Shaken and Stirred: Chaudhry-van der Velde MD West Midlands

This from Abellio/Mitsui...

Merseyrail’s Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde appointed Managing Director of West Midlands Trains
Merseyrail Deputy MD Andy Heath to succeed Jan at Merseyrail

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde has today been appointed as Managing Director of West Midlands Trains, which will take over the next West Midlands franchise on 10 December. He joins from Merseyrail where he has been MD since 2015.

Prior to joining Merseyrail, Jan spent three years as Abellio UK’s Deputy MD. In this role he was a member of the Merseyrail board and played a critical role in the company’s successful bid for the ScotRail franchise.

Jan has also held a number of director roles outside of Abellio including Operations Director at South West Trains, Commercial Director at Southern and Operations & Retail Director at Thameslink. He first joined the sector in 1989 as a British Rail general management trainee.

Merseyrail’s new managing director will be Jan’s former deputy, Andy Heath. Andy first joined Merseyrail as Trains Manager in 1998 and has been Operations Director since 2005. 

He will be stepping into the role on 10 December, following Jan’s departure.

TSC Inquiry into Rail Infrastructure

This from the Transport Select Committee...

The process for deciding the funding and outputs of Network Rail for the control period 2019-2024 is underway. Against this background, the Committee wishes to understand whether the current system of planning and delivering investment in rail infrastructure is adequate. The Committee is particularly interested in submissions addressing:

The impact of postponing renewals from the current control period into the next and the implications of the Secretary of State’s decision to remove enhancements from the control period process
The adequacy of the control period process in enabling the delivery of long term rail infrastructure objectives

Whether Network Rail’s long term planning process is effective in providing the industry with strategic direction beyond the five year control period.

As usual, RIA was quick off the mark, punting this out at close of play on Friday...

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA) said: “The Railway Industry Association has been urging politicians since the summer that there is a £500m shortfall in the current Control Period of railway funding, CP5. This shortfall needs to be addressed to avoid cancellations and delays on the railway system up to March 2019, when CP5 ends. However, we have also been calling for a look at the wider long-term issues around funding the railways, and so we strongly welcome the news that the Transport Select Committee has committed to investigate this.

“The current Control Period system creates boom and bust cycles in the industry, meaning rail suppliers need to increase their capacity at the start of the funding period, but then see a sharp drop off in workload near the end, jeopardising jobs and the ability of small and medium sized enterprises to survive. Ultimately this boom and bust increases the cost of renewing and maintaining the railway system by up to 30%. So we look forward to working with the Transport Select Committee to see how the funding system can be improved, to enable the best possible service to passengers and freight, and the best value to the taxpayer”.

Inquiry Terms of Reference here, and submission can be made via here.

Bigland made an honest man!

Many congratulations to railway snapper Paul Bigland and ACoRP fixer Dawn Wolrich.

Paul and Dawn tied the knot on Saturday with friends and family in Huddersfield.

This is possibly the only photograph of Paul you will ever see without a camera in his hands...

Remembrance at Derby station

Friday saw an act of Remembrance at Derby station.

Led by Railway Mission Chaplain Ralph Coleman, the short service saw wreaths laid by EMT, BTP, the Rail Forum and other local groups.

The Derby station war memorial, on platform one, features the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice from the former Derby loco works.

This year, courtesy of the Railway Heritage Trust, there is now a plaque to honour the heroism of railwayman Private Jacob Rivers VC.

And also attending for the first time in an official capacity was the Derby Railway Engineering Society, represented by President Jonathan Wragg of SNC Lavalin, sporting a rather fetching DRES presidential chain of office.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.