Media centre

Thursday 8 Jul 2004

PHOTOCALL: ALISTAIR DARLING LAUNCHES JOINT RAIL CONTROL CENTRE

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| Southern

Photos available from 16.00 at: www.constructionphotography.com/clients/NR Date:                          Thursday 8 July 2004 Time:                         11.45am Location:                   Go Ahead House, 26/28 Addiscombe Road, Croydon, CR9 5GA Event:                         Rt Hon Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport, officially opens the UK’s latest integrated railway control centre, which will oversee the entire railway network in the south of England (operational details in Notes to Editors). Media contact:         Jenny Sacre 020 7557 8107 jenny.sacre@networkrail.co.uk Journalists are invited to the official opening of Southern Network Control by Alistair Darling, where there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs with the Secretary of State. The new control centre will oversee more than 2,000 trains travelling to areas in the south towards the coast, and will be managed by a single point of contact – a so-called Network Rail “fat controller”. This new centre, which combines Network Rail and Southern Railway employees, will monitor trains from London Victoria, London Bridge and Gatwick Airport across 703 miles of track, at 150 stations, through 26 tunnels, over 65 level crossings and past 27 signal boxes. It will be a hub of activity for the 120 million miles that are travelled by trains in this area per year. More follows / …..   Control - 2 Kent Integrated Control Centre, the third and final joint control centre in the south also opened today.  Network Rail and SouthEastern trains will work together at Friars Bridge Court monitoring trains from Charing Cross, Cannon Street and London Victoria, across 982 miles of track, through 101 tunnels, over 1,198 bridges and over 334 level crossings.  Creating co-located, integrated operations centres with key railway controllers means that decision-making is streamlined and focused on improving performance and reducing passenger delays.             The £1.3 million project makes use of the latest technology, including touch screen telephones and large LCD screens enabling controllers to share information and respond quickly and efficiently to incidents. Alistair Darling, Transport Secretary said:  “The 2,000 new carriages entering service on top of the upgrade to tracks in the Southern region is only part of the picture.  If passengers are to get the performance they deserve, Network Rail and train operators have to work together and manage the trains better. These control centres will ensure this happens for people travelling south from London by train.” Robin Gisby, Network Rail Director of Operations and Customer Service, said: “The new control centres bring Network Rail and the train operating companies closer together.  The focus of these centres is clear: to deliver the best possible service for passengers.” Mr Keith Ludeman, Govia Chief Executive, added: “This is a great opportunity to provide a better train service across the Southern network.  It also marks the start of a new joint venture with Network Rail, which will lead to a more reliable and efficient train service for passengers.” More follows / ….. Control - 3 South Eastern Trains’ Operations and Safety Director, Andy Byford, said: “Anyone we need to talk with to run the railway is in the integrated control centre. It allows us to take a more proactive approach to controlling and managing the service. We are confident this will result in smoother running of the network, which is good news for our passengers.” The railway industry is committed to delivering long-term benefits to passengers. Along with the upgrade of the power supply on the southern network, huge investment in new rolling stock and £1.72billion in track maintenance and renewals over the next three years, the co-location of Network Rail and Train Operating Company controls will improve performance, reliability and cost effectiveness of the railway network.