Sir Andrew Haines, CEO of Network Rail - merged historic posts, for continuity / clarity

[whole diary]

[devon_metro]

Utterly outrageous. Imagine the hysteria if a plane fell from the skys. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Wouldn't it be unfortunate for the airlines if "Katla" was to erupt!!!!!

[matt473]

Maybe he should use this as an excuse to return to the railway and do what he does best, create a team that leads to a service that benefits passengers therfore the franchisee

[Chris from Nailsea]

To update this topic (because I have a lot of time for Andrew Haines, and think he should be given a fair press) - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Engine makers 'may have ended ash flight ban sooner'

Some engine manufacturers blocked an early lifting of the volcanic ash flying ban, the BBC has learned.

An e-mail given to the BBC as a result of a Freedom of Information Request shows that some manufacturers saw "nothing to gain" from lifting the ban.

The BBC has also been told that Air France KLM^▸ (English name: Royal Dutch Airlines ) will now fully compensate stranded travellers. The airline had previously refused to do so, but will now comply with its obligations under EU^» (European Union - about) law.

It was six months ago that volcanic ash sent the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) back in time. The eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajoekull, caused UK airspace to be shut down for six days.

The regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about)) estimates about 33,000 flights were cancelled. The advice for airlines and aviation authorities at the time for ash was to "avoid, avoid, avoid". There were no rules set as to what level of ash was safe to fly through.

This policy worked in other parts of the world where planes could simply fly around the affected airspace, but caused severe problems for the UK, where airspace is much more congested.

Crucial to lifting the flying ban was getting agreement with engine manufacturers as to what their engines could safely tolerate. Ash can melt inside jet engines, clog the turbine blades and cause the engine to stall.

And an e-mail given to the BBC as a result of a Freedom of Information Request says: "Engine manufacturers met last night in the USA and declined to accept that their products could operate... We believe that a number of manufacturers... were supportive of the position but others saw 'nothing to gain'."

The e-mail goes on to say that if engine manufacturers had accepted the deal, all airspace could be opened.

"It did take time to get them [engine manufacturers] to understand why the particular circumstances facing Europe were unprecedented and why we needed movement from them," said the chief executive of the CAA, Andrew Haines.

However, six months on, airlines still believe the regulator could have done better. They argue the CAA should have given them more freedom to decide whether it was safe to fly, using their own experiences and judgement.

"It just became increasingly frustrating as the days went on," said Steve Ridgway, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic. His airline lost ^30m in the crisis and saw 43,000 customers stranded. "We started to just not believe the data that was coming out of the Met Office. Airlines were putting up aircraft on test flights... they weren't finding any ash. And it was that speed of response which became so frustrating."

The CAA though argues it had to put safety first and could not lift the ban until it had agreement with engine manufacturers.

"What no airline was able to do was present us with data from their engine manufacturers - who are the experts here - which said it's safe to fly in these conditions," said Andrew Haines. "If someone had been able to do that then we wouldn't have had this issue. But not a single airline was able to do that right the way across Europe."

There is some good news for travellers though.

One airline - the giant Air France / KLM - had been refusing to comply with its obligations under EU law to reimburse passengers for reasonable costs incurred whilst stranded.

But the CAA has told the BBC that it has just secured agreement from the airline to pay out in full.

My highlighting. CfN. 

[JayMac]

As has been reported, Mark Carne is to leave his role as Chief Executive of Network Rail in the autumn.

His replacement has been announced by Network Rail today. A name well known in these parts...

... don't worry, it's not Mark Hopwood, but his much more capable predecessor, Andrew Haines.

Mr Haines returns to railways after a stint as head of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Full details:

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds/new-network-rail-chief-executive-announced/

[grahame]

As has been reported, Mark Carne is to leave his role as Chief Executive of Network Rail in the autumn.

His replacement has been announced by Network Rail today. A name well known in these parts ... [snip]  Andrew Haines.

I look forward to welcoming Andrew back to the rail industry.   Although we (at TransWilts) were involved with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) at the bottom of our service level and only made very limited progress during his tenure, I remember Andrew as a practical and positive builder forward - a good memory at a time when you might have expected me to have been very jaded about the FGW (as it was) director team.

[rogerw]

A very good appointment

[Timmer]

Really pleased to see Andrew Haines return to the railways.

Got a tough job on his hands but if anyone can he’s the one. After all he sorted out the mess at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) all those years ago.

[johnneyw]

I do hope this will work well, there is a lot to sort out, mainly getting costs down from prohibitive to merely extortionate.

[grahame]

Really pleased to see Andrew Haines return to the railways.

Got a tough job on his hands but if anyone can he’s the one. After all he sorted out the mess at FGW^▸ (First Great Western) all those years ago.

Good to see a very strong hand of "likes" on that post including well informed members who were around back in the days when Andrew Haines was in charge at First Great Western. 

More - this time from The Guardian

Network Rail has announced that Andrew Haines will be its new chief executive – and be paid 27% less than his predecessor to run Britain’s rail infrastructure.

Haines, the chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, will be paid £588,000 including benefits, with a possible 9% bonus, when he takes over in the autumn following a short handover period with retiring boss Mark Carne.

Haines arrives with a reputation for cost-cutting and transformation during his eight-year stint at the CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about), which earned him warm praise from the transport secretary, Chris Grayling. He said Haines had “done an outstanding job at the CAA”.

But he angered many within the organisation, who warned that its safety functions were being impaired as senior staff were made redundant and average salaries were slashed. A leaked internal report obtained by the Guardian last year showed inspectors under Haines believed they no longer had sufficient resources to do the job properly.

The CAA boss started his career in rail, as a left luggage clerk at London Victoria station, and later had stints as managing director at South West Trains then First Group’s rail division. He is sits on the board of rolling stock leasing company Eversholt Rail UK^▸ (United Kingdom), a post he will resign on joining Network Rail.

Article continues

[chuffed]

Given the revolving door nature of these appointments, I cannot help wondering if there is a vacancy for a certain person at the Catastrophic Administrators Authority. And i don't mean you, grahame!

[Lee]

What a truly fantastic appointment, although given that it's Network Rail we are talking about, I'm still waiting for someone to tell me this is a wind-up.

Haines is someone who understands the needs of both the big and the small on the rail network, and if anyone can change NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s ridiculous fingers-in-the-ears "la la la, we cant hear you" attitude towards the likes of Pilning, then he can.

[Western Pathfinder]

This really is the best piece of news that we've had in quite a while .

[SandTEngineer]

....mmm.  I'll reserve judgement for the moment.  Having worked for NR^» (Network Rail - home page) for 7 years in the past, I really think he needs to get a grip on the current culture in the organisation (one that neglects its basic remit to maintain the railway and instead likes to focus on the 'shiny new things')

[grahame]

....mmm.  I'll reserve judgement for the moment.  Having worked for NR^» (Network Rail - home page) for 7 years in the past, I really think he needs to get a grip on the current culture in the organisation (one that neglects its basic remit to maintain the railway and instead likes to focus on the 'shiny new things')

Is this some of the stuff you mean / a good start? ... from Rail Technology Magazine

The new chief executive of Network Rail Andrew Haines has told MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) he will put “passenger’s interests front and centre” following “seven sustained years of decline in performance.”

[snip]
“So, my commitment is to make sure passengers’ interests are front and centre of Network Rails’ agenda for every single one of our employees.”

[SandTEngineer]

....mmm.  I'll reserve judgement for the moment.  Having worked for NR^» (Network Rail - home page) for 7 years in the past, I really think he needs to get a grip on the current culture in the organisation (one that neglects its basic remit to maintain the railway and instead likes to focus on the 'shiny new things')

Is this some of the stuff you mean / a good start? ... from Rail Technology Magazine

The new chief executive of Network Rail Andrew Haines has told MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) he will put “passenger’s interests front and centre” following “seven sustained years of decline in performance.”

[snip]
“So, my commitment is to make sure passengers’ interests are front and centre of Network Rails’ agenda for every single one of our employees.”

Having dealt with him in a past life in a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)/RT relationship I trust him to mean what he says.  Trouble is that the culture in NR has been entirely 'self centred' for the past 10 years or more, so its going to take a lot of sustained effort to achieve the goal he has set.  Don't forget that famous quote about NR: "An organisation entirely staffed by BULLSH*TTERS and ACCOUNTANTS".  (Personally, I exclude from that analysis those who work at the coalface, such as ET of this forum).