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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
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.’
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Gatwick passes from
Network Rail to Southern
nSouthern 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.’
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
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.
The Track and Train 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