RailStaff March 2017

MARCH 2017 | ISSUE 232

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CONTENTS MARCH 2017 | ISSUE 232

TEN YEARS AFTER GRAYRIGG REMEMBERED | 08 10 years after the Grayrigg accident, RSSB reflects on what it says about the safety of Britain’s rail network.

HS2 - WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? | 24 With royal assent granted, what’s the next step for Phase One of Britain’s high-speed railway?

08

SUCCESS FOR THE JACOBITE STEAM SERVICE | 30

30

David Shirres reports on the extension of the Jacobite season.

DOO ANALYSED AND EXPLAINED | 34 Writers from the Rail Engineer and RailStaff examine the role of driver-only operation.

RAIL BIM SUMMIT LOOKING INTO THE BEYOND | 44 Rail Media’s third BIM Summit looked at how the transition into Level 3 BIM would take the industry further on the digitisation journey.

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IARNRÓD ÉIREANN - 30 YEARS | 48 Tim Casterton gives a potted history of Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) as the operator turns 30.

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

Face of the navigator

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In the rail industry the gap between rail and wheel has come to define an industry conflicted by contradictory financial aspiration.

Rail companies make good money on recouping losses from the other side - should it be deemed to have caused delay. It is a conundrum that troubles successive rail chiefs and to his credit the current transport secretary, Chris Grayling.

It need not be so. Dick Fearn, chairman of the new Western Route Supervisory Board, has a small replica of a statue of a navvy - a memento of Chiltern route modernisation.

Navvies, the term derives from the word navigator, were the men who built the railways, hewing the routes out of rock and earth. Navvies or track workers still build and maintain thousands of miles of railway, often in darkness and danger. The men and women of our industry go far beyond their job descriptions, as these pages and the RailStaff Awards attest.

Fearn had the statue positioned in his office at Iarnrod Eireann. Irish colleagues understood the figure represented their countrymen who built railways in Britain and Ireland and around the world. For the vast projects that lie before the industry to flourish the railway needs peace.

The Western Route Supervisory Board is the pilot for a series of similar boards around the country. Closing the gap between trains and track will be a challenge. Concluding a just and durable peace in the field of industrial relations more daring still.

The lesson of the navigator is of the importance of the working men and women who invest their careers in an industry hugely dependent on the resources and ingenuity of its staff. It’s a covenant that stretches from boardroom to ballast. Just as wheel and rail march together so too should the aspirations of rail chiefs and staff be similarly aligned.

Achieving industrial peace lies within the compass of an industry that has survived war, bankruptcy and political near death. The railway has a human face. Whimsical though it sounds on a spring day, let us replace the clenched fist with a handshake. andy@rail-media.com FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

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Track attack Rail freight staff from DB Cargo joined teams from the emergency services at the old Healey Mills marshalling yard in Wakefield for a largescale exercise and simulated major railway accident recently.

As part of the exercise a locomotive and rail carriages were positioned on an unused railway line at Healey Mills and one carriage was also completely overturned.

Volunteers from St John Ambulance acted as trapped, injured and missing casualties.

Dummies were used to replicate trapped passengers and dead bodies.

The exercise was also attended by West Yorkshire Police, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Department for Transport (DfT) and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB). Healey Mills was once reputedly the largest railway marshalling site in Europe.

Ordsall Chord tunes up The scheme to connect Manchester’s main railway stations - Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Victoria - has come a big step closer with two 600-tonne arches craned into place making the centre-piece of the Ordsall Chord.

Scheduled for completion in December 2017, the Ordsall Chord is a 300-metre length of track bearing the railway over the River Irwell. The chord will enable new direct links to Manchester Airport from locations like

Rochdale and Bradford. The two huge bridge arches, each weighing 600 tonnes and designed and constructed in Greater Manchester, were lifted and fixed into position forming a new bridge.

The Liebherr LR 11350, the crane used to install the arches, is the largest in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe. It was constructed at the work site next to the River Irwell, which links Manchester and Salford, after its component parts were delivered by 35 wagons.

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Morson backs university expansion The Morson Group, which employs 800 people, has made an unprecedented donation of £500,000 towards creating a new manufacturing and engineering hub at the University of Salford – the largest donation received by the institution.

Says Ged Mason, chief executive, Morson Group, ‘We have several key engineering projects in the North West, not least HS2, and it’s critical that we work to bridge any skills gaps by attracting the best new talent. This is a fantastic new facility at Salford University that we’re proud to support.’

The money will go towards the construction of a £16 million Engineering Showcase and ‘Morson Maker-Space’ at the Peel Park Campus.

A delighted Professor Sunil Vadera, dean of the School of Computing, Science and Engineering, told local media, ‘The Engineering Showcase is a central part of the University’s strategy to put industrial collaboration at the heart of teaching and research.

This remarkable gift from our friends at Morson will enable the university to train highly skilled engineers in professional facilities and in collaboration with the industries that will employ them.’

He added, ‘We have a longstanding relationship with Ged Mason and with his late father Gerry, so we are proud that this centre of excellence will bear the company name.’

Morson has a strong tradition of giving back to the local community, and sponsors a range of students and internships for trainee engineers. Staff and friends at Morson are keen charity raisers.

Last year, big-hearted staff raised a total of £160,000 for chosen charities, Seashell Trust and Springhill Hospice. Fundraisers included a masquerade ball, dress down days, golf tournaments and sky dives. This year, employees are focusing on the Alzheimer’s Society and the Christie Hospital.

Meanwhile reassured HS2 bosses are pushing ahead with contracts designed to progress the Manchester - Leeds arteries of Britain’s new high-speed rail network.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

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Steve and team win tamp of approval A new parallel tamping technique, dubbed Formation Flying, could save Network Rail £250,000 per week.

Successful trials in Sandy, Bedfordshire saw two Dynamic Track Stabiliser tampers operating side by side.

Normally trains have to travel at low line speed for a week over freshly laid track.

This is to allow the ballast below the tracks to settle. But at Sandy a pair of engineering trains were joined together, connected by an umbilical cord and ran in parallel to simultaneously deliver tamping and dynamic track stabilisation (DTS) which simulated the equivalent of 200 trains passing over the tracks consecutively.

Passenger trains were then able to start using the railway at speeds as high as 125mph as soon as the engineering team had finished.

Track and ballast are firmly bedded in. This means Network Rail avoids thousands of pounds in compensation payments - liable when line speed is reduced.

Track staff at Network Rail and the indomitable track director Steve Featherstone have steadily built up methods of handing back the railway with greater alacrity. Delighted finance pathfinders at Network Rail estimate over £5 million has already been saved by avoiding compensation payments since the start of the ‘high speed handback’ programme.

Expanding on those techniques, the work at Sandy was also Network Rail’s first time delivering a high-speed handback on a crossing.

Says Network Rail’s programme director for track, Steve Featherstone, ‘Our high-speed handback journey started three years ago.

We have been continually improving, systematically getting better at every aspect of what we do. We have progressively built the knowledge and competence to handback plain line, high output and switches and crossing renewals at 125mph, which will save Network Rail hundreds of thousands of pounds in reduced fees to train operators for disruption caused.’

Railway VCs where to see them Following on from Andy Savage’s article in the February issue of RailStaff, Allan Stanistreet, author of Brave Railwaymen, wrote in: ‘Readers may be interested to learn where they can see at least some of the awards made to these gallant men. The Victoria Crosses of Jock Christie and Wilf Wood are still happily in the possession of their respective families. Charles Robertson’s VC is in the Royal Fusiliers museum, HM Tower of London. John Meikle’s VC, MM and other awards are in Dingwall Museum, Scotland. Jacob Rivers’ VC and other awards are in the Sherwood Foresters museum in Derby.

‘Norman Jackson’s VC and other awards are in the Guards museum, Wellington Barracks, London and Ernest Sykes’ awards are in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers museum, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, although in this case, the VC is a replica, the original VC now being in a private collection.’ © Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

Ten years after Grayrigg remembered The RSSB has drawn attention to the tenth anniversary of the Grayrigg railway accident.

The tragic crash marked the last train accident that killed passengers on Britain’s mainline railways. The RSSB says this is unprecedented in the history of the rail industry.

The accident at Grayrigg 10 years ago on 23 February 2007 happened when 390033 ‘City of Glasgow’, a Virgin Pendolino, heading for Glasgow, came off the tracks at a set of points just north of Docker Viaduct in Cumbria. Eighty-four-yearold Margaret Masson from Glasgow was on the train and subsequently died in hospital.

Unprecedented respite According to the RSSB, this was the last time a passenger died in a train accident scenario such as a derailment or collision.

Says RSSB’s director of system safety George Bearfield, ‘This unprecedented 10-year respite does not, of course, mean that train accidents are consigned to history. It’s still possible for accidents involving trains, or vehicles like trains, to happen, as shown elsewhere.

‘We have seen major accidents overseas in recent months, and also the major tram accident in Croydon in November last year.

The railways’ safety performance is maintained through continual learning and industry is ready to learn any relevant transferable lessons for the mainline railway in Britain.’

Lives saved Lives were also saved 10 years ago at Grayrigg thanks to the train’s crashworthiness and the use of laminated glass in the windows. Research shows these prevent people from being

Iain and Jan Black.

ejected from the train. At a news conference soon after the crash, Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson praised the driver, Iain Black, from Dumbarton, and thanked local people and emergency services for their unflagging help that night and in the aftermath.

Branson pointed out the driver remained at his post and made every effort to stop the train and mitigate what was happening.

Iain Black spent over a month in hospital and was given a 5 per cent chance of survival. He later said, ‘I’ve got to be in the cab to help the train and it never crossed my mind to leave.’

Staff heroism Bearfield also pointed to the heroism of rail staff. ‘By remaining vigilant and avoiding complacency, the railways have maintained a methodical and targeted approach to managing risk and improving safety.

Stronger trains, better signalling and protection, and day-to-day RAILSTAFF.UK | @RAILSTAFFUK | FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF

dedication of rail staff have all played their part too.’

Iain Black, despite suffering a broken neck and blood loss managed to get his mobile phone out of his pocket and call his girlfriend, Jan Duff - also working for Virgin Trains. Jan alerted control.

Adds George Bearfield, ‘Train accidents have a tragic impact on passengers, rail staff, and their families – the derailment at Grayrigg resulted in tragedy for the family of Margaret Masson who died. It also required heroism from rail staff, emergency services and the local community in the aftermath. Our thoughts are with them as much as they are with the progress we’ve made as an industry in the intervening period.’

The points in question were later removed and the stretch is now CWR - continuous welded rail. Iain and Jan later married. Mr Black retired from the railway in 2015 after 36 years service.

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Expansion at telent heralds digital revolution As the Rail Delivery Group unveiled plans to progress the use of digital technology in the rail industry, digital communications pioneer telent is expanding its rail business to meet the challenge.

Kevin Bonanno has joined telent as business development director. Drawing on over 20 years’ commercial experience in wireless, digital and fixed telecom solutions throughout the UK and Europe, Kevin will lead and develop the team to meet the unrivalled opportunities presented by the rail industry and its adoption of new technologies.

Steve Pearce has been appointed as programme director for rail. Steve has been with telent for nearly 40 years and brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Steve will be responsible for the

overall delivery of all rail projects for Network Rail, train operating companies and supply chain partners. As well as ensuring the successful and safe delivery of projects, Steve will play an active role in helping develop and implement telent’s forward looking Rail Strategy.

Sean Birrane has been appointed head of EHS Rail Projects. Sean is a long-serving railway safety manager, having joined the industry in 1979. He has considerable experience in managing large-scale projects including the West Coast Main Line Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) upgrade and GSM-R deployment. In Sean’s new role, his focus will be on meeting health and safety obligations in the most pragmatic way.

The moves follow the appointment of Steve Dalton

as managing director of telent’s rail business in autumn 2016.

Says Dalton, ‘telent shares the aspirations of passengers, government and industry for a world class railway. We are a committed long-term partner to the rail industry with a long-term Rail Strategy that is aligned to our key customers and industry stakeholders.’

‘The increasing use of digital technology in the UK rail industry means the needs of our customers are rapidly changing. As designers, suppliers and maintainers of these new technologies, we have grown from a telecom and support integrator to a full-service data network and service provider, offering whole of life, 24/7 asset management and support.

‘Over the last two years, we have significantly expanded our

capabilities in digital technology, cloud solutions and secure networking with several strategic acquisitions, including Telindus, Arqiva Secure Solutions and most recently Richardson Eyres.

We have continued to forge technology partnerships with world-leading companies, such as Cisco and Juniper to further underpin telent’s technology strategy and long-term delivery capabilities.

‘Whilst the evolution of a digital railway will fundamentally change many rail systems, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to support our customers’ legacy systems. Our business is continuing to evolve to best meet the ever-changing needs of the rail industry and these appointments mark another step forward for telent Rail.’

Our Lady of the Harbour New GIG for Donaghey

A former conductor on the Canadian Pacific Railway is heading up Network Rail Consulting’s new division in Toronto.

Susanne M Manaigre, a rail operations strategist, brings a 30-year career, forged from the metals up, to Network Rail Consulting’s ambitious new Canadian venture.

Manaigre joins NRC from GO Transit/Metrolinx where she was chief of operations.

As a student studying history at the University of Manitoba in the 1980s, she self-funded herself working as an onboard services assistant on Via Rail - based

in Winnipeg. After university, Manaigre spent three years with CPR. She then transferred to Canadian National - Canada’s vast transcontinental rail network that runs coast to coast and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico - working as an intermodal clerk based in Vancouver.

In 1997, she joined Transport Canada as an operations inspector based in Calgary, Alberta, a position she held for over nine years. Manaigre then headed up the vast Alyth Yard in Calgary, one of CPR’s busiest. In June 2008, she joined Bombardier to manage rail regulation and safety systems.

Susanne M Manaigre joined Toronto’s public transit system, GO Transit/Merolinx, in January 2015. This regional public transport system in Southern Ontario carries in excess of 69 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services.

Network Rail Consulting continues to expand bringing the UK’s wealth of railway talent and experience to a wider world.

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The British arm of Global Infrastructure Group (GIG) – Global Rail Construction Ltd. – has appointed Sean Donaghey as operations director.

A qualified engineer, Donaghey has over 30 years’ experience in the rail and construction industries. A wideranging career has spanned telecoms, CCTV, signalling, civils and M&E. Career highlights include the strategic planning and delivery of M&E, E&P and telecoms services across Volker Fitzpatrick Ltd’s rail division and coordinating the design and development of a £30 million station roof replacement project for May Gurney Ltd. Steve read a degree in engineering technology at the Open University and took an MBA at Leicester University.

Hertfordshire-based Global Rail Construction Ltd is a principal contractor and a leading provider of design and build services to clients in the rail and transportation sector. The company is currently involved in

Crossrail and the Great Western Electrification Project.

Says Marco Lombardelli, managing director of Global Rail Construction Ltd, ‘The group is now in a strong position to apply its wealth of skills and experience to really differentiate itself within the UK and international marketplace.

‘With Global Rail Construction Ltd’s full PCL, and with Sean’s vast and varied capabilities, we are working towards becoming one of Network Rail’s preferred rail contractors in the UK. We are already seeing the difference Sean is making, and we look forward to a great 2017.’

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

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Weatherman for Wessex Dick Fearn delivers devo-max Network Rail has appointed Jason Bridges as chief operating officer for the Wessex route - which includes all services to and from Waterloo.

Bridges returns to the UK from Saudi Arabia, where he is currently operations consultant for Network Rail Consulting in the Middle East. Before joining Network Rail, Jason worked in Australia as general manager for Sydney Trains.

Jason was originally a route controller with Network Rail in the North West. He did a brave spell as Network Rail’s national weather manager before heading

off to sunnier climes down under.

Says Becky Lumlock, route managing director at Network Rail’s Wessex route, ‘Jason will be responsible for a range of areas including operations, maintenance and train performance, and I look forward to welcoming him to the team.’

Jason will join the Wessex Route in May 2017.

Boardroom advance for Monique Choudhuri Monique Choudhuri has joined the board of Advance TRS as a non-executive director.

Monique will work with the board to help achieve the company’s long-term growth plans as it seeks to diversify its service offerings. Monique Choudhuri has worked with Advance TRS since its inception in 2011 as head of training and development and has been integral to the strong growth the company has enjoyed over the last five years.

Having built up a 30-year training and development career with a host of blue-chip clients such as British Airways and BSkyB, Monique brings a wealth of business experience to her

position within the board.

Says group managing director Andy Ridout, ‘We are thrilled to be able to bring Monique on to the board of directors. She has been a trusted advisor and mentor to me for many years, and I believe her business acumen will be an invaluable asset to the board.’

Rail legend Dick Fearn returns to the cutting edge of rail industry reform and front line delivery as chairman of the new Western Route Supervisory Board.

The latest initiative to close the gap between wheel and track will see the managing directors of Network Rail Western Route, GWR, Heathrow Express and Nina Howe from Transport Focus joining together to better align operations and planning under the chairmanship of Dick Fearn.

The move marks devo-max for Network Rail, which now claims that 99 per cent of decisions on work are approved at local level, speeding up decision making and delivery.

Fearn spent 10 years running Iarnród Éireann - Ireland’s national railway and one of Europe’s last fully vertically integrated railways. The experience of drawing together various operational disciplines whilst simultaneously buying new trains and upgrading the network makes Fearn the man of the hour in the west.

Dick Fearn joined BR in 1973 as a management trainee having read business studies at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. A full-blooded railway career saw him supervising a marshalling yard, working as station manager at Doncaster and later running operations at Leeds.

Fearn found time to fit in a transport economics masters degree at Leeds. BR’s Organising For Quality shakeup saw Dick Fearn become

divisional director for Thames and Chiltern. In the run up to privatisation, he piloted the South Eastern shadow franchise and staged an MBO. Sadly Connex took the franchise.

Moving on to Railtrack, he became zonal director for the North West and later headed up Midland Zone. Then came the call from Ireland and after 30 years in the UK he found he couldn’t say no.

Fearn and his wife, Janet, set up home in Killinie south of Dublin and he commuted to work on the DART. Fearn stayed at Iarnród Éireann for ten years witnessing huge growth and investment. Lately he’s been acting as a government advisor on railways.

The devolution process at Network Rail is changing it from a centralised organisation to one which is predominantly run by local teams. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has welcomed the new move as part of his declared aim of re-integrating railways.

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Davinder Shanker receives award from Paul Crowther, BTP Chief Constable.

Train driver Davinder Shanker has received British Transport Police’s highest accolade.

An East Midlands Trains driver with 14 years’ experience, Davinder Shanker, was awarded the BTP Chief Constable’s commendation at a prestigious ceremony in London.

Mr Shanker was coming out of Clay Cross Tunnel in Derbyshire working an empty stock movement between Derby and Sheffield early one morning last summer. As he emerged, he saw a man near the railway tracks. Davinder Shanker sounded the horn and the man moved out of the way. After bringing the train to a halt Davinder saw that the man had climbed a nearby embankment and was trying to hang himself from a tree.

Wasting no time, Davinder Shanker sprung into action and left his cab. Along with Iain Vickers, a Bombardier fitter who was also onboard, the pair ran towards the man who had by this point stopped breathing. Shanker and Vickers managed to get the man down and put him in the recovery position. He regained consciousness. Emergency services arrived and the man was taken to hospital.

Says Davinder Shanker, 33, ‘At the time, a lot of things go through your mind. You don’t think about yourself. Just about what you can do to help. We tried to keep him calm and safe until the emergency services arrived. Afterwards, I heard he was being fully supported and it really put my mind at ease to know he was safe and being looked after.’

Says Darren Ward, head of drivers for East Midlands Trains, ‘Davinder is a role model for everyone here at East Midlands Trains, and he is a great ambassador for the rail industry. It’s great that such a popular and hardworking driver like Davinder was recognised at this prestigious commendation ceremony. I know he was very proud to bring his parents down to London for the day and deserved all the praise he got.’

Unipart acquisition Unipart Rail has acquired a controlling stake in leading technology company Instrumentel Ltd. Instrumentel Ltd designs and manufactures telemetry systems for rail, automotive and industrial processes. The company is involved in ‘real-time’ remote condition monitoring and diagnostics.

Says John Clayton, managing director of Unipart Rail, ‘Utilising data is an important focus for the digital revolution and this company has made big leaps for the industry in this field. We are looking forward to working with Instrumental Ltd to develop new products and services that our customers want and need.’

Instrumentel's current team will all remain in place and the business will continue to be led by Dave McGorman as managing director.

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Hero driver honoured by top cop

Siemens re-structures Siemens Rail Automation is re-organising its UK structure to better develop the rail industry’s digital revolution while at the same time maintaining focus on main line and light rail work.

Says Rob Morris, Siemens' director of operations, ‘In making these changes, we are ensuring that our regional delivery teams remain strong, focused and sufficiently resourced to deliver the traditional mainline and metro renewal and enhancement signalling schemes, while at the same time establishing a new team to focus on the development and effective integration of digital train control and passenger information technologies.’

Led by Rob Morris, the new structure sees Mark Ferrer (pictured) appointed operations director Digital Railway. Ferrer will have responsibility for new technology, control systems and communication information systems, as well as for a newly created ‘Mobility Digitalisation’ unit. This team will bring together products and systems from across the Siemens organisation, developing solutions that will both enhance the operation of the railway and enable a fully integrated, information-led transport network to be created.

Also reporting to Rob Morris will be Richard Cooper and Matt Kent, who take on the roles of operations director east and operations

director west respectively. Both will retain their existing roles as delivery directors for Scotland and the Midlands but will now have additional responsibilities for other delivery offices within the existing structure. Adrian Stubbs continues in his role as delivery director mass transit and international.

Siemens Rail Automation is a global leader in the design, supply, installation and commissioning of track-side and train-borne signalling and train control solutions. Its portfolio includes train control, interlocking systems, operations control systems, components, track vacancy detection, level-crossing protection, rail communications, cab radios, station systems and cargo automation for both passenger and freight rail operators.

Siemens employs over 14,000 people in the UK, with 1,650 people working in the Rail Automation division.

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Battersea burrow for Helen and Amy

© TfL

The construction of London’s Northern line extension is picking up pace with the lowering of two giant tunnel boring machines into position 20 metres below ground in Battersea. Tunnelling starts late this month.

A 750-tonne crane lifted the two tunnel boring machines, named Helen and Amy, in the shadow of London’s Battersea Power Station. The two TBMs will excavate the two-mile long tunnels extending the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line from Kennington to Battersea Power Station, via Nine Elms station. Tunnelling will take six months to complete.

The extension, targeted for completion in 2020, is the first major extension of the London Underground system since the Jubilee line in the late 1990s.

According to tunnelling tradition, the machines cannot

Pistol town to build Cornish bullet trains start work until given a name.

Local school children chose British astronaut Helen Sharman and British aviation pioneer Amy Johnson, who was the first female pilot to fly solo from Britain to Australia.

Spoil from the tunnels will be removed by barge on the River Thames. The anticipated 300,000 tonnes of earth will be taken to Goshems Farm in East Tilbury, Essex, where it will be used to create arable farmland. © TfL

Quality app Passengers’ smartphones could be the key to improving the quality of Britain’s rail network.

Last month, the University of Birmingham announced its researchers had developed an app that could be used to measure ride comfort and gather data about track condition.

The app makes use of the phone’s accelerometers hardware that, for example, allows

the phone to detect movement and orientate the screen correctly.

Data collected from the app could allow engineers to detect defects and fix them before they deteriorate further and fail.

The University of Birmingham isn’t the only organisation to see the benefits of this technology.

Since 2013, Network Rail and Omnicom have worked on a similar app, which around 4,000 Network Rail employees are now using. The ride quality data collected by the app is combined with signalling data to accurately map the journey.

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‘Introducing a new bullet train inspired fleet to run along iconic stretches of British railway will be a truly historic moment,’ says Karen Boswell, managing director at Hitachi Rail Europe.

Hitachi Rail’s Italian factory work at Pistoia, Florence, where the second wave of the fleet will be constructed, has received IEP body shells and is starting work on trains that will one day thread Devon and Cornwall.

Hitachi’s British manufacturing facility has already built its first train for the Great Western Railway, which enters passenger service later this year.

‘These new trains will transform passenger experiences, offering a truly 21st century experience with more seats and on-board technology. Additional luggage space and a smoother ride will increase comfort for longer journeys, connecting distant parts of the country.

‘To make sure passengers get the new trains as soon as possible Hitachi is using its factories in Italy and the North East of England, where our skills and expertise are entirely complementary,’ adds Boswell.

Altogether 93 trains are being

built at Hitachi factories in the UK and Italy using Japanese bullet train technology. From autumn 2017, the first wave of Intercity Express trains will run on the Great Western main line, connecting London to cities like Reading, Bath, Bristol and Cardiff.

Production of these trains is already underway at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. From 2018, a second wave of new trains will begin running as far south as Penzance along coastal routes in Devon and Cornwall.

Work has started in Italy on these trains.

The entire fleet of 93 trains will be in passenger service by the end of 2019. Trains will be fitted with bi-mode technology, allowing them to use diesel and electric power. Hitachi is utilising manufacturing facilities in the UK and Italy to ensure the entire fleet is in passenger service by the end of 2019.

Pistoia sits at the foothills of the Apennines, 20 miles from Florence and is described as Tuscany without the crowds.

Locals claim the town gave its name to the word ‘pistol’ after the development of the front loading gun in the 15th century. Happily Pistoia is equally famous for its huge flower markets.

The EWS Educational Trust is an independent charity that offers grants, at its discretion, to help people with a close family link to the UK rail freight industry achieve their ambition.

Exceptional Contribution Award Does a member of your family have what it takes to make an exceptional contribution to society?

The EWS Educational Trust has introduced this new grant to help support a limited number of people who would like to, or intend to, carry out a truly exceptional piece of research to benefit society.

The Exceptional Contribution award is aimed at those who are likely to be involved in, but not limited to medical, scientific or engineering advancement and likely to be in doctoral or post-doctoral research.

Application deadline:

14 April 2017

Special Access Funding The Trust has created its special access funding to help people of any age who face barriers to achieving their full educational, sporting or artistic potential because of a physical disability, a special educational need or other challenging circumstances.

Conditions such as autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia, for example, can make it difficult for people to achieve their ambition.

The grant is for those who the Trust believes would prosper with some financial help.

Check out the ‘How and who we help’ pages on the Trust’s website for more details on the Exceptional Contribution Award, Special Access Funding, and how to apply.

www.ewset.co.uk Exceptional Contribution Awards application deadline: 14 April 2017 Applications for Special Access Funding can be made at any time, and will be considered at the next grant committee.

Encouraging talent - unlocking potential Registered charity number SC040334

16

NEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

Students go loco

Railtex numbers grow There are now just a few weeks to go until Railtex opens its doors at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

Exhibitor numbers continue to grow – by the end of February some 410 companies had registered to take part.

Among the latest firms to confirm their presence are Plura Innovations, supplier of products ranging from security and acoustic fencing to inspection at height and cable access and routing systems, plus rail condition specialist Sperry Rail, exhibiting at the Track feature, and construction materials supplier Keyline Rail.

A strong focus on infrastructure will be matched by plenty of companies covering both the manufacture and maintenance of rolling stock, as well as suppliers of numerous other specialised products and services essential to the industry.

Dates for this year’s show are 9 to 11 May. Entry is free if you register in advance via www. railtex.co.uk. As well as giving you access to the exhibition on all three days, this will also enable

you to join the many presentations and activities taking place during Railtex.

The programme of daily keynote speeches is now finalised. On the first day, Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP will deliver an address, as well as formally opening the show.

The keynote speech on the second day, 10 May, will be by Dr Francis Paonessa, Network Rail’s managing director, Infrastructure Projects. On the third day, the speaker will be Professor Andrew McNaughton, technical director at High Speed Two Ltd. The Seminar Theatre in the exhibition hall will be the setting for Rail Engineer’s technical seminars, while the Knowledge Hub will host a series of presentations by leading industry figures devised in collaboration with the Railway Industry Association, as well as The Platform, daily discussion forums covering topical industry themes, with audience participation welcome.

These activities will all be open to everyone attending the show.

Check the full programme on the show website www.railtex.co.uk.

Bread of heaven Food that would be thrown away is now being given away while still fresh to a charity in Sheffield. East Midlands Trains is donating food, including sausages, eggs, rolls and croissants, to the Real Junk Food Project Sheffield.

The charity aims to reduce unnecessary waste by cooking good quality, unused food to feed local people. The unused food would otherwise go to landfill sites.

The charity brings together people from the local community and ensures that people do not go hungry. Customers visiting the café can pay what they want for the food, making it an affordable and nutritious option for many people.

The Real Junk Food Project Sheffield has one café in Sheffield already and is looking to expand into local schools, educating children on the importance of a nutritional, balanced diet.

Says Debbie Pye, catering logistics manager for East Midlands, ‘I found out about The Real Junk Food Project Sheffield by word of mouth and quickly arranged to meet up with the team. I was blown away right from the start at what a great concept it is. It really is a win-win for everyone involved and we’re really pleased to be working with a local community project and supporting a great cause.’

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Twelve teams of student engineers will compete to build the best locomotive at this year’s Railway Challenge held by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at the Stapleford Miniature Railway near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, this July.

Teams include: University of Birmingham Bombardier/Derby University Brunel University FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences • Manchester Metropolitan University • University of Huddersfield (winners in 2013) • SNC-Lavalin (winners in 2012 and 2016) • University of Sheffield • University of Southampton • TfL (winners in 2014 and 2015) • WMG, University of Warwick

Says Philippa Oldham, head of transport and manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, ‘The Railway Challenge gives competitors a fantastic chance to test their engineering skills and get the hands-on experience of what’s needed to make a locomotive from start to finish. The • • • •

competition is run along the lines of a real-life tendering process, and teams have to prepare a business case, finance, design, and build a locomotive from scratch.’

The competition is comprised of a series of track-based and presentation challenges, including a design report and an ‘Innovation Challenge’ which involves the production of an academic paper on the innovations in the loco. The trackbased challenges include energy storage, traction, ride comfort, noise, maintainability and energy efficiency.

The locomotives that will be competing are designed to work on 10¼” gauge railway line and must be powerful enough to transport a 600kg load – including one of the Railway Challenge judges.

Adds Philippa, ‘Each year the entries impress the judges with new innovations, of particular note are the solutions proposed for the energy storage and energy efficiency challenges. These are two big issues currently being faced by manufacturers and so solving these challenges could mean that these young engineers could help to revolutionise our modern railways.’

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NEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

Tornado goes down a storm

Ahead of the full re-opening of the Settle - Carlisle line, more than 5,000 people took advantage of several regular timetabled steam services laid on by Northern Rail.

Hauled by the A1 locomotive, Tornado, the special service between Appleby and Settle proved a hit with rail staff and public alike.

Tourists and locals have had to contend with disrupted services for more than a year following a landslip at Eden Brows in February 2016.

Says Paul Barnfield, regional director at Northern, ‘Tornado’s visit to the Settle and Carlisle line has been fantastic. During the three days more than 5,500 people travelled on the steam services and it was great to see so many Northern customers entering into the spirit of the celebration.’

After a long struggle for survival the line is now recognised as an integral part of the national rail network providing a much needed secondary route to the heavily trafficked West Coast Main Line.

‘It was the perfect curtain raiser for the re-opening of the LeedsSettle-Carlisle route on 31 March,’ said Douglas Hodgins, chairman of the Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line.

Railway Children Rail Rugby back with a sting Premier League Wasps Rugby Club is getting behind Railway Children, supporting its annual touch rugby tournament.

Rail Rugby takes place on Wednesday, 31 May, at Rugby School, birthplace of the game.

There’s still time to join and field a team. Now in its third year, Rail Rugby 2017 promises to be the best yet as elite players and coaches from Wasps lend their expertise.

All teams will take part in an hour’s masterclass led by Wasps.

Matches will take place under the watchful eye of Wasps referees.

A Q&A session with Wasps

players over lunch will give teams a chance to sharpen up strategy and techniques. At the end of the afternoon, the champions of Rail Rugby 2017 will be crowned and the post-match celebrations begin.

Teams from organisations across the rail industry will be drawn into four groups. Previous experience of touch rugby is not necessary.

Last year, Rail Rugby raised £70,000, for Railway Children.

To find our more go to www. railwaychildren.org.uk/railrugby or contact Katie Mason at K.Mason@railwaychildren.org.uk or (0)1270 757596.

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Steam pudding Steam engine driver turned chef Andy Christie is hoping to showcase his talents on a new TV show called ‘Meals on Wheels’ where viewers can seek inspiration for both travel and food.

In his professional life Andy is a driver for CrossCountry trains, but in his spare time driver Andy is a volunteer on the Severn Valley Railway. It is as a driver on steam locos that he has perfected the art of engine-cuisine.

From bacon sandwiches to lamb roasts and even sticky toffee puddings, Andy has developed a mouthwatering array of recipes. The inspiration for his unconventional cuisine came from a fellow steam enthusiast who showed him how to cook an onion in the hot pipe of the cab.

Since then, through trial and error, Andy has perfected his onboard cooking and regularly dishes up dinners for hungry SVR colleagues. His steak casseroles

and chicken dishes are particular favourites. He hopes to sell the idea of cooking by steam engine to television and has filmed at railways around the country for his YouTube channel.

Andy joined CrossCountry in 2010 and is based in Birmingham.

He was nominated for the train driver of the year category at the RailStaff Awards in 2014.

Says Andy Oakey, head of drivers at CrossCountry, ‘I have experienced Andy’s locomotive cookery skills first hand when I was travelling on a special steamhauled train service on which he was the driver and chef! The food was delicious!’

Says Andy, ‘CrossCountry has been extremely supportive throughout my career and it’s been great to have their encouragement and support for this new venture. I’ve been fortunate enough to turn my love of trains into a career, and I’m excited to share my passion for food with everyone. It’s a great opportunity.’

Annual Dinner 2017

COLLABORATION PRIORITIES SUCCESS This year’s guest speaker will be Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Chairman of Network Rail

The National Railway Museum Annual Dinner is renowned not only for its spectacular setting, but as a key networking and social event by those working in, and associated with, the UK rail industry.

For sponsorship opportunities and table allocation please contact: Rebecca Johnson Telephone: 01904 685733 Email: rebecca.johnson@nrm.org.uk

20

NEWS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

‘The only constant factor in the long life of Britain’s railway has been, and remains, change.’

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Chris Burchell, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, chose ‘Change’ as the topic of this year’s George Bradshaw address, which he delivered at the Institution of Civil Engineers on 28 February.

Starting his railway career at Railtrack, Chris is now managing director of Arriva Trains and chair of the National Task Force as well as of the RDG. Looking back into history, and then into the future, Chris laid down the need for change.

‘The railway has grown and has had to find ways to evolve and modernise many times already in the past,’ he stated. ‘We are at a crucial turning point, and unless we manage change, embrace change and lead change now, our industry will go backwards.

‘New technology is changing every area of our society. And alongside the technological revolution is a social revolution in culture, habits and attitudes.’

He broke the need for change down into four main areas. First of these was the industry’s relationship with its customers – the passengers. Despite all of the work that has been done, carrying twice as many passengers as 20 years ago, getting people out of cars into trains and hence reducing CO2 emissions, and employing 216,000 people around the country, that wasn’t enough.

‘On those terrible mornings when things are going wrong for people, when you’re late for work, have to cancel client meetings or miss bedtime stories with your children, you’re not interested in the statistics.

‘The huge role we play in the economy is real journeys made by real people. When it goes smoothly, people get the level of service that they should expect.

And when it goes wrong, it ruins people’s days, upsets their plans, makes people stressed.

‘We must be alive to criticism, and listen closely to what people are telling us.’

Next, he turned his attention to the railway’s staff. ‘I want us to build a new partnership with our people,’ he stated. ‘I don’t believe that anyone in the railway - management, unions, our people - wants a railway that continues to be disrupted and that lets down the people who depend on it.

‘We all need to recognise that the railway needs to change to deliver the service that our customers expect and the economy deserves. There can be no attachment to old ways of working. Failure to effectively modernise puts future investment at significant risk.’

Government needs to play its part. He wants the relationship between the industry and government to be an adult one, a partnership of equals, financed by government and the private sector and with the ‘freedom to innovate, to grow and to access new sources of investment. We need government to help us where they can, and to remove any obstacles on the line which may hinder our progress.’

But the railway’s own organisation has to change too.

‘Instead of top-down command and control, I believe we need to see the railway system for what it is: a system. With routes, train operators and the supply chain working together as a team to focus on the customer.’

Chris summed up a fascinating evening by restating his vision - ‘a dynamic system, with industry-led improvements, driven bottom-up by customer demands, with the capacity to meet another doubling of passengers over the next twenty years.’

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22

INTERNATIONAL RAIL

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

© Shutterstock.com

Denmark's first highCross-state support for speed railway shapes up Australia's national rail regulator Banedanmark and its contractor Strukton Rail have finished installing the track for a new 60km high-speed railway from Copenhagen to Ringsted, via Køge.

On the final day of tracklaying in February, the last couple of kilometres of track were laid in Valby, Copenhagen.

The new double-track line,

which is due to open in December 2018, will be Denmark’s first highspeed railway.

Tracklaying began on 31 October, 2016. Since then, installation has progressed at a rate of roughly 2km a day.

Banedanmark said once final adjustments had been made to the tracks, work will begin on installing the overhead catenary and signalling infrastructure.

Queensland has passed legislation that will see its staterun rail regulation department replaced by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).

Queensland is the last state to come under the supervision of the ONRSR. The Rail Safety National Law (Queensland) Bill 2016, which was enacted by parliament on 28 February and will take effect from 30 June, hands regulatory responsibilities for the state’s 9,500km rail network to the ONRSR. Queensland’s government has said all existing permanent rail regulation staff will be offered

‘Reflective’ trains for Algeria

new positions within the ONRSR, which plans to locate its branch headquarters in Brisbane.

Says Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport Jackie Trad, ‘Under the reforms, the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator will become the rail safety regulator in Queensland and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will operate as the rail safety investigator for no-blame investigations.

‘This is a significant step forward and will improve the way safety risks are identified and managed by industry.

‘By implementing these reforms in Queensland, we are cutting red tape for industry and making our railways safer.’

Alstom’s new main line train for Algeria, which is designed to reflect its surroundings, has been revealed at an exhibition in Algiers.

Seventeen Coradia Polyvalent trains were ordered by the National Rail Transportation Company of Algeria (SNTF) in July 2015, for use on routes connecting Algiers with Oran, Annaba, Constantine and Bechar. The first of the new trains is due to go into passenger service in January next year.

The exterior of the trains will have a reflective surface, intended to reflect the various landscapes through which the train will travel, while the interior is fully air-conditioned with a dedicated dining area.

With a capacity of 254 passengers, the new six-car bi-mode trains (25kV and diesel) will be capable of running at 160km/h (100mph), and a low floor will ease the passage of people with reduced mobility.

Alstom will build all 17 trains at its factory in Reichshoffen, France.

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A N N I V E R S A R Y

FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

HS2 R oyal assent represented the final piece of a complex legislative puzzle for Phase One of HS2. The announcement came as no surprise in the end. Following the hybrid bill’s third reading in the House of Lords in January, it was a simple formality.

It means that after several years of consultation and debate HS2 now has the powers to build the London to Birmingham link. The question many will now be asking is, what happens now?

HS2 has described 2017 as a year of preparation. Over the coming months, much of the focus will be around carrying out detailed ground investigation and ecological works.

Archaeological investigations will also be conducted as part of the enabling works contracts that were awarded in November 2016. One of the first sites to be studied will be St James’s Gardens at Euston, which up until 1853 had been used as a burial ground.

It is one of three historic burial grounds along the route that are having to be exhumed - the other two are St Mary’s churchyard, Stoke Mandeville, which dates back to the medieval period, and Park Street Gardens in Birmingham.

The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) has called the project ‘the largest single archaeological research programme’ in the country and a massive opportunity to train new archaeologists and bolster the profession.

One of the next big milestones is expected in early summer when the main works contractors are appointed. A year of detailed design will follow before construction starts in 2018. While designs for the main civils works are being drawn up, HS2 will begin the procurement for the rolling stock, rail systems and station design contracts.

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

24

Sir David Higgins.

The announcement last month included a quote from HS2’s chairman, Sir David Higgins.

‘Achieving royal assent for Phase One of HS2 between Birmingham and London with such significant parliamentary support, is a monumental step in transforming rail travel in Britain.

‘We have a long journey ahead of us to build the railway and secure permission for Phase Two to make sure that the full benefits of HS2 are realised. This journey will see businesses right along the route benefit from greater access to the skills, markets and professional services they need to succeed in today’s global market. It will directly create some 25,000 jobs as well as forcing the pace of innovation in the construction industry.’

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

FEATURE

25

WITH ROYAL ASSENT GRANTED, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP FOR PHASE ONE OF BRITAIN'S HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY?

MIDLANDS TRANSFORMATION

additional train paths an hour into Birmingham, which will be used for East/West Midlands regional and long-distance services.

The MRH will also facilitate the launch of new local services on the Camp Hill Line - to new stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazellwell - and on the Birmingham-Nuneaton-Tamworth/ Burton routes, which will serve new stations at Galley Common FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

All © High Speed Two Ltd

The announcement on 23 February received a particularly warm response from Midlands Connect, a partnership between local authorities in the West Midlands and national bodies like the Department for Transport (DfT), Network Rail and HS2.

Birmingham’s rail strategy and wider redevelopment plans are all geared towards the new highspeed link. Even though work has been going on in the background independent to HS2, royal assent allows these plans to move forward with confidence.

In a statement welcoming the news, chairman Sir John Peace said, ‘We have already seen investment, growth and other signs of economic optimism arising

from just the prospect of HS2 and record numbers of businesses and investors are interested in the region, in part due to the transformational nature of HS2.’

In last year’s Autumn Statement, the chancellor committed £5 million to advance the Midlands Rail Hub (MRH) - a programme of upgrades that will complement the improved capacity and connectivity provided by HS2.

Bordesley Chords, which will link Moor Street station with the currently disused Camp Hill Line, is part of MRH. Other projects include four-tracking of the Bordesley viaduct, new platforms at Moor Street, Snow Hill and Kings Norton, and four-tracking of the Water Orton corridor. Midlands Connect say the improvements will create 10

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

(Nuneaton), Kingsbury, Castle Bromwich and/ or Fort Parkway.

These schemes, and others, will help to maximise the connectivity of HS2.

Redoubling the line between Kenilworth and Leamington will allow CrossCountry services between Reading and Newcastle to be diverted via Coventry and Birmingham International, which will be a short distance away from HS2’s Birmingham Interchange station. The expectation is that this will release capacity on the existing LeamingtonSolihull-Birmingham Moor Street line for other regional services.

Of course, Birmingham will also support the training of new engineers for HS2. In September, the National College for High Speed Rail campus in the city will open and begin training the first of the 9,000 apprentices that are needed for Phase One a responsibility it will share with its sister site in Doncaster. More than 40 apprentices from a number of the companies that make up the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders (HSRIL) group visited Euston station with Transport Minister Andrew Jones on the day royal assent was granted.

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ON TO PHASE 2 While all of this takes place, HS2 and the DfT will be preparing the two separate hybrid bills for phases 2a and 2b, which will extend the line from Birmingham to Crewe and then onto Manchester, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Leeds.

Many of the decisions for the route of Phase Two have now been made apart from the location of the interchange station in Sheffield.

The hybrid bill for 2a should be submitted to parliament by the end of this year and 2b by the end of 2019. If the remaining sections receive the same level of parliamentary backing, the full network will stay on course to open as planned in 2033.

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28

COMPANY FOCUS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

POWER PLAY SSE ENTERPRISE RAIL IS POISED TO HELP BRITAIN’S RAIL NETWORK MEET ITS GROWING ENERGY DEMANDS

S

ince the start of the new millennium, SSE Enterprise’s dedicated rail division has been supplying its specialist mechanical and electrical services to customers across the UK’s rail network.

SSE Enterprise Rail was launched as a brand in 2015, under the banner ‘Powering Britain’s Railways’, reflecting strong capabilities in the field of specialist electrical services. SSE Enterprise is the contracting arm of SSE plc - one of Britain’s Big Six energy providers.

The company has undertaken work within signalling and track, general building works and civils, infrastructure and telecoms, and electrification - disciplines at the core of the industry’s most significant and challenging infrastructure projects.

As part of one of the UK’s largest mechanical and electrical contractors, SSE Enterprise Rail is confident it has the funding, the asset management understanding and the training and development infrastructure to support the rail industry, and help it to meet the challenges of electrification and power utilisation.

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SHARED VISION There is little doubt that in order to deliver faster, greener, quieter and more reliable journeys for rail passengers, Network Rail’s contractors must be led by people who share its vision. The company has invested heavily in its people to ensure it has the right team to take forward an ambitious growth plan.

Across all parts of the business, SSE Enterprise Rail benefits from a wide range of industry experience. Several management figures have held previous roles with Network Rail and have acquired numerous industry awards for rail engineering projects in that time. Raj Sinha, who was Network Rail’s youngest ever head of projects, became SSE Enterprise Rail’s managing director in 2015 (pictured left).

‘Our ambition is to become the rail industry’s power partner of choice,’ said Raj. ‘I am confident that SSE can offer compelling propositions to

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

the sector, particularly through innovative and collaborative ways of powering and delivering major projects.

‘Last year, the DfT announced that it is working with Network Rail to assess the possible sale of some of its electrical assets, a move that would redefine our marketplace going forward.’

The business has gone from strength to strength since its new brand launch.

In May 2016, the business won a competitive tender to provide new power for London’s Liverpool Street station, and was commissioned to design and deliver a solution to replace all life-expired mechanical and electrical assets between years two to four of Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (CP5) delivery plan.

The award of the project at Liverpool Street Station followed other contract wins including the Tier 1 Electrical Works Call-Off Contract for LNW Route Electrical Framework (for both South and North areas) and the Property Minor Works frameworks contract to March 2017.

More recently, SSE Enterprise Rail has been awarded a contract to upgrade Signalling Equipment Rooms (SERs) for London Underground and Transport for London. The team has also secured 95 new RISQS, growing its number to 201, and making it one of the most qualified principal contractors on the UK’s railway.

COMPANY FOCUS

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‘Our ambition is to become the rail industry’s power partner of choice.’

Raj Sinha, SSE Enterprise Rail, Managing Director.

LEADING DELIVERY PARTNER In addition to its leadership team, the company has direct access to a wealth of resources, including a directly employed workforce with more than 3,500 skilled practitioners offering skills relevant to the railway industry and a support network of trusted supply chain partners in areas that fall outside the company’s expertise.

SSE Enterprise Rail counts industry leading organisations among its clients, including Network Rail, Transport for London (TfL), East Midlands Trains, Great Western and South West Trains. When you consider the electrification and power projects either underway or outlined by Network Rail for delivery in the near future, the company, which has 63 depots nationwide, is set to be a leading delivery partner within the UK rail sector.

With electrification and power high on the agenda for Network Rail, and with the necessity to keep costs to a minimum, the opportunity is there for SSE Enterprise Rail to power forward as the contractor of choice for rail infrastructure projects throughout the UK. FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

SUCCESS FOR

JACOBITE

STEAM SERVICE

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his year’s extension of the Jacobite season is the latest development for the Fort William to Mallaig steam trains, which have been running for over 30 years. The trains are now to run from Easter to the end of the year with a break in November.

Steam trains started running on this route for three days a week in 1984 following a request by Mallaig Community Council to British Rail’s (BR) newly formed ScotRail division.

Since privatisation, these trains have been operated

by West Coast Railways (WCR) as a daily service. The Jacobite trip takes six hours, two hours each way with two hours to visit Mallaig, a thriving fishing village and port for the Isle of Skye.

The train is named after those who supported Bonnie Prince Charlie’s bid for the throne in the 1745 uprising. It runs through rugged highland scenery from Fort William, the largest town in the Scottish Highlands, to Mallaig. This takes two hours, a time that suits most passengers. As the setting for the Hogwarts Express, it offers the Harry Potter factor, even though its passengers are (presumably) muggles. With such a magical combination of ingredients, it is not surprising that last year these trains carried 70,000 passengers, much to the benefit of the local economy.

PEPPERCORN AND BLACK FIVES

Sonia Cameron 2015 volunteer of the year.

Guard Florence MacLean.

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REPORT BY DAVID SHIRRES

This year the steam locomotives booked for this service include Peppercorn ‘K1’ 62005 and ‘Black Fives’ 45407 and 44871. The hardpressed firemen on these locomotives shovel about 3.5 tonnes of coal on each Jacobite trip. 44871 was built at Crewe in March 1945 and, in August 1968, was withdrawn from BR service, immediately after hauling its last steam passenger train.

Florence MacLean has been working on the railway for 34 years, during which she has been a ‘trolley dolly’, sleeping car attendant, shunter and freight guard. Florence is a guard on the Jacobite steam train. She loves her job. Her train carries honeymoon couples, those renewing vows and Harry Potter fans dressed as wizards. She has a first-class coach named after her and only works in summer.

On leaving Fort William, the train runs for nine miles along the shores of Loch Eil, with views of Ben Nevis towering over the town.

After reaching the end of the loch, the sharp bark of the exhaust denotes the climb up a gradient of 1 in 48 towards the curved 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct, offering views of the Jacobite monument.

Immediately after the viaduct the train stops for 20 minutes at Glenfinnan station, restored to create the atmosphere of a late Victorian station. Here there are signalling demonstrations in the disused signal box and

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

restored 1950s dining and sleeper coaches. The station houses a museum about the history of the line which has two rooms linked by the McAlpine tunnel, named after the engineer who built the railway, Sir Robert McAlpine, also known as Concrete Bob. The line was one of the world’s first construction projects to use mass concrete.

From Glenfinnan, the train continues its steep climb to the line’s 361-foot summit and then descends along the edge of Loch Eilt which has several tree-strewn islands. Shortly afterwards the train emerges from a short tunnel high above Loch Ailort. The first sight of the sea is a few miles later from the eight-arch Loch Nan Uamh viaduct. This has a plaque about a popular myth which reads, ‘The legend of builder Robert McAlpine’s horse and cart falling down inside a pier of Glenfinnan viaduct in 1899 was corrected in 2001 when radar imaging proved that the event occurred here in the centre pier.’

BEACH AND MOUNTAIN VIEW Just after Beasdale station, a tunnel leads onto the three arch Borrodale Burn viaduct whose 128 feet central arch was once the world’s longest mass-concrete span. Arisaig is Britain’s most westerly railway station. With a longitude of 5.55 degrees West, it

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beats Penzance by just 0.3 degrees. Here, the line turns north close to the coast to offer views of white sandy beaches over the sea to Skye and its Cuillin mountains.

Just before Morar station, a viaduct crosses the River Morar, reputed to be the shortest in Britain at less than a mile long. Its source, Loch Morar is, at 1,017 feet deep, Britain’s deepest body of freshwater. From here it is a few minutes until the Jacobite’s arrival in Mallaig.

In 2015, Mallaig was given a gold award by the ‘Keep Scotland Beautiful’ tidy stations programme that also awarded silver awards to Morar and Arisaig. This was due to the efforts of Sonia Cameron who adopted these three stations 15 years ago, as part of the ‘adopt-a-station’ scheme promoted by Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) to make stations part of local communities. Across Britain there are now more than 1,000 station adoption groups.

During this time, Sonia has steadily improved these stations. Mallaig can now boast numerous hanging baskets and planters which have been funded by local businesses and ScotRail. Sonia also organises events for ScotRail, is a hostess on the luxury Royal Scotsman train and writes a rail column for the monthly community magazine. She also produces the ‘Off the Rails’ leaflet which lists local businesses. This is placed on every table of the Jacobite train.

Her contribution was recognised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships in 2015 when they named Sonia as their volunteer of the year, noting that ‘Sonia is an unstoppable force with a heart of gold, who can’t stop doing a kind deed to make railway travel on the West Highland line a memorable experience.

The 41-mile single line railway between Fort William and Mallaig opened in 1901. It transformed Mallaig into a significant fishing port from where trains carried huge quantities of herring to the south. Now the special fish trains are long gone. Instead the line’s main traffic is thousands of tourists who use one of ScotRail’s four daily trains, the Jacobite or the luxury Royal Scotsman train. In this way, Concrete Bob’s railway continues to support the local economy.

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

BRITAIN RUN R

emember those posters that began to appear across the network last September? ‘Britain runs on dinner time’ and ‘Britain runs on great days out’ were just two of the messages used on billboards and in newspapers and magazines across the country as part of Britain Runs On Rail. You may even be wearing one of the colourful enamel badges.

Produced by the Rail Delivery Group, the industry body that represents all of the train operators and Network Rail, the next chapter of Britain Runs On Rail is set to reach a screen near you very soon. A brand-new TV advertisement, ‘Arrivals’, will launch in mid-March, accompanied by a series of posters and web content that raises awareness among the public of the improvements that are being made to the nation’s railway.

‘Our wish is to engage with the British public about how rail is ever more crucial to their everyday lives,’ says Edward Welsh, RDG’s communications director, ‘and explain the journey the industry is on to transform the experience of our customers, secure the future of those working in the business and maximise the benefits to the nation”.

Welsh adds, ‘This is the first time in many years the industry has come together to invest in raising public awareness on this scale. We want to explain that there is a capacity crunch and that’s why we are delivering a Railway Upgrade Plan of more than £50bn. We also need to show taxpayers and fare payers where their money is going and sustain the support of the public and private sector for continued investment in the railway.’

Train operators and Network Rail will let you know how you can best support Britain Runs On Rail – and RDG wants to encourage the whole industry to share the ad on social media and among friends and family from the Britain Runs on Rail Facebook page. The advertisements will also encourage people to search ‘runs on rail’, pointing to the improvements being made on the railway where you are.

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ARRIVALS – THE DIRECTOR’S TAKE The TV advertisement’s director, Neil Gorringe, explains why certain locations have been used for the filming of Arrivals – the first TV advertisement for the national railway in nearly 30 years: ‘Little corners and vistas of Britain, which at first appear empty, are magically brought to life by the sound of a passing train.

‘The people and things that appear remind us what role rail plays in our lives; a trip to the seaside, goods for purchase or the commute into work. These scenes unfold in a contemporary way.

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NS ON RAIL

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SHORTLY ARRIVING AT A SCREEN NEAR YOU

‘The voiceover informs us that investments and improvements will be made to support the increasing demand.

‘Ultimately, this film will make you feel good about the railway.’

WHERE DID THAT LOGO COME FROM? Everyone who works on the railway will be familiar with the famous ‘Double Arrow’ logo, and Britain Runs On Rail uses an eye-catching new version.

There remains a huge amount of affection for the logo, with research showing that the British public still has a great affection for it, and an understanding of what it symbolises.

Famously designed for British Rail in 1965, and first sketched out on the back of an envelope by the lettering artist Gerry Barney, it has stood the test of time to become Britain Runs On Rail’s identity, symbolising the unity of the rail companies working together.

WHAT IS THE RAIL DELIVERY GROUP? The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) exists to enable rail companies to succeed in transforming and delivering a successful railway.

Up until last October, there were two organisations: the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and RDG. Since then, the single name of

RDG has been adopted, meaning ATOC no longer exists. RDG has taken on all of the ATOC functions, including ticketing systems, National Rail Enquiries and Rail Staff Travel, as well as the schemes covering passenger train operations, engineering and major projects.

The RDG also provides the policy and communications functions representing the views of train operator owning groups, freight operators and Network Rail.

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DOO OPERATION

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

ONLY

HEALTH+SAFETY

DRIVER

34

ANALYSED & EXPLAINED

T

COLLABORATIVE REPORT BY WRITERS OF RAILSTAFF & RAIL ENGINEER MAGAZINE

he term DOO (Driver Only Operation) has created mayhem in railway circles recently, with much publicised industrial action taking place that has caused misery to thousands of rail travellers. Widespread comment has appeared in the national and local press, rail magazines, radio and TV programmes and indeed questions have been bandied about in parliament.

As is commonplace these days, playing the ‘safety card’ has an emotional appeal that could well sway the public to a particular point of view, regardless of the true situation. Socalled ‘expert’ opinions have been put forward that might even result in changes to the law on when and how strikes can take place.

It would be good if, before pronouncing solutions, some of this ‘informed’ opinion understood what the real issues are.

Unfortunately, DOO as an acronym is commonly used as a ‘catch all’ for a number of ways by which trains can be operated in a more efficient manner. None of these preclude a second person being on board for customer care purposes.

Some definitions It’s all about automation and, in all variants, power doors are a prerequisite. But what are the actual operational methods that are often described as DOO? • ATO = Automatic Train Operation. The train, upon getting a ‘Go’ command, will drive itself to the next scheduled stopping place within

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•

•

•

•

the safety control of the signalling system. Normally, an ATO train will have a driver remaining in the front cab, the sole member of staff on board, who will close the doors and initiate the ‘start’ button.

DOO = Driver Only Operation (the only true use of the acronym). The driver is in sole charge of the train and is responsible for train movement control as well as door operation.

DTO = Driverless Train Operation. The train has no dedicated driver but retains an on-board attendant to look after passenger interests as well as door closure activation that initiates a train start command for ATO to take over. In the event of equipment failure, the attendant has the facility to move the train at slow speed to a safe stopping point.

UTO = Unattended Train Operation. The train has no on-board staff and train movement, as well as door opening and closing, is entirely automatic, controlled by a timed sequence. Examples of this can be found at airports for shuttle transits that take travellers between terminals, but it also exists on a number of Metro lines around the world. Paris Metro lines 1 and 14 operate on this basis.

DCO = Driver Controlled Operation. This is a new term, invented during the current UK disputes, that has the driver controlling train movements and door operation, and the conductor looking after passenger interests. In the event of a conductor not being available for whatever reason, the train can still run in DOO mode rather than being cancelled.

Other than DCO, none of these are new.

ATO is common place on metros and dates from the original London Underground Victoria Line in 1969.

More recently ATO has been introduced on the Central, Jubilee and Northern Lines as well as a more modern version on the Victoria Line.

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© Shutterstock.com

DOO being installed in 2008.

DOO was negotiated in the 1980s and first introduced on the Bedford - St Pancras route in 1982. It has been extended to other inner suburban routes around London and Glasgow and is now used on London Overground and Thameslink. On London Underground, DOO (known as OPO - One Person Operation) was introduced on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines in 1984 and was subsequently extended to all other lines by 2000 as a precursor to ATO on the lines referred to above.

DTO has existed on the Docklands Light Railway since its opening.

UTO has been in operation on the Lille VAL system since 1983, on the Vancouver Skytrain since 1985 and on Paris Metro Line 14 (a new build line) in 1999 with Metro Line 1 being converted later. An agreement is in place between Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and the UNITE union to introduce UTO on the Glasgow Subway from 2021.

It should also be remembered that the growing number of tram and light rail networks in places such as Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, Croydon and Edinburgh plus the Tyne and Wear Metro are all operated in DOO mode.

Defining operational and safety requirements All of these methods of operation needed to be carefully thought through before introduction to ensure a safe method of working. The basic requirements have been defined and are well known.

• ATO. As well as the automatic driving commands to the traction and braking systems, an ATP (Automatic Train Protection) system is required that ensures the train operates to the limits set by the signalling system.

Nowadays, this is known as a movement authority. ATO permits the number of trains per hour to be maximised but it is usual for a manual driving option to be retained so as to maintain driver familiarisation and to move the train to a safe stopping place if the ATO system malfunctions.

• DOO. For the driver to be in sole charge of the train, the system must have: 1.

A secure radio link between driver and control centre; 2. A public address system for the driver to speak to passengers; 3. Radio that can be connected to the PA system in the event of the driver being incapacitated; FACEBOOK.COM/RAILSTAFF | @RAILSTAFFUK | RAILSTAFF.UK

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HEALTH+SAFETY

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

4.

A means by which the driver can observe all the train doors to ensure safe closure before starting away; 5. The normal driver's DSD device (dead man’s handle in old speak) and continuous train movement detection at the control centre by either track circuits or axle counters.

• DTO. All of the above ATO features with the addition of the attendant having an emergency control panel to drive the train at slow speed to the next station where passengers can disembark.

• UTO. All of the ATO and DOO requirements plus a continuous CCTV link from every carriage to the control centre to show and record all passenger movement including activation of a passenger emergency button that will stop the train if pushed.

Two-way communication to the control room between passenger and controller will be part of the emergency button housing. Platform screen doors will be a mandatory requirement in the UK. • DCO. Same rules as for DOO but with the conductor having access to the train PA system.

Some of these are more challenging than others. The radio communication system was developed as CSR (Cab Secure Radio) and is now replaced by GSM-R. Train PA systems are normal practice. Well-developed ATO and ATP packages are readily available from a number of suppliers, principally for metro and mass transit systems, and both features are now part of the ERTMS/ETCS specification.

Continuous CCTV coverage can be difficult because of the bandwidth required for good quality pictures and the means of transmitting these back from the train to the control room.

However it is the way by which the driver observes all the doors that is the emotive issue.

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The platform-train interface This interface is recognised as having significant safety implications. Sometimes, this is described as safety critical, which can be an unfortunate term as people use it in several contexts to wrongly define system design and staff competence. Despite the billions of people that board or alight from trains every year, the general public can, on occasions, do stupid things that result in incidents occurring.

The risks and the means of minimising these are considered later on.

When DOO was introduced in the 1980s, various means were devised to enable the driver to observe the train doors. For short trains on a straight platform, dropping the cab window and looking back along the train was deemed acceptable. In similar circumstances nowadays, a platform-mounted mirror can be used, which would be slightly convex, heated and angled to minimise the impact of rain and snow from distorting the view.

Neither of these options were satisfactory for longer trains or for curved platforms, so platform-mounted cameras, with associated banks of TV monitors sited on poles at the train stopping points, have become commonplace.

Great care has to be taken to ensure that both cameras and monitors are correctly positioned to minimise the impact of any vandalism and to ensure that the pictures are of sufficient quality in all lighting conditions. The equipment must always be maintained to a high standard to ensure viewing angles and picture quality are not compromised.

A variation to this arrangement is to link the cameras to a low-powered wireless transmission system and provide in-cab monitors for the driver to view. This has the advantage that the platform pictures remain viewable even when the train is moving off.

London Underground employs this system on most lines, as do a number of metro and suburban lines in other countries.

Recognising that platform-mounted kit can be cumbersome and expensive, newly built rolling stock for lines where DOO is envisaged comes equipped with sidemounted train cameras linked to monitors in the cab. The viewing is therefore selfcontained and is not dependent on station works for DOO to be inaugurated.

Door design and platform operation Getting someone trapped in a door with the train moving off is the biggest risk. In the days of slam-door trains, this was always a guard’s responsibility in conjunction with platform staff where stations were staffed. Power doors have eliminated much of the risk but incidents still happen.

The public often regards train doors as being similar to those on a lift where, by sticking a hand or bag into a closing door, it will automatically re-open. Only on the most modern metro trains that have sensitive door edges will this happen - normally it will be dependent on the driver re-opening the doors. If the intrusion is very thin, there is a small risk that the door closure system will not detect this. There have been occasions when a thin wrist or the straps of a bag have been on the ‘wrong side’ with a person being dragged along once the train begins to move.

Door detection systems are improving all the time, thus reducing the risk. One example is, the development of ‘intelligent sensitive edge’ door seals by London Underground.

The painting of ‘sharks teeth’ on door edges is being trialled to further warn the public of potential danger.

Another factor is the distances of the door sill from the platform edge and the step-up distance from the platform to the train floor.

On a mixed traffic railway, both these potential hazards will exist as the platform position has to cater for all types of trains that stop. Some of these gaps can be significant if the platform

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© icsnaps / Shutterstock.com

is curved, in which case middle or end doors can be a considerable distance away dependent on whether the curve is convex or concave. Track cant angles can tilt the train away from the platform.

Not only is this gap a trip hazard, it is possible for passengers to fall between the train and platform, with potentially fatal risks.

Often, ‘Mind the Gap’ announcements give warning if the step distance is unusually high or wide.

On metros and urban railways where the stock is all the same type, the current design is for the doors to be exactly at platform level as this enables easy access for people in wheelchairs, although it can cause the horizontal gap to be greater on curved platforms. London Underground users will have observed the level access on the new S Stock for the Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. More recently, a design has emerged with a sliding step that closes the gap between train and platform when the doors are open. The new Merseyrail trains will have this facility, as well as red, amber and green door illumination to indicate the door status and when they are about to close.

So who is best equipped to monitor all of this? The Union view that it is the guard needs challenging. The guard often has to alight from the train to view the platform, which on a long train will be a considerable distance.

If the platform is curved or it is a foggy day, seeing the whole train length will not always be possible.

Some train operators insist that the guard alights on to the platform first to check the correct positioning of the train before releasing the doors, all of which increases the station dwell time. Additionally, before the train can start, the guard has to re-enter the train and close their door before traction power can be applied, therefore becoming blind to any untoward happening during this period.

The driver on the other hand has a continuous view of the entire train on either platform-mounted TV monitors or TV screens

in the cab. These pictures remain until the train begins to move and can be programmed to stay on in cab screens until the train is clear of the station.

As always in such situations, familiarity can be an enemy and guard or driver can fail to notice someone not clear of the doors. At busy stations, where crowds may remain on the platform for the following train, the situation is eased by having platform staff who watch the alighting and entering process.

They are typically equipped with white ‘right away bats’ that are held up for the driver to see when it is safe to leave. The latest ones are capable of being illuminated red or white, the white light giving the driver the necessary assurance. At very busy stations, there may be a second member of staff at the train stopping point to relay the ‘right away’ signal. Some stations have a RA (Right Away) indicator positioned by the platform starting signal that are operated by platform staff once it is safe for the train to move.

Tickets, fare collection, evasion and customer care Checking tickets and collecting fares is nowadays as much a part of train crew responsibility as it is of station staff. Whilst large terminal and interchange stations still have ticket offices, at less-important stations the office may only be open in peak hours and at rural locations the station is often totally unstaffed. Automatic ticket machines are available at many places but these may only cater for local travel on that line.

Many stations now have ticket barriers but need staff in attendance for travellers who have no ticket or the wrong ticket. Often this leads to the barriers being left open if there are no staff on duty. There is an ever-growing reliance on train crew to check and sell tickets on the train, but this is a task that needs minimum interruption. The situation is further complicated with the growing advent of ‘print at home’ paper tickets and electronic tickets on a smartphone.

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A recent journey on the line from Macclesfield to Manchester by a local Northern train was witnessed. Only Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester have ticket offices and machines, the local stations in between being unmanned. It was late afternoon with passengers going to Manchester for an evening out.

At each local station, a handful of travellers boarded the train. The guard shut the doors and then began checking and selling tickets.

With both credit card and cash sales, this can be a slow process. A transaction would typically not be completed before arrival at the next local station, with the guard having to divert for the door release and closure routine. It was obvious by the time the train arrived at Manchester that a number of passengers had not been served and would have either had to go to the excess fare window or, if the barriers were open, enjoy a free ride.

This situation is typical across suburban lines around the country. The introduction of DCO would be a great asset in such circumstances.

TOCs must surely be aware of the problem, but it is a balancing act as to how many staff to deploy against the likely revenue received. With a guard freed of door duties to concentrate on revenue collection, not only will the door opening/closure process be speeded up, the behaviour of the general public will surely improve and the temptation to evade payment reduce. DOO in its many forms has to be part of this progression.

There is considerable evidence that the travelling public like the reassurance of a person on the train to look after their interests.

Antisocial behaviour, especially late at night, can be very disconcerting and a passenger taken ill needs someone on board to take charge of the situation and summon help.

TOCs have a duty of customer care but some seem to approach this more diligently than others.

Looking forward There is no doubt that DOO in whatever form is here to stay. It has been in existence for nearly 50 years in conjunction with ATO, and 30 years in true DOO form.

The safety record is good. Both the ORR and RSSB have studied the operation in depth and produced public statements that DOO in its various forms is safe and can yield safety benefits.

DOO is technology dependent, so it would be quite reasonable for the unions to press for continuing high maintenance standards on the equipment involved. Equally, management and unions need to agree a sensible way forward on the use of on-board staff to maximise assistance to the travelling public with ticket queries, train running information and general customer care.

This would be a win-win scenario for all parties.

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TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

REPORT BY COLIN WHEELER

EQUIPMENT, PRODUCTIVITY AND CHANGING RISKS BUT RAILWAY SAFETY STILL NEEDS SKILLED INDIVIDUALS WHO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

T

here are an ever increasing number of specialist skills necessary for the installation, maintenance and operation of our railways. With many organisations involved and a plethora of management roles it has never been more important for the skills of individuals and the personal responsibilities of trained people to be respected by their managerial superiors.

Last month I commented on the fact that the rail industry has achieved over three years without a staff fatality before giving details of a number of near misses. I missed one out!

Fog and lookout protection?

At 9-33 am on December 30th it occurred at Ladbroke Grove with a group of contractors. The Controller of Site Safety (COSS) had been working shifts on the site since December 23rd but had no experience or “familiarisation” with the area. The work group team leader had worked in the area before, but only within major possessions.

The two labourers and lookout were also new to the area. It was foggy with visibility down to between 40 and 50 metres. Whilst walking to their site of work the

group became disorientated and crossed both the Up and Down Main lines which were both open to traffic. The near miss was with a Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street passenger train.

According to the report a red zone system of working had not been approved, the supervisors had not attended Engineering Supervisor briefings with the COSS, the COSS was not adhering to the brief and in any case the use of lookout protection was not acceptable due to the fog!

Trolleys and lighting struck in tunnels by trains There are two reports of equipment being inadequately secured after being used in tunnel work and then struck by trains. At Stowe Tunnel (between Rugby and Milton Keynes) four 45 kg Permanent Way trolleys had been stored at lineside for a few days.

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The RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) describes the pressure relief shafts where the trolleys had been stored but inadequately restrained. The planning had specified an 80 step route which was icy on the night of the 4/5th December when brickwork repairs were being carried out.

The plan was for the trolleys to be removed from the tunnel after each night’s work. In view of the hazardous route it was agreed

that the trolleys be secured. The specified chains and padlocks not being available, ties were used. At 1003 on the morning of December 7th the Manchester Piccadilly to Euston Class 190 Pendolino travelling at 120 mph struck a trolley resulting in the cracked outer skin of a window and underframe damage.

In the tunnel it passed the northbound Class 390 Euston to Birmingham New Street service.

The trolleys were stored at the base of one of the pressure relief shafts which are vented to the surface. One was badly damaged and another was destroyed.

Balcombe Tunnel near Crawley on the Brighton line was the site of a similar incident on 1st December. Lighting equipment used in the tunnel had been left at lineside for four weeks following a track renewal job.

Slipstream and turbulence had presumably had their usual effects and the equipment was struck by a passing train.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

A subsequent site inspection revealed the temporary lighting equipment in the tunnel included a full petrol can!

Who was checking?

I have a copy of the November 1989 report into the Clapham Junction Railway Accident that resulted in 35 fatalities and 500 injuries. There is a reference to the “omission of safety checks by an independent person”.

Cardiff Central was remodelled and re-signalled during the 2016/17 Christmas/New Year break, transferring signalling from the Cardiff Power Signal Box to the new South Wales Control Centre.

Parts of the new layout were brought into use on December 29th. The Cardiff to Treherbert left platform 7 at 8-46 am; its alert driver realised that points ahead of him were wrongly set and stopped his train.

His was the first over the new layout on the Up Llandaff line; the wrongly set points were redundant and along with eight other sets should have been “locked and secured” out of use, pending removal. Six sets had been secured but two sets had not.

Both were undetected by the new layout signalling.

Had the driver not realised the problem his train would have run, undetected onto the former Down Relief Line which is bi-directional.

Earlier, at 8-24 am another train

had travelled over the other set of unsecured redundant points; fortunately they lay in the correct position for its route.

The RAIB investigation is underway and will include the project management methods used, team briefing arrangements and how the works were managed.

Lewisham derailment causes disruption to trains On Tuesday January 24th at 5-35 am two loaded freight wagons derailed (pictured above) whilst passing over Courthill South Junction, south of Lewisham Station at 20 mph.

There was major infrastructure damage; the train divided immediately in front of the derailed wagons and the brakes were automatically applied. The train was the 0336 Thames Estuary Grain Terminal to Neasden northwest London service. It consisted of a Class 66 diesel electric locomotive hauling 18 loaded hopper wagons, JGA type.

The 16th and 17th wagons were the ones that derailed and overturned.

The new trackwork had been installed in modular form on the weekend of 14/15th January. Follow up work had been completed during the following weekend.

The RAIB investigation will consider the condition of the wagons, how they were loaded, the design of the new track-work

TRACK SAFETY

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T: 0208 527 5888 www.spartansafety.co.uk post@spartansafety.co.uk

Unit 3 Waltham Park Way, Walthamstow, London E17 5DU

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40

TRACK SAFETY

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

for the junction and how it was installed. They will also ascertain its condition and geometry together with “any underlying management factors”.

48 passengers injured at Plymouth Station RAIB have published their report into the collision that occurred at Plymouth Station on April 3rd last year. The Penzance to Exeter passenger train ran into an empty train on platform 6 at around 15 mph.

Forty eight people were injured and both trains were damaged. A buffet car needed to be restocked and lifts were temporarily out of order whilst being refurbished.

Consequently the Signaller decided that the two trains should share a platform so that passengers changing onto the forwarding train would not need to use the subway or stairs.

The Signaller realised that an unusual form of “permissive working” was necessary but he did not advise the Penzance train driver; neither did he need to according to the rules! He failed to ensure there was room for both trains in that platform road.

The Penzance driver believed he would have sole occupancy of platform 6.

By the time he saw the stationary train he did not have time to stop. The report notes the driver was inexperienced, but also draws attention to limited visibility due to the track alignment. The stationary train would have come into view at a distance of 135 metres but for platforms 7 and 8 the first view is only reached at 70 metres distant.

The report recommends changes to the training and assessment of new drivers and improvements to the emergency door release controls which caused injuries. A member of staff used an emergency door release handle but was cut by the sharp edges of its plastic cover.

Network Rail is asked to review its permissive working arrangements at stations.

256 passengers went over the washed out track!

Baildon was the site of a near miss. Following heavy rainfall on June 7th last year between 3-30 and 4 pm, a 3-4 metre section of the single line at Baildon between Shipley and Guiseley in West Yorkshire was washed out.

According to the report three Class 333 EMU’s passed over the washout carrying respectively 106, 95 and 55 passengers between 4-29 and 5-58 pm.

At 4-30 pm a member of the public reported the washout to the Fire Service who passed details to Network Rail’s Control.

He could see the washout from a window in his home and gave his address and postcode. Trains were stopped and two staff were sent to inspect.

They went to a site identified by a train driver which was some distance away from the washout, found nothing of consequence and so the line was re-opened at its 50 mph line-speed. At 1745 pm the second train passed over the washout but its driver did not report the problem. The member of the public rang the local police about his earlier report to the Fire Brigade. Again the message was

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passed to Network Rail, but the third train had by then passed over the washout at 38 mph. Its driver stopped and made an emergency call to the signaller.

The report says this near miss was due to reports received via the Emergency Services not being dealt with “appropriately by controllers”. The track damage was “similar to a previous washout at the same location in August 2012”.

It adds that since then no action has been taken to prevent a recurrence. The report reminds Control staff of the “importance of listening carefully to safety critical messages” and of the requirement to inform the RAIB of incidents that could have resulted in more serious outcomes.

Recommendations include minimising further washouts, improving emergency responses and the effectiveness of communication between controllers, signallers and drivers.

Remote re-prioritising of work causes derailment RAIB has issued a Safety Digest with far reaching implications following the charter train derailment that occurred due to significant gauge spread at Southampton Eastern Docks.

On 5th November last year 13 Riviera Trains coaches with 561 passengers and Class 66 locomotives at each end came to a halt just short of Canute Road Level Crossing. Three axles of the leading coach and the first axle of the second coach had derailed.

Track gauge is usually 1435 mm but was measured as 51 mm (2 inches) wider. Sleepers were

damaged but many were decayed with worn fastenings.

The tracks are used five times each day and the track was Network Rail category 5 requiring fortnightly track patrols, 13 weekly Section Manager inspections and a Track Maintenance Engineer (TME) inspection every two years.

Track patrols were only being undertaken monthly, there had been a vacancy for a Section Manager for two years but the TME inspections were up to date.

Replacement of decayed sleepers was first proposed in February 2012 and should have been completed within a year. The TME highlighted the need for the works following his March 2014 inspection. Following deferment an additional TME inspection was carried out in November 2015 to see what might be done to keep the track safe.

This produced a report that was sent to the Route Asset management team; but RAIB says that it has “not been able to identify any action taken as a result”. Two works orders to replace decayed wooden sleepers etc. were deferred on several occasions including 12 May 2016.

Finally, but without a site visit or reference to the TME they were deferred to May 2017. Track patrol reports in 2016 made on 9th August, 6th September, and 4th October all highlighted the need for sleeper replacement in the area of the derailment. RAIB could find no record of any work being done or evidence on the track.

Unsurprisingly the patrollers log for 1st November made no reference to the decayed sleepers; I guess the patroller had lost heart!

I suggest that the patroller and TME should have had the authority to impose a speed restriction or close the railway pending an inspection by a more senior manager before any work deferment was made.

We may have equipment and systems that is superior to anything we have known before. We also have local skilled, dedicated individuals who deserve to be given authority with responsibility and accountability to do what needs to be done. They should not be over-ruled without consultation by remote office bound parts of an organisation.

42

EVENTS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

conference exhibition conference conference KEY EVENTS conference techexhibition exhibition

CONFERENCE

conference exhibition conference conference

conference tech exhibition tech tech press conference EXHIBITION exhibition

exhibition exhibition tech press conference pressTECHNICAL conference techconference press tech tech press conference press conference

VISIT

press conference PRESS CONFERENCE press conference network

network network NETWORK network awaards network network

awaardsnetwork awaards AWARDS awaards awaards dinner network awaards

RAIL MEDIA'S RAIL EXEC CLUB, IN LONDON, SEPTEMBER 2016

dinner dinner dinner DINNER dinner awaards awaards dinner

free TOdinner FREE ATTEND dinner free

free free free free

EVENTS

free

MARCH

free

APRIL

conference exhibition

MIDDLE EAST RAIL 2017

tech

network www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/

network

exhibition tech press conference

RAIL EXEC NETWORKING LUNCHEON network

asia-pacific-rail

network awaards awaards dinner dinner

awaards

network

dinner

25th-27th APRIL, Londontech

awaards

free exhibition

awaards WORLD METRORAIL dinner CONGRESS 2017 conference exhibition

21st-22nd MARCH, Lille, France press conference www.sifer2017.com

dinner

network

www.railexec.com

press conference

INTERNATIONALdinner RAIL FORUM & CONFERENCE free

TRAINS THAT FIT - GAUGING DILEMMA conference exhibition

www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/ conference

press conference

www.events.imeche.org

awaards RAIL FRIEGHT GROUP dinner press conference CONFERENCE 2017 conference exhibition tech

www.irfc.ew/en

POLICY PRIORITIES FOR UK RAIL SERVICES - MARKET REFORM, THE DIGITAL RAILWAY conference exhibition

tech dinner

14th MARCH,pressDerby conference

free

network awaards

dinner PASSENGERconference TERMINAL EXPO 2017 exhibition free tech

tech 23rd MARCH, London press conference

www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/

14th-16th MARCH, Amsterdam press conference

forums

awaards

www.passengerterminal-expo.com network

dinner THE STRESS SUMMIT

16th MARCH, Londonfree

dinner

PASSIVE SAFETY exhibition PFtech free conference ROLLING STOCK press conference exhibition

exhibition conference tech exhibition

23rd-24th MARCH, Berlin

tech

press conference

www.hsl.gov.uk/stress-summit

press conference

tech

press conference

network www.railway-network.info/passive-

network

safety

network

awaards network

dinner

awaards awaards ERTMS AND ETCS 2017: awaards conference dinner dinner dinner free exhibition THE FUTURE OF RAILWAY RAIL TECH 2017 conference tech free free conference free SIGNALLING IN THE UK exhibition 28th-30th MARCH,pressNetherlands conference tech exhibition

21st-22nd MARCH, London press conference

tech

www.railtech.com/railtech-2017

press conference

www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com

network

network awaards awaards dinner dinner

free

network

tech

27th APRIL, London

tech press conference press conference free

network www.railsummits.com

awaards network conference network awaards dinner exhibition awaards

MAY

dinner dinner

tech

conference

free exhibition

press conference

free free

tech

network

www.railtex.co.uk

JUNE

conference

awaards

network

exhibition

dinner tech

awaards

dinner press conference conference

AFRICA RAIL 2017

free exhibition free tech

network 13th-14th JUNE, Johannesburg press conference

www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/

awaards dinner

network

conference awaards free exhibition dinner

RAILLOG KOREA 2017

tech

14th-17th JUNE, Busan, Korea press conference free network

free

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RAILWAY ENGINEERING conference exhibition 2017 conference exhibition tech

tech 21st-22nd JUNE, Edinburgh press conference press conference

www.railwayengineering.com network network awaards awaards dinner dinner

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conference awaards conference exhibition exhibition dinner tech

DIGITAL RAILpressSUMMIT conference

dinner

GUIDE TO UP COMING EVENTS IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AT A GLANCE free

exhibition

free

raillog-korea.kr.messefrankfurt.com

awaards

network

conference www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com

dinner

9th-11th MAY, NEC Birmingham press conference

conference

conference

awaards

press conference

RAILTEX 2017

network

free tech

26th APRIL, London

network awaards

network conference awaards exhibition

network

exhibition

22nd-24th MARCH, Czech Republic

tech 13th MARCH, London

free tech

25th-26th APRIL, London

awaards

free

network

free

tech

free

press conference

www.events.imeche.org

dinner

conference

SIFER 2017 free

awaards

www.midlandsrail.co.uk

THE STEPHENSON CONFERENCE: RESEARCH FOR RAILWAYS conference exhibition

exhibition

21st-22nd MARCH, Hong Kong press conference

www.terrapinn.com/merail conference

IRAIL 2017

conference

ASIA PACIFIC RAIL 2017 press conference

tech exhibition tech press conference press conference

7th-8th MARCH, Dubai

10th MARCH, London

tech

conference conference exhibition

free free

dinner free

@railexec

Exec The networking luncheon for rail professionals Join the Rail Exec Club in 2017. More than 800 rail professionals joined us in 2016.

WITH GUEST SPEAKERS: Eric Holmes Bombardier, Head of Bids Engineering and Technical Documentation

Peter Hansford Hansford Review, Chair

Nick Dunne Siemens Rail Automation, Director of Technology

DISCUSSIONS ON FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

LONDON FRIDAY 10TH MARCH 11:15 - 15:00

Networking Reception Lunch

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gina@rail-media.com

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Visit the website to buy your tickets today

44

SUMMITS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

All © High Viz Media

Richard White of EAMS.

Summit chair David Philp.

REPORT BY CHRIS PARKER

R

ail Media’s third BIM Summit looked at how the transition into Level 3 BIM would take us further on the digitisation journey towards fully digital businesses where operations and maintenance begin to see the benefits.

Held on 15 February at the offices of Addleshaw Goddard in the City of London, the day was chaired by David Philp of Aecom, who introduced the day by picking out some themes that he expected to emerge from the sessions.

This Summit, he felt, would differ from the earlier ones in that it was going to be about the meaningful use of BIM in practice, and would ‘zoom out’ a little.

Finally we would see some real examples of rail BIM developments. Implicit in all this is a move from collaborative working to full integration.

David described some of the BIM journey that brought us to this point and spoke about the Digital Build Britain (DBB) group, of which he is a member. He pointed beyond Level 3 towards Level 4 BIM and thought about what that is likely to entail.

Before introducing the first presentation of the morning, he described the advantages of digitisation. These include the ability to test many more optional scenarios, leading to better decisions and better outcomes. Real-time access to asset information and digital asset performance management will enable this and also permit what he called ‘continuous commissioning’ where asset performance will be tuned real time; predictive, preventive maintenance will become the norm.

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SUMMITS

45

RAIL BIM SUMMIT LOOKING INTO THE BEYOND

DIGITALLY DRIVEN The first speaker was Matthew Brett of TfL, who presented ‘How TfL is using BIM’. He gave this the sub-title ‘What effect will this (BIM) have on our suppliers’. For our audience, Matthew focussed on London Underground and DLR. After some background about the businesses, he went into more detail. A good foundation is essential, in this case meaning excellent asset data. TfL has been applying the principles of BIM requirements for the last 10 years, initially a lot of this was supplier led, but soon TfL began to write requirements into contracts. Matthew described a number of projects that came along this path: Victoria Station Upgrade, Bond Street to Baker Street, Bank and the DLR Framework Renewal.

Since 2015, all projects and contracts have had BIM embedded, with BIM managers for each one. These managers will enable engagement with the maintenance side of the business and ensure the transition of TfL to a digitally driven transport business over the next 10-15 years.

The multiple BIM roles within TfL require the upskilling of the business’ own people, as an example, the supplier on the Bank project is using an internal BIM contractor as a supplier. Internal suppliers as well as external ones thus need to participate in the journey to the fully digitised business. A number of detailed slides in Matthew’s electronic presentation gave more detail.

Matthew summarised; applying BIM is complex, a consistent approach is essential, lessons learned by early adopters must be used, internal suppliers must be expected to get fully involved just like the external ones.

Rail Electrification Designer An unrivalled 3D information modelling program for overhead line electrification projects.

This software produces BIM ready designs in record time, vastly increasing quality and productivity.

For more information or a live demonstration, contact us: 01629 760 750 tech@bbrail.com www.balfourbeatty.com/rail

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46

SUMMITS

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Deligates were treated to a VR experience by High Viz Media.

LESSONS LEARNED ON CROSSRAIL Malcolm Taylor of Crossrail was the next excellent speaker introduced by David.

‘Crossrail: Lessons Learned’ was his topic.

After detailing some of the basics of BIM, Malcolm started to describe the lessons he draws from the Crossrail experience.

A defined Client Data Environment (CDE) is an essential contract requirement that suppliers initially found difficult, but they got used to it. The wealth of competing specialist software has been a challenge for IT, but 90 per cent of Crossrail’s data is now held in three interlinked databases, Mapping, 3D Models, and Documentation.

Malcolm described what went well and what did not. It took two to three years to create the CDE, and this was too long. Document control wasn’t applied rigorously enough at the start and the resources required were not appreciated to begin with. Contracts need to incentivise contractors to deliver the specified data, models and manuals on time and to specification.

This includes 3D models, and Crossrail’s experience is that 4D models could have been used more too. For example, Malcolm said installation progress reporting using such models gives benefits in efficiency and effectiveness.

Malcolm ended with a look at the myths and blockers about BIM. It’s not expensive, it is big and complicated but it is not too complex to bother with. Blockers may include software suppliers, consultants and the client organisation, but selecting the right people can resolve that. Design teams need not only the technical and business skills.

They also need procurement skills and an understanding of change, the need for it and the means to deliver it.

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CAPEX AND OPEX After a Q&A session with the speakers, Richard White and David Gate of EAMS took the lectern. Between them they gave a presentation entitled ‘Where is this new BIM technology taking us?’.

Their theme was that of whole-life asset management, the cycle plan/design, create/ acquire, operate/maintain, modify/enhance/ replace. They considered where we are today, where we should be and where we could be.

Richard described how, until now, the emphasis has typically been on design and construction (CAPEX), but the need is to get into operations and maintenance (OPEX), as there are considerably greater benefits to be had here.

Richard also mentioned how EAMS is working with HS2 to assist the business in developing its systems and procedures. He then went on to look at where we should be and where we could be. He described the former as BIM Level 2a, and where we could be as BIM Level 3.

‘Technology Demonstration from RED’ was the subject covered by Fraser Pickford and Jon Mercer of Balfour Beatty, a sponsor of the Summit.

RED is Rail Electrification Designer, an easy to use, off-the-shelf software solution developed

by Balfour Beatty using their long experience of designing and constructing OHLE. It allows a designer to build a design model for an OHLE project, delivering BIM transparently as an integral part of the process. It runs inside Bentley System’s MicroStation and is configurable for any OHLE design range and any project’s CAD standards.

RED has been tried and tested on the Network Rail NW electrification scheme. It is efficient and lean, promotes quality and simplifies BIM, and produces full data models, 2-D layouts and cross-sections and more.

THINKLAB The morning’s final presentation came from Professor Terrence Fernando of the University of Salford ThinkLab. After a brief description of ThinkLab and what it does, Terrence described how his team had been approached by Network Rail when they needed a better way to plan track renewal works. Existing methods such as 2D drawings, PowerPoint slides and 4D animations all had drawbacks and could not cope with the complexities of the projects to be managed.

ThinkLab decided to use a time/distance metaphor to specify tasks, and developed a modelling system using BIM data to develop the required plans. Terrence showed a video of Network Rail planners who modelled in a few hours a project that they would have taken perhaps two weeks to plan using traditional methods. Network Rail has successfully applied the system on five sites so far, including their Christmas works at London Euston.

First up after lunch came Johnny Shute, from the Office of Rail & Road (ORR), to talk about ‘Future rail/road developments’.

The ORR vision is zero industry caused fatalities and continual reductions in accidents. The organisation will check compliance and push for excellence in risk management.

What’s the ORR’s interest in BIM? Well, the ORR is interested in engineering out health and safety risks during the design phase. As well as obviating accidents during construction and operation, this will lead to reduced capital costs, lower maintenance costs, greater efficiency and more.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

SUMMITS

47

The second presentation of the afternoon came from Eian Stedford of Vinci Construction UK Ltd, speaking about ‘External Viewpoint of BIM Technology now and in the future’.

He began with the question ‘what is BIM?’ A few years ago, he said, there might have been no common idea of the answer, but now there is growing understanding that it is a methodology.

BIM is a whole lifecycle process aimed at ensuring collaboration and co-ordination by using a common engineering data management system (EDMS). Vinci innovated by using a laser scanner from the outset of its Crossrail work. Using this it was able to generate accurate 3D modelling of existing assets and then proposed changes could be introduced into that model.

BIM AND VIRTUAL REALITY The final presentation was given by Nick Collier from High Viz Media, another of the sponsors of the Summit. His subject was ‘BIM and Virtual Reality’.

3D rendering of objects can be created from various means, including laser scanning and surveys, but also simply from photographs. Such rendered images have all kinds of uses including VR, and VR can be used for practical applications. In the rail industry, obvious examples are things like signal sighting checks or, to quote a topical one, to check the effectiveness of a driveronly camera system for blind spots.

Nick showed some examples of the use of augmented reality and how it can be used to serve up data in ways that are safer or more useful than conventional methods. An example was the proposed use by IKEA of VR to allow customers to view how furniture might fit into their room before they decide whether to buy it.

The next Rail Media Summit is the Digital Rail Summit planned on 26 April 2017.

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48

FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

REPORT BY TIM CASTERTON

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN IARNRÓD ÉIREANN CAME INTO BEING 30 YEARS AGO ON 2 FEBRUARY 1987. SINCE THEN, THERE HAS BEEN A REVOLUTION OF TIMETABLES AND SERVICES WITH THE RAIL NETWORK BEING UPDATED FROM THE STEAM AGE TO ONE OF THE MOST MODERN AND SAFEST IN EUROPE.

P

rior to the formation of Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) rail and bus services in the Republic of Ireland had been operated by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE), the Irish Transport Company, formed on 1 January 1945 from the Great Southern Railway and the Dublin United Transport Company.

Iarnród Éireann operates all internal InterCity, commuter, DART and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. The company also operates road freight services (Navigator) and manages Rosslare Harbour.

THE SERVICE REVOLUTION During the 30 years of IÉ one of the biggest changes has been with the frequency and journey times of train services on principal routes. In the Dublin area, the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) had been opened from Dun Laoghaire to Howth a few years earlier with 1500v DC overhead power supply and stylish Line-Hoffman-Busch 1983 built two-car

EMUs. These services had revolutionised a run-down and truly awful push-pull diesel suburban service.

In 1986, there were just seven direct services between Dublin and Cork (nine on Fridays) with the fastest journey time being two hours 35 minutes – now there are 14 with the fastest journey time of two hours 15 minutes and an aim to reduce that further to two hours.

Waterford had four services taking two hours 20 minutes and now has seven (eight on Fridays) which take around two hours five minutes. Galway had five services taking two hours 25 minutes and now has nine taking around two hours 20 minutes. Until 1986, all InterCity services were locomotive hauled with Cravens type (Mk1) or BREL type Mk2 carriages.

However, these were cascaded to other routes by 1988 when the Mk3 automatic plug door Mk3 carriages had been fully introduced.

The Mk4 CAF built push-pull DVT sets of carriages were introduced from 2005 and are exclusively used on the Dublin to Cork route in conjunction with the 100mph 201 class locomotives.

NEW ROLLING STOCK The first sign of the rolling stock revolution to come though was the arrival of the Tokyu Car built 2600 class 2 car suburban diesel railcars in from 1993, these being used initially mainly on the North Dublin routes. Further railcar orders arrived in 1998 with the Alstom built 2700 class and the Tokyu Car built 2800 class in 2000.

Forty outer suburban 29000 class railcars were built by CAF between 2002-5 for the Sligo line and the south eastern line, but are now used on the Rosslare and Dundalk services as well. More was to come though with an order for 120 class 22000 InterCity railcars being placed in 2004 with Rotem, a South Korean rolling stock builder.

This was later increased to 150 vehicles and then another 33 were added in 2007.

On delivery these units rapidly replaced the Mk3 locomotive hauled trains on InterCity routes. On the Dublin – Cork they augmented the Mk4 push-pull workings (which were introduced new in 2004-5) to permit a basic hourly interval service.

The cross-border ‘Enterprise’ service also benefited from new rolling stock where a jointly owned fleet of new carriages built

by De Dietrich in 1996 were introduced.

Mk3 carriages took over Inter City services from 1988. The first were constructed at Derby and exported to Ireland for fitting out and painting whilst later vehicles were sent over in more of a 'kit' form for completion. The IÉ carriages had automatic plug doors. This carriage at Inchicore awaits painting.

For accountancy purposes NIR own the even numbered carriages and IÉ the odd numbers. These replaced Mk2 carriages on the route, the new De Dietrich fleet being push-pull with motive power supplied by a class 201 locomotive. There were six trains on weekdays in 1986 and there are now eight.

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

FEATURE

49

The first new railcars, the 2600 class, were introduced in 1993 for suburban routes - 2604 is at Cork on a service to Cobh. There is a small enclave of semaphone signalling remaing at Cork Kent station.

LOCOMOTIVES At the formation of IÉ the principal InterCity services were hauled by the reliable General Motors 071 class locomotives that had been introduced in 1976.

Freight and local or regional services were normally hauled by the smaller class 141 or 181 General Motors locomotives.

There were also the re-engined ‘Metrovic’ 001 class locomotives normally used on freight services until withdrawal in the mid-1990’s and the 121 class single ended General Motor locos used either single on Mk2 push-pull services or in pairs on freight (or occasional passenger services).

On 9 June 1994, the first of the 34 General Motors 201 Class (No. 201), arrived in Dublin by air from London, Canada. The subsequent introduction of the railcars and the downturn in freight resulted in most of the smaller locomotives being withdrawn with the 071 class now used primarily on freight and the 201 class on passenger and freight services (but 12 201 class are currently in store at Inchicore Works now).

IÉ currently have plans to re-engine the 201 class with greener and more economic power units.

NEW LINES – AND CLOSURES In the first year of IÉ, passenger services were withdrawn on the Mullingar to Athlone route to the West of Ireland. Services were re-routed from Dublin Heuston station via Portarlington. The next passenger service withdrawal was on the Waterford to

Rosslare on 18 September 2010 – this line being owned by the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways and Harbour Company.

Over the 30 years though several lines have re-opened and new services have been introduced.

A new Kildare Line commuter service began operating in May 1994 - Clondalkin, Hazelhatch and Sallins reopened and a new station was built at Cherry Orchard. Funding covered the cost of 10 new diesel railcars from Tokyu Car Corporation.

During 1995, a number of investment projects were announced by the Government, these including the extension of the DART to Greystones and the opening of new stations at Fairview, Kilcock and Drumcondra.

The Kildare Route Project Railway Order was signed by the Minister for Transport

The 201 class locomotives used on Cork and Belfast Inter City services and freight are to be re-engined. A Cork to Dublin Mk4 push-pull train passes a freight train hauled by an 071 class loco at Newbridge.

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50

FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

Intermodal trains ceased completely on IÉ in 2005. In August 2009 IÉ commenced operating intermodal services for IWT between Dublin North Wall and Ballina with two trains in each direction. Now there are up to 14 trains a week. 075 departs from Kildare with a fully loaded IWT intermodal service for Ballina.

on the 5 of December 2006. This would deliver the addition of two tracks between where the planned ‘DART Underground’ would commence at Inchicore and just past Hazelhatch. Work on this was partly completed in early 2010 with the opening of Ireland's first four track section of mainline railway between Cherry Orchard and Hazelhatch, with the section to Inchicore deferred (along with ‘DART Underground’) due to the economic recession.

To alleviate congestion at Dublin Connolly station a new Docklands station was opened on 12 March 2007 on part of the freight yard complex and was served mainly by services from Clonsilla on the Sligo Line. The next re-opening was on 31 July 2009 when 10 km (6.25 miles) of the former Youghal branch was opened to Midleton (with a passing loop at Carrigtwohill).

By far the longest line re-opening to date was the Western Rail Corridor, the Galway to Limerick line re-opened on 30 March 2010 between Athenry and Ennis to provide a through service. In total 58km of track reopened. In September 2010 the re-instated Clonsilla to Pace (M3 Parkway) line was opened with a vague intention that it should be extended to Navan sometime in the future.

In November 2016, a new service was opened in Dublin to link the Kildare Line to Connolly Station via the ‘Phoenix Park Tunnel’, a route which hadn’t seen regular passenger services since the Dun Laoghaire boat trains ceased using it. This is initially a ‘Peak’ time service, but once resources become available it is proposed to introduce services throughout the day and at weekends.

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SIGNALLING AND SAFETY Although the Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) centre at Dublin Connolly was first opened during 1974, its area of control was initially quite restricted with the charm of the semaphore signal still to be seen over most of Ireland. The CTC was extended to control the DART in the 1980s. The last 30 years have seen considerable expansions across Ireland to the area it controls and even upgrades to some of the earlier CTC signalling.

Now virtually all main lines are controlled from the Dublin CTC including Dublin to Cork, Galway, Westport, Waterford, Sligo, Rosslare, Newry (on the cross-border line), Mallow to Tralee, Limerick Junction to Limerick and M3 Parkway to Docklands. At present approximately 75 per cent of the IÉ network (approximately 1,500km) is controlled from the CTC. The current CTC is expected to be replaced between 2018 and 2022 with the commissioning of a new control centre.

The expansion of the CTC area has also resulted in many level crossings being converted from manual gates to automatic barrier types.

FREIGHT – THE DECLINE AND RETURN When Iarnród Éireann came into being around 2.8 million tonnes of freight per year was carried. Major declines occurring in the cement, fertiliser and general freight commodity types resulting in 1.8 million tonnes being carried in 2005 - the year when IÉ operated container trains ceased. The following year sugar beet and the Diageo keg traffic was lost, beet due to removal of the EU subsidy and kegs, on cost grounds were

transferred by Diageo to road distribution.

This left just the zinc ore traffic between Navan and Dublin Port and the dying cement based traffic. On 31 January 1994, postal trains also ceased to operate.

However, from the ashes of this has risen the re-birth of container and pulpwood traffic.

The first breakthrough was the introduction of the Norfolk Line (now called DFDS) services from Waterford Port to Ballina in 2006, followed by the launch of the International Warehousing and Transport (IWT) Dublin to Ballina container ‘liner’ trains in August 2009.

IWT commenced with two services in each direction every week with trains being loaded in Dublin Port on the Alexandra Road tramway. Following major investment in new rail sidings by Dublin Port, opened in 2011, the IWT services transferred to them.

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FEATURE

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

LONGER TRAINS The trainload pulpwood business for Coillte between the west of Ireland and the south east was also reintroduced with some 135 timber trains operating from Ballina and Westport to Waterford to supply the SmartPly factory with around 50,000 tonnes of wood. By 2011, Coillte’s rail tonnage had increased by around 20 per cent up to 60,000 tonnes.

March 2013 saw the relaunch of the DFDS Waterford Port to Ballina liner service which now runs four trains per week – two in each direction. These trains connect into and from the DFDS shipping service from Waterford Port to Rotterdam, allowing exporters access to Europe via the Rotterdam hub.

IWT now operate around seven loaded trains a week in each direction between Ballina and Dublin Port, this making Ballina the busiest freight yard in Ireland handling traffic for DFDS, IWT and Coillte – around 18 loaded trains per week.

In 2016, IÉ undertook trials to allow a 50 per cent increase in the length of freight trains.

Both the ports of Foynes and Galway have the future reintroduction of rail freight noted in their business plans. Of these, Shannon Foynes Port Company is very keen to have the Limerick to Foynes branch line reopened for freight traffic and presently structural surveys are being undertaken to see if the route can be re-commissioned. The port envisages a 50 per cent increase in traffic by 2020 and the current road network would be unable to take the increased volume.

THE FUTURE Together with severe funding issues following subsidy cuts, David Franks, the current chief executive, managed to secure funds not only to keep the network operating for now at its present level, but also to continue upgrades on the Dublin – Cork main line to allow 100mph running on the 50-mile stretch between Hazlehatch and Kildare.

Funding for continuation of this work in 2017 has also been granted. Further upgrades such as the removal of level crossings and bridge replacements are expected to bring journey times from Cork to Dublin to under two hours.

In the longer term, the findings of the National Transport Authority’s ‘Rail Review’ public survey undertaken in late 2016 is likely to shape how railways in the Republic of Ireland are funded.

The recent increases in passenger numbers being carried have prompted funding also for the return to service of the 1997 built ‘2700 class’ railcars which are currently stored, this being a cheaper option than buying new trains. Other options to be discussed to tackle overcrowding are additional carriages for the 22000 class intercity railcars, an hourly Dublin to Belfast service and electrification to Maynooth or Balbriggan. Reference has already been made to the re-engining of the 201 class locomotives to improve their efficiency and reliability.

PRESTIGE SERVICES Travel ticketing has also been revolutionised in the Dublin area with the introduction of the multi-modal ‘LEAP Card’ which can also be used on the LUAS trams and Dublin buses.

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Prestige services operating on the IÉ network have also been a welcome new addition to the scene over the last few years, firstly with the Rail Tours Ireland ‘Emerald Isle Express’ being launched with heritage stock two years ago, followed by ‘Steam Dreams’ tour of Ireland and last year the ‘Belmond Grand Hibernian’ hotel train was introduced using rebuilt Mk3 carriages. All these services pampering to the luxury tour market and are likely to develop over the coming years.

IÉ has many achievements to be proud of already with the almost total modernisation from a ‘steam age’ network to one of the most modern in Europe. From a safety perspective they have recently achieved a period of 142 ‘SPAD free days’ (SPAD – Signal passed at danger) - the longest continuous period on record for IÉ – and that included the period of ‘leaf fall’ where track adhesion is often poor.

IÉ is the only one of the ten largest users of energy in the Irish public sector to have exceeded the Government’s energy efficiency improvement target of 33 per cent by 2020 – IÉ has already achieved a 36 per cent reduction in energy usage.

The additional bonus here for IÉ is the savings made on fuel bills at a time when funding is tight. In January 2017, IÉ was present at the ‘Golden Whistle Awards’ where previous CEO Dick Fearn was Master of Ceremonies and presented four ‘whistles’ to IÉ staff members.

Congratulations to Iarnród Éireann and all their staff on achieving so much since being formed in 1987.

All Inter City services except Dublin to Cork and Belfast and many Regional services are operated by the Rotem built 22000 class railcars.

Three car set 22351 awaits connections at Limerick Junction before forming a Waterford service.

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YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

S L A N IO S S E F O R P L I YOUNG RA N O I T C E L IN REF

T

his year has certainly been a landmark year for Young Rail Professionals.

Under the direction of chair Sabrina Ihaddaden, we have expanded our reach, hosting events internationally at InnoTrans 2016 - the largest rail industry event in the world. We have taken steps to address the skills gap, coordinating the first ever Rail Week in June 2016, which reached over 2,500 young people through 157 railrelated events across the UK. We have also been promoting equality and diversity, collaborating with Women in Rail on their mentoring programme and events in the West Midlands, amongst other things.

As the annual elections for the chair’s office draw to a close, and Sabrina prepares to step down from her role, we asked her to reflect on all YRP has achieved in 2016/17.

Sabrina began her career in rail as a graduate engineer at Bombardier Transportation in 2013 after completing two masters degrees: one in mechatronic systems engineering at Lancaster University and the other in mechanical and industrial engineering at Arts et Métiers ParisTech. She began her involvement in YRP as chair of the newly created East Midlands region in 2014, taking the position of national vice chair in 2015, before beginning her role as national chair in 2016. Sabrina is currently working as a signalling systems engineer at Bombardier.

Q: Firstly Sabrina, how has this year been?

A: This year has been incredible for YRP, and I am very proud of what the team has achieved. I have been impressed by the level of effort people are ready to make when it comes to things they are passionate about, and the response from the industry has been fabulous.

© Nimble Media

Q: How did you feel about being the first female chair of YRP? Were there any obstacles for you?

A: Although it seems novel in our industry to be at the head of an organisation and be a woman, it felt like a natural move to YRP. Half of our executive committee were women this year, so our committee members know first-hand the benefit of working in a diverse environment.

We also entered a team into the first ever Women in Rail Big Rail Diversity Challenge this year which highlighted the importance of gender balance and provided a great opportunity for male and female committee members to work together.

The next Big Rail Diversity Challenge is taking place in June, and I highly recommend taking part!

Looking back, the only obstacles I have experienced were the obstacles I originally put to myself.

Q: What do you think has been the highlight for YRP? A: The highlight for YRP this year was definitely Rail Week. The week aimed to address the skills shortage in rail-related roles and inspire the next generation of railway talent, through events, visits and talks for schools and colleges.

We were amazed by the response and support from industry, the dedication and enthusiasm of our STEM Ambassadors, and the interest and engagement from event attendees. We want to make Rail Week 2017 even more successful!

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RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

Q: What do you feel has been the key to taking YRP forward?

A: As YRP has grown very quickly in the past few years, we felt the need to set the right foundations and to learn about the best practice of each committee and share this across our regions.

The key enabler for this was to engage with all our regional committee members, which is why we held the first YRP Leadership Conference in July.

Over the course of the day, committee members learnt about leadership techniques, developed ideas for the future of YRP in targeted workshops and received advice and support from the national YRP managers.

This was also the first CPDaccredited event held by YRP, which is a fantastic milestone. It demonstrates that we are able to deliver quality development events for our members across the country.

Q: What are you planning to do next?

A: YRP remains very close to my heart. I am now part of the YRP Advisory Board, which is

formed of all the past chairs. The board aims to ensure continuity between the former and new YRP chair’s office, and provide advice for the new chairs based on our own experiences.

We are extremely grateful to Sabrina for her leadership and direction this year. YRP’s success is largely driven by the enthusiasm and dedication of our committee members, who are all volunteers.

It has therefore been wonderful to see that both Sabrina and the wider YRP team have been recognised across the board in various rail awards this year.

We will of course be hosting our own awards at the YRP Annual Dinner on Thursday, 6 April. As well as the Young Rail Professional of the Year award, we will also be presenting awards for Apprentice of the Year and Mentor of the Year. To find out more about the dinner and book tickets, please visit www.youngrailpro.com/events/ yrp-annual-dinner-2017.

We look forward to welcoming the new chair’s office in April, and continuing to deliver our mission to promote, inspire and develop.

YOUNG RAIL PROFESSIONALS

55

APRIL

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TRAINING

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TIME TO TALK

RETENTION

W

hat happens when you pick up the phone to cancel a premium TV subscription or phone contract? You’re put through to someone in sales who offers to match or better any enticing packages you’ve found online. Often this will work, customers will stay and companies will retain the business for a while at least.

The same approach is often applied to staff retention. When an employee reveals a desire to leave, the company’s instinct is to offer more money. Many will accept the pay rise and stay but, in a lot of cases, it won’t have addressed the issues that drove them to the decision in the first place. For these people, it will only be a temporary fix and they will be on the market within a few months.

This cycle is repeated time and again, negatively impacting on productivity and leading to further wage inflation in a sector that is already facing a known skills deficit.

The risk posed to the rail industry of an engineering skills shortage is well known, but the benefits to companies of having more rigorous retention policies in place to keep hold of the best talent are less well understood.

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Put the bonnet up ‘The years of underinvestment in infrastructure that everybody knows about is probably secondary to the underinvestment in talent - not only in training but in understanding the new dynamics,’ said Peter Schofield, chairman of recruitment and talent specialists Ford & Stanley.

The perception that the rail industry offers jobs for life has also changed.

This, coupled with the skills shortage, puts those with in-demand skills in a strong position. They are consumers of employment opportunities and, like all consumers, they have choice, said Peter. Throughout his career, Peter has seen companies struggle to understand this and subsequently pay the price. This can be evident by the lack of staff engagement or high turnover.

‘Salary is easy to think about. It’s easy for an employer to put right. They have to put the proverbial bonnet up and look at their organisation through the eyes of the people they seek to retain,’ said Peter, who went on to add, ‘Raising the salary has not dealt with the root issue. People take the pay rise but within 12 months 77 per cent of the people who accept a counter offer will be back on the jobs market because the real reasons behind them leaving have not been addressed.’

Broadly speaking, the rail industry is pretty good at understanding its staff and what motivates them, said Peter, but he believes there are simple things that all companies can introduce to improve how they engage with their people.

Overworked and undervalued ‘Number one, recruit the right people in the first place,’ says Peter.

But even with the right people, there are all kinds of reasons why people can fall out of love with their job. Many will say they feel overworked and undervalued, but there can be many other reasons. It could be they feel there is no opportunity to progress, a lack of training or a perceived lack of vision among management.

The issue for employers is that they rarely hear the real feelings of their employees. People often fear being ostracised by management or see little chance of anything changing even if they do speak up. Says Peter, ‘Employers only pick up on it the day the resignation goes in; if at all due to the leaver’s fear of burning bridges.’

Mental ill-health in the workplace is another serious issue affecting staff retention and turnover. Over the course of the last 12 months it has really come into focus. At the beginning of March, the Institute of Directors launched its own initiative to prompt industry leaders to take action.

RAILSTAFF MARCH 2017

TRAINING

57

© Shutterstock.com

Peter Schofield, Chairman, Ford & Stanley

© Shutterstock.com

‘In 2008, we saw a big surge in mental healthrelated staff churn, much of which could have been avoided if employees were supported in the right way.’

Ford & Stanley is in its ninth year of pioneering practical solutions to the issue. Its GENIUS service helps a number of rail employers to engage with and retain their staff, as Peter explains.

‘In 2008, we saw a big surge in mental healthrelated staff churn, much of which could have been avoided if employees were supported in the right way. Our lead performance coach was having great success in the sports sector working with footballers and golfers, so we decided to develop those techniques into a service which supports people in commerce and industry.

‘It’s about mental coaching. On the sports side of our business, we don’t talk to clients about how to swing a golf club or kick a football, it’s about giving them a competitive edge by getting their mental approach right, dealing with their self-doubts or whatever is keeping them off their ‘A Game’. A 45-minute conversation at the right time with a professional coach can save a company thousands of pounds in re-recruitment costs, lost knowledge and project momentum.’

Ford & Stanley’s clients have reported a substantial return on investment in terms of better staff engagement and retention, suggesting that - rather than creating unnecessary wage inflation through salary increases - it could be time for the industry to take a smarter approach.

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