RailStaff June 2013

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RailStaff

PAGE 6

Star Track the next generation

Minister for Transportinterview

Simon Burns MP talks to RailStaffeditor Andy Milne.

A new two year scheme aimed atattracting school leavers to rail.

Issue 187 / June 2013

PAGE 8

Clare Hollingsworthheads Eurostar

Continued on PAGE 4

Crossrail’s premier tunnelling machine, Elizabeth, broke through into the new Canary Wharf stationbox, just a few days before the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Her Majestythe Queen. TBM Elizabeth was greeted by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, who said, ‘ThisGovernment knows that by investing in transport projects like Crossrail we are investing in Britain.’

PAGE 18

Crossrail CreatesElizabethan Serenade

With a punctuality that would bethe envy of any other industry,Crossrail’s tunnel boring machine,Elizabeth, arrived at Canary Wharfjust days ahead of the 60thanniversary of her namesake’scoronation.

TBM Elizabeth heralds the first ofmany such triumphs as Crossrailcarves out its galleries and hallsdeep under London. Elizabeth ispart of an industry that parallelsthe fortunes of the realm. Thereturn of the railway has anArthurian ring of confidence to itthat both inspires and reassures.

In 1953 Queen Elizabeth IIpresided over a country exhaustedby war and economic dislocation.Europe lay in ruins and bread wasrationed. Britain itself faced anuncertain post-imperial future.The end of the empire was oftendisgraced by ill treatment ofinsurgents and a failure to addressthe social crisis left behind.

The railways declined. TheBeeching plan achieved more infive minutes by government fiatthan Goring’s Luftwaffe hadmanaged in five years. In 1978/9the Winter of Discontent saw thedead unburied and rubbishuncollected. The railways, underresourced and under invested,were beset by industrial strife.

Through it all the British neverlost sight of the need to support theunderdog, see fair play and pokefun at the self important. Similarlythe railway industry never forgot its

unique role as the lymph system ofa successful economy.

Humour and commitmentinform the philosophy of therailway just as it does the head ofstate. Whole families work on therailways. People invest careerscontributing far more than theoften lamentably low pay scaleswarrant. Moreover the railway has

the singular privilege of drawingstaff from every country of theCommonwealth.

Such strengths are sorely neededin a world beset with humourlessauthoritarians and cleaverwielding terrorists. They shallnever win. Elizabeth II’s reign is anaffirmation that good alwaystriumphs over evil in the end.

www.railstaff.co.uk 3

“…the railway has the singular privilege ofdrawing staff from every country of theCommonwealth…”

PAGE 11 PAGE 12SPECIAL FoCUS

Publisher: Paul O’Connor

Editor: Andy Milne

Production and design: Adam O’Connor

Senior Reporter: Jonathan Webb

Writer: Nigel Wordsworth

Track Safety: Colin Wheeler

Pictures: Colin Garratt

Advertising: Asif Ahmed

Craig Smith

Danny Rowbotham

Paul Curtis

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Crossrail’s TBM Elizabeth arrives at Canary Wharf

CoMMEnT

Edinburgh wiresgo up

Engineers start installingoverhead wires and undergroundcabling for Edinburgh’s tramsystem city centre section.

Progress atnewton Aycliffe

Hitachi Rail Europe is pushingforward with plans for theconstruction of its new trainmanufacturing plant.

Health & Safety FocusIn July’s RailStaffThe biggest asset of any company is its people. Their Health & Safety istherefore paramount. Find out what new Rail Health & Safety initiativesare out there and keep in touch with Track Safety with Colin Wheeler.If you want to contribute, get in touch now. Please contact Paul Curtis or Tom o’Connor on 01530 560026.

TBM Elizabeth triumphs

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Just a few days ahead of the 60thanniversary of the Queen’scoronation her namesake, TBMElizabeth arrived at Canary Wharfneatly underscoring thecontribution the railway industryis making to a revitalised Britain.

The 1,000 tonne tunnel boringmachine, Elizabeth, was the first toarrive at Canary Wharf after a fivemile tunnelling trip from CanningTown. Together with twin machine,Victoria, Crossrail’s easterntunnelling machines set off fromthe Limmo site at Canning Townlast December. Over the past sixmonths, both machines have beenworking 24 hours a day toexcavate the first section of newtunnels beneath the River Lea andeast London.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,admitted many had doubts the

project would ever get going.‘Many thought it would neverhappen, it seemed almostunimaginable. But now, with thearrival of this gigantic tunnellingmachine in the heart of CanaryWharf, grubby with mud andrubble, we can be in no doubt it’son its way.

‘This new railway is adding vitalnew capacity to our transportnetwork and creating thousands ofjobs all over the UK. It is theperfect example of howinvestment in London benefits theentire country.’

Tunnel Boring Machine Elizabethwill now undergo maintenanceinside the Canary Wharf stationbox before resuming tunnellingtowards central London. Sistermachine Victoria is due to breakthrough into the station in the

next few weeks.Western tunnelling machines

Phyllis and Ada have now reachedTottenham Court Road and BondStreet respectively. In south-eastLondon, tunnel boring machineSophia has reached the Woolwichstation box with sister machineMary now underway fromPlumstead.

Says Crossrail Chief ExecutiveAndrew Wolstenholme, ‘TheCanary Wharf tunnellingbreakthrough is our biggestmilestone so far and a symbolicmoment that shows the scale ofthe essential new transport linksCrossrail is delivering.

‘We are making good progress inbuilding world-class new stationsand a marathon of tunnelsbeneath London with the entireCrossrail project now more than a

third complete. We are on track todeliver Europe’s biggestconstruction project on time andon budget.’

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronationtook place at Westminster Abbeyon 2 June 1953, nearly eighteenmonths after she succeeded herfather, King George VI.

Elizabethan Serenade by Crossrail

“We are making goodprogress in buildingworld-class newstations and amarathon of tunnelsbeneath London…”AndREW WoLSTEnHoLME,CHIEF ExECUTIvE,CRoSSRAIL


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Rallying cry for Crossrail 2Transport for London andnetwork Rail have launched apublic consultation to gaugepublic support for the proposednorth-south cross London rail link:Crossrail 2.

Originally the new railwaywould have used the route of theChelsea-Hackney Line, which hasbeen kept free from any intrusivebuilding development since 1991.TfL has now proposed twoalternatives which, it says, wouldbetter meet the rail needs of thecapital in the future - a Metrooption and a Regional option.

The Metro option offers a highfrequency underground serviceacross central London. Anunderground railway could operatebetween Wimbledon andAlexandra Palace, relievingcongestion on the Northern,Piccadilly and Victoria lines.

The Regional option benefitspeople in Hertfordshire, Surrey andbeyond by enabling more trains to

run on main line railways. Thisroute sees a combinedunderground and surface railwayoperating from Alexandra Palaceand stations in Hertfordshire tovarious locations in south westLondon and Surrey.

Says Mayor of London, BorisJohnson, ‘Crossrail is set torevolutionise travel in the capital,and with a predicted 10 millionpeople expected to be living inLondon by 2031, pressing aheadwith the next stage of the plan,Crossrail 2, is quite simplyessential.

‘In order to support this greatcapital’s bright future, we need tothink ahead and not wait untilour transport arteries are cloggedup and restricting jobs andgrowth. That’s why I am sendingout a rallying cry for the public’ssupport for this consultation -come and share your views so wecan progress with Crossrail 2 assoon as possible.’


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network Rail has launched StarTrack, a new two year schemeaimed at attracting school leaversinto the rail industry.

Participants are being offered thechance to take up 20 places on anew trainee engineering designscheme. Youngsters will earn asthey learn and gain a foundationdegree. The scheme is being run incollaboration with the PermanentWay Institution and SheffieldHallam University.

The organisations have workedtogether to develop a foundationdegree in railway engineering thatwill provide a blend of on-the-jobtraining and classroom-basedlearning for students.

Says Joan Heery (pictured left),Network Rail’s head of trackengineering, ‘By 2020 our railwaywill see a further 400 millionjourneys each year. Improved trackdesigns are a pivotal part of ourstrategy to increase capacity to meetthis additional demand, whether itis remodelling existing track layouts

or adding completely new routes. ‘This is why we’ve worked with

the industry and educators todevelop this new scheme anddevelop the track design engineersfor the future.’

Applicants need GCSE Maths andEnglish at grade C or above andeither 2 A levels, one of which ismaths, a science or technologysubject or a BTEC (level 3) Diplomain engineering or a technologysubject. In year one trainees will

receive a salary of £14,000 for thefirst year and £15,000 for thesecond year of the scheme.

Richard Quigley (pictured right), atrack design engineer for NetworkRail, explained how he got into therole. ‘I had a number of jobs that Ididn’t find very fulfilling until my dadsuggested I try the railways - he hadworked for them for over 20 years.

‘I landed a job with aconsultancy using CAD to producedrawings for track designs. I really

enjoyed what I was doing, showedsome initiative and started to getmore involved - it never hurts toask questions. One thing led toanother; I went to college and dida BTEC before starting the HNC inCivil Engineering I am currentlycompleting.’

The scheme starts in September2013 and operates in Glasgow,Manchester, Swindon,Birmingham, York, Milton Keynesand London.

Top performing c2c gets extension

Jamie Cullum took time out from abusy schedule to play forpassengers and public at StPancras recently.

He took advantage of the freepiano at St Pancras Internationalto play a short set with theNational Youth Jazz Orchestra.Says Jamie, ‘I’m in and out of StPancras a lot. There is a piano inthe station and I’ve seen a lot ofbusking here. I’ve always walkedpast it and thought, I fancy playingon that.

‘I thrive on live performance, thespontaneous vibe. This kind ofthing suits me well. We hadn’trehearsed with the orchestra at all,but they are a crack team ofmusicians. We hope we senttravellers on with a song in theirhearts.’

The singer performed a newtrack, Momentum, from his latestalbum.

St Pancras picks upMomentum

The award winning c2c railoperation has had its franchisecontract extended for at leastanother 16 months followingagreement with the departmentfor Transport.

From May 2013 c2c, part of theNational Express Group, willcontinue to operate the currentEssex Thameside franchise untilSeptember 2014 when a long termpartner is expected to take over.

Transport Secretary PatrickMcLoughlin justified the extensionsaying, ‘It gives the industry time todevelop their long term plans forthe future franchise and confidence

to passengers that services willcontinue for the next 16 months.

‘I am determined to ensure thatwhen we let the long termfranchise the operator deliverssignificant benefits to passengersand tax payers alike.’

Following the cancellation of theWest Coast Mainline franchisecompetition last year McLoughlinbrought in Richard Brown toexamine the government’sapproach to rail franchising.Among a number ofrecommendations Brownsuggested letting no more thanthree franchises a year.

Staff at c2c run one of the best

performing trail operations in Europe.

Star Track the next generation

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Brian Wisdom, chief executiveof People 1st, the sector skillscouncil for hospitality,passenger transport, travel andtourism, has been appointed aschairperson of the Federationfor Industry Sector Skills andStandards.

Formerly known as theAlliance of Sector SkillsCouncils, the Federation forIndustry Sector Skills andStandards has changed itsname, to reflect its role as thenational certification andquality assurance body forapprenticeships and to promotethe professional standards inthe development of skillssolutions required by employersin all sectors of industry.

Brian has extensiveexperience working within askills council and has led People1st since 2004. To date, careerhighlights include the mergerwith passenger transport sectorskills council, GoSkills, theconception, development andlaunch of the Hospitality Guild,and the expansion of People 1stto include the National SkillsAcademy for Retail.

Wise move


Hollingsworth heads Eurostar

Ipswich-based RT Training Solutions, hasappointed Steve Holmes as Managing director.

Steve has run his own successful businessoverseas, and has held senior roles within bluechip companies in Britain. He joins fromSignalling Solutions. Steve has been brought into further develop training for the rail industryand has a background in project managementand engineering.

Says RT Training Solutions CEO SimonJamieson, ‘We are delighted that Steve hasagreed to take up the challenge of leading thefuture direction of the company through itscontinuous growth and success. There is littledoubt that Steve’s extensive experience in allaspects of business coupled with hisoutstanding leadership skills are just what theteam at RTTS need to lead them towards theirhighest potential.

‘Having known Steve for many years I amconfident that complementing his vast levelof experience are the attributes of honestyand integrity and the desire to help othersgrow, which we consider vital values innurturing the current and future relationshipswith both our existing and future customersand employees.’

Steve, who lives in Chelmsford is lookingforward to his new role. ‘I am delighted to havebeen given this opportunity and excited by thechallenges that lie ahead.’

Holmes joins RT Training Solutions

Eurostar International hasappointed Clare Hollingsworthas chairman.

Clare will succeed RichardBrown who steps down at theend of June. ClareHollingsworth joined theboard of Eurostar as a non-executive director in 2010. Sheis also on the boards of Savills,the real estate advisor, VirginHealthcare, Molnlycke AB, aSwedish medical technologycompany and SpireHealthcare.

Prior to her non-executiveroles she was Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Spire Healthcare andits predecessor business, BUPAHospitals. Before SpireHealthcare she was ManagingDirector, Caledonian Airways.

Richard Brown’s decision tostep down follows his

appointment earlier this yearas chairman of theDepartment for Transport’sFranchise Advisory Panel.Brown is also a-non executivedirector of High Speed Two.

Says Richard, ‘It has been agreat privilege to be at theheart of Eurostar’s growth andexpansion over the last decadebut the time is right for me tohand over the reins. Eurostaris now an internationallyrespected brand and I haveevery confidence that it will gofrom strength to strength inthe future.

‘With her knowledge of thecompany and her experienceof consumer-facingbusinesses, Clare is perfectlyplaced to lead the Boardthrough the next phase ofEurostar’s development.’

“We are delighted that Steve hasagreed to take up the challenge…”SIMon JAMIESon

ATA is a specialist provider of white collartechnical,engineering and commercial

recruitment solutions to firms

throughout the rail industry.

Tel: 0845 880 8115

www.ata-recruitment.co.uk

Ganymede Solutions has a long heritageof providing contingent labour to safetycritical aspects of the rail industry.

Tel: 0845 880 8104

www.ganymedesolutions.co.uk

Andy Course has beenappointed Chief operatingofficer of Eversholt Rail,responsible for engineering,asset management andprocurement.

Andy previously worked as adirector and strategy consultantat PwC, advising private andpublic sector clients. Prior tothis he spent over 20 years inthe Royal Navy, responsible forthe development and operationof warships and their systems.

Andy is a Chartered Engineerand has a Master’s Degree inSystems Engineering and asecond Master’s Degree inStrategic Studies.

Coursechange


PEoPLE nEWS

Permanent position for Robert Gaylor

Colin Courtney has joined J. Murphy & Sons Limited as the new Strategyand Business development director.

Mr Courtney joins from Skanska where he was Business Development &Strategy Director. Colin is also chair of the Promotion Working Groupestablished by the government’s Green Construction Board which isdriving forward the industry’s green agenda.

Says John Stack, Chief Executive Officer, Murphy, ‘Colin joins us at anexciting time forMurphy and willhelp to drive ourstrategic businessdevelopmentforward in deliveringcost-effective,sustainable andcustomer-focusedsolutions to ourclients.’

Mr Courtney readcivil engineering atQueen’s University,Belfast and holds anMBA from theUniversity of theWest of England.

Courtney moves to Murphy

Career railwayman Andy Thomasis the new head of operations atMott Macdonald.

Professional transport operatorThomas has worked in the railindustry for over 33 years, startingoff at ScotRail. He joins fromNetwork Rail where he was asenior programme manager.

Prior to this Andy was operationsand safety director for CentralTrains and London Midland. Andyhas also held various seniorpositions at ScotRail includingcustomer services manager, traincrew manager and divisionaloperations manager.

Says Robert Gray, MottMacDonald’s rail director, ‘Andyhas a strong track record in railwayoperations and until recently wasinvolved in Crossrail and Readingstation area redevelopment.

‘Throughout his career he hasdelivered projects that haveimproved train, safety andorganisational performance. Andywill ensure Mott MacDonald isstrategically placed to respond toour customers’ needs astechnology and operationalrequirements change in responseto the growth in UK rail.’

Andy Thomas studied for a BScdegree in Railway Operations atCaledonian University.

Mott Macdonald move for Andy Thomas

Robert Gaylor has been put in charge ofpermanent way design at WSP.

Gaylor joins WSP from Atkins Middle Eastwhere he was the lead track engineer. Hehas 17 years experience of projectmanagement on various rail systems inBritain, Europe and the Middle East. Robwill help further develop WSP’s permanentway team.

Says infrastructure area director, GrahamSlade, ‘Rob joins us at a key time in thedevelopment of our rail track servicescapability as we look to grow our serviceoffering alongside that of our establishedstations team. We are looking forward withconfidence to an exciting future in the railmarket, and Rob’s appointment underlinesour desire to work with the best.’

Join the Rail Alliance nowRail Alliance membership starts

from just £500 per year

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

or call 01789 720026.

RAIL ALLIAnCE nEWS

What a PartyAnglia Metal Ltd(Manufacturer of plain andtinned (tin plated) copper wire tosupport a wide spectrum ofmarket sectors.) www.angliametal.com

Arrowvale Electronics (Electronicsub contract design, sub contractmanufacturing of PCB, wiringlooms, harnesses, inter carjumpers, cabinets, full electromechanical products.) www.arrowvale.co.uk

Civils and Lintels(A Grafton Group owned company,Civils and Lintels supply a diverse& extensively stocked range ofproducts to the Rail, Civils &Ground Engineering sectors of theUK construction industry) www.civilsandlintels.co.uk

dWG Timber Components Ltd(Supplier of timber to the railway,furniture & civil engineeringindustries.) www.dwguk.com

F P McCann Ltd(Manufacture and supply of avast array of precast concreteproducts for the civil engineering,building, rail, utility and drainageindustries.) www.fpmccann.co.uk

Phil Jackson(Rail sector Sales & MarketingProfessional) www.uk.linkedin.com/pub/phil-jackson/1A/490/256

Railfast Intermodal Ltd(developing strategies forincreased capability andflexibility in tomorrow’s railnetwork to reduce financial riskon projects such as HS2.) www.railfastintermodal.com

Selectequip Ltd(Crucial supplier of many typesof maintenance consumables,signage and safety supplies tomany different industry sectors.) www.selectequip.co.uk

Signal Aspects Ltd(design and build services inrailway signal engineeringincluding standard gauge andnarrow gauge applications.) www.signal-aspects.com

Tex Tech Industries(Based in Ireland, Tex TechIndustries is a market leader infire safety protective materialsfor the transportation industry.Their state of the artthermal/acoustic materials andseat fire blocking fabrics are usedby the world’s leading oEMs.) www.textech.us

Webro Cable and Connectors(Webro are at the forefront ofcommunication cable andconnector design and innovationfor the rail environment.) www.webro.com

Topcon (Great Britain) Ltd(Topcon is an innovative andglobal market leading companydeveloping and manufacturingprecise measuring, monitoringand mapping solutions forchallenging rail environments.) www.topcon-positioning.eu

ERICo(Worldwide company based inFrance manufacturing electricalrail connections and accessoriesto provide reliable solutions forreduced maintenance.) www.erico.com

HL Plastics Ltd(Manufacturer of the Liniar rangeof Plastic Piling including thenew Hd Log Pile, an easy toinstall heavy duty retaining pilemade from 100% recycled plasticwith a wood polymer facing.Plastic Piling is lightweight, easyto handle manually, easy onaccess and transport, sustainableand cost effective. Liniar alsosupply a range of fence postsand gravel boards as analternative to concrete andtimber) www.hlplastics.co.uk

new MembersRailtex, to quote Bonzo dog (thoseof you of a certain age willunderstand) “what a party thatwas”!

Not only did we have ourstrongest showing ever with over60 companies in the Hall, but all ofour members reported verypositively; most gained orders andone was a prize winner! Perhapsmost important of all to us werecruited over 20 new members intotal and they are now in theprocess of joining.

Since Railtex we have not beenidle and we have now launchedour new program and theme forthe year which is our “UnlockingProduct Acceptance Scheme” or aswe like to think of it, life beyondthe “Valley of Death”.

Working in close partnershipwith James Lewis at Network Railand with one of our moreproactive members, Ebeni, we aretaking a lead in helping NetworkRail in their quest to make lifeeasier and more efficient forcompanies seeking to supply tothe railway.

We held a meeting for theindustry at Milton Keynes on the15th of May for which over 100people registered and thenfollowed this up with our firstworkshop a week later down atEbeni’s delightful offices inCorsham. Our next event in thisprogram will be concentrating onthe ROSCOs (rolling stockcompanies) and OEMs.

The big news looking forward isthat we have been chosen byNetwork Rail to host their PlantShow at our Long Marston homeon 24/25 July, where we will beworking in partnership with ourpartners at Rail Media to deliver agreat event.

We will again be running aninfrastructure focussed Macro-Railexhibition at the event which willgive members the chance to showoff their products in a “live”environment.

Next a reminder to all to book onto our Railway Strategies Live 2013

conference in London on 27thJune. It promises to be a great daywith superb networkingopportunities. Our speakersinclude Dr Vince Cable, DavidClarke Director EIT, AndrewWolstenholme CEO Crossrail andDavid Waboso Director CapitalPrograms LUL.

We have a particular emphasison the railway going forward andso we also welcome Dr MartynChymera the Chairman of theYoung Railway Professionalsamongst others. We will belaunching the Hi Tech Railprogram at the conference, a£2.3M project based in theMidlands to help companiesdevelop concept demonstratorsand to take their ideas fromprototype to reality.

This is being run by ProfessorClive Roberts’ team at the Centrefor Rail Research and Education atthe University of Birmingham

Finally a quick look towards theAutumn, in partnership withCoventry University and RailMedia Group we are delighted toannounce our Railway InteriorsConvention which will be heldover two days in October.

Details to follow but it is shapingup to be a “must attend” event…


Hitachi Rail Europe is pushingforward with plans for theconstruction of its new trainmanufacturing plant at newtonAycliffe in County durham.

Merchant Place Developmentshas signed a contract with Hitachito progress the £82 million brandnew manufacturing hub. Thefactory will initially be used tobuild the Super Express Trains forthe Great Western Main Line andthe East Coast Main Line.

It can then be used for otherorders such as building Crossrailrolling stock - should Hitachi RailEurope be the successful bidder.Hitachi places great emphasis onemploying locally where possibleand the factory will create long-term employment for 730 people.This figure includes a Research &Development department. It isexpected that 200 jobs will becreated during the constructionphase of the factory.

Says Alistair Dormer, ExecutiveChairman and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Hitachi Rail Europe, ‘Theclose of contract with MerchantPlace Development signals a newphase in Hitachi’s commitment tothe British rail industry. Byinvesting substantially in our trainfactory, we are creatingemployment opportunities for alarge number of engineers andtechnicians in the North East ofEngland, which has a strongtradition of engineering skills. Weare keen to fill our order books,building trains here in the UK - foruse in Britain and for exporting tocontinental Europe.’

The close of contract betweenHitachi Rail Europe and MerchantPlace Developments enables thedeveloper to award furthercontracts for the building of theplant. Currently an archaeologicalexploration is being carried out on

the site, which will takeapproximately three to fourmonths.

Construction of the plant isexpected to start at the end of2013, with the factory scheduled togo into production in 2016. TheSuper Express Trains should enterpassenger service in 2017.

The decision to build amanufacturing plant was takenafter Hitachi Rail Europe won thecontract from the Department forTransport (DfT) to replace theageing fleet of diesel-poweredIntercity trains currently runningon the Great Western Main Lineand the East Coast Main Line.

The contract with the DfT wassigned in July 2012. Hitachi RailEurope had singled out NewtonAycliffe as its preferred site for itsmanufacturing plant, afterevaluating over 40 sitesthroughout the UK.


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Sports teams raise money for Macmillan

Progress at newton Aycliffe

Specialist rail recruiter, Resourcing Solutions, enteredtwo teams in Balfour Beatty’s charity sports day atStaunton Harold Hall in Ashby-de-la-Zouch,Leicestershire.

A total of 20 teams took part in the competition whichsaw them pitch their skills in nine different eventsincluding wheelbarrow races, hopping and theinternationally acclaimed, welly wanging. The familyfundraising event was organised by Balfour Beatty toraise money for Ashby Macmillan Cancer Support. Afternine events, one of the Resourcing Solutions teamsmade it to the knockout stage ‘Tug of War’ but lost outto one of Balfour Beatty’s teams.

Says Gareth Bone, business development manager atResourcing Solutions, ‘We had a great family day out.Our teams came fourth and fifth overall thanks to thechildren who were technically a lot better than theadults particularly in hopping and skipping!’

Over £4,000 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.Jo Anne Wilson, Macmillan fundraising manager inLeicestershire, said, ‘We’re very grateful to everyone whotook part in the charity sports day and helped raise sucha fantastic amount. Macmillan relies on donations tofund our cancer care services. The number of peoplewith cancer is growing every day - we want to reach andimprove the lives of every one of those people.’

Macmillan Cancer Support provides practical,medical and financial support and pushes for bettercancer care. For further information, visitwww.macmillan.org.uk

network Rail Consulting andRSSB have signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding to worktogether to build up businessoverseas.

Welcoming the newpartnership, Nigel Ash,managing director of NetworkRail Consulting said, ‘Beingable to draw on the body ofwork and expertise in RSSB isa great addition to ourportfolio, which is yielding alot of interest across the globe.There is tremendous appetiteto call on our experience asrail specialists, and it’s fittingto be able to weave in RSSB’sknowledge of cross-industryissues and make that availableon an international stage too.’

Safetypartnership


Longertrains forWest Coast

Best namingEngineers start installing overheadwires and underground cabling forEdinburgh’s tram system citycentre section this month.

Cables will be installed onPrinces Street and on St. AndrewSquare during a series of nightshifts. Overhead cabling will startin mid-June from York Place atBroughton St, working westtowards Haymarket. The fullprogramme which includesunderground cabling is scheduledfor completion in the Autumn.

Says Transport Convener LesleyHinds, ‘Good progress continues allalong the tram route and we’renow approaching a stage, in thecity centre, where road works arenearly finished. This will be awelcome sight to traders, residentsand visitors to the area thissummer. This cable installationprogramme is the final majorpiece in the construction jigsawbut it’s a significant project whichrequires time.

‘Contractors will carefully hangpower wires overhead at thecorrect tension and they’ll pullmiles of power cables andcommunication lines through

underground ducts. Once this isdone we’ll be closer to the rigoroustesting phase which will fullyprepare the system and the peopleof Edinburgh Trams for servicenext year.’

Edinburgh wires go up

More trains and direct servicesbetween Birmingham Airport andGlasgow will expand Anglo-Scottishservices from december 2013.

A comprehensive timetableoverhaul will provide an extra3,300 seats per day betweenScotland and Birmingham. Theplanned reconfiguration will alsodeliver the first direct trains fromScotland to Birmingham Airport insix years. Twenty-four of the 28Scottish services that currentlystart or terminate in Birminghamwill be extended to London Euston,offering new direct rail services toScotland from Coventry, MiltonKeynes and Sandwell & Dudley.

The changes will see five-cardiesel Super Voyager trains thatconnect Glasgow and Edinburgh

with Birmingham largely replacedby either double Voyagers, 10-cars,or 9-car and 11-car Pendolinos.

Says Chris Gibb, Virgin Trains’Chief Operating Officer, ‘Our plansfor December represent the latestphase in our development ofservices on the West Coastmainline, as we strive to make themost of this iconic route byproviding more trains and moreseats, seven days a week.

‘The success of recent years

shows the enduring popularity ofthe route, and the potential thatremains. We face intensecompetition from airlines,motorways and other traincompanies, and will continue todrive forward improvements toattract more customers and stayahead of our competitors, as wellas playing a key part in theeconomic and social developmentof the Midlands, North WestEngland and Scotland.’

The latest timetable changesfollow phenomenal growth inpassenger numbers on VirginTrains’ Anglo-Scottish servicessince it took over the West Coastpassenger franchise in 1997 andmarks the first step-change incapacity since the company wasawarded a temporary franchise inDecember 2012. Virgin Trains isnow expected to continue runningthe West Coast passenger serviceuntil April 2017.

Balfour Beatty Rail has namedTamper dR 73939 after one of itslongest serving members of staff,Pat Best.

Pat Best worked as a relayer for 51years and sadly died last year whilststill in the employ of Balfour BeattyRail in Tonbridge. Pat was an SM3and was well respected for his vastknowledge and expertise.

He was married to Rita and Mrand Mrs Best has just celebratedtheir 50th wedding anniversarybefore his death. Pat was a keenfisherman and went fishing withmany of his colleagues and theywent every year as a groupto France. He was also a member ofhis local bowls club.

A naming ceremony was staged atBalfour Beatty Rail’s Ashford Depotwhere family, friends and colleaguesattended the event to recognise andcelebrate his remarkable 51 yearsservice in the rail industry. Mr Bestwas the Track Relaying Supervisor atthe Tonbridge Depot where he willbe sadly missed.

This cable installationprogramme is the finalmajor piece in theconstruction jigsaw…

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volunteers are sowing poppyseeds around a ruralCambridgeshire railway station intime for the First World Warcentenary next year.

Scrubland has been clearedaround Shepreth station so thepoppies will bloom at next year’sanniversary. The poppies willcommemorate those who died inthe war. Many wounded soldierspassed through the station on

their way to Shepreth Hospital fortreatment. The poppies willremember them too.

‘We’ve been working for about a

month and we’ve got plantingsessions coming up this week.We’re going to need to make thisa continuous project - we’ll need

to do some more substantialwork next year and every year,’says local councillor, Susan Vande Ven.

Help forunforgottenheroes

Gorilla WarfareThe IAF exhibition for on-trackplant and equipment was heldrecently in Münster, Germany.

Railway engineers from aroundthe world visited the three-dayevent to see the latestdevelopments and machinerywhich will be working on ourrailway over the next few years.

Erwin Stocker, Managing Directorof ROBEL BahnbaumaschinenGmbH, will be retiring at the end ofJune so this was his last IAFexhibition. To mark the occasion, MrStocker was presented with aplacque by Peter Flatscher, ManagingDirector of Deutsche Plasser, Robel’sdistributor in Germany.

The two new joint-managingdirectors who will replace MrStocker, Wolfgang Fally and Dr.Daniel Siedl, were also present.

Final bow for Erwin StockerThe GoGoGorillas! outdoorart trail in norwich is beingpublicised by a mock upgorilla at London LiverpoolStreet.

The gorilla - Boris -disconcerted passengers onthe journey up to London.The gorilla is decoratedwith iconic Norwich scenesincluding the castle, cityhall and cathedral.

Says Jonathan Denby,Head of Corporate Affairsfor Greater Anglia. ‘We’redelighted to be able to takeBoris up to LondonLiverpool Street on one ofour trains to help promotethe GoGoGorillas! outdoorart trail, which takes placein Norwich this summer.We hope many people willcome by train to see thetrail in Norwich.’

Local leaders, Martin Green from Break, Stefan Gurney

from Norwich BID join Jonathan Denby, Greater Anglia’s

Head of Corporate Affairs. Erwin is presented with placque by Peter Flatscher.

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This summer 50 bands will playon four stages and several trainsat the Midland Railway Centreover the weekend of 27/28 July.

The summer music festival,Indietracks, on the heritagerailway has proved an enduring hitwith fans and enthusiasts alike.This year’s line up includesCamera Obscura, Helen Love andDevon’s highly recommendedBig Wave.

The festival will also host art andcraft workshops and a selection ofdiscos after the bands finish.Festival goers can have unlimitedrides on the steam railway overthe weekend, as well as full accessto other railway attractions. TheMidland Railway is at Butterley inDerbyshire. More details:

http://www.indietracks.co.uk

Pop festival takes the train

Tram extension opensUsing the abandoned AldwychUnderground station as a concertvenue, London Contemporaryorchestra set about creating aunique atmosphere for an eveningof contemporary classical music.

The focal point of the eveningwas a rendition of Vivier’s

unfinished piece Glaubst du an dieUnsterblichkeit der Seele - Do YouBelieve in the Immortality of theSoul? - conducted by Hugh Brunt.Musicians played on the track bedwith Hugh Brunt conducting.Vivier was stabbed by a maleprostitute on the Paris Metro.

orchestra UndergroundThe new extension of ManchesterMetrolink to East didsbury hasopened several months ahead ofschedule.

The first passengers took thetram from the East Didsbury stopearly on Thursday, 23 May. The 2.7mile extension to the SouthManchester line has new stops atWithington, Burton Road, WestDidsbury, Didsbury Village andEast Didsbury. From East Didsbury,which has a 300-space park andride facility, the trams offer athirty minute journey to centralManchester every 12 minutes.

Says Andrew Braddock, Chairmanof the Light Rail Transit Association,‘It is excellent news for the peopleof Manchester that these newMetrolink lines will substantially

improve the quality of the city’spublic transport system, deliveringa sustainable alternative to the carand reducing environmentalpollution in the corridors served.’

An award-winning disabilitygroup has given the thumbs up tonew stops on the extension.Transport for Greater Manchester’sDisability Design Reference Groupvisited all five stops on the newextension on a test tram betweenEast Didsbury and Withington.


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London clay, thought to be 50million years old, is being dug outof new Crossrail rail tunnels andshaped into sculpture.

Frank Harris, a sculptor, has

created a work called the Bird’sNest. The unveiling of the uniqueartwork comes as Crossraillaunches its Artist in Residenceprogramme. Crossrail wants artists

to submit proposals and says ithas several Artist in Residenceopportunities available.

Says Crossrail Chairman TerryMorgan, ‘Crossrail is seeking to

inspire and facilitate innovationand creativity in order to leave alasting legacy beyond theconstruction of new tunnels andstations.

‘Our Artist in Residenceprogramme will provide theopportunity for artists to gainunique access to a complex anddynamic construction project thatwill transform how Londonerstravel.

‘Frank Harris’ Bird’s Nest is astunning example of what can beachieved by bringing artists andconstruction workers together.Together with the Culture Linethat will see eight large scaleartworks funded by sponsorsinstalled into the fabric of our newiconic London stations, Crossrailwill leave a lasting artistic legacybeyond the construction of a newrail line.’

A final year art student at UCL’sSlade School of Modern Art, FrankHarris specialises in large,functional sculptural installationsthat connect with theirsurroundings.

Plans to extend the CroydonTramlink network to Sutton havebeen endorsed by the boroughcouncil.

Proposals for a five mile branch,which would diverge from theCroydon to Wimbledon route nearMorden Road, are being developedby Transport for London. The cost ofthe project has been estimated at£240 million. A second phase of thescheme, priced at £60 million, wouldsee the line extended by a furthertwo miles from Sutton to Belmont.

Croydontramlinkextension Passengers on c2c have generously donated

almost £1,600 to London’s Air Ambulance, following acollection at Fenchurch Street.

The charity, which delivers an advanced trauma teamto critically injured people in London, has moved to newoffices close to the station and a team of volunteers andstaff collected donations from passengers at the station.Staff at c2c chose the charity and c2c backed passengersby donating £461 towards the total.

Says Mark Davies, Director of Development forLondon’s Air Ambulance, ‘The generosity of c2c’semployees and commuters helps London’s AirAmbulance continue to serve the 10 million peoplewho live, work and holiday within the M25. As acharity relying heavily on donations from individualsand corporate partners we greatly appreciate thissupport and are proud to be c2c’s charity of choice.’

Passenger lift for Air Ambulance

Mudlark

l-r Svetlana Morris and Sarah Simmonds from c2c’s HR team with Mark

Davies, Terry Goldsmith and Amanda Crozier from London’s Air Ambulance.


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Shaw & Crompton Wedding stop

Children takethe train

Greengauge 21, which campaignsfor High Speed Two, has publisheda report urging a better linkbetween HS2 and HS1 to addressdomestic demand.

Says Jim Steer, Director ofGreengauge 21, ‘We have identifieda substantial demand for domestichigh-speed rail services over theproposed link connecting HS1 andHS2. The market from the Northand Midlands addressed by HS2 toplaces in the HS1 catchment area -East London, Essex and Kent - isimportant and nearly half the sizeof the market to/from centralLondon.’

The proposed link is only onetrack and is considered inadequateto meet potential needs. Says SirRobin Wales, Mayor of Newham,‘Proposing a new high speednetwork that only connects to thechannel tunnel rail link by a singletrack, which is actually already inuse, seems absurd, particularly as

Stratford International stationremains woefully underused,despite millions of pounds havebeen spent on developing it.

‘The case has already been madethat the growth of areas in EastLondon and the Docklands, withtheir ever burgeoning population,should be better connected withother exciting urban centres acrossthe national high-speed railnetwork.

‘As Greengauge21’s timely reportclearly demonstrates, a highercapacity link between HS2 andHS1 provides us with the uniqueopportunity to drive growththrough connecting our regional

economies through new railservices. The evidence is clear andGovernment must act.’

Domestic high-speed serviceswould provide access, most likelyat Ebbsfleet, to internationalservices to France, Belgium,Netherlands and Germany from alllocations served by HS2.

Says Jim Steer, ‘Providing a linkbetween HS1 and HS2 wouldprovide a real alternative to muchof the longer distance car travelaround London on the M25. Thereport estimates that rail couldincrease its market share by up to23% for journeys betweencatchments served by HS1 and HS2.’

Make the link

newly weds Julian Shaw and JennyCrompton started married life at thetram stop that bears their name.

The Shaw & Crompton Metrolink stopopened five months ago on the Oldhamand Rochdale line. Julian and Jenny planto share their surnames Crompton-Shaw and first contacted Transport forGreater Manchester to ask if they couldhave their photographs taken at thetram stop.

Julian, 45, and Jenny, 44, tied the knotat Manchester Registry Office beforeheading back to their Chorlton home onthe tram with friends and family for areception at South West ManchesterCricket Club.

Says Julian, ‘I had always been awareof the Shaw and Crompton railwaystation due to years of commuting upand down Manchester. With the newMetrolink stop opening last year, Ithought a snap of the new station onour wedding invitation would be toogood an opportunity to miss.

‘I got in touch with Metrolinkoriginally just to see if I could use aphoto of the Shaw and Crompton stopfor this purpose. However, one thing led

to another, and Metrolink generouslyoffered to help us celebrate ourmarriage considering the uniqueness ofour names.’

TfGM printed five commemorativewedding Metrolink tickets for Jenny andJulian and the three children, Sam whois 12, Leon aged 7 and Rose who is justfifteen months old. A bouquet was alsopresented to the couple by EdithRodgers, Head of Customer Services atMetrolink, as they prepared to board atSt Peter’s Square with a congratulatorywedding message played on the tannoyat the stop by Metrolink staff.

Says Edith, ‘This was certainly one ofthe most unique tasks I have carried outduring my time at Metrolink and it wasan absolute pleasure to present thehappy couple with the flowers. It wasalso nice to hear that it was not onlytheir names which led to them wantingto use a tram on their special day, butalso their positive experiences ofMetrolink in Chorlton. The best wishes ofeveryone from Metrolink go to theformer Mr Shaw and Miss Crompton andthe new Mr and Mrs Crompton-Shawalong with their three lovely children.

Children from Barnardo’s enjoyed arail day out with a disney themethanks to Greater Anglia and theEssex and South SuffolkCommunity Rail Partnership.

The 10.06 service from Mistley onthe Mayflower line played host to agroup of over 40 children andcarers. Jayne Sumner of the ESSCRPdecorated the train with thechildren’s favourite characters.

Says Jayne, ‘It was a great day outfor all on-board, the staff werereally welcoming and we all did ourupmost to make it a memorableday out, with a specially decoratedtrain, refreshments at Harwich andlots of fun and games.’


CAREERS

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

Technical skills and expertiseform the bedrock when it comes totraining people to work on the railnetwork. However, the importanceof ensuring that staff are alsocompetent in a range of other,non-technical disciplines cannotbe over-emphasised.

These ‘softer’ skills play a keyrole in ensuring that the railnetwork runs safely and efficientlyand encompass effectivecommunication and the ability tocope under pressure as well asplanning, decision making andmulti-tasking.

Network Rail is committed toeliminating deaths and seriousinjuries by the end of CP6 (2024)and for this to happen, it has beenrecognised that there needs to be aculture where “competent staff areconfident in taking sensible riskbased decisions”. This will be

achieved through a commitmentto improving the skills in anumber of areas includingleadership, culture, assets, risk,rules, skills and equipment,communications and staffwellbeing.

The introduction of specificcourses that focus on these areasmeans that now, as well as havingto prove competency in theirchosen technical field, eachmember of staff will also completeassessments in non-technicalskills, for instance, their ability tolead and assess risks.

Changes are already underway toaddress these requirements andequip staff with the additionalskills, which should improve safetyand reduce fatalities across theindustry.

A recent development has beenthe creation of a non-technicalskills course for those involved insite safety. These types ofdevelopment courses focussing onnon-technical skills are alreadybeing undertaken by signallers and

train drivers and, ultimately, willbe completed by all staff in safetycritical roles, allowing them todevelop their cognitive andinterpersonal skills and this inturn will go towards reducingaccidents and fatalities,

Network Rail has decided to keepthe delivery of courses in-housefor the current two yearassessment cycle and from thismonth trainers and assessors willhave to show that they havelogged 30 hours of CPD (continuingprofessional development) perannum on the NSARE skillsbackbone.

Currently in development is anew personal track safety package.Staff who pass the initial on-linetheory test, based onapproximately 3 – 4 hours of study,will go on to take the practicalassessment, which will includeextended tasks and a track visit toreinforce the reality of beingtrackside.

Students are encouraged to taketime to put their learning into

practice on the job, beforecompleting the second part of thecourse. In fact, Network Rail hasdeemed attending a two day blockunacceptable.

It has also become apparent thatoperatives have had to attendnumerous induction sessionswhich essentially re-cover thesame content time and timeagain. A common contentpackage has been developedwhich will only need to beattended once, with a shortappreciation of individual siterisks required thereafter.

The course will cover generichealth and safety issues with ascored assessment, along the linesof the CSCS scheme. This willeventually be an e-learningpackage which will be logged onthe new sentinel smart cards as anentry level competence.

These moves will not onlyenhance training by dovetailingnon-technical and technical skills,but should result in a safer railnetwork.

By Lawrence dobie,Education and Training directorat vital Services Group.

vital Skills for a Safer Railway

TRAInInG... sponsored by vital Skills Training


Last September Simon Burns MPmoved from the department ofHealth to become Minister forTransport. He talked to Andy Milnelast month at the dfT’s HorseferryRoad offices.

Most people aged over 55 canremember what they were doingwhen they heard that PresidentJohn F Kennedy had beenassassinated on 22nd November1963. Few will be able to say withany certainty what they did as aresult. Transport Minister SimonBurns is an exception. As an 11year old Burns made a decision togo into politics.

Looking back at John Kennedy 50years after his death it is hard toappreciate the effect his briefpresidency had on a generation.For the youthful Burns newlyreturned to Britain from Africa itwas a revelation.

‘You had this contrast: Apresident of the United States whowas 43 years old - young,glamorous wife, children - whocaptivated America and the world.Here you had a prime minister ofBritain who was about 69, apresident in France who was about79 and a chancellor in WestGermany in his mid-80s. Thecontrast was stark.’

When Kennedy said, ‘Ask notwhat your country can do for you -ask what you can do for yourcountry,’ Burns facing theexigencies of a public schooleducation took the words to heart.‘Albeit as an impressionable child Ithought there was somethingattractive about public service.’

John Kennedy among his manyachievements started the spacerace determining to put a man onthe moon. Simon Burns has themore down to earth remit ofprogressing High Speed Two andlooking after Crossrail.

At Railtex he listed a long paradeof initiatives and plans for buildingup Britain’s railways, with morerolling stock, new stations and linesand 850 miles of electrification.‘The Government sees transport asone of the key drivers of growth inour economy,’ he said.

This is a far cry from themanaged decline of yester-year.Burns admits there has been a seachange in attitudes to railways.‘The reason is when BR was anationalised industry there werenot the same controls andconcentration on raisingstandards.

‘Sadly it was a fact of life,whether under a Labour or a

Conservative government,when you got into direeconomic problems andgovernment needed to cutback on spending, one ofthe areas where it wasrelatively easy for themto do so was on therailways and a number ofother nationalisedindustries. What you sawwas a build up in lack ofinvestment ininfrastructure.’

That’s all changing now.‘Since privatisation we haveseen a dramatic change inthe use of railways, thenumber of passengers has doubledand there has been a recognitionthat we have got to invest in ourinfrastructure and encourage morepeople to use the railways.

‘That is why we are investingbillions of pounds one way oranother in improving, maintainingand repairing the currentinfrastructure. We are movingahead for example withelectrification. We acknowledgeand accept that railways have acrucial role to play in theinfrastructure of this country. Thatis why we are investing in highspeed rail.’

Loyal to a faultInvestment and value for money

rather than tinkering around withstructure is the key to success.‘Franchising is the best way todeliver services, to raise standards,whether on punctuality orreliability and to ensureinvestment is going into theinfrastructure.

‘By and large I think the systemis delivering although obviouslythere are always grounds forimprovement. We should never becomplacent.’

Although the night before theinterview he had voted against theSame Sex Couples marriage bill hedid so in a free vote. Burns is loyalto a fault. For many years heserved as a party whip workingunder Patrick McLoughlin.

Burns is regarded as a good partyman, not given to whispers andconspiracies in the darker cornersof Westminster. The scrapes hegets into - calling John Bercow adwarf, an accident with a cyclistand using ministerial motors toget to work - are refreshinglypublic.

On the face of it he is atraditional right of centre Tory,the son of a British Army officer, a

Simon Burnstalks to Andy Milne

InTERvIEW


veritable child of the empire.Major Burns served in Burma, inthe Ghurkhas during the war. Hewas in Berlin in 1945interrogating Nazi war criminalsat Spandau.

Later he fought in the MalayanInsurgency, one of the fewexamples of a western powerseeing off a communist guerrillauprising. The way the British did itwas by winning the hearts andminds of locals.

In Ghana young Simon Burnsattended Christ the King School inAccra, a catholic set up still goingstrong to this day. Last August hewent out to represent thegovernment at the funeral of theGhanaian president.

She’s in good nick nowSuch a wide-horizon upbringing

must have influenced the nascentpolitician as much as Kennedy.The iniquity of communism andNazism was visible from the frontdoor of successive Burns familyquarters.

After the Kennedy assassinationBurns told his parents of hisintention to enter politics. Decentpeople that they were, Major andMrs. Burns were thoroughlyalarmed. His father had little timefor politicians.

Simon joined the ConservativeParty at the age of 14. Two yearslater he made the pilgrimage tothe United States, working in agarage to save up the fare.Boarding a Greyhound bus hetravelled from coast to coast.

As a student he returned to workin Detroit for George McGovern,the Democratic Party hopeful wholost to Nixon. With Tamla Motownsingles ringing in his ears, Burnscontinued his studies readingHistory at Worcester College,

Oxford.Politics had by now become the

main focus of his career. Aftergraduating he worked as PoliticalAdviser to Sally Oppenheim MP.From 1980-83 he was a journaliston What To Buy for Businessmagazine, and from 1983-87 wason the Policy Executive of theInstitute of Directors. Burnsentered parliament in 1987 forChelmsford.

Being a Democratic Partysupporter once seemed a lonelyposition in the Conservative Partyof the 1980s. However as Burnscheerfully admits, George W Bushchanged all that.

Politicians from across the Britishpolitical spectrum welcomed theelection of Barack Obama. Burnswas especially pleased that HillaryClinton was appointed Secretary ofState. He had campaigned for herin the primaries.

Hard though it is to imagine aConservative MP stumpingthrough the freezing winter of aNew Hampshire primary that’s

what he did. A framed photographof Clinton sits on his desk athome. It’s not the only picture.Burns still wears a watch withHillary Clinton’s youthful pictureon the face.

‘She looks in a lot better nickthere than after a few yearsworking for Obama,’ I can’t helpremarking.

‘She’s in good nick now,’ saysBurns, ever loyal.

The American connectionremains with holidays in the USand visits to Hyannis Port, theKennedy family still has a housethere. Since becoming an MP hehas served under a succession ofleaders starting with MargaretThatcher. Burns himself remains amoderate, equally at home underDavid Cameron as he was with thelate Baroness Thatcher.

Govern from the centre ‘Basically British people are

moderate, reasonable, centrists. Asa conservative I am on the righthand side of that moderation and

others on the left but broadly yougovern this country from thecentre.’ Nevertheless he remainsan unapologetic admirer ofThatcher and is currently readingthe Robin Harris biography, ‘NotFor Turning.’

‘Margaret Thatcher saved thiscountry and turned it around botheconomically and philosophically,(she) was right of centre and avery pragmatic politician. She didmake changes but was justacutely clever in the way shemade them.’

Nowadays Burns’ background inUS Democratic Party politics mustadd a deft healing touch to DavidCameron’s cauterisedConservative Party. Burnspreviously served as Minister ofState at the Department of Healthand remains deeply committed tothe NHS.

His habit of reading a brief onhealth while dragging on a gasperoutside the House of Commonstickled friends and opponentsalike.


Show her the watch Last year Hillary Clinton visited

England. After a series of meetingsat the Foreign Office WilliamHague introduced her to Burns in apassageway. ‘Show her the watchSimon,’ Hague urged.

The Rt Hon Member forChelmsford obligingly shot backhis sleeve and lifted his arm. TheSecretary of State uttered adelighted shriek of approval.Immediately her Secret Servicebodyguards sprang in to actionsquaring up to Hague and Burns.Fortunately Mrs Clinton was ableto restore calm, averting anotherpotential crisis in internationalaffairs.

Although Burns has held highoffice it is the simple exercise ofgood sense that inspires him. ‘Italways strikes me as odd that aconstituent who has a problem,’here Burns describes a familiarstory of key-pad protectedofficialdom, ‘can write, telephone,visit local offices and get nowhere.They can never talk to a key player,a decision maker, in resolving thatproblem.

Because I have two initials aftermy name I can pick up a phoneand 99 times out of 100 I can getthrough to that person. In one way

that seems wrong to me. The factthat I can do that and I might beable to resolve that problem andimprove their quality of life, I findvery attractive.’

Free Health Care ‘The reason I have always been

attracted to the Democratic Partyis because I passionately believe ina national health service free atpoint of use, and it is theDemocrats who have always beenseeking to provide a better deal forthe American people on healthcare.

‘There is something obsceneabout the world’s richest nationhaving 38 to 45 million workingfamilies who cannot afford or donot get through their employers,health insurance. You only have tohave a child or adult getting acatastrophic illness or ahorrendous accident and they willface financial ruin.

‘Obamacare will go a long waytowards dealing with that problem.To hear Americans, particularlyRepublicans, denigrating the NHS Ijust find anathema.’ He remainsfirmly committed to the NHSdespite the bruising time spenttrying to reform its bureaucracy.

‘We (the Conservatives) have hadstewardship of the NHS longerthan the Labour Party. I think themaths still add up and we havenever sought to privatise it.’

Serving under different leaders,from Thatcher to Cameron seemsodd. Burns however believesloyalty is the secret weapon of asuccessful political party. ‘I am amiddle of the road moderateloyalist. If I don’t like somethingthere are ways I can make myviews known.

‘I don’t need for my ego, to standin front of a TV camera on College

Green shouting the odds. I havealways been acutely aware that byattacking your own party you arehelping your enemies. Let’s use theproper channels to have anintelligent discussion with therelevant minister.’

Brussels – Too Much Power We discuss Europe and UKIP, the

only party opposed to High Speed2. ‘Any political party is entitled toits view but let’s have a tiny bit ofconsistency instead of sayinganything on any issue of themoment to win votes. There’s gotto be consistency.

We made it quite clear wesupport HS2….We were modestbecause if you read UKIP’smanifesto for 2010 they didn’twant one high speed railway butthree…That was only three yearsago. Now they say they don’tsupport high speed railways - it’sinconsistent and bizarre.’

Burns is quite relaxed aboutEurope. ‘Yes I do think too muchpower has been transferred fromWestminster to Brussels,’ pointingout much of this had been done bythe previous administration. ‘Ithink the time has come to lookagain. I think the Prime Minister isabsolutely right: We need torenegotiate our terms and returnpowers (from Brussels). The PMhas been quite clear on areferendum after negotiations.’

Would a referendum see Britainleaving the European Union? ‘Iremember the 1975 referendum.Everyone assumed Britain wouldcome out. Yet 66% of the countryvoted to stay in.’

Going nativeSimon Burns enjoys his job.

‘From my personal experience Ithink they, (railway staff) do an

extremely good job, sometimes invery difficult circumstances…Ihave always found peopleextremely courteous and helpful.’Has he gone native?

‘It depends on the definition ofnative. If you mean have I gonenative because I am determinedwe improve the railways for thepassengers and tax payers,improve performance and investin infrastructure then I am proudof going native.’

It would be good to be able toreport startled gasps all round butBurns, the consummate politiciangoes on, ‘If you’re saying have Igone native because all I do is sithere and civil servants put paperin front of me and I say yes to thisand no to that, then no I haven’t.That’s not the way the systemworks here.’

It is hard to categorise SimonBurns as a member of the Torysquirearchy or a US Democratapologist. His is an older take onpolitics informed by a belief thatwhat matters is vision and loyaltynot scheming and ego.

John Kennedy casts a longshadow. A look up at the night skywhether in Essex or Cape Codreveals the moon and the memorythat it was the politics ofconviction not expediency, thatput a man there.

InTERvIEW

The RailStaff Awards emphasisesthe success of railway staff fromall backgrounds in delivering therailway day by day, night by night.

That Colin Flack, who runs theRail Alliance, should be hostingthe event is quite fitting. Awardwinners find his presencereassuring. His own storyunderscores the message behindthe RailStaff Awards

Quite ordinary people doextraordinary work in progressinga vast series of projects onEurope’s fastest growing railway.The essence of the RailStaffAwards evening at Birmingham(on 5th October – nominations areopen now) is a celebration of thecourage and dedication ofworking people.

Our heroes are too oftenoverlooked by big business,government and media. Yet it isthe signallers, drivers, trackworkers, engineers, ticket salesstaff, dispatchers and plannerswho form the backbone of therailway and deserve, but tooseldom receive, recognition.Nominating people you work withfor an award is a great way ofredressing the balance – the morenominations the better.

The RailStaff Awards needs toreflect the industry it serves.However the idea of taking thestage at a big event and acceptingan award can appear daunting tomany people. This is not somemovie Oscar parade wheregushing stars feign startled

surprise at winning. Railway staff are quite often

modest to a fault. ‘I was just doingmy job’ is the usual response torecognition. As Tom O’Connorremarks elsewhere in this issue,‘People are often quite shocked tohave won an award and areunused to stepping into thespotlight. Colin is a down to earthreassuring presence up there onthe stage.’

Flack himself is an ex-armyofficer from a working classbackground in Chatham. Herecalls his first days at Sandhurst- which he’d managed to get intofrom his local grammar school. ‘Inmy intake of about 200, I think,there were only four of us notfrom public schools. They werespeaking a language I didn’tunderstand.’

In fact Colin’s background heldhuge advantages

when it came to leading menunder fire, travelling the worldand relating to very differentcultures overseas. Suchexperience is now serving therailway industry.

Colin Flack left the army after 27years and with his wife, Ruth,runs Motorail Logistics whichorganises stabling andmaintenance for rolling stock atLong Marston. Colin also runs apersonal development and teamcoaching business, Vision toMission.

The RailStaff Awards grows yearby year in popularity and this yearlooks to be bigger than ever.However the central ingredient isthe people who make up therailway industry. Nominating awork colleague is a great way ofsaying thank you.

Seeing them up there on thatstage accepting the award isbetter still. Send in nominationsand take a look at the web site.

There’s a full guide on howto nominate atwww.railstaffawards.com

October 5th will bea great evening, areal celebration andColin Flack will bethere on stage

making sure everyonefeels thoroughly at home.For more details go towww.railstaffawards.com

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

Recognising the people who keep the UK rail industry moving.

Feeling at Home atthe RailStaff Awards

RailStaffAwards

Depot Staff of the year 2012: John Coates, a depot maintenance manager working for Greater Anglia

at the Ilford Train Maintenance Depot was recognised for his experience and long service of 50 years.

Virgin salutes Depot Teams

LPA Backs Newcomer/Graduate of the Year

Safety Supportfor Bridgeway

PAGE 23

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www.railstaffawards.com 23

2013 looks like being a busy andsuccessful year for virgin Trains,which is backing this year’s depotTeam of the Year at the RailStaffAwards.

Says Tom O’Connor of the RailMedia Group, ‘We are delighted towelcome Virgin Trains back to theRailStaff Awards. Virgin is runningmore trains than ever and ispoised to further increase servicesfrom this December. Depot staffare an integral part of theoperation.

The RailStaff Awards provides agreat opportunity to salute theefforts of those who work behindthe scenes to provide a fast andreliable fleet day and night. Thesuccess of the modern railwaysowes much to the hard work andingenuity of railway depot teamsacross the network. This isparticularly in evidence on theheavily trafficked West Coast MainLine.’

The DfT announced on 26 March

2013 a programme for lettingfuture franchises, with the long-term West Coast franchiseexpected to start in April 2017.New initiatives are coming onstream this autumn. FromDecember Anglo-Scottish serviceswill be expanded with more andlonger trains betweenBirmingham, Glasgow andEdinburgh.

Says Chris Gibb, chief operatingofficer, Virgin Trains, ‘A topperforming fleet that consistentlyimpresses our customers meanshard work and dedication and wehave that commitment from ourstaff and depot teams. It’s ourwinning ingredient.

With more passengers and moreservices the role of depot teamshas never been more important.We are very pleased to be takingpart in the RailStaff Awards, anindustry–wide initiative thatrecognises the continuing successstory of our railway.’

The December timetable is thelatest step change inimprovements to Anglo-Scotsservices by Virgin Trains. In 2004,the company introduced its tiltingelectric Pendolino and diesel SuperVoyager trains, revolutionisingtravel on the West Coast mainlineand cutting the fastest GlasgowCentral to Euston journey from 5hours 13 minutes to 4 hours 41minutes. The Scotland-Birmingham service wasdeveloped as part of the VirginCross Country franchise beforetransferring to West Coast in 2007.

The establishment of the VirginHigh Frequency timetablefollowing the £8.9bn West CoastRoute Modernisation programmein December 2008 cut typicalGlasgow-Euston journeys by morethan 40 minutes and establishedthe fastest 4hr 8min journey. InDecember 2012, Virgin Trainsintroduced an hourly London-Glasgow timetable.

Virgin Trains currently operates30 trains in each direction betweenScotland and England, 15 of whichoperate between Glasgow andLondon Euston.

Virgin salutes Depot Teams

working togetherExperts IN support services

for infrastructure markets

McGinley Support Services are pleased to be sponsoring

Railstaff Infrastructure Person of the Year

T: 0845 543 5953

www.mcginley.co.uk

2424 www.railstaffawards.com

LPA Group is sponsoring thenewcomer/Graduate of the Year atthis year’s Rail Staff Awards.

LPA Group Plc designs andmanufactures top class LEDlighting solutions, market leadingelectronic and electro-mechanicalsystems as well as equipment withthe flexibility to solve complexinter-car connection problems,auxiliary power & distributionsystems from their four UKsubsidiaries, LPA Channel Electric,LPA Excil Electronics, LPA HaswellEngineers and LPA NiphanSystems.

LPA Excil produced LED lightingis increasing in evidence on thenational rail network togetherwith LPA Transport+®, the newturnkey support solution from LPAGroup. Bringing together theextensive experience, knowledgeand capability of LPA Group

companies in Lighting, Electronicsand Electro-Mechanical productdesign, development andmanufacture, LPA Transport+®offers an integrated service for railvehicle manufacture andrefurbishment. Using apartnership approach based onclose communication, tailoredproducts, quick response andinnovative solutions, including on-site installation to offer a Turnkeysolution, provide a single sourcefor asset maintenance,refurbishment, repair and upgrade.

Supporting newcomers byrunning projects in cooperationwith the University of Essex, LPAprovides cost effective solutionswhich improve reliability, reducemaintenance and hence life cyclecosts.

Says Andy Milne, editor ofRailStaff, ‘The rail industry has an

urgent need to recruit new people,students, school leavers or simplypeople switching careers later inlife. Encouraging newcomers isimportant. This is the categorythat shows we appreciate newpeople investing their careers inthe rail industry. We wish LPAevery continued success in the

industry. Their support is verymuch appreciated.’

The Newcomer/Graduate of theYear highlights the achievementsof new people from schools,universities and other industriesseeking a challenging andrewarding career in the railindustry.

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

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

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

hemesCPD sc»

elopmentevessional DofPr»Academic qualifications»

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LPA Backs Newcomer/Graduate of the Year

2525

Bridgeway Consulting Ltd issupporting the Rail Safety Personof the Year at the RailStaff Awards2012.

With safety at the forefront of alloperations, Bridgeway Consultinghas always aimed to provide a safe,effective and professional service toits clients. A proactive approach isunderpinned by a detailed director-led management process thatutilises a number of methods toensure safety is always a priority.

With extensive engineeringexpertise Bridgeway Consultingprovides a dynamic and innovativeservice, and is equipped toundertake small or large tasksefficiently, professionally and mostimportant of all, safely. Thisapproach continues to provideBridgeway Consulting’s clientswith peace of mind when theyengage with them on key projects.

Bridgeway Consulting supports aproactive and positive safety and

behaviour culture within the railindustry and believes that theRailStaff Awards - Rail SafetyPerson of the Year category isimportant for the industry as itrewards those who lead byexample.

Says Steve Diksa, AssuranceServices Director, ‘Developing aculture in which the workforceprioritises safety can be difficultbut it is nonetheless stillachievable. The RailStaff Awardsrewards those safety mindedpeople and who encourage goodpractice in the rail industry and weare delighted to support SafetyPerson of the Year award for the5th year running.’

Bridgeway Consulting’s diverseportfolio of services include:• Site & Ground Investigation• Geomatics• Structural Examination• Permanent Way Engineering

• Railway Access & PossessionPlanning/Support

• Safety Critical Personnel • AC / DC Isolation Services• On-site Rail Security• Rail Training, Assessments and

Sentinel Outsourcing• Assurance and Compliance

Services• Safety Management

Consultancy.

Pino De Rosa, BridgewayConsulting’s Managing Director,says, ‘Our range of serviceshighlights our diversity and alsoour ability to provide a managedservice to our client. Our belief is

that we are be able to offer bothcost and time savings.

Key points to remember aboutBridgeway Consulting: • Network Rail Principal Con-

tractor Licence holder• Strong safety record • National provider• Exemplary reputation for

delivery• Continually striving for

improvement• Highly experienced, competent

and motivated staff• Team approach to ensuring

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www.railstaffawards.com

Safety Support for Bridgeway

PROUD TO SPONSOR

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The Rail Alliance is delighted to bebacking the RailStaff Awards againas Associate Sponsors this year.

Chief Executive, Colin Flack willalso be hosting the evening againand bringing a light hearted senseof order to the proceedings. TheRail Alliance joins Network Railand London Underground as highprofile supporters of the RailStaffAwards 2013.

Says Colin, ‘We at the RailAlliance are delighted to be playinga part at the RailStaff Awardsagain this year. It’s a greatcelebration of all that isencouraging and progressive in therail industry. Just as importantly itunderlines our aim to: network,collaborate, innovate and thrive.’

Says Tom O’Connor of the RailMedia Group, ‘We are delighted tohave the Rail Alliance supportingthe RailStaff Awards. Having ColinFlack as compère is an addedbonus. People are often quiteshocked to have won an award

and are unused to stepping intothe spotlight. Colin is a down toearth reassuring presence up thereon the stage.’

The Rail Alliance is an integraland important part of the rapidlygrowing new rail industry. Railwaysneed better communications andbetter networking as allparticipants come together toexpand the industry.

The Rail Alliance spans allaspects of the Rail Sector to enablecompanies and individuals toNetwork, Collaborate, andInnovate with both suppliers andcustomers, to assist your businessto thrive.

‘Our aim is to provide timelyadvice, tailored assistance and,most importantly, to identify andpass on business developmentopportunities at home and abroadto those in the rail sector,’ saysColin.

The Rail Alliance is able to dothis through its extensive range of

contacts and its well respectedprogramme of networking events,rail-focused seminars, itsknowledge transfer partnershipswith academe and its knowledgeof business supportprovision available from the publicand private sectors.

In fact, the Rail Alliance hassomething for everyone in the railsector … whether you are a soletrader, a family business, a‘classic’ small business (Small to

Medium Enterprise (SME)), or amultinational/global business(Large Enterprise) looking for anew and refreshing way tocommunicate to, and work with,the rail sector.

First and foremost, the RailAlliance is here to help youunderstand the Rail Industry. Itwill provide you with impartialinformation and advice whilstsignposting the wide range ofassistance that is available.

Rail Alliance supports RailStaff Awards

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PROUD TO SPONSOR

Rail Engineer of the Year 2013

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

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The Transport Benevolent Fund is

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

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

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

Helping Britain run better networkrail.co.uk

Network Rail is proud to sponsor the RailSta4 Awards 2013

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

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

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networkrail.co.uk

28 www.railstaffawards.com


FEATURE

London Underground celebratesits 150th anniversary this year.

Accounts of its creation,construction and developmenthave offered a fascinating insightinto the workings of the world’sfirst underground railway. Theround-the-clock service providedby teams of engineers and railstaff ensures that the networkruns smoothly.

Morson International looks at theevolution of the industry’sworkforce and its outlook for thefuture.

‘Morson has been a supplier ofrail staff to the industry for over 30years,’ explains Russell Otter(pictured), London Director at theglobal recruitment specialist,Morson International.

‘In that time, the UK rail industryhas experienced many changes interms of policy, structure,technology and operations - anddeveloping a skilled workforceunder a rapidly evolving anddemanding environment haspresented several challenges.

Highest calibre‘The UK has a rich heritage with

the oldest rail system in the world,the oldest underground system,

and still one of the top 20 largestnetworks on the planet. From thevery beginning the teams ofengineers working on thesesystems were of the highestcalibre – and this is true of today’sworkforce, too.

‘The day-to-day operations andsmooth running of both theoverground and underground railsystems is very important.Disruption must be minimised foressential preventative andreactive maintenance andupgrades.

The key to this will always be thepeople who undertake the workand this means companies facethe challenging task of findingindividuals with the rightexperience, qualifications andskills across multiple disciplinesand geographical locations.’

A challenge faced by the currentgeneration of recruitmentcompanies is the industry-wideshortage of engineering skillsacross all sectors in theengineering industry. An ageingworkforce of skilled engineersapproaching retirement age meansthat there is an increased demandto attract the next generation oftalent.

...the war for talent is at its peak

Says Otter, ‘The rail industry isseen as less seductive than IT andTelecommunications, or lesslucrative and exotic than oil andgas, however the workforcedemands have been higher, theskills requirements have changedas technology has evolved and thewar for talent is at its peak.

‘It is essential that anexperienced workforce is retained,and that the contractor populationenjoys a rich set of opportunitiesand projects.

‘Morson has developed thecareers of many contractors, someof whom have been with us formany years and haveprofessionally progressed toincreasingly senior roles throughtraining and the support ofMorson’s experienced recruitmentconsultants who strive to developtalent against high demand skillsfor the benefit of both our clientsand candidates.’

Flexibility and agility areessential when providing resourceto the industry. Despite being theleading technical recruitmentcompany in the UK, Morson isstrategically sub-divided to offer

real sector experts who get to theroot of the industry and buildrelationships with the talentavailable in the market place.

Morson is dedicated to solvingproblems before they happen andworks with its partners on a longterm hiring strategy.

developing a skilled workforce

Morson Internationallooks at the evolutionof the industry’sworkforce and itsoutlook for thefuture…

© GILES BARnARd PHoToGRAPHY

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nicholas Wrobel explainsSubsurface Upgrade Programme


At Morson International nicholasWrobel (pictured) is the Programmedelivery Engineer for the currentTransport for London (TfL)Subsurface Upgrade Programme(SUP) across a significant section ofthe London Underground.

Preceding this, Nicholas was theChief Engineer on the VictoriaLine Upgrade (VLU) programme(2005-2009), now recognised asone of the most reliable railwaysin the world.

In the past decade, Transport forLondon (TfL) has, via thesubsidiary London UndergroundLimited (LUL), implemented someof the biggest upgrades andrenewal projects that the iconicrail network has seen since itsinception, 150 years ago.

Subsurface UpgradeProgramme

Of those programmes, NicholasWrobel has played an integralpart in both the successfulVictoria Line Upgrade (VLU)which reached completion in2010, and the presentdevelopment of the SUP which isacknowledged as the mostsignificant of the plannedupgrades thus far.

‘The SUP is a very differentprogramme from the VLUprogramme,’ explains Nicholas.‘It’s bigger in terms of cost, andscale. The SUP is 45% of the wholenetwork, covering theMetropolitan, Hammersmith &City, Circle and District lines –four lines and a £4.2bn budget.

‘What’s interesting working on areally big programme – and it’sthe biggest metro programme inthe world at present – is the scaleof the workforce involved. On thisproject, we have 650 working asthe in-house team alone, and

with that volume you inevitablyexperience more complexchallenges.

‘Challenges such ascommunication within theworkforce, but also the challengeof coordinating projects across allfour lines – as opposed to thesingle line upgrade implementedon the Victoria line.’

The ambitious VLU, whichinvolved the replacement of bothsignalling systems and rollingstock assets, resulted in achievingthe ability to run higher capacitytrains, at far higher frequencies. Itachieved its target of delivering 32trains per hour (tph), andcurrently boasts a signallingsystem that is comparable to thebest in the world.

Modern technologiesIn contrast TfL outlines that the

SUP will result in the renewal ofcore assets across the oldest partsof the Underground, and provide a33 per cent increase in peakcapacity across the programme. Inaddition to a mass renewal of theproject’s life expired assets, theprogramme will also focus onharnessing the capability ofmodern technologies and systemsto generate maximum benefit tothe programme’s delivery outcome.

Nicholas comments: ‘It wasdecided that the SUP will separateits delivery of a new signallingsystem until later, in order to givethe passengers the benefit ofcapacity early on, bringing the newtrains on first.

‘This means that the passengersget the benefit of a new train thathas more space, more effective airconditioning and heating systems,and is aesthetically more inviting.There have been some interestingchallenges in terms of developing

and reassessing the railwayinfrastructure in line with the newtrains that will ultimately result ina smoother, faster, slicker servicefor all passengers across thisnetwork.

‘In 2016 we expect a big newsystem of development work tocome into play, so although wewon’t experience its impact untilthen, in the meantime all of thetrains will be out and in servicewell before then. The completefleet is out already on theMetropolitan line, and has been forover a year. It consists of bothseven and eight car trains toaccommodate the varyingplatforms across the four lines.

‘The day we put the first train into service, people were hesitant toget on it because they thought itwas a special train – we had to tellthem that is was okay to hop on!We had huge confidence that itwould work, and are delighted thatit has been so successful.’

Population growthNicholas continues: ‘Whilst the

upgrades have been a huge successfor LU, one of the ongoingproblems is keeping up with thepopulation growth of the city. Sowith the VLU, it was a target toincrease capacity by basicallyintroducing faster and closer trains.

I think 750,000 people use thetube every day – that’s aconsiderable number. However,during that time of conception tocompletion, the growth in thenumber of passengers hasexceeded the 32% increase thatthis train upgrade delivered.’

That is why, Nicholas explains, hebelieves the new Deep TubeProgramme (DTP) heralds anexciting opportunity to transformthe remaining aspects of thenetwork.

‘Everything is up for grabs withDeep Tube, it is quite exciting andwill undoubtedly be quite costly. Ithas started already and is in thedesign feasibility and definitionstage. That will mature in the nextfew years, where design and buildcan actually start.

‘It is a huge opportunity for TfLand London Underground to get allof the big problems on to the table,thrash them out, go through all ofthe options and then choose thebest possible option with a realunderstanding of what thatdesign will or will not do.’

FEATURE

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IF THE SIGNALLING IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR CONTROLLINGTRAINS WHY NOT USE IT TO PROTECT TRACK WORKERS?

The last resortLast month I suggested that thetime was ripe for us to phase outthe use of flags, whistles andhorns as a way of protecting trackstaff from trains.

Nostalgia for the exciting dayswhen the Victorians built ourrailways can hardly be used tojustify such an antiquatedmethod! Looking through oldpapers I came across an earlyRailtrack form titled “Hierarchy ofProtection Methods” whichprescribed the use of the “highestachievable method of protection”.

The top three choices were greenzone alternatives (namely,arrangements where workers areseparated from trains); fourth andfifth were working with trainsrunning but warnings generatedby automatic means (not as part ofthe signalling system).

Six and seven were the use of alookout using warning equipment.The use of a lookout with flags anda horn was described as being “thelast resort.” The paper was dated2002, but I still believe it was right.

Reliance on microchipsMy thanks to a “mainline train

driver” who having read my Mayarticle, wrote in expressing hissupport for the use of lookouts. Hecommented that “almost allaccidents to trackside staff are dueto human errors on their part,usually through poor training,becoming blasé, or simply trying tosave time and cut corners doingthings that fall outside theparameters of basic PTS” (Personal

Track Safety). He says that, “horns, flags, and

whistles may be antiquated butcannot break down or go wrongand are simple to use,” adding “Iwould rather entrust my life tosomething that is down to theuser not microchips”.

I cannot believe that he really

wants us to replace main linesignalling with flags and horns?Indeed as a professional driver heobeys lineside signals many ofwhich rely on microchips. Lastmonth I suggested that it is nowright for us to begin to phase outthe use of lookouts and replacethem with warning systems driven

by the signalling that controls themovement of trains.

The necessary technology hasbeen in use for well over a decadeelsewhere in Europe. At the end ofMay I travelled through LondonBridge (one of our busiestjunctions). It is currently beingrenewed. Surely this should now

SAFETYColin [email protected]

™

FETYS FIRST

sponsored by

be equipped with a signallingdriven warning system as a firstpriority?

Safety Central updated I am pleased to see Network

Rail’s Safety Central Website has atlast been updated, and is open toeveryone who needs it. It featuresa personal 38 second interviewwith Simon Kirby who heads theirInvestment Projects organisationon the importance of safety.

Adding a “Lessons Learnt”section is overdue but welcome.The intention is for this to feature“events that have led to a formalinvestigation or where there aresignificant learning points.” Anopen invitation offers anyoneinvolved in an incident whothinks the industry would benefitfrom sharing lessons learnt, tomake their DCP (whatever thatmeans?) aware so that details maybe sent to a central team forreview.

A recent addition to “LessonsLearnt” was issued on May 1st andrelates to the COSS/Site Wardenfatality at Saxilby on December 4thlast year. The simple eight bulletpoint format gives a good (thoughbelated) overview of whathappened.

Within 2 miles of home stationSafety Central has an up to date

list of the membership of theProject Safety Leadership Group(PSLG) which notes that theirmeeting took place in May. I hopeto be able to comment on it nextmonth.

Worth watching is a film fromthe RED Programme aimed atraising awareness of the dangersof driving when fatigued. Itfeatures a young father sufferingsleepless nights and attempting along drive home with horrendousconsequences.

Laudable though the initiative is,an equally valid approach is torecognise that it is always better towork locally whenever possible.Could more be done to ensurecontinuity of local work for skilledrailway people? It would be saferand almost certainly moreproductive.

I recall old contracts ofemployment used by BR actuallystipulated that staff had to livewithin two miles of their “homestation” so as to be available todeal with unexpected events!

Task Briefing SheetsI believe that these should be

edited if not drafted by Supervisorsto ensure they only include sitespecific information that needs tobe briefed since it differs from thenorm. I have just read the latestadvice that the sheet can be“double sided A4, A5 (i.e. A4 foldedonce) or A4 folded twice like aChinese Takeaway Menu”etc.

What do such stipulations add tothe process? Task briefing sheetswere introduced when accordingto urban myth you needed aseparate wheelbarrow to carryvoluminous method statements.

The principle is that the trackstaff are skilled and hence the taskbriefing should be a minimalexercise drawing attention tounusual and site/job specificvariations from the norm.Arguably a long briefing can be ashazardous as none!

Safety BulletinsCurrent Safety Bulletins on the

website include the road/railerrunaway that occurred whilst itwas being transferred from roadwheels onto rail wheels on a 1 in 45gradient near Glasgow QueenStreet. That happened on 21st April.

Bulletin 284 was issued followinganother on-track runaway on April30th. The use of Rexquote GenieZ60/34 V3 Access Railers has beensuspended as a result. Bulletin 285was issued on May 9th after acontractor fell when he used ahandrail whilst walking up astairway on a Haki Compact StairTower.

The handrail gave way and hefell through the gap sustainingbruising to legs, back and neck. Itadds that the handrail may nothave been fitted in accordancewith the manufacturer’sinstructions. The location and dateof the accident are not given.

Track Safety AllianceThis organisation started in 2011

and is formed largely of renewalscontractors wishing to share bestpractice. It focusses on “improvingthe health, safety and wellbeing oftrackworkers.” There is no soleleader but all are “majorshareholders with equal stakes inshaping safety leadership thinkingand direction.” I applaud theirinitiative and hope that they mayincrease their influence in thefuture.

Working with the adjacent lineopen to traffic has always beenhazardous. I still recall a dreadfulnight when having taken care tobrief and warn all the staff of thedangers, a supervisor I knew welllost concentration and movedonto the live line in the middle ofthe night. He was killed by atrain.

Network Rail have a ProjectManager working on reducing therisks associated with ALO(Adjacent Line Open). SlewLimiters for excavators are anobvious precaution but myconcerns were aroused when Iread the words “Quantitative RiskAnalysis.” I hope the goodintentions of some currentinitiatives have been carefullyreviewed and agreed with theindustry.

ALO Toolkit paperworkMy fear is that the well

intentioned new paperwork willadd to the form filling withoutimproving safety. There does seemto be a lot of it! The “ALO Toolkit”

went live on May 28th andcompanies have to be fullycompliant by August 5th.

It is described as being“additional and complementary toexisting guidance.” It includesthree separate ALO forms. Sitedetails have to be entered in 15boxes on the form and the ALOChange Control then has 7 yes/notick boxes before the inevitablesigning and declaration. There arealso “ALO Workplan” and“Responsible Manager Tracker”forms.

I hope someone is checking sinceI firmly believe that less is moreeffective when it comes topaperwork. But if you disagreeplease let me know!!

Remembering my time as ProjectManager of the now defunct TrackSafety Strategy Group (TSSG) Irecommended that additionalpaperwork should only beintroduced after a group ofsupervisors say they need it! Thatwas part of the agreed processused by TSSG and it proved itsworth!


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Seagulls at newcastle CentralStation have ruffled a fewfeathers among motorists.

Two seagulls built a nest in avacant bay in the station’s carpark and are now hatching eggs.Railway staff found the nest andcordoned off the bay.

Says East Coast’s Newcastlestation manager, LouiseRutherford, ‘We contacted theRSPCA for advice and theysuggested we leave the nestundisturbed until the chickshatch and are able to fly the nest.It’s against the law to touch ormove the nest, so we’veconed off the parkingspace and we’ll bekeeping an eye on thingsto make sure they’rekept safe and sound.

‘We’re also askingdrivers using the carpark to take care aroundthe birds as we’re toldthey can be quite

aggressive in protecting theiryoung.’ Happily Louise is allowingthe gulls free parking. ‘We’vealready decided to waive thecharge for the use of the parkingspace – they’d be up and awaybefore we could give them aticket!’

All birds, including gulls, crows,pigeons and doves, are protectedby law under the Wildlife andCountryside Act 1981 duringtheir nesting season. Under theAct, it is illegal to damage ordestroy an active nest or itscontents.


STATIonS

new Stationfor Westgate

In thepublic eye

A flock of seagulls

Transport Minister, Simon BurnsMP, interviewed in this edition ofRailStaff, visited WakefieldWestgate station, to check outprogress on the £8.8 million newstation project.

Construction work at Westgatebegan earlier this year and thenew station is scheduled to openin November. The site has beencleared and prepared, concretepiling columns for the foundationshave been installed and the steelframe of the building is beingerected this summer. The newstation will include better shops, aspacious travel centre, ticket gatesand improved security.

Says Simon Burns, ‘This station,made possible with governmentsupport, will be the first newly-builtstation on the East Coast Main Linefor decades and will show the worldthat Wakefield is open for business.

‘This is part of the widerprogramme of infrastructure

investment which will see billionsspent on the network over thecoming years, helping to driveeconomic growth and reinvigoratethe railways.’

Network Rail’s Route ManagingDirector Phil Verster believes therailways will help boost Wakefield.‘We know that our stationsprovide important gateways to thecities they serve and can help toattract investment andregeneration and look forward tothat being the case in Wakefield,’

Phil said. Wakefield Westgate

currently has 32 direct East Coastservices to London each weekday,with a fastest journey time of 1 hour 47 minutes. The weekdayflagship ‘West Riding Limited’service leaves Leeds at 07.00,calling only at Wakefield Westgateat 07.12 and arriving at LondonKing’s Cross at 08.59.

Five of the country’s biggest andbusiest railway stations willbecome art galleries this summer,hosting exhibitions of picturesfrom the Take-a-view LandscapePhotographer of the Yearcompetition.

The stations, which includeManchester Piccadilly, Leeds,London Waterloo, Glasgow Central,and London King’s Cross, willshowcase a series of stunningpreviously commended entries ofplaces which can be reached by rail.

Visitors can also find out how toenter the Landscape Photographerof the Year competition, which hasa top prize of £10,000 and includesa separate ‘Lines in the Landscape’award which seeks to find the bestrailway-related photography.

Says David Biggs, director ofcommercial property for NetworkRail, ‘People don’t just want theirstations to be places they catch

their trains from; they want toshop, eat, drink and enjoy theirsurroundings.

‘Our stations are naturalexhibition spaces so extending ourpartnership with Take-a-View…seemed a natural fit. We also hopethe millions that come throughour stations will be inspired to visitthe fantastic places they can reachby rail and record their ownamazing views with theircameras.’

For competition entry detailsvisit www.take-a-view.co.uk

Construction work atWestgate beganearlier this year…

A colony of great crested newtshas been successfully evacuatedfrom norton Bridge inStaffordshire, in advance of theconstruction of a new railwayflyover on the West Coast MainLine.

The newts are moving to thecomparative calm of the nearbyShallowford House Retreat andConference Centre, which is run bythe Church of England. The flyoverat Norton Bridge will remove amajor bottleneck on the route andforms part of a series ofpreparatory pipeline diversions,scheduled to take place from Julyof this year through to early 2014.

The project is being run by theStaffordshire Alliance, apartnership of Atkins, LaingO’Rourke, Network Rail andVolkerRail, working under acollaborative contract aimed attransforming the delivery of railprojects.

newtworkRail success

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Sections of London Bridgestation’s old roof have found anew home at Aberystwyth.

The roof will be rebuilt as part ofthe Vale of Rheidol Railway narrowgauge railway museum in thetown. Network Rail has saved 16columns, 14 beams and otherelements which can be moved toWales.

‘The roof offers an opportunity toshow the locomotives in contextwithin a train-shed environmentand the Vale of Rheidol will workhard to recreate the atmosphere,which only a London terminus canprovide,’ says Robert Gambrill fromthe Vale of Rheidol Railway.

Mr Gambrill went on to praisethe team he worked with fromNetwork Rail. ‘It has been apleasure to work with such adedicated team from Network Rail- their care and attention to detailhas ensured that as much of thestructure that we need has beensaved,’ he said.

‘Without their co-operation noneof this would have been possible.We all look forward to unlockingthe potential of our collection andseeing the Vale of Rheidolbecoming a world class touristattraction for Wales.’

The line climbs 12 miles toDevil’s Bridge and is a masterpieceof engineering. It opened in 1902to carry lead ore, timber andpassenger traffic. The narrow trackgauge allows the railway to followthe contours of the terrain withmany sharp curves and steep

gradients which add to therailway’s charm.

Says Chris Drabble of NetworkRail ‘This great news has beenpossible because many peoplefrom many organisations havebeen working together. Up untilthe actual structures were liftedwe were never sure if any of thiswould be technically possible, soall of the teams can be reallyproud of what they have achieved.’

The line attracts around 40,000visitors annually from all over theworld.

London Bridge for Aberystwyth

The Municipal Art Society of New York is backing plans by City Hallto redevelop the area. ‘Nearly 640,000 passengers use Penn Stationevery day, and yet it does not act as a dignified gateway to one of theworld’s greatest cities,’ says designer Roger Duffy, of Skidmore,Owings & Merrill LLP, one of four companies approached for ideas.

Architects and artists are being invited to submit ideas for the redesignof Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens in new York.

Resisting Penn Station

Chief Superintendent MartinFry joined Reading BTP officers,First Great Western andnetwork Rail staff to officiallyopen BTP’s newly revampedpolice station.

The Area Commander wasinvited to officially open thenew station following a threemonth revamp which saw theformer building transformedfrom a 1980s station into a newbright, light and modernfacility.

The new BTP station alsofeatures a new public friendlyfront counter, plus greater officespace for the 15 PCs, 10 specials,two sergeants, one inspectorand two staff based at thebuilding. The new look BTPoffice is part of major £850mimprovement plan by FirstGreat Western, Network Railand Reading Council totransform Reading Station.

new policestation atReading

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STATIonS

Kenilworth getsnew station

A clutch of new born ducklingswas saved by the promptintervention of ScotRail staff.

The brood was spottedwandering along tracks at QueenStreet station in Glasgow by IanKinning, a ScotRail cateringattendant, as his train pulled intothe station. Two fitters, engineersDerek Adamson and JohnRobertson joined in the rescue.

Says Mr Robertson, ‘I was on thetrack working on a train at thetime so I had already closed theline where the ducklings werewalking, which was quiteconvenient. There was a train dueinto the platform four minutesafter we removed the last ducklingfrom the tracks, so I’m just gladthere was a happy ending.’

The ducklings are being lookedafter by the Scottish SPCA at

Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Trust inAyrshire. Jean MacKay of the SPCApraised the efforts of staff. ‘Theseducklings are very lucky to be aliveand I’d like to praise the quick-thinking staff who managed tosafely contain them all beforecontacting us for assistance.’

Says station duty managerJennifer O’Neill, ‘The ducklingswere adorable - they really mademy day. It took about five minutesto get them all off the tracksbecause they were running awayin different directions.’ Concernedofficials are still trying to trace themother.

ducklingdrama

Commuters at Paddington werestartled to be accosted by PrincessGwenllian of Kidwelly recently.

Her Highness was in London witha retinue of Welsh knights andcaterers to encourage people to visitWales by rail. Princess Gwenllianmet FGW driver Aiden Jones, whoregularly takes trains to Swansea.

The event was part of the ACORP

‘Community Rail in the City’initiative and the Paddingtoninitiative was organised by DavidEdwards of the Heart of Wales LineForum. The exercise passed offpeacefully. However the originalPrincess Gwenllian of Kidwelly wasa noted partisan responsible forleading a daring uprising againstthe Normans in 1135.

Princess Gwenllian givesPaddington audience

Plans for a new £11 million station atKenilworth moved a step nearer this month asTransport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin backedthe scheme vowing to put up £5 million.

Warwickshire County Council will work withNetwork Rail to finalise plans. The station willbe located on the Coventry to Leamington SpaLine and will include two 100 metre platforms.Extensive infrastructure improvements areplanned on the line in the near future.

Network Rail plans to integrate the schemeinto a wider programme of work. The datewhen the station would open will be confirmedlater this year, once it has been integrated inthe wider rail enhancement programme.

Says Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin,‘Our support for Kenilworth station illustratesour commitment to working with communityand national partners to meet local transportneeds that not only deliver real benefits topassengers but also improves the network.

‘This is another example of the Government’sdetermination to transform the railways as wecontinue to push forward with the biggestprogramme of rail investment ever.’ Kenilworthhas a population of nearly 24,000. Since theclosure of the old station in 1965 thepopulation of the town has increased by 50%.

dublin’s Heuston station will be hosting aWelsh princess this summer.

One of the world’s first narrow gauge steamengines, Princess, will be shipped fromHolyhead to Dublin. The locomotive, fromFfestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, iscrossing the Irish Sea, courtesy of Stena Line, atthe invitation of Iarnród Éireann as part of theGathering Ireland 2013 festival.

Princess was built at the Hatcham lronworksin New Cross, London in 1863, and was named

in honour of Princess Alexandra of Denmark,who married the then Prince of Wales - later tobecome King Edward VII in the same year.

Princess was originally built to serve the slatequarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.The tax on the coastal shipping of slateintroduced in the late 18th century wasresponsible for Welsh slate finding a market inIreland, where the tax was not applied.Gathering Ireland 2013 is a year-longcelebration of all things Irish.

Irish Trip for Welsh Princess

Driver Aiden Jones discusses rail

travel with Princess Gwenllian.


Sochi, on Russia’s Black Sea coastwill be hosting the 2014 Winterolympics. david Shirres went tothe International Rail BusinessForum in the city and reports froman olympian event.

Russian Railway’s operations arecertainly large scale, and so aretheir conferences. With 1400delegates from 32 countries, thisyear’s Eighth International RailBusiness Forum held on 30th and31st May was an impressive event.

Sub titled “Strategic partnership1520” (Russian gauge inmillimetres), it promotes thedevelopment of Russian gaugerailway business. The forum wasfirst held in Sochi in 2006 when itattracted 450 delegates. Since thenit has grown in size and diversitywith participants includingpoliticians, engineers, railcompanies and financiers fromover 300 organisations.

This year the forum was held ina newly constructed hotel complexbuilt for Sochi’s 2014 WinterOlympics in Krasnaya Polyana. Thehotel complex is reached by anewly built 48 km railway linethrough difficult mountain countryfrom the coast to service thegames. The large mediacontingent, of whom RailStaff wasthe only UK representative,travelled to the forum on the firstpassenger train on this new line in

a Siemens-built “Lastochka” EMUwhich had only started running afew days previously. The train washand-signalled as the signallingsystem was commissioned andtravelled at a maximum 60 km/hr.

Opening the conference, VladimirYakunin, President of RussianRailways (RZD) told delegates thatholding the conference atKrasnaya Polyana was part ofRZD’s support for the games forwhich there had been a hugeinvestment in the railways aroundSochi. He saw the conference as akey opportunity to strengthenbusiness relationships, promotethe development of internationalrail corridors and consider the bestrail business model.

The vertical integration debateIn the opening session Yakunin

led the debate on whether railwaysshould be vertically integrated. Headvised that Russian Railways hadstudied railways worldwide toassess what was best for them. Hewas convinced of the need for asystem wide approach and did notthink this was possible with fullscale liberalisation, such as in theUK where the lack of integrationgave a 40 per cent increase in costscompared with other models. Healso noted that the French weremoving away from verticalseparation.

Other speakers on this topicincluded Dietrich Moeller ofSiemens; Alexander Hedderich,CEO, DB Schenker Rail; HenriPoupart-Lafarge, President, AlstomTransport and Francis Fukuyama,political scientist. Moeller alsowas convinced of the need forvertical integration to ensure anoverall system authority whichwould, for example, ensure powersupplies could accept regenerativebraking.

Hedderich and Poupart-Lafargewere less adamant. Hedderich feltthe correct model depended onthe circumstances of the countryconcerned. For Germany he feltthe concept of separatebusinesses within an overallholding company worked well.Poupart-Lafarge advised thatwhatever the model it did notdetract from the success ofAlstom train projects.

Last to speak was Fukuyamawhose main point was that theissue was not the degree of stateinvolvement but the quality ofstate governance, something thatis clearly relevant in the UK withits recent West Coast franchiseexperience.

Although Russia has still todecide how it will re-structure itsrailways to best attract privatefinance, Yakunin indicated that hefavoured the German model

All happening at the forumThe large media contingent

ensured that the forum was anewsworthy event in Russia andprovided an impressive mediascrum around Yakunin. The presspack explains that “In 2013, a keyconsideration will be given to thedevelopment of the businessmodel of the national carrier andan organisational model of therailway market.

“The agenda also includes issuesof freight and passenger traffic,transportation design, engineering,transportation hubs, andstrengthening the human-resourcecapacity. Prospects fordevelopment are based on thenetwork contract and long-termtariffs for cargo.”

The programme includednumerous and variedpresentations on commercial andtechnical matters which can beseen athttp://forum1520.com/2013/en/.For non-Russian speakers there isa simultaneous translation of the,mainly Russian, presentationswhose impact seemed to be lost intranslation.

Russian press colleagues advisethat little new is said in thesepresentations. Part of theprogramme is the choreographedsigning of agreements with ayoung woman standing behind

Sochi 1520David Shirres reports


FEATURE

each of the signatories whoconveyed the agreement forsigning.

The impression is that it is all abig show. In his interview withRailStaff, Yakunin acknowledgesthis, but points out the forum’smain purpose is to provide anopportunity for businesscommunication by bringing keypeople together in the right setting(which included two veryenjoyable “strategic parties”). So itwould seem that the real work isdone behind the scenes withagreements to the value of £2.4billion being signed at last year’sforum.

Russia’s high-speed futureSpeaking to RailStaff, Yakunin

outlined the current status of twokey projects discussed at theforum: high-speed rail and theconstruction of a Russian gaugeline through Slovakia into Vienna.

Until recently it had beenexpected that Russia’s first high-speed rail line would be fromMoscow to St Petersburg. However,at a high-speed rail conference inApril held by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, it was decided thatthe first stage of Russia’s high-speed rail network would be an803 km line from Moscow toKazan via Nizhny Novgorod.

Yakunin advised this was a

political decision to promote thisregion’s development. It is alsolikely that this high-speed line hasa stronger business case than theone to St Petersburg which alreadyhas fast Sapsan trains that average180 km/h, taking 3hrs 40 minutesfor the 659 km journey.

The cost of the Moscow - Kazanline will be 1.2 trillion roubles (£24billion) and that the intention wasthat 70 per cent would be fundedby the state with the remainingamount from private investment.With private funding yet to besecured there is as yet notimescale for the line.

After completion of the Kazanline RZD’s strategy is then to buildhigh-speed lines from Moscow toSt Petersburg and Moscow toAlder.

Russian gauge to ViennaThe proposed 1520 line to Vienna

from Košice in eastern Slovakiawas also discussed at the forum.To learn more RailStaff met RobertKredig of ÖBB (Austrian Railways)and Mikhail Goncharov of RZDwho are on the managementboard of BreitspurPlanungsgesellschaft, a jointventure between the Austrian,Russian, Slovakian and Ukrainianrailway companies.

They explained that theproposed line is not just a new 400

km railway. The intention is tocreate a 8,000 km rail corridorfrom the Pacific to Europe withouta change of gauge. In Vienna therewill be a distribution hub to taketraffic further by rail or the riverDanube with a small amountdistributed by road. A pre-feasibility study has indicated theline to be a potentially attractiveinvestment.

The next stage is a feasibilitystudy which would provide a moreaccurate prediction of traffic levels,recommend a route and estimateconstruction costs. Goncharovexplains that the contract for thisstudy is expected to be let thisyear. He would not commit to atimescale for this feasibilitycontract, but did joke that the linewould be built before the BritishHS2.

He estimated the cost of thefeasibility contract to be around 20million euros, with each partner inthe venture contributing 25 percent. He also predicted that as theproject developed other railwayswould wish to join the venture.

RZD’s global visionYakunin’s vision is one of

international rail development formutual benefit of which RZD’shigh-speed rail and internationalprojects, such as the line toVienna, are a key part. These

projects are, however, expensive,ambitious and as yet have nocommitted funding. With Yakuninbelieving there is the requiredbusiness case and politicalconsensus, the 1520 forumprovided an opportunity to furtherpromote them to the governmentrepresentatives and financierspresent.

In his closing speech to theforum, Yakunin noted that theagreements signed at the forumoffered participants newopportunities for economicdevelopment.

Big shows they might be, butYakunin clearly considers that theSochi forums have an importantpart to play to promote his visionof global rail development.

Speaking to RailStaff,Vladimir Yakuninoutlined the currentstatus of two keyprojects discussed atthe forum: high-speed rail and theconstruction of aRussian gauge linethrough Slovakia intoVienna…


nEWS

As the countdown continues tothe 75th anniversary celebrationsof Mallard breaking the worldsteam speed record the nationalRailway Museum is trying to findthe drivers and other crew thatworked on the world’s fastestlocomotive.

The Museum plans a DriversDay in October. Several membersof the crews that worked on thefootplates of Mallard and hersister locos are already involved.The NRM wants to talk to driversand crew who worked the locounder British Railways.

Says Associate Curator BobGwynne, ‘We are activelysearching for drivers and othercrew of A4 locomotives from theBR era which started in 1948. Asmany of the people we arespeaking to are well beyondretirement age now, we wanted toensure we could capture theirexperiences of working as

scheduled crew on the East CoastMainline during the BR era,particularly the sixties, for ournational collection of railwayhistory.

‘We are also interested inhearing from the crew thatworked on the locomotive in 1988,when we celebrated 50 years sinceMallard raced into the recordbooks.’

Preparations for the 3rd Julyanniversary of Mallard becomingthe fastest steam locomotive of alltime are falling into place withDominion of Canada getting thefinal finishing touches of acosmetic restoration. Along withfellow traveller, Dwight DEisenhower, the repatriatedlocomotive arrived in Britain lastOctober from the United States.

Says former driver and firemanBernard Bell (89) from York, ‘Istarted on the railways as a 16year old in 1939. I’ve worked on

diesel but there’s nothing likesteam and the Gresley locos werethe best of them all. As many of usaren’t as young as we used to be, itmakes sense to get in touch withthe railway museum as I did.’

On 3rd July 2013, Mallard and itsfive surviving sister A4locomotives will fulfil the dreamsof rail fans across the globe, withthe ‘Great Gathering’ - aspectacular international familyreunion. The six streamlinedsteam giants will be gatheredtogether around the Great Hallturntable in the National RailwayMuseum in York for two weeks - asight never seen before.

Crew wanting to get in touchwith the museum should call08448 153139 or [email protected] The ‘GreatGathering’ of Mallard and itssisters takes place 3 July – 17 Julyat the National Railway Museumin York.

National Railway Museumseeks Mallard crew

On 3rd July 2013, Mallard and its five survivingsister A4 locomotives will fulfill the dreams ofrail fans across the globe, with the ‘GreatGathering’ - a spectacular international familyreunion. The six streamlined steam giants willbe gathered together around the Great Hallturntable in the National Railway Museum inYork for two weeks - a sight never seen before…©

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nEWS

HS2 Ltd plans to use newtechnology to cut the noise of highspeed trains on the line.

Over two thirds of the line’ssurface sections between Londonand the West Midlands will besunk in cuttings. Earth removedfor track laying can be used tobuild up noise-absorbing berms.On the train itself, designers planto eliminate the gaps betweentrain carriages to cut noise andboost aerodynamic efficiency.

Drawing on Japanese expertise,HS2 trains could also be fitted withwheel farings to cut the noisemade by the wheels on rails, thebiggest source of noise on anyelectrified railway.

Says Transport Secretary, PatrickMcLoughlin, ‘HS2 is absolutely vitalfor this country, providing a hugeeconomic boost which willgenerate a return on investmentthat will continue paying back forgenerations to come. But youcannot build a new railway linewithout causing some disruption.What we can and will do is ensurethat disruption is kept to aminimum by using the very latestdesign and construction methods.’

The most significant proposeddesign refinements, as revealed inlast month’s RailStaff, includetunnelling under Ealing andNortholt in north west London, andat Bromford in the West Midlands.

HS2 - sound survey

A classic 1920s Southern Railwaysteam locomotive returns to theIsle of Purbeck in dorset for thefirst time in more than 50 years tostar in the Swanage Railway’sannual steam gala.

Railway photographer John H. Astoncaptured No. 31806 on film in the Isleof Purbeck when the locomotivehauled a passenger train fromBournemouth down to Corfe Castleand Swanage in September, 1955.

Now owned by the Mid-HantsRailway in Hampshire, the RichardMaunsell-designed ‘U’ class loco-motive, No. 31806, will be making aten-day visit to the Purbeck line inearly September, 2013.

With six feet diameter drivingwheels, the powerful and versatile102-ton ‘U’ class steam locomotiveshauled popular holidaymaker andday tripper trains from Salisbury,Basingstoke and Bournemouthdown to Corfe Castle and Swanageduring the 1940s and 1950s.

Island inthe Steam

A new on-Track Ballast CleaningMachine, on hire from IarnrodEireann, has been put through itspaces by northern IrelandRailways on the newry andPoyntzpass line.

The trials went well. The Plasser& Theurer RM90-IR Ballast Cleaner(Iarnrod Eireann Machine 781)

cleans track ballast along the line,removing stone from underneathsleepers, extracting unwantedmaterials and passing the ballastthrough various screens andfilters.

Where required the track istopped up with new stone ballastto replace the old inferior stone

removed from the track bed. Thismethod of working obviates theneed for full track removal.

Clean machine wins on Poyntzpass

Northern Ireland Transport Minister Danny

Kennedy with Catherine Mason, Translink Group

Chief Executive during a visit to view an

On-Track Ballast Cleaning Machine.

volunteers at the Severn valley Railway have been awarded theQueen’s Award for voluntary Service.

In celebration of the achievement, four long-standing volunteers fromthe Severn Valley Railway, Hugh McQuade, Columb Howell, GaryWilliams and Martin White, were invited to the Queen’s Garden Party atBuckingham Palace.

The four rubbed shoulders with the Queen, Princess Eugenie andthe Princess Royal, who revealed she is a self-confessed steamenthusiast after once being invited to drive a steam train. Acommemorative piece of crystal will be presented to the railway bythe Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire.

Columb Howell, who was among the Preservation Group which re-launched the railway in 1965 and who is now volunteer driver, said itwas a great honour for the railway’s volunteers to be recognised, andthat attending a Royal Garden Party was the icing on the cake. ‘I feelextremely privileged to have been invited to Buckingham Palace toexperience the wonderful hospitality, environment and atmosphereof a Royal Garden Party. It was an honour to speak to the PrincessRoyal, who, as it turns out, is also passionate about steam trains.’

Mr Howell stressed the hard work done by all volunteers. ‘It iswonderful that this award recognises the dedication of the manyvolunteers who keep the SVR running, without whom, its survivalwould not be possible. I would encourage anyone who is passionateabout protecting and preserving this amazing attraction for futuregenerations to join us.’

Queen’s Award forSevern valley Railway


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Documents

RailStaff June 2013