railstaff newspaper april 2012

600 Network Rail volunteers are getting ready for the London Olympics. Theywill be joining Team London Ambassadors to welcome athletes and spectators -80 per cent of whom are expected to travel to the Games by rail...

Nationwide

, ,

&

Network Maintenance Repair

Improvement Plant Hire

stobartrail.com

See Stobart Plant Advert P24

Get the right team on boardwith McGinley Support Services www.mcginley.co.uk

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

RailStaff

PAGE 9

John Moore joins BalfourBeatty Rail as CEO

PAGE 14

Discussing Devolutionwith Robin Gisby

PAGE 26PAGE 4

Final countdown to Infrarail 2012

Final plans are now in place forInfrarail 2012 from 1-3 May.

Network Rail has created 10routes with managing directors.

Issue 173 / April 2012

Rail volunteers becomeOlympic Champions

Welcome rail staffto the NEW RailStaff

Welcome to the new look,upgraded, capacity enhancedRailStaff. When we first started 15years ago staff could still roll uptabloid newspapers and stuff themin outside pockets of old uniforms.Now new railway fashions - eventhe police are upgrading - meansrail staff look smart and trim andthere’s little room for a red toptabloid, still less our leading railindustry green top.

So after checking out howreaders and advertisers feel aboutA4 - as distinct from A3 Pacific -we have taken the bold step ofswitching to a gloss art format. Allthe old favourites are hereincluding Colin Wheeler’s TrackSafety Focus. Colin Garrett will bereporting on our royal heritage insubsequent editions.

All photos should enjoy betterquality and sharper focus. TimCasterton is back with a dynamicIrish Railways news round up. OurNew Century News Makers featurecontinues with an interview withColin Flack of the Rail Alliance. Wealso welcome aboard new writers –many of them from the railengineer, our sister publication.

Nigel Wordsworth takes a look atNetwork Rail’s devolvedmanagement structure, with parttwo ‘at the sharp end …’ nextmonth. Just as we get rid of thelast snow at home, David Shirresreports from the Arctic Circlewhere Russian Railwaysdemonstrate snow clearance.

Going A4 means we can runmore features and longer storiesoffering longer platforms. It is afine way of beating capacityrestraints and eliminating peakbottlenecks. Essentially it meanswe have the flexibility to expandpagination with a wider variety ofnews and features.

The serious core purpose ofRailStaff remains the same - to tellgood news stories about railways.It remains a unique privilege toreport the courage and

professionalism of the men andwomen who make up our industry.Many stories of heroism andinitiative go unrecognised. We aimto put this right both in thesepages and at the RailStaff Awards.

This is a recession defyingindustry with a bright future. Wewere once dismissed as beingnaïve and unrealistic. Now, 15years on, with passenger volumesat their highest since 1948 and railfreight making inroads againstroads, the people we write aboutare being taken much moreseriously.

Railways in Britain are a successstory and a growth industry. It’s agood place to work, to build acareer and run a new business.

Andy Milne, [email protected]

www.railstaff.co.uk 3

Going A4 means we can run morefeatures and longer stories offeringlonger platforms. It is a fine way ofbeating capacity restraints …

Stations Focus: In next month’s RailStaffStations are busy places. Refurbishment and alterations are takingplace right across the network. RailStaff brings you the latest news. If you want to contribute, get in touch now.Call Paul Curtis on 01530 56 00 26 or email [email protected].

PAGE 5 PAGE 18SPECIAL FOCUS

Ada and Phyllisget to workTwo tunnel boring machines,each weighing 1000 tonnes and150 metres long, begin an 18month journey beneath London.

Publisher: Paul O’Connor

Editor: Andy Milne

Senior Reporter: Jonathan Webb

Pictures: Colin Garratt

Track Safety: Colin Wheeler

Writer: Nigel Wordsworth

Advertising: Asif Ahmed

Craig Smith

Paul Curtis

Production and design: Adam O’Connor

Contact Email AddressesNews: [email protected]

Pictures: [email protected]

Adverts: [email protected]

Subscriptions: [email protected]

Contact DetailsRailStaff Publications Ltd

Ashby House, Bath Street,

Ashby de la Zouch,

Leicestershire, LE65 2HF.

Tel: 01530 56 00 26

Web: www.railstaff.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

Printed by Pensord.

RailStaff is published by

RailStaff Publications Limited.

A Rail Media Publication.

Budget boost forNorthern HubThe Northern Hub capacity in-crease project is backed byGeorge Osborne with a further£130 million investment.

RailStaffContact us:

COMMENT

4 www.railstaff.co.uk

More than 600 Network Railvolunteers will join rail staff atstations to help guide millions ofpassengers to and from the LondonOlympics this summer.

Travel champions will be out in force at13 stations including Liverpool Street, StPancras International, King’s Cross andStratford International.

Says volunteer Katherine Sherval, 28,‘I’m proud of what I achieved in the dayjob and I’m really excited to dosomething different and help at thecoalface during such an exciting time.

Our stations will be the first thingmillions of people see when they arrivein London and we only have one chanceto make a good impression. I’mdetermined to give everyone a smile andmake them feel welcome.’

Katherine Sherval (below) is a projectmanager based in London and worked onthe upgrade of Stratford station - one ofthe main rail gateways to the Olympics.

Network Rail’s travel champions will bewearing the same distinctive uniformsand trilby as the Greater LondonAuthority’s Team London Ambassadors.

They will be positioned at informationpods at stations to help members of thepublic. ‘We expect 80 per cent ofspectators to travel by rail or tube, so ourstations will be gateways to the Gamesfor millions of people,’ says Dave Ward,Network Rail route director.

‘At certain times, our railway will beextremely busy and these enthusiasticvolunteers will be there to help makejourneys as smooth as possible.’

The railway’s greatest strength is itspeople and the industry is making sure itfields plenty of them.

Olympic link for rail champions

P.. P.. Pick up a RailStaffThanks for picking this up if it’syour first time. We particularlywelcome new readers to RailStaff,an independent newspaper forpeople working in railways.

After rail privatisation mostpeople expected railways to fadeaway. Managed decline was theeuphemism. We took a differentview. A modern industrial stateneeds up to date rail systems,trains capable of moving hugeamounts of people safely andspeedily.

We need competitive railfreightbusinesses to feed the ports,factories and commercial arcadesthat fuel our economy. Onecentral problem for the industrywas a temporary loss ofconfidence in railways in thelatter half of the last century. Thisaffected staff morale. Wedetermined to combat this.RailStaff concentrates on tellinggood news stories about railwaysand the people who cometogether to run them.

A new confident rail industry isemerging. Rail staff, contractorsand engineers are progressingnew projects, building betterstations and running more trainson time than Swiss Railways. Theindustry is preparing to build ahigh speed rail network. Severalcities are extending tram systemsand the London Underground is inbetter shape than at any timesince the 1960s. This is a goodindustry and all who work in itshould be proud of it.

Mayor of London Boris Johnsonand transport secretary JustineGreening have officiallylaunched the start of Crossrailtunnelling during a ceremony atWestbourne Park near the RoyalOak portal, a short distancefrom Paddington station.

Two tunnel boring machines,named Ada and Phyllis, will nowbegin an 18 month journeybeneath London. In autumn 2013they will meet up with otherboring machines, that willcommence tunnelling fromDocklands later this year. Eachmachine weighs 1000 tonnes andis 150 metres long.

Over the next three years, eighttunnel boring machines willconstruct a total of 13 miles oftwin-bore tunnel under the capital.The Crossrail route will passthrough 37 stations and run 73miles from Maidenhead andHeathrow in the west, to Shenfieldand Abbey Wood in the east. Thetwo TBMs are named after AdaLovelace, one of the first computerprogrammers, and Phyllis Pearsall,who walked 23,0000 streets and3,000 miles to create the LondonA-Z road gazetteer.

The next two machines will benamed Victoria and Elizabeth, afterBritain’s longest reigning queens.

Mary and Sophie, will be namedafter wives of great engineers. Marywas the wife of Isambard KingdomBrunel and Sophie the wife of MarcIsambard Brunel who built the firsttunnel under the Thames.

In a spirited attack on politicalopponents of the £14.8 billionproject Mr Johnson said, ‘Iremember there was a period ofappalling, nail-chewing suspensewhen the new government wastrying to understand how to dealwith the colossal mess they’d

discovered the country was in. Onedistinguished Cabinet Minister, nonames, no pack drill, I’ll only sayhe wears Hush Puppies, was heardto say that we’d save a lot ofmoney by cancelling this project.’

The coalition government, theLondon Mayor and business andcommunity leaders have unitedwith the rail industry to deliverEurope’s biggest rail infrastructureproject. Trains are expected tostart running along the 73 mileroute in 2018.


t: e:08456 773002 [email protected]

iwww.healthcare-connections.com

PROUD SPONSOR OF

19th APRIL 2012

Rail SafetySummit 2012

Integrated Occupational Health

As rail and construction industry experts, we are

dedicated to working with you to improve health &

safety, decreasing employee downtime

Contact us for a free assessment of your needs.

Visit our Stand K35 at Infrarail for a free health

check with our Occupational Health Nurse

•

•

Medication Checking•

Absence Management•

Health Surveillance•

Employee Medication•

Visit us onStand K35

1-3 May 2012NEC Birmingham

Drug & Alcohol Testing

Medical Screening

Ada and Phyllisget to work

NEWS


Transport Secretary JustineGreening has welcomed 85young graduates onto therailway at Coventry.

The Secretary of State was thereto toast a new industry scheme,‘Track and Train,’ launched toencourage more young people to

take up careers on the railways.The new cross-rail industry paidwork placement scheme, providesgraduates with industrialexperience at Network Rail and atrain or freight company. Thescheme lasts 18 months.

All those joining this spring havegraduated in the last two years butowing to tough economic timeshave found themselves eitherunemployed or more likely under-employed in a non-graduate levelrole. Track and Train will give themopportunities to gain valuable

experience before taking the nextstep in their careers.

Traditionally, the rail industry hasstruggled to attract great numbersof talented women who perceive itas old fashioned and heavy.However, 30 per cent of Track andTrain’s new recruits are female.‘This scheme is really great newsfor the next generation of menand, I’m pleased to say, women,who will be leading andtransforming the industry for yearsto come,’ said Justine Greening.

‘More and more graduates are

realising that the railways canprovide dynamic, fulfilling jobs at atime of not only unprecedentedinvestment in our existingnetworks but as we also embarkon the creation of a truly nationalhigh speed railway network.’

Funded by Network Rail, thescheme involves 28 partnercompanies based across Britain.Those on the scheme will be paida salary of £22,000 per annum with21 days holiday for each of theyears 2012 and 2013. Network Railreceived 2514 applications.

Richard Bowker has steppeddown as head of Etihad Rail inthe United Arab Emirates and isreturning home.

The former head of NationalExpress and the Strategic RailAuthority was appointed a non-executive director of the FootballLeague last month. Bowker, alifelong Blackburn Rovers fan andcommitted Christian, has been anoutspoken critic of how football isrun in Britain.

Hazem Mobarak, currentlyexecutive director of infrastructureat Etihad Rail replaces Richard asthe company prepares to letconstruction contracts later thisyear.

Levelplayingfield forBowker

Centro, the Midlands transportauthority, has renewed calls forHigh Speed two.

The new fast rail link will helpboost capacity on the regions’railways. Says Centro chiefexecutive, Geoff Inskip, ‘We musthave HS2 as soon as possible if weare to cope with escalating WestMidlands demand for rail services.’Centro is giving evidence to the AllParty Parliamentary Group (APPG)for High Speed Rail at Westminsteron April 18.

Geoff Inskip reports that 22.8million passenger journeys weremade in the West Midlandsconurbation in 2000/01. This hasnow almost doubled to 42.8million journeys by 2010/11. TheAPPG inquiry has been set up toexamine the UK’s rail capacityneeds.

‘What is often overlooked is theimportant fact that HS2 releasescapacity for more train services onour existing lines allowing us toprovide better local and regional

rail in our region. It might not grabthe headlines but it’s vital becausethis means we can get morepeople to work, reduce congestionand overcrowding and take freightoff our roads. This will significantlyboost our economy,’ says Geoff.Transport Secretary JustineGreening gave the go-ahead forHS2 on January 10 after a publicconsultation.

Centro urges high speed rail

Greeningwelcomesgraduates

“This willsignificantly boostour economy…”GEOFF INSKIPCHIEF EXECUTIVE, CENTRO

NEWS


In an optimistic move StephenJolly has been appointed as thenew Crossrail ComplaintsCommissioner.

He replaces Tony Gregory whotook up the post as the firstCrossrail ComplaintsCommissioner in January 2009 butstepped down in October 2011. Therole has since been filled on aninterim basis by Bernard Gambrill.

The Commissioner assistsmembers of the public who feelthey have not been able tosatisfactorily resolve issues aroundbuilding work directly connectedwith Crossrail. Says Mr Jolly, ‘I’mdelighted to be taking up the post

as the new Crossrail ComplaintsCommissioner. Crossrail is one ofthe largest infrastructure projectsever undertaken in the UK withextensive construction planned totake place across London and thesouth east. The role of theComplaints Commissioner is to actas an independent mediator inunresolved disputes betweenCrossrail Limited and members ofthe public.’

Stephen Jolly has been theTransport Stakeholder RelationsManager with the OlympicDelivery Authority since 2006.Previous roles include Head ofIntegrated Transport Projects withCambridgeshire County Council.He has also worked with LondonUnderground and the DocklandsLight Railway.

Stephen is a reservist with theRoyal Air Force. The ComplaintsCommissioner reports to theCrossrail High Level Forum whichis jointly chaired by the Minister ofState for Transport and the Mayorof London.

Crossrail Commissioner appointed

Douglas Oakervee has beenappointed as the new chair ofHS2 Ltd.

The move for Mr Oakervee capsa long and successful careerworking on major infrastructureprojects both in Britain and inHong Kong. Transport SecretaryJustine Greening said, ‘HS2 is arailway which will transform theeconomic shape of the UK, sofinding the right person for thisrole is vital. I am delighted thatDoug has agreed to take on thisimportant position, bringing withhim decades of experience ofworking on major infrastructureprojects.

‘The next few years include anumber of key challenges andmilestones for this project andDoug’s input will be invaluable aswe move forward. I would also liketo thank the current Chair, BrianBriscoe, for his invaluable work inleading HS2 Ltd this far.’

Between 2005 and 2009 Oakerveewas Executive Chairman ofCrossrail Ltd during the project’sHybrid Bill phase. Otherexperience includes projectdirector at Chek Lap KokInternational Airport in HongKong. Originally a civil engineerDoug Oakervee was appointednon-executive chairman of LaingO’Rourke Hong Kong in 2009. AsChair of HS2 Ltd, Mr Oakervee’sprimary responsibilities will be to:• Formulate strategy• Ensure HS2 follows DfT guid-

ance when designing the route• Encourage high standards of

practice • Promote HS2 to the general

public.

Says Doug Oakervee, ‘I amexcited about my appointmentand passionate about thedevelopment of UK’s high-speedrail network and HS2 is a great

step forward. I believe that HS2offers a unique chance to addressthe capacity issues facing theBritish transport network and topromote growth in our majorcities. I will use my experience ofthe Hybrid Bill process at Crossrailto ensure that HS2 Ltd is best ableto efficiently navigate this stage ofthe project.’

Mr Oakervee lives in Suffolk andwas appointed OBE in the NewYear’s Honours list 2000.

Oakervee heads HS2

Rowe Hankins, the railengineering specialist, hasappointed Michael Healey asUK sales manager for rail.

Michael, described as a railindustry veteran, is rejoining thecompany where he workedbetween 1993 and 2001. Michaelalso has extensive engineeringexperience in the rail industry.Recently he has been workingwith Schneider Electric onelectrical switchgear systems.

‘It’s great to be back with theold team,’ he said. ‘Rowe Hankinsis a professional organisationwith a highly qualifiedengineering team, world classproducts and IRIS certifiedquality systems. We can take onthe world and I relish thechallenge.’

He will be responsible for salesof Rowe Hankins’ speed controland wheel flange lubricationsystems.

Return ofthe native

“The next few yearsinclude a numberof key challengesand milestones forthis project…”JUSTINE GREENING,TRANSPORT SECRETARY

“I’m delighted to be taking up the post asthe new Crossrail ComplaintsCommissioner. Crossrail is one of thelargest infrastructure projects everundertaken in the UK…”STEPHEN JOLLY, COMPLAINTS COMMISSIONER, CROSSRAIL


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

Assertis move for NeilAssertis Ltd, the companybehind MyTrainTicket.co.uk hasappointed Neil Atkins asbusiness development director.

Megan Spencer-Rigby also joinsthe top team at MyTrainTicket.Assertis, based in Tunbridge Wells,Kent, launched its rail ticketingservice in 2008 to provide trainoperators with a simple way ofselling train tickets through theirown company websites.

Neil Atkins has extensiveexperience of the rail industry andhas a marketing background inInterCity. He was commercialdirector at Gatwick Express andlater worked for Fraser Eagle.Megan Spencer-Rigby, has a strongrail background and has workedfor Virgin Trains as well as the

pioneering on-line business, TheTrainline.

Says Assertis Chairman SimonGrant-Rennick, ‘We are delightedto have secured such key andinfluential rail industryindividuals. I am confident thatthey will both make a majorcontribution to our ability to helptrain operators provide a simple,efficient ticket buying experiencefor their customers and boost theonline presence and direct sales ofMyTrainTicket.co.uk.’

Healthyrole forIan Lee

First Hull Trains has appointedBrian Christie as new operationsmanager.

Brian, from Scotland, hasextensive experience in the railindustry, in both the passengerand the freight field. ‘This is thefirst time that I have worked for anopen access rail operator,’ saidBrian. ‘It is this rewardingchallenge which makes me wantto work at First Hull Trains.

‘I believe this new role will giveme the chance to put into practicethe knowledge and skills I haveaccumulated over the past coupleof decades in the industry. Asoperations manager, I amresponsible for operationalcompetency and safety amongstFirst Hull Trains’ staff.

‘It is essential that the highestlevel of safety, quality andcustomer satisfaction is alwaysupheld. We ensure this throughregular staff training throughoutthe year and the continuous driveto meet the highest level ofindustry standards and be the best.’

Brian relaxes by playing five-a-side football, golf and snooker.

Brian Christie joinsFirst Hull Trains

Ian Lee has been appointedHealth, Safety and EnvironmentalManager for First Hull Trains.

Ian joins First Hull Trains fromFirst Capital Connect where as theSafety Project Manager he was incharge of the safety managementarrangements on the ThameslinkProgramme and King’s CrossStation Redevelopment in London.Mr Lee has over 40 yearsexperience in the industry.

‘I decided to move to First HullTrains as I wanted to get moreinvolved with day to day safetymanagement,’ says Ian. ‘My mostrecent position was in a strategicrole and I wanted a post in which Icould have a combination of thetwo. The Health, Safety andEnvironmental Manager at FirstHull Trains provides the perfectopportunity.’

Outside work, Ian is a keen golfer.‘I look to get out and play a roundof golf every week. I find it to be avery relaxing sport. My wife and Ilive near our children, and ourbeautiful grandchildren. We lovespending as much time with themas possible as they are growing up.’

Says Cath Bellamy, ManagingDirector at First Hull Trains, ‘We aredelighted to welcome Ian to ourteam. We are further assured bythe level of expertise and skill he isbringing to the company and welook forward to working with him.’

John Moore has been appointedchief executive officer of BalfourBeatty Rail.

Moore, who was formerlymanaging director of BalfourBeatty Engineering Services, takesover from Manfred Ledger. JohnMoore helped form Balfour BeattyEngineering Services by overseeingthe merger of Haden Young andBalfour Kilpatrick (BK).

Mr Moore headed up BalfourKilpatrick in 2004. He hadpreviously been managing directorof Carillion’s company, CrownHouse Engineering. Earlier in hiscareer he worked in the MiddleEast. He has an MBA from theUniversity of Strathclyde and isFellow of the Institution ofEngineering and Technology.

CEO rolefor John

“Simple, efficientticket buying…”SIMON GRANT-RENNICK,CHAIRMAN, ASSERTIS

PEOPLE NEWS

“We are delightedto welcome Ian…”CATH BELLAMY, MANAGINGDIRECTOR, FIRST HULL TRAINS

Crescent Machinery Ltd is in itssecond year of membership ofthe Rail Alliance and is an activeparticipant in the monthlynetworking meetings. Crescent will be exhibiting with afull team at the MACH2012exhibition at the NEC,Birmingham from 16th-20th Aprilon Stand 4524B, Hall 4. On showwill be a Sangiacomo T40 CEPower Press, a MACC Special 330Bandsaw (mitre cut) and a MACCNew300 Circular Saw (chop) … allwill be under power fordemonstration.

Crescent provides specialistservice engineers to the SheetMetal and Fabricating industries.

Crescent works on any type ofmachinery that bends or formssheet or plate. All service engineershold the appropriate qualificationsin their own discipline be ithydraulic, mechanical, electrical orelectronic.

Additionally, Crescent also offersa design service with 3Dmodelling. Crescent Machineryalso has an engineer with Healthand Safety qualifications forspecific safety issues such asPower Legislation & Assessment,Risk Assessments. The companyitself has ISO9001 certification andis a member of the MMMA(Metalforming Machinery Maker’sAssociation) through its

acquisition of Kinghorn Machinery.Crescent Machinery is able to

assist most companies who workwithin the engineering section ofthe rail industry. This includesfabricators who make steps,bridges and overhead gantries aswell as companies manufacturingcomponent parts for bogies orstainless steel catering equipmentand sanitary ware.

Crescent Machinery is nowworking in conjunction with VernetBehringer® to provide a UK serviceand support platform for theirmany Steel Processing Lines.Vernet Behringer has greatexperience within Europe ofsupplying process lines for thecutting and drilling of railway lines.

For more information onCrescent Machinery’s capabilities,e-mail Stephen Jackson [email protected] visit them on line atwww.crescentmachinery.co.uk


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.

Infrarail 20121st-3rd MayNEC, Birmingham

Infrarail networking event withEuropean Cluster representation2nd MayNEC, Birmingham

Railway Strategies 201221st JuneMotorcycle Museum,Birmingham

Macrorail 201212th-13th Sept Long Marston

Innotrans 2012 18th-21st SeptBerlin, Germany

Newmembers

Rail Alliance events

Lorne Stewart Plc(Leading UK Engineering Company in the Building Construction Services and Maintenance Industries) www.lornestewart.com

A Jansen B.V. (Legioblock) (World’s Largest Producer of Interlocking Concrete Blocks for Constructing and Restructuring Retaining Walls with Minimal Effort) www.legioblock.com

Coventry University Enterprises(Metrology Consultancy and Professional Services) www.coventry.ac.uk/metrology/pages/businessservices.aspx

Ede & Wilkinson (ewg LTD)(Multi Services Organisation Providing Building & Civils Electrical & Mechanical Testing & Inspection, Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning, Security, CCTV, Fire Alarms, Walkways & Gantries) www.ewgltd.com

Henley Business Group (Specialist Business Broker for the Rail Sector) www.henleybusiness.com

CPS Rail Ltd(Specialists in Roof, Wall & Floor Coatings for Graffiti Removal, Planned & Reactive Maintenance and Refurbishment Projects for the Rail Industry) www.cps-rail.co.uk

Never before has the RailAlliance motto ‘Network,Collaborate, Innovate, Thrive’been more appropriate indescribing last month’sactivities, reports Robert Hopkin.

We have been ‘up’ to London tomeet old friends at RSSB and seedevelopments surrounding the bidfor the Transport TechnologyInnovation Centre, now referred toas the Transport Catapult. It was

particularly good to catch up withcolleagues and members of theRail Alliance from the TransportResearch Laboratory as well as theTechnology Strategy Board.

On 27 March at theManufacturing Technology Centrein Coventry, hosted by theMidlands Aerospace Alliance, weheld our first multi-sectorCollaboration in the form of aTransport Seminar and Networkingevent. We are particularly gratefulto Colin Stewart of Arup - DirectorGlobal Rail Markets - for eloquentlyarticulating the case for rail to ourAerospace and Manufacturingsector colleagues.

We have also seen our

membership thrive anew withanother six new members duringMarch – details opposite. So, welook forward to April with anotherNetworking Event at TRaC Global’sSkelmersdale Laboratories on 17April at which we will hear acouple of presentations by TRaCGlobal on EMC and Vibration aswell as hearing from Andrew Febenfrom Network Rail about theProduct Approval Process.

Later this month, 26th April, atour Long Marston offices, we havethe first in a series of BS11000workshops. These will help developour members’ knowledge ofCollaborative BusinessRelationships.

Steel display forCrescent Machinery

HighThrive

RAIL ALLIANCE NEWS


British Transport Police officersare cutting a dash this springwith new uniforms designed tobe more practical and hardwearing.

Open neck wicking shirts replacethe traditional collar and tie,retained for formal occasions.There is no change to headgear,with helmets and flat caps worn inEngland and Wales and flat caps inScotland. The new utility uniformtops are black for police officerswith the text ‘Police’ on the upper-arm. PCSOs have a blue top with‘Community Support Officer’ onthe upper-arm.

BTP has around 2,400 uniformedpolice officers serving acrossEngland, Wales and Scotland,together with almost 300 policecommunity support officers(PCSOs). A further 400+ officerswork in CID.

Arrestingfashion

Vital Rail, part of the VitalServices Group, has reopened aregional office in York to copewith growth in the rail sector.

Increased orders from clients inthe area are behind thedevelopment. Says Nick Baxter,Regional Director of Vital RailNorth, ‘Despite the cost reductionswhich are flowing through theindustry following the publicationof the McNulty report, we haveactually seen quite a strong andsteady increase in work recently.

‘We put this down to acombination of the rail contractorsfurther reducing their supplychains - for which we haveretained our preferred supplierstatus and the increased demandfor our contracting services underwhich we deliver fixed pricepackages of work.’

Vital Rail’s York business is runby Steve Carter, northernoperations manager, whilst the

office is run by resource manager,Emma Barnes (below), a native ofHaxby, north of York. The officewill complement Vital Rail’sexisting offices in Aberdeen,Glasgow, Manchester, London,Warwick and Swindon.

York office for Vital

Open neckwicking shirtsreplace thetraditional collarand tie…

NEWS


Paul Merton has joinedspecialist rail recruitmentcompany Advance TRS asOperations Director, to workwith close friend and formercolleague Andy Ridout.

Paul has 12 years experience inmechanical, electrical and railtelecommunications recruitment.He previously worked as aBusiness Consultant at MapleResourcing Ltd and has worked forResourcing Solutions and Marksand Spencer.

Says Paul, ‘It’s really inspiring tosee what Advance has achieved inits first six months and I’m thrilledat the opportunity to continue

building a professional and trustedrecruitment consultancy. Thechance to work with Andy is alsowhat attracted me to Advance.Anyone who has met Andy willknow how passionate he is aboutrecruitment and the rail industry.’

Says Andy Ridout, ‘Paul is a verywelcome addition to the team.Aside from being a good friend, hebrings a wealth of experience andindustry knowledge. We share thebelief that customers want tospeak to real industry experts. Thatway, clients can be confident weunderstand their requirements andcandidates can be assured we willfind a role that’s right for them.’

The man who helped pioneersophisticated lifting equipmentis stepping down.

Graham Cofield, sales andtechnical director at Mechan, isretiring following a 49-year careerin the transport industry. Grahamspent the last 23 years with theSheffield-based manufacturerpowering up the firm’sconsiderable expansion.

When Graham joined Mechan in1989 as a design engineer, the firmwas trading almost completely inthe material handling market.Using his experience withhydraulic jacks at British Rail,Cofield helped transform Mechaninto one of the UK’s pre-eminentdepot maintenance equipmentmanufacturers.

This business now accounts foralmost 90 per cent of turnover.New engineering director, MartinBerry, will be taking over Graham’sduties. Martin has worked forMechan as design manager fornine years.

Says Graham, ‘I have seen manychanges during my career atMechan and in the transportsector. After taking those firsttentative steps to design a set ofjacks for the rail industry, I am

enormously proud to have beenpart of a team that has built upsuch a huge range of depotequipment. We have gained areputation across the world forengineering excellence andcustomer service that is second tonone and I know that theseprinciples will ensure the firm’ssuccess continues well into thefuture.’

From his home in Doncaster,Graham now intends to spendmore time on the golf course, aswell as indulging in his otherpastimes, which include gardeningand walking his dog. Says RichardCarr, Mechan’s managing director,‘It has been an absolute pleasureworking with Graham - hisprofessionalism and technicalknowledge is unsurpassed.

‘Thanks to his excellent designwork, the firm has been involvedin some landmark moments forthe UK rail industry, including thefirst and largest multi-road bogieexchanging system and mostrecently, the largest single systemof rail jacks ever produced. Wewish Graham a long and happyretirement and we have everyconfidence that Martin willcontinue his good work.’

Cofield steps down

Priv Travel contact changesRetired railway staff wanting tocheck priv travel facilities cancall Rail Staff Travel on 0800 6521700, a dedicated free phonenumber.

Based in London, the Rail StaffTravel team is on hand five days aweek to answer queries fromformer rail staff and their familieseither by phone, e-mail or letter.The new number 0800 652 1700 isthe same number as for activestaff.

Despite the change in contactdetails, all travel facilities forretired staff will remain the sameand there will be no change toentitlements. The change willmean that all rail staff travelfacilities will be dealt with underone roof. Retired staff should have

been sent the new contact detailsalong with their 2012-2013 stafftravel card.

Says Angela Nicholson, Head ofRail Staff Travel, ‘Bringing all railstaff travel together means thatfrom the start of April it will beeasier for us to give people thehigh level of service that they haverightly come to expect. Along witha new free phone number forpeople to call, we’ll have anexpanded team based in Londonready to deal with any queriespeople may have aboutentitlements and travel facilities.

‘The only change we expectpeople to notice will be the newcontact details and maybe a fewnew names. All retired staff travelentitlements will of course remain

unchanged and unaffected.’ The Rail Staff Travel can be

contacted on Freephone: 0800 6521700 or by email: [email protected] orin writing at: Rail Staff Travel, POBox 70159, London WC1A 9GN.

Beanthinking

Retired railwaystaff wanting tocheck priv travelfacilities can callRail Staff Travel on0800 652 1700…

Hungry passengers can nowsnack on jelly beans and raisemoney for charity at the sametime.

Thanks to the railway childrencharity the new brand of jelly beansis available at most Whistlestopstation grocers. Corporatesupporters, SSP, helped developedthe beans. 60 per cent of the profitsgo to the Railway Children.

Merton’s Advance move

© SH

UTTERSTO

CK.COM


It’s all down to the quality of thepeople, that’s the message fromBridgeway Consulting managingdirector, Pino De Rosa.

Bridgeway Consulting recentlywon an extension to its nationalsurvey contract with NetworkRail. ‘Our ability to deliver a topquality service highlights ourprofessionalism anddemonstrates the quality of ourpeople. In the past year we haveproven again that we can delivera multi-disciplinary managedservice effectively and safely toour client,’ said Pino De Rosa.

‘We believe we will be able tooffer both cost and time savings toNetwork Rail. We appreciate theimportance of this at a time whenNetwork Rail is continuing to findways to deliver better value formoney. This explains why we wereawarded an extension for thisframework contract.’

Bridgeway Consulting has aNR4 (MT)/BDG/CIV/113 -National Intrusive & Non-Intrusive Survey NationalFramework Call-Off Contractwith Network Rail. Theframework was initially awarded12 months ago. After

successfully delivering a wholetranche of works across thecountry, Network Rail hasdecided to extend the contract.

Says Mark Lindahl, AssociateDirector of Site Investigations atBridgeway Consulting, ‘Thecontract extension is testamentto the hard work put in by theSite Investigations and Surveyteams in delivering a high qualityproduct to very tight deadlines.Our approach to collaborativeworking has benefitted theproject works, whilst ensuringNetwork Rail always receives aquality service.’

The framework covers amultitude of disciplines, whichare specialist business areas atBridgeway Consulting. Thefollowing services will continue tobe made available for theduration of the call-off contract:• Geotechnical Investigations • Structural Coring • Paint Sampling Analysis • CCTV Surveys • Topographical Surveys • Track Surveys • Gauging Surveys • Environmental Surveys • 7 Day Load Testing Surveys

• Refurbishment / Demolition /Asbestos Inspections

• Confined Spaces Inspections• Roped Access Examinations• Ground Probing Radar Surveys• Railway Safety Critical

Support Staff • Overhead Line Isolations.

Top teams from BridgewayConsulting are out in force thisspring progressing a number ofprojects around the networkexpanding and improvingBritain’s railways.

For further information aboutBridgeway Consulting’s specialistservices please call: 0115 919 1111.

National Framework success forBridgeway Consulting

A famous Dutch Olympicathlete, Fanny Blankers-Koen,will be featured on the LondonUnderground Olympic LegendsMap after a rethink bydesigners.

The star of the 1948 LondonOlympics was a champion

pentathlete, sprinter and hurdler.She also excelled at long and highjump. Nicknamed the FlyingHousewife, Fanny Blankers-Koenhad initially been left off the mapwhich features famous athletes inplace of station names.

Each underground line is

dedicated to a sports discipline,such as track and field or boxing.Some of the biggest names in sportshistory are featured, includingsprinter Usain Bolt as Victoria,multi-gold medal winning rower SirSteve Redgrave as Knightsbridgeand basketball great Michael Jordan

as King’s Cross St. Pancras. One of the biggest stars of the

1948 London Olympics, FannyBlankers-Koen is credited withdoing much to advance the roleof women in sport. She died in2004 in her home town,Hoofdorp.

Dutch courage for Tube Map

Pregnant mothers travelling onthe London Undergroundshould find it easier to get a seatthanks to a badge schemelaunched by TfL.

The ‘baby on board’ badges meanpassengers know the mums-to-bemay need to sit down. Researchshows some passengers fear beingbranded sexist for offering upseats to women. Others routinelyfail to notice the needs of fellowpassengers.

The badges will help overcome theawkwardness often felt by pregnantwomen at having to ask someone togive up their seat. Passengers inpriority seats will be able to seewhen they should give up theirplace.

Badge ofhonour

23rd May 2012, National Rail Museum,York

Places are limited.To reserve a place for this

free-of-charge event, please visitPaul Dobbins Chief Technical Officer, telent Communications

NEWS

Devolution is defined as thetransfer of powers from acentral organisation to localunits.

It was also the name given to aprogramme rolled out during lastyear by Network Rail whichdivided the country up into tenRoutes, each with its ownManaging Director.

As part of the plan, each routewould not only operate as aseparate business unit with itsown accounts, allowing greaterbenchmarking of financialperformance and efficiencybetween the routes and sharingbest practice, but would also haveits own management team tooperate, maintain and renew theinfrastructure under the control ofa Route Managing Director.

David Higgins, Chief Executive ofNetwork Rail, commented at thetime: “Network Rail is committedto building not just a bigger andbetter railway but a better valuerailway too. Devolution marks asignificant change, both in termsof the way we organise ourselvesas a company and the service weoffer our customers. Empoweringroute teams means quicker andmore responsive decision-making

and will help us meet our centralgoal of putting the customer first.”

The term “Better Value Railway”seemed to hint that these changeshad been brought about followingSir Ian McNulty’s report togovernment on “Realising thepotential of GB Rail”. If so, theprogramme had been rolled outremarkably quickly as the reportby Sir Ian’s Rail Value For MoneyStudy had only been published inMay 2011 and, although they hadreceived a preliminary report theprevious year, the first two routemanaging directors wereappointed on 3 May.

By the end of 2011, all ten routemanaging directors were in place.Now, almost a year after those firstappointments, it was time to seehow the new organisation wasperforming. Had it made adifference?

The architectFirst call was on the architect of

the whole scheme, Network Rail’smanaging director of NetworkOperations, Robin Gisby. Talkingwith him in his office overlookingKings Cross Station, the firstobvious question was - why?

Robin first looked back at history.

Describing himself as “The lastrobber baron from Railtrack days”,he had seen the formation ofNetwork Rail first-hand.

“Iain Coucher did a fantastic jobof building a new team,” he said.“We came up with a detailed 32-point action plan, stuck rigidly toit, and it worked.” Strict centralisedcontrol imposed a regime ofplanning and cost containmentthat was sorely needed. It turnedthe maintenance of the railwayaround from something that was,frankly, out of control and forced itto address the important issuesand hit cost targets, and then tostart making cost reductions.

“However,” Robin continued, “Ifyou run everything centrally for toolong, lower level managementtends to look upwards and inwards,and not out towards the customer.People don’t feel empowered. Theylose the intangible, cross-functionalintegration that is needed to do theright thing, and not just meettargets.”

“For example, the signalling teamhave a plan to reduce the numberof signalling control centres in thecountry to just 14 over the nextfew years. This will mean closingmany of the current signal boxes.

Discussing


Devolution

Nigel Wordsworth reports

At the same time, another teamhas the task of improving securityat the existing centres - fences,earth mounds, electronic doorsand gates, unbreakable glass - thatsort of thing. They are working to alist. So they started spendingmoney on centres that werescheduled to close in a couple ofyears - simply because one teamwasn’t talking to the other.”

Forward planning“We needed to integrate our

various teams, and also to addressthe problem of paying betterattention to our customers. Thiswas just at the time that Iain wasleaving, and there was a delayuntil David Higgins took up hispost as he had to be released bythe Olympic Delivery Authority. Sothe board worked up plans to givemore authority to the routes, tomake them into separate butintegrated teams, and to give themcontrol over their own budgets.

“When David arrived wepresented our plan to him, and hegot it very quickly. David is hugeon accountability - he believes ingiving managers enough rope todo their job, but he wants to knowwho is accountable.

“So we went ahead with the planand created the ten routes, andappointed their managingdirectors. We also started todismantle all the steering groupsand committees that had grownup under the centralisedorganisation. Under the oldsystem, we would have set up aDevolution Steering Group - thatwould have appointed aDevolution Working Group - andthey would have employedconsultants to advise them. Noneof that happened this time - thelast thing we wanted was asteering group to decide how toreduce the number of steeringgroups!”

Robin wanted to make theremaining central system not onlyslimmer, but also much moresupportive of the regions - as hecalls it “Much sharper and pokier”.He remembered a visit to NissanMotors that he made years ago,when he was still with automotivesupplier GKN. A seat manufacturerhad problems and, while theBritish way would have been toshout at the supplier and tell themto sort themselves out, Nissanmanagement all went to the seatplant to help solve the problem.

Their supplier’s problems wereseen as their problems. NetworkRail HQ should be like that.

“Of course, we still control someareas,” Robin added. “If a route hasa major finance problem, or asafety problem area, PatrickButcher (Finance Director) andGareth Llewellyn (Safety Director)are quite at liberty to jump straightin to sort it out. They don’t have togo through me, a major problemneeds putting right quickly. Butthat should seldom happen.

“For everything else, the localmanaging director runs his ownroute. They still come to me andask about an idea they have, and Ijust tell them to go with their ownplans - it’s their business and theyhave to run it.”

It seems that Network Rail is fullycommitted to this Devolution. Butone of the main aims was a betterinterface with their customers.How is that getting along?

The operatorsA mile away from Network Rail’s

headquarters are the offices ofATOC - the Association of TrainOperating Companies. RailStaffmet with Alec McTavish, Directorof Policy and Operations, to ask

how it was all working out forthem.

“Train operators are verydevolved businesses,” he started,“with powerful managingdirectors. It’s a successful model.

“Devolution is not new, of course.British Rail had various flavours ofdevolution, with sectormanagement, and it was prettysuccessful. From that, we alllearned that it is best if local issuesare sorted out at local level - weare big fans of Devolution.”

“At a local level, train operatorshave always worked with devolvedbodies such as the Scottish andWelsh assemblies and localpassenger transport executives,and done so pretty successfully.

“We very much understoodNetwork Rail’s need to getdiscipline in the company. Buttime has moved on, and now it’stime for something different. Werecognise the benefits from havingaligned incentives. There are hugebenefits to be gained out of havingNetwork Rail and the trainoperators working closelytogether.”

Alec discussed several exampleswhere benefits have already beengained by collaborative working.


Robin Gisby (far left) andAlec McTavish (left).

FEATURE

>

Energy saving on trains was one.Train operators have installedregenerative braking on theirtrains, and Network Rail hasresponded with improvements tothe supply system, and energymetering, so that the energygenerated can be recycled and thetrain operator credited accordingly.

Stations are another area whereNetwork Rail, as the landlord, isnow working together with localoperators both to improve thepassenger experience and toachieve better value for money.

Closer cooperation has alsoreduced delays caused by work onthe infrastructure. The Office ofRail Regulation (ORR) measures thedisruption to passengers caused byengineering possessions, and thislevel has recently halved.

Shared successATOC believes that, when there is

success at a local level, thatsuccess must be shared. It is earlydays, but there have been someencouraging signs such as sharingobjectives and havingtransparency as to costs.

A recent initiative has been thecalculation of aggregate financialaccounts. These bring togetherboth train operator and NetworkRail costs and revenues tocalculate an overall cost of runninga particular route. This helpseveryone understand wheremoney is being spent locally andaids in developing new initiativesto improve industry performance.

For many years, operatingcompanies have shared incomewith Network Rail through aVolume Incentive. In effect, if anoperating company has a largeincrease in passengers, andtherefore in revenue, then some of

that gets paid to Network Railthrough the Volume Incentive toenable them to provide morecapacity for additional trains.However, during Control Period 3(2004-2009), although the operatorspaid a large amount to NetworkRail centrally, that didn’t getthrough to local level. So, regionalinfrastructure managers didn’tbenefit from that success.

In the current control period,CP4, there is a new Benefit Sharingarrangement that works the otherway. If Network Rail does well,then the train operators benefit.But this is again a nationalscheme.

For CP5, which commences in2014, Alec would like to see boththe Benefit Sharing arrangementsand the Volume Incentive workingat route level to give everyone anincentive to hit targets, and evenexceed them. The industry hasn’tbeen good at sharing financialsuccess in the past, but Alec isconvinced that doing so will havea “big impact”.

All this talk of combinedaccounts, and combined incentives,gives rise to the question ofwhether train operators would liketo have Network Rail abolishedaltogether, and to run their owninfrastructure. Alec is quite clearabout this. “There needs to be morediscussion on vertical integration,but currently it is all government-driven,” he stated. “There is notcurrently a common view, andATOC is not lobbying for anychanges.

“However, rail is a strategicindustry. Understanding where themoney goes is the first steptowards looking for greaterefficiencies and how muchtaxpayer support will be needed.

We will never get away fromregulation, although that will varyfrom region to region. Socialobligations will be placed on us toprovide a service in the moreremote areas of the country -that’s normal, regulators do it allthe time.

“Devolution is a mechanism fordelivering greater efficiency, andso reducing costs and also politicalpressure.”

So that’s the view from the top -both Network Rail and ATOC. Buthow is Devolution being receivedaround the country? Next month‘at the sharp end’ in the EastMidlands.


ATOC believes that,when there issuccess at a locallevel, that successmust be shared.

FEATURE

Recognising the dedicationof the people who keep theUK rail industry moving.

in association with

NOMINATIONS OPEN ON THE 20th APRIL 2012

www.railstaffawards.com

NEWW

EBSITE


The spring budget had furthergood news for the Northern Hubcapacity increase project.

In a further show of confidence inrailways Chancellor George Osbornebacked the scheme with a further£130m. The investment will raiseline speeds and increase capacity onthe Sheffield-Manchester line, theManchester-Bradford via Rochdaleand Halifax and Manchester-Prestonvia Bolton lines.

Network Rail welcomed themove. Says chief executive, DavidHiggins, ‘Today’s announcement offurther funding for the initialstages of the Northern Hub is awelcome show of confidence inrail, bringing benefits topassengers as well as drivingeconomic growth. To realise theproject’s total value of £4bn to thenorthern economy and createbetween 20,000 and 30,000 newjobs, the final stages of fundingwill need to be supported in therail budgets to be announced laterthis year.

‘When completed, this projectwill be a clear demonstration ofhow investment in smartinfrastructure can unlockeconomic potential byconnecting commerce andcommunities across cities suchas Manchester, Liverpool,Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastlewith 700 new train services eachday.’

The project means restoringManchester Victoria and will alsodouble rail freight capacity on linesconnecting the Trafford Parkfreight terminals. The OrdsallChord, a new link in Manchestercity centre was given £85m offunding in the March 2011 budget.The development work of otheraspects of the Northern Hub willcontinue as planned.

Developing the Northern Hub willsee a major restoration ofManchester Victoria.

Budget boost for Northern Hub

Work has begun on a £13.8million expansion of theWednesbury Midland Metrodepot.

The project will see the existingMetro Centre at Potters Laneupdated ready to stable 20 newtrams as part of the £128 millionexpansion of the line intoBirmingham New Street. Transportauthority, Centro, has awarded thecontract to Morgan Sindall.

Says Jag Paddam, managingdirector of infrastructure atMorgan Sindall, ‘This is our firstproject for Centro and we lookforward to working with them anddelivering a project of which theycan be proud.’

The existing maintenance depotwill be expanded by 42 metres.Additional maintenance berthswill complement four new stablingsidings and a separate testing andcommissioning shed. Existingoverhead lines, infrastructure andcommunications will be upgraded

and a new substation constructedat Colliery Road, West Bromwich.

The Midland Metro runs fromWolverhampton to Snow Hillstation in Birmingham city centrevia Bilston, Wednesbury and WestBromwich. The tram service has 23stops with trams every 6-8minutes during the peak and every10 minutes the rest of the day.

The government gave the finalgo-ahead in February for work tostart on the one mile extensionfrom Snow Hill to New Streetstation. Spanish trammanufacturer CAF will supply up25 Urbos-3 trams. The new tramsshould arrive in 2014.

Potters Lane progress

From left: Shaun Christopher, AngusAdams, Robert Oag, and Geoff Inskip.

The project will seethe existing MetroCentre at PottersLane updated…


Network Rail has reachedframework agreements withfour suppliers for thedevelopment and design of anew, European-standardsignalling system for Britain’srailways.

ETCS does not require line-sidesignals and is cheaper to installthan conventional re-signalling.Network Rail and its industrypartners have chosen ETCS as oneof its recommended methods of

re-signalling and have developed aplan for its deployment across thenetwork.

Starting in April, the agreementssigned with four contractors covera one-year development phasewhich will confirm the suppliers’design of a European Train ControlSystem (ETCS) Level 2 signallingsystem. These will then bedemonstrated on Network Rail’snew testing facility on the Hertfordloop with contracts for the delivery

of the programme to be awardedin 2014.

ETCS is part of the European RailTraffic Management System(ERTMS) - a tried and testedsignalling system which willreplace traditional line-siderailway signals with a computerdisplay inside every train cab,reducing the costs of maintainingthe railway, improvingperformance and enhancingsafety.

The first drive to install ERTMSwill take place on the GreatWestern main line starting in 2016as part of the large-scaleresignalling of the line, coincidingwith the arrival of new trains andelectrification. The East Coast mainline (commencing 2018) andMidland main line (commencing2020) are scheduled to follow soonafter. The successful companies areSignalling Solutions Ltd, InvensysRail, Infrasig and Ansaldo STS.

In-Cab signalling agreement BorderorderPreparations for the design andconstruction of the BordersRailway in Scotland haveramped up.

Network Rail has appointed BAMNuttall to help railway staffprepare plans for advance workson behalf of Transport Scotlandprior to taking on a full projectdelivery role. The £2 millioncontract enables BAM Nuttall tofurther develop designs of theroute, including bridges, tunnelsand stations. Network Rail willalso proceed with groundstabilisation works in theMidlothian section of the routewhere stabilisation of former mineworks is required.

Says David Simpson, routemanaging director, Network RailScotland, ‘Network Rail is pleasedto be involved with the BordersRailway and this contract todeliver the design phase takes usand the Scottish Government onestep closer to re-establishing arailway to the Scottish Borders.’

Once built the proposed BordersRailway will reconnect the heart ofthe Scottish Borders to the railnetwork for the first time in over40 years. Travelling throughMidlothian, the project will seeseven new stations delivered alongthe 35 mile route - four inMidlothian and three in theScottish Borders.

© FO

UR BY

THREE

A tried and testedsignalling systemwhich will replacetraditional line-siderailway signals…

Blackpool’s tram system isback in action following a£100m project to moderniseinfrastructure and rollingstock.

The majority of its heritage fleethas been replaced by 16 low-floorBombardier-built Flexity 2 trams.The heritage fleet will operateduring weekends and during thepeak tourist season. Seven miles oftrack has been renewed and a newdepot built at Starr Gate.

Transport minister, NormanBaker MP, toasted off the new fleet.

‘Trams are good for passengers,good for the local economy andgood for the local environmentand the travelling public enjoyusing them,’ said Mr Baker.‘Blackpool’s trams are absolutelyon the right track.’

The £100 million investment wasnecessary because of the poorcondition of the infrastructure andthe need to make the rolling stockmore accessible to the elderly anddisabled. Converting the heritagetram fleet, which will operate as aseparate service, was impractical.

The majority of the heritagetrams, some of which date back to1927, have been bought forpreservation. To speed up journeysthe number of tram stops hasbeen reduced and the remainingstops have had raised platformsconstructed to enable level

boarding. This, along with fasteracceleration of the new trams, willreduce end-to-end journey timesby approximately 15 minutes.

In 2010 Blackpool celebrated its125th year of operation, as thelongest operating tram system inBritain.

Blackpool rocks

© JONATHAN WEBB

PROJECT NEWS


Aprojectforpeople

A volunteer gardener whobrightened up a West Highlandrailway station has beenhonoured with a posthumousaward.

Brian Bentham single-handedlyrejuvenated Falls of Cruachanstation but he died in October lastyear before it was named theHighlands and Islands TransportPartnership’s (HITRANS) MostImproved Local Station 2011.

Mr Bentham, who had lived inOban since 2005, had voluntarilyplanted and maintained colourfulflowers at Falls of Cruachan sinceJuly 2010 as part of ScotRail’sAdopt a Station project. MrBentham’s daughter Mandi Deestravelled from Lyneham inWiltshire to Inverness to acceptthe award.

Posthumoushonour forgardenerTwo giant iron plates bearing

the insignia of the London,Dover and Chatham Railway arebeing re-assembled atBlackfriars station in London.

The rebuilt station will span theRiver Thames accommodatinglonger trains and more of them onthe Bedford - Brighton cross-London Thameslink route. Theplates, called cartouches, wereremoved last year to allow for theconstruction of a new southernentrance to Blackfriars.

Says Laurence Whitbourn,Network Rail project director, ‘AtBlackfriars we’re building acontemporary station designed toprovide a better train service forgrowing numbers of passengers.But we’re not forgetting thestation’s heritage. It’s great to seethe historic cartouches restored totheir former glory and back inplace. They’re a testament to theVictorian engineering that hasstood Blackfriars in good stead forthe past 120 years.’

Historic Cartouches restored

The new western concourse atKing’s Cross is causing a stiramong press and public alike.

The 1,300 tonne steel dome ranksamong the largest single-spanstation structures in Europe. SaysArchitect John McAslan, ‘Thechallenge was: How do we take thishistoric and cramped station andenlarge it for the future? It mightnot be perceived as what one may

regard as a cultural project, but Ithink we’ve given it sense (of being)a project for people.’

The light metal and glass allowsnatural light to flood in across theconcourse, which is three timesbigger than the soon to closesouthern concourse. Around theouter edge of the new concourse isa mezzanine floor, which housesfood stalls and cafés. During

construction the dome, which is 20metres high at its apex and 150metres long, had to be supportedby over 400 tonnes of scaffolding,as the design of the dome meant itwas not rigid enough to supportitself until it was structurallycomplete.

Later this year work willcommence on sweeping away thesouthern concourse, which, when

it was erected in the 1970s, wasonly meant to be a stop gapmeasure. A new public squarewill be created. The £550mscheme marks the completion ofyet another key transportupgrade for the London Olympics.It takes the total investment intransport infrastructure in theKing’s Cross area in the last tenyears up to £2.5bn.

“we’re notforgetting thestation’s heritage…”LAURENCE WHITBOURN,PROJECT DIRECTOR,NETWORK RAIL


A local aristocrat and railwaystaff have joined together torefurbish an historic station.

Stalybridge has had its canopyrevamped and the buffet sprucedup, with help from Lord Pendry ofStalybridge. The back room of thestation buffet bar has been fullyrefurbished and now hasnumerous posters, prints, mirrorsand pieces of railway memorabilia,including ladies room and waitingroom signs.

Lord Pendry of Stalybridge, whooften uses the buffet bar,contributed over half of the £6,000costs and has unveiled a plaque tomark the refurbishment. Speakingat the unveiling, he said thatcontrary to popular belief, hehadn’t been using the buffet sincethe station opened in 1845. He alsosaid that Network Rail had showna commitment to the station thatits predecessors hadn’t.

Says Patrick Cawley, NetworkRail’s route building engineer, ‘Wehave committed a considerableamount of money to Stalybridgestation in recent years and thereis yet more to come. Yet our

funds are limited so we aregrateful for Lord Pendry’scontributions to the work in thebuffet bar.’

The original plaster ceiling roseand cornices have been retained,and moulds of the existingarchitrave were taken so thatdamaged sections could bereplicated. Outside, the stationcanopy has been completelyrefurbished. Gone are the old,cracked and missing glazing panelsand the leaking guttering.

Now the station has a stunningcanopy, in blue and white thatcomplements earlier work carriedout on the subway linking theplatforms, and the stationentrance and ticket hall.

Honourable outcome

New stations in Scotlandcould be opened and manymore upgraded under a new£30 million schemeannounced by the ScottishGovernment.

The cash will go towardsimproving facilities at existingstations and will also fund thecreation of new stations aroundthe country. Scottish ministers,local councils and regionaltransport bodies are contributingto the newly established ScottishStations Investment Fund.

The funding was announced byTransport Minister Keith Brown

on a visit to Alloa railway stationwhich opened four years ago andhas seen passenger numbersrise to around 400,000 per year.

Says Mr Brown, ‘New andbetter stations are a major partof attracting more people ontoour rail services and providingsustainable, integrated and cost-effective alternatives to theprivate car, as well as supportingjobs in the construction sector.’

Alloa declaration

The Station Sessions Festival ispacking them in at St PancrasInternational this spring.

The concerts take place earlyevenings and are free. Donationsare collected on site for charityincluding the Prince’s Trust Music.Artists performing include RachelSermanni, Bebe Black and Shakka.The mix is proving popular withLondoners and internationaltravellers using the station.

The Station Sessions has beennominated for the Best Music andBrand Partnership Award at theMusic Week Awards 2012.

The Station Sessions provespopular with passers by andinternational travellers at StPancras International.

Station sessions encore

Stations in Scotland are seeingmore passengers and businessas rail patronage rises.

The StationSessions provespopular withpassers by…

“we are grateful forLord Pendry’scontributions…”PATRICK CAWLEY,ROUTE BUILDING ENGINEER,NETWORK RAIL

STATIONS


Limit the rules to essentials

SAFETYCOLIN [email protected]

By the time you read this thelast tickets for this year’s SafetySummit at LoughboroughUniversity will have been sold. Iam looking forward to hearingall the speakers and learninghow their ideas and proposalsfit in with the safety aims andobjectives of the various railwayactivities.

Still relevant eight year oldhomilies?

In the current political andfinancial climate we all need tomake savings whilst improvingsafety at the same time. OverEaster I cleared out some oldpaperwork and came acrossdetails of a commercial two dayconference I chaired in Londonback in June 2004! The speakerscame from Germany, Denmark,the Netherlands, a BritishUniversity and the Institute ofSafety and Health as well as theUK rail industry itself.

Picking out a few homilies fromthe presentations made mewonder how much things havechanged. Some examples: “thosedoing the work understand it andhave good ideas, limit the rules toessentials, leadership isunderstanding concerns andaddressing them, regular staffmeetings never briefings, listenand earn staff commitment”.

Perhaps my two favourites are“always welcome reporting andincreases in reports of bothaccidents and incidents” and“conversation is how humansthink, we do not obey we choose tocomply - or not”.

Block Roadmen orPossession Supporters?

On March 2nd the relevantNetwork Rail National Delivery

Service “Competence Specialist”sent out a “Line Manager’s BriefingNote” giving notice of theintroduction of a new “PossessionSupport Competence” which mustbe briefed. I wonder if the authorhas ever undertaken BlockRoadman Duties himself. Thechange of name I suggest will notbe adopted immediately and maywell contribute to resistance to theconcept.

The duties are those generallyknown for Block Roadmenincluding the placing ofprotection-detonators, worksite,possession limit and markerboards etc. Transitionalassessments are to take placefrom 3rd September and PICOP’s,Engineering Supervisors;Controllers of Site Safety etc. willbe briefed, another top downinitiative. I assume the proposalsfor change did not come from anexperienced current BlockRoadman?

The over-heated boiler onthe 15 inch gauge railway

It is thankfully rare to receive aRail Accident Investigation Branch(RAIB) report about a 15 inch gaugeLight Railway incident. On 3rd July2011 a train driver on the KirkleesRailway near Huddersfield failed to

check and top up the water in theboiler of his locomotive. He wasnewly trained and passed out todrive on June 19th but hadprevious experience with his ownseven and a half inch gaugelocomotives.

The timely intervention of “theresponsible officer” resulted in thefire being dropped but not beforethe fusible plug had melted. Thedriver doubtless had theknowledge but…?

Bridge problems nearBromsgrove

The partial failure of Bridge 94near Bromsgrove on April 6th lastyear was discovered by a trackinspection just eight days earlier.Maintenance staff sent to monitorthe situation saw that ballast wasfalling into the watercourse underthe bridge and an EmergencySpeed Restriction was imposed.

Although of small span thisbridge as detailed in the RAIBreport consists of seven side byside track carrying deckscomprising five concrete decksand two 3-ringed brick arches.According to the report by theRAIB the 1993 report had gonemissing and with there being abend in the watercourse under thetracks carrying out a detailed

inspection “within touchingdistance” was not achievedsubsequently. Therecommendations stress theimportance of carrying out a“reconnaissance visit” whenplanning for detailedexaminations.

The 2005 detailed examinationdid not include the arch spans andit was one of these that failed andallowed ballast to fall through.Whilst I do not disagree with theRAIB findings I would be surprisedif no local staff knew the form ofconstruction in detail.

Local knowledge of structureslike these which have been inplace for decades is usuallyavailable provided local people areinvolved. Did one of themaintenance team or hisfather/uncle know more? The RAIBalso suggests that StructuresMaintenance Engineers should notbe wholly office based. I agree.

91 line crossings in one dayfollowing calls to thesignallers?

There is a lesson to be learntfrom the findings of the RAIBInquiry into the user crossingcollision on September 25th 2011between a tractor hauling a trailerof sugar beet and the Class 365 4-

...remember we use conversation when thinking,and don’t obey but choose to comply or not!

car train from Kings Lynn to Elytravelling at 70 mph atWhitehouse Farm Crossing(pictured left).

The visibility from the crossingmeant that the driver only saw thetractor on the crossing when itwas less than 100 yards away. Thesecond wheel-set of the train wasderailed but the train remainedupright and fortunately, althoughthe front of the tractor wasseparated from its cab by theimpact its driver only suffered abroken collar bone, lacerations andbruising.

There had been contact betweenOperations Management anddrivers of the tractors bringing inthe crop before harvesting began.Indeed the tractor driver had beengiven permission to cross beforethe signaller confirmed that thetrain had passed, but when onereads that there have been nofewer than 91 recorded crossingsthe previous day the arrangementsmade for use of the crossingduring harvesting are rightlyquestioned.

The cab was left hanging byhoses and electrical cables

Worrying too are the incidentsand accidents currently underinvestigation by the RAIB. AtBlatchbridge Junction near Fromein Somerset on 12th March thisyear a seven year old track relayingmachine being hauled by a diesellocomotive destroyed part of afootpath crossing as it approachedthe Junction.

The under-slung cab of themachine had become detachedand swung out to beyond thenormal train gauge. It was onlyrestrained by electrical cables andair hoses and the subsequentexamination revealed that all eightof its restraining bolts had shearedoff. Five sheared bolt ends showedevidence of metal fatigue. Theother three were not recovered.

The potential effects on passingtrains or as the train passedthrough station platforms isperhaps not worth thinking toomuch about!

The RRV that ran away intoBradford InterchangeStation

Perhaps this March was not sogood from the perspective ofaccidents. At 0650 hours on themorning of Sunday March 25th a

Road Rail Vehicle (RRV) ran away atBradford. It was at the end of theshift when the accident occurred.The RRV was being off-tracked atan access point.

According to the preliminary RAIBreport the operator “placed it into astate where the unbraked railwheels were not fully pressedagainst the road wheels at one endof the vehicle and completely clearof the road wheels at the other end”.

The vehicle ran away from theaccess point travelling downhillsome 380 metres before crashinginto the buffer stop at the end ofplatform 1 of Bradford InterchangeStation. The operator managed tojump clear before the impact andsuffered only minor bruising as aresult.

The overridden interlocksystem

In their preliminary report theRAIB also comment that “thevehicle is fitted with an interlocksystem that is intended to preventthis situation from arising.However the interlock can beoverridden using a push buttonmounted in a box on the side ofthe vehicle; at the time this wasbeing pressed by a member of thegang standing alongside.

As the vehicle started to roll theinterlock override button wasreleased. The Operator was thenunable to alter the position of therail wheels to stop the vehicle.”Whilst not wishing to prejudicethe usual detailed inquiries of theRAIB in any way, I wonder if thereis a danger that oversophistication has prevented theuse by the operator of hiscompetence, knowledge and skills.

Safety Central Websitereports

Two recent incidents are reportedin Network Rail InfrastructureGroup Safety Bulletins. OnFebruary 2nd a Section Manager,Supervisor and Lookout gainedaccess to the track via theBricklayers Arms access point toinspect track between LondonBridge and New Cross.

On completion of the inspectionthe Manager and Supervisormoved to the cess to discuss theirfindings with the Lookout standingalongside them. They stood soclose to the track that when a trainpassed it hit the Lookout’sequipment bag and knocked him

over. He suffered only very minorinjuries and the incident wascaught on the cab camera. If theyhad not been seen from the cabwould this incident have beenreported?

Culture, rules and trustLast month I emphasised the

need for a change in safety culture,the importance of everyone feelingthey want to report incidents andaccidents in the belief that bydoing so they may stop someoneelse from making the samemistake. I am still waiting to seeNetwork Rail’s new “Vision forSafety” which we are told to expectthis month! I am also keen to seethe mere handful of life savingrules we are promised.

Listening and trusting those whowork outside day in and day out Istill believe is the key to achievingzero accidents. That trust has to beearned by local management beingseen and by them beingempowered to make things happen.I recall a time when each sectionwas given a small safety spendingbudget to improve or eliminate a

hazard on their patch. Most madesomething safer but the real benefitwas the change of attitude drivenby the fact that someone inauthority was providing the financeand encouraging them to be safe.“We do not obey, we choose tocomply or not”.


“I am lookingforward to hearingall the speakersand learning howtheir ideas andproposals fit inwith the safetyaims andobjectives of thevarious railwayactivities…”COLIN WHEELER

TRACK SAFETY

Stobart Rail owns and operates an extensive

fleet of specialised plant that is available for

hire with or without operators on a

nationwide basis including road-rail

equipment to match the special

requirements of operations on, or near the

permanent way.

The Company has an extensive range of

earth moving, excavation and earth removal

vehicles, enabling Stobart Rail to tackle the

most demanding of tasks - this significant

investment is continually being added to and

upgraded and is predominantly used on

Stobart Rails own contracted works.

Stobart Rail’s substantial fleet of road-rail

vehicles provides a comprehensive series of

machine-to-trailer combinations, and also

accommodates a host of highly specialised

attachments; ranging from tamping and

cabling equipment to ground investigation

and soil nailing rigs.

To enquire about hiring our plant for use on

your next project (can include POL) or for

our most recent plant register contact:

Civil Engineering Projects& Nationwide Plant Hire

David Richardson

t. 01228 518 150e. [email protected]

Andy Richardson

t. 01228 882 300e. [email protected]

Plant Hire

Operations Director

stobartrail.com

Exhibitors are now making finalpreparations for Infrarail 2012,which takes place in Hall 3 atthe NEC in Birmingham from 1stto 3rd May.

More than 200 companies will betaking part in the event, the ninthin a successful series of exhibitionsbringing together suppliers ofsignalling and communicationsequipment, track products, plantand tools, civils materials, cablesupplies and numerous other needsof the rail infrastructure market.

Entry to the exhibition is free forpre-registered visitors – just followthe link on the website to register.Pre-registration also avoids a £15entry fee payable on the door andspeeds up access to the event.

Forming a centrepiece of theexhibition will be the On TrackDisplay, showcasing track-relatedequipment and machinery, plus aninnovation for 2012 – The Yard, an

area of the hall devoted to largervehicles and plant which has beendevised by show organisers MackBrooks in collaboration with theRail Plant Association.

Visitors to the show will also beable to hear keynote addresses byTransport Minister Theresa Villiersand other industry leaders, as wellas keeping in touch withtechnological developments andtrends via a programme of freedrop-in seminars runningthroughout Infrarail. Also featuredwill be The Platform, a series ofpanel discussions addressing keyindustry topics, and the 2ndInfrarail Awards dinner on theevening of 2 May.

Express Medicals will bereturning to Infrarail in May toshowcase new services andclinic locations.

Express Medicals has beenworking within the rail sector for16 years and our expertise issecond to none. Our servicemeets clients’ requirements forrail and we can combine ourmedicals to meet therequirements of majorinfrastructure projects. ExpressMedicals offers medicalexaminations and drugs &

alcohol collection andtesting services for Network Rail,London Underground, Crossrailand Docklands Light Rail.

In addition to our rail specificservices we offer occupationalhealth, health surveillance,wellbeing, drugs & alcoholservices, counselling,physiotherapy, EAPs, vaccinations ,blood tests and travel healthservices. Our UK-wide on-siteservice is supported by 16 regionalclinics. For more informationplease visit: expressmedicals.co.uk


10:30

11:10

11:50

12:30

13:10

13:50

14:30

15:10

15:50

Opening Ceremony

Mack Brooks

EMC in Railways

Applying Best Practice

Chris Marshman, York EMC

Introducing Rail Reform

The Government’s priorities for Rail in the Future

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP

Desktop Signal Sighting

Is Seeing Believing?

Simon Gardiner, Gioconda Limited

Bolted Joints - When Safety Really Matters

The Optimum Choice for Critical Bolted Joints

Graham Souter, Nord-Lock

Effective Civils Solutions by Adapting Existing

Technologies

Patrick Coffey, Coffey Group Ltd

Preparation for and Management of

Emergency Incidents

Willie Baker, The Emergency Planning College

Electrifying The Network

Electrification Plans for the Future

Peter Dearman, Network Rail

The Rail Value for Money Study: One Year On

Martin Fleetwood, CILT

Making London’s railways fit for the challenge

of major growth

Howard Smith, London Rail

Optimising the Rail Lifecycle

How Positioning Solutions Can Help

Matthew Lock, Korec

Signalling Plug & Play Project Solutions

Delivering 21st Century Signalling Technology

Phil Hickey, Unipart Rail

Ethernet Evolution or Revolution?

Migrating Legacy Systems to IP Networks

Ray Lock, Westermo Ltd

Dry Stack Retaining Walls

Applications in the Rail Industry

Tim Fields, Anderton Concrete

LED - New Lamps for Old

Low Carbon, Low Cost, Longer Life

Chris Walsh, M J Quinn

Train-to-Track Wireless Video Transmission

Examples of an Emerging Technology

Mark Marriage, Digital Barriers

From Forensic to Real-time Surveillance

David Thomasson, Axis Communications

Practical Applications of Track Technologies

Ross Walker, Tata Steel

Supplier Engagement and Project Delivery

Network Rail’s New Approach

Simon Kirby, Network Rail

Sustainability for a modern

railway contractor

Steve Holmes, Balfour Beatty Rail

The Application of Eurocodes

in the Fabrication of Steel Rail Bridges

Steve Armstrong, Mabey Bridge

Signalling Power

Supply Monitoring and Restoration

Jas Birk, Schneider Electric

The Latest Critical Power Solutions for the

Rail Industry

Nick Golder, Socomec

The Challenges on Delivering

to Crossrail

David Stewart, Keyline

Tues 1 May Wed 2 May Thurs 3 May

the rail engineer technical seminars at Infrarail

INFRARAIL

Express Medicals Stand

J34

Countdown to Infrarail 2012

9th International Railway Infrastructure Exhibition

1-3 May 2012 Hall 3, NEC | Birmingham, UKFeaturing: On Track Display, Seminar Theatre, Networking Area, Opening Ceremony, The Yard, Networking Reception, hundreds of exhibitors, thousands of products.


The LPA Group Plc offers highlyreliable, long life, low life cyclecost, environmentally friendly,electronic lighting andelectromechanical solutions.

LPA Excil Electronics’LumiSeries™ LED based interiorlighting features up to 45% energysaving and 15 years maintenancefree service compared tofluorescent luminaries andhalogen spot lights for new andrefurbished infrastructure andpassenger train projects. We willbe exhibiting our brand newLumiMatrix. This modular LEDlighting product offers full

flexibility indimensions,light outputand dimmingcontrol.

LPA Niphanprovides robust but cost-effectiveplugs & sockets designed for use inharsh conditions. Our range ofrugged Rail, Military, Marine andIndustrial products has beenextended to allow simpleinstallation of a power socket ontolighting columns for CCTVcameras or temporary lightingapplications.

Stand

D30

Long lifelow cost

L H Access Technology, based inthe UK, prides itself in providinga design and manufacturingservice for the UK and exportmarkets of a wide range ofroad/rail equipment, meetingthe most stringent quality andsafety criteria for the world’srailway networks.

Our team of experiencedengineers, designers andprofessional business specialistscan provide a wide variety ofinnovative products, designedand built to the higheststandards to meet everyconceivable need.

Our multi-skilled service andmaintenance team are fullyconversant with our products

and provide rapid response toengineering breakdowns andrepairs. Our purpose built factoryfacility accommodates all newbuild, repairs and refurbishmentsto any road/rail vehicle currentlyused on the UK railway network.

At Infrarail 2012, on stand Y40,LH Access Technology will bedisplaying a road/rail Mercedes-Benz Actros lorry. The vehiclechassis can be equipped with awide variety of multi-functionalUK supplied equipmentsuitable to meetthe mostdemandingrequirementson the railwayinfrastructure.

L H AccessTechnology meetsstringent demands

Mercedes-Benz Actros

www.lh-group.co.uk

Basic vehicle Mercedes Benz Actros 3346

Total weight 26000 kg

Load capacity 8500 kg

Track guiding system Hydrostatic bogie rail drive system

Track gauge 1 435 mm

Equipment Interchangeable mounting frame for superstructures with 20 ft

Twist-Lock fasteners

Maximum cant 180 mm

Specialist manufacturersof road / rail vehicles

LPA Group is a leading

Designer, Manufacturer and

Supplier of Electro-Mechanical,

Lighting and Electronic

Solutions.

We provide cost effective

solutions to improve reliability,

reduce maintenance and

hence reduce life cycle costs

for Rail and Transportation

Industries throughout the world.

Come and

see us at

exhibition at

Infrarail

Stand D30

LPA Group Plc

Tel: +44 (0)1799 512800

Email: [email protected]

www.lpa-group.com

Stand

Y40


Cosalt, Union House, Hempshaw Lane, Stockport, SK1 4LGt: 08444 932 806 f: 08444 932 801 e: [email protected] www.cosalt.com/workwear

Cosalt’s Network Rail approved range of PPE demonstrates the company’s commitment to the safety of rail staff throughout the UK. Supplying PPE to over 30,000 personnel within the rail industry, the company maintains its reputation as the PPE sector’s leading light through passion, expertise and dedication to workers on the ground.

Combining continual product development with constant service improvement, Cosalt keeps workers safe and protected, no matter what the weather or environmental conditions they face.

When Safety is Critical .

For more than twenty years,Cosalt has been designing,manufacturing and supplyingsafety clothing to the UK railindustry. Today, over 30,000rail personnel wear Cosaltpersonal protective equipment(PPE) and workwear to keepthem safe, dry, warm andcomfortable at work.

Not surprisingly, the company’sclient list reads like a Who’s Whoof the rail infrastructure business,with companies like Network Rail,Babcock and Bombardier to namejust a few.

As a UK leader in the design andsupply of hi-visibility safetyclothing for the road and railnetworks, Cosalt offers productsthat exceed all UK requiredstandards and internationalquality levels in terms ofdurability, lifespan and fitness for

purpose. Thecompany pridesitself on in-houseproduction and state-of-the-art IT software. Its in-houseexperienced management, designand development team, sampling,and UK production facilities makeit a frontrunner in the market thatis able to supply a wide range ofcustomers.

Stand

J11

Focusingon safety

Retro-fit LED lighting couldreturn your organisation a 60%saving in energy costs andCarbon in addition to reducingyour lighting maintenance toalmost zero for the next five toten years.

Reliable, long life LED retro-fittechnology has now reached aprice point that in most instanceswill yield an ROI of three years orless. Some 24/7 operations willreturn its investment in just ninemonths, after installation andpurchase.

Virtually all conventional lighting

types and technologies, bothinternal and external can bereplaced with LED retro-fitproducts - the retro-fit range evenextends to fire resistant tubes andlamps designed for extremeconditions.

Over five years, two hundred andseventy 1000w MH flood lights litfor 12 hours per day will costaround £300,000 more for energyand maintenance, and generate anadditional 2,500 tonnes of C02,than the equivalent LED product.

So to save money – visit us onstand!

Stand

L11LEDs save money

INFRARAIL

Bodyguard Workwear Ltd is pleased to beexhibiting at Infrarail again this year andwill be showcasing RAILGUARDWORKWEAR, the new range of NetworkRail approved garments designed forcontractors working on the railwayinfrastructure.

Kamal Basra, managing director,stated that the range is designedto the same high standardsthat have becomesynonymous with theBodyguard brand.

Last year Bodyguardsaw growth inexcess of 30%,which Kamalbelieves can beattributed to thequality of theproduct range and tothe commitment todelivering a first classservice.

Visit Bodyguard on stand A24 andsee what all the excitement is about.

Shay Murtagh Precast is the UKand Ireland’s foremost precastmanufacturer.

Specialists in rail infrastructurewith products such as bridgebeams, culverts, tunnel segmentsand bespoke units, the company

gives a completeservice from

design to delivery. A dedicateddesign team provides valueengineering solutions to yourproject.

Infrarail 2012 sees the companylaunch Edition 2 - Bridge BeamTechnical Manual which is anessential tool for design. Get yourcopy at Stand K50 or the website.


Servicing the Industry

Stand

K50

Precast perfection

Stand

A24

INFRARAIL


Snow and Gasin Arctic Russia

It’s minus 20, my beard is freezing up

and the drinking water is like liquid ice.

Russian Railways have brought me to the Arctic

Circle to demonstrate snow clearance techniques.

It’s minus 20, my beard isfreezing up, and the drinkingwater is like liquid ice.

Climbing through the movingsnow tractor’s open roof hatch totake photos, the wind chill is grimbut the view is well worth it. I’m inthe white wilderness that isnorthern Russia and, as weapproach the Ural Mountains, it’s aclear sunny day.

Russian railways have broughtme to the Arctic Circle todemonstrate snow clearancetechniques. On a windless sunnyday such as this, the cold isn’tmuch of a problem, buttemperatures can drop to minus40 and blizzards often reduce

visibility to only a few metres. Insuch conditions, clearing snow is areal challenge. However, unlike theUK, deep snow on the railway is aregular event and RussianRailways are well practised inclearing it. They have proceduresin place to prepare and managewinter season operations whichinclude setting up specialoperational centres to stable andsupport their snow clearingmachinery. This specialistequipment usually includes:• Two track Snowploughs - pro-

pelled by locomotives, usingthe loco’s compressed air sup-ply to power the snowploughequipment. They can clear

snow up to 1 metre high at 70km/h. The width of snow cutcan vary between 3.18 and 4.95metres depending on the con-figuration of the blades.

• Electric rotary snowploughs -propelled and powered by adiesel locomotive using jumpercables to power the 4 x 350kwmotors that drive the snowblowing machinery. Theseploughs can clear very deepdrifts moving 30,000 cubicmetres of snow per hour whichis blown up to 50 metres awayfrom the track.

• Knife plane ploughs - with ablade that can be extended upto seven metres to the side and

ALL PICTURES © DAVID SHIRRES

David Shirres reports


The snowploughsdate from the Sovietera. Indeed, similarsnow clearingequipment built inthe 60s, is ondisplay at Moscow’sexcellent Rizhskyrailway museum.

can be used to clear tracks atsidings and stations. Clearingas much snow as possibleeither side of the track reducesthe risk of drifting snow block-ing the line.

• Bulldozers - carried on snowclearing trains. When the trainis split the bulldozers areunloaded using ramps whichhinge down from the flat carson which they are carried. Thebulldozers, T-170 machinespowered by 180 hp dieselengines, offer great flexibilityfor snow clearance as wasdemonstrated when they wereused to pile snow onto thetracks!

Local Engineer, ValdimirIvanovich, considers that hisdistrict has one of the toughestclimates in Russia. His Sosnogorskregion has five of each of theseploughs and about 40 bulldozers.When it snows this equipmentworks 24 hours a day. Snow fences,made of zinc plated pipes andplaced about 100 metres from therailway, also help - without themsnow could drift up to 5 metresdeep onto the railway.

The snowploughs date from theSoviet era. Indeed, similar snowclearing equipment built in the60s, is on display at Moscow’sexcellent Rizhsky railwaymuseum. Their age, however, does

not detract from theireffectiveness as demonstrated byVladimir’s team whose work mustbe heroic in blizzard conditions.

Track fasteningsThe demonstration took place on

the branch line to Labytnangi inNorth West Siberia. It also providedan opportunity to learn aboutsome of the difficulties withrailway operation in extreme cold.With tracks covered by snow for 8months of the year, it is notpossible to inspect track fastenings,although this is not felt to be anissue as experience has shown thefrozen snow keeps everything inposition. The track is regularly

FEATURE

>


checked for alignment andcondition of joints, and there is amonthly inspection by a trackrecording machine.

The problem of startinglocomotive diesel engines in theextreme cold is solved by notstarting them at all, or rather bynot stopping them outside if thetemperature is below minus 8.

The snow machines aremaintained at a newly-built £5million depot at Labytnangi whichalso provides a base for the snowclearing crews. The depotfoundations are in permafrost and,to avoid settlement from thepermafrost melting due to theheat of the depot, the foundationsare vented with the vents beingkept open in winter and closed insummer.

Labytnangi (population 27,000) isat the end of a branch line, 2,540km by rail from Moscow, andboasts a new station which was

opened in 2004. Although in NorthWest Siberia, it is only 97 km fromthe border between Europe andAsia in the Ural Mountains.Interestingly, the station clock atLabytnangi is two hours slow bylocal time. As with all stations inRussia, clocks and trains run toMoscow time.

Frozen portEleven kilometres away is

Salekhard (population 43,000), themain town in the area, which is onthe other side of the River Ob, theworld’s seventh longest river.Salekhard, a river port which isfrozen for most of the year, is notrail-connected as, so far, the riverhas proved to be too much of abarrier. During the winter, an iceroad over the river connects thetwo towns. Salekhard, theadministrative centre of theYamalo-Nenets autonomousregion, is actually on the Arctic

Circle and its museum contains aperfectly preserved frozen babymammoth that was discoverednearby.

An abortive project to constructthe Transpolar Mainline throughSalekhard was started in 1947 aspart of Stalin’s plan for a railwayacross northern Siberia. The 196km branch line from Chum toLabytnangi was constructed aspart of this plan in the early 1950s.However the railway fromSalekhard to Igarka, 1,297 km tothe east, was not completed asconstruction was stoppedfollowing Stalin’s death in 1953.Around 100,000 prisoners workedon this railway in appallingconditions and there is amonument in Salekhard to themany that died.

Despite its small population, thisarea is of huge economicimportance to Russia producing,for example, 90% of Russia’s

natural gas. The most significantnew field is Bovanenkovo, on theYamal peninsula, which hasreserves of 4.9 trillion cubic metresand is expected to start productionin mid-2012. The strategicimportance of the region isincreased by the possible openingup of the Northern Sea Route as aresult of global warming. Thiswould save 5,500 km off theexisting 20,000 km route fromKorea to Rotterdam using the SuezCanal and would increase traffic torail-connected northern Russianseaports.

New linesLast year, Russia’s Gazprom

Company opened its own 572 kmline from Labytnangi to theBovanenkovo field and has plansto build other lines to adjacent gasfields. Although gas is transportedby pipeline, liquid products will bedistributed by rail. The new line

Around 100,000 prisoners worked on this

railway in appalling conditions and there is a

monument in Salekhard to the many that died.


was also essential for thedevelopment of the field, initiallyto carry construction materials,and then to carry materialsrequired for its operation.

With Bovanenkovo located at 70degrees north, this is the mostnortherly railway in the world andrequired special constructiontechniques to take account of thepermafrost. These includedbuilding embankments of wetsandy silt which is stable at subzero temperatures, and, to ensurethat it stays frozen in summer,developing a special insulationsystem of expanded polystyreneand geotextile mats. A specialdesign was needed for the 3.9 kmlong bridge over the Yuribey Riverfloodplain which included pilesfrozen into the permafrost to adepth of 20 to 40 metres.

The area also has many valuablemineral deposits including largereserves of coal, iron ore,

manganese, chromite and coppersouth of the Urals. To exploit thesenatural resources two newrailways are planned fromLabytnangi. The first is a 393 kmline from Obskaja, nearLabytnangi, to Nadym whichincludes a 2.4 km bridge across theRiver Ob at Salekhard. InDecember last year, Spanishcompany OHL’s Czech unit won a 2billion euro contract to constructthis line which follows part of theroute of the abandoned Salekhardto Igarka railway and is expectedto open in 2015.

The second new route is a 902km line from Labytnangi goingsouth of the Urals to the rail headat Polunochnoye. However, asexpected mineral deposits werenot confirmed by recent geologicalsurveys, this is no longer part ofthe 2010-15 plan.

In addition to these lines fromLabytnangi, a 210 km line is to be

constructed from Vorkuta to theport of Ust Kara.

On first impressions, the single-line Labytnangi branch would notseem to be particularly important.It only has one passenger trainand a small number of freightpaths each day. It is, however, anessential rail link which allowsexploitation of the area’s mineralresources and, during the winter,can be the only way of deliveringsupplies.

The pipeline trains at Labytnangiare an indication of its crucial rolein the development of theBovanenkovo gas field and the lineis to be upgraded to remove speedrestrictions and increase itscapacity. By 2015, the line isexpected to be carrying 2.4 milliontons per annum with theconstruction of 1,500 km of newrailways around Salekhard.

The new lines will also generatea requirement for additional snow

clearing machinery. It will beinteresting to see how the newequipment will compare with thecurrent Soviet era snow ploughswhich will, no doubt, be keepinglines open in Arctic Russia forsome time to come.

With Bovanenkovolocated at 70 degreesnorth, this is themost northerlyrailway in the worldand required specialconstructiontechniques to takeaccount of thepermafrost.

FEATURE


Ireland’s first community railpartnership has recorded anotable success.

Last month Iarnród Éireannstarted running a new throughIntercity service from Limerick toDublin via the Nenagh /Ballybrophy branch. This is thefirst time for around 30 years thata regular through service to Dublinhas operated.

The service departs from

Limerick (Colbert) station at 05:15picking up at Castleconnell,Birdhill, Nenagh, Cloughjordan,Roscrea and Ballybrophy, where itreverses to continue on to DublinHeuston station, arriving at 08:25.There are also 06:25, 16:05 and17:05 branch services fromLimerick all with connections toDublin from Ballybrophy. A changeis required for passengersreturning in the evening as trains

are unable to access the branchplatform from the down main lineat Ballybrophy.

Mixed fortunesThe Limerick to Ballybrophy

branch line has had mixedfortunes in recent years. At a timewhen the new motorway toLimerick was opened, serviceswere reduced to 25mph on longstretches of the branch due to

temporary speed restrictions,many of which remained in placedespite tracks being renewed.

The demise of the Limerickcement factory also led to the endof the regular freight trains on theline carrying shale. More recentlythe line had been mooted forpossible closure.

A knight in shining armourappeared though in the form ofCouncillor Virginia O’Dowd fromNenagh. She promoted theservices on the railway andmanaged to get Iarnród Éireann tointroduce a morning commutertrain into Limerick from Nenagh.

She also managed to establishthe first Community RailPartnership in Ireland for thebranch line which without a doubthas contributed to the recentupturn of events and the newthrough service.

Community Rail Partnership builds success

Portadown Station on the Belfastto Dundalk and Dublin mainline is to receive a £3.6mrefurbishment.

Works will include a new atriumat the Obin Street entrance and liftaccess and a new footbridge toconnect to the island platform. An

external facelift will also takeplace and new public and stafffacilities will be provided. Work isscheduled for completion inDecember 2013.

Portadown is the fifth busieststation on NIR with around 900,000passengers annually.

Portadownrefurbishment

After many years operatingservices from Limerick, the 14year old GEC Alstom built 2700class railcars are being put intostore.

Several 2800 class railcars havebeen transferred from Drogheda toLimerick to replace them. One ofthe services to benefit since Marchfrom the rolling stock change isthe Western Rail Corridor betweenLimerick and Galway.

Stockswaps

Iarnród Éireann’s GeneralManager Freight, StephenAherne retired at the end ofMarch following around 38years working with the CorasIompair Eireann (CIE) group ofcompanies.

After a period of decline andrationalisation, Stephen leaves thecompany following two years ofgrowth (9% in 2010 and 13.6% in2011) and with freight makingaround €1 million profit.

StephenAhernestepsdown

2800 class railcarshave beentransfered fromDrogheda toLimerick…


The last couple of years haveseen a revival of freight servicesin Ireland with regular containerservices between Ballina andWaterford and Dublin ports andtimber trains from Ballina /Westport to Waterford pickingup pace.

Zinc ore trains also run three

times daily between Drogheda andDublin Port. To improve thereliability of these services, IarnródÉireann has given clearance for the35 year old General Motors 071class locomotives to receive majoroverhauls at Inchicore Works.These are likely to include bodyrepairs and a repaint.

Class 071boosts freight

NIR’s 20 new CAF built railcars,the 4000 class, are now cominginto service.

This has allowed the older dieselelectric ‘Castle’ class (or 450 class)railcars to be mostly withdrawnfrom service. A farewell tour wasoperated by the Model Railway

Society of Ireland (MRSI) earlierthis year however a few unitsremained in service.

The withdrawal of the 450 classwill mark an end to the familiarsound of the English Electric‘thumper’ in Northern Ireland.

NIR’s Spanish trainsIn recent years the need formajor investment simply tokeep the Londonderry Lineoperating on the section to thenorth west of Coleraine hasbecome apparent.

The modernisation of this linehas now been approved. Frommid-February the delivery ofballast by train has commenced asa preliminary to closure of the linebetween the end of July and April2013 for track relaying and bridgerepairs.

To facilitate this work, two ofNIR’s 111 class General Motorslocomotives have been out basedin Londonderry, these becomingthe first locomotives to work westof Coleraine since mid-2008 whenthey moved west on 12th February!At present they are workingovernight trains delivering ballastto site.

The Belfast to Londonderry lineis due to be reopened prior to the

2013 City of Culture celebrations inLondonderry. In the financial year2010/11, the route carried 1,477,000passengers, nearly 50% more that5 years earlier.

Following completion of theinitial stage of track works, around£20m signalling works including anew passing loop are due to becompleted by 2015 and then theremaining track relaying work willbe completed.

Londonderry Line

The Belfast toLondonderry lineis due to bereopened prior tothe 2013 City ofCulturecelebrations inLondonderry…

Speedy can provide nationwide coverage and support through our national depot network and expert technical team, along with competitive rates on both hire and sales to meet all your DECT-Com II needs.

Get in touch with a Speedy expert to discuss your requirements.

The DECT-Com II is Network Rail Approved meeting the

requirements of the NR/L2/RMVP/0206 (Issue 1) standard

relating to the Safe Use of Plant for Infrastructure Work.

Available for hire or sale nationwide

CALL: 0845 605 7074CLICK: [email protected]

Make Speedy your first choice for the DECT-Com II.

NEWS


High speed mail trains couldsoon be operating betweenLondon and Paris carryingletters and express parcelsovernight.A trial run, from Lyon Saint-Exupéry and Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airports, went well and thetrain arrived at London St. PancrasInternational safely. The train,which left Lyon Saint-Exupéry at16.42 on 20th March and arrived inLondon in the early hours of thenext day, was organised bymembers of the EuroCarexconsortium, which includes SNCF,the French post office, La Poste,and airport operators in Liège,Amsterdam, Lyon and Paris.

Eurotunnel subsidiary GBRailfreight and High Speed 1 Ltdco-ordinated the English elementof the run. Speaking to RailStaff’sJonathan Webb, John Smith,managing director of Eurotunnel’sGB Railfreight cargo unit, said,‘There’s huge potential. We operatetrains similar to this in the UK, but

at lower speeds. Clearly there is anetwork of these services inFrance and amalgamating the twothrough the Channel Tunnel andHigh Speed One makes sense.’

The recent ban on night timeflying from Frankfurt, Europe’sthird busiest airport, has hit themail business hard. Air cargoshippers now see rail as a fast andeconomic alternative. A Germanjudge indicated earlier this monththat the ban is likely to be madepermanent.

Says Nicola Shaw, chief executiveof HS1, ‘What today demonstratesis that we can get all theinfrastructure managers acrossEurope working together to makethis service work.’ Currently alocation for a transport hub nearLondon is being sought. The areaaround Barking is being looked atas a possible site because of itsconvenient links to HS1. Servicescould commence in 2017.

Talks are already underway withAlstom and Siemens regarding the

possible supply of up to 25 trainsets. Carriages will have a floorwith ball bearing plates and rollers,allowing an unloading time of just30 minutes. The London run usedTGV set 951, one of threededicated TGV sets used by LaPoste to carry mail between Paris,Mâcon and Cavaillon. These cancarry 120 metric tonnes of parcels.The conversion of older passengerTGV sets to parcel units, as theyare withdrawn from passengerservice, is also being considered.

Thousands of passengershelped raise £10,000 in just oneday to make a difference tochildren living on the streets.

More than 40 directors andsenior managers at East Coastjoined crews on board trainservices. The day was part of a

series of ‘Go MAD’ - or ‘Make ADifference’ - events staged to raisemoney for the Railway Children.East Coast’s Chairman MichaelHolden with directors and seniormanagers staffed buffet countersand refreshment trolleys, andserved complimentary food and

drinks to passengers travelling infirst class.

A specially-created Carrot andCranberry Cake was sold on-boardwhile passengers also helped toraise the £10,000 by makingdonations on the day, with allmonies raised going to the RailwayChildren charity.

Says Michael Holden, ‘We’redelighted at the support wereceived from passengers for thisexcellent cause and would like tothank everyone who contributedfor their wonderful generosity.Every penny of the £10,000 raisedwill go to the Railway Childrencharity. We also thoroughlyenjoyed the day, working alongsideour teams who provide greatservice to passengers every day.Together, we have really made adifference.’

East Coast madness

Hundreds of enthusiaststurned out at Tokyo stationon 16th March to bid farewellto the last 300 seriesShinkansen train.

Prior to the train’s 10.47departure for Shin-Osaka, thecrew received bouquets offlowers from well wishers onthe platform. Speaking at thefarewell ceremony, the head ofthe Central Japan RailwayCompany, Naotoshi Yoshikawa,said, ‘Today we end 20 years ofoperations, but we want tofurther improve the technologywe nurtured with the 300-series and further developbullet trains.’

When tickets for the finalservice went on sale they soldout in minutes - all 1,323.

Finalfarewellfusillade

Night mail from Paris


Staff at ScotRail in Fife helpedboost public awareness ofsleeper services to and fromLondon recently.

Dressed in pyjamas, sleepinggowns and night caps they greetedmorning commuters at Kirkcaldyand Inverkeithing stations. The PRexercise continued as staff took tothe streets to distribute hundredsof leaflets describing CaledonianSleeper services.

Says Willie Cowan, 56, ScotRailstation staff member atInverkeithing, ‘It was great fundressing up and we got a fantasticreaction from people here. Manywere surprised to hear they couldcatch the Caledonian Sleeper inFife, rather than from Glasgow orEdinburgh.’

ScotRail researchers have workedout many potential customers areunaware they can board theCaledonian Sleeper at more than40 locations across Scotland. ThePR exercise proves once again thatrail staff make the bestambassadors for railways.

Glynn Blackband, who works inStoke on Trent booking office andused to sing Bruno Mars, ‘I think Iwanna marry you,’ to his girlfriend finally gets his wish thisspring.

Kelly Barlow, 37, arranged to usethe tannoy at the station to proposeto her boyfriend Glyn, of 15 months.‘I felt sick before proposing. I didn’twant to do it on Valentine’s Day, oron February 29 in case he mightexpect it so I decided to ask him amonth after on March 29 to shockhim,’ says Kelly.

‘We’ve talked about gettingmarried before and he used to keepsinging that Bruno Mars, Marry You,song to me. He’s even got down onone knee a couple of times before,but I’ve just told him to get upbecause I knew I wanted to pop thequestion for him instead.’

Colleagues at Virgin Trains helpedset up the plan. Kelly even broughther parents along for support. ‘I’dheard of a marriage proposal whichtook place at Stockport stationrecently, but we’ve never had onein Stoke before,’ said HeatherHodkinson, station manager.

Glynn’s colleagues avoidedtalking to him that morning soconcerned were they that theymight give the game away. ‘It’sgiven everyone at the station agreat feel-good factor,’ said Heather.

On hearing the proposal Glynnmet Kelly on the platform whereshe was waiting with a balloonand a white rose. He said yesimmediately and the couplemanaged a kiss and a cuddlebefore getting back to work.Friends and colleaguescongratulated the happy couple.

I think I wannamarry you

ScotRail is launching its first-ever mobile website, following aspectacular increase inpassengers using smartphonesand iPads to visit its site.

The new website offers faster,streamlined online servicesincluding journey planning, ticketbooking and live travel updates.

Says Graeme Macfarlan,ScotRail’s marketing manager,‘Demand has soared for a mobile-friendly website to boost theonline experience for customerson the move, and commuters inparticular. The website featuresfewer pictures and only the mostessential elements of ScotRail’s fullwebsite, to deliver faster and moreefficient access for mobile users.’

There has been a 130% rise inpeople using mobile devices. Therehas been 1.7million visits towww.scotrail.co.uk during the past12 months compared to 740,000the year before.

ScotRail staff in Sleeper service pyjama party

App’yScotRail

Willie Cowan with team members, Kerry-AnnQuinn (left) and Dannine Stenhouse (right)explain the benefits of the Caledonian Sleeper topassenger, Fraser Littlejohn.

130% rise inpeople usingmobile devices…

NEWS


From a standing start four yearsago the Rail Alliance now hasupwards of 200 membersstretching from Scotland toDenmark.

Based on the old military railwaybase at Long Marston inWarwickshire the Rail Allianceruns networking meetings,exhibitions and seminars allaimed at encouraging companies,new and existing, onto railways tocontribute to an industry asdesperate for new talent as it is forextra capacity.

At the head of the Rail Alliance isa fresh faced ex-army officer, ColinFlack, a one-time cricketer for Kentand genial host of the RailStaffAwards. We like to cut straight tothe chase at RailStaff so I start byasking him how he got the job.With disarming charm Colin says,‘I saw the advert in RailStaff. Sodid my wife, Ruth. Several friendssaw it and said, that’s got youwritten all over it why don’t youapply, so I did and got the job.’

The Rail Alliance was initially setup by the West Midlands section ofthe Manufacturing Advisory Service.MAS funded the venture which isnow self financing. Far from beingrun from a gleaming chrome andconcrete tower block in downtownCoventry or central Birmingham theRail Alliance, perhaps reflecting thefiscal prudence of an industrywhere every pound has to count,operates from the control tower ofan old airfield.

RAF Long Marston was hurriedlyput up in 1940. Decommissionedin the 1950s it became a Ministryof Defence rail logistics base. Colinhas one of the most arrestingviews from an office window inEngland. Green meadows edge oldrunways and railway sidings. Treestudded farmland laces a pastoralcountryside bisected by dyestraight Roman roads and willowswept rivers.

The Bard suffered adrinking contest

Long Marston lies at the veryheart of England. Shakespeare’shometown, Stratford upon Avon, isjust up the road. The Bard isreputed to have suffered adrinking contest nearby and fallenasleep under a tree in the village.Roman legions tramping north upthe Fosse Way scavenged withinbow shot. The first battle of theEnglish Civil War was fought at

Edgehill in 1642 convincingCromwell of the need to form theNew Model Army – the later basisof Britain’s self confident rise tomilitary might. Charles II later hidin Long Marston, disguised as aserving wench, on the run after hisdefeat at the Battle of Worcester.

The Rail Alliance might sit in theheart of England but it has aninternational sweep. Railwaysexcite the interest of manycompanies already aware of thehuge expansion underway. ‘Whatwas clear from day one was thatsetting up something that waspurely West Midlands centricwasn’t going to work. We spreadvery quickly by networkingoutwards,’ says Colin. ‘Membersrange from Scotland to the WestCountry and Wales and we haveinternational members in Belgiumand Denmark.’

The appeal lies in solving the oldmarketing equation of matchingsuppliers to customers. We allhave skills to sell to people. Thetrick is to reach them. Puttingpeople in touch with each other isthe simple answer. The RailAlliance is fast building a networkof businesses keen to improvetrade in the rail industry; these

range from corporations alreadyestablished in another field tosmall entrepreneurs with highlyspecialised skills to offer. The RailAlliance brings them together andmore than that helps peoplecommunicate effectively.

As Colin puts it, ‘The focus ofwhat we do is to help businessesnetwork together. It’s the simpleact of networking and at the coreof what we do are our networkingmeetings.’ The Rail Alliance holdsten of these a year. Members havefound them invaluable forsourcing new business as well asnew suppliers and skills.

One memorable feature is the‘Show Tell And Ask’ initiative.Everyone who wants to can haveSTAA billing. ‘Everyone stands upand in a couple of minutes sayswho they are, what they do, whattheir company does and what

they’re looking for.’ The greatadvantage is that the STAAtreatment is played out in areceptive neutral atmosphere.Everyone is on the side of thespeaker.

Get people to meet and talk‘The main purpose is get people

to meet and talk,’ says Colin. ‘Welike noisy members, the morenoisy the better.’ Similarly the RailAlliance has a deal with RailStaffwhere month by month a selectedmember has a chance to highlightwho they are and what they do onthe Rail Alliance page. ‘It’s one ofthose papers that gets seen by anawful lot of people.’

The meetings themselves areinformal and popular amongmembers. ‘There are plenty ofchances to circulate and talk. Wehave a massive network of people.It is very unusual for us not be onestep away from having an answer.’

The rail industry can be asbewildering for an outsidecompany as it is for a newmember of staff. Time and effortspent researching and identifyingwho to talk to can soak upvaluable resources. The RailAlliance can help newcomers. ‘If

Andy Milne talks to Colin Flack,chief executive of the Rail Alliance.

‘Network,Collaborate,Innovate,Thrive’

“The focus of whatwe do is to helpbusinessesnetwork together…”COLIN FLACK


they are looking for information orsignposting then they can contactus. We aim to be that extramember of the businessdevelopment team,’ says Colin.

The whole idea is music to theears of established industryprofessionals as well. Networkingthrough the Rail Alliance helpsexisting businesses expand andtake advantage of newopportunities. Colin is wellpositioned to conduct this SmoothClassics symphony of networking.His experience of railways isunusual.

‘I first got involved with therailways after the First Gulf War. Iwent up and did an officer’srailways course. The military arebrilliant at making instant experts.You name it; there’s a course for it.I spent a lot of time with BR.’ Heresponds well to the trickquestion: What did you think ofBritish Rail. ‘As most people nowrealise BR was a world classorganisation. I’d just come backfrom a war and I was watchingguys who were under as muchpressure for a couple of hoursevery morning and evening as Ihad been in a combat position.’

He describes one railway

manager, George Andrews, tellinghim, ‘What you’ve got tounderstand is we’ve become thebest at doing more with less. Wecan do with one track what theGermans do with four. Why?because we have to. We haven’tgot any choice.’ BR’s peak timedesperation of yesteryear findssympathetic recognition in themodern military mind.

Going to Sandhurst Colin joined the army in 1978

leaving his grammar school andwinning a place at the RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst,arguably the finest officer trainingcollege in the world. He is from aworking class background. ‘In myintake of about 200, I think, therewere only four of us not frompublic schools. I was fromChatham. They were speaking alanguage I didn’t even understand.’

However he warmed to the placeand speaks with deep affection ofhis time there. ‘Sandhurst is themost amazing place, it’s the envyof the world. The best of the NCOsare there to train you. It is quitebrutal. You’re being prepared tolead soldiers and ultimately you’reexpecting people to trust you with

their lives. You’ve got to get thatright and the training and theattitude reflects that.’

All military memoirs can becomelegends of horrific forced marches,runs through rain and mud atdawn, very little sleep and endlessdrill and weapon training. Howeverofficer training has the addeddimension of preparing youngmen and women to lead, tocompute information, tounderstand enough to makedecisions which could effect thelives and welfare of thousands andin Colin’s case, later on, millions.The responsibility assumed bysuch people is beyond thecomprehension of the averagecivilian.

‘The growing you do is massive.That sense of being there to serve,to lead, is imperative. Cadets aretaught all the major stories aboutNelson and Wellington. The wholeenvironment is designed to getyou to put others before yourself.’Are there parallels betweensuccessive governments’ failure toinvest in our industry and thedistinct lack of funding for newweapons and equipment in themilitary? Colin is quite kind to theMoD.

‘We always will learn the lessonsof the last war and apply them tothe next. My career started in theCold War and Northern Ireland.Who would have thought in thetime I served we’d have seen theFalklands War, Kosovo, Bosnia, twoGulf Wars, Iraq and Afghanistan.You couldn’t have forecast all that.’Equipment will always fall short ofwhat is required. However, he says,‘The fundamentals of whatsoldiers do on the ground hasn’t

changed for thousands of years.The basic building block of bootson the ground, guarding,protecting, keeping people safe.Leadership doesn’t change.’

Instant SunshineIs leadership as a skill overlooked

nowadays? ‘Oh completely. There’sa real danger that people thinkleaders are the guys at the top. Bigand charismatic, they’re dishingout the stuff that everyone buysinto and people follow them. But ifyou look at the military you see alabyrinth of leaders. We’ve lots ofmanagers and technocrats whofollow the manual, follow therules.

In the military there’s this wholeprocess called Mission Command.That’s where you get everyonealigning onto an objective. You getpeople used to the idea that weare all responsible.’ Colin coachespersonal leadership. The idea isyou are responsible for yourselfand your actions. It’s a conceptalmost buried under a generationof state intervention. ‘Leadership isa doing thing; you have to get onand do it… It’s a process ofconfidence and trust. Intuitivelysmaller businesses andentrepreneurs do it as a matter ofcourse.’

Colin Flack was commissionedinto the Royal Corps of Transportand his first posting was Catterickthen Ireland and Cyprus. Inbetween he found time to playcricket for Kent and Rugby for thearmy. He trained as a mountaineer.A few years later he was secondedto the Brigade of Ghurkhas andput to work on internal security inHong Kong. Later he was sent to

INTERVIEW


Germany guarding nuclearweapons. The Nuclear Regiment -or Instant Sunshine as irreverentsquaddies dubbed the unit - wasresponsible for deploying battlefield nuclear missiles in the eventof war with Russia. Just how at riskwere we?

‘There were a number of timeswhen things came very, very close.Because of the nature of our job wewere operational all the time. Wehad to be able to out load nuclearweapons into the field and dispersethem at the slightest hint ofanything going wrong. Out loadingwas potentially an act of aggressionso you did lots of training exercisesto disguise this. We were active allthe time so you develop a muchsharper feel for what was going on.Sometimes there weremisunderstandings.’

It is difficult 23 years after theBerlin Wall came down tocommunicate the sense of dangerthen. Nuclear annihilation was onlyever minutes away. ‘What struck

me was how little the public knewand how good that was. If we cansleep safely in our beds and notworry about hordes coming overthe hill - well that’s a good thing.’

Vision to Mission Colin Flack left the army after 27

years, having achieved the rank ofcolonel. Together with his wife,Ruth, he runs Motorail Logisticswhich organises stabling andmaintenance for rolling stock atLong Marston.

Working with Robert HopkinColin runs a personal and teamcoaching and developmentbusiness, Vision to Mission. V2Mhas worked with the Fire ServiceCollege at Moreton in the Marshand the Ministry of Defence. Hisjob as Chief Executive of the RailAlliance takes up most of his time.

However he will be hosting thisyear’s RailStaff Awards and hasfound time to coach third sectororganisations, in particular theRailway Children charity. He

speaks highly of the team at theRailway Children and is onehundred per cent behind thecharity. So much so that last yearhe thought up and undertook theUltimate 3 Challenge whichinvolved cycling from Land’s Endto John O Groats, climbingSnowdon, Scafell Pike and BenNevis and then kayaking LakeBala, Windermere and Loch Ness.He trained hard by cycling. ‘Ineeded to get my legs in order. Iwas always going to struggle onthe hills but no way was I going tofail. With kayaking the hairiest bitwas on Loch Ness with wavesbuilding to a three foot of swell -quite bouncy.’

The trip was a chance toreconnect. ‘Gently paddling thelength of Windermere you seedippers going in and out of thewater. With a kayak you’rerelatively quiet.’ Despite theappalling weather he isdetermined to organise anotherUltimate Challenge and open it upto more people perhaps usingrelay teams.

Proud to be British‘I’m fiercely, massively, proud to

be British. Cycling the length ofBritain I felt so in touch, reallyalive and connected with mycountry. We had some awfulweather but you just battle on. Oneday it was really unpleasant inWales, rain coming in sidewaysand it was bitterly cold. I couldn’tfeel my hands or my feet. That wasa low point, but it was done andwe cracked it.’

With his wife of ten years, Ruth,he lives at Long Marston on site at

the old commandant’s house. Thecouple have a house in Kent whichthey are restoring. If he relaxes atall, Colin does so by cycling andreading. The job at the RailAlliance takes him away quite abit. ‘This autumn we’reencouraging new members to getout to Berlin to InnoTrans and takea good look round,’ he saysenthusing over the exhibitions theRail Alliance attends and its ownshow, MacroRail, at Long Marston.

Rail Alliance members pitch upto display what they do on a realrailway with plenty of space. Nextyear’s MacroRail should be evenbigger and better. For the timebeing InnoTrans remains Europe’slargest rail exhibition, a maze ofopportunities the Rail Alliance willguide members through. Visitorsmay wander off site throughnearby Charlottenberg perhapsfinding their way across Berlin tothe now-preserved CheckpointCharlie. Signs of the Cold War arefew in modern, bustling Berlin.The Wall, like the nukes, has beenstood down.

One suspects Colin will be far toobusy working the exhibition forsuch whimsical trips downmemory lane. Pioneering goodcommunications remains theconcomitant of peace. RailStaffmay not always advertise everygood job on offer in the railindustry but its readershipnumbers the boldest and the bestin the industry. Undoubtedly itattracts the most competentpeople to respond to its job ads.

Many thanks to Robert Hopkinand Rhona Clarke for their helpwith this.

“I’m fiercely,massively, proudto be British.Cycling the lengthof Britain I felt soin touch, reallyalive andconnected withmy country…”COLIN FLACK

Colin Flack with Felix Schmidduring the Ultimate 3 Challenge.

INTERVIEW


www.sw-gr.comUK WIDE SERVICE CENTRES

Opportunities for Railway andEngineering StaffUK or Australia based, Competitive Salaries

UK Based (Rail) UK & Global (Engineering) Australia Based (Rail)

Structures Engineers

PTS Trackstaff

PTS Scaffolders

All Safety Critical Disciplines

Chartered Water & Environmental Engineers

Mechanical Engineers / Supervisors / Inspectors

Civil Engineers / Supervisors / Technicians

Civil & Utilities Operatives

Mechanical & Civil Tradesmen

Groundworkers

Labourers

Rail Estimators

Project Engineers

HSE Professionals

Commercial Managers

SWGR is a fast growing Global Company that has built a strong reputation on delivering effective manpower solutions to the rail industry both in the UK

and Australia. Due to further expansion and a continued drive to assist key clients and international partners to deliver a range of exciting projects, we are

keen to hear from high-calibre individuals who meet our high levels of competence, professionalism and service.

To apply for UK and Engineering positions please send your CV in Word format to

For all Australian based posts please send your CV in Word format to

[email protected]

[email protected]

Rail RecruitmentManpower

www.trsstaffing.com

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

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

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

Rail, Infrastructure & Construction

Signal Designers, Engineers and ManagersUK & Australia - £350/day or £40-60K IRSE license or significant relevant experience

Senior Structural Engineers Warrington & York - £35-50K Rail experience including station, bridge and structural designs

Senior Rail, Construction Managers / Superintendents West Africa, UAE & Australia - £60-100K Heavy Haul Rail, Mining and Port Design

Rail Project Delivery Managers UK, UAE, Australia, Far East & Africa - £50-80K Experience on heavy haul, metro and high speed rail projects

Senior Planning Engineer London, York & Birmingham - £320-400/day or £55K Rail & construction experience

Senior P-Way Design Engineers London & Warrington - £350/day or £60-80K Working on major new rail projects & station upgrades

Rail Engineering Trainers/AssessorsLondon, Swindon, York and Leeds !"# $%&'()*+,-'./0*'123+,/2')45'(24267*

We are looking for Rail Engineering Trainers/Assessors to work for our sister company Vital Skills Training. Reporting to the Education & Training Director, as a key member of the training team you will deliver vocational technical and safety training to apprentices aged 16 to 24. You will have a thorough knowledge of P-Way and a strong background in delivering and designing bespoke training and assessment programmes in order to evaluate effectiveness, team dynamics and reputation. Excellent communication and man-management skills are a necessity. Please send your CV or call one of our specialist consultants to discuss these opportunities in more detail.

T. 0161 836 7023 E. [email protected]

CAREERS

www.railstaff.co.uk44

We are looking for talented people who are seeking

a career that will stretch and challenge their

abilities. Our focus on training and maximising

individual potential has created a work

environment that promotes and rewards long-term

loyalty amongst our workforce.

As a successful and progressive building, civil and

structural engineering specialist contractor we

currently have requirements for the following: -

PROJECT MANAGERS –

CIVIL ENGINEERING AND RAIL

SENIOR & INTERMEDIATE

QUANTITY SURVEYORS

SENIOR PROJECT ENGINEERS

Applicants must be degree qualified civil engineers

with extensive experience preferably in the rail

sector, although experience in aviation, water or

highways would be considered.

Specialist knowledge and previous experience in

the design management, planning and on site

delivery of one or more of the following specialist

disciplines is essential for this role:

Reinforced concrete structures; steelwork;

demolition and specialist dismantling, deep

excavations and earthworks, working on rail and

underground stations and infrastructure.

Applicants for the senior role must be degree

qualified and have a minimum of 5-years experience

relevant to Kilnbridge’s disciplines and sectors.

Applicants for the intermediate role will be degree

qualified and have up to 5-years relevant experience.

Applicants must be degree qualified, from an

engineering background and have a minimum of 5

years proven experience in this role.

We are able to offer a competitive package and

good career opportunities, with the potential for

further development in a diverse and specialist

range of services, in a growing company; all of

which will be discussed fully at interview.

To apply for any of the above roles please forward

letters of application, including CV’s, to:

HR Department, Kilnbridge Construction Services

Limited, McDermott House, Cody Road Business

Park, South Crescent, London, E16 4TL.

E-mail: [email protected]

Strictly no agencies.

www.kilnbridge.comFor further details about our range of services and

case studies please refer to our website:

Due to the growing demand from major clients within the

, are looking for skilled

personnel for and opportunities.

railway

infrastructure CarmichaelUK Rail Division

Permanent Contract

We would like to hear from the following for prestigious projects

starting in London, South East and South West of England:

Engineers Engineering Managers

Agents

Sub Agents Safety Critical personnel Project Managers

General Foreman Works Managers Site Managers

Surveyors

Planners Commercial personnel

Register your CV today online or

via email in word format to:

call one of our consultants onor :

+44 (0) 208 522 8888

[email protected]

Job Opportunities for Rail Staff with CarmichaelUK Rail Division

ENGINEERING PERSONNEL RAIL DIVISION

Job vacancies posted daily on our site

www.carmichaeluk.com


Researcher

European Rail Project

Full time exciting research role for an

enthusiastic person with knowledge and

experience of the Rail industry preferably at

European and UK level.

This person should be passionate about the

subject and possess excellent communication

skills, excellent copy writing skills, top notch

research skills and be happy to be located in our

London office either full time or part of the time.

Competitive salary on offer, contact

[email protected] or call

+44 (0)207 828 3804 for more information.

The Rail and Structures Department, based at our Head Office inSheffield, currently has a vacancy for a full time Rail & StructuresExaminations Manager, reporting directly to the Finance and ResourcesDirector. HRS Services Ltd is a national specialist contractor that carriesout roped access, confined space examinations and light maintenancecontracts on Network Rail, CTRL and motorway networks.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone wanting to be involved withina small team who possesses an enthusiastic and hands on approach

The role holder will be responsible for maintaining client relationships,accurate pricing of examination works, allocating the correct resources tocontracts, managing contracts on a daily basis and compiling finalexamination reports. The role will also potentially involve travel to meetwith clients and carry out reconnaissance visits to structures, across theUnited Kingdom, therefore a full UK valid driving licence will be required.Appropriate training will be offered in a structured plan.

Experience of the rail and/or motorway network would be an advantagetogether with the railway examination standard STE4.

The successful candidate will have a flexible approach to working,provide sound leadership for the operations team and possess thecapability to adjust operational resource to meet customer'sexpectations.

For further details on our company and the position please visit ourwebsite:

To apply via e-mail: please send your CV with a covering letter to:

www.hrsservices.co.uk

[email protected]

h r sS E R V I C E S

L I M I T E D

Examinations ManagerRail & Structures

£Negotiable on experience

CAREERS


P6 Planning Engineer – M4 Corridor (London/Bristol) Attractive Salary + Benefits Working on £multimillion railway infrastructure and construction projects. Experience working on Civil Engineering works with appreciation of other railway disciplines required. Immediate Requirement.

Professional Head of P-Professional Head of P-Way – London Attractive Salary Working for large contractor on major multi-disciplinary railway projects. Must have technical knowledge and strategic management experience. Required: excellent communication skills, ability to manage client and contractor relationships. Immediate Requirement.

Site Agent (multiple) – London/South East/South West – Permanent and Freelance WWorking for a large civil engineering main contractor on various railway frameworks and projects. Long term order books and opportunities for career progression. Civil Engineering (or relevant) and H&S qualifications required as is experience with writing WPPs, managing programmes of work and sub-contractors.

CAREERS

Talk to the experts IN infrastructure today.

right teamwe have the

to deliver every time

Get connected to one of the largest specialist recruitmentbusinesses in the rail industry for unrivalled supportservices and the very best, professional staff at all levels.

Get connected to McGinley Support Services.

To request a brochure and more information please

call: 0845 543 5953Head Office: Ground Floor, The Edward Hyde Building, 38 Clarendon Road, Watford, Herts WD17 1JW

www.mcginley.co.uk

Seeus

on

StandJ34

1-3 May 2012, N

EC

railstaff newspaper april 2012

Documents