News


SWT and Network Rail tackle performance dip with joint plan


by Paul Clifton


South West Trains and Network Rail have announced a joint plan to recover from a sharp dip in performance.


SWT’s annual performance is running at


92.5 per cent, but dropped to below 87 per cent in January. The train operator says that is partly due to a doubling of fatalities on its routes to 44 in the past year, along with a five-fold increase in cable thefts. ‘Cable theft delays increased from 3,000


minutes to 17,000 minutes in less than a year,’ managing director Tim Shoveller told Rail Professional. ‘Faced with that, we’re having to run flat-out even to stand still in terms of performance statistics. We can improve in lots of other areas, but the performance figures would still go backwards.’


Breaking down the statistics, around a


quarter of the delays are down to South West Trains, with just under a third due to Network Rail’s shortcomings. The rest are ascribed to ‘unforeseen circumstances’. ‘This morning a lady drove her car onto


the tracks at Brockenhurst level crossing. She apparently thought it was the entrance to the car park, and she drove 80 metres down the line,’ said Shoveller. ‘It took two hours to remove the car.’ The action plan will include faster service


recovery from such incidents, in particular following fatalities and cable theft. There will


‘SWT’s annual performance is running at 92.5 per cent, but dropped to below 87 per cent in January’


be more preventative track and signalling maintenance, including more remote diagnostic equipment on the lines between Clapham Junction and Waterloo, where a large proportion of recent delays have occurred. Network Rail has recently replaced 100


pieces of track at Clapham Junction. South West Trains promises better customer information, including alternative route plans to help passengers work out their journeys


Gatwick passes from Network Rail to Southern


n


Southern has taken control of Gatwick Airport station, which was previously run by Network Rail.


The airport interchange was


one of the smallest stations handled by Network Rail. Redevelopment of the station is planned, as it is one of the biggest bottlenecks on the line from London Victoria to Brighton. A small number of Network


Rail station staff have transferred


their employment to Southern. Southern director David Scorey said: ‘It was the obvious thing to do and I know that airline passengers and commuters alike will benefit tremendously from this move.’ Network Rail’s route managing


director Mark Ruddy added: ‘We agreed that Southern is well placed to manage day-to-day operations. This will give passengers the consistency of customer service across the whole route.’


during disruption. Richard O’Brien, Network Rail’s route managing director for Wessex, said: ‘In recent months, SWT passengers have not had the high levels of service and punctuality they have been used to, for which we apologise. ‘There is no single cause of the problems. The new plan will make it easier for our engineers to access the railway to try to prevent infrastructure failures before they cause delays.’


Scottish grants ‘still fall short’


The Scottish government has announced a boost to its grant scheme for freight projects. The Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) will be funded to the tune of £0.75m next year, rising to £4.5m in 2014-15. But David Spaven of the Rail Freight Group said more money was needed to meet green targets. ‘When FFG was reprieved last year there were 19 expressions of interest,’ he said. ‘Only four of those were approved because of the limited budget.’


Paid industry placements offered The Track and Train scheme


Network Rail has recruited more than 25 companies across the rail sector to sign up to a new scheme to help up to 100 graduates get their careers on track by launching a new cross-industry, paid internship scheme.


will provide varied experience over 18 months, with graduates doing three placements: one at Network Rail and two at either a passenger or freight operator or another company within the rail sector.


MARCH 2012 PAGE 9


www.railimages.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40