xc life autumn 2011

The magazine for CrossCountry peopleXCLifeAutumn 2011

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XCLife p1 31/8/11 15:39

Real time networkingcould have been madefor railway industry

2 XC Life Autumn 2011

THERE was a time when operating a safe andpunctual railway was the greatest challenge for trainoperators; a time when selling a ticket on the 10.00departure was simply a cheap day return; and whennewspapers were the most perishable productcarried by train.

Much of what we knew has changed, with therevolution in mobile communication and the growthof the internet. Aspects of our railway have beenchanged forever. We have become comfortableselling tickets on-line, replacing pocket timetableswith website enquiries and giving real time trainrunning information. But the pace of change keepsaccelerating and our challenge is to keep up.

The birth of Facebook and social networking(some would say very antisocial, given its role in therecent ‘riots’) seems an age ago. SMS TXTs are nowfree and unlimited and being challenged by ‘alwayson-line’ messaging and the world of tweets andblogs.

Inevitably such innovation brings with it otherchanges. Newspapers, struggling to provide ‘news’ inthe new world, now have more people monitoringtweets than traditional journalists. Businesses knowthey can tap into a world of like minded consumers,and so a receptive market, if they can feed Twitterand develop ‘followers’, or get people to ‘like’ themon Facebook. No longer do we think of marketingcampaigns, more of joining conversations betweenpotential consumers.

All this is challenging our world of travel inunusual ways. The recent major signal failure atWoking, which stranded people for several hours,gave rise to excessive tweeting by passengers, butnot all was aggressive and aimed at the traincompany. Some provided valuable information fromthe train which could have been used to prioritiseresponses and address the issues of greatest concernto those affected.

Meet the Manager sessions at stationsdemonstrate our openness and allow us to engage,but they are a bit of a tired idea. Now Tweet theManager opens us up to a much bigger audience andmakes us much more approachable. Why should suchcontact be the monopoly of ‘after the show’ eventsfor TV chefs and celebrities!

Our business continues to be about ‘people in timeand space’ and how we offer great service and getthem where they want to go. So real timenetworking could have been made for us! It allowsus to listen to our customers, engage with them andthen suggest the best service for them. If we get ourmessage across, then we harness the most powerfultool – promotion of our business by personalrecommendation. Of course we also need to keep aneye on the spread of half truth andmis-information! Today, everybody is a commentatorand can network their views with ease!

So ‘real time’ today really does mean ‘live’.And we used to think keeping our website

up-to-date was a big ‘ask’. Running a safe andpunctual railway remains our priority and our dailyfocus, but there are other parts of our businesstoday which run them a close second. But we are up to the challenge!

by Andy CooperMANAGING DIRECTOR,CROSSCOUNTRY

facebook.com/crosscountrytrains

THE next Arriva employee surveywill be launched towards the end ofOctober.

Both Arriva and CrossCountryare interested to know what youthink and to see if we have improvedon issues you told us aboutpreviously.

The employee survey is not justabout hearing what is felt to be good,but also understanding where weshould put in greater effort to make

CrossCountry an even betterbusiness and better place to work.

In response to the 2009 surveyresults the extensive communicationsreview last year led to many changesin how you receive information, withmanagement being more visiblethrough the new two-day staffforums.

This is your chance to tell us what you think.

Chris has a love forworld travel

ChrisLonghurst

with a souvenirof his timeworking in

India.

Chance to HAVE YOUR SAY

THEY call him the “travelling CSM”because he has visited 30countries by the age of 32.

Chris Longhurst took a Travel andTourism course at college and workedfor Lunn Poly and Thomson beforejoining the railways.

He was posted to India to build uphis knowledge of the country and laterworked as a holiday rep in Turkey.

During the course of his work and onfamily holidays the Birminghamcustomer service manager has had theopportunity to experience most of theworld’s tourism highspots.

In his current role in charge ofCrossCountry catering staff atBirmingham, he still travels – thoughon a far more limited scale, to carryout assessments.

XCLife p2 31/8/11 15:54 Page 1

4 XC Life Autumn 2011 crosscountrytrains.co.uk

XC Life focuses on Manchester centre - situated at one of the most important t

THE mainstays of the Manchesteroperation are John Hornby, NeilWignall, Janette Bradbury andTony McInerney.

Driver Team Manager John, aged41, who lives in Manchester citycentre, has been on the railwaysfor 25 years in various locationsincluding Reading, London andBristol.

He has been a driver managerfor the last 11 years afterpreviously serving as driverinstructor at Bristol.

John, who also provides cover atLeeds, enjoys cycling, travellingand mountain walking in his sparetime.

Driver Team Manager NeilWignall, aged 43, who lives inWigan, has also been on therailways for 25 years. His careerhas developed through driver,driver instructor and driverassessor to his current role.

Neil, who is married with threechildren, follows Wigan Athleticfootball club and also likes cycling,walking and being with his family.

Janette Bradbury, aged 40, lives

just outside Manchester and hasbeen Customer Service Managerfor 14 years.

The mum-of-one has worked onthe railways for 22 years includingposts in on-board catering,rostering and occupational health.

During time off she likes tospend quality time with her son

and goes swimming as often aspossible.

Team Organiser Tony McInerney,aged 48, who lives in the centre ofManchester, came to the railwaysfour years ago after running hisown hotel in Blackpool.

Previously he worked for BA as amember of long haul cabin crew.

Pictured outside the Tower Block at Piccadilly station where the Manchester TrainCrew Centre is based are members of the management team – Driver Team ManagerJohn Hornby, right, Driver Team Manager Neil Wignall, centre, Customer ServicesManager Janette Bradbury and Team Organiser Tony McInerney, second right. Alsopictured is Gareth McMurray, who spent four months at the Manchester Centreunder the graduate management trainee scheme.

DRIVER Julian Taylor, whohas been on the railwayssince 2000, championsManchester centre as “agreat workplace.”

Previously based inBournemouth for anumber of years, he hasmoved back North to becloser to his roots.

Originally from Whalley,he now lives with his wifeCarol in Bolton in aneighteenth-centuryschoolhouse whichoverlooks the birthplace ofspinning industry inventorSamuel Crompton.

Julian relishes driving hisdaily routes toBirmingham and Readingbecause of the technicalchallenges. “The speedschange quite frequentlyand you need to betechnically aware at alltimes,” he said.

He is glad to be back onhome turf because heappreciates the ‘drama’ ofthe Northern landscapes.

In fact he counts thescenery as he travels downtowards Macclesfield, withthe Pennines looming up inthe east, as among thefinest in the country.

In his spare time heplays tenor horn – and is aone-time member of theEdge Hill British Rail BrassBand.

Ideally Julian would liketo join another brass bandnow that he has returnedto the Greater Manchesterarea, but workcommitments mean thathe is planning instead toapproach SkelmersdalePrize Band with an offer ofplaying for them on anoccasional basis.

The former telecomsengineer, who has adaughter Rachel, aged 22,added: “I enjoy being basedat Tower Block becauseeveryone is so friendly –and we have amazingviews across Manchesterfrom the windows!”

Management team hasplenty of experience

Why driveris glad tobe backup North...

Driver Julian Taylor checks out the latest news in the mess room.

XCLife p4/5 31/8/11 15:56 Page 1

t terminals on the UK rail network and used by 28 million passengers a year

■ The shed at Piccadillystation, which firstopened in 1842, is Grade II listed.

■ Piccadilly isManchester’s principalstation and is used bymore than 28 millionpeople each year.

■ The station was rebuiltin 1960, at which time itgained its Piccadilly namehaving previously beenknown as London Road.The glass roof was

completely replaced inthe 1990s and the stationwas further remodelled inpreparation for the 2002 CommonwealthGames.

■ The area below thestation was converted toprovide two platforms forthe Manchester Metrolinksystem which opened in1992.

■ All CrossCountryservices from Manchesteruse Voyager trains.

Centre FACTFILE:

facebook.com/crosscountrytrains XC Life Autumn 2011 5

MANCHESTER is one of the moststrategic locations in the rail network.Since the very early days of rail travel

services to Bristol and Bournemouth, whichCrossCountry runs hourly, have provided acrucial link between the North and the South-West.

The weight of history is reflected by theBournemouth service still being referred to bymany as the ‘Pines Express’. The name hasbeen used, both officially and unofficially,since 1910 and is in recognition of the pinetrees growing in the chines (steep-sided rivervalleys) around Bournemouth.

The Manchester centre is based on theseventh floor of Tower Block, which rises upalongside the entrance to ManchesterPiccadilly station.

Given the high frequency of the services,it’s a busy work pattern for the centre’s 44 drivers, all of whom are supported withcompetence assessments to ensurecompliance with all aspects of safe trainworking.

“Manchester is the originating point of ourservices and it is essential that a right timedeparture is achieved,” said Driver TeamManager Neil Wignall.

His colleague, Driver Team Manager John Hornby, added: “Given Manchester’simportance as a termini station it is vital thatwe ensure the start-up of the morning serviceon the busy Manchester-Birmingham corridorand keep up with right time departuresthrough the day.”

Manchester is also home to 23 trainmanagers, eight first class hosts, 20 retail

service managers and three revenueprotection inspectors.

“Manchester has a great family atmospherewith excellent team work between all thegrades,” said Customer Service ManagerJanette Bradbury.

“We were the first centre to pioneer an

unmanned Avantix lobby – this has proved asuccess and had been rolled out to othercentres across the network.”

The centre includes office space for themanagers, a mess room, kitchen, meetingroom, conference room – and a stunning viewacross Manchester’s skyline.

Strategic location makes‘right time’ essential

Driver IanWilkinson

boards a train at Piccadilly

station.

Train ManagerRoss Sleathchecks the

notice boards.

XCLife p4/5 31/8/11 15:56 Page 2

’’‘‘MANCHESTER is a city that has everything –

great architecture, a wide variety ofrestaurants and bars, a fascinating cultural

life and brilliant shops.The only downside is the weather – and even

the rain, in a strange way, has a certain charm. It’swhat you expect when you are in the North.

I was born in Wythenshawe and lived there untila couple of years ago. I really liked the way thecity centre was easily reachable, while at the sametime my family lived on the doorstep of Cheshire.

We would go for bike rides into the countrysideand long walks if it was a sunny day.

For a music fan, Manchester is ideal. I saw Duran

Duran and the Spice Girls at the MEN Arena. Thebars around Deansgate Locks cater for a widevariety of musical taste while The Printworks isgood for eating out and going to the cinema.

Of course Manchester is one of the maintransport hubs in the North-West. I used to workas an aircraft dispatcher at the Airport. Now that Iwork for CrossCountry the railways have become afamily affair. My partner works for Northern Railas a guard, and my dad is one of their drivers.

I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.In Manchester we have the Metro, the TraffordCentre, City and United, Coronation Street – andsome of the friendliest people in the world.

6 XC Life Autumn 2011 twitter.com/crosscountryuk

As a supplement to the XC Life focus on Manchester on the previouspages, Train Manager STEPHANIE MORAN, aged 22, tells us why sheis so attached to the city where she was born and bred.

Friendliest people ina city that has it all

CAMBRIDGE SeniorConductor Gary Creakorganised a charity musicnight to raise money for ahospice appeal. He persuadedlocal band Halo to performat Dean’s pub in Ely whereraffle tickets went on saleand tickets donated byCrossCountry wereauctioned.

A total of £980 was raisedfor the Lisa Barnes MemorialFund, in support of theirappeal for the Arthur RankHospice. “My motherattended the day care centreat the hospice for a time andthe staff were really great,”said Gary.

“I came up with the idea ofthe charity night as a way ofgiving something back.”

A BIRMINGHAM driver has received a policecommendation for his swift action inpreventing three potential fatalities.

John Hubbard was driving fromBirmingham to Leicester when he spotted amale sitting dangerously on the line ahead,with two police officers in attendance.

He immediately set the brakes, ensuring

that the train came to a halt. “Without adoubt, his actions saved three lives,” said aspokeswoman for LeicestershireConstabulary.

John was invited to a formal presentationof his Chief Constable’s Commendation forOutstanding Work award at the ForceHeadquarters in Leicester.

STAFF at Plymouth wereinvited to a beer festivalwith a difference – in apub run by two of theircolleagues!

Driver Instructor MikeMaddicks and Driver MikeRuddy hosted the specialevent at the Tradesman’sArms in Scorriton, southDevon, which they part-own.

Travel arrangements werelaid on for those wishing toattend, with the option ofstaying overnight in thevillage hall.

The beer bonanza, costing£15 and including a pubbuffet and evening barbecue,was organised in associationwith Plymouth StationWelfare Club.

“We wanted to make thefestival as welcoming aspossible so we invited gueststo take the regular steamtrain from Totnes toBuckfastleigh and then travelby vintage bus to the pub,”said organiser GaryWhatmore, a drivercolleague of the co-owners.

The two Mikes wereamong a group of regularswho bought and restored the200 year-old inn when itclosed, and they help outbehind the bar when theyare not on duty withCrossCountry.

Driver’s swift action saves three lives

Two Mikeshost beerbonanza

Fundraisingmusic night

Stephanie Moranpictured in centralManchester withPiccadilly station inthe background.

XCLife p6 31/8/11 15:57 Page 1

crosscountrytrains.co.uk

PERIOD 02(four weeks to 28/05/11)

PERFORMANCE: 92.2%

DELAY CAUSE:Network Rail 62.5%, XC 11.0%,other train operators 26.5%

DELAY CAUSED BY XC:33.3% within target

AVERAGE PERFORMANCEOVER THE LAST YEAR:88.1%

FLEET MILES BETWEEN FAULTSOVER THE LAST YEAR:Class 170 – 21,362(+23% year-on-year)

Class 220 – 44,834(+49% year-on-year)


HST – 46,616(+16% year-on-year)

CATERING SALES:+6.8% on last year

AVERAGE TICKET PRICE:£12.07 (+4.3% year-on-year)

PASSENGER COUNTS:The % of counts successfullycompleted

78% (last year 76%)

BusinessSTATS

XC Life Autumn 2011 7

SeniorConductor

John Sharkeyalways has hiscamera with

him when on duty.

THREE stone-throwing youths were brought tobook thanks to the trusty camera carried bySenior Conductor John Sharkey.

Ever since he was injured by missile-throwingvandals six years ago, the Leicester-based employeehas vowed to carry his Fuji S6500 with himwherever he goes on the network.

His idea was to record any similar incident ifever he saw one – and he got his chance on aBirmingham-Nottingham service on which he wastravelling as a passenger.

“I had spotted on my BlackBerry that an alerthad gone out about vandals congregating in theWashwood Heath area so I suggested to SeniorConductor Richard Taylor that I should try to getsome pictures from the back cab. He agreed and as

the train slowed down to 20 mph at caution I saw a group of teenagers between the slow and the main running lines, throwing ballast atpassing trains.

“I took several pictures, including one of a youththrowing a stone, and within 24 hours he wasidentified at his local school as having playedtruant on the day in question.”

Three of the offenders were prosecuted as aresult of the photographic evidence, receiving finesof £250 each together with £110 costs.

John added: “It’s all due to my decision to carry acamera in my bag after I was hit by a stone thrownthrough a cab travelling into Walsall, in the dayswhen I worked for Central Trains. In this recentincident, I was in the right place at the right time.”

Camerahelpedbringvandalsto book

Tandem parachutejumps for charity

BOURNEMOUTHDriver Clive Hoyaljumped out of aplane at 14,000 feetat the suggestion ofhis wife Claire, aClinical NurseSpecialist who worksat Oakhaven Hospicein Lymington.

She had been giventime off work toallow her to care forher twin sister whohad ovarian cancerand she was keen togive something back.

So she volunteeredherself and Clive fora sponsored tandemskydive at the ArmyParachuteAssociation site atNetheravon onSalisbury Plain.

Clive said: "I wasnervous at first but it was a fantasticexperience for a goodcause. Thank you tomy colleagues atCrossCountry andstaff at South WestTrains who donated."

� Driver Clive Hoyal and his wife Claire picturedat the Army Parachute Association site on theday they tandem skydived for charity.

XCLife p7 31/8/11 15:58 Page 1

8 XC Life Autumn 2011 XC Life Autumn 2011 9facebook.com/crosscountrytrains twitter.com/crosscountryuk

TEAM USES PERSUASION TO PERFORM A ‘ JUGGLING ACT’ IN SUCCESSFULLY DEL IVERING DAILY TRAIN CREW ROSTERS

IT’S a highly complex task andone which involvesconsiderable powers of

persuasion coupled within-depth knowledge of railindustry standards.

Juggling train crews andmanaging the changingavailability of staff daily toensure the smooth running ofthe network might seem analmost impossible task.

But CrossCountry’s rosteringteam is up to the challenge,thanks to its impressiveknowledge of safety standards,

agreements and termsand conditions.

The Rosterdepartment, based atCannon House inBirmingham, consistsof ten Roster Managersunder Senior ResourceManager HarryHyndman, a paymanager and a controlsystems manager.

The rostermanagers, eachresponsible for up tofour train crew centres,produce rosters fordrivers, train managersand senior conductors,recording andprocessing annualleave while factoring instaff sickness orunavailability.

“They have toproduce rosters each day whichare in compliance with a myriadof safety standards, agreementsand terms and conditions,” saidHarry.

“When they have done thisthey have to plan for coverage ofany work that is short of coveror becomes uncovered after theproduction of the rosters right upto the day by manoeuvring thecrews and by splitting updiagrams.

“But it's a two way thing, andwe often couldn't do it withoutthe co-operation and flexibilityof those crews. This isaccomplished over the phone orby email, using their powers ofpersuasion and knowledge of therail service to alter the workings

of the available crews.”The roster managers, all of

whom are adept at factoring inlocal variants to national termsand agreements when they dealwith the various CrossCountrycentres, liaise frequently with theoutbased managers and crewsand with the other members oftheir team.

Pay Manager Natalie Suncuancollates and submits each day’spay data to the PayrollDepartment.

Control Systems Manager Rod Irving maintains theefficiency of the IT systems usedby the team while also carryingout investigative anddevelopment work. At eachtimetable period change hegathers and inputs the baserosters from around the countryinto Crewplan, the rosteringsoftware package.

Work is currently being carriedout on developing an integratedAnnual Leave database withinCrewplan.

Also part of the rosteringprocess is the Train Crew Controlteam which manages on-the-daychanges. The Catering CrewControllers produce the rostersfor the on-board crews andmanage on-the-day changes.

Highly complex task to ensurenetwork runs smoothly

Below,Pay Manager

Natalie Suncuancollates data which

she submits to the Payroll

department.

The rosteringteam at work in

Cannon House wherethey take on the dailychallenge of producing

rosters which are compliantto a myriad of safety

standards, agreementsand terms and

conditions.

Senior Resource Manager Harry Hyndmanand Roster Manager Marzena Stachowiak

update the Genius software package which isused for train planning and other functions.

Roster Manager Rich Taylor inthe process of resourcing trainsat Birmingham New Street.

�Organising a daily rosterfor trains at EdinburghWaverley station areRoster Managers GinaCripps and Andy Poole.

� Roster ManagerNeil Thackeray onthe phone to adriver to discuss arostering issue.

Faxingrosters to

Longsight depotis Roster

Manager DavidHeathcock.

Roster Manager ParmCheema fills in dailyalternation sheets.

XCLife p8-9 31/8/11 15:59 Page 1

10 XC Life Autumn 2011

Atotal of 16 teams took partin the fourth annualCrossCountry football

tournament held in Birminghamon Saturday 23 July.

The five-a-side event, which washeld in glorious weather, was opento all rail industry companies andcolleagues from Arriva.

The tournament progressed on aknock-out basis with theCrossCountry Cup eventuallybeing won by London Midland On Board.

Cross Country’s Birmingham onboard side ‘Locomotiv Bob(Birmingham on board) A’ lost out

in a 6-5 thriller to the eventualwinners at the semi-final stage.

Prizes were presented byorganiser Pete Donnelly,Birmingham-based train manager.

He said: “Everyone had a greatday, and we look forward tohosting the tournament again next year.

“A special mention should go XC Leicester who made it throughto the quarter finals with the bareminimum of five players in theirsquad, and XC Reading’s captainFirst Class Host Stuart Bowers,who at 56 was the oldest player inthe tournament.”

You can view all the photographs in this issue and many others wedidn’t have room for in the picture gallery on the CrossCountry intranet

LOFTY’SBreweryTours aregoingfrom

strength tostrength.

Derby Driver MarkAppleton, whoorganises the foraysfor Real Ale lovers,led a trip to CastleRock Brewery inNottingham.

After visiting thebrewery andsampling four of thebeers, he and a dozencolleagues exploredthe historical hauntsin the city includingthe famous Trip toJerusalem hostelry.

Mark is nowplanning a tourround PalmersBrewery in Bridport,Dorset. Anyoneinterested shouldcontact him on07971 831744.

BEST wishes to Birmingham TrainManager Lyn Marsland who recentlyretired from the company.

Congratulations to thefollowing who have receivedlong service awards:

Martin Haylett, Cambridge Driver;Sean Lilley, Leeds Driver; GaryRainbow, Cannon House, DriverStandards Manager; GaryWhatmore, Plymouth Driver; GaryCreak, Cambridge Senior Conductor.

Neil Dyson, Birmingham RetailService Manager; Danielle Lee,Birmingham Station Staff; BethWood, Cannon House, RouteController; Pete Archibald, CannonHouse, Sales & Supply Manager;Claire McLaren, Cannon House,Rostering Manager; Parm Cheema,Cannon House, Rostering Manager;Matthew Headen, Bristol TrainManager; Duncan Shilton,Birmingham Driver; Edmond Walsh,Birmingham Train Manager; NeilReynolds, Cannon House, RouteController; Paul Belt, BirminghamDriver; Natoyah Pennant,Birmingham Station Staff; PhillipBartlett, Cannon House, Train CrewController; Eric White, BirminghamDriver; Nigel Dixon, Leeds Driver;Malcolm Cotterell, Cannon House,Training Manager; John Butcher,Bournemouth Train Manager; LeeWest, Cannon House,Communications Manager; ShaunPye, Bournemouth Driver; CarolDewhurst, Bournemouth TrainManager; Douglas Gillan, EdinburghRetail Service Manager; NicolaVaughan, Birmingham Retail ServiceManager; Christopher Carey,Cambridge Driver; Andrew Hay,Cambridge Senior Conductor; BrianJohnson, Cambridge Driver;Katherine Crossan, Plymouth TrainManager; Marc Gadd, PlymouthRetail Service Manager.

Tom Bramson, IT Support Analyst,Cannon House; James Pottinger,Service Centre Team Member,Reading; Marc Knight, Service CentreTeam Member, Reading; GeorgeWaterhouse, Retail Service Manager,Manchester; Thomas Birch, YieldAnalyst, Cannon House; KatieParkinson, Retail Service Manager,Manchester; Andrew Garden, RetailService Manager, Manchester; JoshuaTunnicliffe, Yield Analyst, CannonHouse; Kelly-Ann Smith, ServiceCentre Team Member, Reading.

NEW STARTERS

10 YEARS

25 YEARS

Long service,leavers &

new starters

‘Brum’ team pipped in semi final thriller

Senior Conductor ShaneRoberts – goalkeeper and

captain of XC Leicester.

Retail ServiceManager SteveGreenaway of

XC LocomotiveBob A in action.

The Derby Drivers team including, front right, 15-year-oldSean Donnelly, son of tournament organiser Pete Donnelly.

Tour forlovers ofreal ale

XCLife p10 31/8/11 16:00 Page 1

XC Life Autumn 2011 11facebook.com/crosscountrytrains

THE Voyager fleet is undergoing a makeover toenhance the travelling experience forcustomers. Mulberry-coloured seat covers arebeing introduced in First Class – pictured right– as part of an initiative to “refresh” theVoyager interiors over the next year.

Disposable printed antimacassars with ananti-crease design are also being introduced inCoach A. In standard class, seat covers and thecentral carpet strip will be replaced like-for-like with the existing material.

Louise Blyth, Head of Marketing, said: “TheVoyager trains have come to the point in theirlifecycle where we have the opportunity toreplace the seat covers and central carpetstrip, and give the carriage interiors a generalspruce up.

“In First Class we are introducing the

distinctive CrossCountry mulberry colour toreinforce the brand identity. We feel this willprovide a high-quality, comfortable ambience,in keeping with the service we offer to ourFirst Class customers.”

Journey of a lifetime


PERFORMANCE: 91%








CATERING SALES:+7.7% on last year



78% (last year 75%)

BusinessSTATS

ACrossCountry driver narrowly escaped being hijacked by machete-wielding bandits during a hair-raising motorbike journey

from south to north America.Richard Niven took his Honda XL 700 Transalp

on a nine-week Pan America expedition followinga route from the tip of Argentina to the northernhalf of the USA.

He was stopped frequently in Mexico by armedmen driving vehicles resembling army patrol carsasking about his possessions – only to discoverafterwards that one of the gangs had hijacked theexpedition mechanic.

“I had a lucky escape,” said Richard, who hadalready battled through dirt roads in Patagoniaand nightmare border crossings.

“Fortunately the hijackers released our

colleague after driving him into the desert but itcould so easily have been me. Earlier in the day I was forced to pull over by the same eight-stronggroup.”

Bolivia was a highlight of the journey. “One daywe could be way out in the desert with a fewvolcanic peaks letting off steam in the distanceand the next we were climbing a never-endingroad into the sandstone highlands,” he said.

The Edinburgh adventurer reached Salt LakeCity in freezing temperatures before heading eastto New York. By the time he reached the Big Applehe had clocked up 18,000 miles.

He raised £840 for the David Shepherd WildlifeFoundation. “It was a magical adventure thoughextremely hard work,” Richard added. “I’m alreadyplanning an Alaskan journey for next year.”

A NEW LOOK FOR FIRST CLASS SEATS

Richard Niven pictured in Peru by Lake Titicaca, the world’shighest navigable lake situated 12,500 feet above sea

level, during his nine-week Pan America bike ride.

MOTORBIKER RICHARD DICED WITH DANGER AND EXPERIENCEDUNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS DURING PAN AMERICA ADVENTURE

XCLife p11 31/8/11 16:02 Page 1

12 XC Life Autumn 2011 twitter.com/crosscountryuk

Ginger CakeINGREDIENTS1lb of Self Raising Flour1⁄2 lb of Butter6 tea spoons of ginger 2 tea spoons of cinnamon2 tea spoons of mixed spice2 tea spoons of bicarbonate of soda1⁄2 lb Treacle1⁄2 lb golden syrup 10oz of castor sugar1 pint of full milk3 eggs

METHOD

Prepare three loaf tins –grease and line the baseand sides.

Mix all the driedingredients and the butterin a food processor untilthey become like breadcrumbs and tip into amixing bowl.

Warm the sugar and milktogether and whisk intodried ingredients. Then dothe same with the syrupand treacle and add to themixture.

Finally, add the three eggsto the mix. When all addedtogether the cake mix willbe like a batter – this is thecorrect consistency.

Split the mixture between theloaf tins. Place in the oven andcook at 180 degrees foraround 45 mins.

You can freeze these cakes –this makes them extra sticky.

This is a nice cake forbonfire night orHalloween.

Right RoyalRecipesCrossCountry’svery own Royalchef Jules Bacon,who was oncecook to theQueen Motherat the RoyalLodge, offersyou a recipe foran autumn dish.

Acatering manager and his wife volunteered to serve refreshments at an event

which raised money for a cancercharity at Bombardier’s CentralRivers maintenance depot.

CrossCountry donated foodand drink for the fundraiser,which was organised by thePreserved Loco EnthusiastGroup.

Systems and On BoardDelivery Manager AndrewWatts, who served snacks alongwith his wife Helen, said: “Intotal we took £244, with allproceeds going to theMacmillan Nightingale Wardwhich is Central Rivers’ chosencharity.”

Visitors enjoying trainexcursions were also given thechance to avail themselves offree CrossCountry-branded pensand ticket wallets.

A total of £3,025 was raisedat the event, during which 250enthusiasts enjoyed trips aroundthe depot.

1

2

3

4

STAFF at Newcastle gave shelterto a fox cub – pictured right –which had been abandoned byits parents outside their centre.

The young animal, as little aseight weeks old, had takenrefuge under a wheel of TrainManager Karen Summerside’scar. A Network Rail employeehad placed a message on thewindscreen warning the drivernot to reverse.

Three CrossCountryemployees decided to take itindoors, with Train Manager Ed Orwin and Retail ServiceManager Julie Johnson helpingTrain Manager George Pugh ashe carried it to safety.

“We managed to catch himand I used my motorbike glovesto pick him up,” said George.“He had been living under aviaduct arch outside our centreand was in danger of beingattacked by feral cats.

“He drank the water whichwe gave him for three minutesnon-stop, and also enjoyedsome tripe.”

Once the fox had been madesafe, arrangements were madefor him to be taken to theWildlife Rescue Centre atKnoxwood near Carlisle.

Rescue Centre founderGeorge Scott said: “We werevery pleased to take him in. Heis now in a big enclosure wherehe is allowed to dig himself out,and come and go as he pleases.”


PERFORMANCE: 90.2%








CATERING SALES:-2.9% on last year



75% (last year 75%)

BusinessSTATS

Company support forcancer charity event

Abandoned fox cubis rescued by centre staff

Systems and OnBoard Delivery

Manager AndrewWatts, who with his

wife Helen, servedrefreshments and

raised cash forcharity.

XCLife p12 31/8/11 16:02 Page 1

XC Life Autumn 2011 13crosscountrytrains.co.uk

SEAN Livingstone askedsponsors to sign a ‘green’pledge rather than give cashwhen he took part in a96-mile charity cycle in theNorth-East.

The Coast and Castlesscenic challenge fromBerwick to Newcastle wasentered by 10 ridersincluding Sean and Edinburgh

Driver Team Manager Gordon Hughes.

Sean, Driver Team Managerat Newcastle, askedsupporters to pledge tochange their lifestyle to saveCO2. He directed them to awebsite which wouldcalculate the savings theymade over two months.

Sean said: “It made a

change from the usualmethod of asking for cashdonations. By asking peopleto create change rather thangive change, we gave them anopportunity to do their bit tohelp save the planet frompollution.”

Sponsors pledged to savein excess of 4,000 tonnes ofCO2 as a result of the appeal.

AGROUP of footballing youngsters in SouthAfrica are parading their skills while kittedout in CrossCountry strips.

The pupils at Charles Memorial PrimarySchool in Ntshongweni near Durban have beengifted shirts, shorts and socks by one of thecoaches of an XC-sponsored junior team inEdinburgh.

Ex-player Adam Hill, aged 17, took them withhim on a school trip to Africa, thinking that sincethe team he helps coach had grown out ofthem, they might be useful to local players.

Many of the pupils at Charles Memorialschool are AIDS orphans and Adam had alreadydecided before he and his fellow students fromEdinburgh’s James Gillespie’s High set out that

they would be ideal recipients of the kit. “Ourtrip to Durban was part of the school’s SouthAfrica project,” he said.

“It seemed an obvious thing to do to take theXC strips with me, and the Edinburgh South head coach was more than happy to agree tothis. The children and their teachers at CharlesMemorial were delighted to receive them. Theresponse I got was the highlight of my trip.”

CrossCountry’s sponsorship of EdinburghSouth FC Under-11s is arranged by Darren Park,Regional Driver Manager, who said: “It was afantastic idea to donate the shirts in this way.”

Two current players with the Edinburgh South club have fathers who work forCrossCountry.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – holiday home to rentFive-bedroom villa with pool/spa. Close toDisney Parks. Located on secure resortcommunity with superb clubhousefacilities. XC employee-owned.

Tel. 07875 468655 or visitwww.floridadisneymoments.com

CAMERA FOR SALEBlack Panasonic Lumix TZ-10 12.1megapixel camera with GPS locator, 16xdigital zoom, 3 inch screen and Loweproall weather case.

Very good condition with charger andinstructions. £180.

Tel. 07717880446 (Cambridge)

APPEAL FOR RECIPESREADING CENTRE organisers are stillseeking recipes for the cookery book theyplan to publish in aid of The Princess RoyalTrust for Carers.

Anyone with an idea for a savoury ordessert course – traditional or otherwise –should contact Jane Hyndman or Jo Tayloron 0121 200 6337 or [email protected]

LOCO PLATES FOR SALEForeign railway locomotive number andworks plates for sale.

Email [email protected]

VINTAGE 500 SERIESAMERICAN DIAL TELEPHONEThis phone, which has a loud ring, is thetype on show in Kojak, the Rockford Filesand movies from the 1960s and 70s.

It was made in North America in the1960s and has been refurbished so that itis now compatible with current BT andmost cable phone systems. Simply pluginto an existing socket.

It sells on Pedlars.co.uk for £115(check the website if you want to see whatit looks like) but it’s on offer for £40.

Contact Will Adderley on 0121 2006173 or email [email protected]

THESE ADVERTS ARE ALSO INCLUDEDIN THE SOCIAL SECTION OF THECROSSCOUNTRY INTRANET SITE,WHICH IS AVAILABLE AT ALL CENTRES.

Sponsors asked to sign a green pledge

CrossCountry staff are invitedto advertise for free in thisquarterly ‘small ads’ column.The section is open to anyone who hassomething to sell, rents out holidayaccommodation, runs a mobile disco, isorganising a football match or anexcursion to celebrate a birthday,wanting to let people know about anight out ...or is simply looking toplace an appeal for a specific item. Toplace an advert here contact us at: –[email protected] or [email protected]

XClassified

Adam Hill, back row left, is pictured with pupils at the CharlesMemorial Primary School wearing the CrossCountry shirtswhich he presented. Also in the photo are Adam’s school

friends Duncan Macintyre, back row centre,and Stuart Martin.

XCLife p13 31/8/11 17:23 Page 1

facebook.com/crosscountrytrains14 XC Life Autumn 2011

Ask me another

At the moment I am ...

making sure the day-to-day activities of the Service Centre are running smoothly.I oversee the ordering, Health and Safetycompliance and all the delivery processes.I also make sure temperature checks arecarried out and contact the supplier if thereare delivery problems.

The best thing about my job is ...

working with my team. I love cooking so it’sgreat to be in a catering role. I am alsoimpressed by the opportunities for promotionat CrossCountry.

The strangest thing that happened to me inwork was ...

was when one of our suppliers failed to sendenough milk and I ended up going to thenearest Tesco store to buy £21 worth ofcartons. There were a few raised eyebrows inthe shop.

My most valuable possession is ...

my PC at home. After work it enables me tolearn what is happening all around the world.

If I have time to myself ...

I play table tennis. Every Sunday I go to thelocal leisure centre with friends to do somefitness training, and afterwards we play a fewgames.

My favourite music is ...

Reggae, especially Bob Marley, Old Skool andclassics from bands like Kool and the Gang.

The famous people I would invite to adinner party are ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is my role modelfor the way he rose from being a bodybuilderin Austria to become Governor of California,Jay-Z because he is a heavyweight rapper

who might perform for us and Tony Blair whowould be able to speak about his time inpower.

When I was a child I wanted to be ...

a scientist. I always wanted to study for adegree in Biology.

Best bit advice I was ever given ...

was from my father who said: “Be honest toyourself and honest to other people.” He alsostressed the need to be faithful to your wifeor partner.

My favourite place in the world ...

is Ghana, where I was born. The lifestyle isgood, with freedom of speech and manyopportunities for recreation. People groworganic food in their own backyards –pineapples, plantains and avocados.

ALEX MENSAH, Reading ServiceCentre Team Leader, tells usabout himself. Alex, aged 35, whohas been with CrossCountry fortwo years lives in Reading.

NIGEL Clennett is a keen fan of busesand all things connected to bustransport – he even has a model lay-outat his home.

The Cambridge senior conductorcollects fleet registrations and models,specialising in Stagecoach, Travel WestMidlands and National Express.

He said: “My hobby seems to wind alot of people up – but bus spotting hasalways been of interest to me. Myfavourite vehicles of all time areLeyland/Volvo Olympians.”

Nigel is also known at Cambridge forhis passion for motorbike racing – he hasowned 42 bikes over 32 years.

Senior conductor is avid bus fan

Alex Mensahpictured at work inthe Reading ServiceCentre. Below, Alexat his office desk.

XCLife p14 31/8/11 16:04 Page 1

a superb model train in our world travel wordsearch

WIN

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CHILECHINAEGYPTWALESBORNEOBRAZILFRANCEMEXICONORWAYRUSSIASWEDENZAMBIAAUSTRIABELGIUMENGLANDGERMANYMONGOLIASLOVAKIAARGENTINAAUSTRALIAVENEZUELASOUTH KOREANEW ZEALANDSAUDI ARABIAUNITED STATESCZECH REPUBLIC

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THE WINNERS IN LAST ISSUE WERE:Eric Embury (Cannon House, Train CrewController), David Heathcock (Cannon House,Rostering Manager), Lee Davies (NewcastleDriver), Neil Reynolds (Cannon House, RouteController).

FOUR prizes including a collector’s item modelare up for grabs in our autumn wordsearch

The theme is countries, to reflect our story aboutChris Longhurst, the “Travelling CSM,” on Page 2.

A Bachmann model of an N Gauge HST, painted inCrossCountry livery, is on offer together with threeHigh Street vouchers.

Entries should arrive no later than 28 October.Only CrossCountry employees are eligible to enter.Simply ring the words in the grid, cut it out and

send it with your name, address and phone numberto:

Lee West, Communications Manager, CrossCountry,5th Floor, Cannon House, 18 Priory Queensway,Birmingham, B4 6BS.

Two moregain status

Fundraisingthank you

Family team

Please indicate the prize you would like to win in order of preference byputting numbers in the boxes.

If the top choice is the model train,write 1 in the box. For your secondchoice write 2 etc.

N GAUGE HST MODEL ■£20 CURRYS/PC WORLD VOUCHER ■£20 VUE CINEMA VOUCHER ■£20 PIZZA HUT VOUCHER ■

ALLISON Nash arranged threecoffee mornings for staff atLeicester to raise £302 forCoping With Cancer, a breastcancer charity. Allison, who isherself recovering from theillness, laid on flapjacks, cobs,cookies and hot sausage rollsto go with the hot drinks.

“I wanted to say thank youto the charity, which does areally good job in offeringcomplementary therapies andcounselling services,” saidSenior Conductor Allison.

IT was a family affair whenSam Kot decided to join theRace for Life on 9 July. TheBristol senior conductorteamed up with her nieceSophie to step up for thechallenge on Clifton Downs.

"She is five years old sowe walked the entirety ofthe 5k course," said Sam."I raised £275 for the breastcancer charity, and Sophieraised £150."

THE number of members ofthe Fleet Team to haveachieved CharteredEngineer status has risen tofive. Both Richard Martin,Project Engineer, and Stacy Thundercliffe, VoyagerFleet and Contract Manager,have recently gained theprestigious qualification.

They join Will Rogers,Head of Fleet andEngineering, Ed Williams,Class 170 and HST Fleetand Contract Manager andStuart Rawlings, FleetEngineer. This brings thetotal of CharteredEngineers to five out ofnine.

Chartered Engineer statusindicates that an engineerhas reached a high level ofcompetence andprofessionalism in his orher field. “Having CharteredEngineers within the FleetTeam is very important inensuring we make sounddecisions based on theevidence provided,” saidWill.

XCLife p15 31/8/11 16:04 Page 1

16 XC Life Autumn 2011 Published by CrossCountry Communications. Telephone 0121 2006115. [email protected]

IF you have a story for thestaff magazine pleasecontact Ron Quenby on07966 424382 or [email protected]

Call us withyour stories

ACrossCountry Trains KwikCricket League and Cuptournament has sprung up

thanks to the endeavours of aLeicester senior conductor.

The league is flourishing inLeicestershire, where Leigh Mooreis the coach of two youth teamsat Stoughton and Thurnby cricket

club. Leigh has used sponsorshipcash donated by CrossCountry toestablish the under-10 league, aswell as improving the facilities atthe club in Bushby, Leicester.

“I am an English Cricket Boardqualified coach, and I am teammanager and coach for theunder-10s and the under-11s,” he

said. “The under-10s came thirdin the XC League this year, withfour wins and a tie from 12 matches.

“The under-11s, who includemy son Finlay as the leadingwicket taker, play in theLeicestershire Youth League andcame second.”

Leigh coaches both teams onSunday mornings and is presentat most games on Friday nightsthanks to colleagues who swapshifts with him during the cricketseason.

“I thoroughly enjoy mycoaching and involvement withthe club,” said Leigh. “I haveplayed cricket on and off for 20 years but due to workcommitments it is hard tocommit to playing regularly.”

NEWCASTLE Train ManagerEd Orwin and his partner,Retail Service ManagerJulie Johnson, raised moneyfor charity by taking partin MoonWalk, the eventwhere participants wearbras to raise awareness ofbreast cancer.

It was Julie’s fifth yearand Ed’s fourth – andbetween them they raised£300 through sponsorshipplus £500 collected on thetrains and £125 on thestation.

“We have both lost closerelatives to cancer,” saidEd. “We were among 8,000people who entered, andwe recorded our quickesttime so far.”

Couple raisecharity cashwith bra walk

Leigh’s fast delivery

of Kwik Cricket

AN online petition has been launched to make it harder forcable thieves to profit from their merchandise. TheGovernment’s e-petition website proposes amending the lawto prohibit the cash transactions favoured by robbers becausethey leave no audit trail. The petition needs at least 100,000signatures to qualify for a parliamentary debate – to viewand sign go to epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406

Move to combat cable theft

LeighMoore has

scored a successwith youth cricketfor his local club

at Bushby,Leicester.

XCLife p16 31/8/11 16:06 Page 1

xc life autumn 2011

Documents

real time networkingcould

safe andpunctual railway

people monitoringtweets

greatest challenge

new world

real timenetworking

madefor railway industry

world of tweets andblogs