What sort of fresh hell is this?
RSSB's 2017/18 Business Plan eschews old fashioned nonsense like photographs for vibrant avatar style imagery.
Here is the image that graces CEO Mark Phillips' forward...
This from the British Transport Police Authority...
I am writing to inform you that Esther McVey has formally resigned her position as Chairman and her membership of the British Transport Police Authority following her selection as the Conservative Party candidate for the Tatton Constituency in the upcoming General Election. Esther, who was formally selected as a prospective parliamentary candidate on 26 April, has been Chairman since November 2015.
Mark Phillips, the current Deputy Chairman, will be fulfilling the duties of Chairman until a permanent replacement can be appointed. Mark, who has been a member of BTPA since September 2013, has a background in rail, having worked for British Rail, Railtrack and National Express. He is currently Chief Executive of the RSSB.
Tatton was the constituency of the former Chancellor, George 'Many Jobs' Osborne.
Good news for fans of electrification!
This from the Sunday Times, yesterday....
"The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued the warnings because diesel fumes have been reclassified as a “grade 1 carcinogen”, meaning they are a “definite cause of cancer”. As many as 500,000 UK jobs are affected."
No doubt ORR and RSSB will soon be issuing appropriate guidance?
This from RSSB...
RSSB announces new Chief Executive
RSSB has announced that Chris Fenton, formerly Director of Marketing and Strategy at Amey, is to be its new Chief Executive. Chris will join the organisation on 6 January 2014 and will take over from Len Porter who retires at the end of March 2014 as Chief Executive of RSSB.
As a Managing Director at Amey, Chris re-established Amey’s Business Services activities as a profitable and key activity for the company before taking responsibility for the company’s interest in Tube Lines in a complex period of political change and economic challenge. Prior to that, he was Managing Director for the testing and inspection division of BSI, after an early international career in Courtaulds. Common to all his roles has been a desire to get the most from an organisation through clear strategic goals and building strong teams. He trained as a material scientist at Cambridge and has an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Chris is also a Non-Executive Director at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority since March 2012 and sits on both their audit and remuneration committees.
Eye wishes Chris all the best in his new role. Len will be a hard act to follow...
This from the Commander...
In regard to the view of the glossy pic adorning RailTalk in this month’s edition of Captain Deltic’s flagship publication showing LUL’s new ‘S’ stock’ red front end, is there a difference I’ve missed in the requirements for National Rail and LUL?
One notices the Overground ELL units with their yellow front ends, and one remembers the SNCF having to adorn their beautiful casse-nez BB 22000s with yellow protuberances in case they ventured into the daylight at Folkestone.
Again, on mixed LUL/NR infrastructure areas, according to LUL Track Awareness, on receiving a warning from a train driver staff should move to a place of safety and then acknowledge, where as the NR PTS requires an acknowledgement before moving to a place of safety, or you’ll fail the exam.
Likewise, do Chiltern units sound the distinctive LUL warning notes on their horns according to their direction of travel where the lines merge north of Harrow?
Sorry to sound a discordant note - perhaps I would be better employed celebrating today's 205th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar!
UPDATE: The Fact Compiler observes...
The absence of a yellow front end on the ICE3 set at St Pancras received much comment on Tuesday.
As most modern trains now have front end lamps than can be seen from deep-space is it perhaps time to review this particular Standard?
Telegrammed by Ithuriel
Good to see RSSB making good use of its £15 million Research Budget and finding topics British Rail Research overlooked.
• T703 Facilitating shared expectations between passengers and front-line staff
That's got to be first for the chop in DafT's value for money review.
UPDATE: This, surprisingly, from the late Enid Blyton...
I was disappointed to to see that RSSB ignored my my extensive oeuvre in this latest research project.
I would have thought that naughty goblins not being able to read the safety notices and thus coming to a sticky end would have been a point worth making in these days of falling child literacy.
UPDATE: This just in from Herr Ernst Mach...
Liebe Fact Compiler just to show that we Austrians have a sense of humour can I say that I was blown over by this latest report from RSSB.
Guidance on protecting people from the aerodynamic effects of passing trains
Very funny, ja?
UPDATE: This from our International Correspondent...
I fear Herr Mach has not entirely understood the issues about aerodynamics of passing trains. Austria does not yet sport a station sign quite as promising as this one at Penrith.
In Britain the passenger comes first!
Tomorrow is International Level Crossing Awareness Day.
No, nor did Eye.
Network Rail has started sending out press releases to remind people of the death toll from level crossing abuse:
European Country/Total number of persons killed by level-crossing accidents in 2008
Hungary 118
Germany 52
Czech Republic 43
Romania 42
Poland 40
France 38
Latvia 27
Austria 25
The Netherlands 18
Spain 17
Portugal 17
Slovakia 17
Great Britain 15
But still the national infrastructure operator and RSSB cannot be bothered to create a dedicated website promoting safe use of level crossings.
One that could command pan industry support, involving NR, RSSB, TOCs, Heritage Railways, DafT, the BTP, the Highways Agency, schools, community groups, etc...
Something along the lines of Operation Lifesaver in Canada and the US.
Is it stubbornness or a 'not invented here' syndrome that stops them doing this?
Fingers out chaps and get on with it.
Paul Thomas is appointed Chairman of RSSB
Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) today announced the appointment of Paul Thomas CB as its Chairman.
Mr Thomas has spent time in both the Royal Navy and the civil nuclear industry.
Announcing a new strategic research programme, including £15 million of Government funding, Glasgow Tom said:
"This programme will help the industry achieve the challenging long term goals set out in the White Paper, such as doubling rail capacity and further reducing the carbon footprint of rail transport in a safe and cost-effective way.”
According to Tom, before the first projects start in 2009, RSSB will work with DfT and the industry on ‘route-mapping’ - paving the way for an industry vision of what fulfilling the Rail Technical Strategy means, and how the new research programme can support it.
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