Friday 4 Nov 2011
NEW RAIL OPERATIONS AND TRAINING CENTRE TO KEEP JOBS IN YORK
- Region & Route:
Plans for a flagship rail operating and training facility in York have been announced by Network Rail.
The Rail Operating Centre (ROC), which would be one of just 14 proposed centres across Britain, that will eventually coordinate and control all rail operations on the London North Eastern route and help to expand the number of rail related jobs in the city. The workforce development centre will consolidate services already provided at several different locations into a single, purpose-built facility.
Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations for Network Rail, said; “York has a proud railway history and these new facilities will allow us to continue that whilst providing a modern, efficient service. The ROC is a key part of our strategy to improve reliability whilst driving down the cost of running and maintaining the railway. It will allow us to retain jobs in the city as well as bringing future employment opportunities to the area, which is vital for long term economic growth and prosperity.”
The proposed ROC, to be located on disused land adjacent to York station, would be the largest centre in the UK and will enable services such as signalling and traffic control to be consolidated into a centralised unit.
The proposals are at an early stage and consultation will be undertaken with the local community and interested groups over the coming months before the plans are finalised.
Notes to editors
The land identified for development lies between York station and Holgate bridge. It is hoped these plans will act as a catalyst for further development of the York Central site which has been a long term aspiration for Network Rail, City of York Council and the National Railway Museum.
Details of Network Rail’s consultation will be announced next month. Subject to planning consent, the new rail operating and training centre is expected to open in 2014.
Operations strategy
Network Rail plans to consolidate all signalling and control activity into 14 modern Rail Operating Centres over the next 15-30 years.
Six new ROCs would be built across Britain to supplement the eight locations already identified. They would have the latest technology and tools to better manage and control the network.
There are significant benefits for Network Rail and the broader industry including passengers, freight users and train operators, including:
- Less delay - better technology will help restore normal services much quicker following disruption
- More flexibility and capacity - more reliable performance and better train regulation
- Reduced operating costs. A more affordable railway with more passengers will help create a sustainable future for the network.
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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