Network Winter 2025 by nrnetwork

CONTRIBUTOR’S WELCOME

Jay Carroll, senior asset engineer

Happy new year, everyone! We may have only just stepped into 2025, but we’re well into the first year of CP7, and in this magazine, you’ll find stories from across the organisation that share how we’re putting our CP7 delivery plans into practice. On pages 12 to 15 you can read about how a Network Rail apprenticeship changed my life, along with details on how to apply.

On pages four, five and six you can read more about our focus on safety and performance through Project Brunel. Pages eight and nine share how we’re dealing with the impact of climate change on a stretch of coastal wilderness.

And on pages 16 and 17 we find out more about how a digital portal is making communications simpler across two key sites.

Finally, we explore how, in a UK first, British Sign Language on customer information boards is helping our deaf passengers get to the right train at the right time.

If you worked for us before COVID, you might remember Network magazine as a printed publication handed out at key locations. A lot has changed since then, and we’ve taken a break to rethink how best to share updates. Now we’re trying something new.

This is a one-off special edition – same name, fresh approach. It’s packed with interactive videos featuring your colleagues, plus exciting updates about our achievements as we continue into CP7. From performance to the latest tech, there’s something for everyone, whatever your role.

Do you want to see more?

Let us know if digital magazines are something you’d like to see again by answering our poll (scan the code below).

For now, this isn’t a regular feature – we’ll wait to hear your feedback before deciding what’s next!

Ambitious, safe and customer focused

Our new five-year Control Period (CP7) started on 1 April 2024, with over £45bn of funding to invest in the operation, support, maintenance and renewal of our railway infrastructure during that time.

Careful planning has taken place over the past three years to develop ambitious, safe and customer focused plans. As we start the new control period, we are committed to our vision of safely improving train service

Customers and communities: We’ll continue putting passengers first, improving overall passenger satisfaction and satisfaction at our managed stations.

Train service delivery:

We’ll work with our industry partners to help make trains more reliable and punctual. We’ll invest in our infrastructure to make rail freight faster and more reliable. We will continue to focus our asset maintenance and renewal activity in the areas that need it most, prioritising those things that have the biggest impact on improving train service performance.

performance, and delivering a simpler, better, greener railway.

We plan to invest in various major programmes in CP7 to improve the railway, and our processes and systems (such as digital signalling and research and development).

These programmes will deliver benefits in the next five years and beyond to create a railway that is fit for the future. n

Our sixpoint plan for CP7

The plan is structured around these six strategic themes

Safety: We’ll reduce the number of injuries suffered by colleagues and reduce the risk of train accidents every year in CP7.

Efficiency: We’ll deliver £3.9bn worth of efficiencies in CP7, building on the success of Control Period 6.

CP-what? Control Period 7 explained…

We are funded by government in fiveyear blocks called Control Periods. For each Control Period we create a Delivery Plan which says what work we will do in that five-year block. Our regulator, the

Office of Rail and Road (ORR), then uses this plan to make sure we are delivering the work we said we would. Control Period 7 started on 1 April 2024 and will run until 31 March 2029.

Learn how we plan to deliver our programmes:

GB CP7 delivery plan

CP7 delivery summary

Region and function CP7 delivery plan

Our big plans for the next 5 years of railway

Sustainable growth:

We’ll keep getting greener by reducing our carbon emissions and improving air quality and biodiversity. And we’ll work to become more resilient to extreme weather and climate change.

People: Our people are key to delivering our plans, and we’ll enable a great employee experience through an engaging, safe and inclusive culture. We’ll improve training opportunities and empower our people. Our new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy will focus on removing barriers within Network Rail so colleagues can reach their full potential.

Brunel’s legacy

How improving safety and performance will drive a lasting change

The Thames Valley is a critical corridor for Wales & Western. Delays in this area can be passed to Swansea, Penzance, and Cheltenham, also to Anglia through the Elizabeth line. Over the last four years the number of trains running has increased by 17%, with tonnage increasing by 38%.

Timetables started earlier and finished later, and with 15% less access than 2018, our windows to maintain our railway were smaller and smaller. All of this, alongside aging assets, meant we were not delivering for our customers.

Enter Project Brunel. This 18-month

improvement plan looks at the top causes of delay in the Thames Valley and measures against them. It’s made up of 10 pillars that set out the specific work needed to improve performance and meet our targets. From access to infrastructure management and from procurement to safety.

First, were some accelerated and targeted interventions. These included fixing troublesome parts of the track, addressing drainage issues and cutting back high-risk vegetation.

These immediate interventions will improve safety and, as a result, performance.

At the same time, longer-term

changes to infrastructure will be critical in maintaining the level of performance in the future. There are also cultural changes.

Academies have been set up to help train and develop people so they’re better equipped to tackle train service delivery challenges and other largescale projects, such as the High Speed 2 railway which is under construction.

The hope is Project Brunel will leave a legacy that can benefit the railway for years to come – but it’s already having a considerable impact.

One of the biggest achievements so far has been tackling the backlog of work to make room for better decision

making and incident management.

From Period 11 to date, there have been 327,996 delay minutes, which is better than the on-target mark of 335,255. This is where the team expected (and needed) to be while still in the ‘stabilise’ phase of the project. Maintenance, like fixing degraded points (movable sections of track, allowing trains to move from one line to another) and the renewal of formation (the ground surface), sleepers, and rail replacement on line two has saved a projected 22,800 and 18,444 minutes per year respectively.

Hard lock nuts have been replaced

on 500 out of 700 axle counters (a device used to count axles entering and leaving a track section), while vegetation has been managed at 23 high risk areas close to overhead lines to date (out of 43 locations).

A failure review process has been rolled out that looks at every single failure in detail and uses the findings to feed it back into the programme. There’s also an ongoing performance forecast, where applied science can determine the benefit of a piece of work and when the team are going to achieve it. n

Continued on page 06

Everyone home safe every day: A safe performing railway is a better performing railway. So, we spoke to Sarah on Anglia route about why health and safety is so important.

Continued from page 05

PROJECT BRUNEL

Securing access opportunities

Getting access, which means protected and safe time to carry out maintenance on the railway, has been once of the biggest challenges and subsequent wins of the project so far. The maintenance teams leveraged a bigger access window from weeks 3-13 that made a significant reduction in the maintenance backlog, getting it under 3% for the first time in three years.

There’s no better example than the Portobello Junction, a sub-project within Brunel. Normally, access

planning takes five to six months, but a speed restriction on two critical lines on the route demanded immediate action. By working with colleagues from various railway and freight operators and maintenance and planning teams, the project team identified the opportunity to perform the necessary work within a week. They worked together to extend planned maintenance during weekends 41 and 45, and minimised disruption to passengers. This expedited approach meant the speed

restrictions on the lines could be removed, improving performance, and significantly reducing delays in the area.

“ Significant investments have been made in renewing and upgrading track components, signalling systems, and station facilities”

Tom Wallis, isolation planner

PROJECT BRUNEL

Tom Wallis: frontline view

“Every month we have a safety brief talking about any incidents or faults that’ve happened across the route,” says Tom Wallis, isolation planner. “As a team, we talk about them in-depth, and how these can be avoided in the future.

“Facing the challenges of aging infrastructure, worsening weather conditions and increased train traffic requires a lot of adaptability.

“These challenges affect colleagues from a range of different departments on the railway, like off track, P-Way (permanent way), OHL (overhead

line equipment) and S&T (signalling and telecommunications). It’s important we all come together as a team and discuss the best course of action to take, ensuring safety is at the heart of everything we do.

“Significant investments have been made in renewing and upgrading track components, signalling systems and station facilities. This has led to smoother rides, increased safety and reduced train delays caused by infrastructure failures. Another massive improvement has been the increased access opportunities

for maintenance staff to carry out essential works, this has helped reduced the number of faults.”

A gathering storm?

Fighting the effects of climate change is a central challenge of Control Period 7

Continued on page 08

Continued from page 07

In many ways The Warren is idyllic. It’s a stretch of coastal wilderness nestled at one end of the White Cliffs of Dover, just east of Folkestone. It’s also home to a stretch of railway serving Kent’s key channel ports.

However, this picturesque exterior belies a precarious geological make-up (chalk above clay) that results in the site being especially vulnerable to extreme weather. It’s deemed an active landslide risk –but the threat is not new.

The Great Fall was severe landslip at Folkestone Warren in 1915. Around 1.5 million cubic metres of chalk fell into the sea after weeks of heavy rain. Photos from the time show train derailments as the railway line moved 50 metres towards the coast following the incident. The line remained closed for four years.

Fast forward more than a century, and with unprecedented heavy rainfall over the past 18 months, a cluster of named storms and hotter summers,

the Warren is one of many areas on the network at risk of disruption from landslide.

In our CP7 delivery plan, we outlined a step change in our approach to easing the impact of climate change on our network, under our Sustainable Growth objective.

As part of this plan, we’re investing to protect our assets at most risk from the weather.

Improved understanding

At sites like the Warren, knowing how to spot and react to certain climate

and weather conditions is vital.

A weather post at the Warren automatically sends readings to local control centres to check how its microclimate matches the forecast. Colleagues are then being trained to understand weather forecasts and make operational decisions during adverse and extreme weather. This takes place in a Weather Academy at Network Rail’s offices in Milton Keynes.

“The academy hopes to bring more knowledge and confidence in decisions to keep the railway open when possible,” says Lisa Angus,

The Warren in Folkestone, Kent

Image: Andy Hall / The Observer

“The Great Fall” of 1915

industry weather response director.

“Our job is to minimise the disruption to give the best service we possibly can.”

Along with the weather academy, there’s more work being done to find ways we can keep going through extreme weather. For example, seeing if trains can run through more floodwater than had previously been deemed safe.

Future plans include looking at regions where extreme weather is likely to cause more flooding or erosion. But, more importantly, deciding how to respond, and in some cases making difficult decisions.

Long stretches of Britain’s railway hug the coastline – as vividly shown by the collapse of the seawall at Dawlish in Devon in 2014. There are other examples too, like the Cambrian and Cumbrian coast lines, or Holes Bay near Poole.

Whether the obvious action is to repair should always be followed everywhere is up for debate.

“Do we decide we have to build out into the sea on reclaimed land?”

says Lisa Constable, who leads on climate change adaptation strategy.

“Or are we going to abandon the track, bring it inland, build a new one, put people on buses instead of the trains?

We have to consider what is best for communities and the economy, as well as the railway.”

The Warren and the line between Dover and Folkestone are currently subject to a significant amount of analysis, due to the risk of another “Great Fall” potentially closing the line forever. n

Work to repair a landslip at Hook, Hampshire in 2023

Rock netting installation at Croy in Scotland

5 things to know about... Train performance

Making sure trains run on time and are reliable is very important for passengers and freight.

Train Service Delivery is one of our strategic themes for Control Period 7, mapped against government objectives and driven by our vision to deliver a simpler, better, greener railway.

Chris Curtis, Network Rail’s director for network performance, recently explained what train performance is and how we can improve it. Here are five key points to remember:

1What does ‘train performance’ mean?

It’s about two things: Is the train running, and will it arrive on time? Passengers care a lot about these two factors. Research by Transport Focus shows us that reliable and punctual trains are among the top things passengers want (along with value for money). Of the 2,000 people asked, 29% said they would use trains more if they were more reliable. 17% said they were worried about cancellations.

If we have a railway that performs better, we will get more passengers. We have evidence of this in Greater Anglia, where their recent record levels of performance have helped drive higher levels of growth than other similar parts of the network.

2How do we measure on-time performance?

Every train on the network has a timetabled schedule. We monitor them all using a system called TRUST. A train is on time if it arrives within 59 seconds of its scheduled time – this is our first key measure.

On a typical weekday we currently operate around 22,000 passenger trains, with almost 300,000 station calls – and we measure every single one.

For the 2023/2024 financial year, 67.6% of station stops were on time. Performance changes with the seasons, especially in autumn, where we see on-time performance drop by about 10%.

3How else do we measure punctuality?

In Scotland, a train is on time if it arrives within five minutes of the scheduled time at its final stop –with some exceptions made for exceptional weather.

We also use secondary measures like “time to three” (T3) and “time to 15” (T15). These mean slightly later trains still count as on time. For example, T3 means a train can be up to two minutes and 59 seconds late.

We measure freight service punctuality to within 15 minutes of their booked arrival time at their destination. We also measure the percentage of freight trains that are cancelled due to incidents that are Network Rail’s responsibility.

4How do we track cancellations?

Cancellations are our second key measure. A cancellation is when a train misses a scheduled stop. This can be at any stop, at the start, middle, or end of a train’s planned journey.

Last financial year, the cancellation rate was 3.8%, which means one in every 26 trains was cancelled. For a regular commuter, that means a train is cancelled every two to three weeks.

Reasons include service management changes and a shortage of train crew. Reducing the high cancellation rate is key.

5How can we improve performance?

To improve, we need to know why trains are late or cancelled. Teams of delay attributors from across all our regions track every delay of three minutes or more to find the cause. We use this data to spot trends and make plans to improve.

The Performance Improvement Management System (PIMS) is a cross-industry process to help improve performance. This forms the basis of what’s called the Whole System Model:

• Infrastructure – Track, signals, structures, electrification, etc. All well maintained and working properly

• Fleet – Reliable trains that are well maintained and serviced, running without faults

• People – The right people, in the right places, at the right times. With the capabilities to do the job right

• The operating plan – A timetable that works and is underpinned by a robust resource plan

• Recovery – A comprehensive set of plans for getting the service back on time when things do go wrong

• External factors – Minimising the impact of issues such as severe weather or trespassers.

Wrapping around all of these elements, are the processes for managing performance. And that’s what PIMS is all about.

Each train operator and Network Rail route has a joint plan to improve performance, updated regularly. n

Every minute matters, every second counts

All

about train performance with Chris Curtis:

“ If we have a railway that performs better, we will get more passengers”

Keep up to date

If you want to see our current performance metrics at a glance, you can see the stats at the top of the MyConnect homepage. Hover over each stat to get a brief explanation of what you’re looking at.

“I was homeless... but an apprenticeship got my life back on track”

After being shown a Network Rail apprenticeship advert to help him onto his feet, Jay Carroll began a railway career that has propelled him into a senior role

Continued on page 14

Continued from page 13

Jay Carroll was just 16 when he was made homeless –the culmination of some difficult family circumstances.

He was preparing for his A levels at the time and tried to continue his studies while sofa-surfing with people he knew – even for while in a horse box on a friend’s farm.

Despite his best efforts, this was not sustainable, so he took the hard decision to drop out of school.

At the time his prospects seemed bleak, but after working various part-time jobs, Jay was offered the opportunity which would change his life.

A friend’s mum, who worked for a local government agency called Connexions, explained the benefits of apprenticeships to Jay and printed a couple of adverts, one of which was for the Network Rail scheme.

It was an opportunity Jay seized, despite having to move away from his home town of Thatcham in Berkshire.

“I moved to Swindon where rent was actually affordable,” recalls Jay. “I worked short-term jobs to pay rent, eventually ending up at McDonald’s. It was fantastic as you got free hot food every day, which sometimes was my main meal.”

Jay was invited to an initial selection day for Network Rail in Bristol and then, after passing a second interview at Hawksworth Depot in Swindon, Jay was invited to take a medical in London Euston.

“I couldn’t afford the train, so I got the Megabus to Victoria and walked from there,” says Jay.

“The nurse asked why I didn’t just get the tube. I explained I couldn’t afford it and she rumbled around in her purse and gave me a £2 coin and apologised that it was all she

“I never thought it was possible given where I started from. It has changed my life”

Main image: Jay at the Jane Austin Electrification Training Centre

had. She wanted me to get some lunch, but I spent it on a bus back to Victoria.”

After starting his Level 3 Railway Engineering apprenticeship in September 2008, Jay settled into HMS Collingwood, a Network Rail training centre at a Royal Navy base in Hampshire.

Among the home comforts here was access to a wardrobe for the first time in 14 months.

“Apprenticeships allow people to have a second chance. All young people deserve the chance to reach their potential. To be paid to learn is an amazing privilege,” he says.

Since qualifying in 2011, Jay’s career at Network Rail has gone from strength to strength. He has taken on various roles on the Wales and Western region, including as an operative, an asset engineer and a project manager, before taking his current role as senior asset engineer (Electrification and Plant).

As part of training, Jay got sponsorship to study Railway Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. He has also completed a Masters in Systems Engineering at Birmingham University, a Level 7 Principal Engineering apprenticeship through Network Rail, and he is now a chartered engineer.

“I never thought that I would go to university,” Jay reflects. “I didn’t think it was possible given where I started from. I’m grateful to everyone who made this possible. It has changed my life.” n

Apprentices share their stories

No regrets for Keneefia

Back in 2020, we interviewed firstyear apprentice Keneefia Parker, who at the time, was just starting her journey with Network Rail. Now four years on, we caught up with the technician to see how she’s doing:

Q: So Keneefia, what are you doing now and what are you working on?

A: After finishing my apprenticeship, I secured a technician position at my original depot and have been taking courses to further my learning and enhance my skills and knowledge.

Q: That’s amazing! How much do you think you’ve learnt since being with Network Rail?

A: It’s difficult to quantify. Each day brings new knowledge and skills from my colleagues. I can confidently say that the inexperienced version of myself has now mastered both the theoretical and practical aspects of working on P-way (the track structure which includes rails, sleepers and ballast) and I can effectively lead any task assigned to me.

Q: In 2020, you said you had no regrets about not going to university and starting an apprenticeship, do you still feel the same?

A: I still feel that way. I’ve successfully obtained my qualifications and secured a position in an industry I truly enjoy. Unfortunately, some who attended university can’t say the same. I feel fortunate to have gained both qualifications and work experience alongside my fellow apprentices while making a good living.

Q: And what’s next for you at Network Rail?

A: That’s a great question, especially when you get so immersed in work that you sometimes lose sight of your goals. Personally, I aspire to climb the corporate ladder and secure a leadership or management position. As for which departments I’d like to pursue, that’s still uncertain, as I want to explore different disciplines.

“I’ve successfully obtained my qualifications and secured a position in an industry I truly enjoy”

Portal to a better world

Screen offers a vision for simpler communication

It might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but a digital portal that now connects two of our key operation sites is making communication faster, and train performance better.

The portal is a simple but smart piece of tech that enables colleagues at Basingstoke Rail Operating Centre (ROC) and Waterloo Area Operating Centre (AOC) to communicate face to face 24-hours-a-day, via a giant video screen.

It acts as virtual window between the sites, which together form the

Wessex Integrated Control Centre (WICC), enabling colleagues on either side to interact as if in the same room, despite being 44 miles apart.

This industry first is part of the Control Transformation Project, which launched earlier this month.

“The portal means colleagues can ‘declare’, ‘discuss’ and ‘decide’ how to deal with incidents more collaboratively,” explains John Loughman, programme manager, Southern. “It also boosts the working relationship between Network Rail and SWR, fostering a

‘one team’ approach by linking the two sites 24/7.”

The project has improved team work between Network Rail and our train operating company (TOC) partners at South Western Railway (SWR). Previous feedback said the old command and control systems weren’t working as well as they could, so there was a need to improve efficiency and decision making.

One of the biggest changes was redesigning the desk layout into pods,

“A fantastic outcome and the result of four years’ worth of planning and delivery work”

where people from both businesses sit together day to day and in times of disruption. For example, Network Rail train running controllers now sit with train service managers from SWR, which has really helped their decision

making. The new layout of the desks in Basingstoke ROC has made collaboration between teams better.

“This is a fantastic outcome and the result of four years’ worth of planning and delivery work,”

says Tony Jackson, senior network delivery manager. “Thank you to everyone involved in the project, but also to everyone working in Control for their patience while the work was carried out.” n

John Loughman

Tony Jackson using the portal in Basingstoke

Positive signs

British Sign Language on customer information boards is a UK first

Isn’t it frustrating if you can’t find the information you need when you’re at the station? What if your train is delayed or the platform has changed? Most passengers would listen for announcements or read the information on the boards. But what if you can’t hear the announcements?

As part of an ongoing investment to upgrade customer information screens (CIS) to make them clearer, more energy efficient and more accessible for passengers, we’ve recently installed British Sign Language (BSL) train service information boards at both Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations.

These are the first stations in the UK to have BSL information displayed on the main boards, as well as sub-boards.

“There are a number of challenges that we face when travelling by train,” says Avril Hepner from British Deaf Association (BDA) Scotland, which worked closely with Network Rail on the project. “It’s very easy to end up on the wrong platform or on the wrong train, especially when there are platform changes or delays, and we can’t hear the live announcements.

“These digital BSL information boards will benefit deaf travellers greatly. They’ll improve accessibility and independence, but will also give confidence to passengers that they are up to date with travel information and able to get to the right train at the right time.

“Having this vital information in BSL brings hope that many more BSL users have the confidence to travel independently by train.”

How do the BSL boards work?

The boards will use a library of sign sequences for different information scenarios. The system updates with the latest information from the control centre, which it converts to sign language on the displays. These

“These digital BSL information boards will benefit deaf travellers greatly”

updates come through in real time for our passengers.

Currently the boards show train running information, and in the next phase station staff will have control access which will enable them to share emergency or security messages, as well as messages on major engineering works that may impact passenger journeys.

“Although there are a few stations where small BSL totems (freestanding video signage boards that can be placed around the station concourse) have been introduced, we in Scotland’s Railway value the positive impact that having this information displayed on our main (and sub) boards,” says Graham Smith, regional telecoms asset and performance manager. “We hope this will improve our service to customers with hearing difficulties.

“We understand that as a result

of the work we’re doing in Scotland, there are five other major stations who now want to follow our lead – so I’m really proud to see Scotland’s Railway blazing this trail.” n