railstaff july 2016

Staff

JULY 2016 | ISSUE 224

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RAILSPORT GAMES 2016

MATCH REPORT20

THE LIFE OF A CROSSRAIL APPRENTICE

34

For more information scan here to visit Network Rail’s Safety Central Website.

RAILSPORT GAMES 2016 | 20A roundup of the results from this year’s event,

and the history behind railway sport competitions

in the UK and overseas

RAIB ANNUAL REPORT | 26Colin Wheeler discusses the findings of the

RAIB’s 2015 annual report with

chief inspector Simon French.

LIFE OF A CROSSRAIL APPRENTICE | 34George Holder, who had been training to be

a doctor, explains why he chose

to pursue a career in rail.

SOMME OFFENSIVE MARKED BY RAILWAY | 44The rail industry commemorated the First World War with a series of events to

mark the Battle of the Somme in which one million soldiers were either killed or

wounded.

NIGHT TRAIN TO MOSCOW | 52David Shirres makes Europe’s longest train journey - the 3,483 km Paris to

Moscow service run by Russian Railways (RZD).

NATIONAL WOMEN IN ENGINEERING DAY | 58Marc Johnson visited PROCAT to see

how Thales is working to bring more

women into engineering.

34

20 26

58

52

CHALLENGETHREE PEAKS RAIL CHALLENGE | 38

This year’s Three Peaks Challenge raised

close to £165,000, bringing the total raised for

the Railway Children charity to £2.4 million.

44

JULY 2016 | ISSUE 224CONTENTS

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Publisher: Paul O’Connor

Editor: Andy Milne

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Senior Reporter: Marc Johnson

Senior Writer: Colin Garratt

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Staff

Post-EU Britain has a choice: Make a success of country, job and self, or descend into a madness of imagined failure and what Welsh socialist Aneurin Bevan called the Poverty of Aspiration.

The central challenge of every business,

sports team, apprentice and careerist is the

nagging doubt: Can I do this?

Right at the start of RailStaff a platform

dispatcher, a woman, was offered a position

as community relations manager on the

basis of several school visits she’d made.

She initially turned it down, saying working

class people like me don’t do this. I’m not

clever enough. The local PR manager, with

some delicacy, argued that her superiors at

HQ hardly dwarfed her with their vaunting

intellect.

This magazine exists to encourage people

like her to take up that challenge, promotion,

new job. The railway is effective because it

is led by so many people who worked their

way up.

Britain needs a consensus that we can

do this; we can make a success of the fifth

strongest global economy fuelled by the

imagination and ingenuity of its peoples from

around the world. Be assured the world’s

oldest functioning democracy is not about to

crumble because its political class succumbs

to a fit of the vapours.

For self-confidence consider the magic

of Rail Live 2016 and the 1,000s of staff and

suppliers who came together to exchange

views and take part in live on-track equipment

demonstrations - a ballet of positive thinking.

Lest we grow over-whimsical, contrast

this with the industrial relations at ScotRail

and Southern. Staff and public remain

deeply suspicious of driver only operation.

Change is a constant, but the strikes prove

the fundamental importance of taking your

workforce with you - lest it Votes Leave.

Consider too the great efforts made at

RailSport Games and the many fundraising

activities like the Three Peaks Challenges and

innumerable cycle rides, triathlons, dances

and dinners undertaken by motivated staff

from every conceivable background. Many

demonstrate the humour and grass-court

eloquence of Marcus Willis. Everyday folk

astound with extraordinary achievement.

The implosion of politics is a rare delight

we should savour. Let new leaders emerge

who believe in Britain and its unique heritage.

Ignore the hand wringing of the establishment,

the BBC and big business. Write a new script

where an industry and a country, freed of

witless bureaucracy, ride undreamt of thermals

to success. In this story, the secret aspirations

of everyday workers, apprentices and new

immigrants fuel a country and a culture that is

the envy of the world.

[email protected]

Secret aspiration

© Shutterstock.com©

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RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 NEWS 5

A bright future beckons for Derby as Network Rail announced further plans to base another 88 staff in the historic railway city.

Two different teams within

Network Rail are looking to

expand their workforce. Half

the jobs will be with the team

leading the Midland Main Line

electrification. The rest will join the

new measurement train – dubbed

the Flying Banana.

The high-energy team will

support new technology for plain

line pattern recognition based

on the train. Highly sophisticated

monitoring equipment on the

new measurement train takes

high-definition photographs of

the track while traveling at over

100mph.

High-speed cameras take

photographs of the continuous

welded track at 70,000 frames

per second (or every 0.8mm

of track). These are streamed

Bananarama

Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan CBE has received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2016.

Sir Terry Morgan CBE was

appointed as Crossrail chairman

in 2009 and chair of the HS2

College Governing Body in 2015.

Last year, he was appointed

by the government to lead the

development of a transport

infrastructure skills strategy.

The knighthood caps an

extraordinary career for the

former apprentice. Terry Morgan

was educated at Croesyceiliog

School - motto Learning,

Respect, Ambition - in Cwmbran,

South Wales. He served his

apprenticeship with Lucas Girling

and later made time to read

for an MSc in engineering and

industrial management at the

University of Birmingham.

He went on to rise to the

head of Rover Group. He is

married with two children and his

interests include golf and rugby.

Says the Secretary of State

for Transport, Rt Hon Patrick

McLoughlin MP, ‘I am delighted

that Terry Morgan has been

honoured for all the extraordinary

work he has done in overseeing

the delivery of the Crossrail project

and developing the government’s

transport infrastructure skills

strategy. By placing engineering

skills development at the heart

of Crossrail, he has shown that

delivering huge infrastructure

projects on time and on budget

and investing in skills go hand in

hand.’

Over the last 50 years, Sir Terry

has been a powerful advocate of

apprenticeships. He pioneered

the Tunnelling and Underground

Construction Academy (TUCA)

in east London. Sir Terry is a

Fellow of the Royal Academy

of Engineering, the Institution

of Engineering and Technology

(IET) and the Institution of Civil

Engineers and is the past

President of the Chartered

Management Institute. He was

previously Chief Executive of

Tube Lines; Group Managing

Director, Operations, BAE

Systems and Managing Director

Land Rover.

‘As a former apprentice

himself, Sir Terry has inspired a

new generation of apprentices

and encouraged more women

and young people into this

vital sector, whatever their

background and aspirations.

He has been both a leader

to his peers across industry

and a relentless champion for

vocational skills. This honour is

a well deserved recognition for

many years of hard work,’ adds

Patrick McLoughlin.

Arise Sir Tel!

together and compared against

the established pattern and

anything that doesn’t match is

marked as a potential fault. Urgent

faults are flagged by an expert on

the train to the local track manager

for immediate attention. While a

small number of jobs are based

on the train itself, the majority are

office-based data analysts.

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6 NEWS RAILSTAFF JULY 2016

Engineering staff at Dover have had to brave rock-throwing thugs on the cliffs above.

Rail staff are working to repair the railway

along the beach at Dover which has been

closed since Christmas 2015. Network Rail is

creating a new, 235m long viaduct that will sit on

134 piles - steel and concrete columns - of which

more than 100 have been completed so far.

Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke has

condemned their actions, saying, ‘The rocks

missed site workers by inches and if they hit

anyone, they could have been killed or at the

very least have been seriously injured.’

He appealed for help in tracking down the

perpetrators and praised the efforts of the

team at Dover. ‘I’ve been massively impressed

by the hard work and dedication of the team,

who worked tirelessly to rebuild our railway

and we need to support them in any way we

can and do our bit to help keep them safe.’

Network Rail’s programme manager, Steve

Kilby, is pressing ahead with cliff top security.

‘The consequences of a serious injury or

fatality as a result of someone being hit by

one of these stones would be enormous. We

are taking action to put our own 24/7 security

and lighting at the top of the cliff,’ said Steve.

More than 500 cubic metres of concrete

was poured into place over one weekend,

in a 15-hour continuous operation involving

a fleet of 13 concrete vehicles from Kent

supplier Brett concrete, using their plants at

Dover and Ramsgate.

Says Steve Kilby, ‘This was a serious feat

of organisation, and we knew that once we

started to pour the concrete, we couldn’t stop

until the whole pour was completed. That way

we knew the deck would be one consistent

slab with no joins.

‘I’d like to pay tribute to our contractor

Costain and concrete supplier Brett Concrete

for their work this weekend. We’ve now got

to do it three more times before the viaduct

structure is complete!’

White cliffs terror threat

Over 40 tonnes of soot has been removed from the Severn Tunnel. Cleaning what amounts to a chimney is an important part of preparatory work ahead of a six-week project to upgrade the railway in the 130-year-old tunnel this autumn.

The tunnel will close to trains for six

weeks between 12 September and 21

October 2016.

The work forms part of Network

Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan and the

electrification of the line between South

Wales and London.

Says Dan Tipper, area director at

Network Rail Wales, ‘It was initially

anticipated that around four to five tonnes

of soot would be cleared, but the build-up

of soot was greater than anticipated, and

the team of engineers have removed over

40 tonnes.

‘Removing the build-up of soot is

an essential element of the extensive

programme of preparation work that is

taking place.’

Carbon footprints



A pilot scheme launched by Network Rail and Wigan University Technical College (WUTC) looks like attracting more young people to seek careers on the railways.

Sixth-form students at WUTC will be able to

take part in a two-year work placement as part

of the engineering course. Ten students are

expected to start the pilot in September. If it works

out more will follow and the scheme could be

extended to other sixth forms.

Students on the course will undertake work

experience at Network Rail two days a week,

whilst studying at Wigan UTC for a level three

engineering qualification. Work includes track

and signalling maintenance, renewals and

conversions and safety-critical lineside vegetation

management.

The head of Suicide Prevention at British Transport Police (BTP), Mark Smith, has been given an MBE. Mark Smith, 53, who lives in Colchester, joined the force in 1981 before retiring as Chief Superintendent in 2013.

As a senior investigator he assumed

responsibility for the investigation into the

Ladbroke Grove train crash in 1999 where

31 people were killed. He also led the

investigation following the Potters Bar train

crash in 2002 where seven people died

and many people were left injured.

Later he became the national police

lead for corporate manslaughter and

worked with the government to develop

new corporate manslaughter legislation.

His leadership of many investigations has

been of immense benefit to BTP and the

rail industry. Following his retirement as a

police officer, he took up his current role

as head of Suicide Prevention and Mental

Health for BTP.

Mark developed ground-breaking work

around the management of fatalities and

suicide prevention initiatives.

Says Mark, ‘I am deeply honoured and

delighted to have received this award. I

have had the privilege to have led some of

the most high-profile investigations during

my career as a police officer and now have

the opportunity to influence how the force

deals with fatalities on the rail network. As a

team, we’re working to make real changes

to improving how we help those in crisis and

help prevent suicides on our railways.’

Sixth form pilot Top cop honoured

People from TransPennine Express are giving up their time to take part in the Make the Grade Programme - helping equip young people to become the engineers and drivers of the future. More than 40 rail staff, ranging from conductors to managers are running a range of activities that encourage secondary school children from across West Yorkshire to develop skills and learn more about the world of work.

Bridging the gap between young people

and businesses, the Make the Grade

scheme supports children with skill sharing

through mentorships, science, technology,

engineering and maths (STEM) workshops,

careers advice and talks about safety.

Says Sue Whaley, HR director for TPE, ‘We

are delighted to be involved with this project

which will run for the next two years. As the

intercity rail operator for the North, we have

a responsibility to the communities we serve

and a vision to Take the North Further.

‘It’s vital that future generations have the

skills and support needed to strengthen their

career prospects and we all have a part to

play in this.’

The rail industry is growing rapidly and

career prospects are bright for skilled

workers. The programme got off to a good

start with students from Leeds City Academy

checking out different roles and the skills

required at Huddersfield railway station.

Youth partners



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Top independent rail ticket retailer Trainline has appointed Victoria Biggs as European director of communications to help drive the Trainline brand throughout Europe.

In March this year, Trainline

took over Paris-based Captain

Train, Continental Europe’s

largest rail ticket retailer.

Victoria joins Trainline after

six years at MSL Group London.

Previously she was at Burson-

Marsteller and before that Out

of the Blue Communications.

She spent seven years at Freud

Communications and three years

at eBay UK as director of PR.

Biggs read French at the

University of Reading.

Trainline and Captain Train

together create the world’s

leading independent European

rail ticket retailer. The combined

business will be a one-stop-shop

for people travelling by train in

and around Europe, offering

the broadest coverage of 22

countries across 37 operators

and access to the best available

fares all on one easy-to-use

online platform.

Victoria joins Trainline in

August.

Stuart Fletcher has joined Alstom as sales director.

Fletcher was previously in charge of the sales

and commercial team at Knorr-Bremse Rail

Services.

Prior to his role with Knorr-Bremse, Stuart

worked for Porterbrook from 2000 to 2014 and

for Alstom, at the Washwood Heath manufacturing

facility, from 1991 to 2000.

He has a degree from the University of

Manchester Institute of Science and Technology

(UMIST) in electrical and electronic engineering.

Interests

include keeping

fit, squash and

rugby, his family,

backgammon and

good food.

Stuart is a

chartered engineer

and a Fellow of

the IET. He also

holds the MCIPS

qualification having

led the procurement

team at Porterbrook

for five years.

Know-how boost for Alstom

Trainline ticket for European director of communications

Graeme Castle is the new managing director of ABC Electrification; he joins from Laing O’Rourke.

ABC Electrification was

formed in 2012 by Alstom,

Babcock and Costain to support

Network Rail’s ambitious OLE

programme. ABC has made

dramatic progress under the

current chief executive, Alan Kay.

Graeme Castle was the rail

sector and operations leader

at Laing O’Rourke, having

previously held senior roles at

Morgan Sindall, Balfour Beatty

Rail Projects and Scott Wilson

Railways.

ABC Electrification is now

one of the largest electrification

contractors in Europe. Under

the UK National Electrification

Programme, ABC has been

awarded three significant

electrification programme

elements, controlled from

three centres: Bristol for the

Great Western Rail Modification

(GWRM), Newport for GWRM

Wales, and Rugby for the Central

Power & Electrification Team

(CPET).

Castle move for ABC

Noel Travers has joined Unipart Rail as deputy managing director.

Formerly managing director and interim

chairman of Bombardier Transportation UK

Ltd, Travers will oversee the work of George

Tillier, managing director T&RS and Graham

Jackson, managing director infrastructure

and manufacturing. He will report direct to

overall chief, John Clayton. Both businesses

have ambitious strategies for growth.

Noel Travers joined Bombardier in

2008, initially as sales director UK, Ireland

and South Africa. He read mechanical

engineering at Loughborough University

and subsequently gained an MSc in rail

systems engineering at the University of

Sheffield.

Travers did a spell at British Rail as shift

production manager at InterCity West

Coast’s Wembley Depot.

In 1995, he went on to work for

Freightliner for five years as T&RS engineer

- this at the time when the company staged

one of BR’s most successful management

buy-outs. Then followed three years with

the Chicago-based rail leasing and financial

services giant GATX.

In 2002, Travers joined RBS Global

Banking and Markets, the Royal Bank of

Scotland’s wholesale banking arm where he

stayed until joining Bombardier.

Unipart Group’s acquisition of Railpart and

NRS from BR saw substantial investment

and the implementation of the Unipart Way

to ensure that both businesses deliver

high levels of customer service and top

performance.

Unipart Rail is now one of the most

successful rail supply organisations in

Europe, with an expanding international

portfolio.

The team at Unipart Rail puts its success

down to a strong set of principles which

underpins corporate responsibility, safety

and employee engagement.

Travers joins Unipart Rail

10 PEOPLE RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


Andy Derbyshire has been appointed to the new role of chief operating officer for London South East at Network Rail.

Andy, currently business unit

director metro and rail franchising

for Amey Plc, is a chartered

engineer and has extensive rail

industry experience, having held

senior roles at TfL, Bombardier,

Alstom and Virgin. He will join in

the next few weeks.

After 18 months with Network

Rail, Alasdair Coates, route

managing director, South East

Route, has decided to leave the

organisation. Taking his place will

be John Halsall, currently route

managing director for Wessex.

Stuart Kistruck, currently route

asset management director for

Wessex, will become interim route

managing director, Wessex.

Phil Hufton, managing

director, England and Wales,

acknowledged that performance

in the South East continues to

struggle. ‘More progress needs

to be made to support the return

of the train service to acceptable

levels of punctuality and reliability.

The creation of a new chief

operating officer role will bring an

even greater focus to the daily

delivery of a better train service.’

Derbyshire read engineering at

Leeds Beckett University. A keen

footballer, he also captained the

England Universities football team

and still coaches junior soccer in

his spare time. After graduating,

he trained as an engineer with

BAE Systems where he stayed

for 10 years. His career has also

seen him working for Rolls Royce

and in the rail industry as project

manager responsible for the

acceptance of the Class 390

Pendolino fleet at Virgin Trains.

At Alstom he worked on fleet

operations on the Northern and

Jubilee line and was fleet ops

director for Pendolino service

provision. A spell at Eurostar as

head of engineering preceded his

move to Bombardier in Derby.

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signalling renewals and

enhancements as primary

supplier in three out of eight

geographical regions in the UK

and secondary supplier in four

other geographical regions.

Recently, Nick secured

Alstom’s largest ever UK

signalling contract for the full

re-signalling of the Great Western

Main Line between Reading and

Paddington.

Tom Kerins takes up the role of managing director at TES as Tony Evans steps up to the position of CEO.

Tom brings more than 18 years’

of professional experience,

gained in a number of senior

leadership roles and most

recently as operations director at

C Spencer Ltd.

Tom Kerins was educated

at CBS The Green in Tralee,

Ireland, and the University of East

London where he graduated

with an honours degree in civil

engineering. He began his career

as a site engineer with Birse in

the civil engineering division.

Kerins has delivered major

infrastructure projects in railways,

transport, water and mining in

Britain, Ireland and Australia.

Notable projects include the

M1 Motorway construction in

Ireland, CTRL St Pancras station,

Sandgate Grade Separation and

Maitland to Minimah 3rd track

in New South Wales, Australia,

with John Holland. Tom also

progressed Gravesend Station

Remodelling and East Kent

Resignalling Phase 2.

Tom’s appointment will lead

TES towards becoming a more

project-led business with its

focus on delivering Pway,

OLE and civils projects, whilst

retaining existing services such

as possession management,

isolations and worksite

management.

Says Tom, ‘It’s a great privilege

to be joining a company with

such a great reputation in the rail

industry. We have an abundance

of talent in the business who

are specialists in the complex

aspects of the railway. This

will help us capitalise on

opportunities within the market

and establish us as a project

delivery business.’

New MD for TES

New focus for London and South East Route

Alstom has promoted Nick Crossfield to the position of managing director for UK & Ireland. He is currently managing director for train control.

Nick joined Alstom last year

and has extensive rail industry

experience. Crossfield is a

former managing director of

Siemens Rail Automation UK and

was also managing director of

Invensys Rail Ltd and director,

contracts and procurement at

Network Rail.

At Alstom, Nick has been

in charge of the growing UK

signalling business and has

successfully led the integration of

the newly acquired SSL Ltd into

Alstom’s UK & Ireland business.

Alstom has become

responsible for providing

Crossfield to lead Alstom UK

RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 PEOPLE 11




A new rail freight terminal is planned for the West Midlands near Birmingham.

The 600-acre freight terminal

at Four Ashes, four miles west of

Cannock in Staffordshire, will be

situated near junction 12 of the M6

and on the West Coast Main Line.

Speaking as a public

consultation got underway,

Philippa Edmunds, Freight on

Rail manager, said, ‘Terminals are

the freight equivalent of stations

for passengers.Without more

terminals in the right locations near

population centres with good road

and rail links, rail freight cannot

expand its market and reduce

the adverse impacts of freight

distribution.

‘Interchanges like Four Ashes

could realise a step change in

the use of rail for transporting

consumer products as they allow

rail to compete with HGVs by

reducing costs. Each freight train

out of this hub could remove 60

HGVs from the congested road

network. We have long called for

the need for a strategic terminal

in this region. Now the public can

have their say on the proposals.’

If successful, the new freight

interchange could be as big as

DIRFT - Daventry. The project is

being led by Kilbride Holdings,

a partner in Four Ashes Limited,

which specialises in developing rail-

related infrastructure projects.

ScotRail is to run more Sunday steam services on the Borders Railway, beginning on Sunday, 7 August. Following the success of last year’s sell-out trips, on Sundays during August and September, vintage steam-hauled specials will run between Edinburgh Waverley and Tweedbank.

August’s trips will be hauled

by 46100 Royal Scot, and

September’s will see the return

of the popular 60009 Union of

South Africa. ScotRail is teaming

up with local companies to offer

passenger excursions from

Tweedbank.

Says Cathy Craig, commercial

director for the ScotRail Alliance,

‘These journeys give people a

chance to appreciate the new

Borders Railway from the wonderful

setting of a vintage steam train.

This is a fabulous opportunity to

showcase the line, and in such

a romantic style. Not many train

journeys can match the outstanding

scenery on this route.’

More steam for Borders

Freight hub

Karen Boswell, managing director, Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s June Birthday Honours List.

The OBE recognises a strong and game-

changing contribution to the rail industry. Karen

Boswell was managing director of East Coast

from 2009 to 2015 as part of the government-

owned operation brought in after the failure of

two previous franchisees. Boswell and her team

rebuilt staff and consumer confidence, making

the train company profitable and preparing it for

a return to the private sector.

Before East Coast, Boswell worked at

FirstGroup leading service improvement

strategies for Thameslink as part of First Capital

Connect. In 2015, Karen Boswell was elected

president of the Railway Study Association for

2015/16 - the first female president in its 106-

year history. She is a Council Member of the

Railway Industry Association and a Fellow of the

Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts,

Manufacturers and Commerce.

Karen Boswell was appointed managing

director of HRE in June 2015. HRE is currently

delivering the InterCity Express Programme

providing new fleets for East Coast and Great

Western, new commuter trains for Scotland

and innovative bi-mode trains for the West of

England and TransPennine Express.

Karen Boswell currently leads an HRE

team of over 800, which is expected to

increase to some 2,000 employees in three

years’ time, operating from service delivery

and manufacturing facilities across the UK.

In September 2015, HRE’s brand new £82

million Rail Vehicle Manufacturing Facility at

Newton Aycliffe, County Durham was opened

by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, thereby

bringing the manufacture of rolling stock back

to its UK birthplace in the North-East of England.

Says Karen Boswell OBE, ‘I am extremely

honoured and thrilled to be appointed an OBE.

It’s a great privilege to serve within an industry

which makes such a positive difference to the

lives of millions of people who travel for work

and pleasure on Britain’s railways every year.’

OBE for Boswell

MTR and FirstGroup are joining together to bid for the South Western rail franchise, currently run by Stagecoach.

The DfT has approved the move. FirstGroup/

MTR will be one of two shortlisted bidders for

the franchise, which is due to start in June 2017.

Says Steve Montgomery, First Rail managing

director, ‘We have extensive expertise of

running commuter, inter-urban, regional and

long distance services - such as those that make

up the South Western franchise - and a strong

track record in delivering passenger growth.’

Jeremy Long, chief executive - Europe,

MTR, agrees, ’South Western is a complex mix

of shorter and longer distance services. Our

joint venture will combine MTR’s experience

of running successful London Overground

and TfL Rail commuter services in the UK, and

Stockholm Metro commuter and MTR Express

intercity services in Sweden, with FirstGroup’s

strong track record.’

New bid for South Western



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Keltbray Aspire has named its innovative new wiring unit after one of its longest-serving engineers, Les Blake.

The vehicle has been named after rail

industry veteran Les Blake, who has worked on

virtually every major electrification project since

the early 1960s.

The overhead electrification wiring unit,

which was displayed at Rail Live 2016, is a

first in the UK. Developed by Sweden’s SRS

Sjölanders AB and German-based ZECK,

the road/rail vehicle can run out contact and

catenary wires at full tension, halving the

time it typically takes to install conductors for

rail electrification. The unit also offers more

flexibility than a conventional wiring train - it

doesn’t rely on the availability of train crews

and drivers.

Les came up with the initial design and led

the team which brought the concept to fruition.

Now 73 years old, Les began his career in the

freight department of British Rail before moving

over to rail electrification. He said the naming of

the unit was ‘a proud moment’.

Says Les, ’I’ve always been committed to the

rail industry and electrification… I’ve always set

high standards - even as a trainee lineman.’

Says director of Keltbray Aspire Martin

Brown, ‘Les has worked with rail overhead line

electrification for 54 years and is well known

in our industry. He has worked on nearly

every major electrification project in the UK

since 1962, and despite being in his 70s, he is

showing no signs of slowing down.

‘Besides being out there at the coal face,

working night shifts and supporting our

projects, Les is an expert on problem solving

and innovation. He is also a fantastic mentor for

our apprentices.

‘Beyond Keltbray, Les acts as a key industry

adviser on projects worldwide, and most

recently his knowledge and expertise have

been sought after to support projects in

Australia.’

Keltbray Aspire has invested almost

£6 million in the development of new rail

electrification plant over the past two years.

The Les Blake road railer has been approved

by Network Rail and has already installed

overhead catenary for AmeyInabensa on the

Great Western Main Line.

Inspiring wiringUK Power Networks Services has been awarded an elite safety accreditation by the SafeContractor assessment scheme.

Says Lucy Innes, a safety expert at UK Power

Networks, ‘As a business we are very proud to

have gained this accreditation, which ensures

clients can be confident of our high commitment

to safety. It also helps create a better working

environment for all our colleagues. We are

always striving to improve our practices.’

Over the course of a three-month period,

UKPNS said the assessors ‘took a magnifying

glass’ to the company’s practices. The

accreditation puts UKPNS in front of more than

200 companies which have signed a pledge

to only hire contractors with SafeContractor

accreditation.

John Kinge, Safecontractor’s technical

director, said, ‘Major organisations simply cannot

afford to run the risk of employing contractors

who are not able to prove that they have sound

health and safety policies in place.

‘More companies need to understand the

importance of adopting good risk management

in the way that UK Power Networks Services

has done. The firm’s high standard has set an

example which hopefully will be followed by

other companies within the sector.’

Safely does it

Region power for Northern Rail

As part of a plan to bring its business closer to the people it serves, Northern Rail has launched four new business regions based in Leeds, Manchester, Preston and Newcastle.

July marks the start of the new system and

four regional directors have been appointed.

Liam Sumpter, based in Manchester, will

lead Central. Paul Barnfield heads up East

- Northern’s largest new region, based in

Leeds. North-East region will be lead by Mike

Paterson from Newcastle. Sharon Keith is the

regional director, West, working from a new

Northern base in Preston.

Liam Sumpter, regional director Central,

joins from Network Rail, where he was

area director for the West Midlands &

Chilterns - closely involved with operations

and maintenance at Birmingham during the

construction of the revitalised New Street

Gateway.

Liam joined Railtrack in 2002. His Railtrack

career included roles in engineering,

innovation and finance. He was financial

controller for Sussex route. Liam was born in

Leeds and read history at York University.

Former conductor Paul Barnfield, regional

director East, joined Northern in 2010, rising

to director of operations. He joined from

National Express East Anglia in 2007 where

he started as London Terminals manager.

Paul’s career started in 1993 as a conductor

and station co-ordinator in Sheffield. After

becoming a chartered member of the

Institute of Transport he joined Midland

Mainline in 1998 as a train manager,

eventually leading to a top role in customer

service.

Mike Paterson, regional director North

East, joined Northern from PA Consulting.

Prior to this, he spent 26 years in the

Royal Navy - rising to the rank of captain.

As Captain of HMS Gloucester he saw

operational deployments to the Persian Gulf.

He has served in Afghanistan, the Congo,

Lebanon and the Falklands. Paterson has

an MA in defence studies (international

relations) from King’s College London and

is a Fellow of the Chartered Management

Institute (FCMI). One of Mike’s first naval

appointments was as the Navigating Officer

of HMS Newcastle, which included a number

of visits to its namesake city.

Sharon Keith, regional director, West joined

Northern from Tyne & Wear Metro, where

for the last 18 months she was managing

director. Her six-year career at Metro also

included roles as customer service director

and the dual role of customer services and

operations director. Before Metro, Sharon’s

career included time at GNER, Airtours and

npower.

Says Alex Hynes (pictured above),

managing director, ‘Regions are at the heart

of our new franchise. They will enable the

transformation of Northern, bringing our

people and service delivery closer to the

communities and customers we serve.’



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Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh made an historic rail journey between Coleraine and Bellarena in June to officially open two new station platforms, marking a major milestone in Translink’s Coleraine – Londonderry Railway Renewals Project.

The route takes in the

spectacular North Coast of Ulster

and is popular with tourists. The

railway runs alongside the River

Bann.

When the line was built two

tunnels named Castlerock

and Downhill had to be cut

and blasted using 3,600 lbs

of gunpowder. These are the

longest railway tunnels in Ireland

measuring 668 and 307 yards

respectively.

The journey continues along

Benone Strand and the Atlantic

Ocean – a popular surfing

location.

On board the Royal Train were

local school children, railway staff

and representatives from the

Railway Preservation Society of

Ireland.

On arrival at Bellarena, Her

Majesty was met by Translink

chairman Frank Hewitt and

unveiled a commemorative

plaque. The event marked a

major milestone in the £46.4

million renewals project.

Royal renewal for Coleraine Line

TransPennine Express together with Network Rail’s National Stations Improvements Programme has upgraded Huddersfield station with three new glass waiting rooms, a cycle rack and a first class lounge.

The facilities will be a part of the new-look Huddersfield station. The

original building with its neo-classical frontage was designed by James

Pigott Pritchett and built in 1850. It’s not only passengers and staff

who benefit. Felix the Huddersfield station cat is understood to have

backed the scheme.

TransFeline Felix

© Shutterstock.com



Kirkstall Forge station has reopened to passengers - more than 100 years after the original station was closed on the Leeds to Bradford railway.

Kirkstall Forge is one of two

former stations to be reopened

on the route as part of the

£15.9 million West Yorkshire Rail

Growth (WYRG) - the other being

Apperley. Having waited 10 years

for a new railway station, West

Yorkshire has now opened two in

six months.

The first service to use the

stations was the 8.38 from

Leeds on Sunday, 19 June. A full

opening was held on 27 June,

attended by the Under Secretary

of State for Transport, Stuart

Andrew.

Built by Spencer Group, the

new Kirkstall Forge station

includes a 297-space car

park and new two 100-metre

platforms. A new modular

footbridge was also installed

and as well as constructing new

OLE masts, existing overhead

electrification masts had to be

modified to accomodate the new

platform layouts.

The station will serve a

new £400 million mixed-use

development area.

Says Dave Taylor, project

director for Spencer Group at

Kirkstall Forge Station, ‘We are

delighted and proud of our work

on the new station at Kirkstall

Forge, which is going to be

crucial in rejuvenating this part of

Leeds.

‘During the project, we were

based on CEG’s site – the

developer for the adjacent

development. We interfaced

with them particularly well and

developed a great rapport. For

our part in the scheme, there

were zero RIDDORS and the

project was delivered extremely

safely – which is something we

always strive for.’

Councillor Judith Blake,

Leader of Leeds City Council,

added, ‘The station has a key

role to play in realising the

major regeneration potential

of the broader Kirkstall Forge

development, bringing with it

new jobs, training opportunities,

housing and a range of office

and leisure facilities to offer a

significant boost to the local

economy.’

HMRC expense changes, what you need to know.

Are you a temporary or

contract worker affected by the

latest HMRC changes?

Since April 2016 many

contractors employed through

employment intermediaries are no

longer able to claim tax relief on

travel and subsistence expenses

for their regular work commute.

By introducing new rules

HMRC aims to equalise tax

breaks between contractors and

permanent employees.

Contractors working on

contracts operating under IR35

and what HMRC defines as

supervision, direction or control

(SDC) will have been affected.

What is SDC?• Supervision: someone

overseeing your work - ensuring

you are completing the work

correctly and to the required

standard.

• Control: someone dictating

what work is done and how it

should be completed. (This also

includes having the authority

to move you from one job to

another).

• Direction: someone ensuring

you work in a certain way, by

providing instructions, guidance

or advice; or generally co-

ordinating work undertaken.

How does this affect me?

If your role meets even just

one of these SDC criteria the

new regulations state you can

no longer claim tax relief or

National Insurance contributions

on travel and subsistence

expenses for your regular work

commute. This could result

in you paying more in tax.

However, these changes do not

apply if you are sent to visit a

site or temporary location away

from your main place of work.

At Advance-TRS we

make every effort to ensure

contractors are fully supported.

For help and advice on

contractor benefits and rights

give Advance-TRS’ operations

director, Paul Merton, a call on

01483 361061 or visit

www.advancerailwayjobs.com

for your next career move.

Expense changes

Forging ahead

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Passengers and staff celebrated the Queen’s official birthday, her 90th, at stations across Britain in a unique celebration of rail’s royal connection.

At Hexham the Vieux Carré

Jazzmen played on the platform

at an event organised by the

Tyne Valley Community Rail

Partnership. Passengers at Bexhill

station enjoyed a sweet treat,

as free cakes and soft drinks

were handed out to mark the

Queen’s 90th birthday. The event

was organised by the Sussex

Community Rail Partnership, with

financial support from Southern.

Staff at Abellio Greater Anglia

dressed up, decorated stations

and gave out more than 7,000

cupcakes.

Says Keely Pagdin, head of

customer service, ‘The railway’s

links to the Royal Family go back

as far as the mid-nineteenth

century when Queen Victoria

chartered the first royal coaches,

so we are delighted to celebrate

Her Majesty’s 90th birthday at

stations across the network as

part of the national Station to

Station Queen’s Celebration

campaign.’

Station to Station Queen’s

Celebration, held between 10-12

June, has so far raised tens of

thousands of pounds for charity.

Says Chris Leech, founder

of Station to Station, ’Without

doubt, the UK rail industry has

the largest community footprint in

comparison with any other sector.

Albeit for just one weekend, we

have challenged through our

collaborative actions a decade

or more of negative media and

public perceptions.’

Adding, ‘This very special

weekend has helped to

demonstrate that railways are

more than just transport hubs

in the centre’s of communities

but that they are also integral to

those communities.’

On the day that she became

Britain’s longest-reigning

monarch last year, on 9

September 2015, Her Majesty

opened the Borders Railway.

During her reign, Queen

Elizabeth has opened many

new stations across the country,

notably Birmingham New Street

last November and Reading in

July 2014. Crossrail is to be called

the ‘Elizabeth Line’ in her honour.

Photos from the Station to

Station Queen’s Celebration

weekend can be found at www.

queenscelebration.com/image-

gallery. If you’d like to submit

images from your event, contact

[email protected]

Friends and family of Lee Walker, operations manager at Morson, are rallying round to help raise money for treating his daughter, Lee-Anna.

Mr Walker is a popular figure at the

company’s Canning Town office, in East

London. Lee-Anna, 17, was diagnosed with

leukaemia in February. She now needs funds to

support her treatment. Lee-Anna isn’t a British

citizen so this treatment is not available on the

NHS.

On Sunday 17 July, 13 brave friends plan a

skydive at Sibson airfield. Keeping their feet

firmly on the ground, staff at Morson will be

holding a Charity Golf Day at the Shire Golf

Club in Barnet, Hertfordshire on Thursday, 4

August. The course itself was designed by

golfing legend Seve Ballesteros and is of

Masters’ quality.

The day includes entertainment and a slap-

up dinner. Jack Roberts and Paul Anscombe at

Morson are organising the golf tournament.

‘Summer is a busy time for the rail

infrastructure industry, but we believe it’s

important to make time for Lee-Anna too,’ says

Jack.

‘Lee himself makes a great contribution to

Morson and the wider industry. We want to

stand with him and do what we can to help

save a bright, brave intelligent girl any one

would be proud to call their daughter.’

Lee-Anna was diagnosed with acute myeloid

leukaemia - a cancer of the myeloid line of

blood cells.

Time is precious. Lee-Anna, from Jamaica,

has completed two cycles of chemotherapy

treatments. The assessment received from the

consultants is that the disease is a lot more

severe than originally thought, and as such,

Lee-Anna will require an urgent bone marrow

transplant if she is to survive this life-threatening

illness.

Cost estimates total £100,000. Treatment

to date has cost well over £40,000 which

has depleted the family’s savings. Please

make a donation - however small - at https://

crowdfunding.justgiving.com/joanne-hewitt.

Jack Roberts can be contacted at jack.

[email protected]

Golf-rail colleagues rally round

A health unto Her Majesty

For more details and an application form visit: www.railsport.ukor visit www.facebook.com/railsport or contact David Frankson 00 353 87 2141831 or email [email protected]

28TH

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BOOK YOUR PLACE IN THE 28TH NATIONAL ANGLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2016

AT MAKINS FISHERY WOLVEY (WARWICKSHIRE)WEDNESDAY 17TH AUGUST

LOROL capped their victory in this year’s

RailSport Games five-a-side final with a

beautifully lofted goal from behind the

halfway line - a high quality finish to what

had been a hard-fought day of competition.

Teams representing companies from

across the rail industry competed in the 23rd

RailSport Games at Blackpool’s Stanley Park

on 11 June.

LOROL wrestled the title from defending

champions Lucchini Unipart Rail with a 5-3 victory in

the penultimate match of the day. Lucchini had won the

previous two competitions and now head to Austria to

represent Great Britain on the international stage.

Both teams made it to the final with relative ease:

Lucchini thumping Faiveley Transport 5-0 in the quarter

finals and Northern Rail Dynamo 4-1 in the semis, while

LOROL came past Merseyrail 6-3 and ScotRail 5-1.

The depth of Irish Rail’s squad showed in a competitive

final for the Over 35s six-a-side competition as they beat

Keolis Amey Docklands 2-1 (pictured right). Trophies

for the winners and runners up were presented by Rail

Media’s managing director Tom O’Connor.

Drizzly conditions in the North West presented a

challenge for the cricket competition, but the sun shone

through just enough to allow Thales Paddy’s Marauders

to take hold of the final against Thales Tornadoes to win

by just 13 runs.

Like the cricket, the rounders final was a single

company affair, with RVEL’s Smack My Patch Up getting

the better of Son’s of Pitchers.

The men’s badminton tournament was also keenly

contested. Network Rail’s Craig Harrop won the singles

event, beating Mike Koscow from London Underground.

Craig was also in action with Duncan Fraser, formerly of

East Coast Trains, to take the doubles’ trophy. Duncan

Taylor continued the pair’s domination, winning the

veterans title against Merseyrail’s Sheen Matthew. Rail

Media’s Adam O’Connor and Chris Davies put in an

admirable performance to finish third.

On the other side of the sports hall, Dave Fox beat

Network Rail’s Darren Morgan 3-2 in the final of the

table tennis. Recovering from his loss in the singles final,

Darren paired up with Network Rail colleague Matt Coups

to win the doubles.

Away from Stanley Park, Northern Rail’s

John Pattison scored 611 pins to take the

men’s Ten Pin Bowling title. The women’s

competition was won by Louise Lamb from

TransPennine Express. The Abellio Greater

Anglia pairing of Phil Croydon and Jerry

Chapter saw gold in the doubles and DB

Schenker came first in the team event.

The darts tournament took place in the

nearby Talbot Club. Darius Festijo, Network

Rail, beat LOROL’s Steve Morris to win the

men’s singles. Di Kellow, of Great Western

Railway, won the women’s singles against

Merseyrail’s Sally Ralston. Darren Bowell

from London Midland and Steve Morris

teamed up to win the men’s doubles. In

the mixed doubles, husband and wife team

Derek and Sally Ralston retained the title

they won last year.

The individual chess tournament, held

over two days, was won by Hassan Mugalu

from Abellio Greater Anglia, while the team

event went to a joint Abellio Greater Anglia

and South West Trains, which included

Hassan Mugalu, Peter Eldridge and Trevor

Jones. Graham Bolt, Will Taylor and Mike

Broad, Network Rail, were runners-up.

A history of sport on the railwayRailSport celebrated its 23rd birthday this

year, but the history of sporting competition

among railway companies goes back well

over 100 years.

Records dating back to the 19th century

reference the achievements of railway

football teams, and a number of current

professional teams can trace their roots

back to the railway - even one of the

largest, most successful teams in the world.

Explains research fellow at the National

Railway Museum Dr Oliver Betts, ‘Although

arguably the biggest impact railways had

on the development of British Football

was in terms of transport, enabling away

fixtures and travelling supporters, there was

RailSport

MATC

H REP

ORT

Games 2016



MATC

H REP

ORT

an active football culture in the

railway companies themselves.

‘From the late 19th century

onwards many of the larger

railway companies encouraged

their workers to participate in

athletics or simply provided

financial support for teams and

associations already underway.

‘Some of these clubs

morphed, over the years, into

household names today. In 1878,

for instance, the Lancashire

and Yorkshire Railway gave

permission for men in the

Carriage and Wagon Department

to form a team that became

known as Newton Heath LYR.

In 1902, with few ties left to the

railway company, this became

Manchester United.’

The arrival of professional

footballers and the Football

League in the late 19th century led

to a decline in participation. Even

so, competition among railway

companies has endured. The

National Railway Museum has a

scrapbook compiled by the GWR

Drawing Office Staff at Paddington

Station from 1901 which includes

a light-hearted report of a works

football match. The book also

suggests that as well as football,

workers competed in swimming,

cycling and shooting.

Angling to kegels - Rail sport in the UK and overseas

Since the early 1990s, RailSport

has been encouraging railway

staff to reignite their long-held

hopes of sporting glory and

compete to be crowned the

industry’s best.

The tournament, which

since its opening weekend

has welcomed thousands of

competitors from around the rail

industry, was established by the

British Rail Staff Association, in

part as a way to curb the drinking

culture for which the organisation

had become notorious.

BR was becoming more

attuned with health and wellbeing

issues and set about creating

the competition, hiring a full-time

RailSport manager to oversee the

organisation of the event.

David Franks, the current

chief executive of Iarnród

Éireann (Irish Rail), has been

involved in RailSport since the

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very beginning and became its

chairman in the mid-1990s at a

time when privatisation cast a

shadow over the future of the

competition.

‘It was when the full-time

resources that existed weren’t

there anymore yet we still

had a lot of people that were

desperately keen to take part

in events and particularly the

international events,’ said David.

Despite this, RailSport has

been held every year since,

kept going by a team of loyal

volunteers.

24 member countriesIt’s not just the UK which hosts

annual rail sport competitions.

The International Railway Sports

Association (USIC) - the sporting

equivalent of the International

Union of Railways (UIC) -

comprises 24 member countries,

each with their own national

competitions.

USIC events, which are held

every four years, bring together

the best teams from around the

world - although predominantly

Europe - to compete

internationally. It is taken very

seriously: USIC, which was

formed in 1947, even has its own

anthem and opening ceremony.

Every two years, USIC trophies

are presented to the countries

that have accrued the most

points in the men’s and women’s

events. Points are given for

participating in sports, so it’s not

necessarily the best performing

teams but those competing in

the most events that come out

on top.

David recently stepped down

as president of USIC, having

served the maximum two terms.

’It’s clearly competitive and we

want people to compete at the

highest possible level, but it’s

also an opportunity to meet

colleagues from other countries

and to share some cultural

experience.’

As well as helping to

organise the events, David has

represented Great Britain in

the angling. Ahead of his first

USIC event in 1988, David was

asked to step in and lead the

team after the team manager

at the time took ill and tragically

passed away. Team GB went on

to win the championship. The

competition offers staff a rare

opportunity to represent their

country.

The international competitions

were a chance to be paid to

travel around Europe playing

football, one BR veteran

explained. The first year he took

part, the team over-indulged

on the journey and were duly

thrashed. Next time around,

they were well drilled, trained

hard, abstained from alcoholic

beverages and… suffered a

similar drubbing. The quality of

play was, and still is, striking.

That said, the UK has a

respectable record internationally,

doing particularly well in angling,

golf and orienteering. Great Britain

has even managed to field a

competitor for the Nordic Skiing

competition. The event gives rail

industry staff the opportunity to

compete in a wide, even obscure,



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variety of sports. ‘There have been

things like kegels [the German

version of skittles]. I mean I didn’t

even know about kegels until I

joined USIC,’ said David.

Health and wellbeingDavid described the event’s

standing in recent years as

‘cyclical’. It relies on its volunteers

and support from the industry,

which has been impacted by

changes in franchise holders and

the reclassification of Network

Rail.

In other countries, like India

and Russia, there is significant,

consistent funding for rail sports.

In the Netherlands, competitions

are being held every week, said

David.

But as health and wellbeing

topics become more central once

again, he’s finding the interest in

RailSport is finding new vigour.

This was demonstrated during a

recent meeting with health and

safety representatives. ‘It was

the most enthusiastic of all the

subjects from everybody that was

in the room. I mean it really got

the juices flowing, and I was quite

impressed, surprised, actually,’

said David.

‘I started it off by saying,

traditionally we would have

considered safety to be staff

and customer accidents and

operating incidents and the

like… We wouldn’t easily have

recognised that actually health

and wellbeing of our employees,

and occupational health issues,

are as important as those other

things.

‘And when you get people

realising that this is about looking

after you not necessarily making

sure we’re getting it right for

customers and everything else,

you suddenly get people really

sit up and take notice, and sport

plays a massive part in helping

keep people fit.’

Information about upcoming

USIC competitions can be

found at www.usic-sports.org



Abig thank you to everyone

who made Rail Live the

success it was this year!

We had the biggest show

yet - packed with exhibitors

showing a huge range of

products and services.

Thousands of visitors in

orange hi-viz attire flooded

through the entrance gates

of Rail Live 2016. Demonstrations, both on

and off track, wowed visitors with innovation

and solutions to challenges faced everyday

by the rail sector.

For the show highlights, please see

the fantastic video produced for the Rail

Engineer - www.railengineer.uk/2016/06/24/

video-rail-live-2016/ and also the web gallery

packed full of images captured over the two

days of the show: http://elirees.zenfolio.com/

p133088777. We could not deliver a show

like Rail Live without the incredible support

from our sponsors and partners!

Show Partners:Rail Media - Thank you to Rail Media

which has been part of the core delivery

team for Rail Live. Rail Media has developed

the website, created the Rail Live identity

and branding, digitised and maintained the

site plan, supported the show with marketing

communications material, provided exhibitor

support and designed and produced the Rail

Live show guide.

ISS Labour - We are hugely grateful to

CEO Simon Higgens and his team from

ISS Labour for once again ensuring that

operations and delivery ran smoothly and

safely on-site over the days building up to

the show, show days and the aftermath.

VP plc - With the breadth and depth of

service that VP plc offers the rail sector, VP

company ESS Safeforce provided radios for

the control team and a sophisticated CCTV

set-up for site security. Temporary roadway for

the exhibitor car park was delivered by sister

WHAT A SHOW!NEW MEMBERS

company, Torrent Trackside, and a personal

thank you goes to Paul Smith for organising

extra hands and specialist suppliers needed

during the set-up phase of the show.

Express Catering - Visitors and exhibitors

will not have been disappointed by the

excellent choice and quality (and value)

on-site throughout the duration of the show.

We are delighted that Express Catering (Rail

Alliance Member) received an award at Rail

Live 2016 for the Best Newcomer!

Safeaid - With so many visitors coming

through the gates - the additional supply of

hi-viz vests supplied by Rail Safety Workwear

Specialist, Safeaid, was well needed!

Link2 & Cisco - Without the specialist

expertise of some very clever people, Rail

Live exhibitors would be without connectivity

which is an essential tool for any business.

Wi-Fi also meant that visitors could be

scanned into the show site over the two

days. Delivering a Wi-Fi solution across the

entire exhibition site (which is essentially

open fields) is no easy feat!

TXM - The assistance from the tele-

handlers provided by TXM was exemplary.

There were so many requests from

exhibitors to respond to - from delivering

track panels and sleepers, to moving bags of

ballast and lifting equipment off low-loaders

- and all done with a smile! No wonder they

were selected as Rail Live Award winners for

Best Stand and Sam Snelson (who works for

TXM) for Best Plant Engineer.

Quinton Rail Technology Centre - Without

the QRTC there would be no show! This is

the home of Rail Live, and we give a special

thanks to Steve Dunmore and his team from

Motorail who ensures that the site is ready

for the show as well as providing all the

essential support services to exhibitors from

special track panel requests to undertaking

demonstrations using facilities and

equipment on site.

Rock Safely - With vast experience

and knowledge of managing safety and

ALUMASC WATER MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONSwww.alumascwms.co.uk

NEOPUL UKwww.neopul.pt

NETERSON HOLDINGS LTDwww.tritechgroup.co.uk/

www.yeovil-precision.co.uk

P.P. GROUP OF COMPANIESwww.ppgroupltd.co.uk

VORTOK INTERNATIONALwww.vortok.com

minimising risk at large events, Chris Burke

was our man on the ground for health & safety

prior to the event and throughout the duration

of the exhibition keeping everybody safe.

Sponsors:• Lloyds Bank - A fantastic show of support

from this major high street bank who

sponsored the Business Zone at Rail Live this

year - a facility set up with support services

and information for businesses in rail.

• Shannon Rail - Sponsors of the Rail Live

Awards evening

• Prea - Manufacturer and supplier of the Rail

Live Award trophies

• Batch Plant - Sponsors of water bottles

• Ballyclare - Sponsors of water bottles

Steve Featherstone, programme director

track, Network Rail, said, ‘This was the 8th

Rail Live event, which has come a long way

from its origins in a Westwood car park to now

being the rail plant event of the year.

‘The basic idea is to bring people with

challenges and people with solutions together

in a live railway environment so that best

practice can be shared, safety can be improved

and work can be delivered more efficiently.

‘Well done and thanks to the Rail Live team.’

For info on Rail Live 2017, contact

[email protected].

Networking Events:• 11th August: Asset Management,

Communications & Data

• 13th September: First Time Approvals

• Oct: Opportunities in Infrastructure

• Nov: Education in the Supply Chain in

Rolling Stock

• Dec: Members Only Christmas Lunch

In October, Rail Vehicles and

Enhancements (RVE) will be held at the

Riverside in Derby. Rail Alliance members are

eligible for a discount if they book before the

31st of July.

RAIL LIVE 2016 - BIGGEST SHOW YET


24 RAIL ALLIANCE RAILSTAFF JULY 2016

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The Rail Accident Investigation Branch

recently issued its annual report for the

calendar year 2015. Headline details for 2015

include 32 accidents and incidents reported

with another 21 full investigations started.

During the year 20 reports were published

in which 74 recommendations were made. In

addition three bulletins and five safety advice

notices were also published.

Luck prevented multiple fatalitiesThe RAIB has now completed more than a decade of

accident and incident investigation. In his foreword their Chief

Inspector Simon French rightly claims that the country’s safety

record is “amongst the best in Europe”.

He also draws attention to the fact that there were, “a

number of events where luck prevented an accident involving

multiple fatalities”. Sadly I remember all too well knowing

some decades ago that on average two members of my staff

were killed on track each year. Over 18 months had passed

without a fatality. Tragically the following week two track

patrollers working together were hit by a train and suffered

fatal injuries. I still remember the incident, but do today’s

managers and supervisors need the same experiences? Is

that the only way to achieve a safer working environment?

13 recommendations out-standing from 2011!

The format of the Report is one

which I hope will be continued.

It sets out their operational

activities during the year and their

recommendations, the identification

of recurrent issues and other

activities.

The first of four appendices A,

lists the narrowly avoided multiple

fatality accidents. B summarises the

recommendations still outstanding

through to and including those

made in 2015, whilst C and D

provide a glossary of abbreviations

and acronyms.

The review of recommendations

sadly shows that of the 93

recommendations made in 2011,

no fewer than 13 have yet to be

implemented. One is now classed

as “non-implemented”. Another six

are “in progress” and a further six

are categorised as “implementation

ongoing”. “In progress” means

that the safety authority is not yet

satisfied that a plan, timescales are

in place but work is in progress to

provide these. “Implementation

ongoing” means that work to deliver

the recommendation is agreed

and in process of being delivered.

I am dismayed that so many

recommendations from 2011 still fall

into these categories.

“Repeated causality”The report identifies Lundridge

Farm User Crossing accident

reported in 2013 as having had

“actions inappropriate or insufficient”.

Another four incidents from 2014 are

listed as having had action taken,

but RAIB still has concerns.

“Repeated causality” is another

piece of RAIB jargon used to

describe incidents which “might

have been avoided had previously

identified factors been addressed

more fully or in a more timely

fashion”.

“Safety Digests” The year also saw the publication

of their class investigation into

engineering protection irregularities

and I look forward to reading the

class investigation into on track

working whilst trains are running;

hopefully later this year.

The report announces another

new initiative namely the issuing of

“Safety Digests”. These are to be

used when, after initial investigation

RAIB has concluded that further

investigation is not justified.

The Digests will provide safety

information.

REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

DISCUSSED WITH THEIR CHIEF INSPECTOR SIMON FRENCH

RAIB ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2015

26 TRACK SAFETY RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


Future prioritiesAs to the Branch’s future

priorities, three are listed:

• Continue to improve good

engagement with the

industry, regulators and other

stakeholders.

• Explore ways to further reduce

the average time taken to

publish reports, without

compromising on quality.

• Find additional effective ways to

disseminate key information to

stakeholders, press and media.

In its conclusion the report

identifies the following as

priorities still to be addressed;

safety of track workers, track

quality (including staff resources

and competence), freight train

condition, platform train interface,

level crossings, earthworks and

structures.

I could not agree more whilst

noting that nearly all involve

railway civil engineering.

Elsewhere there are references

to the importance of leadership,

planning and clear instructions

for track-workers. Derailments

due to defective track, spigots

and containers together with

comments about the Planning &

Delivery of Safe Work are also

amongst my concerns.

2

4

6 7

3

5

8 9

1

Unit 3 Waltham Park Way, Walthamstow,

London E17 5DU

T: 0208 527 [email protected]

1. MultiBand Insert Rail Wallet

2. COSS / Engineering Supervisor Insert

3. COSS / First Aider Insert

4. COSS / Machine Controller / Crane Controller Insert

5. COSS / Site Warden Insert

6. COSS/Machine Controller Insert

7. Sire Warden / First Aider Insert

8. COSS / Crane Controller Insert

9. MultiBand Insert Holder

MULTIBANDARMBAND

Summary of

recommendations of

RAIB concern.

Annual Report2015

RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 TRACK SAFETY 27


Interview with Simon French

As a follow up to studying the

2015 RAIB Report I interviewed

Simon French at the Department

for Transport Offices on

Horseferry Road in central

London on May 27th.

I continue to admire how

since its formation to meet one

of the recommendations of the

Cullen Report it has fulfilled its

role in investigating accidents

and incidents. Its expertise and

consequently the respect with

which it is regarded has grown

year on year.

I questioned Simon French

about the recommendations

made in reports which are still

outstanding; some going back as

far as 2011! These include what

RAIB describes as “repeated

causality” events. Understandably

his response was to suggest that

my question should be put to the

Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

That is now my intention.

Class Investigation “red zone” report this year

We discussed his Class

investigation of “red zone”

working incidents and accidents.

Simon confirmed that he expects

to publish the findings later this

year.

He hopes the report will trigger

track level discussions with front

line staff, management and the

trades unions. On the subject

of track worker safety, I referred

to the current impasse over the

Planning and Delivery of Safe

Work (PDSW) initiative.

He told me that he agreed

with my view that assigning track

safety responsibility to a COSS

(Controller of Site Safety) who

is often not the most senior or

influential voice on the site, is not

the best way to do things in future.

We then went on to discuss

both the inadequacy of timely

information provided to track

staff and the excessive amount

of irrelevant and unnecessary

information paperwork provided

in many safe system of work

packages.

Simon added that he is

continually disappointed by

investigation findings that include

the identification of a lack of

awareness of the requirements

mandated by the Rule Book.

I suggested that the time may

have come when the industry’s

aim should be for all track work

to be done under signalled

protection as is planned for High

Speed 2.

He responded by saying

that speed is the relevant factor

in deciding on methods of

protection. He added that the use

and scope for the use of lookout

protection in the future is one of

the focus points for the current

RAIB red zone working class

investigation.

Reports take average of 11 months to complete

In the early days of the RAIB

I was critical of the time taken

between an incident or accident

and the publication of their report.

The average time has reduced to

11 months which Simon is confident

will be maintained if not reduced

further.

He stressed that his first priority

in carrying out investigations is the

quality and content of the report.

He has no intention of setting

a target time and reminded me

that finalising a report includes

time spent liaising with the

organisations involved.

One of his priority tasks is

communicating information to the

industry and sharing the technical

evidence which may include

the issuing of urgent safety

advices. For the future his focus

is on providing more web page

updates of factual information to

ensure their findings, and more

particularly recommendations

are available and in the public

domain. He cited the recent

Ivybridge information digest as

an example setting a precedent

for the future.

RAIB’s remitI pressed him on the sufficiency

or otherwise of actions on their

report recommendations. For a

second time he referred me to the

Office of Rail and Road.

The RAIB was set up

in response to one of the

recommendations of the Cullen

Report Part 2 Ladbroke Grove

Inquiry. Its recommendations

on accident investigation are

numbers 57 to 74 in that report

and relate to the purpose and

practices to be used by RAIB.

Chapter 11 is devoted to its

formation; it is worth re-reading.

Simon explained how, when

progressing an investigation

RAIB collects and share factual

evidence with both the Police and

Office of Rail and Road. Evidence

is taken in accordance with police

standards but written statements

are not shared.

He reminded me that the only

way in which they could ever

be shared would be as a result

of a Court Order following a

determination of “Public Interest”

as defined in the Cullen Report.

He added that in the 11 years

since their formation there has not

been a single case where this has

occurred.

RAIB’s focus, responsibili-ties and concerns

The role of the ORR Simon

sees as complementary to that

of RAIB. Ian Prosser as Chief

Inspector of Railways and

Director of Railway Safety at ORR

clearly has the responsibility for

driving the responses to RAIB

recommendations as part of

his responsibilities as well as

deciding how and when to take

enforcement actions.

In the current financial climate I

was pleased to learn that the RAIB

last month began the process

of recruiting inspectors to fill the

vacancies they have.

I also asked about the growing

number of reports I have read

about accidents and incidents

at the train/platform interface.

Speaking of a recent RAIB

investigation Simon confirmed that

having examined timetables and

actual stopping times generally

he was satisfied that they were

both adequate from a safety

perspective.

However he shares my

concerns over the reports of

“trap and drag” incidents. His

main concern based on their

investigations is of a belief that the

electronic door closed warning

system alone may be relied upon

when in fact safety checks before

setting off are all important. Over

reliance on train warning systems

he commented had contributed to

recent incidents.

Next we discussed his concerns

about track quality, which have

grown due to the findings of

a number of RAIB reports that

have already been published. In

particular he said he has been

dismayed by the limited technical

knowledge exhibited by some

track maintenance engineers.

I responded by raising my

own reservations after reading

a number of RAIB reports that

a similar comment was maybe

applicable to those carrying out

both annual superficial as well as

detailed structural examinations of

structures.

28 TRACK SAFETY RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


Things don’t always go to plan.

In fact, they rarely do go as we

expect.

With two of Portugal’s key

defensive players ruled out, Wales

looked certain to make the final

of the European championships

and do the impossible, but were

undone within just a few minutes

during the second half of their

semi-final.

The idea of the UK exiting the

European Union (EU) seemed

wholly unlikely a month or so

ago. Suddenly MPs are trying to

unravel Britain’s entangled legal

and political relationship with its

continental neighbours.

Things are no different in the rail

industry. It was announced earlier

this month that the railway between

Edinburgh and Glasgow now won’t

be energised until July 2017 -

several months behind the original

schedule. An unfortunate delay

to a project which has otherwise

demonstrated tremendous

ingenuity and technical precision.

But there are some events which

put these moments into context.

At the 2015 RailStaff Awards,

Heathrow Express duty manager

Brian Keenan, who we caught

up with this month, won the

Rail Manager of the Year Award

for saving the life of one of his

passengers. That event has had a

major impact on his life, let alone

the man he saved that day.

It is the events we never could

have predicted that often leave the

deepest impressions on us. The

most common response we hear

from RailStaff Awards winners is

‘I never expected this’. It is this

reason that it means so much and

the reason they were probably

nominated in the first place.

Nominations for 2016 are

open - you’ve probably seen the

posters around - and we are fast

approaching the evening itself.

Please don’t delay, don’t put it off

until next week, and nominate a

deserving colleague today.

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 201630

The majority of people in the UK will benefit from at least one Amey

service every day, says the company’s business director for the North,

Richard Walker.

Richard was astonished by that fact when he joined the company

a few months ago from Network Rail. Amey is Network Rail’s second-

biggest supplier and heavily involved in the rail sector, but the extent of

its reach will surprise many. The list of sectors the business serves vary

from power, water and gas to healthcare, environmental services like

waste collection and treatment, facilities management and social justice,

which can include activities as diverse as running offender rehabilitation

schemes or escorting criminals to prison.

Amey, which employs more than 21,000 people nationwide, currently

holds Network Rail signalling, electrification and track framework

contracts and is involved in the electrification of the Great Western Main

Line. As well as its design and consultancy services division, Amey

looks after more than 100,000 Network Rail assets as part of its civils

examination framework contract. Only recently, the company was also

named as a member of the construction alliance which will deliver

Manchester’s Ordsall Chord.

Celebrating staff achievement is one of the company’s central tenets,

says Richard, and so this year Amey is sponsoring the Rail Plant and

Equipment Person or Team of the Year category at the RailStaff Awards

to celebrate those who operate the big yellow plant which works

around the network day and night.

Efforts and energies‘It’s lovely to be nominated, it’s lovely to be recognised for what you

do and for me the awards are about thanking people for their efforts

and their energies to make the railway a better place to work; I think it’s

absolutely spot on,’ says Richard, who has

A multi-disciplinary, multi-talented bunch

himself been nominated for an award in the past.

Attracting and retaining people is essential to any business and

finding ways to salute their efforts is part of that. Richard continued, ‘As

a business, we’re trying to recruit the right people and these kind of

awards are absolutely complementary to getting the right people in our

industry. There’s no better way of keeping people with you if you thank

them for what they do and recognise their hard work.’

The Rail Plant and Equipment Person or Team of the Year Award was

first introduced in 2015. Network Rail’s High Output transition team,

which successfully transferred over 507 staff members when Network

Rail decided to move the delivery of High Output Track Renewals

(HOTR) in-house, won the first ever award. The transition itself was big

news, but it was the first real praise to be heaped on the team that

ensured it went smoothly.

Richard says he has seen how for some people the awards had

‘really kicked their careers on’.

‘It does raise team morale, it does raise team performance and it

does get people thinking about their own personal development and

what more they can do, what more they want to do.’

Biggest, best and brightest‘For me they just take a whole cross section of the people that

actually run the railway and recognise people’s personal input and

commitment to the industry,’ says Richard, when asked for his thoughts

on the ethos behind the RailStaff Awards.

‘I do like the variety and the background and also it’s good to see

what other people are doing and other new ideas.’

Visit www.railstaffawards.com/nominate and make someone’s year!

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2016 31

Supported by

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Samaritans is proud to sponsor the Lifesaver award at this years’ RailStaff Awards

TALKING SAVES LIVES

For more info and to nominate a colleague www.railstaffawards.com

10,000 rail industry personnel and British Transport Police officers have been trained with the skills to help a person in need. These skills can encourage people to talk about their problems and help save lives.

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 201632

Stories about railway staff members approaching and calming people

in distress are becoming more common. The industry has gone to much

further lengths in recent years to ensure its people have all the skills they

need to help prevent the loss of life at stations and on track. But these

interventions can take many forms.

At 5.20am on 4 April last year, Heathrow Express duty station manager

Brian Keenan received a call from a member of staff aboard an inbound

train informing him that a passenger had fallen unconscious and, despite

the best efforts of fellow passengers to deliver CPR, was displaying no

signs of life.

‘Ironically, at the time, when the call came through, I’d just finished

doing my compliance checks, so I was literally walking away after

checking the defibrillator on the platform,’ said Brian, who has worked

at Heathrow Express for 12 years. Prior to that he had been dispatching

planes, rather than trains, at the international airport.

As Brian made his way to the platform, he tried to remember his first aid

training. ‘The good thing is I had seven to eight minutes at that point to try

and get myself ready for it; for the worse-case scenario.’

When the train arrived at the platform, Brian began working on the

passenger, switching between the defibrillator and CPR. He continued

Where are they now?Brian Keenan, winner of the Rail Manager of the Year Award 2015,

remembers the day he saved a passenger's life

treating the passenger as the

paramedics arrived and after 10

minutes, he saw his first signs

of life.

Clean bill of healthBrian was praised by the

paramedics on the scene;

he was even asked by the

London Ambulance Service if

he’d be interested in joining its

rapid response team. But, not

knowing what happened to the

passenger, Brian wasn’t able to

appreciate what he had done

that day. The following Friday, as

he was cleaning out his garage,

Brian received a call to tell him

that the man he had brought

back to life had left hospital with

a clean bill of health.

‘For that first week afterwards,

I couldn’t even raise a smile

because that guy went into

the back of the ambulance

still unconscious… It’s at that

point when he went in that the

paramedics said you should be

really proud of your achievement

just to get him this far.’

15 minutes of fameBrian described the response

from his colleagues at Heathrow

Express and around the industry

as ‘unbelievable’; he’s since won

several awards, including the Rail

Manager of the Year category

at the RailStaff Awards. ‘If

someone says you get

your 15 minutes of

fame, I’ve certainly

exceeded that,’

Brian’s actions

are now recited

by Heathrow

Express as

part of its first

aid training. But

he said it was the

RailStaff Awards

honour which

really stood out.

‘As I said on the

day, it was an

honour: it was an honour to be

nominated, it was an honour to

be winning.’

He added, ‘I just hope that if I

had a heart attack or something

happened to me someone would

put themselves out. That’s all I

would ask.’

Remarkably, Brian isn’t the first

person in his family to perform

such an heroic act. Before Brian

was born, his dad had pulled a

man from a burning building, for

which he subsequently received

a commendation for bravery. The

father of two hopes the awards

leave a similar legacy for his own

children. ‘I was proud of my dad

for doing that: I wasn’t even alive

when he did that, but I was proud

and now that’s the same type of

thing with my boys.’

The 2016 RailStaff Awards

will be held at Coventry’s

Ricoh Arena on 8 October.

Keen to return, Brian is urging

those around him to nominate

exceptional staff members. ‘To

actually have a night out and

recognise just individuals who

do their normal job, and the

occasional people who go up

and beyond that, it’s brilliant.’

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RAILSTAFF AWARDS 2016 33

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It is difficult to precisely quantify the contribution made

by apprentices. Spread so widely and embedded so

deeply, there are probably few major programmes

that haven’t benefited from their work at some point.

With skills in such short supply, their contribution is

needed more now than ever. ‘We’re certainly not

just making tea or doing photocopying,’ said George

Holder, a higher apprentice employed by the Alstom,

TSO and Costain (ATC) joint venture working on

Crossrail.

George is one of the 550 or so apprentices to have

been recruited through the Crossrail programme. The

project is achieving well above its original target to create

400 apprenticeships through the project - a fact Crossrail’s

chairman Sir Terry Morgan, who was an apprentice himself, is

extremely proud of.

George, who is originally from Hampshire but now lives

in London, is an innovation and knowledge exchange

champion for Costain within Crossrail’s ATC joint venture.

He works across different teams to find clever solutions to

engineering challenges by looking at what technologies

and techniques are being applied in other areas of the

project.

‘It sounds a bit cliche, but it really is a fantastic first project

to be on,’ said George. ‘To get such a huge exposure so

early on in my career is obviously fantastic. To be working

with such a large number of apprentices and graduates as

well on the project is very enjoyable.’

PART OF SOMETHING BIGGERGeorge’s pathway into the industry differs from most. The

24 year old had been training to become a doctor. However,

two years into his studies, a somewhat disenchanted George

decided his future lay elsewhere.

‘I just wanted a career change, but still one that was

involved in the sciences and provided a benefit to society,’

said George. ‘I still wanted to be contributing to something

bigger - that’s a main part of why I enjoy working for Costain

and working on Crossrail. I’m really quite enjoying being part

of something much bigger and that’s going to provide a lot of

benefit to a lot of people when all is said and done.’

After leaving medical school, George joined a health

and safety consultancy, which at the time was working with

Costain on its Prince’s Trust programmes - the initiative works

with young people who are not in employment or education

to give them the skills needed to work on a construction

site. While in that role, he found out about the opportunity to

pursue a higher apprenticeship with Costain.

‘I don’t look back on it with any

regret,’ said George, reflecting on his

decision to pursue engineering over

medicine. ‘It was certainly something I

was very passionate about at the time. I

still have the greatest amount of respect

for my friends who still are working and

studying… so no bad feelings about it,

but it was just a very personal decision

as this is not the career that I want to

work towards. What else can I apply for?

What else can I apply myself to that’s

still beneficial, worthwhile?’

Crossrail's

Plumstead

railhead in

South East

London.

REPORT BY MARC JOHNSON

LIFE OF ACROSSRAIL APPRENTINCE

All Photos © High Viz Media

34 INTERVIEWS RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


34 INTERVIEWS

APPRENTICE FORUMUpon completion, George will achieve an NVQ Level 5 in construction

management and a HND Level 5 in construction in the built environment from

East Berkshire College. With his apprenticeship almost over, George is looking

forward to moving on to the three-year Costain Graduate Scheme, which he is

eligible for thanks to credits earned while at medical school and courses he’s

completed since, in his spare time, through the Open University.

The contribution of ATC’s apprentices is clear. It was an ATC apprentice,

Charley Whitlock, who won Crossrail’s Apprentice of the Year award in

March. Several more apprentices were highly commended and ATC won

the Outstanding Tier 1 Contractor award for the work it has done around

apprenticeships. ‘I think that the management on the project are both very

supportive of apprentices and provide us with a number of very beneficial

opportunities for work on the project.

George had

been training

to become a

doctor before

choosing

a career in

engineering.

CROSSRAIL APPRENTINCE

RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 INTERVIEWS 35


INTERVIEWS 35

the nature of the roles that they go into,’ said

Caroline Towner, Costain’s apprenticeship

manager. ‘They need to be able to learn on the

job quite quickly and they need to have really

good organisational skills and they need to be

able to communicate effectively.’

Later this year, George will become the

first Costain apprentice to join the graduate

scheme. Caroline said she was immensely

proud of George’s achievements and hopes

to see more apprentices going down this

route. ‘The buzz for me is to see them achieve,’

said Caroline, who has been managing

apprenticeship programmes for 23 years.

POSITIVE CHOICEApprenticeships are a positive choice,

says George, when asked about the stigma

that still exists, to some degree, around

apprenticeships. However, there is evidence

to show this is changing. In 2015, the

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

(UCAS) recorded a 20 per cent increase in

apprenticeship applications.

With the option to study up to degree level

with an apprenticeship, George thinks it’s not

just a positive choice, but the obvious one.

‘Do you want to spend three years and get

something like £30,000 into debt to get a

degree or would you rather spend five years

earning for a company that actually values

you and still get a degree at the end of it?’

‘We’re given an appropriate level

of responsibility, but one that certainly

pushes and challenges us. We’re

certainly not just making tea or doing

photocopying, but equally we’re not

just left out on our own.’

‘We’re expected to be the trainee

engineers,’ he added. ‘We’re expected

to be able to represent and answer

questions on, and provide information

on, our respective disciplines. We are

certainly seen as full members of the

teams that we work within.’

George has also helped to establish

an apprentice forum within the ATC

Systemwide joint venture, which allows

the 15 or so apprentices working on the

C610 contract the opportunity to meet

with Costain’s apprentice manager

once every couple of months to discuss

any issues. ‘I think apprenticeships as

an entity, are hugely beneficial and

positive for the industry,’ said George.

‘You’re actually bringing in people who

want to work and contribute to the

company, to something bigger, whilst

learning as well.’

Costain currently employs 114

apprentices. Of these, 48 work within

the rail business as civil engineers,

surveyors and administrators.

‘It’s the nature of the project. It’s

Do you want to spend three years and get something like £30,000 into debt to get a degree or would you rather spend five years earning for a company that actually values you and still get a degree at the end of it?

36 INTERVIEWS RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


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THREE PEAKS TRIUMPHTHIS YEAR'S 3 PEAKS CHALLENGE BY RAIL HAS RAISED CLOSE TO £165,000 FOR RAILWAY CHILDREN, BRINGING THE TOTAL RAISED FOR THE CHARITY TO £2.4 MILLION.

Three Peaks by Rail was launched in 2004.

A team from the Department for Transport

achieved the fastest time this year, completing

the combined 11,200 feet of climbing in just 13

hours 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

Says Katie Mason, events manager from

Railway Children, ‘This year we introduced

a new award for ‘Best Team Support’, which

was won by Ashurst. One of their young team

members, Michael Smith, lost most of his sight

a few years ago, yet still managed to climb every mountain

with help from his team members, who talked him through

each step. It was very emotional and inspiring when they

crossed the finish line at Ben Nevis.’

A team from Rail Media completed the gruelling challenge

along with 39 teams. Teams tackled Britain’s three tallest

mountains in one weekend.

Starting at Euston and picking up more climbers at Crewe,

the first stop was Bangor where, after a short coach ride,

the teams tackled Snowdon in the dark, rain and mist. Not

pleasant, but there was still a sense of achievement once the

first peak was reached.

Says Rail Media’s Paul O’Connor,

who completed the challenge for

the fourth time, ’As soon as you

step back onto the train having

completed Ben Nevis, you say to

yourself ‘never again’, but a couple

of months later you’re signing up

for next year. There’s something

addictive about it.

‘Physically, it is a real challenge, but

the support team are amazing and

the atmosphere among those taking

part really helps to drive you on.’

Katie Mason thanked the legion

of support staff who crewed the

train and looked after the climbers.

‘The on-board crew of volunteers

were amazing as always, preparing

delicious food and refreshments.

Their unrivalled commitment has

been an integral part of everything

we have achieved over the years. A

special thanks also needs to go to

one of our train drivers, who donated

his day’s salary to the charity and

the companies supporting this year’s

challenge - Riviera, DRS, Network

Rail, Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway,

ATOC and Rail Gourmet.’

Paul O’Connor added, ‘It’s a great

cause to support and a small sacrifice

to make given the situations of the

thousands of children and young

people the charity supports.’

The Rail Media team of Adam

O’Connor, Jolene Price, Karen

Edwards and Paul O’Connor were

all snug in their waterproofs that

had been supplied for the occasion

by PPE specialists Gore, along with

head torches from Tower.

Ravenglass was the next stop,

where a change of trains onto the

narrow-gauge Ravenglass and

Eskdale Railway brought hikers

closer to Scafell Pike, although

it was still a two-hour walk to the

bottom of the mountain. After a

sunny and drizzly climb, it was off

to Fort William to tackle Ben Nevis.

This time the weather was much

better so a good view greeted the

39 teams, all of which completed

the course. A very happy, and tired,

group made it back to the train for

home.



THREE PEAKS TRIUMPH

Tough on

the legs, but

beautiful views

power you on.

The weather

was relatively

kind to the

teams this year.

'Physically, it is a real challenge, but the support team are amazing and the atmosphere among those taking part really helps drive you on.'



39

Cat Gibson is a big supporter of Safeguarding Children on Transport (SCT). Now training and competency manager at Network Rail, Gibson was shift station manager at Manchester Piccadilly from May 2007 until March 2016. It’s a challenging job in one of the North’s biggest and busiest premier gateway stations. She talked to Andrew Collis at Railway Children.

‘I decided to get involved with the SCT

programme because I was already the single

point of contact with BTP for Piccadilly station,’

says Cat. ‘I had contacts with all 18 of the

stations that Network Rail manages nationally,

so I was well placed to extend the scheme… I

thought if it’s worth doing here, it’s worth doing

everywhere.’

Gibson sees the programme as a logical fit

with proactive security mindfulness. Training is

thorough and professional.

‘The training builds on what I was already

doing with BTP and the Counter Terrorism Unit

and organisations like the Samaritans. It’s all

about looking beneath the surface at what’s

really going on. With young people it particularly

equipped me to look beyond antisocial

behaviour - to stop seeing that surface issue as

if it’s the main issue - and understand what might

be going on to drive that behaviour.’

A case of conversation ‘The training provided me with a useful toolkit

for starting conversations. That’s what we need

to be doing at stations - not just to stop the

behaviour or to move people on but to start a

conversation and ask some questions.’

SCT training helps build confidence and

bridge the gap between how effective people

think they are - usually over modest - and in fact

how effective they can be. It’s a case of initiating

conversations - often with people very different

from yourself.

‘Rail is a male-dominated industry. I think

some of my male colleagues particularly felt

a bit of fear about starting conversations with

young people at stations - about how that would

be perceived - but the training has just helped

give us the confidence and understanding to

know we can and should be doing that.’

Sadness in the eyes

Haunting images from the course stay with

Cat. ‘There’s a picture from the training materials

that really sticks in my mind: it’s a young

person sort of hiding - out of the way - in the

sort of places we do sometimes see them at

Piccadilly - like under a stairwell. It’s the sort of

situation where you’d walk past and think ‘Uh

oh! Trouble. What are you up to?’ When we did

this with the group, everyone’s initial response

was just that - that the young person looked like

they were up to no good. But actually when you

look at the picture more closely you can see

bruising on the person’s face. And there’s a sort

of sadness in the eyes. So when you look again,

you see so much more. I thought that was really

powerful and my colleagues responded to that

really well too.’

The SCT training is soon put to good use.

Just a few weeks after attending a training

course, Cat Gibson encountered a young

man and a girl, 16, spending a lot of time at

Manchester Piccadilly. ‘They were quite abusive

to our staff. They’d swear and shout and say

things like ‘you know you can’t touch us’. We

worked with BTP to find out what was going on

and to start that conversation.’

It turned out there were serious problems

- including the relationship with the male -

alcohol, and the girl’s care home, which planned

to ask her to leave, citing antisocial behaviour.

Following on from that initial conversation,

helped by the BTP and social services, the girl

received remedial support and kept the place

where she lives.

Nephews and nieces The value of the course in SCT lies in

knowing what to do when confronted with

outwardly recalcitrant youngsters at railway

stations. It’s a basic skill set in non-threatening

intervention.

‘I believe anyone who works on the

frontline of the railway would benefit from

the SCT training. It is so simple: Be Aware,

Be Concerned. Look and look again. It is not

a complicated new skillset – the SCT trusts

that you as frontline staff already have the key

skills to deal with safeguarding issues. It simply

gives you the confidence and structure to

start a conversation where perhaps you would

usually just walk past. We so often avoid getting

involved because we don’t know what to do.

This is an opportunity to gain that confidence

and use the experiences we deal with every

day to help vulnerable young people.’

Gibson brings the point home by urging staff

to think about those close to them. ‘Think of

your own family. Think of your children, nieces

and nephews. How would you feel if they

ended up on the streets or they came to a

station because they had nowhere else to go?

You would want to know that rail staff would be

there for them and would help them, wouldn’t

you?’

Light and busy Why do railway stations attract runaways and

homeless children? Food kiosks are expensive.

It’s more basic than that. ‘Our stations, and the

railway in general, appeals to young people as

a safe place to go. Stations are light and busy

and much safer than the street.’ The runaways

are already there. What the railway does

about them reflects on the industry as a whole.

Frontline staff have an essential role to play.

Certain behaviours have underlying causes

not immediately apparent. Vulnerable adults

and people with mental health issues make for

stations too.

‘Our staff are our key resource. Equipping

them to deal with scenarios that present

themselves every day is important for an

engaged workforce. It also helps ensure that the

railway is a safe place for everyone. Too many

vulnerable children and young people pass

invisibly through our stations every day. Who

knows what difference a simple conversation

with someone who is willing to spend the time

might make?’

Open return to childhood ‘If you look at the bigger picture again,

building a strong workforce, that’s not afraid

to have difficult conversations, has benefits in

many ways.’ Not least it can make a lifetime’s

difference to younger, more vulnerable people

at stations.

‘We are all entitled to a childhood. Most of

these vulnerable young people have already

A sadness in the eyes



Railway Children and British Transport Police have joined forces to back a new Safeguarding Children on Transport programme.

Developed by Railway

Children, the programme aims

to improve staff awareness of

vulnerable children and young

people on the railway. According

to research, every five minutes

a child runs away from home

in the UK. Railway Children

estimates that 16,500 children

are at risk of sexual exploitation

every year.

Children in need of care and

affection will often seek this

in inappropriate places. They

become easy prey for child

abusers who operate to groom

children without them realising.

In 2014, British Transport Police

(BTP) received approximately

6,000 reports of child

safeguarding incidents at railway

stations.

Says Terina Keene, chief

executive at Railway Children,

‘Children often behave in ways

we perceive to be troublesome,

but this can be the result of

things that have happened, or

are happening, to them.

‘By enhancing the awareness

of railway staff and retailers at

stations, we can create a network

of people who understand,

identify and support children who

are vulnerable or at risk across

the railways.’

BTP’s Assistant Chief

Constable, Mark Newton, says

staff are the eyes and ears of

the new campaign. ‘Children

are a priority and in forming

this collaborative group, we are

able to share our professional

knowledge and ensure that we

safeguard children in the best

way we possibly can.

‘Staff play a vital role in

spotting and reporting unusual

behaviour. They can be our ‘eyes

and ears’ as they go about their

day-to-day work by providing us

with the information we need to

recognise signs of vulnerability or

potential exploitation.’

Railway Children is also

working with BTP, train operating

companies and charity sector

partners to ensure better

For the second year running, the Rail Rugby charity tournament took place at the birthplace of the sport, Rugby School in Warwickshire, raising £70,000 for Railway Children.

With the support of Network

Rail, 14 teams from across the rail

industry competed to become

the 2016 Rail Industry Touch

Rugby Champions.

Says Katie Mason, events

manager at Railway Children,

‘The success of last year’s

inaugural tournament was

always going to be a tough act

to follow, but the enthusiasm

and extraordinary commitment

from our rail industry supporters

was outstanding, ensuring a

great day and £70,000 raised

for vulnerable street children. A

big thank you to everyone who

contributed to making the event

such a success, in particular our

tournament sponsor VolkerRail

and Nuffield Health for giving

amazing sports massages.’

The tournament is the

brainchild of Katie Ferrier, a

senior programme manager at

Network Rail. ‘The continued

success of this charity

tournament is an inspiring

response for a great cause and

its significance goes beyond the

money alone.

‘At the heart of this event’s

success is the generosity of

the competitors and volunteers

involved, all coming together and

helping to give a louder voice

to the millions of street children

across the world,’ said Katie.

Morson International were

the winners (pictured). The day

concluded with an evening with

rugby legend Kyran Bracken,

sponsored by ABC Electrification.

Touch rugby win for Railway Children

BTP Safeguarding help

reporting of incidents and

to increase availability of

emergency accommodation for

16 and 17 year olds.

Says Mark Newton, ‘We all

have a responsibility to look

after children and whilst these

incidents are rare, if you see

something that doesn’t feel

right, please report it to us,

however small or insignificant

you may think it is. Your

information may just help to

save a young life.’

aid to a young woman. I didn’t ask

her age, but I could see she was

really just a teenager. Her face was

really cut up. I needed to clean her

injuries but she said, ‘don’t touch

me - I’m HIV positive.’ I persuaded

her that it was OK and anyway I

had gloves on.

‘She let me help her and talked

to me a bit. I asked her how she

got hurt and she said, ‘at work.’ She

was working in the sex industry.

She called herself a dancer. I gave

her the number for MASH - a

sexual health charity. This was

before the SCT training and before

our work with Railway Children. I

don’t know what happened to her

- or if she accessed any help - but I

still think about her.’

The programme has seen

different elements of the railway -

station staff, train crew and police

- coming together to make a real

difference. Supporters hope the

programme will be expanded

across the rail network. A recent

SCT Champions training day in

Leeds was a great success. More

are planned. To get involved contact

[email protected] or go to

www.railwaychildren.org.uk/SCT

been deprived of that right. By

simply starting a conversation and

passing on the right contact details,

maybe we can ensure that some

of these young people get some

of that back.’

At Manchester Piccadilly

enthusiastic staff, alert to the

dangers young people face, are

starting conversations, looking

again rather than dismissing what

looks like antisocial behaviour.

‘I’m keen to roll out the training

to other more remote rail locations

in my new role. I would like to take

the training to trackside staff who

might be the first to see a young

person trespassing on the line. I

would like them to understand that

they need to do more than just

getting that person away from the

line. They can talk to them too.’

HIV positive ‘I’ve seen so much at Piccadilly

over the years - especially on

night shifts. There’s one incident

that really sticks in my mind - from

years ago. It was about 03.30 on a

Saturday morning. The station was

full of drunk young people hanging

around. I was called to give first



Prior to any significant construction

or remedial works being

undertaken on the infrastructure

a ground investigation (GI)

is carried out. So what is the

purpose of a GI?

A ground investigation is

carried out in order to enable

a geotechnical and geo-

environmental assessment

of the ground conditions and to analyse the

engineering and environmental considerations

related to the proposed site.

These investigations are usually carried

out initially at GRIP 2/3 stage and then a more

detailed Investigation at GRIP3/4 once the single

option has been decided upon. So what sort of

equipment carries out this challenging work? In

short, the most suitable type of plant for the job.

Bridgeway Consulting Ltd specialises in

planning and executing the most challenging

of GI’s on the network by utilising an array of

standard and bespoke equipment.

WHAT LIES BENEATH


42 GEAR+TECH RAILSTAFF JULY 2016

TRIAL PITTINGThe basic method of attaining sub-strata

information on or off track. On track generally

hand dug due to the cost of on-track plant

and the limited working area.

Pros: Relatively cheap, able to extrude

large bulk samples for testing, easy to gain

California Bearing Ratio (CBR) readings from

base of the pit employing TRL probe, exposes

foundations to structures, allows good

examination of material types and layers in-

situ, allows slow careful excavation to expose

services.

Cons: Limited information for design

purposes can be gained, limited depth

without Form C for temporary works design

(shoring) in rail environment, limited in location

with regards to the track support zone.

WINDOW SAMPLINGThe workhorse of rail GI. These relatively

lightweight rigs are easily transportable by

hand trolley and manoeuvrable on track. The

maximum depths achievable are dependent

upon ground types and conditions which

should be ascertained and estimated at

desktop study phase.

WS RIG

Pros: Maximum achievable depth 12m

drilling 15m probing, strength profiling

possible DP-H, DP-SH, & SPT, cased

holes, good sample recovery, disturbed &

undisturbed samples (Ut70) samples possible,

Portable on site, moved via hand trolley on

track, 108mm diameter maximum decreasing

with depth.

Cons: Requires possession of the line or

safeguarded (all lines blocked) line blockage,

decreasing diameter sampler gives limited

sample size for testing.

ROTARY PERCUSSIVEDRILLING

Rotary rigs are conventionally used to

‘follow on’ when a cable percussive rig

hits bedrock. These rigs have the ability to

take quality samples of bedrock for further

geotechnical testing.

COMMACHIO GEO 205PERCUSSIVE RIG

Pros: Maximum achievable depth 60m,

standard mob 20m equipment, strength

profiling possible through DP-SH & SPT, cased

holes, good sample recovery, disturbed and

undisturbed samples (U100, Ut100) samples,

cored samples of bedrock, can core through

platforms & car parks, 20m per eight-hour

shift achievable depth with testing in suitable

ground conditions.

Cons: Difficult to access track side without

road rail vehicle, Noisy for night works as it

runs a compressor in addition to the engine,

Requires relatively large working space

compared to other methods available.

SLOPE DRILLINGWhile slope climbing rigs have been around

and utilised for a number of years, over the

past few years they have been embraced in

the rail sector as they allow the works to be

conducted often with the line open to traffic.

IBEXBESPOKE SLOPE CLIMBING RIG

Pros: Can access up to and including 55

degree slope from greenfield/brownfield

access, maximum achievable depth 30m,


profiling possible through DP-SH & SPT,

cased holes, can rotary auger, good sample

recovery, disturbed and undisturbed samples

(U100, Ut100) samples, cored samples of

bedrock, quick installations.

Cons: Large machine, track access requires RRV, mobilisation costs are quite high due to size and weight for haulage, not as powerful conventional rotary rig as the GEO 205, noisy for night works as it runs a compressor in addition to the engine, requires relatively large working space.

CABLE PERCUSSIVECable rig drilling has been the mainstay

of the GI industry for many, many years.

Conventional cable rigs are large, bulky

and have to be towed by a vehicle. BCL

developed a cable rig transportable like a

Window Sample Rig to work in areas usually

inaccessible to this proven method of

investigation.

D1500TRACK PERCUSSIVE RIG

Pros: Maximum achievable depth 50m,


profiling possible through SPT, cased holes

6 inch standard, 8 inch possible for shallow

depths, good sample recovery, disturbed and

undisturbed samples (U100, Ut100) samples,

12m per 8 hour shift achievable depth with

testing in good ground conditions

Cons: Not the same pull back power as a

standard rig but far more mobile. Mast has

to be stripped to ensure the rig is under the

maximum permissible weight for hand trolleys.


RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 GEAR+TECH 43

SOMME OFFENSIVE MARKED BY RAILWAY

The rail industry

continues its

commemoration of

the First World War

with a series of events

to mark the Battle of

the Somme in which

one million soldiers

were either killed or

wounded. On the first

day alone 57,000 British troops died.

The Somme Offensive lasted from

1 July 1916 until November.

Staff from TransPennine Express

(TPE) took part in the Somme

commemoration parade on Friday

1 July 2016 in Manchester. Matt Strode,

a TPE driver based at Manchester

Piccadilly, said, ‘I served in the Royal

Navy as an Able Seaman Radar

Operator for seven years from 1992

– 1999, aboard the HMS Exeter and

HMS Glasgow. I served in Singapore,

Mombasa and most of Europe too,

but on Friday the main reason I was

marching is to honour the memory of

my great uncle, William John Strode,

who was killed at the Battle of the

Somme at just 19 years of age.’

We’re here because we’re here

Men dressed as soldiers in First

World War uniforms visited trains and

stations, sang marching songs and

handed out cards with the names

of soldiers who fell. Cities visited

included London, Belfast, Sheffield,

Manchester and Glasgow.

The National Railway Museum

(NRM) marked the day by opening

a new exhibition featuring the

Ambulance Trains used to ferry

thousands of seriously injured troops

away from the front.

Descendants of ambulance train

medical staff gathered with museum

experts to mark the anniversary

by opening the new display, which

explores the little-known story of the

trains that evacuated injured soldiers.

Ambulance trains reconstructed

The centrepiece of the exhibition is

an historic railway carriage of the type

that would have been converted for

use in a First World War ambulance

train, transformed inside and out to

recreate the atmosphere on board

these hospitals on wheels.

The carriage has been carefully

transformed both inside and out

to enable visitors to step on board

and move through spaces including

a ward, a pharmacy and a nurses’

mess room. Digital projection, sound

and historic images, alongside

interior fittings, recreated an intense

atmosphere of these confined trains.

Jane Sparkes, interpretation

developer at the NRM, said the

exhibition, Ambulance Trains, not

only explores stories of the wounded

soldiers who travelled with their

harrowing memories of warfare,

but also the medical staff who

worked tirelessly in claustrophobic

conditions to provide comfort and

care.

‘It also looks at the railway workers

who built the carefully designed trains

at incredible speed to keep up with

demand, and the wider public who

saw the grim reality of the overseas

war when these trains pulled into

British stations.’

'Their name

liveth for ever

more.'

REPORT BY ANDY MILNE


44 FEATURE RAILSTAFF JULY 2016

SOMME OFFENSIVE MARKED BY RAILWAY

Nurses honoured

Among the descendants of

ambulance train medics gathered

to open the exhibition was Caroline

Stevens, whose ancestor Kate Evelyn

Luard worked on an ambulance train

in France for the entirety of the First

World War. Caroline Stevens said, ‘My

great-aunt Kate Evelyn Luard worked

on First World War ambulance trains

for the first year of the war.

‘From 1915-1918, she also served

in a field ambulance and as sister in

charge of casualty clearing stations

on the Western Front. She carried

out her duties with unfaltering

composure and dedication to those

in her care under difficult and often

dangerous conditions and was one

of the few nurses to be awarded a

Bar to her Royal Red Cross. We are

delighted to be at the opening of

the National Railway Museum’s new

exhibition which has been inspired

by people like her and which

features extracts from the numerous

letters she sent back to her family

from France.’

Barbed wire The Battle of the Somme was an

attempt by the French and British

to break the emerging stalemate

on the Western Front. The attack

was launched on a 20-mile long

front, from north of the Somme

river between Arras and Albert. An

eight-day bombardment failed to

destroy German positions or barbed

wire entanglements. British troops

running across open ground were

often caught in the barbed wire and

mown down by machine gun fire.

Allied commanders continued to send

French and British troops over the top

all summer.

Railways on battlefieldsA further exhibition, now on tour at

stations around the country, highlights

the role played by railways in the

Somme Offensive.

Jeremy Higgins, customer service

director of CrossCountry Trains and

author of Great War Railwaymen:

Britain’s Railway Company Workers

at War 1914-1918, said, ‘The Somme

is rightly remembered for its

unprecedented loss of life. With

military stalemate on the horizon,

the railway stepped in to support

the delivery of vital supplies to

the Western Front: thanks to the

leadership of senior railwaymen

such as Sir Eric Geddes, new rail

developments helped change Britain’s

military fortunes, leading to eventual

victory in 1918.’

Reginald and Gerald Wilkinson

Organised by the Rail Delivery Group

the exhibition tells the story of how

Britain’s railwaymen revolutionised

military operations by building battlefield

railway lines. By 1917, over 2,000 miles

of track had been laid on the Western

Front. This helped ensure ammunition

and supplies reached the frontline.

Approximately 1,000 railwaymen were

killed at the Somme.

The exhibition features the story of

two of them – Reginald and Gerald

Wilkinson, brothers from Yorkshire

who had worked for the North Eastern

Railway. Both men were killed on 1

July 1916, the first day of the Battle of

the Somme. The exhibition will be at

York station until September when it

moves to Swansea until October then

Birmingham New Street through till

December 2016. In the new year it

moves to Glasgow Central for January

and February 2017. ‘Their name liveth

for ever more.’

'The Somme

is rightly

remembered

for its unprec-

edented loss

of life...'

All Photos © NRM


RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 FEATURE 45

Irish Rail currently use two General Motors built

locomotive types for their passenger and freight

requirements, the 1976 built ‘071 class’ and the 1994/5

built ‘201 class’. The 071 class were the prime Intercity

locomotives on passenger services. 18 years later, the

more powerful and faster 201 class flew in - the first (201)

being delivered by an Antonov An-124 aircraft arriving

from Canada on 9 June 1994. The 201 then assumed

most main line passenger duties with the 071’s being

used on freight and departmental services.

Tim Casterton reports on the milestones reached this year

for both types - the 071s turning 40 and the 201s reaching a

point where a ‘mid-life’ refurbishment is required following 20

years of hard acceleration, fast running and frequent stops

taking its toll.

New engines at mid-life refurbishment for 201sThe Iarnród Éireann 201 class, built in 1994/95 by General

Motors in London, Ontario was an order of 34 locomotives –

32 for IÉ and two for Northern Ireland Railways (208 and 209)

for the jointly operated cross-border ‘Enterprise’ services.

There are three variations with locomotives 201 to 205 and 210

to 214 supplied with fixed buffers and shackle couplings most

suited for freight use.

The remaining locos were modified before delivery to

have retractable buffers, electronic fuel gauges, automatic

or shackle coupling options and push-pull capability. For

operating the cross-border ‘Enterprise’ passenger services,

nine are fitted with HaslerRail 2500 Event recorders, NIR train

radio and TPWS/AWS.

By 2014 after twenty years of intense use and with a life

expectancy of 40 – 45 years, the class was due for a midlife

refurbishment as reliability was becoming an issue. Having

seen the success of the replacement of the HST engines in

the UK, Peter Smyth, the Chief Mechanical Engineer, looked at

the feasibility of replacing the ‘as built’ EMD 12-710G3B diesel

engines with a more fuel efficient type.

Although one of the most widely used types of engine used

internationally, it is basic 2 stroke with mechanical fuel with a

maximum power output of 3200hp (2,388kW). It also pre-dates

current emissions standards.

Technical visitsSmyth set a project brief to replace the current engine,

coolers, generator and loco control system with a modern, fuel

efficient replacement. The specification is to meet continued

mixed traffic use on 160 kph / 100mph push-pull passenger

trains and freight trains of various tonnage up to 1300t gross

weight (trials are currently taking place for longer freight trains).

To assess what the market could offer a number of companies

in the UK and Europe were visited.

Bogies and traction motors will remain

as now.

The current axle weight is 18.6 tones

and to maintain the current tractive

effort capabilities the re-engineered

locomotives will need to retain a

similar weight which may require some

ballasting.

Smyth received assistance from

Derby-based industry consultant

Russell Birnie for a feasibility study and

when that was completed in mid-2015

it showed a strong business case to

repower based on reduced life cycle

costs from maintenance and fuel

savings.

The study considered the suitable

engine types available in the market

and evaluated them considering various

scenarios. Birnie also assisted with a

technical specification.

Market interestIn March 2016 tendering for the work

commenced. Smyth advises that the

project created considerable interest

from the market. A lead integrator was

sought to take the locomotive and to

engineer and implement the solution

including choice of engine – the study

considers solutions of 1, 2 or 3 engines

could be possible.

Evaluation of tender returns is being

carried out this year with a contract

award being made early 2017. A

prototype will be developed and from

2017 to 2019 up to 4 locomotives at

any time will be worked on. The initial

requirement is for 22 locomotives with

options on a further 12. The 22 include

two owned by Translink Northern

Ireland Railways (208 and 209) and the

company has been involved and is fully

supportive of the project.

V.I.P. Charter use loomsTwenty two locomotives are currently

required for services employed on

the push-pull passenger trains on the

WORKHORSE LOCOMOTIVE REACH MILESTONES

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN

Cork line whilst the ‘Enterprise’ cross-

border services to Belfast sees them

used on the Bombardier push-pull

carriages. Number 216 is currently

being overhauled and re-painted as

the Belmond ‘Royal Hibernian’ luxury.

charter train. The class also sees regular

use on the IWT freight trains from Dublin

Port to Ballina.

Forty Years of the IÉ 071 Class2016 marks the 40th Anniversary of

the introduction of the Irish Rail 071 class

locomotive and it is being celebrated

with tours organised by the IRRS and

the RPSI. These revered diesel electric

locomotives were built at the LaGrange,

Illinois works of General Motors EMD in

1976 with an order of 18 type JT22CW

being placed.

Despite a few bumps and bruises

along the way all remain in service

in 2016. The 18 locomotives were

transported from the USA to Ireland

on Lykes Lines barge carrier ‘MV Tillie

Lykes’, arriving in Dublin Bay on 2

September 1976. Following off-loading

they were towed to Inchicore for

commissioning.

CIE and General MotorsFrom the early 1960s CIE had fallen

in love with General Motors (GM)

locomotives following earlier issues

with locomotives sourced from UK

companies. The smaller GM 121, 141 and

181 classes of Bo-Bo wheel arrangement

locomotives ran on the Irish network

for around 50 years and the 071 was

basically a development of these.

The 071s at 57’ in length were

around 13 feet longer, had a Co-Co

wheel arrangement and a top speed of

90mph with mixed traffic capabilities.

As delivered they had General

Motors 12 cylinder 645 E3C turbo

charged engines developing 2450 hp

at 900 rpm and with 2250 hp being

available for traction. The use of a

turbocharger gave some 50 per cent



IARNRÓD ÉIREANN

greater power than was achieved

from a similar sized engine. Traction is

supplied through six axle-hung, nose

suspended series wound motors

driving independently.

Maximum tractive effort is 65,000

lbf with a continuous tractive effort

of 42,390 lbf (at 15.1 mph) providing

1823hp power at rail. Following an

engine failure that couldn’t be rectified,

locomotive 076, was re-fitted with a

645 E3E engine sourced from Sweden.

All of the locomotives are fitted with

straight air brakes.

Introduction to serviceFollowing delivery, an industrial

dispute resulted in the class being

stored at Inchicore Works for around 9

months with the first service train, the

14:30 Dublin to Cork, being worked by

082 on 23 May 1977. Once introduced

the locos could be seen operating

passenger services on all main lines

from Dublin except initially the Rosslare

line and the Great Northern route to

Belfast.

By autumn of that year the class were

noted on Knock Pilgrimage trains (to

Claremorris) and other special workings.

In 1979, the locos took over workings

on the line to Rosslare, however due

to interoperability requirements of

the ‘Enterprise’ services to Belfast,

introduction was delayed until 1982

when Northern Ireland Railways

purchased three similar locomotives

(designated 111 class) to operate the

jointly run services.

It wasn’t until 1996 that the class was

able to work the Ballina Branch due to

strengthening works being required

to the Moy bridge. Early in their career

the Co-Co bogies suffered some

issues, but these were resolved by

fitting additional dampers. The class

remained on front line passenger trains

until the introduction of the 201 class

locomotives in 1994 and of the 22000

class ICR railcars from 2007 onwards.

Four liveries over 40 years Initially locomotives wore a black

and tan livery with the CIE ‘broken

wheel’ logo displayed on the cab fronts.

Over the years new liveries have been

applied, the first revision being the

‘Supertrain’ livery with a bright orange

colour and the ‘plug’ logo.

Once the 201 class had arrived in

service and had taken over principle

passenger trains and subsequently

with Inter City Railcars operating the

remaining passenger services, the 071

class became the primary freight and

permanent way train loco on the Irish

network. Post 2011 a new freight livery

of black and silver was applied to the

class with the orange finally vanishing in

May 2013.

The latest livery is the ‘slate grey’ with

077 being the first painted in it in April

2013. The repaint into ‘slate grey’ also

coincided with substantial body work

and bogie overhauls. UIC numbers

are being applied (for example – 071

becomes 0117071). Whilst initially only

the UIC numbers were applied, now

the IÉ three figure number is also being

displayed. At the time of writing around

two-thirds of the class have received

the new livery.

None of the 071 class were named,

however 082 carries a commemorative

plaque in Irish and English reading

‘CUMANN NA NINNEALTOIRI / THE

INSITUTION OF ENGINEERS OF

IRELAND’. 071 and 076 both carry a

plaque to commemorate the 40 years

of services and this reads: ’40 years

1976 – 2016’ (with the old CIE ‘flying

snail’ logo underneath).

Overhauls and modificationsFrom 2011 onwards body repairs

were carried out to the locos at

Inchicore Works. A more substantial

repair and overhaul programme was

commenced in 2013 encompassing

engine rebuilds, refurbishing bogies,

under-floor piping renewal, air

tanks, new cab metal work and sealing to prevent drafts.

Modifications include: a new handbrake system, a Driver

Reminder Appliance (DRA) to reduce SPADs and structural

modifications to under-frame mounted diesel fuel tanks.

AccidentsTwo of the 071 class were sadly involved in serious

accidents involving loss of life. On 1 August 1980 number 075

was involved in the Buttavant derailment (2 miles north of

Mallow). The derailment occurred due to poor practice whilst

permanent way works were being undertaken and resulted in

the loss of 18 lives with 62 recorded injuries.

On 21 August 1983, 086 was involved in slow speed collision

in poor weather with the rear of a failed train at Cherryville (near

Kildare), this resulting in seven deaths and 55 injuries. The high

toll on the latter collision was due to wooden bodied carriages

and resulted in recommendations for restrictions in their use.

Trailblazers and tours This year several members of the class (076, 077, 079 and

083) were involved in the Irish Railway Record Society (IRRS)

celebratory tour to Limerick, Cork, Tralee and Waterford over

the weekend of 9 and 10 April. The RPSI operated a 40th

Anniversary diesel tour on 13 May as a prelude to the weekend

steam tour and IÉ repainted the class leader back into the

orange and black livery for this.

076 working the first container train from Dublin for 4 years

on 20 August 2009 and 081 the first diesel hauled passenger

train to both M3 Parkway and Docklands stations. In 2015 the

class were used to haul the first luxury railtour of Ireland, the

“Emerald Isle Explorer”, operated by Railtours Ireland.

Future assuredThe 071 class is still in great demand on freight services from

Navan, Dublin, Westport and Ballina as well as permanent way

materials trains. On freight services, two are required every

weekday on the Tara Mines to Dublin Port ore trains and they

see regular use on the IWT and DFDS intermodal trains and

pulpwood trains. With the current overhauls and the possibility

of more freight workings on the cards, the future requirement

for all 18 locomotives looks assured for some time yet.





Freightliner Poland has taken delivery of the first of six new Dragon locomotives to bolster capacity for its growing Polish business.

In a special ceremony at Warsaw’s

Warszawa Wschodnia station the loco was

named ‘Ernest Malinowski’ – after the Polish

railway engineer and Peruvian freedom

fighter.

The Newag Dragon locomotives are built

in Gliwice, Upper Silesia, by Newag S.A. a

railway rolling stock manufacturing company

based in Nowy Sącz, southern Poland.

Ernest Malinowski was born in Poland in

1818 and raised in France where his father fled

after problems with the Russians - at that time

occupying Poland.

After studying at the National School of

Roads and Bridges, graduating in 1838, Ernest

Malinowski worked in Algeria and France

before moving to Peru.

The country was still trying to shake off

Spanish hegemony. Malinowski helped

build defences and commanded artillery

units at Port of Callao on the Pacific Coast.

The Spanish were unable to land their fleet

and Peru’s independence was assured.

Malinowski was proclaimed a national hero.

He went on to build the Central Trans-

Andean Railway - in 1870 - the then highest

altitude railway in the world. At the highest

point of the railway stands a memorial to

Ernest Malinowski. He died in 1899.

Fifty rail workers from Network Rail’s S&C South Alliance have transformed the grounds of Stratford upon Avon Youth Hostel.

They completed more than £10,000 of

landscaping and maintenance work in a

single day. The rail effort was part of S&C

South Alliance’s pledge to donate 1,000 days

of volunteering over the next 12 months.

The Youth Hostel is on Wellesbourne

Road in Alveston and work involved clearing

vegetation, replacing fences and undertaking

essential maintenance work.

As well as supplying staff, S&C South

Alliance also brought plant and equipment

used to maintain the rail network to undertake

substantial landscaping work. A disused

area of the car park was formed into the

New Shakespeare’s Amphitheatre. The new

outdoor theatre will be used by the hundreds

of students and school groups who visit the

Youth Hostel as part of their studies each year.

Stephen Dodgson, manager of YHA Stratford

upon Avon, said, ‘I am overwhelmed at what

has been achieved in a day by so many people.

‘The work has made a huge difference to

the youth hostel.

‘The new amphitheatre looks amazing, and

I can’t wait to see it put to use by the school

groups that stay with us. It will make their

stay at YHA Stratford upon Avon even more

memorable.’

YHA is a charity and aims to inspire people

to broaden their horizons through adventure

and discovery.

Rail help for youth hostel

Spirit of Peru

A team of intrepid cyclists from ATA Derby plans to raise money for Railway Children with a tough 1,000 mile cycle ride round Carsington Water in Derbyshire.

All the riders have been training hard in

the lead up to the challenge on 16 July.

As well as riders, the team is

fielding a dedicated array of first

aiders, mileometre-ologists, caterers,

puncture repairers and cheerleaders.

All that ’s needed now are donations

- go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.

com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/

showFundraiserProfilePage.

action?userUrl=ATABikeChallenge2016

ATA plans 1000 miler

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Railway staff at Thameslink have been helping unemployed locals in Luton. Working with Noah Enterprise, local station managers, Joe Healy and Sam Bowler, devised a programme which included help with interview techniques, a trip to Hornsey depot and lunch with Thameslink’s senior team in London.

Says Sam, ‘It’s been all about

building the confidence of

those involved and helping

them realise that they are

worthwhile individuals. By giving

them a little time and treating

them with respect they have

all really brightened up. When

they came to King’s Cross, we

had a small lunch where the

top teams spent time talking to

them. Apparently they had not

experienced anything like this

before. It’s quite humbling to see

a man actually stand a bit taller

and prouder as the day goes on.’

David, one of the participants,

who has now secured work in

Flitwick, said, ‘Before coming to

Noah, I had not been in work for

11 months and I felt my age was a

barrier to finding work.

‘My favourite part of the

course was the day trip to

Thameslink’s headquarters,

as this helped me to consider

different job roles that might

be available. The motivational

aspects of the course helped

me to understand my skills and

what I was looking for.’

Jim O’Connor MBE, chief

executive of Noah Enterprise is

delighted with the scheme. ‘A big

thank you to Sam, Joe and all

their colleagues. The visit to the

depot at Hornsey was a special

highlight and such a different

experience for our people. My

team puts great store by the

value of mentoring that has

been provided by Thameslink’s

managers. All of this is greatly

appreciated.’

More than 220 telent employees have joined forces to undertake a 1,100km-long relay around the UK to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The relay has two starting points

- one in the north and one in the

south - with the teams making their

way to the finish line at telent’s

headquarters in Warwick. Many

others will be volunteering their

time to plan the various relay

legs, pit-stop logistics and will

be supporting their colleagues

en route with refreshments and

general encouragement.

Says Mark Plato, chief executive

at telent, ‘I am delighted that so

many staff, as well as some of our

customers, are getting behind the

challenge.

‘Macmillan is an extremely

important charity as many of us

have and will be affected by

cancer in some way during our

lives.

‘Through continued donations

and fundraising efforts, Macmillan

is able to provide much needed

support during very difficult times.

We’ve set ourselves a target of

£100,000 and are asking people

to dig deep to support the charity’s

on-going efforts.’

Adam Nash, account manager

at Macmillan Cancer Support, is

enthusiastic about the ambitious

race. ‘We are delighted that our

corporate partnership with telent is

continuing to go from strength to

strength.

‘Their staff are really pushing

themselves with their fundraising,

and we’ll look forward to

supporting them through this huge

challenge as well.’

To support the telent team in

raising funds for Macmillan, please

donate here: www.justgiving.com/

teams/challenge1100

Integrated transport takes on a new and dynamic dimension this summer as Orion Group’s rail division joins Turn Eight Racing as a sponsor.

The aim is to spread the

message that the rail industry and

rail businesses can be winners

in every race. The message will

reach contractors and individuals

seeking work and training

opportunities.

Turn Eight driver Pip Hammond

walked away with an armful of

trophies after three wins and

three fastest laps at Snetterton

in June.

Says Orion Group’s marketing

and communications director,

Scott Burns-Smith, ‘Our rail

division is delighted to be

sponsoring Turn Eight Racing,

and we look forward to seeing

the team on the podium in 2016.

‘This is our first season with

the guys and we are hoping for a

successful year ahead on and off

the track.’

Driver Gavin Johnson says he’s

delighted to have won backing

from top performing Orion

Rail. ‘Orion values its people

and is known for operating

at a consistently high level.

Something we hope to emulate

as a racing team,’ he said.

Snetterton Racing Circuit in

Norfolk is among the best in the

business and has undergone a

refurbishment in recent years.

It’s based on the former airfield,

RAF Snetterton Heath, base of

the United States Army Air Force

heavy bomber squadrons in the

Second World War.

Challenge 1100 for telent staff

Taller and prouder

Orion racers take off

Baltic Training Services has played

an important role in our apprenticeship

programme, identifying people who

are relevant to our culture and offering

training and support alongside ours

once they’ve been recruited.

Tony Dougan Technology’s operation manager at Aspire

baltictraining.com

[email protected]

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Three times a week Russian Railways (RZD) train number

024 leaves Paris Gare de l’Est at 18.58 to arrive, just over 37

hours later, at Moscow’s Belorussky station. The train has 17

stops which include departures from Strasbourg at 23.25,

Berlin at 07.13, Warsaw at 13.40 and Minsk at 01.04.

There is quite a history of trains between Paris and Moscow. After 1945, there was no through service until 1960 when a train using Russian sleeping cars was introduced. In 1969, this train became the Ost-West Express which also included through coaches from

Ostend to Moscow. In 1994, this train only served Brussels and stopped running in 1999. A through Paris-Moscow sleeping car started in 2007 and took about 48 hours. In 2010, a train between Nice and Moscow was introduced. Such was the demand for these services that the Paris to Moscow train started in December 2011.

Branded teapot The train consists of three luxury sleeping cars, five standard

sleeping cars and a restaurant car. The luxury cars have four spacious double occupancy compartments with their own toilet and shower for which the fare is about £820. These were built in 1994 and were recently refurbished.

The standard cars have eight compartments configured for either first class, with two passengers, or second class, with four, as well as an attendant’s compartment and two toilets, one of which has a shower. The first class fare is around £320 and the second class about £220, slightly less for the upper berth. Occupants are given bedding and a key card for their compartment. Snacks are available from the attendant. A nice touch is the Paris-Moscow branded teapot in each compartment that can be filled with continuously available hot water in the attendant’s compartment. Drinking water is also available.

These standard cars were built under a RZD order for 200 sleeping coaches awarded to Siemens and Russian coach builder Tverskoy Vagonostroitelny Zavod in 2009. They are the first Russian-built vehicles to meet RIC standards for use on networks of International Union of Railways (UIC) members. They weigh 59 tonnes, can run at 200 km/h and have interchangeable Russian and standard gauge bogies.

NIGHT TRAINTO MOSCOWDAVID SHIRRES MAKES EUROPE'S

LONGEST TRAIN JOURNEY - THE 3,483KM

PARIS TO MOSCOW SERVICE RUN

BY RUSSIAN RAILWAYS (RZD)

Standard

sleeper

compartment.

Bogie change

at Brest.

52 INTERNATIONAL RAIL RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


Dinner with Russian familyI am on the train as RZD had invited me to

their 1520 Strategic Forum in Sochi. I share my four-berth compartment with Michal, Olga and their son Evgenia who welcomed me to ‘their’ compartment and insisted I share the meal they had brought onto the train. Their warm welcome was typical of my previous experience travelling on Russian trains. Although they speak little English, and I little Russian, I learn they are returning from a holiday in Paris and are to leave the train when it enters Belarus at Brest.

The train is full, although the restaurant car manager advises that it is less busy in winter. I wonder why people choose this train which takes 10 times longer than flying for about the same cost. He tells me that only about 40 per cent of its passengers are travelling from Paris to Moscow as many join and leave at Berlin and Warsaw. Some use the train because of the amount of luggage that can be carried for free. For others the experience of travelling on this train is an attraction in itself, especially for those who have treated themselves to the luxury cars.

Various overheads

The nine-coach, 523-tonne, train left Paris hauled by SNCF 25kV AC class BB 26000 locomotive. In Berlin and Warsaw there are stops at the city’s main station and one just beyond for operational reasons. In Berlin, the DB class 120 locomotive, which had hauled the train under the German 15kV 16 2/3 Hz AC electrification system was replaced by a Traxx class F140M locomotive that can operate under 25kV AC, 15kV AC, 3kV DC and 1.5kV DC overhead lines. This was needed to haul the train through both Germany and Poland, with its 3kV DC overhead line system.

At Warsaw, the restaurant car was removed. This is operated by the Polish train operating company, PKP Intercity. Its manager explained that this could not travel through to Moscow because of customs regulations. As it was the train’s third coach, its removal required a number of shunting moves.

Wheels within wheels

At the border between Terespot in Poland and Brest in Belarus, the train’s passengers faced their first customs and passport check to ensure that those travelling to Moscow had the required transit visa through Belarus. The train arrives at Brest at its standard gauge platforms. It is then shunted to a siding to empty toilet tanks and then, past sidings with dozens of bogies, to the two-road gauge changing shed. Here the train is split into two portions, each of which is split into individual coaches.

The standard gauge bogies were then disconnected and the coaches jacked up. These bogies were then pushed from under the coaches by a ‘train’ of Russian-gauge bogies moved by a cable system. Each Russian bogie was then positioned under its coach and the jacks lowered. It takes an hour to re-bogie the entire nine-coach train. This is done on tracks which are mid-gauge (between the 1435 mm standard gauge

NIGHT TRAINTO MOSCOW

RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 INTERNATIONAL RAIL 53


and 1520 mm Russian gauge). As a result, the standard gauge wheelsets have their rims near the railhead and Russian gauge wheelsets have their flanges against the rail.

Brest in the westMore shunting sees the Russian

restaurant car attached and the train moved to Brest’s Russian-gauge platforms. After a Russian class ChS4T 25 kV AC locomotive has been attached, the train leaves Brest 137 minutes after arriving at the station’s standard gauge platforms.

Although the Russian border is crossed at about 04.00, no-one is woken up for passport checks as the border check at Brest was also a passport check for Russia. At 09.21, RZD’s train 024 arrives on-time at Moscow’s Belorussky station.

At the head of the train is a ChS7T locomotive under 3kV DC overhead lines. After at least five locomotives, with a change of restaurant car and bogies the train has averaged 94 km/h between Paris and Moscow. It is certainly not the fastest journey

between the two cities but, for anyone with an interest in railways, it is the best way to travel.

Further information about this train is available from the man in seat 61 website.seat61.com/paris-moscow-express

Shunting at

Warsaw.

8,300 hp

Class ChS4T

locomotive at

Brest.

54 INTERNATIONAL RAIL RAILSTAFF JULY 2016


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has to offer young people, apprentices and graduates,

and I’m delighted to support them in encouraging

people to consider a career in the sector.’

Claire Perry MP, offered the support of the DfT

to help make Rail Week a success, saying, ‘We are

making the biggest investment in the railways since

the Victorian era, with major projects such as HS2

and Crossrail improving journeys for passengers right

across the country.

‘The career opportunities in rail are huge. And we

need skilled young people – men and women – to

build a future in the rail industry and help us deliver

these projects.

‘Who doesn’t remember waving at a train as a

child and the excitement we felt? It’s a question

of harnessing that enthusiasm and helping young

people understand what the possibilities are in rail.

‘That is what Rail Week is doing. I am delighted to

support it and I applaud the Young Rail Professionals’

initiative in making it a reality.’

The inaugural Rail Week has been a resounding

success, inspiring the industry to work collaboratively

to address the skills gap, and reaching thousands

of young people too. YRP and its partners are now

already planning for next year, learning lessons and

building upon the great groundwork to make 2017

bigger and better.

Turning vision into reality: our Rail Week journey

The concept of a national Rail Week was first

conceived by Young Rail Professionals in July 2014 as

we looked overseas to see what was being done to

attract young people to rail, and at what other sectors

were doing with similar goals.

Our vision for Rail Week was published in Autumn

2015, along with a strategy to deliver this pioneering

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALSRAIL WEEK: PIONEERS

TACKLE THE SKILLS CRISIS

The inaugural Rail Week took place at the end of June, a pioneering

initiative co-ordinated by Young Rail Professionals which aimed to

showcase the opportunities and diversity available across the industry,

inspiring future generations to join this thriving sector.

Over the course of a week more than 70 train operators,

infrastructure companies, government departments and charitable

bodies threw open their doors to give students, teachers, career

advisors and parents a behind-the-scenes look at how the rail industry

keeps the UK moving.

Rail Week reached more than 1,500 young people at schools,

colleges and universities with over 125 events taking place across the country. These

were reinforced by 100 Rail Week STEM Ambassadors who visited schools to run rail-

themed educational activities; YRP worked with the educational charity STEMNET to

deliver this ambitious outreach programme. Among the schools to welcome Rail Week

STEM Ambassadors were St Mary’s High School in Hereford, All Saints R.C. School in

York and Warminster School.

Rail Week also coincided with seven regional Big Bang Fairs organised by

Engineering UK, and Rail Week STEM Ambassadors reached out to hundreds of

children at each event.

Equally, the Rail Week team was determined that over the course of the seven

days there would be a celebration of the passion and variety that is central to the

success of our railway industry; the fastest-growing and safest in Europe. By showing

off the diverse roles, career paths and entry points, Rail Week also emphasised the

importance of ensuring that the industry is open to everyone, irrespective of gender,

background or ethnicity.

Needless to say, with such an array of events happening across the country from

Portsmouth to Glasgow, it’s impossible to list each one, but a few of the site tours

which stood out included:

• A visit to the partly-completed Crossrail station at Farringdon in central London,

hosted by Bechtel and Crossrail Ltd;

• A tour of the Bombardier rolling stock factory in Derby;

• A visit to the control centre for the Merseyrail network in Liverpool;

• The ‘Rocket to Bullet’ exhibition at the National Railway Museum, York.

Nor were visits and open days the sole focus. Reflecting on the many multifaceted

disciplines necessary to support a complex network, the Department for Transport

held a seminar looking at the commercial aspects of the rail industry; Arriva

CrossCountry offered an Introduction to train planning; and Temple Group highlighted

the sustainability lessons taken from recent major rail projects.

‘YRP and our members know first-hand that the rail sector is a great place to work,

with exciting projects to get involved in, good career prospects, and a wide range of

different roles to undertake,’ explains YRP national chairwoman Sabrina Ihaddaden.

‘Unfortunately, many children, parents and teachers don’t realise the variety of jobs

and opportunities available. We hoped to change this with Rail Week.

‘Through Rail Week, we gave young people, parents, teachers and career advisors

first-hand experience of the projects, ideas and technology leading the sector today.

We welcomed them in to see behind the scenes of some of the biggest and most

innovative projects and show them how exciting and varied an industry rail is.’

‘The need to attract highly-skilled and capable talent is one of the biggest

challenges and most exciting opportunities facing the rail industry,’ added Nicola

Shaw, outgoing chief executive of HS1 Ltd and author of the recent Shaw Report into

Network Rail. ‘The long-term future of the sector is dependent upon drawing in ever

more diverse talent to the fantastic careers that are available in rail. Initiatives like Rail

Week are commendable for the work that they do in highlighting what the rail industry


56 YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS RAILSTAFF JULY 2016

initiative. The ambition was huge,

but in order to make an impact we

knew we needed a lot more than

just a list of possible events and a

database of ambassadors.

Our PR, communications,

branding and website workstreams

were created to help the industry

and education engage with Rail

Week. We also needed to equip

ambassadors and interested

companies with resources and

activities to promote the rail sector

in its best light.

Our Education Resources and

Industry Promotion workstreams

developed these materials, thus

creating a crucial repository for

the future. Rail Week’s interactive

activities are designed to help

young people understand how

their knowledge can be applied in

the real world.

YRP is always reliant upon

young people donating their

spare time in evenings and

weekends to deliver all of its

activities, and Rail Week was our

most ambitious challenge yet.

Our strategy recognised this, and

we sought help from industry

partners to provide support to our

workstreams.

In a fragmented rail sector

which is running to keep pace with

demand, it was always going to be

down to the volunteers of YRP to

take the lead in getting Rail Week

across the finishing line. But we

did have important assistance in

key areas, including funding for

public relations activity provided

through the High Speed Industry

Leaders’ Group.

In addition, YRP has managed

the Routes into Rail Universities

Presentation Programme for two

years and we know how tough

it can be to manage complex

events programmes. For this

reason we approached the

educational charity STEMNET

to help us form Rail Week STEM

Ambassadors, connecting the

rail industry to schools across the

country.

In spring of this year, more

and more industry players

were expressing an interest in

taking part in Rail Week, and

our workload became more

taxing still. Thanks to a generous

grant from the Department

for Transport, Department of

Business, Innovation & Skills,

Rail Alliance and the Railway

Industry Association, YRP was

able to hire Hannah Jones as Rail

Week delivery manager for three

months.

Hannah has been the unsung

hero behind Rail Week giving it

real momentum and transforming

the vision into reality. Under her

SUMMERBBQ

Happening in a region near you!

Meet like minded professionals, hear from our committees and find

out more about the YRP.

Good food, good company

Find out more about this, our latest news and events on our

website

youngrailpro.com

Network Rail and the Institute of Civil Engineering

(ICE) visited Twechar Primary School to help

encourage its pupils to become the engineers of

the future with an innovative hands-on workshop

– the Bridges to Schools initiative.

watch, Rail Week expanded from

25 participating companies to 66,

and from a dozen events to 125.

YRP would also like to give

credit to the following people

who’ve made outstanding

contributions to Rail Week:

• Giulia Lorenzini, RSSB

• Nick Kingsley, Railway Gazette

• Olivia White, TfL

• May-Ann Lew, SNC-Lavalin

• Mohanad Ismail, Telent

• Mutsa Kamudzandu, Telent

• Temi Afolabi, Lendlease

• Tom Aley, CPC Project Services

Lastly we must also give

particular credit to Adam Stead of

Instead Consulting. A former YRP

chair, Adam has led Rail Week

from its inception; conceiving

the idea and vision, and bringing

the programme team and

industry together to achieve the

unprecedented.

Our thanks also go to YRP’s

Corporate Members, without

whose continuing financial support

initiatives such as Rail Week would

not be possible.

The Shaw report published in

March 2016 called for a pan-

industry strategic focus on skills

and diversity in rail. We hope

we have risen to the challenge

through Rail Week, and we

look forward to continuing to

collaborate with the rail industry to

bridge the skills gap in 2017 and

beyond.

For more information on Rail

Week, visit www.railweek.com or

email [email protected].

SUMMERBBQ

Happening in a region near you!

Meet like minded professionals, hear from our committees and find

out more about the YRP.

Good food, good company

Find out more about this, our latest news and events on our

website

youngrailpro.com


57 RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

There was a time when women ruled the railway. By the end of the First

World War, an estimated 70,000 women worked on the network. Then,

as their male counterparts returned from the front line, they were either

let go or shuffled back into their pre-war roles.

Things have moved on in the decades since. Now the railway wants

them back.

In some areas the industry has been progressive: women now occupy

senior leadership roles in a way they didn’t 30 years ago and female

students are no longer blocked from certain careers on the railway

altogether. But the number of women in the rail industry, and engineering

more widely, hasn’t radically improved, and if things don’t change soon it could be

several generations before women are fairly represented.

NATIONAL WOMEN IN ENGINEERING DAYEngineering consultancy, AECOM made this point in the run up to National Women

in Engineering Day last month. The company suggested that if action isn’t taken,

it would be at least another generation before women are equally represented

in engineering fields. AECOM quoted figures from the Department for Business,

Innovation & Skills, which indicated that women make up less than 8 per cent of

apprentices in engineering and manufacturing technologies and that the numbers

have been tumbling, not rising, in the past few years.

‘I suppose it’s not really bothered me that I’m the only female in meetings,’ said

Philo Daniel-Tran, head of strategy at Thales. ‘What is nice as well though is to see that

there are more girls/women starting in fields of engineering and that the diversity has

improved, which just makes it a more natural working environment.’

Philo, alongside her colleagues Lydia Saunders and Lisa Walker, visited Prospects

College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT) in Basildon last month to speak to a

group of female students from the Chelmsford County High School for Girls about

what it is to be an engineer.

Thales, along with the likes of Eurostar, Virgin East Coast, Bombardier, Atkins and

TfL, sponsors PROCAT’s railway academy and uses the facility to train its apprentices.

The academy has its own full-size, functioning station platform, which includes

equipment donated by Thales.

The specialist technical college says it is engaging with its employers to encourage

more young women to pursue apprenticeships in rail engineering, but currently only 5

per cent of PROCAT’s engineering apprentices are female. Numbers did improve last

year, but it was a small increase overall.

Reflecting on what it is like to be a woman in the engineering sector, Philo said that

throughout her 20-year career she had ‘never felt wrongly done by’.

‘I’ve always felt like I’m just another individual,’

she said. ‘I’m good at what I do and I’ve been

there doing my work and I’m the best at what I

do, which is why I’ve got to the next position…

so I’ve never really felt that I’m a female and I’m

special or unique in that way.

‘I’m just another engineer doing my day job

and working with my colleagues, and they just

happen to be mostly male, sometimes they’re

female.’

Lydia (pictured above), a human factors

engineer, and Lisa, a systems engineer, both

agreed. It’s a scenario they’ve just grown to

accept. Speaking to one of PROCAT’s female

apprentices, it seems the new generation share

this view. ‘You just learn how to handle it,’ said

Sarah Stoppel, 20, a telecomms apprentice with

Thales. She is the only woman on her course,

but that doesn’t faze her.

Says Sarah, who is at the end of her second

year at PROCAT, ‘I started doing electronics

when I was like 13/14, and I was the only girl in

that… I’ve only ever been the only girl and I just

get used it.’

OUTREACH PROGRAMMEAre individuals like Sarah and Philo the

exception? Is engineering really just for boys or

is that rubbish? ‘Yeah, I think it is rubbish. I think

it’s about knowing what’s out there,’ says Philo.

Thales’ transportation business, as part of a

wider UK STEM outreach programme within

the company, has so far visited more than

25 schools, addressing in excess of 3,000

students aged between 14 and 16. It appears

to be having some success already. Of the

applications Thales received for its most recent

work experience week, around 40 per cent

were from female students.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST FOR THE SAKE OF OUR FUTURE

WOMEN INENGINEERING

REPORT BY MARC JOHNSON


58 TRAINING RAILSTAFF JULY 2016

"I'm just another

engineer doing

my day job..."

Philo Daniel-Tran

Says Philo, ‘I think if you give them all the same

information, they make the decisions based on their

preferences, that this is actually a viable career and a great,

rewarding career to have.’

Some of the other stories to come out of National

Women in Engineering Day showed that many want to see

the end of the ‘used to it’ mentality shared by women in the

rail industry.

Women in Rail announced its list of the 20 Most

Inspirational Women in Rail, illustrating some of the

notable female role models within the industry. Women in

Construction, another organisation which promotes the

role of women in STEM fields, said it had placed its 600th

candidate into paid employment since 2011. The press

release announcing the news included a quote from Sir

Terry Morgan, who spoke about the success Crossrail has

had in the area.

‘Crossrail is doing everything it can to make construction

an exciting and attractive career option for women,’ said

Sir Terry. ‘Thanks to partnerships with organisations like

Women into Construction, Crossrail has been able to give

opportunities to hundreds of women who would not have

considered construction as a career. The benefits of a

diverse workforce are clear, but the construction industry

must continue do much more to grow its talent pool and

create a workforce capable of delivering the huge pipeline

of projects planned.’

DIVERSE WORKFORCE

To mark the day, Network Rail published

testimonies from several of its female engineers

and managers, including its chief engineer

Jane Simpson, who believes that the industry’s

acceptance of the need for a diverse workforce

will lead to change.

‘The railway industry has and hasn’t changed

since I joined in 1996,’ said Jane. ‘The core of what

we need to deliver and the passion and ambition

of our people to deliver a safe, reliable service is

the same.

‘When I joined I couldn’t fail to be impressed

by how much passion staff have for the industry

to be successful and this hasn’t changed. What

has changed is the understanding that we need

to be more inclusive if we are to get a more

diverse workforce that is representative of the UK

population.’

The railway once fielded 70,000 women in the

UK’s hour of direst need. In a challenging future

rail bosses see Jane, Lydia, Lisa and the returning

thousands are the cavalry.

Thales is currently running a STEM outreach programme, visiting more than 25 schools...


RAILSTAFF JULY 2016 TRAINING 59

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