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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Thousands of jobs ‘could go as part of UK government’s rail shake-up’
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on: March 29, 2025, 17:51:26
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I understand NR» personnel are in the process of moving in with GWR▸ at Swindon as part of the future looks.
So I believe we will see not just personnel cut but property cuts too with the better office facilities kept.
Exactly the sort of saving/rationalisation that should be easily achievable - one has to ask why it hasn't happened sooner. GWR are not the only TOC▸ / NR combining, there has been operational colocation of many TOCs and NR for quite a while. Until the TOC has been "Nationalised" and GBR▸ is a legal entity likely to be April 2027 after this will be the real shake up |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Thousands of jobs ‘could go as part of UK government’s rail shake-up’
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on: March 29, 2025, 06:38:26
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I may be going off topic here, but I have been unimpressed by the reported (to me, in conversation) inefficiencies of the TOCs▸ making a number of suggestions to the Department for Transport with regards what they clearly regard as sensible changes which do not progress. Clearly the TOCs in question think they make good sense - otherwise they would not spend time and company money/resources suggesting them, but as reported the suggestions are [refused / delayed / not answered / met with a "thank you" and no more].
Of course there need to be multiple levels of review / discussion / consultancy but have we gone too far and having top executives, who we can assume are well paid, at TOCs come up with good ideas from there teams, does it show a degree of mistrust in them or a desire for excessive control from HMG if they are not allowed to do what they are paid to do in terms of coming up with and implementing sensible ideas?
Streamlining this process could save jobs - but we so much need to take care that the jobs that are saved / removed are not the ones that have built up a great deal of expertise over the year. There are some very good people in government circles (civil servants and politicians) but very often they are generalists who come from different backgrounds.
Grahame, sadly this is all to common in the industry. The Rail Industry is hampered by the controlling hands of Government, this was all to evident during the industrial unrest in 2022 / 23 and into 2024. also the contractual structure of rail privatisation does make flexibility and agility between TOCs and between TOCs and NR» near impossible as it was designed to be competitive and not collaborative. |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: "Long Products"... Steel Rail.
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on: March 27, 2025, 14:31:00
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Wondering how much of the rail used for railway lines is currently imported. Also thinking of the forces disrupting international trade and also UK▸ energy prices - and wondering how much of the remaining UK steel industry needs to close before 100% of what's needed for the rail system is imported.
Mark
Network Rail is concerned about it UK supply base for rail products, around 200,000 tonnes (4,000km) per year and ensures it has contracts with British Steel but as its a global market British Steel is vulnerable and 200,000 is a splash in steel production |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Thousands of jobs ‘could go as part of UK government’s rail shake-up’
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on: March 27, 2025, 14:24:22
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Other than the usual high blown, vague rhetoric however I'm still waiting for someone to explain how all this is going to create a better service for the customer, although if it cuts down on the amount the taxpayer is having to hand over to the railways every year (which I am sure is one of the main drivers), I guess that's one benefit.
The Government rational at the time of privatisation was the vertically integrated management structure of British Rail was inefficient, unable to adapt to change and what the railways needed was for the homogenous BR▸ to be broken up into over 100 separate companies, they would all be competing with each other which would drive down costs and drive up efficacy they by lower fares.  What in reality happened most of us in the industry got increase in pay because the 100 companies were competing for the limited skilled and experienced resource, over bloated executive and senior management came about to manage the competitive market of schedule 8 payments which in reality are wooden dollars but they need to £120k plus salaried executives plus their teams to manage it. A more vertically integrated structure on the railways should lead to a more efficient and lower cost railway, as an example currently if I want to talk to a TOC▸ Engineer regarding a traction power issue it has to to via layers of commercial manages me and my fellow Engineer cannot agree anything until it has been checked commercially and signed of by a Director of some sort ................... this just did not happen in BR days. The railways competition is air and road and not rail verse rail. Is private sector involvement in the railways a good thing yes in the right places. |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Thousands of jobs ‘could go as part of UK government’s rail shake-up’
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on: March 27, 2025, 06:20:11
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From The GuardianReports suggest cuts in Great Britain would include removing ‘duplication’ of teams, as well job losses at HS2▸
Thousands of jobs could go as part of the government’s planned shake-up of Britain’s railway industry, according to a report.
Under Labour’s plans, a state-owned company, Great British Railways, will run the railway and take every train operator into public ownership as existing contracts expire.
Removing “duplication” of teams, as well as job cuts at the HS2 rail line linking London and Birmingham, will result in several thousand job losses, the Sunday Times reported, quoting an unnamed source.
The Department for Transport and the Treasury hope that bringing track and train together under the same organisation will bring cost savings.
A DfT» spokesperson said: “We are delivering the biggest overhaul to our railways in a generation, creating a publicly owned, passenger-focused Great British Railways that will create exciting job opportunities, both for existing staff and those looking to get into the industry.
“Our number one priority is to provide passengers with the reliable, accessible, and more affordable services they deserve, and our plans will save taxpayers up to an estimated £150m every year in fees alone.”
Earlier this month, Keir Starmer announced the abolition of NHS England, “the biggest quango in the world”, with the loss of 10,000 roles, to cut bureaucracy. The government is expected to take a similar approach to rail.
Most of the job cuts are likely to be in back-office roles. Among organisations that could be abolished are Transport Focus, a watchdog for transport users, and the Rail Ombudsman, which will become part of a new Passenger Standards Authority.
Ministers have promised a “unified, simplified railway”. The plans include rewiring of the railways to “end decades of poor service, waste and timetable chaos”.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has suggested that renationalising train companies will not necessarily bring cheaper rail fares for passengers but should reduce train cancellations and delays.
Services will return into state hands as remaining contracts expire over the coming years – or possibly earlier if lawyers advise of potential grounds for breach of contract.
South Western Railway is to become the first train operator to be nationalised under Labour. One of the UK▸ ’s biggest commuter services, which operates out of London Waterloo, it will be taken into public hands when its contract ends in May. SWR» is run as a joint venture between FirstGroup and MTR▸ , the Hong Kong rail operator.
Two more commuter operations run out of the capital are next, with C2C, the Essex service, set to pass into public hands by July, and Greater Anglia to follow in the autumn.
All operators will eventually be nationalised – probably by late 2027 – under the provisions of the public ownership bill, which became law in December. A railways bill is set to be passed this year. I do not think the job cuts will be a "cliff edge" cut ie on date x 3000 jobs go in GBR▸ , most of it will be gradual with the TOC▸ and NR» with the agreement of the ORR» and DfT combining rolls and duties in areas like Route Control, Regional HQ▸ etc. I suspect in the background GBR NR and TOCs are working out how to change how Major Stations are operated |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Heathrow Airport closed all day Friday 21 March 2025
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on: March 24, 2025, 17:08:20
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Seems my option that Heathrow Airport should have been able to supply the Airport from the other 2 GSP as widely reported in the media is backed up by the boss of National Grid https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjy4m0n1exoThere is no doubt a war of damage limitation of the 2 public listed companies going on to protect from reputational damage, political focus, not to mention the clams for costs from Airlines. As I said in my original post on Friday, I am surprised the Heathrow were not able to reconfigure the supplies, something they should have been able to do that night, the only thing that then my have effected flights was the smoke from the fire. One company that is keeping its head well below desk level is UKPN. They manage the distribution network at Heathrow, as an independent DNO▸ (or the equivalent). But they have put out some quite hubristic stuff about this role in the past, e.g. this: Security and reliability of electricity is essential for all airports. Heathrow is no exception. Even an interruption of a few seconds could have a knock-on effect on baggage systems and cargo shipments. This could take many hours to resolve and lead to significant lost revenue and passenger disruption. Resilient power is also vital to the entire airport community: including passenger transport services, employees’ facilities, freight and cargo operators, passenger retail or restaurants, emergency services, rail links, and airlines themselves.
Providing 24/7/365 resilient power to a global transport hub requires continuous innovation and dedication. This means around-the-clock maintenance, repairs, and renewals to thousands of high voltage electrical substations, transformers, relays, and more than 600km of cables...
Approach and innovation
As strategic energy infrastructure partner, our approach has been to work with Heathrow to deliver world-class performance every single day. The faultless maintenance of critical energy infrastructure of this scale and density is vitally important: the risks to people, property and businesses from electricity cannot be understated if not managed correctly. ... and a world class excuse generator? I agree about the excuse generator However it is still down to Heathrow Airport to have processes in place 24 / 7 to manage business interruption. A major failure of a GSP is certainly something that is under constant consideration in the Southern Region of Network Rail |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Heathrow Airport closed all day Friday 21 March 2025
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on: March 24, 2025, 06:46:19
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A location of stratigic National importance such as Heathrow should have a robust backup system whilst they 100% may not be warranted they should be able to run core business at a acceptable degraded mode
As I said, the "robust back up system" did work, if an aircraft HAD to land at Heathrow last night it could have done so safely. Trying to keep an airport running when everything around it has failed is just asking for even more trouble. "Degraded mode" = what ? Burger King open but not McDonalds ? Strangely enough, before I retired, I actually worked at an airport setting to work a "robust back up system" such as is probably installed at Heathrow - albeit on a much larger scale at Heathrow. This was not designed to keep the airport restaurants running at that airport either. My current job is looking after the traction power system for a large chunk of South London along with a number of major London stations. There are always weak spots in a system especially older systems, the modern systems can operate a N-1 including a total loss of a National Grid connection in SE London, a reduced service would have to be implemented but it would not be a total shut down Seems my option that Heathrow Airport should have been able to supply the Airport from the other 2 GSP as widely reported in the media is backed up by the boss of National Grid https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjy4m0n1exoThere is no doubt a war of damage limitation of the 2 public listed companies going on to protect from reputational damage, political focus, not to mention the clams for costs from Airlines. As I said in my original post on Friday, I am surprised the Heathrow were not able to reconfigure the supplies, something they should have been able to do that night, the only thing that then my have effected flights was the smoke from the fire. |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Heathrow Airport closed all day Friday 21 March 2025
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on: March 21, 2025, 17:26:00
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A location of stratigic National importance such as Heathrow should have a robust backup system whilst they 100% may not be warranted they should be able to run core business at a acceptable degraded mode
As I said, the "robust back up system" did work, if an aircraft HAD to land at Heathrow last night it could have done so safely. Trying to keep an airport running when everything around it has failed is just asking for even more trouble. "Degraded mode" = what ? Burger King open but not McDonalds ? Strangely enough, before I retired, I actually worked at an airport setting to work a "robust back up system" such as is probably installed at Heathrow - albeit on a much larger scale at Heathrow. This was not designed to keep the airport restaurants running at that airport either. My current job is looking after the traction power system for a large chunk of South London along with a number of major London stations. There are always weak spots in a system especially older systems, the modern systems can operate a N-1 including a total loss of a National Grid connection in SE London, a reduced service would have to be implemented but it would not be a total shut down |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Heathrow Airport closed all day Friday 21 March 2025
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on: March 21, 2025, 16:37:02
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There is either a serious design flaw, lack the right switchgear systems / control system or lack of competent people
Very profound statement - based on  ? Perhaps the substation control room was pretty close to the fire - or the blast wall (well illustrated by MarkA) was about to collapse - and the night shift decided to leave ..............quickly ! Stuving has summarised what did happen at Heathrow itself............everything essential worked ! The airport was still capable of handling aircraft - even if that was only to tell them to go elsewhere. Closing the airport entirely was the correct decision............imagine the chaos today if they hadn't. Just supposing Heathrow had 100% electricity back up (at what enormous cost ?) - the surrounding area had lost all power. No trains, no properly functioning roads (M4 was/is shut), no nothing ! What would be the point of trying to keep the airport open ? What happened at North Hyde will unfold - making unfounded statements will help no one in the mean time. There is no control room at North Hythe, NG▸ operations control is in Sindlesham, Wokingham in Berkshire, SSE‡ and UKPN have theirs located in a number of places in the UK▸ . I was refereeing to the control of electrical power within Airport A location of stratigic National importance such as Heathrow should have a robust backup system whilst they 100% may not be warranted they should be able to run core business at a acceptable degraded mode |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Heathrow Airport closed all day Friday 21 March 2025
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on: March 21, 2025, 14:20:31
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The nominal supply area for North Hyde GSP is attached - it does not include much of the airport. But just happens to be Term 2 & 4 along with ATC▸ and other critical infrastructure
But of course the big question is why the multiple supply routes to the airport did not give it a resilient supply. That's for HAL and perhaps SSEN» to answer, rather than NGESO.
There is either a serious design flaw, lack the right switchgear systems / control system or lack of competent people |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Heathrow Airport closed all day Friday 21 March 2025
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on: March 21, 2025, 10:57:02
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Is this a single point of failure?
How many other airports/airfields could be at similar risk?
Hope somebody has a spare transformer in the (very big) cupboard.
It certainly seems Heathrow's eggs are all in one basket. It is poor resilience planning on the part of the Airport and the Electricity Supply Industry. There seems to have been an internal catastrophic arc fault inside the transformer. These transformers have a device called a Buchholz relay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchholz_relay which trips the supply and outgoing circuit breakers in the event a surge (oil / gas) and if it detects any gassing over a period of time. Any arc internally will produce gasses, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Acetylene, also it has to be born in mind that an electric arc in what is in effect a sealed container produces extreme explosive pressure. It is normal practice for large Grid transformers to have transformer monitoring systems such as https://camlingroup.com/kelvatek/asset-monitoring/asset-monitoring-products/transformers-monitoring and have a constant remote condition monitoring to a control centre. What I have noticed is the lack of blast wall between the two 400/275kV / 123kV transformers (main and reserve transformers) and from the news feeds I have seen the second transformer has suffered fire damage which make a recharge of it unlikely. I will say the "rumours" of a carelessly discarded cigarette is extremely unlikely, transformer mineral insulating oil has a very high flash point greater than 140C Grid sites have been strictly no smoking areas for many years |
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