This year for the first time all IRO members have the chance of entering the Annual Parsons Brinckerhoff Awards and winning £500, with an additional, newly created, category specifically aimed at more senior -figures within the organisation.
Now in their second year, the awards, which will be presented at the IRO annual lunch in Birmingham on 25th April 2008, will expand to contain two categories, the first open to students enrolled on a Degree or Diploma course at Glasgow Caledonian University and the second for entry by any IRO member.
To enter the awards you must submit a written paper, (4000–5000 words) on the following:
‘Compare and contrast the operational benefits of both ERTMS and mainland European integrated timetabling practice. Suggest which of these is likely to provide the best outcome for end users.’
A judging panel of academics and senior industry figures, including Modern Railways correspondent Roger Ford, will select the winners, who will be presented with cash prizes by PB’s Director of Rail, Bob Ducksbury. The winner of the new category will be asked to deliver their winning paper to a seminar of IRO members in the form of a lecture.
Chris Daughton, Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to be able to offer prizes of £500, generously donated by Parsons Brinckerhoff.”
If you are interested in entering the award, please register your interest before Monday 28th January 2008 by email to admin@railwayoperators.org
Completed entries should be sent to:
Chris Daughton, Chief Executive
IRO, PO Box 128, West Sussex
RH15 0UZ
The closing date for completed entries will be 12th March 2008.

Successful course structure

As reported an entry-level foundation course is shortly to be added to our highly successful diploma and degree courses. Vince Mills, senior lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University’s Scottish Centre for Work Based Learning, has been largely responsible for ensuring the IRO courses are accredited by Glasgow Caledonian University.
“I’m full of admiration for the IRO for doing this,” he said. “They have recognised that many middle to senior managers in the rail industry, as elsewhere, are sometimes neglected both by the higher education system and by their own organisations. It’s easy enough to get qualifications at operational level or, if you go into strategic management, you might be lucky enough to be sent on a MBA programme. But for many middle managers there is a gap.”
Vince emphasises that the Diploma and Degree levels of the course are not about turning out experts in the various highly specialised fields of railway operations but about providing an understanding of a wide range of things, looking at the bigger picture in order to help students become better managers.
“We also want to use the IRO programme, as far as possible while maintaining confidentiality, to share knowledge and information across the various companies that now comprise the rail industry,” said Vince. “Another important aim is not to lose knowledge and experience because different companies are now involved in delivering services across the UK. The IRO has found a mechanism for making the railway as a whole provide this – by becoming a large learning organisation where knowledge, ideas and experience can be exchanged.”
Glasgow Caledonian University was selected as the academic accrediting body for the IRO Diploma and Degree after a tendering process involving a number of universities throughout the UK.
With the IRO’s Member and Associate Courses already in place Vince and his colleagues had a base to build on. Nevertheless it took nine months to accredit these as University standard.
“To make it manageable and easier for both the university and students to deal with the courses had to be modularised along the lines of higher education across the UK,” Vince explained. “Traditional courses were translated into a series of modules, each with three or four learning outcomes. The learning outcomes are effectively what the student expects
to have learnt by the end of the programme. The programme is student centred rather than tutor centred and thus focused on what the student can do. That turned out to be quite difficult because there are more than 15 modules covering both levels.”
In addition the existing learning material developed the by IRO was on CDs and had to be adapted to fit the ‘Blackboard’ online environment so students could access it as and when needed 24/7.
Vince said: “Running the IRO courses, which is our largest programme, has given me a great deal of satisfaction. For me it has confirmed an understanding of the relationship of higher education to the world of work, something that generates a lot of -rhetoric from politicians and, to a -certain extent, from higher education principals. I think the IRO programme has shown us how it should actually work. We always believed it was possible and I think it has demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that the world of work and higher education can work closely together.”

Since our inception as a newly formed professional body just seven years ago the Institution of Railway Operators has flourished on all fronts attaining recognition across the railway industry.
During the seven years there have been significant achievements. However there was a general view that with a relatively new group of Board Members, the time was ripe to take a fresh look at the Institution’s current aims and activities to form a strategy for the future.
As a first step we engaged professional facilitators to organise a strategy development session and conduct a series of diagnostic interviews with each board member as well as some individual IRO members. The issues covered ranged from ‘what is the purpose of the IRO?’ to ‘what should be its main priorities?’. The interviews were designed to establish how clear the Institution is about its direction and pinpoint any inconsistencies.
That initial session was followed by a series of seminars, away-day strategy events and think tanks, held during the spring and summer, in which the IRO board and Area Chairmen carried out a fundamental review of the organisation’s aims and objectives.
From these events a clear path emerged to develop and grow the IRO over the next five years.
IRO chief executive Chris Daughton said: “As a result of this thorough and painstaking review we now have a clear picture of how we want the Institution to be working in five years’ time and of the policies, projects and programmes we need to put in place now to achieve that. This together with a rapidly expanding membership, both individual and corporate, will grow the Institution into a truly formidable force within the railway industry.”
Chris Leah, IRO chairman, said: “The IRO Area Councils and the IRO Young Professionals will fulfil a key role in implementing the strategy, especially in the area of membership growth and engagement, by decentralising the process through organising a range of events including social programmes, inter-area events and events with other professional groups.”

Key areas of the strategy are:
• Growing and Retaining Membership
• Communications
• Area structure and Support
• Learning and Development

Chris Daughton explained: “The aim of the first is to underpin the future financial success and relevancy of the Institution. We will achieve this through programmes of events and activities to support and encourage students on the education courses, engaging high quality speakers and visits for our members as well as ensuring IRO Area Councils work with corporate members and local employers.”
He said a dozen different projects ranging from providing a ‘buddy’ system to support new members to inviting other professional bodies to IRO events will be launched. All aimed at attaining the objectives of the strategy.
Recognising Learning and Development as central to its future the IRO is appointing a full time Learning and Development manager and forged a closer relationship with Glasgow Caledonian University.
Chris Leah said: “We now plan to expand our professional training at NVQ levels and further develop CPD.”
As reported elsewhere in this edition of The IRO Bulletin a significant development in the area of Learning and Development has been the decision to appoint a full-time Learning and Development Manager.
Chris Daughton added: “We also see effective communication as key to keeping the our membership engaged and fulfilled. To this end a range of projects will be put in place, including regular Area newsletters and the development of a comprehensive survey of the membership’s needs and expectations.”

Charity begins at home

On the first occasion the Railway Benefit Fund featured as the IRO’s chosen charity, members and guests at our annual lunch boosted the organisation’s funds by well over £1,000.
Founded by railway employees in 1858 the charity is only one of its kind dedicated solely to railway employees and their families. Throughout its 149 years the RBF has been supported financially by all grades of staff, as well as the railway trade unions and management.
In 2006 the RBF helped individuals and families connected with the railway to the tune of £490,000, with 780 grants ranging in value from a few hundred pounds to some thousands. However, according to RBF chairman David Allen, the charity’s revenue, ­particularly from investments, is falling and the organisation is therefore seeking to boost its income from donations.
“That’s why the charity needs the support of the IRO both as an organisation and its individual members,” said IRO CEO Chris Daughton. “We will endeavour to raise as much as we can by encouraging donations at IRO organised events.”
For further information on how to contribute to the RBF contact Simon King at Woodhouse Communications, phone: 01444 473588, fax: 01444 473599. Email:
simon@woodhousecommunications.co.uk or Keith Alldread at the Railway Benefit Fund, phone: 01270 251316,
fax: 01270 503966,
Email: keithalldread@aol.com

Bank changes

Members with Standing Orders for the annual subscription payments are asked to note that our NatWest bank account has now been closed. Anyone who has not already changed their Standing Order to our new account at Bank of Scotland are asked to do so promptly. The new account details are:
Sort Code: 12-24-82
Bank: Bank of Scotland, 600 Gorgie Road Edinburgh Branch
Account Number: 06563532
Account Name: The Institution of Railway Operators
If anyone would like to pay by Standing Order in future, we have Standing Order mandates available upon request, or you can set it up electronically if you have an internet banking system. Please contact Claire Wickes at admin@railwayoperators.org if you have any questions.

All our Area events are listed on our website: www.railwayoperators.org and you are very welcome to attend events in your own or any other Area. Unless the listing says otherwise, you do not need to advise us that you intend to be there.

Derek Holmes, Network Rail’s Head of Operations

Derek brings 26 years of front-line operational experience to the IRO Board.
However, on leaving school at 16 the railway was not his first career choice. He spent the first four years of his working life as a building trade apprentice in his hometown of Dundee. But having completed his apprenticeship Derek found it hard to find a permanent job. “At the time the building trade was pretty depressed and it was difficult to keep in work. During one year I worked for six different companies!”
As a temporary solution Derek asked his dad, a BR signaller, to see whether he could get him a job in BR until building activity picked up. As a result he found himself in a local signal box on the line between Perth and Dundee – and never went back to building.
The ‘temporary’ signals job turned into nine years in signalling before Derek got his first management post as a traffic supervisor. “In those days you undertook a lot of different tasks across the commercial, operations and fleet sides of the business. I remember one day at Dunbar I was doing an internal check in the booking office during the morning, coupling up an HST at midday and working in a signal box in the afternoon. All the time gaining valuable experience.”
Rounded learning, says Derek, which became impossible to obtain after privatisation. “That’s what our diploma and degree programmes are designed to bring back to the ­industry.”

Mike Hogg, Head of Operations, FirstGroup Rails

Londoner Mike came into the industry via the British Rail Management Training Scheme, which he joined straight after graduating from Leeds University and has remained in the operational arena throughout his career.
Mike has been a member of IRO “almost from day one” and for five years was chairman of the North East Area.
He said: “I joined because I believed we had lost something major with the demise of the corporate ­railway and in particular the ‘whole railway’ approach to training. The IRO was a way of helping bind the operational element of the industry together after the fragmentation of the immediate post privatisation years. Having filled many roles where cross industry interface was a characteristic I could see that something had been lost. My aim when looking after the North Eastern part of the IRO was to help resurrect cross learning and appreciation of ‘the other person’s view’.”
Mike’s first appointment was as BR traffic manager at Garforth, just outside Leeds. Through-out his career his roles have been within operations or business development and, until joining FirstGroup last year, he spent more than fifteen years specialising in rail freight. Prior to taking up his current post Mike was with EWS as the company’s Rail Industry Manager.
“As an IRO board member I hope to contribute some of my experience to the good of the industry as a whole. I also feel that I gain something from the collective knowledge and ideas of fellow board members,” said Mike.

Half price subscription to Keeping Track

IRO members can now sign up for half-price subscriptions to Keeping Track.
A Keeping Track annual subscription gives you online access to the constantly update directory of railway and related business, as well as full access to the Railway Business Library, including maps, statistics and other industry data – much of which is difficult to locate elsewhere.
The IRO member price is just £85 inclusive of VAT. With the normal price standing at £170.38, this is a great saving of 50% on the normal cost, and is the equivalent of 23.2p a day – slightly less than the price of a second class stamp! For each IRO member who signs up to this deal, Keeping Track and the IRO will jointly donate £5 to the Railway Benefit Fund.
If interested, please email sim.harris@keepingtrack.co.uk and quote the IRO offer.
For some free trial downloads, visit www.keepingtrack.co.uk

As an IRO member, would you like a weekly briefing on key industry events – without charge?
Rail Manager OnLine is published every week for the railway industry in pdf format, and can be downloaded from ­www.keepingtrack.co.uk/railmanager. You can be notified by a simple email when each new edition is ready. (There is no charge for this service, and you can cancel the notifications at any time.)
RMOL includes a full updated diary for the IRO and related professional bodies, as well as other events and detailed industry news from the past seven days. It also includes many interactive links to other sources, and only needs Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 or better to read it. Acrobat Reader is free from www.adobe.com
If you would like to register to be included on the notification list, please send an email to sim.harris@keepingtrack.co.uk with RMOL ADD as the subject line.
The email, which will be added, will be the address from which you have sent your message, unless you say otherwise. The RMOL list is confidential and will not be used for any other purpose, nor communicated to any third party.
You can also download the current and back copies from www.keepingtrack.co.uk/railmanager at any time.

Work placements in the rail industry

Placement schemes not only benefit students, but also bring positive results for their employers, writes IRO Young Professionals committee member Michael Pead.

The past few years have seen a growing trend in rail companies offering summer or year-long work placements to undergraduates. It is often a criticism of university-leavers that they lack “real-world” experience and therefore these placements offer enormous benefits to individuals and the industry as a whole.
For the individual the benefits are immediately obvious; placement students are able to gain the experiences that most employees would never be able to do in their normal day-to-day jobs. For instance, during my placement year I was able to spend time with traincrew, depot and station staff, as well as in Planning, Performance and Control and the opportunity to attend high-level meetings, giving an “all round” view of the company’s operations and its interactions with outside organisations.
Most placement students have a “fluid” job description with a project-orientated role, concentrating on tasks that others in the company either do not have the time or responsibility to perform. For instance a student working for Central Trains at Tyseley Depot was able to spot savings of £750,000 a year in performance penalties.
Cross-department projects are particularly useful to companies as placement students can take a fresh look at problems that is not hindered by internal politics or other barriers.
Further benefits to the company include the relatively cheap cost of labour (generally £10–£15k) and the possibility of retaining the student after university, following their year-long “interview” to see their capabilities. Many schools and sixth forms also encourage pupils to spend a week in industry to help them decide their future career paths.
It is important that companies take any approaches from students asking for a work placement seriously; these are keen individuals and the managers of the future! Have a structured placement scheme in place and allow the candidate to develop their skills, whilst using the student to bridge gaps between departments and stakeholders which will allow them to fulfil their potential on challenging projects.

IRO North West Area, Family Day. Visit to Welsh Highland Railway

On Saturday 1st July, a group of North West Area members and their families made their way to Caernarfon in North Wales in order to travel on the Welsh Highland Railway, which currently runs from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu.
Having had its origins in 1864, when it was initially used for slate traffic, the two-foot narrow gauge railway was eventually closed to both passengers and freight in 1937, and it was not until 1997 that the first section from Caernarfon to Dinas (2.5 miles) was re-constructed, and opened for public use.
In 2003 the entire Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu section was re-opened, and work is currently underway to re-construct a further 13 miles through to Porthmadog, in order to connect with the Ffestiniog Railway.
With traction being provided by a Beyer Garratt NGG16 steam locomotive, our party boarded the 12.20 hrs departure from Caernarfon in glorious weather. The line passes through an area of outstanding beauty with spectacular mountains, valleys and streams, together with interesting and varied wildlife. As we climbed towards our destination, we even caught sight of a service on the Snowdon Mountain Railway hundreds of feet above us, and we duly arrived on time in Rhyd Ddu.
After a short period allowing for loco run-round and train preparation, the return service departed Rhyd Ddu, and on arrival at Waunfawr, the mid-point of the return leg, we detrained for refreshments in a line side hostelry. During our 90-minute stop we had an excellent lunch in beautiful surroundings, and catching the next service, we arrived back in Caernarfon at 16.25 hrs.
It was the opinion of our group that we had enjoyed an interesting and pleasurable day out and it is intended that we arrange a similar Family Day in 2008, most probably making a visit to the East Lancashire Railway. Our members will be fully consulted and advised prior to this event.

IRO North East Visit to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and AGM

The IRO North East Area visited the NYMR Railway on Saturday 15th September 2007 to hold the Annual General Meeting.
The event was well attended with over 30 IRO members and their families.
Philip Benham, General Manager NYMR, opened the meeting with a presentation on the extension of NYMR services from Grosmont to Whitby over Network Rail Infrastructure. This gave the group an insight into the complexity of the task and the issues surrounding it, which need to be addressed.
Following the AGM the group had an opportunity to view NYMR operations first hand by travelling to Grosmont for a tour of Control, Signal Box and Shed.
The trip allowed members to view the work which has been undertaken to interface with Network Rail and part of the group also travelled onto Whitby to see more.
The Area Council would like to thank the NYMR for organising and hosting this excellent event and to Northern Rail for sponsoring the transport from York to Pickering. Look out for future IRO North East events on these pages.
We hope to see you there.

South East Area and its Masterclasses

IRO South East Area Meetings
The IRO’s South East area has a lively and enthusiastic programme of member meetings. These are held bi-monthly at the Union Jack Club adjacent to Waterloo station, although recently a meeting was located on the 10th floor of London Underground’s headquarters building at 55 Broadway.
The meetings have a variety of styles and formats, from high profile speaker presentations to our ‘Masterclass’ sessions and debate based events. The Masterclasses were specifically developed in order to involve audience members beyond the Q&A sessions that follow the traditional solo guest speaker events. With short but punchy speaker presentations on a variety of key railway operational subjects, the ‘Masterclass’ sessions use the collective professional experience of the audience to build ideas and discuss best practice. This type of meeting is especially useful for people taking IRO educational courses.
The debate sessions have no guest speakers, instead the audience is drawn into a debate by a facilitator who will inject key discussion points on a given subject and then manage an open debate. Both Masterclasses and debate sessions have a central theme of involving IRO members and using our railway operations expertise in a positive and collaborative environment. The IRO is a natural forum for such activities – some might even say the only forum for railway ops people to meet, network and exchange ideas and thoughts with their professional colleagues.

Corporate members

A number of industry employers have corporate subscriptions to the Institution which cover the subscriptions of any of their employees graded as Associate or Affiliate.
The current Corporate Member Companies are:
Network Rail, Virgin Trains, South Eastern Railway, First Great Western, RWA Rail, First Transpennine Express, Southern, First Capital Connect, Arriva Trains Wales, Transport for London, Docklands Light Railway, London Underground Ltd, South West Trains, ATOC, Sheffield Supertram, Northern Ireland Railways, EWS Railway, Mott MacDonald, First ScotRail, Manchester Metrolink, c2c, Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail), Eurostar UK Ltd, One Railway, East Midlands Trains, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Railnews, Gatwick Express, Chiltern Railways.
If you are employed with any of the above companies, you do not need to send any payment with your annual membership renewal (or application form for membership if applying for the first time).

Putting faces to the voices – Joanna Lane and Claire Wickes are the IRO’s Admin team, behind the scenes at Burgess Hill.

Reminder
If you have not already claimed your membership certificate, please fax
01444 246392 or email admin@railwayoperators.org to claim yours and state how you wish your name to appear.

New ties

The new IRO ties are now available. Please send a cheque for £10 (includes postage and packing), made payable to “The Institution of Railway Operators” to:
Claire Wickes
The Institution of Railway Operators
PO Box 128, Burgess Hill, RH15 0UZ
United Kingdom

Calendar competition winner

The winner of IRO’s 2008 calendar competition is Bill Price with his spectacular picture of the Forth Bridge.
Bill joined the IRO as an Affiliate Member in August 2006 and started the degree course at the end of that year.
He began his railway career in 1982 as a signalman at Irchester South on the Midland Mainline. Bill now works as a Senior Infrastructure Project Manager with the Information Management division of Network Rail based in London.
The Forth Bridge is currently undergoing a major refurbishment programme to prepare it for the next 20 years. “Liberal use of the phrase ‘I’m studying for a railway degree’ made it possible to get me on the bridge as part of an organised tour,” explained Bill. “After that, I managed to get a shot from the top of a view not many get to see.”
The photograph was taken with a Network Rail issue 5M-pixel Canon SureShot S2 digital camera.
Once again, the Board were impressed by the range and number of competition entries and congratulate those selected.