Network June 2015

How we’re putting the public first at London Bridge

Here to help Also...

Planning for success

Making time for Safety Hour

Community in a crisis – how Harbury shows we care

june 2015THe magazine for our peopLe

2network / JUne 2015

June 2015

You can read Network in print or online at http://goo.gl/ 0u4Wqd

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Get in tOUCHinternal.communications @networkrail.co.uk

Margaret Hickish,access and inclusion manager

100% Network is a carbon neutral publication printed on Cocoon Silk (130gsm) 100% recycled stock. Do your bit and recycle Network.

Contributor’s welcome

What’s making news across the business

network knowledge

On the cover: Jasmin Sen, route station manager, wearing new pink high-visibility vests on the station concourse at London Bridge. Read the full story on pages 12-13.

Making our stations and railway accessible to everyone is an important part of what we do. on pages 14 and 15 we look at the work we’re doing with disabled rail users to ensure our stations are fit for purpose.

In this issue of network we also look at how people are using Safety Hour to make positive changes (pages 10 and 11) and what we’re doing to improve the passenger experience at London Bridge (pages 12 and 13).

on pages eight and nine we catch up with signaller, kelly Simpson who received praise from a passenger who was stranded on a train. And we return to Harbury on pages four to six, to hear more about our work with the local community and how this is setting the bar for relationship management in the future.

there’s a planning success story from Law Junction on page seven and, finally a round-up from the 2015 Business Briefings on pages 16-18.

I hope you enjoy the issue.

be seen, be safe There is now a range of high-visibility clothing designed for women available from iProcurement.

Women’s rail foul weather breathable coats and trousers, sub-zero rail soft shell jackets and trousers, cargo trousers and polo shirts are all available for order now.

Search iProcurement on Connect to browse and buy personal protective equipment.

Red ligHt spells safety New, state-of-the-art Red Light Safety Equipment cameras have been installed at 27 level crossings in England and Wales.

The cameras automatically capture evidence data, digital images and video of motorists breaching ‘stop’ lines after the red warning lights show.

The fully-automatic process continues 24 hours a day without the need for human intervention.

If successful, the cameras could be rolled out to more locations.



“We’re working on the Manchester to Preston line near Bolton to prepare it for electrification.

“Over the May bank holiday we converted the double-track railway into a single-track railway through Farnworth Tunnel – one of the busiest commuter routes in the North West.

“We’ve worked with Northern Rail and others to try and maintain as much capacity as possible.

“It’s allowing us to carry out a complex piece of engineering on the adjacent line using a custom-made tunnel boring machine.

“The work has been years in the planning and we’ve been out speaking with passengers and local residents along with MPs, councillors and businesses to help them understand how we’re working for them. Electric trains will mean a greener, faster and quieter railway. It will also mean more seats and better trains.”

in the spotlightImprovement work is “short-term pain for the long-term gain,” says Beth Dale, project manager

Full story on page 12

scotRail alliance Ready to Roll The new rail alliance partnership for Scotland officially launched last month - with managing director Phil Verster promising to put passengers at the heart of the service.

The ScotRail Alliance brings together train operator Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail as one organisation, running more than 2,500 trains per day, managing and maintaining more than 350 stations and almost 3,000 miles of track.

“All our people have a real passion and pride in the service they provide,” said Phil. “We have started an exciting journey which will deliver a railway Scotland can be truly proud of.

“The ScotRail Alliance is all about connecting Scotland, bringing people and communities together and putting the customer first in everything we do.

“Every customer is important to us - no matter how short or long their trip, no matter where they begin or end their journey.

“By bringing track and train together

as one business we have a real opportunity to change how the industry in Scotland works, making it more responsive to the needs of the country it serves.”

The alliance will introduce new, smart ticketing systems combining rail with ferry and air travel, promote the tourism potential of the nation’s scenic routes and create the UK’s largest cycle/rail network.

Railway iMpRoveMents continue During May, major works took place across two separate bank holiday weekends to improve and upgrade the network.

Both long weekends saw 14,000 signallers, track workers and engineers out in force on a range projects, the most high-profile pieces of which were to prepare for the arrival of Thameslink and Crossrail services.

This included significant works at London Bridge during the spring bank

holiday including the removal of two platforms, realignment of tracks and jacking-up and fixing of a bridge.

Additionally, as part of the ongoing upgrade of the West Coast main line, major works including new track and overhead lines were installed near Stafford alongside new track between Crewe and Wigan.

In all cases, work was completed on time and services ready to resume for passengers following the closures.

landslideviCtOry

showing we care matters, and never more so than in a crisis. network looks at how we’ve helped in Harbury following a massive landslip

Good neighbours

The landslip at Harbury on 31 January caused the line between Banbury and

Leamington Spa to be closed for six weeks. Not only did it inconvenience passengers on the route, it also meant disruption for residents of the large, leafy Warwickshire village.

While we already had teams on site dealing with a previous, smaller landslip, these numbers quadrupled after a huge slip, which saw around 350,000 tonnes of earth slide towards the railway line.

As well as around 80 people on site working round the clock to clear the slip, residents have had heavy plant and vehicles moving near their village, transporting thousands of tonnes of excavated earth to the local tip. “We recognise that it’s been an intrusion to the village,” said Dave Rogers, project


manager. “But it couldn’t be helped and we’ve done what we can to reduce the impact, and help people understand the circumstances of why we’re here and what we’re doing.”


Claire Payne, teacher “The visit has been fantastic. The children have been so excited and learned so much. It’s a great thing for the company to have done.”

Dave Rogers, project manager“We’ve become part of this community. It’s good to contribute as positively as we can.”

Being present“From the word go, we’ve been present in the village with our community relations teams, knocking on doors to keep people in the loop and doing what we can to give back to the community.”

This ‘giving back’ has included inviting every class from Harbury primary school on site for a presentation about the landslip and a chance to look at some of our heavy plant and machinery in action. Pupils from five to 12 year old witnessed demonstrations, learned about our Lifesaving Rules and safety ethos and asked many questions of our operatives and engineers.

community projects“It’s been great to see how excited and how enthusiastic they get about our work,” said engineer Joe Allen who organised and hosted the visits on behalf of Network Rail and our contractor, Murphy.

We have also completed a number of other community projects in the area including resurfacing the local library car park, providing equipment for local social groups and giving presentations at parish council meetings.

“It’s the right thing to do,” added Joe. “We’ve become part of this community after all, and it’s good to contribute as positively as we can.” n

pupiL feedBack

Gracie, pupil “I enjoyed learning about how much muck there was to remove and seeing the dump truck in action.”

Finn, pupil “Seeing all the machines was so much fun. I want to get a job like this now.”

fasT facTsHarbury landslip

The railway between Leamington Spa and Banbury reopened on 13 March following a six-week closure caused by a massive landslip near Harbury

Hundreds of people worked round the clock to remove up to 350,000 tonnes of earth displaced by the landslip

The community contact work done by the team following the line closure is shaping the way we react to incidents like this in the future

As well as going door to door to speak to residents and commuters, we have engaged with local schools to teach them more about our work.


Good neighbours(continued)

PUttinG tHe COmmUnity first what have we learned from Harbury, and how will it help us with similar incidents in the future? “With a major incident like Harbury, it’s important we put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and treat them the way we’d like to be treated,” said Andy White, head of contacts and communities.

“In this case, that meant knocking on every door in the immediate area to explain what happened, what it meant and what would happen next. We can’t change what has happened, but we can work with our neighbours and be there for them while we fix it.

“We’ve kept up that contact since. We have also volunteered to contribute positively where we can and we have built strong relationships as a result.”


Andy White, head of contacts and communities “It’s important we put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and treat them the way we’d like to be treated.”

a plan for the future “What happened in Harbury has prompted us to refresh our crisis management approach within the contact and communities team. We are taking all of the good stuff we have done in here and building it into our business-as-usual approach.

“When incidents like this arise we need to engage communities quickly and ensure we have a personal presence. We’ll ensure that we have the ability to go door to door when required so people see a face of Network Rail.

“If we want to show we care, this has to be the way we do things from now on – by putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.”

a closer teamAndy explained that the new approach to incidents like this will be even more collaborative. “In Harbury, we have worked closely with the project manager and front line teams, building up close relationships in the process. By ensuring we were on site, we were able to take care of the community relations work, freeing them up to focus on the critical repair work.

“Should another incident like this arise in the future, we will be doing the same thing.” n

Donald Morris, programme manager“We had a strong team on site and could be trusted to hand back on time.”

Scott Mayle, project manager“Everyone knew exactly what to do.”

Steve Featherstone, programme director“We have always been strong with our technical planning, but now there is a lot more focus on contingency planning. At the heart of all of our discussions are passengers.”

Over the May Day bank holiday, teams from Infrastructure Projects (IP), National Supply

Chain (NSC) and Network Operations put our contingency planning to the test during a possession at Law Junction.

“It’s a key junction on the Caledonian line between England and Scotland,” explained Scott Mayle, project manager. “If we had overrun here, thousands of passengers would be affected.

“We were set to undertake renewal but soon after we took possession we realised that things weren’t going to plan.

“There were plant reliability issues, similar to those experienced at King’s Cross over Christmas.”

a new approach “Since then, the entire business has renewed its approach to pre-possession planning. We’re focusing more on contingency and are working more closely with the route.

“This meant when we got a whiff of a potential overrun we could take action.

“Everyone knew exactly what to do. We referred to the contingency plan and de-scoped some non-essential work before drafting support from the local maintenance team.”

While IP focused on the switches and crossings upgrades, a team from local maintenance assisted our construction team with the overhead line works.

“The overhead line equipment team worked from the nearby access road rather than requiring rail access, as their

Better every day

machines had adequate reach. They also managed to fit some of their rewire works within the tamping times.”

right place at the right time Meanwhile, NSC worked behind the scenes to ensure the engineering haulage drivers were in the right place at the right time.

Donald Morris, programme manager, said: “Revised timings were adopted when things slipped. Project operations managers were fantastic at coordinating driver and operator times, leaving the project team to deal with rescheduling shifts for machines and installation staff. It sounds simple but was a massive help.”

Conference calls were held every two hours so everyone was aware of the new plan, and how work was progressing.

Key stakeholders such as route control were kept in the loop, and updates were given to directors.

“This left the project team to get on with the task in hand,” added Donald. “We had a strong team on site and could be trusted to hand back on time. This gave stakeholders confidence in the plan.”

The signalling installation team were also praised for having the site on schedule by the time the tester in charge (TIC) arrived.

Steve Featherstone, programme director, added: “The team here were outstanding. All disciplines played their part in bringing the job back on time. It goes to show that our renewed planning focus is really making a difference.” n


tHe mAy teAmwe love it when a contingency plan comes together

to keep us cool in the heat,

but the guard worked with

the wonderful person in

the signal box to organise

drinks of water, and

even some lollies for the

children ... never in my

long life have I been on

a train where not a single

passenger had anything

but a good word to say

about such kind staff…

Caring for customers

keeP COOl

And CArry

On


Quick thinking duo

thanked by passengers


It was a hot sunny day – the kind of day no one wants to spend stuck on a train.

However, that’s just what happened when the 10:18 Hull to Doncaster service stopped short at Saltmarshe station on 10 April.

The problem? A swing bridge at Goole would not close after a ship passed through, meaning the Northern Rail-run train was going nowhere.

This is where you might imagine irate passengers and fed-up families with children. But not a bit of it. In fact, on this occasion, the train guard worked with our signaller Kelly Simpson to make sure our customers were not just kept in the loop but also fed and watered throughout the 45-minute delay.

Thanks and praiseOne of the passengers on board, Peter Cooke, took the time to write to us to highlight the brilliant service he and others received.

“We were on an older type of train without any air-conditioning to keep us cool in the heat, but the guard worked with the wonderful person in the signal box to organise drinks of water, and even some chilled chocolate for the

children on the train,” said Peter“Never in my long life have I been

on a train which has been so badly delayed yet not a single passenger had anything but a good word to say about such kind members of staff.”

The extra mileOur signaller said it’s all in a day’s work. “The first thing I did is keep the train in the station rather than sending it to the next signal,” said Kelly.

“Then I worked closely with the driver and Sammi, the guard, to give the passengers all the information about what was causing the delay.

“I heard there were some young children on board – I occasionally have young visitors in to look round the signal box and keep some chocolates in the fridge for them so I passed a few onto the guard to give to the kids.

“I always do what I can to make sure our passengers are affected as little as possible by delays.”

Our customer Peter summed up: “Both the guard and signaller deserve praise for their selfless actions. It said it all when one family were leaving the train and one child asked: ‘Can the bridge break the next time we are on the train?’” n

fasT facTsCustomer focus

We are focusing more and more on the customer. Whenever they come into contact with us, we want them to have the same positive experience

We’re doing this by demonstrating that we care – by putting customers at the heart of all we do when we plan and deliver projects

More focus is also going on training our people on the front line.

operations manager mark Hayles (left) and northern rail’s mark nixon give some thank-you flowers to guard sammi and signaller kelly simpson

Safety Hour


time Of HOUr lives

Safety Hour provides a weekly

opportunity for all of our people to take part in conversations about issues affecting them. Intended to

avoid being prescriptive, each part of the business is encouraged to fashion

their own approach to Safety Hour.

andy says... “It can be easy to fall into the trap of assuming

safety is all about the people on the track but around a quarter of our people on

this route do not work on the track. Not only is safety important to all our people but a

lot of what we do impacts on them.“Here in Wales, we’ve been taking

an approach of local managers running sessions and trying to make them as

flexible and relevant as possible.“While it’s early days, Safety

Hour has been invaluable by enabling combinations of office and track workers

to get involved, raise issues, share information and, very often, provide

fresh ways of looking at safety.“I expect this to be a work in progress

in the months and years ahead, constantly moving to adapt to

the issues and challenges unique to different routes

and depots.”

across the business we’re making time to talk about safety

andy williams, electrification and plant maintenance engineer

“We’ve done four or five Safety Hours now and you can definitely feel each week how it’s becoming more and more useful. It’s a good use of our time as it means we can stop, think, discuss, listen and challenge.

“All of us have a vested interest in safety, not just for ourselves but we tend to have an attitude of looking out for each other.

“Safety Hour means we can raise issues or suggestions with the bosses, knowing full well there will be future meetings where they can be challenged on whether action has been taken.

“This will make it a success in the long run – if those of us on the front line can see where issues they raised have been escalated and dealt with by management it will have some real purpose.”

wales and safety HourIn Wales, the Safety Hour approach has been to identify local managers across the four main locations who are able to confidently deliver sessions. Managers who need help leading sessions are being given training.

After four weeks, around a dozen teams are holding Safety Hours with around 400 people taking part.

The objective is for around 900 people to be taking part in one Safety Hour per week by week 12. n

alun says...

alun williams, track operative


find OUt mOreSupporting Safety Hour materials can be found in the learning library on Safety Central: www.safety.networkrail.co.uk

Customer focus

Behind the news headlines, our people are doing amazing things at London Bridge.

They are working hard to ensure that, despite ongoing construction, people are able to get around the station.

Of course there have been challenges and at times passengers haven’t received the level of service they expect – but the team at London Bridge is turning that around.

Jasmin Sen, route station manager, said: “Earlier this year we made a number of changes at London Bridge – all of them are aimed at improving the customer experience.

“They include more training for our people and an increased focus on their mental health and wellbeing. We’ve also increased the number of customer information screens and have invested in Wi-Fi around the station.

“Perhaps the most noticeable change though is our pink high-visibility vests.”


one station, one teamThe pink tabards are similar to those used during London 2012. The team wear them on the platform so passengers can spot them easily.

“I’d like everyone at the station to wear them – including our train operator colleagues,” said Jasmin. “We’re one station and one team and although our business priorities may differ, we’re all here for the same reason.”

Gary Beckwith, customer service assistant, has been at London Bridge for 16 years. He feels the action plan is helping win passengers over. “Pink tabards worked well for the Olympics and it’s working for us now. I actually think it makes people calmer when they approach us.

“We’re here to provide a service and get people to where they need to go – it’s what we do. That’s been difficult here in recent months, but the changes we’ve made are making a big difference.”

bUildinG bridGesat London Bridge our people are standing out from the crowd and making a difference to station users


out in force on the concourseAs part of the action plan, more of our people are around on the concourse throughout the day.

Dennis Kirk, station manager, said: “There are nine of us on the concourse during the quieter periods and up to 18 at peak times. The pink high-vis and the sheer amount of us up on the concourse is certainly making it easier for customers to find us, but it’s important we’re approachable too.

“That means not always waiting for people to come to us for help, we’re approaching passengers to speak with them.”

Shift station manager Anthony Faircloth agreed: “Being outgoing, honest, friendly and helpful is going a long way to keeping passengers

happy. The fact is that we have another two-and-a-half years before this project is finished so we’ll need to keep our standards high for our passengers.” n

more of our people are around London Bridge concourse to assist passengers

of volunteers over Easter and the May Day bank holiday. She said: “We are grateful that so many volunteers offered to attend stations across the route. We’re there alongside our train operator colleagues to improve the passenger experience during

Across the network, people are volunteering to join their local Customer Action Team (CAT) and attend stations to help passengers in the event of an overrun or incident. Kerry Elton, lead HR business partner in the Western route, organised scores

Customer Action teams

any engineering works and to be on standby if the railway is not back to normal afterwards.”

fasT facTsLondon Bridge

The Thameslink programme will mean improved connections, more reliable journeys, better stations and more seats by 2018

London Bridge is being rebuilt as part of the programme

Changes around London Bridge station are helping to improve the passenger experience

Changes are also being made to Southern and GTR timetables for London Bridge that should assist in managing the issues both operators face in the peak.

Inclusive design

As passenger numbers continue to rise, making the railway and its stations fit for the future has

never been more important.We are using a process called

inclusive design, which aims to deliver an environment everyone can access and benefit from.

Margaret Hickish, access and inclusion manager, said: “Inclusive design is about removing barriers that create undue effort, separation or special treatment.

“We follow an industry-wide code of practice to improve the accessibility and inclusive design of stations for everyone.

“This code also outlines our duties to meet European standards of accessibility. We’re taking a new, approach to inclusive design which considers accessibility for everyone and takes into account cost-effective sustainable design for stations, offices, depots and training centres.”


our panellists As part of our inclusive design approach, we have created a Built Environment Accessibility Panel (BEAP); a 12-person working group helping to make sure major building works, projects and stations across the network are as accessible and inclusive as possible.

A number of the panellists are disabled and everyone on the BEAP is a rail passenger as well as a technical expert in inclusion and access.

Margaret said: “The panel approach is extremely helpful. We’re also calling on the expertise of our disabled staff network – CAN DO. Their first-hand experience is proving invaluable in shaping our priorities.

“We’ve also built on the successful disability training given to customer-facing staff for London 2012. Our Inclusive Service Training, co-presented by disabled trainers, is now also being delivered across our managed stations.”

we’re working to make our stations and infrastructure accessible to everyone

All AbOArd

Margaret Hickish “We’ve built on the successful disability training given to customer-facing staff. ”


Queen street accessibility Glasgow Queen Street is Scotland’s third busiest station with 20 million passengers a year. It needs to expand to meet predicted growth of 28 million passengers by 2030, and to accommodate the longer trains that will be running on key routes.

It’s an integral part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme. Work on the concourse is due to commence in January 2017 and be completed in 2019.

Kevin Murray, programme manager, explained that the project is already benefiting from the inclusive design approach. “It’s a unique opportunity as we’re working with a separate project team who are currently expanding Buchanan Galleries – an adjacent shopping centre on what was the station car park. We’re making sure our design is coordinated with theirs to ensure that the finish is fit for purpose for everyone.

“As well as working with the BEAP, we’ve engaged with Glasgow Accessibility Panel and the train operator ScotRail, which has been invaluable.

“Input from two public consultations has informed the design. Working with so many knowledgeable partners has given us greater confidence in our design and that we’re getting things right.” n

we’re working with a number of groups to ensure the rail network is accessible for everyone

find OUt mOreRead our ‘Everyone Strategy’ on Connect to find out more about how we are working to become an open, diverse and inclusive organisation

why did you decide to join the Beap?“I run my own company developing mobility-led design products and consulting on access and equality. I have cerebral palsy, and as a frequent rail user myself, I understand the day- to-day reality of using the rail network as a person with a disability. I’m also aware of the UK guidelines for equality, so I was naturally very keen to be part of a group of like-minded people that influences the network, not just for me but for thousands of people.”

what do you do as part of the panel?“I attend meetings every six to eight weeks where I’m informed of the latest projects and I’m part of an open discussion on how best to ensure new and existing projects cater to people with all needs. Recently I was involved in planning of the Glasgow Queen Street project. I am from Glasgow and know the station like the back of my hand. I’m really happy to be able to say I was a small part of creating what will be a hub for millions of people.”

what are your thoughts on the design of glasgow Queen street?“The design is fantastic, it’s open plan and meets modern passenger needs of space and comfort. As well as the logistics, it is a great shop window and entry to Glasgow, with the immediate views over George Square, the centre and heart of the city.”

Alex Papanikolaou, beAP member

Onwards, together

more than 6,000 colleagues heard from chief executive mark carne and other senior leaders throughout april and may’s Business Briefings. we asked people from around the business to

report back on what they saw and heard…

let’s be better every dAy

in the past we have tried to get better by driving centrally driven initiatives into the business. This

approach to getting better can work well, but what i have seen is that people on the front line often say

that they are drowning in initiative overload. i want to encourage everyone to deliver improvements. This

is at the heart of what i call ‘Better every day’.mark carne, Business Briefings 2015


colette patterson, Birmingham“I loved the video footage from around the country – it reminds me what a huge company we are and how diverse and important the work we do is. Mark spoke with humility but his message was loud and clear, safety is still our biggest priority. I appreciated his nod to more stability as there has been enough process-driven change.”

penny gilg, manchester“In the video with Phil Hufton and Francis Paonessa, they both said the priorities of Network Operations and IP fundamentally conflict. It is nice to hear some honesty like this. It was followed up with encouraging talk of how working together could overcome this.”

james sealey, Bristol“Patrick Hallgate showed great appreciation for the Western route after the challenges we faced in Dawlish and he told us how we’re working with the government to ensure that the sea wall is protected in the future. Coming away from the event and chatting with colleagues, I really appreciate the Better every day theme more and more.”

adedayo phillips, york“The mood was positive and the use of the Meetoo app was considered a plus as it got everyone engaged. One question that caught my attention was why the business was not pushing out our success as the media only publishes our failures. The panellists agreed, pointing out we usually use words that show us as uncaring to the customer, such as disruptive works instead of rail improvements.”

Representatives from local leadership teams and others from the executive board joined Mark on stage as he visited 11 locations England, Scotland and Wales.

Key topics included how we can better demonstrate that we care about the public and each other; how continuous improvement and clarity over targets are critical to delivering our objectives; the collaborative relationship with our contractors; and

why the Digital Railway is fundamental to our long-term goals.

The audience also questioned the panel on topics including the Band 5-8 pay talks, diversity and inclusion, sharing knowledge and information, and training and development opportunities.

Our people were the stars of a video shown at each event, where colleagues and members of the wider rail industry outlined what Better every day means to them.

the brief guide...



Onwards, together(continued)

better together

Phil Hufton, managing director, Network Operations, and Francis Paonessa, managing director, Infrastructure Projects (IP), featured in a special video shown at the Business Briefings and spoke about how their respective parts of the business need to work together.

Phil said: “The remit of Network Operations is about running and maintaining the railway on a day-to-day basis, making sure that when people travel on the railway, it’s safe and reliable.

Francis and I have the same passion to make this a success, and we know we need each other. If everybody embraces it, we’ve got a great chance.”

Francis said: “The railway is more popular than ever so it needs to be open for longer, and at the same time we’re delivering unprecedented levels of IP enhancement and renewal. That’s the core of the challenge, balancing those two conflicting priorities to give passengers the experience they need.”

find OUt mOreWatch videos from the briefings and read questions and answers at http://connect/NewsAndUpdates/BusinessBriefings/Business_Briefings.aspx

in numBersBusiness Briefings

19 briefings

11 locations

6,000 attendees: • 33 per cent were female • 58 per cent were aged 26-45 • 63 per cent were from Network Operations and IP • 66 per cent have worked here for up to 10 years

85+ answers to your questions from the briefings are on Connect now.

key messages

Better every day will deliver the performance improvements we need

Collaborative working is key to sharing information and best practice

Safety and performance go hand-in-hand

We must demonstrate that we care about the impact we have on the public.

As well as hosting 19 briefings across 11 locations around the network, Mark took the opportunity to make several early-morning visits to delivery units. He said: “I really enjoyed hearing from people on the front line over the past two months. Even in the short time I was with them we managed to share some really innovative ideas that can improve the business. It just goes to show that our people are

key in helping us become Better every day and rising to the challenges we face in the coming months and years. “I really appreciated how people felt comfortable in challenging the status quo and raising their concerns. Their honesty helped us to have truly constructive conversations. Thank you to everyone who came along and took part in the discussions.”

On the road


find OUt mOreRead the original story on Connect: http://connect/content/news/2015/may/Lifesavers.aspx

network news

Todmorden: a key new section of railway in the north west of england has reopened, providing a direct link for passengers between manchester and Burnley for the first time in more than four decades. it follows the reopening of the 300 metre stretch known as the Todmorden curve, which was initially axed in 1972.

Have your say: lancashire lifesavers lauded

scotland: The Borders railway – the longest new domestic railway to be constructed in Britain for more than 100 years – will be completed this month. keep an eye on connect to read more about the project.

London: The first section of track that will be solely used by crossrail has been successfully laid in south east London.

ebbw vale: Trains are once again running into ebbw vale for the first time in more than 40 years. we delivered a brand new station and rail line in just 15 weeks.

owen and danny Lewis

Our intranet, Connect, delivers breaking news and company updates daily, giving you the

chance to have your say on the topics that matter to you. One of the most popular stories in May was about a vigilant uncle and nephew duo, Owen and Danny Lewis, who intervened to help save the life of a distressed woman in Lancashire. Here’s a pick of the responses to the report.

“Well done Owen and Danny. Your selfless act has averted what could have been a tragic loss and a lifetime of suffering to that poor lady’s family.”rachel pollard, stonebridge park

“What a kind and thoughtful duo. Well done to you both. Let’s hope this lady gets the help she needs. You should both be very proud of yourselves.”Hazel forbes, smethwick

“Well done, a massive pat on the back too. Keep up the good work, it’s all too easy to watch and not get involved, so a massive well done.”jason Barlow, Liverpool

“Well done. She obviously had some sort of distress causing her actions, and the way you describe your handling of her is great to hear. Great work, well done.”Helen Bendall-jones, manchester

To find out more and make your pledge, visit: http://goo.gl/Lsnufs

we have pledged our commitment to the Time to change campaign, which is run by the mental health charities mind and rethink mental illness.

you can make your own personal pledge to support our commitment to reduce stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health.

time tO CHAnGe

Documents

Network June 2015