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Monday 9 Aug 2004

CLOSER WORKING TO BENEFIT PASSENGERS IN THE NORTH WEST

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Rail passengers are to benefit from a closer working relationship between Network Rail and train operator First North Western (FNW).  A FNW controller will be permanently located in the Network Rail control centre in Manchester to give help and advice, which will make decision-making quicker when complicated challenges come along. Network Rail’s route control manager, Peter Johnson said: “It will be beneficial to work face-to-face with our colleagues from First North Western. FNW operate the majority of train services in the North West so when things go wrong, they are the company most affected. “By having one of their controllers sat alongside us, incident management is going to be considerably enhanced, decisions will be made more quickly and services can be got back to normal much sooner after an incident.” Fifty-three staff work in Network Rail’s Manchester route operations control room on a shift basis, overseeing the movement of 2,500 trains a day throughout the North West. Of those trains, approximately 1,300 are operated by FNW. - more - Control - 2 The control is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is the nerve centre of decision-making.  Controllers make decisions like: where to divert trains, when to contact the emergency services, arrangements for replacement buses, - all decisions designed to get passengers on the move as quickly as possible. Network Rail controllers also initiate and co-ordinate contingency plans with individual train companies in the event of disruption to services. Each train operator also has its own operational control looking after its own services. In the case of First North Western, this is located in a separate building to Network Rail in a different part of Manchester. When things go wrong, discussions and decisions on the course of action to get services on the move again have to take place over the telephone. Now that process will be considerably speeded up by having an FNW controller sat in the Network Rail control. A pool of nine First North Western staff will cover the position, working in the control from midday until 8 pm, Mondays to Fridays taking decisions on any issues that affect the evening peak period. Bob Exell, Current Performance Manager for FNW commented: “This is the first step towards the concept of an integrated control centre for the North West. “This closer working relationship with Network Rail improves communication and enables us to manage disruption to our services effectively. This reduces delays which ultimately benefits our customers.”