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Friday 15 Dec 2023

New route director for Network Rail’s Wessex route

Region & Route:

Southern

| Southern: Wessex

Network Rail’s Southern region has announced Mark Goodall as its route director to lead the Wessex route, one of the busiest networks in the country which includes all services out of one of England’s busiest railway station, London Waterloo.

Mark is currently the Service Delivery Director at CrossCountry, where he is charged with delivering a great service for CrossCountry’s customers. He will join Network Rail in late February.

He is accountable for a wide range of teams including performance, control, fleet and engineering. Prior to this, Mark developed his leadership skills across the breadth of the rail industry including 12 years at Network Rail and nearly 11 years working for train operators including West Midlands Trains, Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry.

His wide-ranging experience includes work across freight, station management, alliancing and operational management at both area and director level. In his current position he played a central role in delivering the May 2023 timetable and ensured operational resilience during industrial action.

Network Rail’s Wessex route is among the busiest and most congested in the country, running over 1,600 trains every weekday. The route includes all services out of one of England’s busiest railway station, London Waterloo, the complex metro services across South West London and locations such as Guildford, Portsmouth, Salisbury and Bournemouth as well as the key freight route from Southampton.

Mark said: “I’m thrilled to have been appointed as the Wessex route director to oversee this vital part of the railway network for both passengers and freight. Now feels like the right time to return to Network Rail having spent the last decade working for train operators with a focus on the successful delivery of operational services. This wider industry background should prove valuable in shaping future plans for the route with the drive to deliver reliable services and the best for customers.

“I’m looking forward to close collaboration with our train operators, freight customers and the thousands of colleagues working so diligently across the Wessex network. My key focus will be to build on the good work already in place, focus on great journeys every day and help make the Wessex route a positive and inclusive place to work.”

Ellie Burrows, regional managing director for Network Rail’s Southern region, said: “I’m delighted to name Mark Goodall as the new route director for Wessex. His extensive rail industry experience including time at Network Rail and a number of train operators will be invaluable in delivering improvements to safety, train service performance and efficiency and helping to make the Southern region a great place to live, work and travel.

“The Wessex route is one of the most critical in the UK and I know Mark is the right person to lead the team as we head towards the start of our new control period in April 2024. Mark’s clear focus and determination will ensure our passengers and freight customers experience safe and reliable services and we continue to put passengers at the heart of everything we do.”