Right track issue 7

RIGHT

ISSUE 7 // OCTOBER 2013

MOM’s the word
THE INDUSTRY’S BEST KEPT SECRET OF
HOW THE RAILWAY KEEPS RUNNING

VIEW FROM THE CAB

NOWT WRONG WITH
HERITAGE

RAIB REPORT BRIEF:
CHARING CROSS

Part of the
operational
safety programme
sponsored by
industry

RIGHT

headlamp
Welcome to Issue 7 of Right Track
Rewriting the rules
Back in the day, when an accident occurred, a
new rule was written to mitigate it. This created
a huge number of rules, so many in fact that it
was clear something had to be done about it.
And now it has…

‘trackworker’, ranging from anyone needing to
go on or near the line and those roles who have
the responsibility for arranging safe systems of
work to protect staff through to those arranging
technical or engineering works.

A four-year project to completely change the
Rule Book has just been completed, making it
much simpler, shorter and easier to use. This the ‘New Approach’ - represented the biggest
comprehensive review of the rules since the
current ‘modular’ version was introduced in
2003.

An additional modular sized handbook has
been created for all roles across the industry,
whether operational or engineering, which have
a requirement to recognise and understand the
meanings of signals, handsignals, indicators
and signs.

So what was actually wrong with it? Well,
the review revealed that many rules were
duplicated unnecessarily. Some were legal
requirements rather than rules, others had no
national application or were specific to one
company. What’s more, the rules weren’t
grouped in a way that could best support
the way railway people worked and weren’t
keeping up-to-speed with the way the railway
operates today.
This made the Rule Book long and overcomplex for people to use and understand, and
even harder to maintain and publish.
So what’s changed? Step by step, the Rule
Book has been re-written, with the original 48
modules replaced by 32. Nineteen pocketsized handbooks have also been created for

Rules previously shown for certain staff, such
as operations controllers or those covering
management processes, are no longer
contained in the Rule Book as they are better
placed in individual company instructions.
The new rules have come into force in batches
over the course of the project, with the
remainder to follow from 7 December 2013.
In total, the bulk of rules has been reduced
from 1,820 pages to 1,108, although for
individual roles the reductions are even greater.
For example: the rules previously required to be
learned by a basic track worker numbered 115
pages, but they now need only one handbook
of 20.

Right Track is produced by RSSB through cross-industry cooperation. It is designed for the people on the operational front-line
on the national mainline railway, yards depots and sidings and London Underground. Their companies are represented on the
cross-industry Operations Focus Group, managed through RSSB, and Right Track is overseen by a cross-industry editorial group.
RSSB
Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY
Tel 020 3142 5300 Email righttrack@rssb.co.uk www.rssb.co.uk www.opsweb.co.uk
Designed and printed by Urban Juice / Willsons Group Services.

In this issue
Visit the National Park and
read about North Yorkshire
Moors Railway operations
manager Norman Hugill.
Right Track’s Greg Morse
goes nationwide in the
MOM feature, while the
lowdown comes straight
from the cab, and our
fatigue feature is nothing
to yawn about. The RAIB
report review takes us to
Charing Cross and it’s all
about TPWS in SPADtalk.
It’s all here, and much more,
your Right Track...

Contents
2-3 //

Headlamp/
guarding against the
unexpected
4-5 // RAIB report brief:
Charing Cross
06 // The lowdown
07 // Sectional Appendix +
8-9 // Norman Hugill
10-12 // A MOM for all
seasons
13 // (not) slip sliding away
14-15 // Wake me up before
you go-go
Back Page // SPADtalk

Right Track can be
downloaded from Opsweb -

www.opsweb.co.uk

Right Track is designed to share news and views from individual companies in a positive way. However, the views expressed in Right Track are those of the contributing authors; they
do not necessarily reflect those of the companies to which they are affiliated or employed, the editors of this magazine, the magazine’s sponsors - the Operations Focus Group - or the
magazine’s producers, RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board).

02 //

Rule Book

guarding against
the unexpected
Changes in the Rule Book mean that on-board
staff must keep watch of the platform until the
train has left the station.
Accidents at the platform-train interface,
like the one at James Street in October
2011, have focussed minds on what
can be done to improve the way train
dispatch works and how safety can be
improved.
Changes in the Rule Book in June 2013
governing the dispatch of trains now require
guards to stay at the door controls until
the train has completely left the station.
This change is to allow the guard to quickly
respond to visual or audible signals of alarm
that come from the platform, whether from

dispatch staff or the general public on the
platform. Also, dispatch staff must position
themselves on the platform so that the
whole length of the train can be seen.
This change will be the subject of RED37,
due for release towards the end of the year.
For more detail about what these Rule
Book changes mean for drivers, guards and
station staff, await your next briefing, talk
to your line manager or colleagues, contact
the RSSB Enquiry Desk on
enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk

Tried reporTing your HeALTH
& sAfeTy concern inTernALLy?
sTiLL concerned?
need An independenT And
confidenTiAL rouTe?...

Call
Your company is serious about health and safety.
They subscribe to CIRAS because it is part
of their safety strategy.
They want your health and safety concern raised and
resolved. Your best first action is to report it internally.
Use all available channels. However if you need to speak
with someone independent confidentially, call CIRAS.

0800 4 101 101

Freephone
Freepost CIRAS Text 07507 285887

// 03

RAIB report brief:

Charing Cross
‘Mind the gap’ – that’s all you hear if you
catch a Tube train in London. ‘Mind the
gap please…Mind the gap please’. If you
travel regularly, these announcements,
like the interminable recorded messages
on the main line, can become repetitive
and annoying. But, like everything
on the railway – there’s a reason for
everything. On 24 November 2012, we
were reminded why when a passenger
fell between the platform and a moving
train at Charing Cross.

What happened?
On the evening of Saturday 24 November,
the 19:50 from Ramsgate pulled in to
Platform 4 three minutes late at 22:24. This
train was lightly loaded, with only about ten
passengers, who got off and moved along
the platform towards the exits. There were
about 50 people on the platform waiting to
board the train, which was due to form the
22:40 to Ramsgate.
At the same time, passengers were joining
the 22:26 to Dartford, which was standing
in Platform 3 opposite. As its departure
time approached, the last few passengers
who had alighted from the Ramsgate
were approaching the London end of the
platform.
The dispatcher in charge of Platforms 3
and 4 began the dispatch process for the
Dartford about 22:25 – 30 seconds before
it was due to depart. Soon after, the doors
of the train had been closed by its driver,
and the dispatcher was then able to give
the ‘Right Away’ by pressing the button on
the platform control equipment.
Almost immediately afterwards, a woman
who had got off the Ramsgate and had
been walking along the platform fell down
between Platform 3 and the Dartford train,
just ahead of the rear set of doors of the
fourth carriage. Her fall was seen by the
dispatcher, who called out and started
running along the platform.

04 //

Seven seconds later, the train began
to move. Although a passenger on the
train operated the emergency alarm, and
the train stopped after moving about 43
metres, the woman suffered serious injuries.

How?
RAIB established that the cause of the
accident centred around the platform-train
gap and was made worse by the fact that
station staff had no way of stopping the
train once the driver had taken power. In
these aspects, it was similar to the incidents
at Brentwood (28/01/11), King’s Cross
(10/10/11) and James Street (22/10/11).
RAIB chose not to make any new
recommendations, but made the following
observation instead:
‘The railway industry is currently
considering its response to the
recommendations made in the
investigation into the fatal accident at
James Street, Liverpool on 22 October
2011 The investigation into the accident
at Charing Cross has highlighted the risk
associated with particular aspects of
the train dispatch process, the following
points should be addressed by the
industry in its response to the James
Street recommendations:

• The possibility of providing a warning
to people on the platform that a train is
about to move
• A review of the standards relating to the
clearance between trains and platforms
• The practicability of adding gap fillers at
platforms used only by trains travelling
at low speed
• The possibility of providing means
for platform staff to remove the RA
indication after it has been given,
possibly also causing the signal at the
end of the platform to revert to red,
or giving some other indication of an
emergency to the train driver
• The potential for using enhanced radio
systems (such as GSM-R) to provide
a means for platform staff to send an
‘emergency stop’ message to drivers.’
RAIB also said it would be writing to the
ORR ‘to draw its attention to these learning
points as the ORR is already monitoring
the railway industry’s response to the
recommendations made by the RAIB in its
James Street investigation’.

Station Safety
What’s been done?
On 27 March 2013, RSSB and the ORR
held a workshop on the management of
the platform-train interface (PTI), which was
attended by a large number of industry
representatives, including TOCs, Network
Rail and the unions. As a result, RSSB is
working with the industry to develop new
guidance based on some of the ideas put
forward that day.
RSSB has also overseen the re-writing of
the Rule Book module which deals with the
train dispatch (SS1) – see Headlamp on
page 1. The rules relating to dispatch have
been strengthened and clarified. The guard
(where one is provided) is now required to
remain in position at the door controls until
a departing train has passed clear of the
platform.

Furthermore, a proposal is also being
developed for research into the design and
use of devices like gap fillers to reduce the
distance between the train and the platform
edge.
The train operator involved in this incident
– Southeastern – has reported that it is
revisiting its risk assessments for station
operations. It is using an integrated
approach to stepping distance, yellow line
position and dispatch methods, which has
included the involvement of local staff and
train crew representatives in considering
the platform management and dispatch
methods at stations. This process has
been based on a dispatch risk assessment
template produced by RSSB, as part of the
Rail Industry Standard on Passenger Train
Dispatch and Platform Safety Measures
(RIS-3703-TOM), which was published in
March 2013.

Newswire...
Canada: Rail bridge collapses, 5
wagons fall into river
On 2 June 2013, a wheel bearing failure
caused a freight train to derail and strike
a bridge in Northern Ontario. The bridge
then collapsed, causing five wagons
to fall into the Wahnapitae River below.
There were no reported injuries.

Canada: Rail man killed in fall
from moving wagon
On 4 June 2013, a 57-year old
employee of Arrow Reload System was
crushed by a moving wagon at a yard
in Ogden, Calgary. Three wagons were
being shunted from a siding. The worker
was climbing down to apply a hand
brake when he slipped and fell.

Switzerland: Electricity from
overhead rail line arcs to MEWP
On 13 June 2013, two rail workers were
badly injured at Wila when electricity
arced as they were working on the
overhead power lines in a Mobile
Elevated Work Platform (MEWP). The
youngest of the pair was taken to a
hospital in Zurich.

Austria: Two track workers killed
by train
On 20 June 2013, two ŐBB employees
were killed when they were struck by
a local train in the Furstenfeld area of
Steiermark. It is thought that track work
was scheduled and that both men were
working as lookouts.

Canada: Runaway train, derails
and explodes, killing 40+ people
At 22:45 (local time) on 6 July 2013, a
train carrying petroleum crude oil ran
away on a line unprotected by signals
and track circuits. It derailed in the town
of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and a fire
and explosions ensued. More than 40
people were killed. It is estimated at
least 2,000 people from the surrounding
area were evacuated. For more
information, see the RSSB summary on
Opsweb.

Russia: Derailment injures 80+
people
At 17:00 (local time) on 7 July 2013, a
passenger train derailed in southwest
Russia between Krylovskaya and
Kislyakovka. Eighty were injured. Due
to the remote location of the accident,
it took rescue workers over 40 minutes
to reach the site. Initial reports suggest
that the driver’s emergency brake
application may have caused the
derailment after he noticed that the rails
ahead had been distorted by intense
summer heat.

// 05

The lowdown
There are many examples of how Steve has
gone out of his way to help customers, but
the way he dealt with two specific incidents
in recent times is why we believe he stands
out from the crowd.
On Thursday 19 July 2012, Steve was
driving the 17:52 from Liverpool to Norwich.
As he approached the underbridge at
Allington Junction, he noticed that he could
not see any ballast, just a black hole and
sleepers hanging free. He immediately
braked and brought his train to a stand
at the signal just past the bridge, his train
lurching as it did so.

Steve Wilkinson (left) with boss Trevor Hill,
Driver Depot Manager - East
Photo: East Midland Trains

Steve
Wilkinson

Norwich-based driver Steve Wilkinson
is already well known for being an
outstanding member of the East
Midlands Trains team and has a strong
commitment to delivering the best
service to passengers.
Steve has worked in the rail industry for
more than 30 years and is a popular
member of the Norwich team. Not only is
he very talented and able to turn his hand
to anything, he is also totally dedicated to
customer service – an attribute that resulted
in him winning driver of the year at East
Midlands Trains’ first internal Customer
Service Awards in December 2012.

06 //

Once at a stand, Steve contacted the
signaller and advised him of the problem.
He was told that somebody would be called
to remove the tree. Not happy with the
delay this would cause to his passengers,
Steve contacted our control team and
advised that he wanted to try and remove
the tree himself.
So, taking the saw from the emergency
cupboard and with the help of his Senior
Conductor, Steve first removed the tree
blocking the Greater Anglia service, allowing
it to continue; and then used the saw to cut
the tree into four pieces to clear his line.
Steve’s actions got trains on a busy line
running again quickly and minimised the
delays for passengers.

The lowdown:

Darren Ward of
East Midlands
Trains talks
about their
‘award winning’
driver

applied his external hazard warning lights
and the Greater Anglia service was able to
stop before the obstruction.

On both occasions, Steve put his
passengers first and went above and
beyond what was expected of him. A
characteristic that is synonymous with
this customer-focused driver who is so
focussed on reducing delays that he
phones his manager at the end of every
single shift to report any issues and provide
a detailed account of any delays.
Photo: Ian McDonald
Once at the signal, he contacted the
signaller and told him had happened,
adding that he felt it was unsafe for any
other trains to pass over the bridge as it
seemed to be collapsing into the dyke
below. Subsequent investigations by
Network Rail revealed that a bank slip had
occurred at the underbridge due to heavy
rain, and this had resulted in an exposure
of approximately 10 metres of cess and
sleepers. Trains were unable to pass over
the bridge for several days after.

All in all Steve is a dedicated member of
team at Norwich. This commitment to
customers is particularly important at small
out-based depots, which don’t always
have a ready supply of spare drivers to
avoid cancellations and delayed passenger
journeys.

As a result of Steve’s astute observations
and quick actions, a possible disaster was
prevented. Steve, though, took it in his
stride, just putting it down to being part of
his job.
Only a month later, on Thursday 30 August
2012, Steve was again driving a service
between Liverpool and Norwich when he
came across a tree blocking both lines at
Attleborough. As he was bringing his train
to a stand, he saw a Greater Anglia service
coming from the opposite direction. Steve

Photo: Network Rail

route knowledge
Peter Williams talks about Sectional Appendix+, and
how it can help you get better route information.
Sectional Appendix+ is all about helping
you get to extra location-specific
information by using data-links placed
on the Table ‘A’ diagrams (hidden below
the diagrams) of the National Electronic
Sectional Appendix (NESA).

For further information, please contact me
at Network Rail.

The idea came about as a result of an OFG
project looking at the options available to
share route information, which is created
and held by various industry parties.
A lot of work was done to enable Network
Rail’s and RSSB’s IT systems to be aligned,
but after this was achieved, my colleague
Tony Craig designed a spreadsheet of all
Multi-SPAD signals, which was then linked
to the relevant Table ‘A’ Diagrams. This
means any NESA user can click on a link on
the relevant diagram and obtain SPAD data.
This is just the start of something that we
hope will gather pace and support. We are
currently working on adding links to all 761
Signalbox Special Instructions.
At future Ops Focus Group / Industry
forums, we will agree with our industry
partners what other information we might
want to add into the Table ‘A’ diagrams. I
am attending meetings with the Routes,
TOCs, FOCs as well as at ATOC, in an
attempt to promote this concept.

Newswire...
France: Derailed passenger train
mounts platform, killing 6
At 17:14 (local time) on 12 July 2013,
a passenger train derailed at 85 mph
just ahead of Bretigny-sur-Orge station,
killing six and injuring 30. The force
of the derailment caused the last four
carriages of the seven-car train to
divide. They slid towards the station,
coming to rest at angles across the
running lines. One became lodged on
the platform. SNCF says the derailment
was caused by a loose fishplate on
a set of points, which slipped into
the centre of the switch. For more
information, see RSSB’s summary on
Opsweb.

Thailand: Overnight sleeper train
derails, injuring 23 passengers

Peter Williams
Operations Principles Specialist

On 17 July 2013, 23 people were
injured when an overnight sleeper
train derailed in the northern province
of Phrae. The Bangkok-Chiang Mai
service was carrying approximately
300 passengers at the time. All seven
carriages derailed. An investigation has
been launched.

Spain: ‘Talgo’ derails whilst
speeding on a curve, killing 79
At around 20:41 (local time) on 24 July
2013, a passenger train derailed on
a curve four kilometres from Santiago
de Compostela, killing 79 people and
injuring over 140. Media reports say the
train had been travelling at more than
twice the permitted speed of 80 km/h
(50 mph); indeed, the driver himself
is quoted as saying he was ‘going
at 190 [km/h]’. The driver was later
charged with ‘negligent homicide’. It
has also come to light that the driver
was on the telephone to the on-train
conductor, who was seeking to confirm
the arrangements for stopping at a later
station so that a group of passengers
could disembark. For more information,
see RSSB’s summary on Opsweb.

Switzerland: Head-on collision –
40 injured, one driver killed
At 18:45 (local time) on 29 July 2013,
two trains collided just outside Grangesprès-Marnand in Switzerland, killing a
driver and injuring 40 passengers. The
incident involved an S-bahn train from
Payerne that was departing just as a
Regio Express from to Payerne was
pulling in. The section of line is single
tracked, trains crossing at Grangesprès-Marnand during peak hours.
There is speculation that the S-bahn
conductor incorrectly gave the ‘Right
Away’, having mistaken the express for
a freight train in the local sidings.
All Images on this page credited to Network Rail

// 07

Norman Hugill

man of the Moors
Right Track’s Greg Morse talks to the Operations Manager of
the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Set in splendid National Parkland, the
North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR)
is one of the country’s premier heritage
lines. Famed for its appearances in the
Harry Potter films and the much-loved
TV series Heartbeat, it’s a firm favourite
with enthusiasts, children and nostalgia
lovers alike. It’s also big business,
turning over some £3½ - 4 million a
year. A successful heritage railway
requires a successful management and
operations team, which in turn requires
an inspirational leader. For the NYMR,
that man is Norman Hugill.

soon appears to greet us. Today he’s
wearing a crisp collar and tie, as befits a
railway officer, but it isn’t always that way
– when the Olympic Torch travelled on
the line during 2012, Norman donned his
overalls and drove and fired the locomotive.
The Olympics have been lauded as a
success by transport operators in London,
largely because resource, expertise and
knowledge were shared. Sharing is what
the NYMR does every day.
Being born on the old station at Fighting
Cocks on the Stockton & Darlington
Railway – the first public railway in the world

Mention the name to almost any signaller in
the North East – and elsewhere – and they’ll
smile. They’ll tell you all about their Rules
exam and how they sweated for hours as
Norman – in his role as Chief Signalling
Inspector – put them through their paces.
They’ll tell you how they admired his
knowledge, respected his authority, trusted
his judgement. And it’s clear they all still do.
With me today is Network Rail’s Tim
Ballance, a member of the Right Track
Editorial Group and a former signaller
himself passed out by Norman. We pull
up outside Pickering station and our host

08 //

Norman with Station Foreman, Eric Jackson
and Carriage Cleaning Supervisor, Craig Binns.

– Norman was perhaps destined to join the
industry. But like many of his generation, it
was a family thing, his father also working
for the railway. Indeed, his son Adrian has
followed him into the rail industry working
for Angel Trains based in Derby.
His own career started in 1965, when he
became a ‘box boy’ at Darlington South,
a busy installation on the East Coast Main
Line. The main duty here was to record
all the trains that passed the box in the
train register, although, as he explains, ‘it
was much more than that – it was really
an apprenticeship for signalling, as you
learned from the signalman everything there
was to know about working that box’. The
apprenticeship paid dividends for by 18,
Norman had passed as a signaller and by
21 was back at Darlington South – only this
time it was to take charge.
By 1977, he had become an Area Inspector
in the Eastern Region, and with nine pits
and two power stations on his patch, it
was here that he really learned his trade in
mishap management. ‘With all that freight
moving about,’ says Norman, ‘you were
virtually guaranteed a derailment every
week!’ This would stand him in good stead

in the years ahead, as he would be involved
with the investigation into the SPAD and
collision at Ladbroke Grove in 1999, and
would be the Rail Incident Officer not only
at Hatfield, but also Great Heck and Potters
Bar. In Norman’s experience, accidents and
incidents bring a good team closer together
– true of the main line; true of the NYMR.
After a stint at York as Relief Manager and
a spell as HST Fleet Controller for the East
Coast and Midland Main Lines, Norman
moved to Railfreight Distribution (RfD),
British Rail’s freight subsector for container
and wagonload traffic. RfD also dealt with
munitions trains for the MoD, of which there
were plenty at the time, the first Gulf War
being in full flow.
During his time with BR, Norman worked
with a wide range of people across a large
number of disciplines and departments. I
suggest he’s been all things to all men. He
nods and explains that it was one of the
reasons the NYMR came to him after he
left Network Rail in December 2006. ‘They
wanted someone with a lot of experience,’
he explains, ‘but they also wanted someone
who also understood the modern railway,
as they were then about to start working
with Network Rail to take trains over the
national network into Whitby.’ The Whitby
services have been a roaring success
– so successful in fact, that NYMR is in
discussion with Network Rail with a view to
bringing a second platform into use at the
seaside terminus.
Did you know...?
In order to run on the Network Railowned section of line from Grosmont
to Whitby, NYMR locomotives have
to be fitted with AWS and TPWS.
NYMR also attends the LNE
OPSRAM meetings and is the
only heritage line in Britain to input
accident and incidents to the national
Safety Management Information
System computer database.
Tim asks how Norman goes about creating
a safety culture across his team, which
includes some 100 full-time staff and
around 400 volunteers. ‘We do have a
huge mix of people,’ Norman agrees. ‘Our
volunteer staff can be lawyers, bankers or
ex-drivers or signallers. But what they all
have in common is a passion for the railway
and a passion for it to succeed.’ This
means doing things right, but – as Norman
explains – it works best on heritage lines
when you take people with you. Sometimes
that means getting your hands dirty,

mucking in, helping out – stepping in as
a guard, driver, fireman, signaller or MOM
whenever needed. Yet the fact that Norman
can do all these jobs himself also means
he knows how it should be done when
assessing his team.
‘We have rules,’ he goes on. ‘In fact we
have two sets – our own and the national
Rule Book for the Whitby section. Our own
internal Rule Book is based on that which
applied to BR in 1972, but with updates for
today’s safety requirements, and this very
much fits our current operations. Likewise
we recognise that we have to work to the
RGS GE/RT 8000 when operating over
Network Rail infrastructure. We also issue
Periodic Operating Notices and have
banned the use of portable electronic
devices in cabs and signalboxes for the
distractions they present.’ But though
it might be a microcosm of the national
network, the breadth of NYMR’s safety
responsibilities is the same as any other
TOC working over Network Rail. Yet the
NYMR is also an infrastructure manager
and rolling stock maintainer with skilled staff
in all areas. Size isn’t everything though,
and one of the benefits of a relatively small
operation is that Norman knows his staff
probably better than most. Furthermore:
‘We are small enough to be able to
continually assess our staff. We do rideouts with guards, for example, and watch
them while they’re working. Then we have
a chat and try to help them in any areas
where they’re having problems. We also
do random drug and alcohol tests twice a
year.’
Did you know...?
It can take up to 5 years to become
an NYMR driver. The successful
applicant must start as a cleaner,
before becoming a ‘passed’
cleaner (ie, passed to fire a steam
locomotive). From there, he/she can
become a fireman, then a ‘passed’
fireman before finally earning the right
to call themselves ‘driver’.

The NYMR has training packages just like
any national company, focussing on higherrisk areas like shunting, ground frame
operation and train dispatch. In the case
of the latter, Norman raises a wry smile.
‘I was interested to read in Right Track 5
about the problems faced by people who
operate heritage trains on the main line. We
understand completely about passengers
who’d rather put themselves in danger to
get that perfect photograph, or get a better
look at our coupling operations – we have
that sort of thing every day! We also use
slam door stock with no central locking
and – at Pickering – have a curved platform
which means that the guard is unable to
see the whole train during the dispatch
process.’
‘This isn’t about playing trains,’ he goes
on. ‘We take it very seriously and never
dispatch a train without a full complement
of staff to make sure we are safe to set
off.’ We watch such a process, as the
line’s resident B1 4-6-0 takes out a Whitby
service. The attention to safe working
practices is indeed every bit as professional
as the national network – the difference is
that here the brass buttons are brighter and
the smiles are broader.

Norman with Tim
Management team meetings – with
Norman, the Signalling Inspector, Guard
Inspector, Senior Booking Clerks and
Control Office staff – are held once a
month, but Norman is in touch with all his
staff on a daily basis. As we walk back
along the platform, he has a word for every
member of the team – and they have for
him. It’s clear that part of NYMR’s great
success – it only recently won a prestigious
tourism award – is down to Norman’s
professionalism, depth of knowledge and
his genuine interest in people.
With thanks to Tim Ballance.

// 09

a MOM for
all seasons

Staff respond to an incident where a mini-motorcycle was thrown onto an
Arriva Trains Wales service at Bulls Bridge, Shrewsbury on 7 August 2006
Photo: Network Rail

Greg Morse talks to two Mobile Operations Managers, who
work in different parts of the country, in different settings but
share the same dedication to keeping the trains moving.
MOM 1 – Urban jungle?
‘I’m a troubleshooter for the railway.’
Steve Williams takes a sip of coffee in a
rare quiet moment. ‘I deal with anything,’
he goes on, ‘from a train crash to a
fatality to a hole in the boundary fence’.
True enough, if something happens on
the front line, the Mobile Operations
Manager is our rapid response, going
to wherever, whenever and for whatever
reason, calling the shots, dealing with
the issues and getting trains running
again.
Steve’s patch is most of South London
and North Kent, but each area within it is
slightly different, with slightly different ways
of working. Part of the problem is knowing
them all. ‘It’s the MOM equivalent of route
knowledge, if you like,’ laughs Steve, who’s
been on the railway for 36 years, mainly
on what many still think of as the Southern
Region. ‘I started as a cable joiner,’ he
explains, ‘but then joined S&T – which
comes in handy when I have to assess if
points are going to fail in hot weather and
so on.’

10 //

Coffee over, we head to the Emergency
Support Vehicle and take to the road. ‘One
of the best things about being a MOM,’
says Steve, ‘is that I can be my own boss
to an extent, as I make decisions on the
ground.’ The variety – and intensity – of the
job makes it an excellent role for learning
the railway. I put this to Steve and we talk
for a while about the need for gaining – and
holding on to – railway knowledge and
experience. The feeling is that staff move
around too much nowadays, going on to
‘positions new’ before the picture of the
railway they are looking at comes fully into
focus. This means that they risk ending
up with a load of ill-fitting jigsaw pieces on
which to base their work. ‘You’ll never find
a better job than a MOM for getting railway
experience and knowledge,’ says Steve.
‘It’s an excellent grounding.’
‘Anything can happen at any time,’ he goes
on, ‘and when it does, I have 20 Up trains
and 20 Down trains to deal with on four
lines of railway. Mind you, I don’t often need
to be in two places at once, but when I do
there are six other MOMs on our borders,

so someone’ll always step in.’
There’s clearly great team work – despite
the fact that a MOM is often alone. It’s also
very hard work – the day of our meeting
is quiet, but the one before hadn’t been.
‘Sometimes there’s no time to draw breath,’
nods Steve. ‘You’re always on the move...
or waiting for the phone. And the closer you
are to the centre of London, the harder it
gets.’
‘If I’m five minutes out of London Bridge,’
he goes on, ‘I have to pin down an ETA.
The trouble is it might not be possible at
rush hour in the city – and the longer I take,
the longer trains could be held up, the
greater the chance of passengers getting
out and onto the open line – you just don’t
know.’
It was clear that one of the biggest
problems of being a MOM in central
London doesn’t really involve the railway
at all. But it’s not just the road traffic. ‘I’ve
had incidents round Brixton where I’ve had
to pull over to answer the phone, only to

MOMs
get a parking ticket as I’m in a red zone!’
he laughs. ‘Another time, I had to get to an
access gate at the end of a private road. I
didn’t think there was anywhere to park, but
I saw a sign that said BR parking. I thought
“great – British Rail, must be an old sign”.
When I got back to the van I found another
ticket: BR meant Brixton Residents!’
‘Once, I attended an incident where a live
power cable was dangling from a bridge
eight foot up. The traffic wardens just
wanted me to move the van – to hell with
the cable. They were just like robots.’ And
a robot is something you can’t afford to be
as a MOM.

since Eurostar began using the dedicated
high speed line. Then his eyes light up
and he tells me of a man whose train was
passing through Sevenoaks Tunnel. ‘This
bloke opened the door to have a smoke
and got sucked out by a passing train.
People who saw it didn’t report it till they
got to Tonbridge. Still, we had to go out –
but we found him. Alive! He’d survived the
fall, the third rail and avoided other trains!
Amazing!’

‘I could be called out in the middle of the
night to a dingy street in a dangerous part
of town,’ says Steve. ‘You never know what
you’re going to find until you get there.’
We pull in to Chelsfield station so I can
photograph the Man at Work. ‘I once got
called to Brockley with BTP and the Met,’
he goes on, as I snap away. ‘The police
had found a load of marijuana-growing
equipment inside the boundary fence.
When we got there, we found a neat tunnel
under the fence – real Great Escape stuff –
and all the gear. Must’ve been thousands
of pounds worth. The poor old copper was
told to stay all night in case anyone turned
up!’
There’s currently much debate about
whether MOMs should wear stab-proof
vests. Many are against it, but how would
you feel if you arrived on site to find a
couple of trespassers wielding a loaded
crossbow? Well Steve’s done it. ‘When
the police turned up,’ he says, ‘they were
in full battle dress. I just had a T-shirt for
protection. It was the same when I had to
confront a cable-theft gang. Luckily, they
ran for it – but they might not have done!’
Perhaps the most difficult situations
Steve deals with as a MOM are suicide
incidents. ‘You can’t help feel sorry for the
people involved,’ he says. ‘But then you
just have to get on with it. When there’s
a fatality, everything stops and you have
to focus on getting the body away safely
and quickly. It’s about balancing the dignity
of the deceased and the needs of other
passengers. As a MOM, I can see it from
both sides.’
As we head back to base, I ask Steve
about his most unusual incident. He thinks
for a moment – most are straightforward,
and even cases of trespass have fallen

Steve Williams
MOM 2 – Slow Freight to Ferryhill
We’re waiting in the signalbox at Ferryhill.
Waiting for a freight that’s late leaving
Tees Yard. A track circuit has failed on the
Thrislington branch and Ian Richardson –
the Darlington MOM – is on hand to act as
Pilotman, ready to issue a ticket to let the
train pass a subsidiary signal at danger and
enter the local quarry complex.
On the way, we’d talked about Steve’s idea
of MOM-as-troubleshooter. ‘In a way,’ Ian
nods, ‘we’re paid to do nothing, because if
we’re doing nothing, the railway’s running
smoothly. But if it isn’t running smoothly,
we’re the first port of call.’ It’s clear that you
can’t plan a day as a MOM – Ian could be
clipping points one moment and chasing
sheep off the line the next.
Ian’s had 24 years on the railway, joining
BR in 1989 as a railway trainee. ‘I had a
three-month placement on the electrical
contracting side,’ he explains, ‘another
three months as a shunter, another as a
ticket collector on trains. After that I went

to signalling.’ Ian agrees with Steve that
this background of knowledge has been
vital for his work as a MOM. ‘We still have
mechanical signalling in the Darlington
area,’ he adds. ‘So sometimes I have to
work the box if there’s no relief signaller.’
I ask if Ian’s had similar problems with traffic
wardens. He laughs: ‘No, animals on the
line are more of a problem for us, though
our biggest problem until recently was cable
theft, which is quite difficult to police in a
large rural area like this.’ It’s little more than
a couple of snips and a tug to steal copper
cable, but this can knock out the signalling
– and train services – for up to eight hours.
‘But from an incident occurring every other
day on Teeside, incidents have got much
rarer thanks to changes in police and scrap
merchant attitudes.’
As rain pelts the tin roof of the signalbox
like something out of Rolt’s Red for Danger,
Ian points out that the main problem is the
weather. ‘We’re starting to get more rainfall
and flooding,’ he explains. ‘At Prestonle-Skirne on the East Coast Main Line,
I got called out as a driver had reported
rainwater lapping over the rails. Now the
line at Preston-le-Skirne sits on 15-foot
embankments, so I was a bit dubious to
say the least. But sure enough, when I got
out there, the water was lapping over the
rails. There was nothing for it but to close
the line. I don’t think that problem is going
to go away. In this case, we had to post
someone out there for a week to keep an
eye on the water levels. Part of the trouble
is that the old culverts can’t cope with all
the extra rainfall we’ve been getting.’
MOMs can also be found dealing
courageously with the ‘business end’ of
fatalities on the line. Ian has had to crowbar human torsos from the fronts of trains
before now. ‘I’ve even known situations
where we’ve had to saw body parts off,
just so we can get the train moving again.
It’s harrowing stuff, and nothing can really
prepare you for it. What drives you on
is knowing that there are trainloads of
passengers who just want to get home. You
just have to get on with it.’
‘There can be long periods of inactivity with
this job, but you have to be ready to spring
into action at a moment’s notice. Last year,
I was called to an incident where a double
decker had struck a bridge. There were little
children wandering around in a daze all over
the place. Terrible.’

// 11

way round the curve before coming to a
stand at T433 subsidiary signal.
With the ticket in the driver’s possession,
we follow on in the Support Vehicle to make
sure it gets inside alright. Only when Ian’s
satisfied that all is in order do we head back
to Darlington.

He drops me off and as I head for the
platforms in this fine old station, Ian heads
back to Ferryhill to meet the train as it
returns from the quarry.

Ian comes from a railway family and has
been interested in railways since childhood.
‘I have fond memories of watching Deltics
and 37s on the East Coast Main Line,’ he
says. ‘All that power, all that noise – they
were very exciting to watch.’ But there’s
a serious side to that too – the Class 66s
now on freight duties and the electrics and
Voyagers on passenger turns are much
quieter than the older locomotives, meaning
that anyone working on or about the line
has to be more vigilant. ‘You could hear a
37 coming for miles,’ says Ian. ‘But a 66
can be upon you before you know it, if you
aren’t careful.’
A tamper starts up in the sidings behind
Ferryhill ‘box. As it throbs away, Jerry – the
signaller – says it should’ve left at 08:30,
but there’d been a problem with one of the
engines. ‘I reckon there must be,’ says Ian,
‘it sounds like a Spitfire.’ We laugh. Then
the power is cut and all is silent again.
At 10:00, the phone rings – it’s the
emergency alarm check. It sounds. It’s
working fine. We go on waiting.
While Jerry watches the TRUST monitor
to see if the consist has left Tees Yard, Ian

12 //

gets on the phone to Control to see how
the S&T boys are getting on with repairing
the circuit. ‘They’re on site,’ he smiles, ‘so
hopefully we’ll be in business soon.’
Eventually, TRUST tells us that our freight
is on the move. Ian dons his ‘Pilotman’
armband and starts to fill out the ticket in
readiness.

It is clear that both men – Ian in Darlington,
Steve in London – have quite different
problems to deal with. But they share a
level of dedication and drive, and a wealth
of knowledge that should be the envy
of many. Whether dealing with violent
trespassers, suicides, bridge strikes or
sheep, the MOM is always there, always
troubleshooting and always striving to keep
trains moving.

At 10:23, we get two bells – ‘train entering
section’. It’s nearing us now, but as the train
strikes in to the panel the phone goes. The
home signal has a fault, so Jerry gives the
driver permission to pass it at danger and
then obey the next one, which will grant
entry to the yard. Ian calls Tyneside IECC
to get permission to issue his ticket to the
driver. It is 10:46, and the freight winds its

Ian and his mate Gary McTeer are
up for an award for going ‘above
and beyond the call of duty’
during the recent flooding. Both
men worked several 12-hour shifts
on the trot to try to keep trains
moving.
Ian Richardson

(not)

slip sliding away
Photo: Network Rail

The Adhesion Working Group asks: can we develop technology
to help us to monitor the quality of adhesion between the train
and the rails while the train is running?
What if the train could tell you when
adhesion was poor? Research is under
way to look at how sensors mounted
on bogies or elsewhere on rail vehicles
could be used. The sensors would
detect low adhesion conditions by
measuring the impact that changes in
adhesion have on the movement of the
wheels and the bogie in the rail vehicle.
This would work whether the fitted train
is braking, motoring or coasting.
The first part of the research has been
about testing the theory using simulation
and IT. Computer modelling by
Loughborough University has confirmed

that the ‘modern DMU type’ trailer
bogie simulations are giving much better
validation results than their MkIII coach
bogie counterparts. This is because of the
effects of yaw friction damping on a MkIII
coach.
This computer modelling includes the
development of be-spoke algorithms
that are currently still lab-based but are
able to show near real time adhesion
level changes with around a five second
delay when driven by simulation data from
vehicle dynamics modelling software.
The industry is now investigating the
opportunities to secure real in-service data

from an instrumented bogie and see how
the algorithms perform before considering
installation onto an in-service vehicle.
Other research into on-train sanders is
ongoing. The first stage will be to analyse
and compare the risks of sand or leaf fallrelated loss of train detection against low
adhesion-related SPADs, station overruns
and so on. We’re also looking at emergency
braking under low adhesion conditions,
and we hope to bring you more news of
research in this area later in the year.

Be safe – log on to
opsweb.co.uk

Get the latest briefing tools on
operational risk

Log on at www.opsweb.co.uk
Opsweb is the website of the Operations Focus Group
(OFG) a cross-industry programme facilitated by RSSB

Opsweb is the website of the Operations Focus Group (OFG) a cross-industry programme facilitated by RSSB

// 13

wake me up

before you go-go
We all know what it’s like to feel tired, but do we really know
how fatigue affects us at work?
Early morning, and a freight train is
heading north on the West Coast Main
Line. In the cab, there’s no sound save
the hum of the locomotive and the tone
of the AWS as the driver follows a slower
train.
Tone…reset…tone…reset…the usual story.
Except that today isn’t ‘usual’ at all…
At around five past two, the train slows
to a stop. The AWS tones continue, but
something is wrong…what? The eyes
widen and then, through the misty mind,
comes a moment of clarity: the ‘greens’
are getting further away; the train is rolling
backwards – at Shap summit in Cumbria.
When the driver microslept in his cab at
Brentingby in 2006 he derailed at low
speed on trap points. Shap, though, is a
gradient of legend, with which traction and
crew have battled for more than a century.
Heading north, it’s 1:75 uphill; which means
rolling back down again it’s 1:75 too, and
which is why this train topped 50 mph and
ran 2.2 miles.
The incident caused no injuries or damage,
but the consequences could have been
worse: the signaller had re-routed the train
into Tebay sidings, but if the driver hadn’t
braked when he did, it would’ve run into
the yard at a speed that may have led to
derailment, damage and obstruction of the
adjacent line.

14 //

In the subsequent investigation report, RAIB
said that ‘the driver was not sufficiently
alert at the time of the incident because
he was probably fatigued, his journey
was monotonous, he was in a dark and
comfortable environment and he had little in
his field of view to attract his attention’.
Why am I so tired?
RAIB also said that the driver was working
the first of a series of night shifts, had been
awake for over 18 hours and ‘had been
exposed to a work pattern that was likely
to induce high levels of fatigue’, a pattern
which suffered from an insufficient recovery
time between progressively earlier shift start
times in the previous run of consecutive
nights, a long diagrammed turn and so on.

Jargon buster – microsleeping
When we haven’t been able to
sleep properly, we can drift in and
out of consciousness without any
awareness of having done so.
These brief, involuntary episodes
are known as microsleeps and can
last for a fraction of a second or up
to thirty seconds. This is extremely
dangerous in situations that demand
constant alertness, such as driving
a train or motor vehicle, or working
with heavy machinery.

If you’re tired, you’re more likely to make a
mistake. Research shows the worst times
for tiredness to be the early hours of the
morning and in the afternoon after a meal.
Working shifts (particularly nights and
earlies) can make things worse by putting
you out of step with your body’s natural
rhythms. Problems at home, long periods of
duty, the time (and length) of your PNB, and
commuting time can also have an effect.
What’s the industry doing?
We all know that sometimes ‘we don’t
know what we don’t know’. For a long time,
the railway industry didn’t know the size of
the fatigue problem as fatigue isn’t often
recorded as a cause in accidents.
To get a better understanding, RSSB and
Network Rail have been working together
to focus on the causes of accidents and
incidents through the development of an
‘Incident Factors Causal Classification
system’. RSSB also runs a special course
that raises awareness of this and other the
human factors issues that can contribute to
the likelihood of accidents and incidents.
After the Shap incident, the driver involved
was re-assessed and recommended to
watch the 21st Century Driver lifestyle DVD,
which covers fatigue in some detail (see
box page 15).

Fatigue

Newswire...
India: Rooftop stunt proves fatal

fatigue affects
everyone

On 12 August 2013, a 19-year-old was
electrocuted while performing a stunt for
his friends on top of a surburban train
near Tilak Nagar, northern India. The
youth came into contact with the OHL
and died instantaneously.

Mexico: Derailment kills 6,
injures 25+
At 03:00 (local time) on 25 August
2013, a freight train derailed in a remote
part of south-east Mexico, killing six
US-bound migrants who were riding
aboard. More than 25 others were
injured. The cause of the accident has
yet to be determined, although it has
been suggested that the train may have
been speeding in heavy rain.

We don’t take our toothbrush and teddy to work with us because we don’t
expect to fall asleep there - why not talk to your line manager if you’re
concerned about fatigue issues at work?
The ORR advocates that companies
introduce a Fatigue Risk Management
System (FRMS), which is a way of
identifying factors that may contribute to
fatigue and deciding in a systematic way
how to manage the risks. Earlier this year,
RSSB held a Fatigue Forum, at which
some 65 delegates heard presentations
from various TOCs and FOCs about how

they have introduced FRMSs to their work.
Network Rail, for example, described how it
investigates on-call worker fatigue.
Throughout the Forum delegates discussed
good practices, challenges and solutions
during group discussion. Why not check
out the presentations and session notes on
Opsweb?

What can I do?
In many safety critical roles like train driving, it’s obviously not possible to act straight
away if fatigue strikes. However, if the situation allows, and if you’re starting to yawn
a lot, feel heavy-eyed and lose concentration, take a break if you can. Rinse your face
with cold water. Have a sandwich and water, juice or a hot drink. Don’t start working
again until you’re fully alert. If you can’t take a break at once, you could try the usual
tricks like opening a window or drinking strong coffee or tea. It might help for a while,
but should never be taken as a reliable long-term solution.

Managing lifestyle
The 21st Century Professional Driver DVD combines 31 minutes of video and animation
with interactive exercises, addressing topics such as managing shift work and fatigue,
getting support for personal problems and maintaining concentration while driving.
It was filmed using drivers from passenger, freight and OTM operating companies and
takes an open and honest approach to issues that are very real but are not always easy
to discuss in the workplace.
To order copies, email: enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk

UK: Woman trapped under tram
at Middleton festival
On 26 August 2013, a woman was
seriously injured when she was run over
by a restored horse-drawn tram at the
Middleton Railway Festival of Transport
in Leeds, where the vehicle was being
unveiled after its restoration. A groom
leading the two horses which were
pulling the four-tonne vehicle became
trapped under its wheels, suffering
serious leg injuries. It took a crew of
fire-fighters to release the woman, after
which she was taken to a local hospital
for emergency surgery on her legs.

Taiwan: Train derails after storm –
12 injured
At 07:33 (local time) on 31 August
2013, a passenger train derailed at a
tunnel entrance in Fangshan. Twelve
were injured, three seriously. The
accident was caused by a mudslide
after recent torrential rains caused by
tropical storm ‘Kong-Rey’. The Taiwan
Railway Administration is investigating.

13 September 2013: Plate flies
from freight, strikes passenger at
Oxford
As an empty Castle Bromwich-bound
freight passed through Oxford at 15:58,
a six-inch brake cylinder cap flew off the
train and struck a person standing on
the Down platform. The person received
first-aid at the site for an ankle injury
sustained by the impact, but declined
any further medical attention. The train
was authorised forward at 40 mph onto
the Down Goods line at Banbury for
examination.

// 15

SPADtalk

When responding to a TPWS activation, make sure you…

^

KEEP
CALM
AND

DON’T
CARRY
ON
Photo: Network Rail
Though it resulted from faulty wiring and
not a SPAD, the multi-train collision at
Clapham Junction in 1988 led British
Rail to start considering a better way of
cutting the number of signal passed at
danger events than AWS.
The preferred option – Automatic Train
Protection, or ATP – was trialled (and is
indeed still used) on the Great Western
and Chiltern lines, but was ultimately
deemed too expensive. The result was
the development of the cheaper Train
Protection & Warning System – TPWS,
which has seen blanket rollout across much
of the network and is designed to initiate
an emergency brake application on a train

which either passes a TPWS fitted signal at
danger, or approaches one at a speed such
that a SPAD is likely to happen.
So successful has TPWS been that it has
seen the chance of a SPAD occurring
drop some 80% since 2004. The trouble
comes when a driver decides to reset
the equipment and continue without the
signaller’s authority. There have been 27 of
these ‘reset and continue’ events.
The latest occurred on 8 August, when a
freight passed a signal at red and came
to a stand at the next one following an
emergency NRN call. When questioned, the
driver said that the SPAD signal had been

green. The TPWS had activated, bringing
the train to a stand. The driver had then
reset it and continued without reporting
the incident to the signaller. OTMR later
confirmed that the driver had received
three AWS warnings prior to the TPWS
intervention.
This time, we were lucky, but how many
‘reset and continues’ do we need to
have before the next Ladbroke Grove, or
Southall, or Bellgrove? The message is
clear – if the TPWS kicks in, stop and tell
the signaller.
KEEP CALM AND DON’T CARRY ON

Right Track is available to
download from Opsweb -

RIGHT

righttrack@rssb.co.uk

www.opsweb.co.uk

Right track issue 7

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Right track issue 7