This from Network Rail's increasingly impressive LNW Route.
Lest it be forgot, LNW is opening Euston Station for the homeless on Christmas Day.
Here Birmingham New Street staff outline the work of the #RailwayFamily over Christmas.
Words and more information here.
Terrible! But good effort.
This from Network Rail is great!
Thanks to a partnership between Streets Kitchen, St Mungo's and Network Rail, London Euston station will welcome 200 specially invited homeless guests on Christmas Day.
As colleagues enjoy time off with their families during the festive season, around 30 volunteers from Network Rail will give up their Christmas Day to work alongside volunteers from homelessness charity St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen. St Mungo’s provides a bed and support to more than 2,700 people a night across England, and Streets Kitchen is a grassroots organisation which feeds 1,000 people on the streets every week.
The 200 guests, invited by St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen, will be arriving at London Euston station from 1100 on Christmas Day, Monday 25 December. The station concourse will be filled with decorations and tables will be laid for dinner so that the guests can enjoy a full Christmas dinner and some company.
More here…
Good effort!
A big Eye welcome to Caroline Murdoch, NR's Group Communications Director designate.
Caroline steps into the shoes vacated by Barney Wyld who left NR's top comms role for Rolls Royce last month.
Caroline currently works for the National Crime Agency, heading up the Corporate Affairs function. She has previously worked at the Met and TfL and brings over 20 years’ experience to Network Rail from national communications, public affairs, crisis communication management, marketing and internal communications within both public and private sectors.
Scot Marchbank continues as interim, until Caroline joins NR in late February/early March 2018.
This via Twitter...
No need for an @raibgovuk investigation to establish the cause here! pic.twitter.com/JnciPWI28L— Michael Holden (@holdmch) August 21, 2017
The scene: A room at 221b Baker Street...
I say Holmes dashed bad luck about Tuesday’s early morning derailment in the middle of the Waterloo possession, eh?
Indeed Watson, the train crew behaved impeccably, but I suspect the consequences of the derailment may impact on the project’s overall timeline.
Quite so Holmes. It was nice of SWT to afford Season Ticket holders 10 days of free travel for putting up with the disruption?
A welcome gesture Watson. Now have you noted the significance of Aslef’s statement on the derailment?
Can’t say I have Holmes, in fact I’m not sure they’ve said anything about it?
That, Watson, is the significance.
This from Rolls-Royce...
Rolls-Royce today announces the appointment of Barney Wyld as Director, Corporate Affairs. Barney will join Rolls-Royce later this year in a new enhanced role.
Barney is currently Group Director, Corporate Communications at Network Rail. He is responsible for all internal and external communications, public affairs and community contact and relations. Barney joined Network Rail from Unilever where he was Global Vice President, Communications. He was initially responsible for global media relations and digital channels and, after that, global employee engagement and stakeholder campaigns. Barney began his career as a speechwriter for a frontbench MP in the UK parliament.
Barney will leave Network Rail in 'about five months time'.
Of course, as any ful kno, some of Royces most important engineering facilities are to be found in Derby - which just happens to be the city at the Heart of the Railway industry!
Yet further proof, should it be needed, that all roads ultimately lead to the Shire. That is all.
This from the Samaritans...
15,000 rail staff trained by Samaritans in suicide prevention
Around 1 in 6 rail staff is now trained to prevent people taking their lives on the railway, as part of the suicide prevention partnership between Samaritans, Network Rail, British Transport Police (BTP) and the wider rail industry. Potentially life-saving interventions are increasing at the same time.
Between April 2016 and the end of March this year, 1,593* interventions were made across Britain’s rail network by staff, British Transport Police, local police and the public, an increase of 40 percent on the previous year.
In the same period, suicides and suspected suicides on the rail network dropped from 253 to 237**, showing a decline in rail suicides for the second year in a row. This is a fall of 18 percent in two years and 2016/17 represents the lowest yearly figure since 2010.
The scene: A room at 221b Baker Street...
This written answer given by Paul Maynard yesterday:
John Redwood (Wokingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost overruns on major projects at Network Rail have been in the last five years.
Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys): The rail regulator, Office of Rail and Road, publishes annual efficiency and finance assessments of Network Rail. These includes their assessments of Network Rail’s performance in relation to both major enhancement projects and other areas of spend. In their assessment of 2015/16 the ORR noted an ‘enhancements underperformance of £115m’.
These annual assessments can be found here:- http://orr.gov.uk/rail/economic-regulation/regulation-of-network-rail/monitoring-performance/efficiency-and-finance-assessment
This Government has been clear about the affordability and deliverability challenges faced in the current investment programme (Control Period 5 2014-2019). This is why in 2015 Sir Peter Hendy was asked to replan the programme to put it on a more sustainable footing.
Following Sir Peter's review we have revised our approach to major projects. The effective governance the Department has put in place is helping to manage the programme within the fixed funding available.
Thank goodness the "effective governance" put in place will ensure there are no more nasty surprises in CP5...
Private sector to break Welwyn bottleneck
Eye understands that Treasury is close to signing a significant deal on ECML capacity enhancement, involving private sector finance.
The ECML’s greatest capacity limitation is the two track section at Welwyn North. In 2000 Railtrack proposed widening the viaduct and boring new tunnels to provide four tracks throughout, and Eye understands Provisional compulsory purchase orders were put in place.
With the demise of Railtrack these schemes lapsed and the 2000 plan is now, of course, seen as politically unacceptable, not least by local MP Michael Green.
An internal NR document seen by Eye headed - Project: Rail-Loop (F) - which has already cleared most GRIP stages, proposes Welwyn North Base Tunnel (WNBT).
Engineering studies are believed to suggest a tunnel built to the same maximum 2.5% gradient specified for HS2 would be both feasible and less intrusive. As well as an acceptable alternative to doubling the viaduct plus second tunnels parallel to the existing bore.
The document says:
"Within the HS2 parameters the 1.4 mile ramps would place the southern portal of the WNBT on the disused sidings to the East of Welwyn Garden City station. At its deepest the tunnel would run some 25 metres, below the surface of the Mimram Valley and the viaduct, before climbing to the surface and joining the existing ECML alignment beside the North portal of the existing tunnel near Woolmer Green Junction. At Crossrail speeds tunnelling would take around a year."
Eye understands that final sign off from Treasury and DfT on WNBT is dependent on Chris Gibb’s review into the 2018 Thameslink timetable. As the proposed Thameslink TT renders EMT and VTEC service enhancements almost undeliverable additional capacity is desperately required.
The construction of WNBT would be independent of the existing railway aside from the connections at each end. Making an ideal candidate for private finance, attractive to both funders and existing consortia, especially those with suitable tunnelling machines released from current schemes.
Operational benefits would include separation of local and Thameslink services from long distance trains. Depending on the speed in the new tunnels there could also be a slight reduction in journey times.
DfT and NR were unable to comment.
This from Virgin Trains East Coast...
"Four trains spanning four generations will travel side by side, in the same direction, along the East Coast Main Line on April 23 2017.
"This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world famous Flying Scotsman travel alongside two trains from Virgin Trains’ revitalised fleet - an HST (Class 43), an intercity225 (Class 91) - and the rail operator’s brand new train, the Virgin Azuma (Class 800) which is being built by Hitachi in the North East, and will come into service in 2018.
"The four trains will travel together for several miles north of York to showcase the past, present and future of rail travel."
A nice of bit Beardie Rail PR that should look stunning from the air.
The event is being supported by Welcome to Yorkshire, Network Rail and the National Railway Museum.
Does Eye detect the hand of Stanton?
Some nice NR infographics appearing on Twitter...
This from the Deep Alliance...
Perhaps a little more polish on the voice over required?
Otherwise very good.
Good news for those hoping Cornwall remains part of the national network, despite the weather!
Mr Carne, 54, studied engineering at Exeter University
and is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. He has strong Cornish
roots and is an Independent Governor of Falmouth University. He is married with
three children
That is all.
This from Harry Kane...
As the UK is threatened by yet another major storm overnight, thoughts are with all those working to keep the network open and passengers and freight on the move.
This week’s severe disruption of course serves to remind us all of the critical role that railways play in the national economy, as well as to the country's well being.
Something that Robin Gisby no doubt highlighted at COBRA this week, under the agenda item ‘Money No Object’.
This from the Daily Mail...
Anna Matthews has sparked a ‘British jobs for British workers’ row between her firm DeltaRail and the rail infrastructure company on which it relies for 70 per cent of its business.
Matthews says three foreign consortia have been short-listed by Network Rail for a major multi-billion pound Traffic Management signalling contract in the UK.
Anna Matthews is infuriated Network Rail has allocated £70m to help the foreign contenders develop their bids
Yet she claims her own cutting-edge business, which has developed an advanced real-time computer-controlled train signalling system, has been shunted into the sidings and dropped from the bidding.
Ouch!
The ability to speak truth unto power is yet another reason why we need more Women in Rail!
No, not that one!
This from Insider Media...
Hull-based Spencer Group has appointed an experienced industry figure as chief executive of its Spencer Rail business.
With more than 30 years' experience in the rail industry, David
McLoughlin is currently the finance and commercial director for the
infrastructure projects division within Network Rail.
McLoughlin, who will report to the Spencer Group board, has held this
position for three years with a remit to develop and implement new
commercial arrangements for its national and major capital projects.
A high profile departure none-the-less.
This from the Grauniad...
"Network Rail has invested funds into the project is a great sign for
the solar industry," she said. "They're an old English institution and
they're looking to the future to make investments into non-core
technologies for the business, and that's a great statement that other
large corporations in the country can start realising."
Who knew?
UPDATE: This from Howard Wade...
Yes indeed, one of the oldest English institutions, with a proud history going back in to the mists of time to er, October 2002.
In fact not that long after the the railway came to Derby... (that's quite enough gratuitous Derby175 plugs! Ed)
This from the Highways Agency...
Elaine Holt and Tom Smith will provide valuable insight and leadership in helping the Highways Agency to maintain, operate and improve England’s major roads, as well as preparing for the biggest investment in the country’s road network for 40 years. Both take up their roles this month.
A marriage made in heaven!
Meanwhile, come 1st September - Network Rail, be afraid, be very afraid...
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