Welcome SEPTEMBER 2013 ISSUE 195 £3.95 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR RAIL www.railpro.co.uk


Moving with the times


Norman Baker MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport on Access for All, staff at stations, the passenger voice in franchising and running his own station


Plus...


Autumn predictions for rail.


Is the average


commuter still with us? The agenda for more rail freight. What have we learned from accidents? UK rail: a continuing growth story.


Women in Rail on greater diversity in the industry Latest developments in station refurbishment


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LORNA SLADE editor@railpro.co.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR


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Editor’s Note T


In this month’s Rail Professional interview, it’s clear that Norman Baker MP,


Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, is incredibly proud of the rail industry’s huge success, but to describe changes to arrangements as ‘phantom’ is not borne out by the facts: TfL looks set to introduce Driver Only Operation on the whole of the London Overground with the axing of 130 guards (who as we went to press, had voted for strike action). What timing then, that the recent emergency evacuation of 100 passengers at LO’s Kentish Town station was led by the guard, and LOROL admitted his prompt actions saved the day. On stations, ‘Just because someone’s worked in the booking office since 1838 doesn’t


mean that same person should always be doing the same thing,’ said Baker. ‘It may well be that they aren’t necessarily helpful to somebody on the platform who’s having difficulties.’ Are we to assume then, that they will be expected to do two different jobs and run between the ticket office and the platform - possibly to assist the greater numbers of disabled people travelling? Although, thankfully, assaults on rail staff are down, the BTP’s latest figures show


the first increase in violent crime across the network in six years. At the same time, a recent TUC survey of 1,031 disabled travellers showed that more than a quarter have been targeted for abuse at stations or on trains. Again, how does this sad reality and the prospect of fewer staff to turn to reconcile with the ambitions of Access for All and PRMTSI/RVAR regulations?


Baker is ‘very keen that people who are travelling on the railway have access to a human being in some shape or form.’ And while he is right about times moving on, we need to be realistic about the potential for this to become a significant issue - keeping empathic, well-trained humans in human shapes and forms is imperative. The rapid success of the Women in Rail group is very encouraging and


congratulations go to Angel Trains lawyer Adeline Ginn for founding it. Read about WiR’s impressive new mentoring scheme on page 19: a lot of thought and preparation went into this unique initiative, but as Adeline would say, it’s typical of women to do the job properly. Passenger Focus’s response to the latest round of fare rises hit the nail on the head:


‘Train companies cannot explain to an individual passenger why their fare has gone up by a certain amount. That is not transparent or fair.’ The industry says it wants greater levels of engagement with passengers and to enjoy their trust. It has to be consistent then. Clear communication on why fares have gone up by a certain amount on certain routes is a start.


Lorna Slade Editor


Speciality Greases- making a point of being on time.


www.klueber.com tel: 01422 015515 sales@uk.klueber.com


your global specialist September 2013 Page 3


he massive government investment in step free access to stations and better train accessibility will make a real difference to the disabled and those with reduced mobility, and encourage more to travel by rail.


But as these superb plans take shape, shouldn’t we think about how they will be impacted by guard and station staff reductions?


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