RailDirector December 2020

Better for Business

Exclusively for rail industry leaders

The inside track‌ Darren Caplan Meeting challenges head on Liam Henderson Bringing about innovation Natasha Hanson Checking out of rail with pride

Liam Sumpter and Ross Moran Opening up about the mindset and emotions on the day of the Stonehaven train derailment v

A platform for success‌ Releasing the latest industry news Bringing companies and customers together Delivering business-leading analysis and views

December 2020 Issue 4 railbusinessdaily.com

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Introduction

A tumultuous year, a time for reflection F

irst of all, a very happy Christmas from everyone here at RailDirector. As this year comes to a close, it is perhaps fitting now more than ever that we reflect upon the events of the past twelve months and the value of what is important – family, friends, health – as we look towards the future.

The phrase ‘unprecedented times’ has been repeated a lot this year, but it is worth reminding ourselves just how truly unprecedented this year has been.

The coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill, torpedoed many of our plans both professionally and personally, and fundamentally altered the way we live. It is a tragedy that is still unfolding each day, with key workers, including many working in the rail industry, playing a vital role in the fight to keep the country going.

I extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who have contributed to the outstanding resilience of Britain’s railways over the course of the past year.

I would also like to thank Liam Sumpter and Ross Moran for bravely opening up to us and sharing their personal experiences of the tragic Stonehaven train derailment. Although the line is now back open, the heartbreak of what happened on that day will live long in the memories of everyone in the rail industry.

Our thoughts remain with the families of Brett, Donald and Christopher and everyone else who has been directly and indirectly affected.

The unity that continues to exist amongst our industry friends and colleagues demonstrates the concept of ‘the railway family’. It is a strength in numbers that has helped us to persevere and a mentality which I am sure will once again prove valuable as we enter 2021, with the uncertainties of COVID-19 and Brexit still hanging over us.

But, with a new year and a vaccine on the horizon, I am imbued with a renewed sense of optimism – having overcome 2020, the rail industry is ready to face any challenges that may come our way in 2021.

Our aim is to get everyone involved in the business of the railways talking to each other so that together we can continue to grow stronger and prosper. By bringing together industry influencers, decision-makers and supply chain partners, RailDirector has become the go-to platform to showcase your organisation.

Please do not hesitate to engage with us. We look forward to working together in 2021 and we are always happy to help you tell your story.

I hope you enjoy this edition of RailDirector and that you have a merry Christmas and a very happy, successful and prosperous New Year.

Best wishes

David McLoughlin Chief Executive Business Daily Group (incorporating: RBD Publications and railbusinessdaily.com)

Having overcome 2020, the rail industry is ready to face any challenges that may come our way in 2021 Once you have finished reading this issue of RailDirector, please pass it to colleagues to enjoy or put it in your reception area.

RailDirector magazine is part of the Business Daily Group of companies, which includes the hugely popular railbusinessdaily.com. We deliver more than 70 stories a week to +50,000 rail industry professionals who now subscribe to our 7am daily newsletter. Please subscribe and encourage your colleagues and team members to do the same. It’s free and it’s easy at www.railbusinessdaily.com. This is the very best way to keep abreast of what is happening on Britain’s railways. There is a digital copy of RailDirector on our website.

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December 2020 | 3

Contents Better for Better for Business Business

Dealing with tragedy

5

Network Rail’s Liam Sumpter and Ross Moran open up about the tragic day of the Stonehaven derailment.

The sweetness of Siemens Mobility

8

Sambit Banerjee on his journey in rail and his role at Siemens Mobility.

12

Government invests £1.2 million for development work to be rolled out on three key rail routes.

Wellbeing top of the rail agenda

14

Including reducing carbon emissions in Wales and the end of the line for Pacer.

Keeping trains and stations clean

18

Greater Anglia’s Martin Moran on the efforts to keep everyone safe.

20

David Brown on the need for a more passenger-centric railway.

Next generation of footbridges Network Rail Principal Engineer Ian Grimes on the future of footbridge design.

Platform to end domestic abuse

future Tram Train schemes

SYPTE’s Pat Beijer on the Tram Train pilot and 25 years of Supertram.

Robroyston Station

Darren Caplan Anthony Smith Meeting challenges head The mission to get the beston deal for passengers Liam Henderson Bringing innovation Emmaabout Dymond Becoming better as a team Natasha Hanson Checking out of rail with pride EDI Charter

Liam Sumpter Louise Cheeseman and Ross Moran

44

Network Rail’s Nick King on the difference achieving White Ribbon Accreditation will make.

The MD of the open access operator Hull Trains Opening up about the mindset and emotions on on weathering the lockdown storm the day of the Stonehaven train derailment

A platform for success…

A platform for success…

Releasing the latest industry news Releasingcompanies the latest and industry news together Bringing customers

Bringing companies and customers Delivering business-leading analysis together and views Delivering business-leading analysis and views

48 Tel: 0800 046 7320 Sales: 020 7062 6599

NSAR’s Neil Robertson on the strategic approach needed to maintain rail’s momentum.

Solutions to the railway’s problems

53

Liam Henderson on the major role for smaller companies in bringing about innovation.

Platform 1

55

Highlighting products and services that are set to transform the railways.

Transforming train travel on the Isle of Wight 22

The inside inside track… track…

The

A pledge for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The team who turned a couple of notes into Rail Wellbeing Live.

58

South Western Railway’s Damian Power and Phil Dominey discuss the biggest changes to the Island Line in five decades.

Editor Dean Bruce editor@rbdpublications.com Writers Danny Longhorn Dave Windass Print Manager Dan Clark Distribution Manager Luca Goaten Advertising Team Christian Wiles Freddie Neal chris@rbdpublications.com Published by RBD Publications Ltd., Suite 37, Philpot House, Station Road,

• 62 87% weight saving vs. SS6 traditional Keeping NYMR on track Rayleigh, Essex, 7HH. build due to lightweight superstructure and Printed by Stephens & George Chris Price on the challenges of 2020 and the hard work GRP panels

24 2020 Queen’s Award Dura Composites’ Jonathan Howard on the that continues when services stop running. company’s role in rail.Winners in Innovation International news South Yorkshirefor blueprint for 26 Featuring Bombardier, Alstom and Akiem.

Dura Platform Unlocking the power of composites

40

Routes into rail

News

Life after franchising

DRS Business Services Director Natasha Hanson on her time within the industry.

Exclusively for rail industry leaders Exclusively for rail industry leaders

v

Acceleration of digital signalling

Natasha checks out of rail with pride 34

November 2020 December 2020 Issue 3 Issue 4 railbusinessdaily.com railbusinessdaily.com

We can lead our way out of this

• Allows for©rapid 2020 adjustment for future PTI requirements All rights reserved. Reproduction of

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the contentssurface of this magazine any • Low maintenance testedinto whatsoever is prohibited +1 millionmanner footfalls without prior consent from the

• Modular panels publisher.can be rapidly installed 70 on convex or concave platforms

For subscription enquiries and to make

• Hybrid GRP system hasofdesign life suresteel you get your copy Rail Director Darren Caplan, Railway Industry Association (RIA) of up to 120 years please ring 0800 046 7320 or email Chief Executive, on meeting challenges head on.

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The views expressed in the articles 75+44 (0)1255 Major Christmas works 28 Movers and shakers Tel: Unlocking the Power of Composites reflect440291 the author(s) opinions and do info@duracomposites.com A round-up of some of the new appointments not necessarily reflect the views of the Dozens of vital projects over the festive period. for the Rail Industry www.duracomposites.com publisher and editor. The published in the rail industry. material, adverts, editorials Crossrail back on track 30 and all other content is Obituary 78

Funding and financing package for the final phase is agreed.

RIA’s Peter Loosley pays tribute to Jeremy Candfield.

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Stonehaven

Dealing with tragedy on the railways As investigations continue into the tragic Stonehaven train derailment, Network Rail’s Liam Sumpter and Ross Moran open up about the mindset and emotions on the day

I

t is the news that no one ever wants to hear.

In amongst control messages about the impact of heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight on the railways in Scotland was a message reporting that a passenger train had derailed at Carmont, near Stonehaven.

It led to the declaring of a major incident, with dozens of emergency service vehicles racing to the ScotRail train which hit a landslide and derailed.

Tragically three people – driver Brett Robroyston Station McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury – lost their lives, Unlocking the Power of Composites and six others were injured. the Rail Industry Whilstfor investigations continue, Liam Sumpter, Route Director for Network Rail Scotland, and Ross Moran, Head of Operations for Network Rail Scotland, have spoken honestly and openly about “I drove straight to control on the basis that dealing with the tragedy and the impact in the I knew the incident itself was over three hours days and months after. away and I’d be no use in a car for that amount of “It was around 9.45am when I saw the control time getting to a remote location. I knew straight message saying there had been a derailment away that my role was to go into control and try involving a passenger train, as I was getting and coordinate things from a senior leadership my head around all the incidents going on perspective there.” after a night of thunderstorms and heavy rain,” Liam said that as he pulled into control it said Liam. brought back memories of his time as Regional “Immediately it was clear it was serious and Director at Northern (Arriva Rail North), when in the coming minutes there were a couple more he was responsible for the management of control messages saying there were reports that Manchester Victoria station on the night of the the train was on fire. terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena in 2017.

“The first thing I did was contact Alex Hynes “Looking back to 2017, the arena was just (Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway), above the station and my team were the very first Unlocking the Power of Composites who was with the Cabinet Secretary Michael responders to the bombing. I was thinking ‘Crikey, for the Rail Industry Matheson at the time, and I emailed the it doesn’t seem like two minutes since I had to deal Chief Executive. with something tragic.’

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“I can’t compare Manchester and Stonehaven, but what I did know is that these things mercifully don’t happen too often, and I knew a lot of the would behigh dealing with something like this •team Lightweight, strength fencing and for the first time so we had to make sure there was gate solutions available. and non corrosive •support Non conductive “I starteddesign to reflect onbe ‘What did installed I learn from • Modular can rapidly ‘What do I needand to remember?’, •Manchester?’, Bespoke Structural Design CAD Services and really available trying to get a clear picture in my of day whatdispatch needed doing and who I needed to •head Same on standard stockto.” holdings speak Whilst Liam was at control, Ross Moran had immediately arranged for staff to be on site ahead of making his way to Carmont – a three-hour drive – to+44 lead(0)1255 the operation at the scene.

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Stonehaven

“Drawing on both mine and Liam’s experiences, and a senior operations colleague who experienced the crash at Ladbroke Grove, we knew inherently that when these things happen you’ve got to keep calm and think strategically about how you are going to manage it and look to what resources you have in place,” said Ross.

“I’m not going to lie though – the drive to Carmont was quite stressful as I just wanted to get there. Fortunately, I had a colleague with me who drove so I could keep my ear to the ground and I also used it as a chance to unplug for a second to think about what I needed to do when I arrived on site. The pen and paper were out, and I was making lists.”

Gold command A gold command was immediately set up and those working in control were in regular contact with those on site. Whilst Ross made his way to Carmont, Liam and Alex Hynes worked together splitting up responsibilities and making sure everyone was being kept informed with what was going on and what decisions needed to be made.

I can’t say enough about the amount of support people were offering, it was amazing Liam said: “Looking back it is strange as in those early hours you just don’t have time to think about the tragedy itself. The focus is on the calls you need to make and the jobs you need to do.

“We had set up a gold command quite quickly and it was clear that there were multiple different things for us to be thinking about. You’ve got the incident itself, the rest of the network and the people side of things.”

Arriving at the site on the day of the derailment, Ross describes the scene as rather surreal.

“Overnight there had been thunderstorms and rain, but when I arrived it was clear blue skies, sunshine and it was warm, like a day in Spain,” he said. We drove over the hill and you came around to see smoke belching out of a cutting, more fire engines than I had ever seen in my life, and police everywhere.

“But despite the number of people and vehicles because of what had happened, there was a high degree of coordination and I have to give great credit to one of our initial responders who had appointed himself as rail incident officer. There was control of the situation in who was going 6 | December 2020

in and out, what the access was, and there was absolute focus to preserve all the evidence.”

Whilst Ross handled the challenges on site, for Liam and Alex it was about directing things from control.

Team challenge “We spent a lot of the day sat in control supporting the controllers and challenging ourselves as a team to make sure we were asking the right questions and making sure we were managing the rest of the network appropriately,” said Liam.

“We were also very conscious to make sure anybody involved, in any way, was being looked after, and speaking with HR and safety teams to arrange counselling in case it was needed. That was a big learning point from Manchester.

“The day itself absolutely flew by and it was one of those days you get to 4 or 5 in the afternoon and think ‘I’ve not had anything to eat since breakfast’.

“For me on the day I felt very much still in the mode of having a job to do, and even when I got home I didn’t really give myself the time to really

think about the horror of it and the tragic loss of three lives.”

Support from the railway family One thing Ross and Liam both were keen to stress was the support they received on the day and in the following weeks and months from family, friends and colleagues.

“We talk a lot about the railway family and it can sometimes feel like a cliché, but in these situations it does come true because you really feel the need to be there to support your people and them you,” said Ross.

Liam added: “I can’t say enough about the amount of support people were offering, it was amazing. That railway family that Ross mentions is incredible. Everybody comes together and offers help. Although in a lot of cases we didn’t need the help, what we really needed were the offers and just knowing that people were out there who can support us and have got an appreciation of the challenges being faced.”

Ross said: “Same sentiments from me. The support from top to bottom on Scotland’s Railway is phenomenal and the amount of messages I

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Stonehaven

thoughts remain with the families and friends of the three who died, as well as those injured or affected by what happened.

“We need to continue to make sure that we are vocal in offering support to people who need it,” said Liam. After Manchester, it was well after a year after the incident that people who were involved were still getting quite regular

received was overwhelming. One thing that made it peculiar is that we have the ongoing COVID pandemic and on the day of the incident there was the local lockdown in Aberdeen.

“Having seen a few incidents in my time and knowing the way people respond, we’re tactile and we’re human, and when people are upset you give them a hug or a handshake and that just hasn’t been possible.

“That added a strange sense on site because you are having to maintain two-metre social distancing when you can very obviously see that someone is upset. You have to find different ways to reach out which in that scenario was through kind words instead of a handshake or a hug.”

It is the weeks and months after which can be the danger zone for those involved in the incident

Recovering in the days and months after The railway line at Carmont reopened last month after engineers worked around-the-clock since the incident, initially supporting the accident investigation before beginning work in September to recover the derailed train carriages and, subsequently, when the site was handed back to repair and reopen the railway. The trains may be back running, but Liam and Ross say their

AFE

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Family • Colleagues • Friends

counselling. More than anything some people just wanted to be able to talk about it and share their experience.

“I also think it is important that once this beastly pandemic is over that we do take the opportunity to see the signaller that was up closest to the

derailment and that will be one of my first stops.

To have a chat and offer support. It is easy to feel as though you are being forgotten about when the world starts to move on. Offering that support is going to be really important for us.”

Ross said: “It is the weeks and months after which can be the danger zone for those involved in the incident, when things start to slow down.

“We were quick to act to get counsellors engaged and set up to support colleagues who were involved. There is no weakness if you are struggling. The support is there, and I would urge anyone who needs it to access it.”

Both wanted to finish the interview by praising everyone involved in the incident and for getting on so professionally with their jobs on the day and in the days afterwards.

They also expressed their thanks to everyone who sent messages of support and offers of help. In closing, Liam and Ross said: “Three people lost their lives that day, two of our own railway family, Brett and Donald, and our passenger, Christopher.

“We will always remember them as we learn from this tragic accident.”

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Siemens

The sweetness of Siemens Mobility Sambit Banerjee, MD of the multinational company’s rolling stock and customer services business in the UK, on his long innings and a corker of a future

I

t does not take long into a conversation with cricket enthusiast Sambit Banerjee, who took over as Managing Director of Siemens Mobility in the UK in November 2019, before a sporting analogy is used to frame his long career with the engineering giant.

“The more you bat,” he said, “the more you enjoy the sound of the ball hitting the bat, that sweetness. Working at Siemens is very much like that. It feels good to have been here for so long and the more time I am here the better I feel. It’s a great company to work for, a fair company, and one that has opened up opportunities for me.

“I am enjoying my job more than ever before and I look at work differently now. Now it is time for me to give a lot back to this organisation and its people. If I can be of any help to colleagues in work areas, in coaching, guidance and mentoring, I am more than happy to do so and share the experience that I have acquired on this journey with them.”

Beginnings Sambit’s journey commenced when the chartered accountant joined Siemens India at Kolkata in 1992. A brief intermission in 2001 saw him work for The Times of India group as Vice President of Finance, then Chief Financial Officer of a joint venture between The Times of India and BBC Publications, before a return to Siemens in 2005. He has enjoyed two spells in Munich for the business and, in 2006, moved to the UK, with responsibility for Siemens’ IT business for North West Europe and, after that, into the logistics and airports business. His move into rail came in 2013, when he joined Siemens Mobility as Finance Director.

Having travelled the globe, his sights are now firmly fixed on an inland port town in the East Riding of Yorkshire – Goole. Siemens Mobility’s ambitious plans will see a new £200m train manufacturing plant located there to manufacture and commission new generation trains, which is set to create up to 700 skilled jobs at its peak, plus another 250 jobs in construction.

The plant is due to open in 2023.

Sambit is keen to stress that Siemens is not in the business of merely opening factories. Rather, it creates technology centres and technology parks and, as a result of these ‘localisation’ projects, transforms communities.

8 | December 2020

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Siemens

Sambit explained: “This is our dream project, we have big plans, and this will have a big, positive impact on the town and its people.

Internally we started discussing our plans for Goole in 2013 so it has been a long journey, but we have planned this journey for the next 50 years.

“We want to play our part in the post-Brexit UK and our goal is to create a very British manufacturing location in Goole. We’ve worked closely with government and we are one of the few companies committed to developing a large-scale technology park here.

“We are creating local employment and our apprentices will mostly come from that area.

Young men and women from schools and colleges in the town will be trained by us and they will grow and develop into future leaders. We want to create stable, long-term employment for the people of the UK.” Sambit firmly believes that creating local added value will also lead to the development of the supply chain, with new business established in the region, while those 700 jobs created by Siemens Mobility will also be multiplied with the creation of another potential 1,700 jobs in the

supply chain. Siemens Mobility is also encouraging other businesses to co-locate in East Yorkshire with them, resulting in transformational socio-economic benefits that will reap rewards for future generations.

“And I will be a very proud man as a result.

Bringing about this change will be very satisfying,” he added. The 50-year plan also factors in some more immediate developments for Siemens Mobility. Currently, many Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) repair works

are carried out in Germany. However, in 2021 these will be delivered in Leeds, where Siemens Mobility’s traction drive business is located, while that Leeds facility will itself move to Goole in 2022 ahead of further expansion.

Sambit added: “We want to do this ourselves and take control of as many elements of trains in the UK as we can.”

Siemens Mobility’s commitment to UK industry and rail is also clearly signalled a mere 50 miles from Goole where in Lincoln its Bogie

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December 2020 | 9

Siemens

Service Centre, established in 2018 following an £8 million investment and employing 62 people including 44 skilled technicians, has just celebrated its 500th bogie overhaul for the Siemens UK fleet of trains – a milestone that barely scratches the surface of what is possible in this piece of the Siemens jigsaw.

“We have capacity now to overhaul 650 bogies a year, but we can increase that capacity and reach closer to 1,000. We’ve just started servicing wheelsets as well. There’s potential for further expansion that could see bogies assembled in the town and that will be great news.”

Decarbonisation plans Siemens Mobility is now working on decarbonisation plans that will serve the rail market for the next three decades and beyond.

Internally, Siemens has a target to be carbon neutral by 2030, while its work around alternative propulsion and the development of batteryelectric bi-mode and hydrogen-electric bi-mode eco-friendly trains is music to the ears of the Government and the devolved parliaments of the UK looking to hit their own 2050 net zero targets.

Sambit explained: “We’re working intensively, along with Siemens Energy, on providing solutions, as you’d expect. So that’s not just looking at trains but providing end-to-end capability, with the infrastructure for the generation, storage and distribution of hydrogen.

This includes developing new innovations involving storing hydrogen as ammonia, enabling much greater densities to be stored in a given space and then being converted into hydrogen for fuelling.

“Then there is also a focus on battery trains, given that there will be a requirement in the next ten years for some non-electrified routes to use battery technology.” Siemens Mobility has a battery train in operation in Austria with OBB

10 | December 2020

and are now in the process of delivering 20 Mireo Plus B battery bi-mode trains for the German regional transport authority Landesanstalt Schienenfahrzeuge Baden-Württemberg. In addition, a partnership was formed with Ballard in 2018 to develop the next generation of fuel cells for rail and, in a new partnership with Deutsche Bahn in Germany, those fuels cells will be used to develop a prototype hydrogen train and refuelling system.

Sambit added: “If we can give solutions to the Government around zero carbon it’s a win-win for all of us, and that’s the space we’re working in right now.”

We have a big role to play and a big responsibility that goes with delivering safe trains, every day These are as exciting times as any in Siemens’ long history. Siemens Mobility has supplied over 3,000 vehicles to the UK that, with the exception of CAF/Siemens Class 332/333 fleets, have all been supplied since 2003. The overwhelming majority of these trains are also maintained

by Siemens at depots in Southampton, Three Bridges, Hornsey, Northampton, Manchester and York.

Drawing on experience Mid-life fleets comprising Class 185, Class 350, Class 380 and Class 444/450 trains are undergoing digital upgrades with the capability to send data back to Siemens Mobility’s control centre to enable preventative and predictive

maintenance, bringing with it increased reliability.

Predicting the future and increasing the number of timely interventions will reduce the lifecycle costs of trains.

In addition to bringing plans for Goole and Lincoln to fruition, Sambit is also busy ensuring that Siemens Mobility delivers high-quality trains for London Underground’s Piccadilly line.

The impact of COVID-19 also required Sambit to draw on his decades of experience, and, with all depots remaining open as the business played its part in keeping Britain and its essential people, services and medical supplies moving, he quickly saw to it that staff had the required health, safety and wellbeing support in place. It’s just as well that he’s losing none of his enthusiasm.

He said: “We have a tremendous work culture throughout Siemens, based on what we call our ownership culture around instilling empathy, safety and wellbeing.

“Looking after people is very important to me and to all of us here. This is not a rail business; this is a people business. If I look after my people, they will take care of me.

“We have a big role to play and a big responsibility that goes with delivering safe trains, every day. Keeping the British public safe while travelling will always remain core.

“The company is rock solid, that’s our strength.

As for the future, there will be a balance of innovation and carbon neutrality projects with increasing benefits to our customers. Siemens is such a brilliant company with brilliant minds and we can come up with a lot of innovations. But what is the point of innovation if it doesn’t find its way to the customer and that doesn’t positively impact life cycle cost management? We’ll make sure we do that.

“And we do all of this while also considering how we can transform communities and change lives forever. This is our legacy and one I’m proud to be part of.”

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Siemens Mobility is shaping the future of UK rail Ope drives engineering process improvement to ensure we keep our UK trains reliable and safe. Visit our website for more employee stories.

siemens.co.uk/employeestories

F ei a D g ti tuar le S i g n a l l i n g

The acceleration of digital signalling Government invests £1.2 million for development work to be rolled out on three key rail routes

F

easibility work for digital signalling will be accelerated through £1.2 million of new government funding.

Vital sections of the West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and East Anglia route are set to benefit. This includes Peterborough to Kings Lynn on the Anglia route, and in the Warrington and Wigan area on the West Coast Mainline North.

This work will identify the most effective way to apply this type of technology to the railway and will showcase a new way of working that capitalises on early engagement with the supply chain. It will also create further opportunities to encourage innovation and driver efficiencies across regions.

Learning from the recent experience of the East Coast Digital Programme, where a partnership with route-based operators has been a success, this early scoping work will lay the foundation for future digital signalling renewals – part of a wider national plan to introduce digital signalling across the rail network in Great Britain.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “We’ve come a long way since the era of metal levers, used by Victorian signallers to provide safe passage for trains rolling into and out of stations. Now it’s our turn to be modern transport pioneers as we build the railway of tomorrow.

“The latest investment brings forward early investigation work with Network Rail engineers and suppliers on how best to roll out digital signalling across the rail network, reducing

12 | December 2020

delays and improving safety in the long term.

“Our ambitious programme to modernise Britain’s rail network will support the supply chain by creating high-skilled jobs and boosting the economy, as we level up the country and build back better after COVID-19.”

An end to conventional signalling at the side of tracks Conventional signalling means the network can struggle to recover quickly following disruption, with a small delay on one part of the railway still causing knock-on delays hundreds of miles away on other parts of the network many hours later.

This new technology gives signallers much better real-time information about train movements, enabling them to communicate with train drivers continuously to reduce the impact of delays. This ‘in-cab’ system will mean an end to the conventional signalling at the side of tracks first used in the Victorian era.

As part of this work, the Department is engaging with suppliers of digital signalling and industry experts across the country in order to learn from similar schemes and drive efficiency.

The Government’s nationwide programme to roll out this technology on the railway is part of its commitment with industry within the rail sector deal.

Andy Jones, Director of Operational Programme Delivery at Network Rail, said: “We’re delighted with this development funding, which reconfirms the DfT’s commitment to pursuing the long-term deployment plan for digital signalling on Britain’s railway.

“The first three schemes – on the East Anglia route, the West Coast Main Line and the Midlands Main Line – will help drive forward the modern railway we all need.”

Investing in the future The news follows the announcement of £350 million of new investment towards the East Coast Digital Programme, which will introduce digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line, between London King’s Cross and Stoke Tunnel in Lincolnshire, ensuring that more passengers reach their destinations on time.

David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association, said: “With around 60 per cent of signalling equipment units on the UK rail network needing to be replaced over the next 15 years, rail suppliers will need to gear up to ensure they are ‘match fit’ for a significant amount of work in ensuring its rollout is delivered efficiently, to time and to budget, and in order to ensure value for money for taxpayers and passengers.

“New digital technology will improve the reliability and resilience of the network, providing better services for passengers and freight, and will create highly skilled jobs across the UK at a time when they are vitally needed.” railbusinessdaily.com

I n sFue raat nu cr e

Advice for Railway Companies – monthly feature by Jobson James Rail – The Rail Broker

Hiring plant tools and equipment? Read the T&Cs R ailway companies often have to hire equipment – mobile plant, hand tools, surveying equipment, etc. – but the companies that hire out this equipment will trade on terms and conditions that are important to understand.

Plant and tools destined for contract sites are commonly hired out under Construction Plant Hire Association terms – CPA, or the rail version, RPA. These terms make the hirer responsible for not just theft and damage to hired items, but also for the lost hire income while the plant company is waiting to be paid for their loss – these are the “continuing hire charges”.

Often a plant hire company will allow the hirer to pay a higher rate of hire so they are not responsible for losses and that the plant hire company retains risk of theft or damage.

If a railway company is spending more than £300 per month on hire, then it is usually cheaper for them to buy their own insurance for the hired equipment.

The quality of policy cover varies. Many insurances exclude overnight theft losses unless the hired plant is in a locked building or compound.

Policies are also often restricted to cover hired under CPA, when there are other conditions used in the industry like HAE (Hire Association of Europe). Be aware that plant hire terms often state that the hirer accepts the plant is in good condition unless a query is raised immediately upon receipt.

A client of ours hired a theodolite and tripod. It sat in their office for two weeks before use due to contract delays. When it was finally used, the tripod collapsed and the theodolite was smashed.

It was discovered that the tripod was very worn and was defective.

Under the plant hire terms, the hirer was liable for the £30,000 replacement of the theodolite, and their insurance had to pay as they had not checked the item for condition when it was received.

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F eeawtsu r e N

Welsh Government 20-year plan to reduce carbon emissions from the transport network A

new draft Transport Strategy has been published pledging a major reduction in carbon emissions from the transport network in Wales.

Transport currently makes up 17 per cent of Wales’ carbon emissions, but the Welsh Government has committed to set new and stretching five-year priorities to meet decarbonisation targets.

The draft strategy, ‘Llwybr Newydd – New Path’, sets out a range of new ambitions to reshape transport in Wales, including a new sustainable transport hierarchy that will help shape investment towards greener transport options.

It sets our four long-term ambitions for the transport system in Wales, delivered through a set of five-year priorities. It also contains nine ‘mini-plans’ for modes and sectors: active travel; rail; bus; roads.

A consultation has been launched for people to have their say on the plans, which runs until 25 January 2021.

Ken Skates, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, said: “The shift towards a greener transport system is already underway, with record levels of investment in active travel and public transport.

“Llwybr Newydd is a once in a generation opportunity to reinforce and accelerate that

Pacers bid final farewell to Northern network

T

he last Pacer to carry Northern customers has completed its swansong journey having travelled from Kirkby to Manchester Victoria.

The final journey – completed by 142004 – marks just over 35 years of continuous service in the north of England, clocking 3 million miles in the process.

Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “The Pacers have kept millions of northerners on the move and, while they have served us well and provided some communities with rail services they may have otherwise lost, it is time to give them a well-earned rest.

“Northern has overseen significant modernisation in recent months and the retiring Pacers have made way for a fleet of 100 brand new trains which are already servicing

14 | December 2020

people across the north of England.” During their time on the network, Northern’s fleet of 102 Pacers travelled more than 300 million miles – equivalent to 630 trips to the moon and back.

Retirement of the Pacer fleet began in the summer of 2019 and the trains have been gradually removed from service as more and more new and refurbished trains have been introduced.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The Pacer fleet has connected communities on the Northern network for over 30 years, but today marks the sun finally setting on trains that have become loved by some but hated by many. This marks a new era of transport in the north, with passengers enjoying a brand new fleet of trains delivering more modern services and creating a more reliable network across the north.”

work so that we can make our transport system in Wales genuinely fit for future for generations to come.”

London Waterloo the busiest station in Britain for 16th consecutive year

I

t’s been revealed that London Waterloo station has topped the list of the busiest stations in Britain.

But the Office of Rail and Road’s estimate of station usage statistics show there were 7.3 million fewer entries and exits between April 2019 and March 2020, compared to the previous year.

The least used station was Berney Arms in Norfolk which recorded 42 entries and exits during the year. Usage at this station fell by 90 per cent in 2019-20 due to the lines serving the station being closed most of the year for signalling upgrade work.

Four new stations opened in 2019-20 bringing the station total to 2,567 at the end of March 2020.

Around Great Britain, Glasgow Central (32.5 million) remained the busiest station in Scotland while in Wales, Cardiff Central recorded 12.7 million entries and exits.

Jay Symonds, ORR senior statistical analyst, said: “The dramatic drop in passenger numbers towards the end of March due to COVID-19 explains much of the drop in usage compared to last year.

“With numbers staying at historically low levels during 2020, there is no doubt that next year’s figures will look a lot different.” railbusinessdaily.com

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F eeawtsu r e N

Rail family raises £540,000 for Rail Aid W

hen industry charity Railway Children asked for help this November, the railway family answered the call and came together like never before.

Rail Aid, the charity’s response to the impact of COVID-19 on their fundraising programme, generated an incredible wave of support within the industry and raised an astonishing £540,000 to ensure Railway Children’s work with vulnerable children will continue despite the devastating effects of the pandemic.

Dubbed ‘the railway’s answer to Children in Need’, Rail Aid was organised from a standing start following the cancellation of the charity’s 2020 events programme, including the Three Peaks Challenge by Rail and the Railway Ball, which collectively raised almost £900,000 last year.

Rail Aid Ambassador Sir Peter Hendy CBE said: “I cannot thank our industry enough for the part each business, corporation, team and individual played in ensuring that Railway Children can continue their vital work to help children who were already vulnerable and who are now dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their lives. It has been humbling to witness how many people took the time and effort to join in with Rail Aid during this most difficult period for us all.”

Terina Keene, Chief Executive of Railway

Children, said: “We’re amazed, thrilled and above all incredibly grateful to everyone in the railway family for making Rail Aid such a success. COVID-19 has affected so many people worldwide and as a result children are more vulnerable than ever. The pandemic has had a

devastating effect on our fundraising programme and we have faced the proposition of having to close projects. Thank you to every single person who did so much to support us. We are extraordinarily grateful to each and every one of you.”

Free train travel for almost a thousand fleeing domestic abuse as demand for help soars T

rain companies are extending free train travel for survivors of domestic abuse until the end of March next year.

The move comes as figures show four survivors a day, on average, have been using the scheme as reports show that abuse has worsened during coronavirus restrictions.

Rail to refuge is a joint initiative between rail companies and Women’s Aid in which train operators cover the cost of train tickets for women, men and children travelling to refuge accommodation. Since April, train operators have provided free tickets to 836 people, including 210 children.

First introduced by Southeastern in September 2019 and then GWR on its routes in March 2020, all train operators joined the Rail to refuge scheme on 9 April with the original plan to keep it in place for approximately 12 weeks or for the duration of lockdown.

Jacqueline Starr, Chief Operating Officer at the Rail Delivery Group, said: “We’re proud to have provided a vital lifeline for almost a thousand people escaping a desperate situation, but there are still too many

16 | December 2020

women, men and children that need help. Our staff are working hard to support the survivors of domestic abuse with free train journeys while keeping the railway running for all the people, communities and local economies that rely on it.”

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Hygiene

Keeping trains and stations clean and safe Greater Anglia’s Martin Moran on the £600,000 investment to keep the railways clean

T

he coronavirus pandemic has thrown a new emphasis on hygiene, as the government repeatedly urges us all to wash and sanitise our hands to prevent the spread of the virus.

Nowadays, whenever you go into a shop, pub, or restaurant, you are invited to sanitise your hands as you enter and leave. Greater Anglia, in common with the rest of the rail industry, is playing its part in contributing to good public hygiene, by keeping trains and stations cleaned and sanitised and enabling customers to wash and sanitise their hands.

We’re doing everything we possibly can to keep our trains as clean and hygienic as possible “Stepping up cleaning and sanitisation of trains and stations – and letting the public see for themselves that we’re doing it – is important as it gives customers confidence to travel with us.

It reassures them that it’s safe to use the railway,” says Martin Moran, Greater Anglia Commercial, Customer Service and Train Presentation Director.

18 | December 2020

Weekly public transport surveys by watchdog Transport Focus show how important cleanliness and hygiene is to customers when making decisions about how to travel. This is particularly important as the second lockdown in England comes to an end and more people start using public transport. £600,000 investment “At Greater Anglia, we are confident that our trains are clean – and we know this because we have invested £600,000 in new equipment and additional people devoted to the cleanliness and hygiene of our trains,” said Martin.

The company has an arsenal of powerful cleaning equipment – including five 3M hygiene monitoring units, which are used weekly to quickly detect biological residue on high-touch areas on board trains. A swab is taken from the area being tested, which is checked for Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), an indicator of biological residues. The swab sample reacts with a labmanufactured enzyme – replicating that found in fireflies called luciferase – in a self-contained device. The energy from this reaction creates light.

The more light detected, the greater the amount of biological residue on the surface tested.

Effective cleaning regimes Test results are then synchronised with one of Greater Anglia’s servers, so that train cleaning

managers can get a picture of the efficiency and effectiveness of cleaning regimes across the whole of the network, enabling the company to provide optimal conditions for the sanitisation of trains.

Since March, Greater Anglia has stepped up cleaning of high touch areas such as push buttons, grab handles, door handles, arm rests and tables. It is these areas which are swabbed routinely to check this cleaning is working.

When cleaning is effective, then sanitisation measures, such as “fogging” with an anti-viral mist, work best. Greater Anglia now has seven fogging guns, used to spray a fine targeted mist of anti-viral disinfectant which quickly kills off bacteria and viruses in the air, on floors, furniture, walls, ceilings, other surfaces and large internal areas.

Every single carriage on all of Greater Anglia’s trains had been fogged by the beginning of September, and the company is now doing them again. Fogging guns are also being used

by Greater Anglia’s cleaning contractors to sanitise waiting rooms, toilets and other areas at stations. The company has also invested in other new equipment, extra cleaning routines and new and additional detergents. This new arsenal includes eight powerful Pacvac backpack vacuum cleaners, fitted with four filters which railbusinessdaily.com

Hygiene

clean the air as well as the floor and upholstery – especially useful for “turnaround cleaning” of trains at stations, between arriving on one service and departing again on the next one. The new vacuum cleaners are light and manoeuvrable, making it easier for train cleaners to do a thorough job.

Martin adds: “We’re doing everything we possibly can to keep our trains as clean and hygienic as possible. Our testing equipment enables us to check that our cleaning is as effective as possible, so that our customers can travel with us, confident that they are being kept safe. Our cleaning teams have been doing a great job and have really stepped up to the mark to keep everyone safe.

“Other staff, including our catering and station teams, have also stepped in to carry out additional cleaning on high-touch areas such as ticket barriers and ticket machine touch screens.”

Keeping COVID-safe Greater Anglia has also made it easier for customers to wash and sanitise their hands. From March, staff have been working hard to keep

water and soap topped up in toilets on trains and at stations. In addition, the company has provided hand sanitiser at all staffed stations, with money raised for charity for each litre of hand sanitiser used.

While some of these extra cleaning and sanitisation measures take place at stations during “turnaround” cleaning, some of it is

happening at night in depots and sidings, but the public have been able to see for themselves all the new steps Greater Anglia is taking through videos, photos and news articles posted on the company’s social media and in the local media. “We want our customers to feel confident, so through videos and photos they’re able to see for themselves what we’re doing to keep them safe,” said Martin.

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December 2020 | 19

Arriva Group

Leading the Arriva Group into life after franchising UK Trains Managing Director David Brown on the need for a more passenger-centric railway

D

avid Brown is under no illusions as to the challenges facing the owners of Chiltern, CrossCountry and Grand Central.

He picks up the baton as Arriva Group’s UK Trains Managing Director in the COVID pandemic era, when passenger numbers have been decimated, and just as the government announced the end of rail franchising.

But David isn’t one to get daunted by the task ahead – instead, ready and raring by the prospect to shape the future of rail in this country.

“I’m really excited about leading Arriva’s UK Train business at such a critical time for our industry, and I fully recognise the significant challenges we face as a result of COVID-19 and the impact it has had on the public transport sector as a whole,” he said.

Rising to challenges “Throughout 2020, everyone in rail has done an amazing job rising to the challenges the pandemic has thrown at us. Frontline staff in particular, deserve praise for how they’ve adapted to the situation and kept vital services running.

It’s been a hard year – but we must remain resilient and adaptable as there will be many challenges ahead.

“Public transport will play a vital role in the country’s economic recovery and Arriva will be at the heart of this as we help get the country

moving again, while also looking to the future of our railways and working closely with government to deliver reform.”

It is that reform which will be at the forefront of David’s mind as MD. Train operating companies are currently a few months into Emergency Recovery Management Agreements (ERMA), put in place by the Department for Transport to ensure continuity of operations while passenger numbers remain impacted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is a move which also marks the beginning of the end of rail franchising after 24 years in a bid to bring Britain’s fragmented network back together.

“I think it’s been generally accepted that the franchising system needed to come to an end, but now we must quickly look to the future,” said David.

“The ERMAs are an important stepping-stone as we transition away from franchising towards a fully reformed operating model, but my concern is the sector’s ability to respond fast enough to the change in passenger behaviour, with less commuting and more home-working.

“COVID has accelerated a trend we were already seeing, so the railways must now accelerate a response. I want to see a more passenger-centric railway and I don’t believe there is a ‘one-size-fits-all solution’. Government must use the individual expertise of the TOCs to

drive the right solutions for the different parts of the market.

“The right solution for TfL’s London commuters will be different to users of long-distance rail services like those provided by CrossCountry.

Diverse expertise “We only need to look at aviation and how it has evolved its service, its use of technology and its fares and ticketing structures, to recognise the different needs of passengers on domestic versus short-haul or long-haul services. As owners of Chiltern, CrossCountry and Grand Central, Arriva

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has diverse expertise and versatility across all the different operating models from concessions with TfL, to long-distance with CrossCountry or open access with Grand Central, and we will play a vital role in shaping the future of our railways.”

But David is more than up for the challenge and brings to the table a wealth of experience, having worked across all modes of transport in both the public and private sectors.

Among his previous prominent leadership roles are Chief Executive at Transport for the North, Chief Executive at Merseytravel, MD at Northern Rail and more recently as Arriva’s Group Communications Director.

“I’m proud of how we have responded to COVID-19 and if there is any upside to this crisis, it’s seeing our people recognised for the vital role they play in keeping communities connected and transporting key workers and others to their places of work.

“Like all transport providers, we have made some big adjustments to our operating procedures so that staff and passengers can feel confident and safe.

“This is also really important because we know the first journey a passenger makes will influence their confidence to return to public transport more

regularly. In the short-term, we need to understand and respect this and make sure we are delivering against passenger expectations every day.

“Fares reform and more flexible season tickets are an obvious first step to respond to the changing needs of passengers. I would like to see

Our focus should be on those passengers who want to travel and need to travel by public transport the sector working together to deliver this kind of tangible change now.

“In the longer term there are two big priorities which are intertwined. Firstly, the question of longer-term reform and how it can meet the future needs of passengers, and secondly how public transport will enable a greener future for all of society.

“We must work together as an industry to enable a future where public transport solutions

can be seamlessly planned and integrated with other modes of transport such as walking, cycling and e-scooters to provide end-to-end solutions.

“As populations grow within our cities and infrastructure becomes more constrained, public transport must be the answer.”

But as there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic – with vaccinations starting in the UK – the railway needs to start to look at ways to attract people back onto the trains.

“For months, people were urged to avoid public transport – and this is obviously a difficult message,” said David.

“Right now, our focus should be on those passengers who want to travel and need to travel by public transport.

“There is a lot of research emerging from around the world to suggest that public transport provides a safe environment with very low risk of transmission when the right mitigations are in place.

“We know that after a long period of time away from public transport, people are naturally cautious, so the first journey really matters. We need to provide consistent levels of hygiene and service to help build passenger confidence.

“We also need to adapt our offering to provide sensible timetables and flexible ticketing in response to changed passenger behaviours.

“The sustainability agenda is also vital – we must get people back to public transport so we can move towards net-zero carbon emissions.

It will be a tragedy if the legacy of COVID is that people return to their cars, our towns and cities become more congested and pollution levels increase.

“With the industry and government pulling together in the same direction, we can make a difference.”

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December 2020 | 21

Composites

Is Futura the perfect solution for the next generation of footbridges?

Network Rail Principal Engineer Ian Grimes speaks about the future of footbridge design

I

n our rush to get to the right platform or make our way out of the station as quickly as possible, the majority of us do not give much thought to railway footbridges.

We might admire the staying power of Victorian engineering and architecture, or the functionality of a footbridge constructed in more recent times, but, more often than not, as we move swiftly across them, we barely consider how inaccessible some of these structures are.

As Network Rail contemplates the design and engineering of its estate in order to replace footbridges no longer fit for purpose and to construct new footbridges, it does so against the backdrop of Construction 2025, the joint strategy from government and industry for the future of UK construction, which focuses on the use of smart technologies, green construction and overseas trade.

Construction 2025 targets More specifically related to railway footbridges, Construction 2025 targets aim to bring about 50 per cent faster delivery, a 33 per cent cost reduction, 50 per cent lower carbon emissions and a 50 per cent reduction in the import/export trade gap.

All of this is being pondered by Ian Grimes, Principal Engineer in Network Rail’s Technical Authority for Buildings and Architecture, as Network Rail look to prototype Futura, the concept footbridge designed by Marks Barfield Architects and COWI. The Futura footbridge will demonstrate the benefits that can be gained from using composites in railway station environments for both new build and replacement structures.

Ian said: “We’ve been doing a lot of work around updating the designs of our standard footbridges. In recent years there’s definitely been more of an architectural focus and an interest in creating bridges that are more aesthetically pleasing. While this has included steel bridges, we’ve looked at reducing carbon and our reliance on steel.

“With net-zero targets we’re exploring different materials, and composites lend themselves to a more modular approach.

A modular approach to construction reduces 22 | December 2020

time on site and we’re not just looking at virgin materials, such as carbon fibre and glass, but want to explore a circular economy where, for instance, we can strip down end-of-life wind turbines and reissue and recycle those parts into a footbridge component. It’s an approach that reduces the environmental impact of construction.”

Network Rail has partnered with the National Composites Centre (NCC) to develop factorymoulded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bridges, a sustainable solution that will contribute to net-zero targets right across the industry.

There’s a lot of pride in the rail network and we want to build on that and enhance the heritage Network Rail became the first public sector Tier 1 member of the NCC, and both organisations are aligned in their desire to increase the use and adoption of composites in construction.

Ian said: “Composites are misunderstood and we certainly want to address that. Around four years ago there was a move by Network Rail to explore the benefits of using composite materials, which had been relatively untried in construction and there was a reluctance

to take them up. We used composites across some isolated schemes and projects but we ran into some issues; they were actually taking longer than traditional methods, needed more technical assurance and, because they were novel, costs were actually higher and we didn’t fully understand their environmental impact.

“So we had to come up with ways of managing that, which led to us approaching the NCC. We wanted to be at the forefront of the challenge and also make sure that regulation and traceability was in place. Along with the NCC we’re looking at putting together guidance regarding where composites can be used, and where they won’t provide the best solution, as well as carrying out life-cycle analysis and really understanding what the environmental impact of using composites is.”

Access for All Ian added that, in Ian Crockford at Marks Barfield, responsible for the London Eye, and COWI’s Ian Firth, the former president of the Institution for Structural Engineers, the development of the prototype bridge “is in good hands”. Together, the team are also addressing the very important issue of accessibility, in line with the Department for Transport’s ‘Access for All’ programme, and all of these bridges will have lifts.

Ian continued: “There are still a lot of Victorian-era bridges in place but we’re now at the stage where they no longer owe anyone railbusinessdaily.com

Composites

anything. They’ve lasted for generations but the question of whether they’re now fit for purpose is something we need to ask, as we look at replacing existing bridges and go on to install the next generation of bridges in full compliance with Persons with Reduced Mobility legislation, Access for All and the Equality Act. Everyone should have equal access to travel and the rail network.”

Futura is a three-stage design and stage two is about to get underway, with a prototype expected to be built by July 2021 in a safe place where it will be constructed, undergo testing, taken down and then reconstructed. This will allow a full understanding of the construction process as well as the implications of building these bridges in a live environment and how best to minimise disruption.

The way forward Ian said: “Prototyping is very important but it’s surprisingly rare in rail engineering these days – even though there are a lot of benefits by allowing ourselves the time to think. It’s understandable because we know how to build in concrete and steel and how much time we need. With something more novel and innovative we need to assure ourselves that we’re taking the right steps and moving in the right direction.

“Our thoughts are that in terms of safety, the use of machinery and costs, there will be big benefits long-term. These bridges are higher strength, lighter weight and need less foundations so there’ll be less concrete in the ground. We’re trying to consider every angle.

“Confidence is high in the prototype and independent cost consultants are telling us that this looks like an affordable direction to move in. It certainly ticks all of the Construction 2025 boxes but obviously we’re reliant on the prototype and getting the right construction teams in place to help us build it and prove the case. It’s all looking very positive right now.”

The modularity of Futura could also result in component pieces being delivered railbusinessdaily.com

on-site via train, reducing transport via road, ahead of what will be an anticipated, simple, and rapid precision fit assembly in the station environment.

There is also potential here to influence bridge design and construction beyond rail, with Network Rail’s position as lead client of IP3 Zero Carbon World seeing best practice shared with other public asset owner groups and organisations, including Highways England as well as HS2.

Ian is also aware that, should the Futura design be accepted as the footbridge of the future, these bridges also need to have the aesthetic impact, as well as the durability, of Victorian-era engineering.

He said: “We’re absolutely thinking about legacy and asking what we will be leaving behind if we do go on to construct hundreds of FRP composite bridges. What will they look like in 30 or 50 years? What will be their environmental impact? What’s the social value of this legacy?

Massive benefits “There’s a lot of pride in the rail network and we want to build on that and enhance the heritage. There’s a lot of criticism of composite products due to current misconceptions but if we get this right we can celebrate the benefits. There’s potentially

a lot of good news here, the benefits to passengers and people and the potential social value is massive. If we can get more people mobile around the network fantastic, and if we can play a part in encouraging social mobility that’s great for everyone.

“A footbridge can be the biggest addition to smaller rural stations for possibly 100 years. If we don’t get them right and complement the area we can have a detrimental effect, so it’s worth putting the time in to make sure that we enhance our communities. Potentially, there are big benefits for the rail network here right across every region and, from where I’m sitting, the approach we’re taking with Futura is perfect for the times we are living in.”

COMMENT Graeme Jeremy, Head of Construction and Infrastructure at the National Composites Centre (NCC) The National Composites Centre (NCC) says it is delighted to welcome Network Rail to the organisation and to be working in partnership on the groundbreaking Futura project.

Graeme Jeremy, Head of Construction and Infrastructure at the NCC, believes there is clear alignment between the long-term strategic goals of the two organisations – namely to accelerate the adoption of composites in construction and to support the UK’s supply chain development to achieve the Government’s Construction 2025 strategy.

Graeme said: “It’s a demonstration of their interest in how the benefits of composites – such as their durability and low carbon footprint – can be best exploited in the UK’s rail infrastructure, and the intention to do this going forward.

“It is early days working together, but already we are seeing significant strategic alignment as the NCC better understands the underlying technical challenges and as awareness grows of how composites can address them in an innovative manner.

Collaboration “This partnership gives Network Rail access to worldleading expertise in composite materials, which will allow them to explore how to best use composites in rail. As the best solutions are explored in terms of materials selection and the impact of this on through life costs, the rail industry will benefit from wider supply chain options, cost/benefit models and product development opportunities.

“It also signals to the supply chain that the use of composites and other innovative materials is being actively considered by the industry, meaning more options could come to the fore.

“We believe that a targeted approach to the application of composites in rail will reduce disruption to passengers and simultaneously improve the environmental performance of the network, both in building new assets and in the maintenance of the existing portfolio.

“We want to be driving expertise in composites in infrastructure, and it would be fantastic to see UK infrastructure catching up and overtaking the innovations being implemented in the USA, Europe and Japan.”

December 2020 | 23

Composites

Unlocking the power of composites Dura Composites’ Jonathan Howard on the company’s role in rail

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here is an important role for composites to play in the rail industry. Whilst Network Rail and the National Composites Centre have only recently partnered up, the use of these materials is something that has been done by Dura Composites for over two decades.

The company is a leader in the use of high strength and low weight Glass Reinforced Polymer (GRP), which is helping to solve the key challenges of capacity, reliability and efficiency.

“Composite materials are playing an increasingly prominent role in the rail industry thanks to their lightweight nature, durability and fire performance qualities,” said Jonathan Howard, the company’s Business Development Manager.

“Whilst GRP is not new to the industry, designers and contractors are now becoming more aware of the benefits, and we are working hard to further inform the industry of how dedicated and unique rail-specific designs can be used to save time and money across several applications.

“This follows the output from the RIA-formed UPCRII working group (Unlocking the Power of Composites for Rail Infrastructure Improvements) over the past 18 months, where barriers and blockers to the adoption of composites were identified.

“We’ve been supplying materials for the rail sector for over 20 years and we’ve got endless case studies to prove the product works in various applications.”

24 | December 2020

Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation Despite the challenges surrounding COVID-19, 2020 has been a year of success for Dura Composites. Earlier this year, the company scooped the coveted Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation 2020 for its modular train station platform solution known as Dura Platform.

It sits alongside a host of innovative specially designed product solutions including GRP flooring, handrails, trench covers and access structures, as well as low maintenance GRP Ballast Retention systems, trackside walkways, pedestrian footbridges and bridge walkways.

Jonathan said: “The benefits in the supply of composite materials are being seen in multiple applications. There are the safety and cost benefits, characterised by the fact that a lot of

our products can be brought in by a one or two men lift.

“Further, our company develops rail application specific product solutions plus a huge amount of project specific solutions, utilising the in-house PI insured structural engineering design team. This allows us to provide a one-stop solution, often culminating in off-site modular structures or components to make it easier to install on site, often in engineering hours.

“There is also huge longevity in the products we are installing. Where we are replacing timber for example with station dagger boards, we’re installing material which needs no further painting, ever.

“Overall, rail industry leaders are seeing the benefits and it is a time of great optimism for us as a business. The GRP industry has grown quite considerably in the last few years – we’ve seen our own sales double over the last three years partly due to our own innovation, but also it’s a testament to how the industry is adapting and evolving to embrace new technology.”

Network Rail investment The news of the partnership between Network Rail and the NCC is set to add further weight to the use of composites. The investment which Network Rail themselves are looking to put into composites adds to the building of that confidence.

Jonathan said: “To assist this major milestone, Dura has spent two years developing a new product selector resource, conceived to provide further confidence to designers, specifiers and contractors who are more used to working with concrete, steel and wood. This boils down to being able to select the right floor grating product to suit your application based on entering or selecting data based on your project, such as span, load, load safety criteria, etc.

“The web tool also features a section that allows you to compare GRP profile section such as I-Beams versus other materials such as steel, so that you know how much weight would be saved using GRP, and what size section would be needed.

“This is especially useful where steel is too heavy to bring in or if there is a requirement for non-electrical conductivity, which is of course common these days in rail.” railbusinessdaily.com

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Light Rail

The South Yorkshire blueprint to benefit future Tram Train schemes South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive’s Pat Beijer on the Tram Train pilot

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outh Yorkshire’s Tram Train service has just come to the end of a two-year pilot to test the pioneering technology. Such has been its success – with 1.5 million passenger journeys and 100 per cent customer satisfaction – that travelling on tramlines is continuing in Sheffield and the study is being used as a blueprint to benefit future UK transport schemes elsewhere.

“The focus was looking to see if we could create a system, an interoperable system, of a vehicle that can run on the streets as well as on the heavy rail network,” said Pat Beijer, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive’s (SYPTE) Director of Transport Operations.

SYPTE, Network Rail and Stagecoach Supertram have delivered the scheme following a £125 million investment from the Department for Transport (DfT). Among the aims of the pilot were to understand the costs of operating a lighter weight vehicle with track brakes on the national rail network, determining changes to technical standards and to gauge passenger acceptability of Tram Trains.

“The trial has only just ended and we will be reporting the pilot’s findings to the DfT, but the good news is that it is no longer a concept; it is actually a reality and these last two years have proven it is technically possible to do this,” said Pat. Pilot success Tram Trains have the signalling, power supply, control, wheel profile and telecommunications

technology to run on both street tram lines and the rail network.

The project has caught the eyes of 10 other transport authorities, including Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff, that are seeking to create their own Tram Train service following the success of the pilot.

Pat said: “It has proved incredibly popular with our customers with the trial exceeding expectations. The technical compatibility has been proved and the reliability of the vehicles has improved over time and has proved a really reliable service.

“There’s a lot of interest from other authorities, but we’re lucky enough in South Yorkshire to have this as a first in the UK so we are really benefitting from the pilot ourselves. It gives us a great foundation to build on the learnings.”

The pilot comes at an exciting time for SYPTE. This year marks the 25th anniversary since the Supertram, which SYPTE owns and

We’re proud of being able to offer a safe, reliable and fully accessible mode of transport Stagecoach runs commercially, commenced full operations. In that time, it’s welcomed over 304 million passengers, travelling a total distance the equivalent of a trip to Mars.

Sheffield icon “The Supertram is iconic to Sheffield, an asset for the region, and has become so much more than a beloved mode of transport for many passengers,” said Pat. “It’s a vital part of our integrated public transport network, and with it being the only zero-emissions public transport system in South Yorkshire it continues to contribute towards a greener future. It has the potential to take hundreds of thousands of cars off the roads.”

The Supertram system cost £240 million

26 | December 2020

to build, with construction starting in 1991.

Operations between Sheffield city centre and Meadowhall commenced on 21 March 1994, with the final stretches to Malin Bridge and Middlewood opening on 23 October 1995. With the extension from Tram Train, it currently serves 50 stops in Sheffield and Rotherham, covering 22 miles.

“It’s pretty incredible really what has and continues to be achieved, and we’re proud of being able to offer a safe, reliable and fully accessible mode of transport, particularly during COVID,” said Pat. “The network continues to provide clean, convenient and carbon-free connections across Sheffield and, more recently, to Rotherham – helping to ease congestion and improve air quality.

“At a time when the region has declared a climate emergency, Supertram provides an invaluable solution.”

Strategic background Pat is one of the newer additions to the team, having joined in May this year, and has held high profile strategic roles at Arriva Rail North and Northern.

“My background is very much in strategic change, and during my time at Northern I did a lot of work on major change programmes, including railbusinessdaily.com

Light Rail

significant changes to the contracts operated with the Government,” she said.

“My background has probably made it easier to deal with the emerging and continuous changes under COVID. Longer term, I think my experience will help as the current Supertram concession ends in 2024 and as we’re looking at securing investment from central government to renew the infrastructure of the tram system as well as the vehicles.”

But Pat’s aims and ambitions don’t end there – in an ideal world, public transport would be the first choice for people working and commuting in the South Yorkshire area.

“I would love for everybody to leave cars at home and hop onto public transport,” she said.

“That would be my longer-term ideal vision really, so for me it is creating a system that is accessible to people. I know that the immediate priority is looking at the asset and infrastructure renewal, but for me the longer term is really about getting people out of their cars and travelling to their destination of choice on public transport, and Supertram has to form an important part of the integrated solution.”

It is the prospect of getting people back onto public transport and playing a major role in climate change that really excites Pat moving forward.

“When it comes to how excited I am for the future on a scale of 0-10, I would say 9.5,” she said. I would have hoped to have joined SYPTE in different circumstances, but in this unprecedented time I feel incredibly lucky to have landed in a fantastic organisation with great colleagues.

“I have had phenomenal support all round since I joined. Clearly joining in such a challenging period for public transport is in itself a major personal challenge, but it is also incredibly rewarding. It is really nice to actually demonstrate as a public transport organisation that we’re capable of being agile, making changes quickly and responding to crisis situations very effectively.

“Public transport continues to be a safe way of travel, even in the current circumstances, and an important means of travel for many key workers.

Although demand is clearly nowhere near preCOVID levels, it is starting to increase and we are seeing 30-40 per cent of normal pre-COVID

levels, which is quite good all things considered.

“I am optimistic looking to the future as there is so much opportunity and I’m really looking forward to playing a part in making sure we secure the investment for the tram system for the next generation of passengers.

“There’s lots of exciting stuff on the way and clearly public transport is going to be really key to the economic recovery of the region as well.

The world is our oyster essentially, and I’m very excited for the challenges ahead.”

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December 2020 | 27

C h r i s t m a s Wo r k s

Major Christmas works to keep the railways running reliably N

etwork Rail and its supply chain will be working at dozens of locations to carry out vital projects to renew key pieces of rail infrastructure over the festive period.

The orange high-vis army will be out in force this Christmas and the New Year carrying out a wide range of projects, including track renewals, bridge replacements and improvements to signalling and overhead line equipment.

A lot of work comes at the time the Government has allowed a Christmas travel window, between December 23 and 27, when typically, the railways would normally be quieter.

Below are some of the projects scheduled to take place and changes made to relieve the pressure over the Christmas travel window: Significant works on the East Coast Main Line as part of the East Coast Upgrade, which will improve reliability for passengers and boost connectivity between London, the North of England and Scotland. The work is now scheduled to start later than originally planned to ensure extra Christmas Eve services can run out of King’s Cross.

Upgrades on the West Coast Main Line that will now be completed earlier than planned – on 27 December – to enable a full Sunday

28 | December 2020

service to operate from 10:00 rather than midday, making it easier for passengers to travel home from their Christmas bubbles.

Remodelling and roof repair work at Bristol Temple Meads which will see amended timetables in operation from London Paddington, with some trains at peak times not running at all between 28 December and 1 January. From 28 December until 11 January, timetables will be amended because platforms 3-6 at Bristol Temple Meads will be out of use.

Switches and crosses renewals at London Waterloo that will provide a more reliable railway for passengers in future. Platforms 12-20 at Waterloo will be closed between 27 December and 3 January, with a reduced timetable in place between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. There will also be a reduced service between Woking, Basingstoke, Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton, Weymouth and Salisbury over the festive period.

Maintenance and track renewal works at Charing Cross/Cannon Street to London Bridge and New Cross to improve passenger safety and the journey experience.

Southeastern services will operate from London Bridge, and there will be a bus replacement service between Lewisham and Hayes from 27 to 29 December. Between 1 to 3 January buses will replace trains between Lewisham and Hayes and between Lewisham and Charlton via New Cross.

Vital maintenance to the Great Eastern Main Line around Colchester will improve the reliability of services in the region.

Engineering work will be taking place between 25 December and 3 January with rail replacement bus services running on several routes.

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F er ao ts us r a C e il

Funding and financing package for the final phase of Crossrail project agreed T

ransport for London says the £825 million loan allows work to carry on “at pace” to open the new railway in 2022 An £825 million funding and financing package has been agreed for the final phase of the Crossrail project.

The Mayor of London, Transport for London (TfL), the Department for Transport (DfT) and HM Treasury announced the news earlier this month.

Crossrail Ltd announced in August that it expected the Elizabeth line to open through central London in the first half of 2022 and that they would require funding beyond the agreed funding envelope.

Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “I have been very clear that it is my priority to get the railway open as soon as possible and all those working on the Crossrail project are focused on that too.

“Confirming this financing is an essential step in ensuring the team can fully concentrate on safely delivering the Elizabeth line, which is so vital for boosting rail capacity and supporting the economy.”

The shortfall will initially be covered by the Greater London Authority (GLA) borrowing up to £825 million from the DfT, which will be given

by GLA to TfL as a grant. The GLA will repay this loan from Business Rate Supplement (BRS) and Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL) revenues.

30 | December 2020

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Securing this financing package enables us to press full steam ahead with getting the central section of the Elizabeth line open as soon as possible. I do not want this project to be stalled so it is vital that we dig deep to get the railway up and running.

“I will continue to monitor progress closely and do everything I can to minimise costs – helping

ensure London and beyond can enjoy its many benefits sooner rather than later.”

Governance of Crossrail transferred directly to TfL in October, with a special purpose committee of the TfL Board, the Elizabeth Line Committee, providing high-level oversight of the project.

Mark Wild, Chief Executive of Crossrail Ltd, said: “Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages.

“Good progress continues to be made with completing the remaining infrastructure works so that we begin intensive operational testing, known as Trial Running, at the earliest opportunity in 2021.

“Many of the stations are now nearing completion and we will shortly commence an enabling phase for Trial Running which allows testing in the tunnels to be undertaken with an increased number of trains, further helping to build operational reliability.”

When fully open, the Elizabeth line will increase central London’s rail capacity by 10 per cent, able to carry more than half a million passengers per day and will support new journeys through central London out to Essex and Berkshire.

The new railway is expected to support thousands of new homes and new jobs and is estimated to boost the UK economy by £42 billion. railbusinessdaily.com

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F edavteurrteo r i a l A

The leading environmental, fencing and arboriculture contractors T

he Victorians were certainly visionary in creating the highways, railways and infrastructure that makes up our transport system, but little did they know that when they planted Japanese Knotweed to stabilise the banks they would be causing so many problems for the future.

With at least one reported infestation of Japanese Knotweed in every 10 square kilometres in the UK, Japanese Knotweed really is a growing problem – pun intended. However, Japanese Knotweed isn’t the only invasive species that can cause issues: Giant Hogweed, Himalayan Balsam, Rhododendron and Buddleia (to name just a few) can compromise structures, cause land erosion and, in the case of Giant Hogweed, pose a serious health risk if a person comes into contact with it.

Delivering excellence Three Shires Limited has serviced the rail industry for many years; from being a Principal Contractor to Network Rail through to working in partnership with other contractors to help deliver railway specific work, nationwide.

As well as providing eradication solutions, the experienced team carry out Japanese Knotweed and invasive weed site surveys, produce detailed invasive weed reports, as well as precautionary methods of working and Japanese Knotweed management plans.

For many large construction clients, Three Shires can provide Japanese Knotweed clerk of works services; this allows customers to use their on-site plant and resources under qualified and experienced instruction to deliver

32 | December 2020

the remediation works. This reduces cost whilst maintaining best practice and compliance with legislation.

Situated across four offices, Three Shires can offer resources nationwide from a small project to larger contracts, whether this be labour only or a complete, managed solution.

Three Shires has the knowledge and expertise to help facilitate your requirements; their track record shows that they deliver and do make a difference.

Environmental excellence in the rail sector One of the benefits of working with Three Shires is their experienced Ecology team. They can help you to understand the potential impacts of your project, advising on ecological opportunities and constraints to support your development proposals and translate it onto the ground.

Three Shires specialises in single point provision of ecological consultancy in parallel with the physical delivery by in-house staff of physical site works, ranging from vegetation

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clearance, fencing works, minor civils works and invasive weed eradication. Three Shires can offer a full turnkey solution, supplying all necessary safety-critical staff and SSOWs planning.

Another benefit is the ability to deliver within critical timeframes to avoid seasonal complications or constraints which can have serious implications in terms of time and money.

Three Shires is one of the very few companies that can provide clients with a 360º service in all matters relating to ecology and site preparation, understanding protected species legislation and knowing of the financial and timing impacts that they can have on your project.

Ecological works are characteristically lastminute and notoriously difficult to programme – teams need to be deployed quickly and deliver market-leading outputs from day one.

Finding solutions to ecological site constraints is about using extensive ecological knowledge to innovate. With experience of hundreds of licenced ecological schemes, in all sectors of the industry, no other contractor can do more to move your project forward.

360º service Expert chainsaw operatives, tree surgeons and plant operators enable Three Shires to set unrivalled standards in arboriculture and vegetation clearance.

All teams are City and Guilds NPTC qualified to the highest level in all aspects of chainsaw operations and tree surgery techniques.

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Employing the latest methods and technology, Three Shires offers a comprehensive suite of environmental landscaping services to the Rail Industry. Having undertaken many large contracts over the years, Three Shires offers advice and services to some of the most complex and sensitive projects, working alongside clients

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to deliver cost-effective and timely solutions.

Three Shires are also experienced installers in the rail industry, with more than 50km of fencing installed across the Rail Network in recent months. By investing in labour-saving machinery, retaining some of the best fencers in the industry and maintaining quality regardless of project size, it continues to grow its fencing department year on year.

Three Shires is one of the UK’s leading environmental, fencing and arboriculture contractors to the rail sector. Working alongside some of the largest main contractors and train operators in the industry, Three Shires delivers an integrated suite of environmental, fencing, arboriculture, vegetation clearance, roped access and invasive weed solutions.

Three Shires is an RISQ approved contractor with in-house staff qualifications comprising of PTS, COSS, Engineering Supervisor and Safe System of Work Planners. In addition to their railspecific accreditations, staff also hold industry relevant degrees and BTEC ND/HND Forestry qualifications, CSCS, CITB, SMSTS, SSSTS, First Aid, ROLO, BESC and IOSH Managing Safely, NEBOSH, ISO 9001, ISO14001 and (BS) OHAS 18001. Three Shires is industry skilled

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“I would like to say thank you to you and your team for the great effort over the weekend for the Japanese Knotweed treatment. We were very impressed with the very quick turnaround. A successful weekend’s work. Thank you.”

J. Murphy & Sons and qualified, health and safety aware, and track ready. Focused on delivering cutting edge techniques to meet the diverse site requirements encountered on the rail infrastructure enables Three Shires to move projects forward, delivering on time and on budget.

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December 2020 | 33

Freight

Natasha checks out of rail with pride Business Services Director for DRS Natasha Hanson on her time within the industry

N

atasha Hanson, Business Services Director for Direct Rail Services (DRS), is in a reflective mood as she moves closer to the end of her tenure.

With Natasha in post, DRS has won a number of equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) awards and was named as top employer at 2019’s Women In Rail awards. Individually, Natasha has been recognised by the Rail Delivery Group for the work she has done around ED&I and was also a finalist in the Institute of Directors North West and Isle of Man Director of the Year Awards 2020.

Natasha will leave the rail industry at the end of 2020 but does so with tremendous pride in the strides that DRS has made around ED&I, driving forward women in the rail industry and introducing training programmes and new initiatives around inclusivity, ensuring all 34 | December 2020

colleagues, from all backgrounds, are supported – a culture now firmly embedded across DRS. Natasha said: “I believe really passionately in what we do. I have loved working in rail. It’s been an absolutely first-rate experience and the people at DRS are the most exceptional group I have ever worked with. I’ve been very proud to pull on the DRS uniform on an almost daily basis.”

Natasha initially joined DRS from parent company the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in January 2017 on an interim basis when NDA’s subsidiary required help with the development of its people agenda.

DRS liked what Natasha brought to the team and, in turn, Natasha liked DRS. An opportunity arose to make the move a permanent one with a wide-ranging role that combined responsibility for HR, IT & cyber, communication and

stakeholder engagement, as well as establishing a new training academy, training programmes, leadership development and looking after DRS’s corporate services.

Business development goals Natasha explained: “I came to DRS with operations and some railway experience, but I wanted something more than a HR role. I wanted to broaden my leadership experience and the Business Services Director role has enabled me to help the business develop while also grow as a leader.”

Working with DRS MD at the time, Debbie Francis, provided Natasha with inspiration and direction and it quickly became clear that both women were on a similar page when it came to people. Natasha said: “Debbie was very receptive to the ideas I had around people railbusinessdaily.com

Freight

If you look after your people, first and foremost, they will look after the business for you.

That’s the approach I’ve taken during my time at DRS and we shared similar values in terms of getting the people agenda right. As she said, if you look after your people, first and foremost, they will look after the business for you. That’s the approach I’ve taken during my time at DRS and it’s covered a myriad of things.”

Natasha’s new approach centred around colleagues’ health and well-being, focusing on their work/life balance and the changes DRS could make to help retain its people. The introduction of a flexible approach to working was introduced, allowing DRS staff to choose their hours, working at different times of the day,

or compressing their hours to work fewer days.

Natasha added: “We recognise that our people are at work to build their lives outside of work.

If we make sure that everything they need is in place to enable they are happy, then, as a result, they will deliver great work for DRS.” Family friendly policies This includes the introduction of familyfriendly policies that enable shared parental leave and a ‘blind’ recruitment process, which removes information which could influence decisions other than skill, knowledge and ability, addressing underlying and implicit issues that manifest themselves during recruitment and therefore encouraging under-represented groups to join DRS. Natasha said: “It just makes the whole process fair and equitable as it removes unconscious bias. It makes you think differently about the recruitment process. It’s all just about making sure you get the right candidate for the job, that’s the only thing that matters.”

DRS also pays a minimum of the national living wage, as opposed to the national

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December 2020 | 35

Freight

herself volunteered in India, teaching English and Microsoft Office skills to women, and plans are already well underway for her next voluntary trip, where she will head to Laos with Debbie Francis to teach English to novice Buddhist monks.

minimum wage, while apprentices are also paid achievement bonuses, which has made the company an employer of choice for colleges and driven recruitment and staff retention.

Natasha added: “People want to work for us and the work we’ve done in recent years has led to a self-fulfilling prophecy. We look for the best and take the best on, we work with our colleagues in the unions to make sure that our terms and conditions are right. Our attrition rates have fallen from 30 per cent to lower than seven. This really is one of the best places to work and people are really proud to be part of team DRS.” On Natasha’s watch, DRS has also implemented a volunteering policy that allows employees to take up to five paid days a year to volunteer and support projects.

“I was proud to lead the way on that policy, it was something I was really passionate about introducing,” she said. In March 2019, Natasha

36 | December 2020

Sharing best practice The good news for the rail industry is that DRS’s best practice is readily shared with others, including at the Rail Delivery Group’s HR forum and across the Rail Safety and Standards Board’s industry suicide prevention duty holders’ group.

DRS’s approach to flexible working ensured that, when lockdown threatened to grind industry to a halt back in March, business carried on seamlessly, with home working enabled by Webex, the video conferencing, online meeting, screen share, and webinar solution, which was already used extensively across the business.

During lockdown, Natasha was delighted to see that “our people stepped up to the challenge magnificently.” She added: “It was another proud moment for me as I saw a number of people taking up leadership roles, people who I’ve coached in my time who may not have had the confidence to do so previously, who I’ve seen blossom and grow. I now know the business will be in safe hands with those people for years to come.”

Natasha will remain in contact with the rail industry after her DRS departure. She has already been contacted to provide consultancy services around mental health in rail and her many friends from the rail family – including Freightliner’s freight driver Heather Waugh, Freightliner’s HR Advisor and Rail Human Library founder, Tracey Barber, railway chaplain Mike Roberts, and Debbie Francis – will ensure the connection is ongoing.

“Rail is a lot like The Eagles’ song Hotel California. You can check out any time you like but you can never leave. I’ll still be around.

“We don’t have all of the answers and there are still a lot of challenges ahead and lots to be done. At DRS, we’re in the fortunate position that our parent company firmly believes in the ED&I agenda. It’s part of our business, part of what we do as the norm. As an industry we have to expand on what we’ve managed to achieve in terms of addressing gender inequality and move to disability, race, and other areas of equality and look at more inclusivity, and what different people can bring to the business.

I would say to leaders in rail that you have to listen to the people you work with, they are your experts “We need to recruit people who think differently, who are willing to challenge the status quo and to do things differently. There’s always going to be work to do but, at DRS, we have a groundswell of people moving in the right direction. I would say to leaders in rail that you have to listen to the people you work with, they are your experts on the ground and can provide you with a different perspective to what you’d get around the boardroom table. Listen to them, they know what they’re talking about.

“As I look to move on I hope that I can bring the level of enthusiasm and dedication I’ve seen in rail to my next challenge in the workplace. I’ve been proud to play a part in rail.”

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F edavteurrteo r i a l A

Honouring the Time Promise Martin Howell of Worldline on reforming rail

F

or the UK’s rail operators, the last year has been devastating, with the collapse in rail passenger numbers necessitating government intervention to keep the industry functioning.

It would be easy to see this as a disaster, but out of this trauma there is now an opportunity to enact change for the better.

Rail has always been about honouring the Time Promise, repeatedly shown to be the number one priority for customers – that is, getting people where they want to get to, on time, every time.

We have a chance now to make the delivery on that promise a reality.

Time for fares reform Long overdue fares reform and the chance to implement proven technologies to help run services more efficiently and cost effectively may well, if the industry is bold enough, see it come back stronger than before. Clearly, although it is inevitable that our working lives will have changed, once we start functioning once more as a normal society, people will be travelling more for work and leisure.

For the rail industry, the priority now must be to attract customers back to the network safely, and to begin to build up the revenue to relieve the burden on the taxpayer that ERMA represents.

But with vision and ambition, it is surely possible to go beyond that goal of eventual recovery.

Reforming the previously impenetrable fare structure and making it simple to find the

most cost-effective price for a rail journey will help rail become the engine of social mobility which it should be, enabling access for all and opportunities for education and employment.

It’s about the data As with so much else in life, the industry must use available data to enhance the customer experience across the board. Historically, we have been scratching the surface with the extent to which data analysis has been applied.

“For the rail industry, the priority now must be to attract customers back to the network safely” Being transparent about how data is stored and used, and giving valuable actionable intelligence to customers who voluntarily give up data about their movements and behaviours, will draw them back into a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with rail providers.

This has to go beyond the ‘we have no buffet on board’ or ‘there are empty seats in carriage F’ messages and encompass end-to-end travel, putting rail at the centre of the Mobility as a Service experience.

There have been numerous projects in recent years demonstrating visibility of where customers have travelled from and to, before joining a train service and after leaving it. There is no reason why this should not become standard practice in the industry, enabling a much richer traveller experience. Likewise, accurate data about customer movements will enable better service planning and reduced costs.

Ingenico acquisition Worldline has a long heritage in the UK rail industry. With its recent acquisition of Ingenico, the company is now the largest payment services provider in Europe and is well placed to support and increase the momentum of the drive towards a simplified and more attractive customer experience for rail users and a truly digital railway. People are used to transparent, straightforward and fast transactions in most other buying experiences, and rail should be no different.

Rail can be the hub of a social mobility revolution, delivering on a green agenda and enabling Mobility as a Service throughout the UK if we have the vision and courage to grasp the opportunities that the pandemic has, inadvertently, afforded us.

Visit www.worldline.com for more information or email martin.howell@worldline.com

38 | December 2020

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We l l b e i n g

Putting health and wellbeing at the top of the rail agenda We speak to the team who turned a couple of notes on a bit of paper into Rail Wellbeing Live

R

ail Wellbeing Live was a success on so many levels, but none more so than the impact it has and will continue to have on the 13,000 people who took part in some of the 80 sessions.

But the event was very different to the original concept scribbled on a piece of paper by John Halsall, Chair of the Rail Wellbeing Alliance and Managing Director of Network Rail’s Southern region. It was initially planned to be just one-day at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena for a maximum of 1,000 people – until the pandemic struck.

John then tasked the team with starting over, creating an event that took full advantage of its new virtual status. Producer, Emily Haggard; Head of Comms, David Langton; Marketing Lead, Ruth Thornett; Event Consultant, Robert Digings; and Rail Wellbeing Alliance Representative from RSSB, Michelle O’Sullivan, worked with Quadrant Events to create something never before seen in the industry.

“I’m enormously proud to have been part of Rail Wellbeing Live and to have been involved from the very start, when there was nothing more than two or three sentences on a sheet of paper,” said Robert, an independent consultant for 25 years, who is experienced in facilitating live event production.

Enormous success “From that concept of creating an event dedicated to wellbeing we have created something that was attended by 13,000 people, with over 37,000 sessions attended by individuals from 600 different railway organisations across two days.

“As a first event it was an enormous success and heartening to see the rail industry taking the wellbeing of staff so seriously. It was interesting and challenging in equal measure.”

It is a view shared by Emily: “I was immensely proud to be working with a fantastic team of people to deliver this event. Rail Wellbeing Live was an exciting event to produce – completely changing our strategy on more than one occasion!” The challenges were probably amplified by not just launching a new brand, but doing so in year when the events calendar has been decimated by the pandemic.

40 | December 2020

“During the first few months of this year we were planning a one-day event in Coventry and then of course coronavirus happened and that changed things enormously,” said Robert.

“It was some point in April that we decided it wouldn’t be a real-world event in Coventry

As a first event it was an enormous success and heartening to see the rail industry taking the wellbeing of staff so seriously because of all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. It was then that we turned our attention to doing something innovative with a virtual event and looked at what going virtual would enable us to do and what benefits it would have.

“One thing for certain is that cancelling the event full stop was not an option. To do so would be a real missed opportunity; particularly during a pandemic when everybody was and is so concerned about their health and wellbeing.”

In the end, a dedicated team of organisers manage to find a platform and compile a comprehensive mix of speakers for one of the largest ever events dedicated to health and wellbeing in the rail industry.

Andy Hogben, from Quadrant Events, said: “We worked with a fantastic client team to produce an event that was ambitious in scale and hugely successful in its delivery.

“The whole event has been one of the highlights of a difficult year. The two areas we were most pleased with were the quality and scope of the programme we were able to design for the event, along with two days of flawless technical delivery which really brought the event to life.”

Among those contributing included mental health advocate and entertainer Ruby Wax, BBC Breakfast’s resident doctor Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Embarrassing Bodies star Dr Dawn Harper, and retiring RMT General Secretary Mick Cash, who gave a deeply personal interview about his railbusinessdaily.com

We l l b e i n g

mental health. “One of the things I was particularly proud of was the range of content and the rich and diverse range of sessions,” said Robert. “There was a range of people, from household names to industry professionals whose names may not be well known but who have dedicated their lives to a particular aspect of corporate wellbeing.

“There is no doubt that this kind of event makes a difference. I watched one session about exercise and since then I’ve started doing press-ups and squats every day. It only takes a few minutes and I can already feel the difference in my body.

“It is only a simple thing, but it is a little change that if you continue to pursue will make a difference. It is like the sessions that were held about sleeping. Getting a good night’s sleep can make a huge difference on your mental health and wellbeing.”

Emily added: “The event created quite a buzz on so many different topics. We really want to see the industry keep up the momentum this event has started. Since the event in November, we’ve heard that teams across the industry have been

inspired to hold their own wellbeing events.”

But the organisers want to go beyond that, with aspirations for something bigger, better and more frequent in 2021. “For it to have maximum effect the industry needs to do more than just a yearly event, and that is part of the planning going forward,” said Robert.

“There were lots of organisations in the industry who were involved in the event who have said ‘This was fantastic, what are we going to do now?’

To maximise this engagement you need to act quickly.

“John (Halsall) is very keen to get something in place to start in the new year. The current thinking is to focus on a different health and wellbeing element every month.

The actual themes haven’t yet been decided, but you could have things like fatigue and diets as monthly targeted campaigns.

“That way there would be a health and wellbeing conversation happening in the industry every month with a mixture of meetings, videos and other collateral.

“Doing something every year would make a

difference, but doing something more regularly will have an even bigger impact. As a way of promoting the first Rail Wellbeing Live, we did a series of fortnightly live streams on a Wednesday at 11am called Wellbeing Wednesdays and part of the idea for next year is that they will continue on a monthly basis.

“With regards to another Rail Wellbeing Live, discussions are underway – watch this space!”

Signalling Confidence in the Rail Industry We build railways, that’s what we do.

Signalling Support For Plain Line, S&C Track Renewals And Civils Works Signalling based site surveys and T-x walkouts Planning the signalling works for the project Installation prep works for S&C renewals Functionally Equivalent Design Authoring SMTH & G110 Test Plans Testing signalling assets to SMTH & G110 standards Disconnection and installation of the relevant signalling equipment Installation and set-up of new point operating equipment Installing and testing of points operating equipment on half or full set switch renewals Signalling Support for Civil Engineering works such as drainage and embankment works etc.

Cable Tag & Trace Surveys

CORE COMPETENCIES Signalling Based Works: T-xx Walkout Surveys. Installation.

SMTH. G110 Testing & Author/Checker. Faulting & Maintenance.

Plain Line & S&C Renewals.

Signalling Support for P-Way & Civils Works. GRIP 5-8 – Signalling Design & Build.

RECENT PAST PERFORMANCE 2019 - Assisted Network Rail York Works Delivery at Skegness with timber renewals and the affected mechanical signalling and points.

2019 – Wide 2 Gauge RCPL Installation at Euston for Balfour Beatty. 2019 to date – Assisting Keltbray with their Geotech landslip works. 2020 – Wide 2 Gauge RCPL Installation at Sheffield for Network Rail.

2020 – G110 Testing of replacement semaphore signalling at Neasden North London Line.

DIFFERENTIATORS SigTech Rail is a signalling company run by signalling qualified personnel, not salesmen.

You want teams to undertake signalling works, we understand what you want.

We don’t have a “no tools policy”. We turn up with the skills, calibrated tools and meters to undertake the works in question.

We listen, respond and act to the feedback from our clients AND our workforce – it’s the only way to improve.

We work with our trusted skilled workforce.

SigTech Rail strongly encourage and implement education and mentorship of individuals to feed the industry.

T: 01303 764344 E: office@SigTechRail.co.uk W: www.SigTechRail.co.uk

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December 2020 | 41

F edavteurrteo r i a l A

Exceptional reliability from Pro Rail P

ro Rail Services Ltd retains a specialist On Track Plant division with a full Network Rail POS licence and its own FORS Silver accredited transport (low loader and HIAB crane lorries) capability with over 220 PTS personnel.

Pro Rail Services can supply a full POS service, lift planning, ALO planning, possession planning, SWP planning and retains an in-house ability to create temporary RRAPs with temporary site lighting to overcome access difficulties.

Pro Rail Services is also a 24/7 reactive on call plant supplier. It has significant experience in successfully reacting to geotechnical call out works across South East and Wessex Routes over the last four years.

Reliability Pro Rail Services’ plant fleet is one of the newest in the country and its reliability is exceptional, with next to no downtime recorded on Rail PPS. Rail PPS is a Network Rail reliability tracker that allows Pro Rail Services to follow trends in rail plant maintenance and record plant performance on projects on a ‘Route to Gold’ scheme, which it is on a positive journey to achieve.

Pro Rail Services has a large investment programme in place to ensure it retains a modern fleet.

Its POS representatives are best in class and have significant experience in spotting problems before they happen, preventing clients from encountering problems in possessions that could render them inefficient and induce them with additional unbudgeted expenses.

Pro Rail Services also retains best in class mobile plant fitters to service operational needs anywhere in the UK.

Innovation The company has always tried to be at the forefront when it comes to innovation, and since investing in its first pair of RRVs has introduced the first of its type Pladdet Suction Excavation Units alongside specialist long-reach arm mulchers and flails.

Pro Rail Services was the first on track plant company in the UK to develop and introduce the RRV Long Reach Mulcher to enable more efficient and safer on track devegetation activities.

It was also the first on track plant company in the UK to develop and introduce the Pladdet Suction Unit to execute catch pit cleaning and wet bed removal at significantly higher production rates than tube cubes.

The unit also comes with a dust suppression system and is quick hitch-mounted, which deletes all requirements for manual handling.

This combined with the unit being camera controlled in the cab has resulted in the unit not only being best in class, but safest in class.

Capabilities Pro Rail Services retain the capability to provide the following services across the UK:

42 | December 2020

Advertorial

On track plant Off track plant To service permanent way, under track crossings, electrification, vegetation, signalling, structures, level crossings, emergency response and drainage teams on a variety of railway infrastructure projects across the UK Lift planning Logistics planning ALO planning SWP planning POS Pack generation Traffic management planning Stakeholder management, e.g. local authorities Haulage – Pro Rail Services retains its own Scania fleet of low loaders and Volvo FH HIAB crane lorries Welfare vans with driver Support staff (labour supply) Crane controllers Points operators In-cab duplex radios 24-hour support on: 0330 124 8383 Emergency response – e.g. geotechnical asset failures. railbusinessdaily.com

A d v eFretaotrui rael

Sustainability Pro Rail Services is a partner of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and works with other major contractors and plant operators to ensure it strives for continuous improvement, looking at every way possible to minimise its carbon footprint in a sustainable manner.

The company’s Operations Directors sit on the Supply Chain Sustainability School Plant Leadership Group.

Pro Rail Services is a one stop shop for rail clients’ plant requirements and will always work collaboratively to collectively get it right first time, every time.

Pro Rail Services’ specialist OTP Division always has the safety of both personnel and infrastructure at the heart of what it does.

It is very proud of its fantastic safety record in delivering POS services to both Network Rail and Tier 1 contractors, which has resulted in its business achieving a zero Riddor record since the company’s inception in 2012.

OLEC 1 competency In response to major industry concerns around OTP on OLE strikes, it has put measures in place for all projects which involve working under OLE. All of Pro Rail Services’ RRV Operators who work under OLE hold OLEC 1 competency.

It has ensured that its attachments are adapted to work under OLE, and its suction units and low headroom panel and lifting beams keep personnel away from OLE as much as possible.

The company has fitted a side-mounted hitch to all of its suction units, enabling staff

railbusinessdaily.com

have plenty of room to prevent striking OLE infrastructure while at work.

Pro Rail Systems has an intensive investment programme to invest significantly in new RRVs and associated attachments to enhance its service offering to the UK rail industry.

It also has an ongoing investment in behavioural safety training and a development programme for all its front-line staff to ensure that the company achieves not only continuous improvement, but also a zero-harm culture.

Visit www.prorailservices.co.uk for more information Tel: 01707 927400

Advertorial

Fleet and attachments list • Doosan DX-140 (Reduced Swing) Tracked RRVs • Doosan DX-140 (Offset Dig Arm) Tracked RRVs • Doosan DX-270 (Short Arm Heavy Lift) Wheeled RRVs • Doosan DX-270 (Long Reach) Wheeled RRVs • RRV Chieftain 20T Trailers c/w Standard and 3m Trailer Tow Bars and Ramps • RRV Chieftain 20T Ballast Boxes • Kubota RTV X900, Personnel Carriers and Tool Trailers • Off Track Plant Equipment (Telehandlers, Excavators, Dozers) • Pladdet Suction Unit • Man Rider Trailer and Cage • RRV Trailer Cable A-Frames • Conductor Rail and Standard Rail Thimbles • Extendable Rail Beams with Swivel Adapter Heads • Rigid Beams • 4T 3.5m Lifting Spreader Beams • 2T 7m Lifting Spreader Beams • Cam Lock c/w Drop Chains • 3T Cable Handling Yoke with Rotator Motor • Plate Grabs with Single and Double Pin Adapter Heads • Flail / Mulcher with Long Reach Arm on Doosan DX-270 activities • Clam Shell Buckets • Log Grabs • Temporary Access Systems, e.g. UTAS RRAPs

December 2020 | 43

White Ribbon

Network Rail’s honest approach to ending male violence against women Nick King, Group Director for Network Services, on the difference achieving White Ribbon Accreditation will make

N

etwork Rail is not only committed to meeting its Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010, but through its recent White Ribbon Accreditation as rail’s largest outward facing organisation is also setting the tone for the industry.

The charity White Ribbon UK is part of the global movement to end male violence against women. The White Ribbon Accreditation programme ensures organisations take a strategic approach to ending male violence against women by engaging with men and boys, changing cultures and raising awareness.

For Nick King, Group Director for Network Services, achieving the accreditation is part of an ongoing journey. It was in his role as Executive General Manager of Citytrain for Queensland Rail that Nick first encountered White Ribbon.

When faced with the higher than national frequency rates of male violence in the state of Queensland, Nick and the executive leadership team were determined to make a difference across a business that employed 8,500 people, with 80 per cent of those men. Nick said: “People told me that it was something we should not be discussing in the workplace, it’s a problem outside of work, but I said absolutely not; we can and have to make a difference.”

Steering the program with the executive leadership team of Queensland Rail to its White Ribbon Accreditation made Nick and his team fully aware of the scale and impact of the effects of male violence on women. And understandably, when Nick joined Network Rail in 2019 he wanted to continue his ambassadorial work for the charity and the work he had started.

One in three women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and two women a week lose their life at the hands of a current or former partner in England and Wales alone (ONS 2019).

Nick said: “At Network Rail we have a male dominated workforce, so we can reach out to them to inform and educate. We have stations and workplaces all over the UK and we can use them to create places of safety.

Serious issue “We want to ensure that the men across Network Rail take this issue seriously, never walk away from situations when they can intervene and that we don’t remain silent and never turn a blind eye. This is an issue for all of us to deal with. The accreditation allows us to highlight this issue and influence others in the industry. We are starting in our own organisation because we need to get moving, but then we will move out to the broader railway family to reach thousands of people and support our colleagues across the industry.”

Network Rail has established a White Ribbon team in order that all employees are in a position to actively contribute from different regions and functions. The new accreditation builds on Network Rail’s existing work, in establishing its own domestic abuse policy. Along with Women in Rail and the wider industry, Network Rail is supporting the Women’s Aid Rail to refuge scheme; a joint initiative with rail companies

44 | December 2020

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White Ribbon

perpetrators and others who may be suffering in silence.

“When we look at safety we often talk about the safety-critical aspects of rail, which is paramount, but we also need to prioritise the emotional and physical safety of passengers, employees, men, women and the communities we serve.

We have a duty of care and need to be serious when it comes to caring about people.”

which offers free train travel for survivors of domestic abuse.

White Ribbon Day 2020, which took place on 25 November, saw Network Rail lighting up a number of stations, including Liverpool Street, Kings Cross and Leeds, station colleagues wearing white ribbons and a webinar taking place with colleagues to raise awareness of the serious issues at stake.

Nick added: “Change is needed. Network Rail continues to do a lot of work around our values and behaviours and that’s where we want to be as an organisation. We want to tie everything together and get that message to our people, some of whom may be struggling themselves as

SIGNAL MAINTENANCE PLATFORMS

Diversity and inclusion Nick concluded: “By achieving the accreditation we’re raising awareness, increasing visibility and transparency and getting people to talk openly, but that’s just the starting point. Strong and successful companies are ones that are truly diverse and inclusive. While we have made some positive steps towards achieving a better gender balance at Network Rail there is more we can do in this area. We have to do everything we can to address this because that will make us better and stronger, allow us to attract and encourage different people to join Network Rail and make it even more of an inclusive place to work.

“We’re an influential organisation so we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to be

GRP HANDRAIL

Gaining White Ribbon Accreditation helps organisations to: • Make a difference in communities to end violence against women • Improve organisational culture, safety and morale • Increase the knowledge and skills of staff to address violence against women • Improve reputation • Improve the experience of customers and stakeholders • Become an employer of choice All organisations, large or small are able to become White Ribbon UK Accredited.

Visit www.whiteribbon.org.uk for more information. an instinctive industry leader and to create a platform where everybody matters. We want to ensure that our people are empowered to call out issues that have very serious impacts. We can do this together. This is another piece of the journey we’re on to make our people and passengers feel safe and cared for, as well as help drive lasting societal change.”

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railbusinessdaily.com

December 2020 | 45

F e a itnuirneg Tr

Your new, essential competency companion The Competency Training Marketplace ensures effective visibility, management and budgeting over workforce competency needs TM

D

espite any challenges faced by the rail industry in 2020, this year has seen huge progression for large infrastructure projects.

HS2, Network Rail, East West Rail and Northern Powerhouse Rail are all at different stages of their respective programmes, but a significant level of works will be required to be completed by the sector – and businesses need to rise to the challenge to deliver. It is not a surprise therefore, that these organisations have upped the ante on emphasising the need for a systematic approach to competency management to show how they are keeping their teams and sites safe and operational.

Companies are required to demonstrate a clear and concise process to ensure they leave no stone unturned when it comes to competencies. Sopra Steria’s Competency

Training Marketplace (CTM) has the solution.

Sopra Steria has listened to the industry and risen to the challenge of developing a solution for minimising risk and inefficiencies in competency management.

CTM is integrated with a training marketplace, which is essentially a course-specific search platform for the rail and construction industries.

Companies are already seeing the benefits it brings to booking courses and having a continually competent workforce through more effective management.

The platform is already proving to be a powerful tool to demonstrate effective competency measures - exactly what buying organisations are asking for. Sopra Steria has risen to the challenges of the industry to develop a platform that reduces any inefficiencies in competency management and automated processes that reduce risk of expiration TM

and allow businesses to manage their workforce in one place. Integrated with a training marketplace, which is essentially a search platform for rail-focused training courses, companies are already seeing the benefit it brings to reduce admin time in managing teams.

The nature of the system means that it is just as effective for large-scale Tier 1 Contractors, right through to SMEs in the supply chain. CTM is already proving to be essential for businesses to keep people safe and businesses operational. Its Smart Tracking system ensures that competencies are not missed and can effectively demonstrate.

Mike Andrews, Director, DWG Infraco Ltd, said: “CTM allows me to maintain

“The system lets me keep track of my workforce’s competencies and this makes it easy to provide details to our auditors and customers” and have full visibility over my workforce’s accreditations and training needs. The website links me directly to a marketplace where I can easily search and book the training courses we need.

“The system lets me keep track of my workforce’s competencies and this makes it easy to provide details to our auditors and customers.”

CTM’s smart tracking system notifies users when upcoming competencies need to be renewed, and, linked with the training marketplace, ensures that colleagues can be booked on a course and any course outcomes logged on training records all in one place.

It is free for companies to use the competency management software and training marketplace – with registration taking just two minutes – so what have you got to lose?

Find out more, book a demo or register now at www.competencytrainingmarketplace.com

46 | December 2020

Advertorial

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An integrated competency management platform and training

marketplace? Brilliant.

Make finding the right training, in the right location easier with CTM’s user friendly and free to access marketplace Reduce administration time and resource with the platform’s integrated and free to use competency management system Innovative tools simplify forward planning helping employers to ensure a more productive workforce with fewer lost days Advanced analytics assist employers with informed decision making and highlight revenue opportunities for training providers

How CTM is helping other organisations “CTM allows me to maintain and have full visibility over my workforce’s training accreditations and training needs. The website links me directly to a marketplace where I can easily search and book the training courses we need.”

“CTM has the potential to deliver a step change in how training providers connect with employers. It poses to simplify and streamline the training procurement process and deliver clear benefits for employers and training providers alike.”

Andy Barnes, Arcadis

Ian Pretty, CEO, Collab Group

CTM is free to use and takes minutes to set up – so what have you got to lose? If you would like to find out more information or request a demo please visit the CTM website or contact the team.

www.competencytrainingmarketplace.com

Luke Adams

Business Development Manager +44 (0) 7841 368923 luke.adams@soprasteria.com

NSAR

Long-term thinking key to training, jobs and value for money NSAR’s Neil Robertson on the strategic approach needed to maintain rail’s momentum

We need to do more for existing staff, help them develop as leaders, develop their digital skills and also reskill people from other sectors

T

he National Skills Academy for Rail’s (NSAR) Routes into Rail platform launched at NSAR’s Skills Symposium late last month (November 27) in a blaze of glory, accompanied by a keynote from physicist Brian Cox CBE FRS. The platform is a repository of all of the essential information and advice required by potential candidates exploring rail careers, salaries, where roles are geographically located and is backed up by NSAR’s powerful data.

48 | December 2020

Neil Robertson might not have the celebrity profile of ‘rock star scientist’ Cox, but his work and enthusiasm makes training, recruitment and upskilling the rail workforce an equally engaging and accessible science.

Neil is NSAR’s Chief Executive and also Interim Chair of the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce (STAT). During COVID-19, Neil and the NSAR team ensured that the 12,000 apprenticeships being undertaken were completed in 2020 as planned. 8,000 of these

were completed as a direct result of NSAR working with several hundred companies to put in place the necessary flexible and safe approaches to training.

Strategy refresh Now, Neil is turning his attention to supporting the Department for Transport’s (DfT) essential refresh of STAT’s strategy and preparing for the new Chair. The strategy refresh has taken on even greater importance in light of the UK moving into railbusinessdaily.com

NSAR

post-COVID recovery mode. The refresh follows the publication of the Four Years of Progress report from the taskforce, established in response to increasing investment in transport and the need for a sector-wide approach to skills and people.

Power of government The report highlights the great strides that have been made since 2016, with 11,254 new apprentice opportunities created in road and rail bodies, while 11 per cent of apprenticeship starts in 2019/20 were at degree level, and 1,207 starts in 2019/20 were within the Department for Transport, Highways England, HS2, Network Rail and Transport for London. The report also demonstrates the power of government and industry collaborating to address skills shortages and close the skills gap. Yet there’s clearly still work to be done.

Neil said: “STAT is at a critical moment right now with refreshing its strategy. For me, the biggest change we’ve seen in four years is that there has been quite a culture change, and the STAT programme has been a big part of that, along with the Government pushing the rail

industry into doing more. Everyone in the industry wanted to address the skills shortage problem so we were pushing at an open door, but providing apprenticeship opportunities is now something that is the norm. We’re still probably not doing enough, we probably need to double the amount of training we are doing, but we’re now looking at a big improvement from where we were.”

The report will feed into the refreshed strategy, as will a number of workshops with industry colleagues and stakeholders. While the path ahead will clearly continue the successful focus on apprenticeships, Neil imagines that any next moves should see the industry also focus on its existing staff, diversifying the workforce and how it attracts those from other industries with

trust us...

Seaton Rail’s Railway and Track Safety Training Courses provide companies with the skills, knowledge and certification to ensure that works on the railway are carried out efficiently and safely as well as in full compliance with Network Rail Standards.

Seaton Rail are one of the leading railway training and assessment providers. Our courses are delivered by professional, full-time trainers who know how to get their message across. We can also tailor course content and format to meet your specific requirements.

Our courses are delivered at our modern training centres in Bridlington, Goole, York, Rotherham and Glasgow where we have excellent facilities, lunch is provided, unlimited free hot and cold drinks and free wi-fi.

We also arrange training to meet the requirements of our Clients shift patterns including early, late and night turns of duty.

Training is also available at the weekends, or at a premises of your choice.

Courses we deliver (both initial and recertification):

Workplace assessments we deliver:

• Personal Track Safety • Working Near or Adjacent to the DC Conductor Rail (DCCR) • Lookout • Individual Working Alone • Controller of Site Safety (OLP and CRP LLT) • Protection Controller • Level Crossing Attendant • Points Operator • Handsignaller • Engineering Supervisor • Person in Charge of Possession • Senior Person in Charge of Possession • Safe Work Leader 1 and 2 Conversion • Safe System of Work Planner • Possession Support • OLEC 1

• • • • • • •

Telephone: 01262 608 313 Web: www.seaton-rail.com Email: training@seaton-rail.com

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Individual Working Alone Controller of Site Safety (Including OLP, CRP LLT and PC) Engineering Supervisor Safe System of Work Planner Possession Support Person in Charge of Possession Senior Person in Charge of Possession

...to deliver December 2020 | 49

NSAR

transferable skillsets. He explained: “I would think that the strategy will now broaden out to consider how we provide reskilling and upskilling people. When NSAR did its own review looking at the last four years that’s the conclusion we came to. As an industry we’ve done quite a lot to bring new people into the pipeline, and made some significant improvements on diversity, most notably around gender diversity, albeit from a pretty low base but, as in the way apprenticeships are now considered the norm, that should also be the case for diversity. We need to do more for existing staff now, help them develop as leaders, develop their digital skills and also reskill people from other sectors.

“There would have been a strategy refresh anyway but economic recovery also influences the debate. We continue to hear a lot about levelling up and social inclusion and that remains a big priority for the Government. So we have to ask ourselves what are we doing to enable that and what does that mean for us as an industry?

Particularly the big spenders in the industry.”

Strategic approach needed Giving jobs to those in disadvantaged areas, addressing the UK’s socio-economic issues and closing the north-south divide is easily said but, as Neil points out, a long-term strategic approach to change is the only way to make levelling up a reality.

He said: “We’ll make sure that we reach out to those harder to reach candidates but we need systematic change to do it at the right numbers.

We have to put a number on it so we have been modelling the metrics for this, with NSAR, with a minimum target of 10 per cent of candidates coming from disadvantaged backgrounds with a stretch target of 20 per cent. We think that’s reasonable, although that’s not Government policy. What do those numbers mean to the socioeconomic value of big projects like HS2 and other projects? It makes a huge difference. If you’re creating a job then that is obviously important but if you’re creating a new job and giving it to someone who otherwise would be unemployed, there’s even greater value. By encouraging people into rail it can be transformational, as a career.”

Identifying talent with the best potential is clearly high on the agenda for all of those involved in rail. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds will need help, said Neil, in order to be equipped and ready to step into an apprenticeship, so partners who can deliver that level of preparedness will also be key to guaranteeing candidates an interview.

In addition, increasing efforts to attract those with the right skillsets from the military, aviation and aerospace industries will also help 50 | December 2020

to fill roles with skills shortages although, again, a systematic way of attracting that talent needs to be established.

Neil explained: “We know from our data what the top 20 skills shortage roles are. There are increasing opportunities in the digital space and in jobs like project management. Some specific roles are very hard to fill, such as occupational health and health and safety. If you’ve done any of those jobs in aviation, aerospace, or other

My vision for the future, at a strategic level, is to keep up the energy we’ve built around apprenticeships and make them more available to disadvantaged people adjacent industries, you’re almost certain to be able to do it in rail. So we are thinking that a new area of development is creating a systematic approach to allow people to transfer to rail with a three or six month course to get them ready, similar to the nine month course we operate to attract people from the British Army. People might otherwise find it hard to compete but with

those programmes in place they will become very attractive propositions. In terms of the STAT strategy I’d expect us to come up with the appropriate programmes of training.

“My vision for the future, at a strategic level, is to keep up the energy we’ve built around apprenticeships and make them more available to disadvantaged people, the upskilling of existing people particularly in digital and management competences, to make it easy for people to come in from other sectors. This is all part of a wider productivity story because training and skills are just a means to an end – which is safety and value for money, doing things efficiently and productively, and bringing all of these aspects together coherently.”

Living Lab That coherence is manifest in the Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy ‘Living Lab’, a transformative collaboration of 25 partners, including NSAR together with government, i3P and the Construction Innovation Hub, which will use data, technology and modern methods of construction within live transport infrastructure projects to deliver significant value-adding benefits across the transport infrastructure sector.

Neil added: “NSAR has been making the business case for training for years but we need the same level of energy to support efficiencies and value for money across the industry. NSAR is here to support all that, not to be the story, and to encourage some long-term thinking in rail, which would be the real game changer.” railbusinessdaily.com

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Innovation

The solutions to the railway’s problems Liam Henderson, the founder of the Rail Innovation Group, on the major role for smaller companies in bringing about innovation

L

iam Henderson is helping to inspire the rail sector to embrace new cultures to bring diversity to its supply chains.

It was in 2016 that he founded the Rail Innovation Group, formed to develop an ecosystem of start-up tech companies in rail. In the last four years he has built relationships across the industry to promote the need to engage smaller suppliers in project development.

“There’s always a risk that people within established industries start to think that innovation is being done to them, not for them,” he said.

“But the last few months during the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the important role these start-ups have to play for them.

“I have been very impressed with how quick they have been to pivot to respond to the COVID challenge, which proves that smaller agile companies are the future for the rail supply chain.”

Metaphorical door The Rail Innovation Group has built partnerships and helped traditional organisations understand and attract digital talent to support their service development. It has proved to be the ideal metaphorical door for several companies, particularly during the pandemic.

He said: “Innovation is essential, particularly at the moment as we’ve got to change our working practices. Although I don’t think you should label all technological change as innovation, the term should be expanded to apply to developing different partnerships for delivering workstreams or bringing in new stakeholders to solve a challenge. Often it creates a more efficient way of doing business as usual. A lot of the smaller companies we engage with have solutions that can overcome immediate problems. We have one

We need to be comfortable with bringing people from other sectors to help bring new awareness and ideas

railbusinessdaily.com

member who happened to be in the right place in the right time offering track monitoring without a member of staff needing to be out there doing the monitoring.”

It is these sorts of doors that the group has opened for several groups, and although they can answer the calls for immediate problems, there is also a longer lasting benefit.

“There’s no reason why these technologies, products and innovations won’t be relevant in the longer term,” said Liam.

“A couple of members have got together to build a product that maps and predicts national rail demand so you can tell who is on the network at any one moment.

“Because COVID came along there was an urgent need to know who was on

which train and whether this was going to exceed crowding.

“COVID has meant that change has had to be accelerated in some areas. I don’t think that anything developed in response to the COVID challenge will be wasted as this great work will have a legacy.” Liam also believes that during the pandemic it has been easier to engage with people across the industry.

“It is one of the more positive aspects about the way we are doing things at the moment,” he said.

“With most people working at home I’ve found their barriers are a little bit softer.

“I think a lot of the frustration with innovative practices not moving forward at the pace that the industry would like is that you’d get an innovation project, it would be proven to December 2020 | 53

Innovation

work, and it wouldn’t end up going into the main business because it was seen as done because the innovation box had been ticked. But now because the challenges are coming from the day-to-day business, who are crying out for solutions, they have a channel of start-ups or innovation products that are just going straight into the business. “They are bypassing the proof of concept bit in the innovation-specific team and they are just going straight in. In the long term it probably has a benefit because people in the engineering department can see ‘Oh look, we’ve got this supply chain we can just go straight to.’”

Start Up Rail Emerging from the Rail Innovation Group, Liam is the founder and CEO of Start Up Rail, a nonprofit organisation created to find and promote new types of digital suppliers for the rail industry.

Also, through his organisation, Transporting Cities, he uses professional experience from his transport planning background at Transport for London to advocate for, and undertake, planning and policy development projects for public bodies both in the UK and internationally.

“More than four years ago I was working as a consultant in rail and saw that there were a lot of people excited about the idea of innovation but weren’t really in a position to do anything about it,” he said.

“So, what I wanted to do was to bring a community of people together who as a stronger, louder voice could have more of an impact on steering what we are innovating in. At the time the government was putting all these innovation commitments into rail franchises, but then you couldn’t really score how effective it was and if the innovation was actually going into the main business.

“Equally the barrier to entry for small companies was so high that I wanted to help get more diversity of companies into the sector, rather than just asking for existing rail suppliers to be more innovative.”

What initially started as a few ad hoc conversations and several workshops, soon led to monthly meet ups and the creation of a new community.

Big vision In 2018 they were ready to go big with their vision, so they arranged the Rail Innovation Forum, where they brought 20 start-up companies and invited people from across the rail industry to come and see what their tech had to offer.

Last year, the group built their presence within the sector to formally endorse people and products through their Recognised Innovation Scheme. The Rail Innovation Group also 54 | December 2020

RIG Member Focus: 3Squared 3Squared is one of the founding members of the Rail Innovation Group and has been recognised in the RIG Innovation Scheme for its RailSmart products for contributing to improving efficiencies in the rail industry.

The Rail Innovation Group is a great way of sharing ideas and best practices for others to learn, it’s particularly important for helping startups understand routes into the rail’s supply chain. For 3Squared, being part of the Rail Innovation Group has been a great way to meet like-minded companies who want to make a difference in rail, along with being able to join the inspirational ‘Munch & Learn’ events. We’d recommend other companies get involved, small or big to help shape innovation in the industry.

partnered with Hitachi to create the first Start Up Rail event, where they visited a tech community to provide insight on the opportunities available in the rail sector.

“I think rail still has a bit of a branding issue because if you are becoming a developer, or doing some coding, you don’t really think about

I think the branding has got a lot better over the years, but it still talks a lot about trains rather than technology developing a product for the rail sector because the image is not particularly dynamic and exciting,” he said. “I think the branding has got a lot better over the years, but it still talks a lot about trains rather than technology.

“We need to be comfortable with bringing people from other sectors to help bring new awareness and ideas and also be more

comfortable with different types of people working in the sector. Technology just needs to be as respected a part of the rail sector as the engineers. They all have a role to play, but we seem to see the engineers as the ‘rail people’ and the tech people as those on the periphery.

Whereas in reality, a scheme like HS2 I’m sure 40 per cent of the project is technology.”

Looking to the future, Liam says the priorities moving forward will very much follow how rail is changing.

“We spent the last four years telling small companies that in order to succeed in rail you need to understand how the investment and incentives for innovation go, which is generally wrapped up in franchising,” he said.

“Since the franchising system seems to be stopping, we’ve got to re-learn what the incentives are. So our job next year will be to work out what on earth rail is going to look like and how the small companies can support that journey going forward.

“But what has been proven, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, is that there is a major role for the smaller companies to play and we’ve got to make sure they can get their ideas out there.” railbusinessdaily.com

Platform 1

PLATFORM 1

T

The first point of call for rail industry innovation

his month we launch Platform 1, a new service providing companies with the opportunity to showcase their latest innovations and products to rail industry leaders and decision makers in a short, concise business pitch.

New technology and ideas have a vital role to play if the rail industry is to continue to thrive, but all too often potentially transformational ideas never see the light of day.

Platform 1 is designed to promote collaboration and investment in new ideas, connecting innovators with the people and organisations who can help to ensure great ideas become a reality.

This month we are featuring a wide range of excellent ideas, products and services from 3Squared, Digital Rail Systems, Selectequip,

Orion Eco Solutions, Triton Norway and L&M Survey Services. Platform 1 has the backing of Liam Henderson, Chair of the Rail Innovation Group. He said: “Platform 1 is a great example of using all media channels to embrace potential new suppliers, something the Rail Innovation Group really focuses on through our Start Up Rail programme.

“Some start-ups may not have their pitch polished or their props readied so this gives them a chance to set out their vision on paper and entice us to find out more. We know that the bright ideas are out there so I’d embrace all opportunities we give innovators to reach an audience.”

If you have a product or service you’d like to promote using Platform 1 please email chris@rbdpubliactions.com

Digital Rail Systems Ltd – Intelli-Tags Digital Rail Systems (DRS) has digitised the process of delivering data to site with the use of intelligent smart tagging, creating a direct live link between the on-site asset and the client’s associated data.

Intelli-Tags are linked to the DRS database via the DRS app and the live connection provides the onsite team with access to the most recent and relevant information during the construction phase. Notes can be sent directly to and received from the asset via the tagging system.

Quality assurance documents can also be associated with the asset and edited within the app.

All aspects of the project life-cycle are controlled from the database and live-linked to site via the Intelli-Tags.

Based on the company Director’s fifty years experience in rail engineering, product design and development and electronics engineering, DRS provides efficiencies for its clients that reduce programme costs and improve safety.

To find out more visit: www.digitalrailsystems.com Email: ad@digitalrailsystems.com Tel: 07494 867939

L&M Survey Services – Night to day L&M Survey Services is revolutionising surveying within the rail industry. Its state-of-the-art Spherical HDR Camera is poised to change the way the industry carries out maintenance and construction of the railway network.

The Spherical HDR Camera features 360° imaging, virtual reality content capture and requires no secondary lighting to map an environment. Light is adjusted to daytime levels despite the darkness – which means no glare, no over-exposure and minimal disruption. All work can be carried out at night efficiently and effectively, socially distanced, with less time on site and fewer personnel required. L&M Survey Services’ immersive platform then creates an annotatable, navigable and interactive review environment, which is fully BIM Level 2 compliant.

Utilising photogrammetry, the Spherical HDR Camera allows accurate measurements to be taken directly from the image, eliminating the need to take dimensions onsite. L&M Survey Services’ new technology is set to take the industry by storm. The Spherical HDR Camera provides significant cost savings, productivity increases and maximises safety.

To find out more or book a free demonstration visit: www.lmsurveyservices.com Email: stevelock@lmsurveys.co.uk Tel: 0330 0028833

Triton Norway – Green Polymer How to manage plastic waste is one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges; but finally, there is a solution.

Triton Norway with its first of a kind Green Polymer innovation will change the way in which we use and recycle plastic forever.

Triton Green Polymer is a total plastic recycling solution that tackles both industrial and household mixed plastic waste streams allowing for 100% recycling.

This not only solves a huge environmental problem, but crucially also provides high-quality raw material that can be reused multiple times at less cost than virgin plastic.

Triton Norway: Solving complex environmental challenges with first of a kind innovation.

For more information visit: www.tritonnorway.com Contact: Phil Downes, Managing Director, Phil@tritonnorway.com

railbusinessdaily.com

December 2020 | 55

Platform 1

PLATFORM 1

The first point of call for rail industry innovation

Orion Eco Solutions – Microbial Wipe Out Orion Eco Solutions’ (OES) residual antimicrobial technology, Microbial Wipe Out, is the solution that provides cost-effective, broad-spectrum antimicrobial protection, effective against a wide range of bacteria, viruses and pathogens.

• 28-day residuality – Tested and proven to be effective against bacteria 28 days after application.

• Effective against bacteria, fungi and enveloped viruses – Independently tested to International Standards EN 1276, EN 1650 and screen tested to EN 14476 against bovine coronavirus (>99.99% inactivation in 30 seconds).

• Kills up to 99.999% of bacteria in 60 seconds – Tested according to EN 1276 against bacteria with up to Log 6 kill rates after 60 seconds.

• Biostatic protection – Protects surfaces by providing a long-lasting biostatic protection layer – which bacteria cannot penetrate nor multiply on.

• Versatile – Suitable for use on all hard surfaces such as floors, walls and equipment. The OES Range includes natural hand sanitisers, anti-microbial 180+ day paint, Quat-free disinfectant and high-level disinfectant tablets.

To discover more visit: www.orionecosolutions.co.uk Email: tj@orionecosolutions.co.uk Tel: 0207 164 6928

Selectequip’s ‘1 Minute to Welfare’ – Once a goal, now a reality Steve Featherstone initially set the ‘1 Minute to Welfare’ Challenge.

Now Selectequip has made ‘1 Minute to Welfare’ a reality for all worksites – with the Mobile Expandable Wellbeing Unit (MEWU).

Compacting to a 4ft cube, the MEWU is the first wellbeing unit that can be transported on a standard rail trolley and deployed anywhere on the track.

Much more than a portable toilet, the MEWU is a lifesaving wellbeing station that can be customised with a defibrillator and a first response kit.

The integral what3words signage also allows remote workers to be instantly located in an emergency.

Having been deployed across the rail infrastructure, the MEWU has made welfare available not just at the access point – but at the point of work.

For more information visit: www.selectequip.co.uk Email: gemma@selectequip.co.uk Tel: 01543 416641

3Squared RailSmart – Award-winning software Proven software solutions to help businesses reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance operational performance.

The Queen’s Award-winning suite of software, RailSmart, is transforming the way the industry operates, reducing the administrative burden and streamlining operations.

The RailSmart suite includes employee competency management, incident management, remote condition monitoring, driver advisory software and much more.

Track, analyse, report and improve train performance with our in-cab and back-office performance analysis software solutions. Our proactive fleet performance management increases asset utilisation by detecting fleet defects and implementing corrective actions, reducing mean time between failures.

3Squared’s mission is to enable the transportation sector to become safer, greener and more efficient through digitalisation. Transform your organisation with the RailSmart platform.

For more information on 3Squared and RailSmart visit: www.3squared.com/railsmart Email: james.fox@3squared.com Tel: 0333 121 3333

If you have a product or service you’d like to promote using Platform 1 please email chris@rbdpublications.com

56 | December 2020

railbusinessdaily.com

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Island Line

Transforming train travel on the Isle of Wight South Western Railway’s Damian Power and Phil Dominey discuss the biggest transformation to the Island Line in over 50 years

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or three months from January, train services on the Isle of Wight’s Island Line will stop whilst the work to upgrade the line’s infrastructure is carried out.

Funding provided by the Department for Transport, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership and the Isle of Wight Council has seen £26 million invested, which will secure the long-term future of the line.

“It’s probably the most popular eight-mile piece of railway in the country and everyone is excited about the work,” said Damian Power, South Western Railway’s Head of Infrastructure Projects.

Damian is looking after the work for the line from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin, having been involved as part of a consultancy that did much of the early engineering feasibility studies prior to joining the train operating company.

“I’ve basically ended up leading on something I was involved in specifying in the first place,” he said.

“The work behind the scenes started over three years ago, although getting to where we are now for January started in the middle of last year when we did a lot of the early design works and preparation for the tenders.”

The work is the biggest transformation to the infrastructure since the line was electrified in 1967. As part of the project, SWR will replace the existing 82-year-old Island Line fleet with the newer and more reliable trains, the Class 484.

The infrastructure changes include the construction of a new passing loop at Brading, allowing for a regular 30-minute service, and enhancements to the track to improve the quality of the ride.

Upgrades are also being made to platforms to improve access to the Class 484 trains, and new ticket vending machines will be installed at Shanklin, Sandown and Ryde St John’s Road.

“It is a genuine exciting time as this work will be transformational and people will see a complete step change in the quality of service provided on the island,” said Phil Dominey, Senior Regional Development Manager at South Western Railway. “I’ve been involved in the project right from the very start when we started the

consultation with the island regarding what our stakeholders want for the future of the Island Line.

To get from there to the point where people can actually see what we are doing, the trains starting to arrive and Damian and his team getting on with preparing for the three-month blockade, is really exciting.”

Damian added: “Everybody talks about the arrival of the trains, but a lot of other work has and will be going on ahead of their arrival, with some significant track lowering for example.

“A lot of people funnily enough were talking about whether the new trains will fit through the tunnels, but the tunnels were never the problem.

“We’ve done a lot of preliminary work adjusting two bits of track – about 1,000 metres of track – underneath a couple of bridges. Some adjustments have been made at stations, but it’s not as bad as people may have first thought.”

Three-month blockade From January 4 to March 31, 2021, train services on the Island Line will be replaced by buses while work takes place to upgrade the line’s infrastructure.

Damian said: “The reason we’ve gone for a full blockade is because it wouldn’t have been possible to carry out the amount of work we needed to do reasonably in short possessions and blockades. The main thrust of the work now from January through to March is going to be us creating a level boarding for the trains. We’re going to be adjusting the track to make sure

58 | December 2020

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Island Line

you can roll a wheelchair straight on to a train.

“We’re also doing a significant upgrade of the signalling to be able to put in a new loop line in and also regulate the trains for the new 30-minute timetable, so there is a significant amount of infrastructure works going on in the background.”

Arrival of the first of the new trains The first of the fully refurbished, high-specification fleet arrived last month, marking a significant milestone in the delivery of a modern railway.

The Class 484s continue Island Line’s long-standing tradition of using refurbished and transformed former London Underground rolling stock. They will replace the existing 82-year-old Class 483 fleet, which were originally built in 1938 for the London Underground, and have served the Island Line since the late 1980s.

The new trains – which previously served London’s District Line – are being built by Vivarail.

“The 483’s life had expired, there’s no question about that,” said Damian. “They are 18 years shy of being 100 years old.

“As good as our guys are on the island, you can’t maintain this kind of stock indefinitely, particularly with a lot of modern rolling stock

components interchangeable between a number of different classes.

“Literally everything on a Class 483 is bespoke, so if you want bogies to be repaired you have to send them off and they have to spend 12 months in a metal shop getting restored.”

The major infrastructure improvements by South Western Railway also coincide with power upgrade work by Network Rail and bridge repairs

by Isle of Wight Council.

Damian said: “From a construction perspective, the challenges are going to be making sure we coordinate all the different work streams and making sure we’re not all getting in each other’s way.

“The island as well adds its own specific logistical issues associated with certain materials.

We don’t quarry stone over on the island so a lot of the materials need to brought up by boats.

“That creates its own problem in terms of rail access as there are only a couple of different areas on the island where you can actually bring materials onto the railway, so we rely on a few key hubs. Our contractor has worked with a number of local firms to free up things like storage yards and pre-fabrication

yards so we can do as much as we can outside of the railway and just bring it in last minute.”

Phil added: “This has been a genuine partnership approach between everyone involved, including South Western Railway, Department for Transport, Isle of Wight Council, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership and Network Rail.

“With the other complementary schemes going on on the island there is a lot happening that will culminate in a great railway going forward.”

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December 2020 | 59

F edavteurrteo r i a l A

Infinitive Group improve availability and reduce costs with risk-based maintenance K

nowing in advance the risk of a Service Affecting Failure is a holy grail for TOCs, Asset Managers, and Maintainers. Being able to do so without adding an additional array of sensors and equipment could be thought of as near impossible, but this is exactly Infinitive Group’s approach.

The rail industry is data rich but information poor. This promotes inconsistent decisions being made due to a lack of timely information; in turn impacting asset reliability, availability and maintenance effectiveness.

Trains and operational assets have a wealth of data available in their current form, but this often sits on a standalone platform and is not leveraged to provide information capable of influencing operational decisions.

Train to wayside communications has also played a part in constraining what data is able to be extracted from assets and when it is sent to ground management systems. This has led to data being placed in arrest, waiting for the occasional diagnostics visit.

Infinitive Group’s risk-based maintenance approach presents a significant opportunity for reducing operating costs, while also improving the reliability and in turn availability of rolling stock. As the results of a number of projects in the UK have revealed, predictive failure analysis can be achieved through the data already

available from existing train subsystems fitted to most rolling stock over the past 20 years.

Through modern data harvesting technologies, coupled with deep analysis and visualisation technologies, the delivery of an unprecedented level of insight into the health of a vehicle without additional sensor fitment can be achieved.

Ground-breaking insights The projects Infinitive Group has delivered thus far have demonstrated ground-breaking insights into vehicle condition and maintenance, using the combination of specialist industry knowledge and the effective utilisation of existing real-time datasets.

Cross subsystem analysis provides key information for trends in traction performance, door health, and compressor efficiency among others. Partnerships with key industry original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers have allowed the creation of a stable, scalable platform, which has been rolled out across multiple fleets. The platform offering from Infinitive Group allows the building of a futureproof system, which provides innovative and targeted information in the areas where it is most needed.

In a recent project, Infinitive Group used a combination of specialist domain knowledge of rolling stock, railway operations and data science

The rail industry is data rich but information poor. This promotes inconsistent decisions being made

60 | December 2020

Advertorial

Unlocked previously inaccessible data

Transforming train data into useful information

Bespoke system processing billions of discrete data samples

Benefits with existing data without sensor equipment

New maintenance optimisation opportunities

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Created alarm system for control room staff

to develop engine predictive failure algorithms with unprecedented levels of accuracy. Data analytics from the project showed that 70% of engine failures could be predicted in advance of a service failure occurring. The customer is now undertaking work to improve upon that figure and collaborate more closely with Infinitive Group in order to find more efficiencies affecting their service.

Risk-based maintenance approach This predictive risk-based maintenance approach is an enhancement to the standard planned and reactive maintenance practices that have long been the standard within the rail industry. By enhancing these maintenance practices, zero service affecting failures can be targeted.

Ultimately, increased availability and optimised processes create significant cost savings and, in some circumstances, increased asset life. The feedback from the data gained by current generation rolling stock should also give an increasingly refined picture of a ‘digital twin’ so that future designs can be optimised.

Reducing service affecting failures without installing more hardware is no easy task.

Indeed, it is only through recent developments in technology that Infinitive Group has been able to deliver solutions to utilise the existing data captured. In addition to the use of existing sensors, advances in processing power and railbusinessdaily.com

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TRANSMIT & RECEIVE CONDITION ASSET DATA DATA SERVER

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> PRESENT BUSINESS PROCESS > PRESENT MAINTENANCE REGIME > ASSET DESIGN

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> WHAT GOOD OR BAD LOOKS LIKE > DEPLOY NEW RULES > MODIFY ASSET DESIGN > MODIFY MAINTENANCE REGIME > MODIFY BUSINESS PROCESS

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REPORTING / VISUALISATION

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ALERTS & ALARMS

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cloud storage, along with the emergence of new technologies such as machine learning, means that vast amounts of data can be analysed.

This can enable new ways of understanding exactly which components on a train are reaching the end of life or are under additional strain.

Manually it is impossible to process that kind of data volume, so it becomes necessary to store and process the data and then use analytics and machine learning technology to tease the information out. While the data is already on the train, without the tools to store, process, and analyse it, this resource is being underutilised.

One example in this case of how the data led to increased understanding is the application of Infinitive Group’s solution to problematic saloon doors. Uploading data from the wayside data store to the cloud and analysing it using machine learning meant that alerts could be generated to identify doors that were being obstructed upon

Reactive maintenance

Advanced analytics to obtain better insights

Machine Learning (ML) trained with operational contextual and synthetic data

railbusinessdaily.com

Events gathered into sets based on similarities

Anomalies identified for maintenance intervention with corrective action being taken

opening and closing, which is often caused by issues such as dirt and debris build up. These alerts would identify which doors required servicing and then assign a task priority.

The data frames for analysis were assembled in sets according to their inspection points, for example door location. Each data frame also contained the inspection aspects such as fault severities and other associated fields.

Where there were known influencing factors, like the vehicle having multiple common door locations, this was also included in the data.

The model works through the analytics highlighting anomalies.

Post-processing contextual information, such as known events, were included in the model re-run. This allowed human domain knowledge to be worked into the model, improving the accuracy of the machine learning significantly since unprocessed data will render the analysis inaccurate and often cause misdirection. It is with Infinitive Group’s experience that the data science becomes truly successful, as their transport sector subject matter experts contextualise and rationalise the data.

This risk-based maintenance approach allows the operator to make better decisions. There is Advertorial

a time and a place for additional sensors, but it should not necessarily be the starting point.

Who are Infinitive Group?

Infinitive Group is a specialist consultancy and engineering technology business. It sits at the intersection of operational and information technology servicing the transport sector, and is a co-founder of the Rail Innovation Group. Infinitive Group works with Train Operating companies, Rail Asset Owners and Maintainer companies across the UK, Europe and Australia, focusing on big data and analytics in order to extract, transform and visualise information from complex datasets in order to keep rolling stock moving.

Ben Craze, CEO of Infinitive Group, said: “We continually expand our technology ecosystem to ensure we can provide the very best in class engineering technology solutions to our customers. If you would like to contact us to see how we could help drive innovation and increase RAM capability, please get in touch to find out how we can help your business.

Visit www.infinitivegroup.co.uk for more information. Call: 01908 018900 Email: info@infinitivegroup.co.uk

December 2020 | 61

Heritage Rail

Keeping NYMR on track North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s General Manager Chris Price on the challenges of 2020 and the hard work that continues when the services stop running

This year hasn’t just been about preserving a railway, but more importantly about preserving livelihoods

C

hris Price describes this year as one of triumph for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR). From facing the prospect of a multi-million pound hole in its finances earlier this year, the General Manager says they are now in a decent position to face 2021.

“While 2020 has been incredibly stressful, it has actually been a real triumph because we have managed to negotiate the railways through the rather difficult waters of the pandemic, which has left us unable to run services for several months,” he said.

“Thanks to the Arts Council, being able to run some trains, the furlough scheme, National Lottery funding and a wonderful response from members of the public, we’ve gone from facing a £4 million plus hole in our finances, to one in 62 | December 2020

which we are ready to face 2021 in a fairly decent cash position.” Like all heritage railways, NYMR has faced a battle like never before, and one which threatened the very existence of the much-loved 18-mile journey through the North York Moors National Park.

He said: “Let’s face it, 2020 has been a whirlwind of a year, and there has been so much uncertainty. This year hasn’t just been about preserving a railway, but more importantly about preserving livelihoods. If you don’t have livelihoods than you don’t have the railways.

“But this isn’t just for the railways – this will have been the toughest situation most people have been through. You just can’t plan for anything like this. You can try and plan for it financially, but it is very difficult because the cost base is so high.”

The hard work doesn’t stop With the Santa Specials due to be held later this month and into January, full attention will then turn to the work behind the scenes to get the services back up and running for the start of the new season in March.

Chris said: “There is a perception that it must be quiet for us when you’re not running the trains, when actually the reality is that winters can be more hectic. You can’t maintain 18 miles of railway and overhaul steam engines when you’re concentrating on actually using those resources to generate income.”

This year will be no different in keeping the railway, with more than 30 bridges through the difficult countryside of the North York Moors, in top-notch condition. railbusinessdaily.com

“There is quite a lot of capital work taking place over Christmas,” said Chris, who joined the team at NYMR in 2015. We’ve just signed a commercial agreement with Network Rail to fit control emission toilets on 10 or 11 coaches. Network Rail have been bending over backwards to minimise the impact on our cash flow over the winter.

“There is also the upgrade of High Mill level crossing just outside Pickering and also the fitment of emptying facilities on the railway, so there’s plenty going on. As far as our network maintenance, during the first lockdown we had staff in and actually put as much as we dare in capital and maintenance into the rail infrastructure work.

Planning for 2021 “Locomotive-wise, we’ve probably got three locos that are at medium-term overhauls, two that are in the final thirds of their overhauls, so there’s plenty going on. We’re also looking at running a service just for cash generation really through the winter months. We run a diner train and a hell of a lot of our tickets were put on hold – we’re carrying nearly £500,000 in advanced bookings into 2021.”

The winter period is also the time the budgets

are being drawn up and the marketing strategies are decided for what is coming up in the year ahead. “Planning ahead this year has been an absolute nightmare as literally all you know roughly is what your target base is, which is to try and start running trains in March,” he said.

“But you don’t know how and what format

they will run in and whether social distancing will be vital. Therefore, there are two railway scenarios being planned for next year – one with and one without social distancing. What we’re trying to do is implement a normal timetable with social distancing in 2021 that will probably look at pre-booking, so we can control

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December 2020 | 63

demand and we don’t have packed platforms and trains. Obviously that will also effect cashflow projections and therefore what will be our infrastructure investment in the winter 2021/22, so it is a difficult period.”

One thing which has helped has been the news last month that the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has been awarded £1.94 million as part of the government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

“I can’t tell you the sigh of relief we breathed after receiving the news from Arts Council England. This will enable us to continue to offer a safe, revised service and build back to our 300,000 annual visitors, as well as secure jobs and our heritage skills. It also means our Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey project can carry on, enabling us to continue with building our conservation and heritage apprenticeship programmes and our lineside ecological conservation work.”

Overwhelming support Although we are living through uncertain times, one thing that looks set to remain is the love and support for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from not just its full-time workers, but its hundreds of volunteers and even more supporters. This is defined by a crisis fund which has raised more than six figures to support the heritage railway.

“That’s the humbling thing that I’m particularly 64 | December 2020

proud of – that the North Yorkshire Moors Railway hasn’t made a single redundancy through this,” said Chris. “We’ve made damn sure we’re preserving skills going forward; the staff that have been furloughed have been immensely patient and the ones back have shown a great attitude.

The volunteers, well, without them we wouldn’t have been able to run any services this year.

They have supported us magnificently and we are

very lucky and blessed to have a team that is well motivated and very supportive of the railway.

“Overall, the generosity from people outside the railway and the love they have shown for the railway has been overwhelming, and any stakeholder you can mention has been hugely supportive. We’ve been so lucky, so what we’ve got to do now is make sure 2021 repays their faith in us.”

railbusinessdaily.com

A d v eFretaotrui rael

Tensar verified as a supplier and designer of solutions on the railway T

ensar International is now verified to design, as well as supply, its trackbed improvement and soil reinforcement solutions for railway projects across the UK, after passing its Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS) audit.

“Being verified under the RISQS means buyers of products and services in the rail industry, from Network Rail, to Transport for London and HS2, can trust our systems and our capabilities,” said Darren Evans, Tensar’s Major Projects Account Manager for Rail.

Darren explained that while Tensar stabilisation geogrids and its reinforced soil wall and slopes systems were already approved for use by Network Rail – and have been used successfully on the railway for decades – the latest RISQS audit also covered the company’s design services.

Meet Tensar’s UK Rail Team: Tensar International has created a new rail division as part of its strategy to grow the use of its geogrid-based engineering solutions in the sector, with a particular focus on high speed rail projects.

The division will be headed up by Peter Matthias as Major Projects Design Lead for Rail, and Major Projects Account Manager for Rail, Darren Evans.

Peter said: “We were delighted when HS2 was given the green light recently.

Tensar has been working on UK railways for decades and our systems have proven themselves on high-speed rail projects around the world. Having a dedicated rail division will enable us to fully-support clients in the sector over the coming years.”

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“This means our clients can now use our indemnified designs, rather than having to adopt them – just like we do when we work in other areas, such as the highways sector. It’s great that rail clients will be able to tap into our years of experience and expertise so we can deliver great solutions for their projects,” he said.

Mechanical stabilisation of track ballast and sub-ballast has been proven to increase trackbed stiffness, reduce trackbed variability, minimise settlement and ballast degradation and smooth trackbed transitions.

Network Rail Product Acceptance Tensar has developed a range of stabilisation geogrids specifically for railways, with larger apertures, allowing effective particle confinement and mechanical interlock with

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coarse railway ballast. Tensar geogrids have gained Network Rail Product Acceptance Certification for the structural stabilisation of ballasted trackbed.

Tensar’s permanent and temporary reinforced soil retaining wall and slope systems are also regularly used on railway projects to form approach embankments, bridge abutments, retaining walls and steep vegetated cuttings.

Visit www.tensar.co.uk/railsolutions for more information or email info@tensar.co.uk

December 2020 | 65

F edavteurrteo r i a l A

The ground-breaking tagging system transforming the railways Digital Rail Systems’ innovative solution saving time, making processes leaner, improving safety on site and all while saving money

D

igital Rail Systems (DRS) has digitised the process of delivering data to site with the use of smart tagging. The company, combining over 60 years of experience, has created a direct live link between the on-site asset and the client’s associated data.

Intelli-Tags are linked to the DRS database via the DRS app, providing the most relevant information live, direct to where you need it, exactly when you need it. The live connection provides the onsite team with access to the most recent and relevant information during the construction phase.

Notes can be sent directly to and received from the asset via the tagging system. Quality assurance documents can be associated with the asset and edited within the app. All aspects of the project life cycle is controlled from the database and live-linked to site via the Intelli-Tags.

The system comprises of 4 main elements:

Intelli-Tags Tag Holders Database App

The Intelli-Tags unique ID is used to identify a piece of structure or track. Based on the ID, the tags can be associated with documents, databases, designs, asset information or maintenance records via the DRS app. The tag ensures that the data on-site is always live.

Securely fixed The rail tag holder affixes to the rail magnetically while holding the tag securely. Plant tags can also affix to the inside of the cab magnetically while smaller plant tags are in the form of cable ties.

When the users scan the tag with their smart device, they can reach the database via mobile data – an easy-to-use application that displays relevant data.

The database hosts all the construction data associated with the rail-tag IDs. As well as connecting to the DRS database, the system 66 | December 2020

connects to all industry-standard software (like ProjectWise, Business Collaborator, Field 360). Updates can be made from the usual sources, like laptops and PCs, with the correct authorisation. Users can keep track of the history of all updates throughout the life cycle of the project.

Remote working Intelli-Tags are enabling remote working, as the site information can be uploaded and controlled from anywhere, with the correct permissions.

The system is also helping with new social distance regulations by stopping the sharing of documents and devices. Staff can download the app to their own smart device and access the required information, once granted access by the client. The system also has the capability of document editing and associating notes and photos via the tags.

Overhead Line Electrification was the first step, however the DRS technology can be applied to different forms of assets and in different use cases. Clients are also using the Intelli-Tags for the following applications: linking bridges to their maintenance documents, equipment to calibration certificates, ground Advertorial

tags to buried services drawings, site access offices to health and safety documentation and many more.

The tags have gone through vigorous environmental testing such as drop, shock and vibration, freezing/ice, cold operating, heat and thermal cycling tests. The tags have an operating range of -25°C to 75°C and are UV resistant, flame retardant and RoHS compliant.

All data stored on the database is transmitted and accessed securely using best practice encryption and security principles. The Storage Server Redundancy provides always up-to-date access to your data and the system has offline capability.

Based on the company’s six decades’ experience in rail engineering, product design and development, and electronics engineering, DRS provides efficiencies for its clients that reduce costs for programmes and improve safety.

Visit www.digitalrailsystems.com for more information or email enquiries@digitalrailsystems.com

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A d v eFretaotrui rael

Tailored engineering solutions B

rookvex has enjoyed rapid success since its inception in 2010, with its wealth of specialist experience and expertise making it a sought-after provider of efficient and innovative technical engineering solutions for rail and infrastructure projects.

Brookvex understands the challenges that its clients are facing in the fast-paced telecommunications, electrical and mechanical industries, and provides tailored engineering solutions that meet clients’ needs.

It is a clear marker of Brookvex IMS’ immense progress in recent years that the multidisciplinary engineering solutions provider has just won its biggest contract to date, on behalf of Engie Regeneration, and secured the frameworks with Thales (telecoms), Vinci (building services) and Go Ahead Group (minor works and buildings).

To put things into perspective, the usual value of schemes Brookvex undertakes ranges between £10,000 and £800,000.

Next stage of development Evidently, the company is moving to the next stage of its development. Founder and CEO, Michael Davidson, and newly appointed Managing Director, Gary Dillon, outline the milestones Brookvex has reached, its most successful projects to date and their exciting aspirations for the future.

Michael comments: “With regards to this particular framework with Thales Transport, we were awarded a contract which provides signalling and communication support across

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Transport for London. Over the next three years, Brookvex will be engaged to furtherance upgrades to the railway system’s infrastructure to support capacity improvements recently made by Transport for London.”

Gary adds: “Over the past few years, we have developed strong relationships with many of the Tier 1 contractors and we will continue to grow these relationships going forward.”

While the project in question falls under the remit of Brookvex Telecoms division, the company has three other main departments, which it aims to grow in parallel.

The M&E, Building Services and Security division covers the education, public health, power, aviation, communications and transport sectors, while the Plant Hire division manages the hire of vehicles, plant and equipment to successfully deliver projects. Michael comments: “We just invested significantly in a new fleet of electric vans and other innovative products to add extra value to our clients.”

“The team achieved London Underground’s Beacon Award for World Class Welfare and Site Set-Up” Returning to some of the work the company has completed for clients in the past, Michael singles out its involvement in the construction of the Uphall, Mayfield and Capella schools in London this year, illustrating in greater detail Brookvex’s capabilities. “We were contracted to take care of multiple aspects of the programme. This included all drainage, heating, ventilation, electrical, comms, access control and life safety systems, as well as BMS, testing and commissioning”, he said.

Gary continued: “Another complex project we assisted with was for 4LM Automatic Train Control (ATC), Signal Equipment Rooms (SER) and Electrical Switch Rooms (ESR) on the London Underground.

As the M&E designer at Plaistow, Dagenham East, Embankment and Upminster, Brookvex undertook all surveys, design and installation of new assets, fire, comms and alarms, whilst all the while maintaining operational use. The team achieved several firsts during this project – in particular, London Underground’s Beacon Advertorial

Award for World Class Welfare and Site Set-Up in collaboration with our client.”

Technical services expansion In 2019, Brookvex invested in upskilling its people and brought in expertise to expand its technical services to Network Rail. The technical expansion that has occurred at Brookvex has motivated the company to restructure in a way that will enable it to offer 24/7 regional delivery on all its projects moving forward. “We feel that giving more of a technical and business focus on delivery is key for good client relationships,” Michael explained.

Looking to secure its sustainable growth, Brookvex has spent in excess of £500,000 on new plant, equipment, vehicles and training in the last year.

In Gary’s opinion, this continual improvement will open new opportunities for the company to serve its customers better. “With the business expanding, we have big plans for the future as we look at new ideas to add to our proposition.”

Michael concludes: “This is essentially what we want to continue doing in the future. We want to continuously improve our services because we see that our clients appreciate the ‘can-do’ attitude we demonstrate.

“To this end, we will need to invest further not just in tech, but also in our people, whose commitment and conscientious approach is what has made Brookvex so successful thus far.”

Visit www.brookvex.com for more information or email michael.davidson@brookvex.com

December 2020 | 67

IFnetaetrunraet i o n a l R a i l

Bombardier’s TRAXX Africa locomotive fleet completes 10 million kilometres B

ombardier Transportation has announced that its Transnet locomotive fleet in South Africa has successfully completed 10 million kilometres in service since operations began in December 2017.

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) awarded Bombardier the contract to supply 240 electric locomotives in March 2014. Since then, the company has been delivering the Bombardier Traxx Africa locomotives to Transnet as part of South Africa’s rail modernisation plan.

Makgola Makololo, Managing Director South Africa at Bombardier Transportation, said: “This achievement is thanks to the close

partnerships between Bombardier, Transnet Freight Rail, Transnet Engineering and more than 200 local suppliers who are supporting us in the delivery of these modern electric locomotives.

“We are proud to see our locomotives forming the backbone of the regional freight movement in South Africa. Bombardier is fully committed to this country through our local manufacturing capability, strong local supply chain and the jobs created with each TRAXX Africa locomotive manufactured here.”

The locomotives are being used to transport freight on South Africa’s long routes between its mines and ports.

Alstom and Kiepe Electric to supply 64 trams in Cologne

T

he Cologne Public Transport Authority has signed a contract with the manufacturer consortium Alstom and Kiepe Electric for the supply of 64 low-floor trams.

The order for the new Citadis type trams with special adaptations for the German market is worth 363 million euros.

The first pre-series vehicles will be delivered to the Cologne Public Transport Authority from the end of the 2023. The series vehicles will follow one year later at the end of 2024.

The contract also includes some options for a total of 47 additional vehicle units.

Dr Jörg Nikutta, Managing Director for Alstom in Germany and Austria, said: “This order is further proof of the worldwide success of our flagship tram, Citadis.

“Our trams will provide the passengers of the Cologne Public Transport Authority with the highest level of passenger comfort and will support the Cologne Public Transport Authority in successfully meeting the challenges of urban transport.

“This is the largest single order in the history of Kiepe Electric.”

Akiem announces it is simplifying its organisation

A

kiem says it is deploying a new business development strategy and reorganisation of its activities.

Based on reinforcing its leasing plus maintenance contracts throughout Europe, the company says the new structure is in anticipation of the end of the health and economic crisis.

It also says it aligns with the new growing requirements of a market that expects performance, reliability and agility to accelerate the implementation of the modal shift towards rail.

Fabien Rochefort, CEO of Akiem, said: “Rail is taking on a major role that has been particularly revealed by the COVID-19 crisis.

68 | December 2020

“To respond to environmental concerns and the demand for a modal shift to rail throughout Europe, our customers have more than ever a need for an effective, reliable and integrated service to enable them to meet their biggest challenges.

“We are transforming to meet the needs of freight operators, new night train services and regional transport services being put out to competition.

“This transformation involves restructuring our technical and industrial capacity, strengthening our European maintenance ecosystem and putting out an integrated service offering that we want to be a standard-setter for the market.”

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RIA

We can lead our way out of this Darren Caplan, the Railway Industry Association’s Chief Executive, on meeting challenges head on

T

he Railway Industry Association’s (RIA) Annual Conference took place online for the first time in November and, in an unlikely move, was hosted from the compere’s house, close to the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge.

Adapting to the enforced change brought about by lockdown meant that the conference, which brings together RIA members of all sizes with clients, industry leaders, influencers, international guests and policy makers for informative discussions and networking, took place virtually, over more days than usual – and, perhaps more surprisingly, washed its face financially thanks to its fee-paying model.

Darren Caplan, RIA’s Chief Executive since 2017, kicked off proceedings by presenting the results of a recent poll, undertaken by independent analysts Savanta ComRes, of more than 250 rail business leaders on the state of an industry coming to terms with what the future has in store.

The picture was mixed, he said, with 35 per cent of business leaders saying the industry is likely to grow and 36 per cent saying it is likely to contract in the coming year.

Our members need a plan, they need to know what work’s coming their way in the rail network enhancement pipeline Positive approach Darren, whose glass is perpetually half full whether he’s working from home, on site, watching his beloved Crystal Palace or in RIA’s Hyde Park Corner HQ, was pleased with the “bullish” nature of the response he has encountered from RIA members.

He said: “There’s no escaping the uncertainty that exists around rail’s short-term future.

Businesses both in and outside of rail have had 70 | December 2020

to furlough staff and there’s definitely a divided opinion regarding whether the industry will grow or contract, which of course could be spun either way. But the headline is that there is no agreed view of where this is going.

“The positive side of all this is that 51 per cent of those surveyed are optimistic about their own growth prospects, while others just don’t think they will grow at the same rate as in previous years.

“The overall message from those that we represent in the rail industry is that there are clearly challenges ahead but a positive future long term.

Another poll in a session during the conference asking whether businesses would be hiring in the next year resulted in 90 per cent saying that they

would. The mood music says we’re much more bullish than other sectors and industries.”

Four key challenges Darren has identified four key challenges that RIA’s membership, and the wider industry, face.

One is, unsurprisingly, the impact coronavirus will have in the long term on infrastructure projects.

Also, again unsurprisingly, is rail reform and restructuring – and what this will mean to the supply chain – following the Williams Rail Review.

Then there is the impact of trade and changes to suppliers’ rules in a post-Brexit Britain. And the fourth highlights what connects these different challenges – uncertainty; a need for long-term railbusinessdaily.com

RIA

pipeline visibility in the future. Darren explained: “Our members need a plan, they need to know what work’s coming their way in the rail network enhancement pipeline, what those projects are, when they’re going to be delivered and whether these projects are going to be accelerated.

With schemes like HS2, Crossrail and the TransPennine Route Upgrade, there will be support to see those projects through. But when will other projects get the go-ahead? The real problem for our members is not knowing what the Government’s thinking is in the pipeline.”

Darren is keen to stress that credit is due to the Government for its support for rail in this year of coronavirus, and for seeing rail investment as key to the UK’s economic bounce back and revival post-pandemic and post-Brexit.

Darren emphasised the Government’s role himself at the conference, when he said: “We cannot allow the rail network to be neglected while we wait for passengers to return. Rail stands in a good place to help the UK’s economic recovery.”

Government support Darren added: “Government support is not taken for granted but appreciated by us and our members. If you want rail to be leaders, the Treasury has to recognise what rail can do beyond

what we already deliver. We can be a leadership sector but need backing and to be brought in early on projects. Being at the heart of the Government’s Build Back Rail agenda helps. This is a time for strong leadership and rising to the

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December 2020 | 71

RIA

challenge and rail can definitely be a leader in the reboot of the economy. As Andrew Haines points out, around 25 per cent of all construction in the UK has been in rail this year, so it is vital that that positivity is converted to bring change for a supply chain that needs certainty going forward and clarity about future intentions.”

The important role that RIA plays for its members has been underpinned in a recent independent survey carried out by Pulse Survey around member satisfaction. 88 per cent

In terms of rail project acceleration and pipeline visibility, we’re not asking for more money – just a smoothing of the workflow surveyed said they believe RIA is playing a leadership role as the voice of the UK rail supply community, and 85 per cent feel RIA has been performing really or quite well as the ‘go-to’ body for advising on government policy, with an increasing trend of high satisfaction around the benefits of membership.

RIA currently represents 290 member companies, with 55 new companies joining the association from November 2019 to November 2020, including big players such as Eversholt Rail, Laing O’Rourke, Worldline, Beacon Rail and IBM. Understandably, coronavirus has had an impact on membership, with a handful of small SMEs cancelling memberships due to budget restrictions, although Darren is hopeful that

72 | December 2020

most will return to the fold, while some have already rejoined.

Darren said: “My personal priority, working with the RIA team, is to build the best trade association I can by constantly asking: how can we deliver for our members?

“Our Oxford Economics Report shows the contribution rail makes to UK plc. Rail creates £36.4bn of gross value added (GVA), 600,000 jobs and big revenue for the Treasury. Clearly we want to support maintaining that and creating further growth.”

Long-term thinking While infrastructure project visibility remains a

key priority, there is no shortage of support of all kinds for those that RIA represents. RIA intends to develop and realise long-term thinking for a UK train fleet for its rolling stock members.

Along with Women in Rail, it has launched a pan-industry equality, diversity and inclusion charter and, with Network Rail, is leading the Unlocking Innovation programme. RIA will also support its members on other challenges being met around digital rail, decarbonisation, electrification and developing bi-mode and trimode solutions.

Darren added: “It’s a big to-do list and we pride ourselves on being informed by our members. We don’t take punts, so we make sure our members have the opportunity to tell us what we need to change, the areas where we need to do more and when and where we need to influence on their behalf.

“By having members so closely involved with what we do, we can have confidence that we’re doing the right things by them.

“In terms of rail project acceleration and pipeline visibility, we’re not asking for more money – just a smoothing of the workflow. Together we can build a better, more efficient and innovative railway, and that will benefit UK plc.

“We’re the right industry to contribute to rebuilding, levelling up and net-zero targets. Can rail be a leading industry to help the UK out of this difficult year?

I think we can.” railbusinessdaily.com

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PreMetro Operations, a licenced TOC, provides passenger services using light technology on the Stourbridge branch line. Green and efficient services on NR infrastructure. Solutions for service reinstatements.

Phil.evans@premetro.co.uk www.premetro.co.uk 01384 441325

Radius is a service orientated plant installation, contract lift and tower crane hire solutions provider. Our service is not about what we do; it is all about what you need.

railbusinessdaily.com

info@radiusgroup.co.uk www.radiusgroup.co.uk +44 (0)1604 62 28 65

JT Networks Ltd has been providing the Network Rail infrastructure with track monitoring targets since 2003 and provides a range of track monitoring products and services. jamesjtnetworks@gmail.com www.jtnetworks.co.uk 01934 807 062

RISQS audited chartered land and engineering surveyors with 40 years’ experience measuring and mapping the railway infrastructure. survey@mw-sc.co.uk www.mw-sc.co.uk 07767 456196

RMF is a leading provider of reservation based international settlement and clearing services providing solutions for sophisticated revenue and cost allocations including analytical tools. david.hiscock@rmf.co.uk www.rmf.co.uk +44 (0) 20 7042 9961

December 2020 | 73

Directory

SG System Products designs, manufactures and installs the original “warm to the touch” handrail, which can be fitted with LED lights if required. sales@sgsystems.co.uk www.handrailsuk.co.uk +44 (0)1473 240055

TrainFX specialises in bespoke, turn-key, fully integrated on-train solutions, incorporating real-time, PRM-TSI compliant passenger information, dynamic messaging media display, communications and monitoring systems. sales@trainfx.com www.trainfx.com 01332 366 175

We provide high quality signalling support for plain line and S&C renewals, as well as signalling assistance for civil work in the rail industry.

Installation, maintenance, points fitting and testing to SMTH and G110 standards. office@SigTechRail.co.uk www.SigTechRail.co.uk 01303 764344

Slingco is a world-leading manufacturer of cable pulling grips and associated products, including swivels, connectors and wire rope assemblies, and distributes products around the world. sales@slingco.com www.slingco.com +44 (0)1706 855558

Twinfix’s product portfolio includes their modular polycarbonate roof panel system, the Multi-Link-Panel Non-Fragile – a popular choice for rail and depot rooflights.

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railbusinessdaily.com

Movers and shakers

New role for Balfour Beatty’s Mark Bullock M

ark Bullock has been appointed as Balfour Beatty’s Chief Executive Officer, UK Construction Services, this month.

Matthew Steele takes over Mark’s current role as Chief Executive Officer for Rail and Utilities.

In a message to staff, Leo Quinn, Group Chief Executive, said: “Mark is currently Chief Executive Officer for Rail and Utilities, where his outstanding leadership since 2018 has increased employee engagement, financial performance and customer satisfaction. His focus on operational excellence and his prior experience in critical projects for both client and contractor organisations will be of key importance in his new role. Mark joined Balfour Beatty in 2012 as Managing Director of our UK Rail business.

“Matt joined Balfour Beatty in 2018 as Managing Director of Gas and Water, where he has driven improved commercial arrangements and delivery programmes for key contracts and customers. Matt’s previous senior roles at Network Rail, Crossrail and London Underground suit him ideally for his new challenge. Matt will also continue his leadership of Gas and Water.

“After five years with Balfour Beatty as Chief Executive Officer of UK Construction Services, Dean Banks is leaving Balfour Beatty to take on a new role in Australia. To ensure a seamless handover Dean will continue until the end of the year. I would like to thank Dean for his leadership and the significant contribution he has made to improving our business during his time with us – we wish him well for the future.”

Five Non-Executive Directors for CAM delivery company

F

ive candidates with a combined wealth of experience delivering major projects, managing big budgets and with a record of exceptional leadership across business and the public sector have been appointed as Non-Executive Directors of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM) delivery company.

Their appointment was confirmed at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Board last month. They will join the One CAM Limited Board chaired by renowned tunnel engineer, Lord Robert Mair CBE. The Mayoral Combined Authority agreed in August to establish the separate company to give the CAM the dedicated resource and expertise needed to deliver a project of its scale and scope. Other major infrastructure schemes, including East West Rail and Crossrail, use similar delivery bodies.

Mayor James Palmer hailed the appointments as a significant milestone in the establishment of One CAM Limited.

An interview panel chaired by Lord Mair interviewed the candidates for the five Non-Executive Director positions. The appointees are: Terry Hill CBE, who is an experienced Non-Executive Chair and Director of leading companies in the infrastructure, urban development and transport sectors. He chaired Arup Group for ten years.

Ruby McGregor-Smith, Baroness McGregor Smith CBE, who is the President of the British Chambers of Commerce and former Chief Executive of MITIE Group PLC, the strategic outsourcing company. She is a member of the House of Lords, having been granted a life peerage in 2015.

Godric Smith CBE, whose career in communications has included ten years in Downing Street; he was the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman from 2001-2004.

Pam Alexander OBE, who has many years’ experience leading major programmes of housing and regeneration, infrastructure and planning.

Her current roles include Chair of Commonplace, an online community railbusinessdaily.com

engagement platform, Chair of the Planning Committee and a board member of the London Legacy Development Corporation, developing new neighbourhoods around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. She is a Non-Executive Director of the Connected Places Catapult, accelerating the use of new technologies to improve buildings, places and mobility.

Jim Cohen, who spent nearly fifteen years with Balfour Beatty plc, from which he retired as a main board Director. He is a member of the Investment Committee of DIF Capital Partners, an infrastructure fund manager based in the Netherlands which invests in infrastructure projects and renewable power in Europe, North and South America, and Australia.

December 2020 | 75

Movers and shakers

DB Cargo UK appoints new Chief Financial Officer D B Cargo UK has announced the appointment of Deb Hardy as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Deb, who is currently Finance Director at the successful family-run logistics and warehousing company, Moran Logistics, will officially join the DB Cargo UK Board in January 2021.

She brings with her more than two decades of experience in managing finance, IT and procurement within the transport and logistics sector.

Prior to joining Moran Logistics, Deb was Finance Director at the Japanese-owned, UK-based logistics and freight-forwarding company, Yusen Logistics (UK) Ltd. Before that she fulfilled a number of senior management roles with the Japanese global freight operator, NYK Logistics, culminating in her appointment as UK Finance Director in 2008.

Announcing her appointment, DB Cargo UK’s new Chief Executive Andrea Rossi said: “We are delighted that Deb has agreed to join us at such an important time for DB Cargo as we adapt to the financial

and operational challenges caused by coronavirus and the associated economic downturn.

“During the pandemic we have demonstrated that DB Cargo is a resilient business. While it may have delayed our growth aspirations, the pandemic has not derailed them altogether and we continue to plan for the long-term and successful growth of our rail freight business here in the UK,” he added. “I am confident that Deb has the necessary skills to help us do this, along with helping us to prepare for other industry challenges like digitalisation, decarbonisation and the development of our international traffic.”

Commenting on her appointment, Deb said: “I am delighted to be joining DB Cargo UK at such an exciting time for the rail industry. Freight has been front and centre of the UK railway throughout the pandemic and I look forward to being part of future success with the business.”

The role of CFO at DB Cargo UK became vacant in September 2020 when Andrea Rossi was promoted to Chief Executive following the retirement of Hans-Georg Werner.

Rail Freight Group elects Neil Sime as its new Chair R

ail Freight Group (RFG) has announced that its board has elected Neil Sime to be its new Chair for the coming year. Neil is the Managing Director of Victa Railfreight and over the past two years has served as ViceChair of the RFG. Neil has been a long-standing supporter of the group and has sat on the board since 2003. He takes over from Ken Russell, Director at John G Russell, who has served as Chair since 2019.

Andrew Harston, Regional Director, Wales & Short Sea Ports, Associated British Ports, has been elected Vice-Chair. The election for these positions takes place each year, with all qualifying Board Directors eligible to stand.

Neil said: “I am delighted to be appointed to the role of Chair of the Rail Freight Group for the next 12 months. Despite the current challenges 76 | December 2020

surrounding COVID-19, it is an exciting time for the rail freight sector, as more businesses look to move their goods off of the roads and onto the rail network. The RFG’s role has never been more important in tackling the current issues such as

the decarbonisation of the transport sector and in helping the Government meet its environmental targets. I look forward to helping carry the debate forwards and supporting RFG Members.”

RFG is also pleased to welcome new Board members, voted in at its recent AGM: Liam Day, GB Railfreight (GBRf); Peter Graham, Freightliner; John Hall, Davis Wagon Services and Geoff Lippitt, PD Ports.

RFG Director-General Maggie Simpson OBE said: “I am delighted to welcome both Neil and Andrew to their new roles as Chair and Vice-Chair of the RFG. They both bring with them years of experience in the rail freight, ports and logistics sectors and I very much look forward to working them. I would also like to welcome our new board members who will each add their personality and wide range of experience to the group.” railbusinessdaily.com

Movers and shakers

New Non-Executive Director and Chairman for MacRail

M

acRail Systems Ltd has announced the appointment of a new Non-Executive Director and Chairman, Steve Featherstone.

Steve joins MacRail following a long and illustrious career with Network Rail where, as Track Programme Director, he was responsible for the safe delivery of Network Rail’s programme of track and associated rail systems works valued at over £800 million per year, delivering over 600 improvement initiatives and receiving eight Safety Swords of Honour from the British Safety Council.

Before taking over the track portfolio, Steve was National Maintenance Director for Network Rail, responsible for a team of some 18,000 people, overseeing the most significant improvement in infrastructure reliability and train performance in modern railway history. MacRail Managing Director, Tim Westwood commented:

“I am thrilled that such a high calibre and experienced person as Steve has accepted this new appointment and very much look forward to working with him. His knowledge and experience is second to none and I am sure that his ideas of site access for the future will be visionary in how the whole industry moves forward, both in terms of safety and efficiency.”

Prior to his time at Network Rail, Steve held senior engineering focused positions within the gas industry.

Steve Featherstone said of his appointment: “I am really looking forward to working with Tim and the MacRail team to help them to grow the business. In my usual way of learning from people at the sharp end, I will be on site regularly to see how we can improve everything that goes on at the site access.”

Transport for the North Chief Executive to step down next year

T

ransport for the North’s Chief Executive Barry White will step down from the role next year.

The lead officer for the North’s Sub-national Transport Body will leave in May 2021 to take a career break. It is anticipated to follow submission of the next business case for Northern Powerhouse Rail, scheduled for March.

The process to appoint a successor has now begun to aid a smooth transition, with an update on progress to be made in due course.

John Cridland, Chairman of Transport for the North, said: “Barry White has decided to leave the role of Chief Executive in the spring. We thank him for his leadership, contribution and achievements, in particular submitting our 30-year Strategic Transport Plan to Government last year. Barry also led TfN through the challenges of responding to the May 2018 timetable crisis and remains on track to submit the next business case for Northern Powerhouse Rail next March. We wish him the very best for the future.

“With the urgent need to build back better following COVID-19, Transport for the North’s mission to speak with one voice on behalf of our region and create a more prosperous North is as important today as it has ever been.”

railbusinessdaily.com

December 2020 | 77

Obituary

Jeremy Candfield – a true gentleman who will be greatly missed T

he Railway Industry Association’s (RIA) former Director General Jeremy Candfield has passed away following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. RIA’s Policy Director Peter Loosley has written this tribute about the man both admired and respected by everyone with whom he came into contact.

It is with the greatest sadness we report that RIA’s former Director General, Jeremy Candfield, passed away on Sunday 1 November. As many of you will know, Jeremy had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for several years.

Jeremy joined RIA as Director General in 1998 and relinquished the role in 2016 only when the onset of Parkinson’s was making it impossible for him to continue as he would have dearly wished.

It is impossible to overstate the changes he made to RIA during his 18-year tenure.

He transformed it from what had been regarded by many as ‘a gentleman’s club’ with relatively few member companies to the go-to trade association with a membership of over 200.

It had also become the established voice of the railway supply chain and was viewed as a vital and integral piece of the post-privatisation rail jigsaw.

Make no mistake, this was a sea-change in how RIA and the supply chain were perceived in the industry. Jeremy brought RIA to the top table and created the platform essential for RIA to continue to grow and progress. He achieved this transformation through, I believe, three key ingredients.

First, a lot of hard work. He hardly ever stopped – not only the usual letters, e-mails, meetings and phone calls but also countless evening functions and overseas trade missions.

I should stress here that this would have been impossible without the dedicated constant support and understanding of his wife, Uta. Second, he identified the key people and organisations with which to engage. And he did so in a firm but collaborative way – rightly gaining their confidence by being straight and open with them and seldom, if ever, resorting to public criticism, which he did not view as being terribly productive.

In establishing these strong relationships, he ensured the necessary two-way dialogue that raised supply chain communication with government and key clients to a new and mutually beneficial level.

78 | December 2020

Third, his scrupulous honesty, integrity and consistency both within and beyond RIA (there was no duplicitous side to Jeremy). These are qualities that some might view old-fashioned but which perhaps demand greater currency

Jeremy brought RIA to the top table and created the platform essential for RIA to continue to grow than they enjoy in these very strange and difficult times.

Colleagues with whom I have been in touch, both ex-RIA and members, have been unanimous in describing Jeremy as an absolute

gentleman who will be much missed. Indeed, he was. It was Jeremy who brought me to RIA and he was a constant source of sage advice, particularly in the early days when I was finding my feet. But not only that, he was a good and loyal friend, and I remember with affection the occasions we put the world to rights over the odd tincture (or two). Others will recall similar experiences. I owe him a lot, as do the collective RIA membership and the railway industry generally.

Our deepest condolences go to his widow, Uta, their children, Sophie and Christopher, and their respective families. I hope it will be of some comfort to them to know how much Jeremy was both admired and respected by everyone with whom he came into contact.

It is just such a terrible shame that, having devoted so much of his substance to his work, he was not granted a longer and more comfortable retirement with his family. railbusinessdaily.com

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