LONDON UNDERGROUND
Wider benefits
Aside from revolutionising incident response on the Underground, this initiative could have significant potential for use elsewhere on the network, suggested.
Horton Streamlining
Above: Jon Lamonte, Tube Lines Chief Executive, Mike Brown, Managing Director at London Underground and Alan Pacey, Asssistant Chief Constable with the BTP.
He explained: “We look at incidents in a different light. We know that if there’s an issue with a fire in a tunnel that actually we’re going to have trains stalled in the tunnel, we would normally be responding to that. It’s about sharpening our tools: why respond to it 40 minutes after we know there’s an issue? Why not do the initial response? It’s a different way of thinking for BTP.”
Stalled trains have often been the biggest challenge to fast BTP response times, he said, as they would only normally be informed of such an incident after 20-30 minutes, when it became apparent that LU could not resolve the issue quickly enough, rather than immediately.
The BTP work to manage passengers, escort them out of the train if necessary and deal with public disorder issues and frustration, which can be exacerbated by a long wait in a hot Underground train.
Now the process has been streamlined through an initial incident assessment that asks the question: “Does LU know what the problem is and can we resolve it?”
If the answer is no, then BTP is alerted by default, which means their response time can be shortened to ten minutes.
Horton said: “It’s that passenger focus in terms of what’s the right thing to do.”
An agreement to extend the trial has been confirmed, with Stratford identified as the next site to benefit from the model. Due to its location near the Olympic Games site, the scheme is due for implementation just ahead of the opening ceremony on July 17.
being able to control access to the railway.
On longer and sometimes remote lines, a single response could boost effectiveness. The BTP generally arrive first on the scene, but remain unable to act without information concerning the infrastructure affected and
This is especially true for an incident such as cable theft, Horton added, which requires a presence from both the industry and the police.
“Certainly for national rail operators, it
would be even more of a benefit due to some of the distances their staff have to travel to emergencies.”
Discussions with the industry are now ongoing to showcase what the trial can achieve, and this has been met with interest, Horton said.
In terms of rolling the scheme out to other parts of the national rail network, Holness welcomed the idea.
“Anything that can assist in improving the performance of the railway and at the same time improve safety has got to be a positive thing.
“Clearly the BTP have a primary role and we need to be careful that we don’t dilute their role at all, but I think it would be a positive thing for the rail industry to continue the approach.”
Other ideas which have come out of the work include incorporating a joint response to fatalities, with a senior crime officer on board to speed up long suspensions and delays to rail services, and this is now being explored by the BTP.
Certain BTP officers working on the Underground have also received extra medical training and a joint training facility has been built for Underground and BTP staff to undergo joint scenario training.
Christopher Horton FOR MORE INFORMATION
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rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 12 | 43 Nigel Holness
Developing the right deployment through the BTP control room was initially challenging, Horton admitted, as the aim was to remove any delays in the process to make it “as streamlined as possible”.
As it was a new trial, things had to be worked through properly and thought through carefully, especially concerning ownership and supply of the vehicles to be designated as part of the police fleet. However, the model has been “very successful”, he said, with response on both parts “much more effective and quicker”.
Holness praised the common objective of a swifter response as the ‘glue’ that has helped the initiative become such a success.
“It’s gone remarkably smoothly to be honest: it’s been very well supported, it’s innovative, it’s different and it’s gone extremely well.”
Since the trial began, the average response to emergencies has been cut from 6.5 minutes per mile to 3 minutes per mile and the response to fatalities on the Underground has seen the average time for a fatality fall from 82 minutes to 65 minutes – “which for LU is massive,” Horton said. “Almost 20 minutes, for a station in central London is a massive, massive cost, and the value to lost customer hours is huge!
“This is certainly a model that BTP would consider exploring with Network Rail and other train operating companies in the future,” he concluded.
“It’s all about building collaboration, building the teamwork,” Holness said. “BTP understand the Underground’s business and the [safety] pressures that we’re under,” he added. “If you have a problem on the Underground you end up with trains stuck in tunnels. The importance of responding very quickly is absolutely critical.”
© TfL
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