In 1966 he followed the path of many a Scotsman heading south to London, where he joined the fledgling Freightliner division. With new colleagues and lifelong friends-to-be, Peter Lilley and Peter Vening, he was soon working at Willesden Freightliner Terminal in north west London.

Neil’s business brain quickly took him on to the company’s marketing department where he flourished under the inspiring leadership of Ivor James, exploring novel ways in which this very customer-focused outfit, by now part of the National Freight Corporation, could improve and extend its offer to an even-then road haulage dominated market.

One of the high points of Neil’s career – and he often spoke of having had ‘the best jobs in the world’ – was when he was appointed Freightliner’s West Highland Line marketing manager. Neil delighted in managing the Alcan aluminium and Arjo Wiggins paper contracts.

The West Highland remit also involved Ministry of Defence contracts. This became another sector in which Neil excelled, bringing to bear his sharp analysis, practical approach and irrepressible good humour – well received on the railway and in the pub alike.

An unusual operational highlight was organising a mixed intermodal and passenger train for the military from Elgin to the south of England. He often travelled with the MoD to Germany, a country he much admired. Here he could indulge his great passion for steam traction on the country’s renowned Plandampf main-line excursions and the Harz Mountains narrow-gauge network.

It was in his MoD role in 1992 that Neil drew to the Army’s attention the proximity of the terminus of the recently-mothballed Redmire branch line to their Catterick Ranges. Thus began the use

of the Wensleydale Railway for transfer of tanks and other military hardware, which sustained the line guaranteeing its present existence as a successful heritage railway which hopes to reach Northallerton in 2014.

Neil took voluntary redundancy in 1993 – but his railway career was far from over. He soon became rail adviser to the North East Scotland Rail Freight Development Group, where he played a key role in securing loading gauge clearance from Mossend to Aberdeen and Elgin.

This recently bore fruit with last autumn’s ‘Lifting the Spirit’ trial trains moving whisky and foodstuffs from Elgin to Grangemouth.

After his spell working to improve rail freight in the north-east, ill-health increasingly dogged Neil’s mobility. However his enthusiasm for, and rich experience of, the railway brought a consultancy swansong, working with Edinburgh-based writer and former Freightliner colleague, David Spaven, on rail feasibility studies.

These included schemes for new freight facilities serving Grant’s distillery in Girvan and the Highland Spring bottling plant at Blackford.

Neil’s railway career was characterised by enthusiasm for innovation – while never forgetting the basics – seeing this as essential to keep pace with a dynamic road haulage sector. Latterly, however,

he had begun to despair of the privatised rail freight industry’s preference for ‘low hanging fruit’, as he put it – fighting each other for existing rail traffics rather than pushing out the boundaries to win new traffic from road.

Throughout his 46 years in England, latterly in Leighton Buzzard, with his wife Rachel, Neil kept on the family flat in Edinburgh and remained a frequent visitor to the city.

He was a regular in the Oxford Bar, famed as the haunt of Ian Rankin’s Inspector John Rebus. Here he would enthusiastically debate and discuss the issues of the day, with little encouragement needed to reflect on the railway and the wider world which it – and he – served.

Neil will be much missed by railway friends and colleagues, and by Rachel, whom he first met – appropriately – in the Exmouth Arms near Euston station. The funeral is at Oak Chapel, Crownhill Crematorium, Milton Keynes on Wednesday, 19th February at 2 pm.

Neil MacDonald – Popular Railfreight Pioneer

The man who invented the British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment, nicknamed BRUTEs and a familiar sight on many platforms, has died aged 93.

John Travers Cosgrove was also responsible for the yellow warning line near the platform edge. War hero Travers Cosgrave was awarded the Military Cross in 1945. After the war he joined LNER and worked for British Railways Scottish Region until 1955 and then for the Western Region before being appointed to the BR Board.

John Travers Cosgrove was born on 9th October 1920 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was educated

at Marlborough and Imperial College, London where he read Civil Engineering. Cosgrove was a noted cross country runner.

Serving in the Royal Corps of Engineers he took part in the Normandy invasion arriving with his unit just after D-Day. He was awarded the MC for his part in leading the installation of a temporary scissor bridge at Wesel.

The allied advance had been held up by the failure to bridge the local river

in Issum. Cosgrove took charge and directed operations for three hours under fierce enemy bombardment.

A successful career on the railways led to his promotion as Materials Handling Officer on the British Railways Board from 1962 to 1976. In this role he introduced luggage trolleys and BRUTEs.

Travers Cosgrove also worked out the safe distance from a platform edge for passengers to stand. This was developed initially for the Advanced Passenger Train but Cosgrove’s yellow line has survived as a safety measure on all platforms. Travers Cosgrove is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two daughters.

Travers Cosgrove – War Hero and Innovator


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40 | RailStaff | February 2014

Popular charity, the Railway Children, plans to stage a Big Breakfast on Friday 9th May 2014 as part of a network wide fund raising initiative.

Rail staff, family and friends are being urged to get together and raise money for vulnerable street children by holding a breakfast themed event. Ideas range from having breakfast with your colleagues to running a pancake flipping race or the even more alarming a baked beans eating competition.

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day according to medical research but for many vulnerable children who live alone at risk on the streets, breakfast every day will be just another meal they miss.

Funds raised will be spent on

worthwhile projects and will help street children have a better future. For more info go to www.railwaychildren.org.uk/how-to-help/corporate-support/the-big-breakfast/

Big Breakfast for Charity

Staff at London Midland can now use the train company’s new charity web site to double their efforts.

The new website www.londonmidlandgiving.com builds on the success of London Midland Giving, set up in October 2012, which matches up to 50% (to a maximum value of £500) of the money staff raise through sponsored charitable activities. £16,000 has been shared across 27 charities.

Says Richard Baker, London Midland’s internal communications manager, ‘Not only does it (the website) make it easy for us to support the good causes our colleagues raise money for, it also means

that charities get every penny of the money raised, as London Midland covers the administrative costs associated with each donation.

‘The new website also includes sharing tools to enable our fundraisers to use social networking to raise awareness of their good causes.’

Statistics show that people are 71% more likely to donate to charity if the money they give is match funded, and are also likely to donate up to 50% more – great news for charities.

Charity Web Site LaunchedNetwork Rail and the Samaritans plan to publish a pocket sized

handbook called ‘Suicide prevention and support on the railways’ for front line rail staff.

The handbook provides information on suicide prevention and tips and guidance for preventing and recovering from an incident. With many railway staff having first-hand experience of a railway suicide and many more often supporting vulnerable individuals at stations, Network Rail and Samaritans are stepping up efforts to help frontline staff.

The handbook also includes a detachable credit card-style quick reference tool, providing basic tips for identifying and approaching a vulnerable person, along with emergency instructions including the BTP’s new suicide emergency hotline number. On average one person a day tries to take their life on the railway, with serious consequences for drivers, station staff, passengers, the public and police officers.

There is also a huge traumatic impact on family and friends of the individual. In January 2010 Network Rail and the Samaritans launched a partnership aimed at reducing death by suicide on the railways.

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Please return this form with your donation to: Freepost Plus RRHJ-ESZK-EYCG Railway Children, 1 The Commons, Sandbach, CW11 1EG Telephone: 01270 757 596. Email: [email protected] www.railwaychildren.org.uk/rescue Reg charity number 1058991

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42 | RailStaff | February 2014

Social media is rapidly changing the way we interact with one another, Carl Taylor at advance-TRS reports.

Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn enable us to connect with friends, family and colleagues right from the comfort of our laptops and smartphones. It is also a great help for employers…..

We’re beginning to see a world in which social media is shaping the recruitment process, as employers increasingly turn towards sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter to find and screen potential candidates. Your social networking profiles can be crucial in distinguishing yourself from rival candidates. Conversely it can also be a stumbling block coming between you and your dream job.

A window on youA job seeker’s social media profile

is a window on you – your skills and personality. The onus is upon job seekers to ensure that both public profile and personal portraiture are fit for purpose. Make sure you’re getting the most out of social networking by following these top social media tips:

1 Complete your LinkedIn profile 100%. LinkedIn is a great recruiting tool that is becoming a more commonplace method for recruiters to source candidates. LinkedIn rewards users for completing their profile by moving them up the search results pages the

more complete their profile is. Make sure your profile includes

relevant keywords that potential employers are searching for. List your competencies, qualifications and experience to the fullest.

2. Ensure your social media profile is fit for purpose. Hiring managers are increasingly using social networking sites to research candidates in order to determine if they’re a good fit for the organisation.

A hiring manager will want to see that you conduct yourself professionally online. This means photos of you drinking and making disparaging remarks about other races, genders or religions are a big no-no. Criticisms of your current and former employers are a non-starter. Always demonstrate loyalty. Make sure you take down anything you think could disadvantage your applications. Try to highlight your

previous successes and achievements. 3. Be sure to show that you have

good communication skills. Ensure that any communication with your connections appears professional and grammatically correct.

4. Follow the organisations that interest you the most. If there are certain organisations that you are more interested in working for, it’s worth following them on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

You’ll be one of the first people to learn about new job openings, you’ll gain an inside knowledge of the company through social media which will set you up well for an interview. If a manager does have a look at your profile, they’ll see that you have a pre-existing interest in the company which can only work well in your favour.

5. Participate in group discussions. LinkedIn benefits from a variety of niche professional groups such as ‘Rail Professionals’ and ‘Railgroup’. Participating in group discussions

on LinkedIn is a great way to show that you have a keen interest in your industry.

This looks good when hiring managers check out your profile. It’s also a great way to build connections as you interact with hundreds of people across the rail industry.

Make sure you periodically share news stories or opinions about your industry with a status update. It’s a great way to build your online presence and gain even more connections.

6. Ask for recommendations. The recommendations section of your LinkedIn profile is a great way to prove your worth to potential employers. It’s all well and good saying that you’re skilled in a certain software package, but if your connections endorse you for these skills your expertise carries a lot more weight.

Don’t be shy. Ask former employers, colleagues and friends for endorsements. They’re more than likely willing to recommend you.

If you’ve found this article informative, you can find more at www.advancerailwayjobs.com/advice, or you can call one of our specialist consultants today. We are here to help you advance your career and our services are completely free.

For the latest jobs, news and job seeking advice, you can also follow advance-TRS on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/company/2564440

Essential Element for Job Search

CAREERS NEWS

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

© SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

February 2014 | RailStaff | 43CAREERS

The Martin Group of Companies (Est. 1976) provides specialist services to the waste

recycling, construction and Rail industries with a turnover in excess of c£80m.

RAIL TRAINING MANAGERHighly competitive salary + Benefits + fully expensed company vehicle

Based at our head office (Junction 28/M1)

We are looking for a qualified specialist technical trainer to provide a

comprehensive service in accordance with statutory requirements, client

expectations and company procedures. The successful candidate will develop,

deliver and evaluate comprehensive technical training solutions in accordance with

the needs of the business as well as developing our external business and have the

motivation and skills to work independently. The main responsibilities will be:

· To organise and facilitate training courses

· Provide course notes and supporting information

· Organise refresher training as appropriate

· Apply for the appropriate training cards for competent individuals

· Periodically to extend the scope of his/ her training capabilities to suit the

company needs in specialist activities.

· You will be given support in administrative duties.

A key part of the role will be to maintain a comprehensive understanding and

retention of industry accreditation such as National Skills Academy for Rail

Engineering (NSARE), Network Rail Standards, Sentinel and the Rail Training

Accreditation Scheme (RTAS).

Our Requirements: To be considered for this newly created position, you must have

a working knowledge of the railway, be a Controller of Site Safety (COSS), have a

Certificate in Teaching or similar training qualification, a Certificate in Assessing

Vocational Achievement and ideally you will have proven ability in the Construction

and Rail industries

Next Steps:

To apply, please complete an online application form at and

return with a covering letter, stating your reasons for applying. We are an equal

opportunities employer.

www.hwmartin.com

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 confidence, please contact one of our specialist consultants on

Rail, Infrastructure & Construction

P-Way Design Engineers and Managers Warrington, Birmingham & London

£300 - £350/day or £30K – £60K

Mainline Rail Project Experience

Civil and Drainage Engineers London, North West & South West -

£35K – £55K or £250 - £350/day

Earth works, geotechnical and Track

Drainage experience

Mechanical Engineers

London, Manchester & Birmingham

£35K - £60K or £350 - £500/day

Working on major new projects

P6 Planners London, Midlands & Swindon

£40K – £50K or £300 - £400/day

Experience of Network Rail Projects,

Primavera experience essential

Project Manager

Swindon, Milton Keynes & London

£40K - £55K or £450/day

Projects civils, Signalling and M+E

enabling works Experience

Rail Project Managers (CRE), Site Agent & Sub-Agents £35K - £55K or £250 - £400/day

Rail Civil works, Bridges & Embankments.

TRS_Advert_February_2014.indd 1 05/02/2014 13:42

Please send your CV to [email protected]

or call 0161 797 5511

We are looking to develop our teams across the UK and currently have the following positions available:

PROJECT ENGINEERS(London)

Co-ordinate staff, equipment and site access for installation, service and repair of monitoring instrumentation.

Skill sets: interpreting client requirements, identifying problems and ensuring solutions are properly implemented.

SITE TECHNICIANS(London, Swindon, Manchester, Central Scotland)

Work in a team to produce accurate measurements of geotechnical and structuralinfrastructure using a variety of monitoring instrumentation.

Skill sets: organised and methodical approach with attention to detail and recording.

SCHEDULER(Manchester)

Liaising with colleagues to ensure all aspects of physical resources are planned and utilised in a safe, efficient and cost effective manner for bespoke working situations.

Skill sets: problem solving mindset and organised team player.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER(Central Scotland)

Develop operations within the recently opened office (Bellshill). Skill sets: self-starter withstrong sales drive and powers of persuasion. Background in surveying, civil engineering

or electrical installations would be very advantageous.

DATUM are industry leaders in geotechnical and structural monitoring across the Rail, Utilities, Construction, Mining and Public sectors.

The company has grown steadily and we are now looking for new additions to our team. Prospects for career development are excellent at DATUM, so if you think you have what we need, please get in touch.

CAREERS44 | RailStaff | February 2014

Senior Telecoms Engineer – CRE

Optilan is a Telecoms System Integrator delivering bespoke solutions to demanding blue chip customers on a worldwide basis operating in highly competitive markets, in particular oil & gas, ground transportation and utilities. The company has continued to expand during the global recession (appearing in the times Fast Track 100 companies list) and is seeking to strengthen its operations team with the following appointment which is based in Coventry.

We are seeking to appoint a Telecoms Contractors Responsible Engineer (CRE) for both design and construction. As CRE you will be responsible for the day to day management and co-ordination of all engineering and technical activities relating to telecoms within the project.

You will have wide experience as a Railway Telecoms CRE, and be able to interpret designs, schedule GRIP 4 - GRIP 8 telecom design development and delivery works on the Operational Railway.

You will be responsible for the production of designs, plans and system deliverables to meet all applicable specifications and Network Rail Standards.

You will also need to have experience of designing and delivering communications systems including:

Transmission (SDH and PDH) PETS systemsCable Networks (fibre, copper, structured) Radio SystemsTelephone concentrators / PBX

It is required that you be an experienced CRE with design and construction experience and hold the appropriate IRSE licences. The role will be based in Coventry, but will require travel to other sites on occasion as projects demand.

Please forward your cv and covering letter to Debbie Scott, HR Manager to [email protected] or write to Debbie Scott, HR Manager, Optilan (UK) Ltd, Stonebridge Trading Estate, Sibree Road, Coventry CV3 4FD

www.optilan.com

Senior Telecoms Engineer – PICOT

Optilan is a Telecoms System Integrator delivering bespoke solutions to demanding blue chip customers on a worldwide basis operating in highly competitive markets, in particular oil & gas, ground transportation and utilities. The company has continued to expand during the global recession (appearing in the times Fast Track 100 companies list) and is seeking to strengthen its operations team with the following appointment which is based in Coventry.

We are seeking an experienced telecoms PICOT/Test Engineer to support projects throughout the UK for both SISS and Operational Telecoms projects.

You will have wide experience as a Railway Telecoms PICOT, you must be able to interpret designs, and the scheduling of GRIP 4 - GRIP 8 telecom works on the Operational Railway, you will be responsible for the production of testing strategies, plans and specifications to Network Rail Standards, be competent in the management of site activities to ensure that safety and quality processes are maintained as well as proven experience of managing a team of test engineers to deliver testing activities to strict deadlines.

It is required that you will have competent levels of presentation, communications and planning skills, hold an IRSE Testing Manager licence (2.3.295) as well as PTS Card and IWA or COSS certification.

You will also need to have experience of testing communications systems such as:

Transmission (SDH and PDH) PETS systemsCable Networks (fibre, copper, structured) Radio SystemsTelephone concentrators / PBX

You will also need to be a signed off PICOT previously. The role will be based in Coventry, but will require travel to other sites on occasion as projects demand.

Please forward your cv and covering letter to Debbie Scott, HR Manager to [email protected] or write to Debbie Scott, HR Manager, Optilan (UK) Ltd, Stonebridge Trading Estate, Sibree Road, Coventry CV3 4FD

www.optilan.com

For further information on the above roles or to enquire about other vacancies with ATA, please contact the Rail team on 01332 861326 or email your details to [email protected] referencing RAILSTAFF + Job Title

SENIOR QUANTITY SURVEYOR X2 – RAIL – CIVIL ENGINEERING

£40,000 - £55,000 per annum (depending on experience) + car/car allowance + company contribution pension scheme + health careAn exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior QuantitySurveyor to join a major engineering and rail infrastructure contractor, whoare currently working on a prestigious railway project in the South East, carrying out modifications and station upgrades.

London

West Midlands

REGIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGER - RAIL CIVIL ENGINEERING

£52,000 per annum + Car + PackageMy client, a growing Principle Contractor is looking for a Regional HSQE Manager to oversee it’s busy order book in the Midlands and West of the UK. This is a strategic role with excellent career prospects with this company experiencing year on year growth.

South West (Swindon or Bristol)

WWW.ATA-RECRUITMENT.CO.UK

GLOBAL REACH, LOCAL DELIVERY

F ind more jobs at

PROJECT MANAGER - RAIL BRIDGES AND STRUCTURES

£50,000 per annum + Car & PackageDue to an imminent influx of bridges and structural work, our client, a leading Civil Engineering Contractor is looking to recruit two Project Managers. They will be responsible for delivering these long term projects and securing more work in the Western region.

Hitachi Rail Europe will build, deliver and maintain 122 Class 800 series trains for the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). Our success to date has been possible thanks to our dedicated team and our future plans for growth centre on recruiting and developing dynamic individuals to successfully deliver existing and future challenges.

We are looking for great people to join us at our central London Head Office and to become part of the growing team in our depot facility in West London.

Current opportunities include:

New Business Delivery Manager Depot ManagerHead of IEP Logistics Interior Design/Mock-up ManagerSystem Integration Engineer EMC EngineerSenior Test Engineer Traction Performance EngineerFacilities & Depot Infrastructure Manager Change ManagerDesign Engineers ETCS Signalling EngineersIEP Mobilisation Manager

Do you have what it takes to Inspire the Next?To find out more about a specific role and to apply, please visit our careers site www.hitachirail-eu.com/careers

Signed.Sealed.Ready to deliver.

CAREERS46 | RailStaff | February 2014

Drive our revenue just as successfully

As we make major investments across our network to improve the customer experience for 1.5 million passengers every week, you’ll shape and take ownership of the First Great Western Revenue Protection Strategy for our current franchise, and beyond. Together with the General Manager teams, you’ll develop revenue objectives across our business and ensure we meet them at our stations and on our trains. In a fast-moving business every decision matters, so you’ll also provide our delivery teams with the analytics, business data and KPIs they need to make the most of our resources and achieve our goals. A talented relationship builder, your role will involve collaborating with colleagues at all levels across the business to deliver our objectives. If you’ve the expertise to drive and protect our revenue, join us on our journey and apply at www.firstgroupcareers.com

Revenue Protection Strategy Manager£34k - £39k + benefits | Reading

Due to our rapidly expanding rail business, SCUK Ltd require the following

for short and long term project work covering the Western Region Areas

and UK Wide:

Signalling Staff:

•

• IRSE Points Fitters • IRSE Team Leaders

Please forward your CV to:

[email protected]

IRSE Licensed Testers • Installers & Assistant Installers

SMTH Testers & InstallersWestern Region Areas

SC

ignalling

UK Ltd.onstruction

Rail Accident Investigation Branch

Worth investigating

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is the UK’s independent railway accident investigation organisation. Investigating accidents and incidents on the UK’s railways, our focus is to prevent a similar occurrence rather than to apportion blame. We are currently seeking to strengthen both our front-line and support teams.

Rail Accident InvestigatorTwo posts – in Derby or Farnborough Ref: DFT/18/14/DFTcGrade: DfT Pay Band 6A&NPay range is £68,666 - £76,583

As a Rail Accident Investigator, whenever there is a signifi cant accident or incident on the UK’s railways, you may be among the fi rst to respond. You will then manage operations on site and the recovery and examination of evidence. During the subsequent investigation you will carry out further fact fi nding and interviews, manage other specialists, liaise with those involved, and carry out causal analysis. You will then report upon the factors that lead to an accident, and determine the actions that would prevent a similar accident in the future, leading to recommendations for improvements in the safety of the railways.

Ideally, your career to date will include proven experience and expertise in railway signalling, rolling stock, infrastructure or operations. However, we are open to all railway disciplines, or to investigation experience gained from another fi eld. It would be preferable if you had a degree in a relevant discipline, but this is not essential if you can demonstrate to us the necessary depth and breadth of experience and knowledge.

To be eligible to act as a front-line investigator you must be prepared to undergo security and health checks. Investigations can involve work in demanding conditions; so we require that you are physically fi t.

We will provide comprehensive expert training in the skills and knowledge required.

Business and Strategy ManagerTwo posts – one in Derby and one in Farnborough Ref: DFT/19/14/DFTcGrade: DfT Pay Band 6 (Civil Service Grade 7) Pay range is £45,688 - £52,796

As a Business and Strategy Manager, you will be a member of the RAIB’s Technical Support team. In this role you will manage staff whose main area of responsibility is to support the effi cient operation of the front line investigators and to assist the Senior Management Team in planning, developing, optimising and maintaining the effi ciency and effectiveness of the Branch’s general operations and investigation capability.

You will need a broad understanding of the railway industry and of policy work, as well as a general awareness of railway safety issues, or a proven ability to learn quickly. You will also have proven experience of managing a small team and communicating effectively, both verbally and in writing. You must have good interpersonal, organisational, policy and problem solving skills; and be results focused.

To fi nd out more information about these posts and to apply online please visit www.civilservice.gov.uk/jobsread guidance and search for Department for Transport jobs.

Closing date: Friday 28th February 2014.

The Department for Transport is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and want our workforce to refl ect the communities that we serve.

Marketing and Sales Team020 7500 6901www.expressmedicals.co.uk

@ExpressMedicals

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RailStaff February 2014