MOVING ON UP
There are new roles and new surroundings for some of our colleagues
Control colleagues responsible for the Mildmay and Suffragette lines have relocated to work alongside their Network Rail counterparts at the North London Railway Service Delivery Centre in Upminster.
It is the latest step in our Control Transformation programme – helping us make faster, better, and more customer focused decisions during service disruption. Exchange Extra met some of the team.
Roy Antwi, train service response controller
I assist the on-shift train service controller (TSC), ensuring that all incident responses are handled in the right way. I’ll be in touch with driver managers, send out safety on the line messages and liaise with Network Rail’s service delivery supervisor. I'm a link between the train service controller and Network Rail.
At Palestra, I was a TSC. This new position combines aspects of the role with those of an incident controller, so we are trained in both areas. It’s only been a few weeks, but it’s already improved our response.
Being in the same room as Network Rail’s signallers means incidents are addressed immediately. As soon as the driver gets on the phone to a signaller, the signaller will repeat back the info so we can hear it. That way, we can start making plans within seconds.
Recently, we had a points failure at Willesden Junction, which resulted in a train being stranded. I would say it was our quickest response time ever! Because we were all in the room working together, the process was seamless and within 15 minutes that train was set back and ʻunstrandedʼ. That was very satisfying.
Poppy Hicks, train service response controller
As Roy explained, this role is a hybrid of train service controller (TSC) and incident response controller. We rotate, one week on the incident response desk and the next on the TSC desk. That flexibility to do both is very helpful when it comes to responding quickly.
I've been with ARL for six years, working in control-related roles. Before taking on this current role, I was a train running controller seconded to Network Rail, based at Three Bridges, so I'm used to liaising with signallers and have a good working relationship
with them. That rapport you build from working side by side is essential. It makes communication much more effective.
Being organised is important. I'm big on note taking – I use a pen and paper to write a checklist of things I need to do. Before ARL, I worked with the fire and police services. I'm familiar with emergency situations, incident liaison and crisis management. This role is also very fast-paced and requires quick, clear thinking. I thrive in those situations.
Tara Lipscombe, service delivery supervisor, Network Rail
My role is to support the signallers, ensuring they have the right information and that effective contingencies are in place during any disruption. It’s about ensuring that everything is done safely and in line with the policies and procedures of Network Rail and the train operator.
Working alongside colleagues from London Overground is improving the communication between us. It’s removed a lot of the back and forth – the phone calls, waiting for information.
With everyone working in the same room now, decision making is streamlined, and you can build relationships with each other. You know who to go to for certain decisions or information. That means service recovery plans are better, and we can get information to the signallers quicker.
The service delivery supervisor is a new role at Upminster. Before this, I worked as a signaller on the Mildmay line for three years. That experience enables me to help ARL colleagues make informed decisions. I enjoy pressure situations and the excitement of having to think on my feet. I think quite logically and it’s very satisfying when you can bring everything together in a plan.
Voice of the customer
Steve McDaniel, head of control, said: ″We worked with our colleagues to design a structure that would give them the tools needed to deliver the best possible customer outcomes, while keeping the voice of the customer within the Control centres. I’m so pleased we could work with the team to deliver this. Thank you to everyone who has played a part.”
Click here to watch a video about the new North Service Delivery Centre.
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