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UK RAIL NEWS
UPMAIN
Tram 106, near Sheffield railway station,
Neasden takes charge
with a service to Halfway.
teamwork we’re seeing fromThe Jubilee line control centre cular layout to ensure they can
London Underground meansat Neasden is to be re-fitted and easily communicate with each
revamped enabling the centre other. we’re confident all will run
to manage the whole line. Says Conrad Fawcett, senior according to plan. When the
Neasden once the butt of project manager at Tube Lines, changeover is complete, ser-
‘Private Eye’ jokes and birth- ‘It’s a tough job to completely vice controllers will have a
place of model Twiggy, is now refit a live control centre, but state-of-the-art base to provide
poised to take charge of the our careful planning and the the best passenger services.’
successful Jubilee Line. The
new Neasden centre control
team will be able to manage Artist's impression of
the whole line – from completed upgrade.
Stanmore to Stratford, freeing
up space and resources at Green light for trams
Baker Street where the other
control room is situated.
New technology and desk
layouts will make Neasden one More trams could soon be carried out on the infrastruc- priority at traffic signals. This
of the most advanced line con- plying the streets of Sheffield ture. Sheffield’s tramways simple measure would see
trol bases in the world. Instead as South Yorkshire Passenger have enough capacity to some peak hour journeys
of a classroom layout which is Transport Executive reviews accept extra services. However reduced by over four min-
typical of control centres, ser- plans to extend its fleet. if extra cars were to be insert- utes. Says David Brown,
vice controllers will sit in a cir- Rail chiefs are increasingly ed into the train sets, plat- director general of SYPTE,
concerned at over-crowding forms would have to be ‘This strategy maps out the
on the popular network. lengthened – time consuming way in which we believe we
Happily, if extra sets are and costly. can get the best out of the
ordered, there would be no Another option under con- network in the coming years
need for additional work to be sideration is to give trams and build upon its success.’
New brand for WYG
WYG has unveiled its new brand following an extensive
review.
The new brand has been designed to represent the best val- Crewe change for Arriva
ues of all companies across the Group. Says CEO Lawrie
Haynes, ‘A strong brand is a very powerful asset and we
needed to evolve an identity that would modernise and Arriva has taken over Crewe- LNWR’s managing director, vices every day to the UK rail
strengthen WYG, particularly at a time when distinguish- based maintenance company, Mark Knowles, will continue industry.’
ing competitive advantage is crucial.’ London and North Western to lead the team of approxi- Arriva plans to expand the
WYG has made a number of successful acquisitions Railway Co. Ltd. mately 110 rail engineers and depot and attract more work as
including Savell Bird & Axon; Adams Kara Taylor; Pioneered by music producer the business will continue to traffic on the WCML grows.
Tweeds and Nolan Ryan. The WYG Group is an Award and RailStaff Awards host, Pete trade as LNWR. Says Bob Says Mark Knowles, ‘We have
winning multidisciplinary consultant delivering engi- Waterman, LNWR was Holland, managing director of assembled a great team at
neering, design and project management solutions for launched in 1996. Since then Arriva’s UK Trains division, Crewe. We have invested in
clients across a broad range of sectors including railways, the depot, which has grown ‘LNWR has grown into a spe- creating a versatile and skilled
healthcare, education, defence, infrastructure and energy. from a former Victorian carriage cialist facility capable of com- group of train maintenance
shed, has seen £3 million of peting with some of the professionals and trained
investment and now maintains largest international groups. It apprentices at a time when
stock for Bombardier, Siemens, has an impressive workforce very few rail businesses were
Freightliner and Arriva Trains and facility which provides prepared to make that com-
Wales. high quality maintenance ser- mitment.’
Sure touch
the basics of how a train Hawarden station used to letA blind man who has long
works,’ says David. ‘I never me wave the flag on the plat-nursed an ambition to drive a
thought it would be so utterly form and pull some of thetrain has had it answered by Southern Comfort
realistic as this. It just tells you levers to operate the signals. sympathetic staff at First
straightaway that blindness I think that it was very gener-ScotRail.
The 45 year-old Keith man, doesn’t stop you from doing ous of First ScotRail to have said Southern Railways is hiring towards improving our pas- recognised that good manage-
called David, has been function- nothing, absolutely nothing.’ yes. It was a completely new new security guards from top sengers’ experience, and to ment liaison, strategic plan-
ally blind since birth. However, The opportunity came about experience for me and I really supplier Octavian Security Ltd. create a crime-free travel envi- ning and officer continuity is
First ScotRail allowed him to try while David was undertaking a looked forward to it. It’s nice to East Croydon, East Grinstead ronment. Octavian is helping crucial when working in a pas-
out one of its £1m training sim- course at the Royal National get a chance to do something and Oxted stations will all ben- us to achieve this. They have senger focussed environment.’
ulators in Glasgow. The simula- Institute of Blind People, that’s not just reserved for peo- efit from the platform pres-
tors – exact replicas of train cabs Scotland’s Employment and ple with sight loss.’ ence of specially trained teams
– are so realistic that drivers can Learning Centre in Edinburgh. Says John Yellowlees, First in a bid to drive down anti-
forget they are training in a vir- On hearing of David’s long- ScotRail’s external relations social behaviour and prevent
tual reality world. standing ambition, the centre’s manager, ‘We are very pleased violence towards rail staff and
David has a genetic eye con- development officer, Grace to have helped David realise passengers.
dition that only allows him to Spiers, contacted First ScotRail. his childhood ambition. The Says Joe O’Meara, retail man-
see shadowy shapes in good ‘I’d mentioned to Grace that simulators are in demand for ager for Southern Railway, ‘We
light, but he was able to make I’d always longed to drive a in-service training but we’re have been greatly encouraged
out enough on the simulator’s train,’ said David. ‘I think it happy to make an exception by the helpful nature of both
screen, as well as the tactile comes from when I was a boy for David. Some of our trains the staff and management
feel of the controls, to thor- travelling from my home in travel as fast as 240km per team at Southern Railway.
oughly enjoy his experience of Wales to the Royal Wavertree hour, so our drivers need to be Together we have made a true
train driving. Blind School in Liverpool. I among the most skilled in the partnership and alliance that
‘It was absolutely brilliant, even remember going on one world. The simulator is as near we hope will continue long
just amazing, and the staff of the last steam trains on the as anyone can possibly get to into the future.
were so helpful in explaining line. The stationmaster at driving a real train.’ We are always working
8 | RailStaff | December 2008
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