Interview
Norwood Junction (before)
Norwood Junction (after)
LOROL’s lessons
So what advice would LOROL give to others in a similarly structured network? For Mark Eaton it would be to build ‘rock solid partnerships or alliances, including with NR, because ultimately you are changing its assets.’ For Peter Kalton, having a clear scope of what a refurbishment is right at the beginning is important. ‘You need to get everyone to buy into it because you don’t want to get to the end and have a mismatch between stakeholders on what’s going to be delivered.’ Speaking of contractors, Peter Kalton points out ‘We do seem to come across the same companies and I think the industry needs more. Even on small-scale works, while we want to use a contractor that’s familiar with the rail environment, we do seem to go around in circles with the same few names.’
Maintaining the look TfL’s concession also has rigid specifications around presentation of the stations as Mark Eaton explained: ‘Now that they have been refurbished, it’s important not to let standards slide and the contract incentivises us to focus on those areas.’ Peter Kalton remembers the KPI regime for keeping standards at stations as ‘very challenging when it first came in because it was new to the industry in a way. The thoroughness and scope that we faced was much greater than any train operator had encountered before.’
I wondered if LOROL had been aware of that at the time?
‘Yes we were but things still went through,’ said Eaton, ‘It’s one thing to see something on a tender document but trying to get our head around how it might work in practice meant a fairly sharp learning curve, which was tough but ultimately rewarding.’
A social and economic boost
LOROL’s programme has paid off in a number of ways. There have been lots of rewarding conversations with local user groups and customers who, as Peter Kalton proudly says, ‘have put pressure on other areas of the rail industry using LOROL as an example of best practice.’
Station refurbishments have also helped with the social mobility of London according to Mark Eaton. ‘They form part of a package of what the Overground offers, which has made it easier for folk to get around from borough to borough, opening up job opportunities.’
Is station refurbishment a means to an end in itself? ‘Probably not’, believes Eaton, ‘but it would have been a tremendous shame if we had made all the other improvements but left the front door looking dowdy.’
London Overground’s Hatch End station won a National Rail Award for Small Station of the Year
Located on the Watford Junction to Euston line, Hatch End was recognised as a model urban commuter station and commended for its security, manning of the station, CCTV and Help Line support staff. The station’s heritage buildings were recognised as being ‘lovingly’ restored, and the look and feel of the booking office have made it smart and secure, said the judges. Platform shelters and heated waiting rooms have enhanced the passenger experience and electronic information screens and public address systems keep them informed.
March 2013 Page 25
A model urban station
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