Rail nationalisation: ideas, suggestions, predictions etc

[Meerkat]

I would hope that the consolidation of TOCs would enable easier transfer of rolling stock to cover shortages elsewhere in the network - the Marston Vale, for example, would've had a service return sooner if GBR (or Labour's idea of it) was enacted already.

Who would have lost stock for that?

 

[WAB]

I wonder which jobs in the industry will become obsolete as a result of renationalisation? I reckon most frontline staff will still be required, albeit, there may be a more multi-skilled all-purpose focus on station operations/on board. I wonder whether engineering will tend towards being more generalist or specialist in the roles that are offered?

Jobs I could potentially see on the chopping block are actually a lot of managerial positions. It will be interesting how signalling, control, delay attribution etc work when everyone suddenly works for the same company. Lots of financial and marketing roles will probably be cut too. Personally I'd like to see a sustained commitment to frontline staffing with the savings being made at a management level instead.

Head office roles may contract, but given the churn a lot of these roles have (support roles in particular), I don't think we'll be looking at mass redundancy; instead, recruitment freezes. I suspect a lot of the attrition will be focused in the interface roles. In control for example, you'd probably still have running controllers (ex-NR) and service controllers (ex-TOCs) but they would more likely be co-located and the liaison roles (where they exist) would go. Delay attribution would become less adversarial, but will remain as part of the performance regime - again, more of a contraction through churn than redundancies. Signallers will still be following regulation policies, but these may be written more holistically than is currently the case. As for engineering, what changes are you expecting? I would expect more of a grafting of the NR teams into wherever they sit within the new structure, but the nature of the job won't have changed.

Are there any specific management roles you think may be for the chop?

The problem is, in Reid's day the railway also had a number of very senior managers who were excellent operators but I just don't see that calibre of manager on todays railway, certainly not the passenger railway. The most prominent exception I'd suggest would be John Smith of GBRf who I think would make a decent choice as Chairman. Labour could also do a lot worse than consult with some of those still around with BR experience.

Yes, plenty of those are willing to chew your ear off if you choose the right pub! At the same time, I think we need to develop new talent with that breadth of experience. A new Operations graduate scheme built along the lines of the old BR traffic management training scheme, with placements across the function (as well as some commercial dabbling) including a secondment to FOCs, with the requirement to get a certified frontline skill (contingent signaller, guard, dispatcher or controller) by the end of the scheme. As it stands, only Network Rail and TfW offer operations graduate schemes, and some of the Network Rail grads leave the scheme with some pretty terrible gaps in their basic ops knowledge. The culture at NR towards operations is not encouraging, either.

One issue we now have is that the upper supervisory grades and the lower management grades have been thinned out in the sort of roles which would give useful experience as an operator (much fewer assistant station managers etc.) so it's actually harder to reach the top with useful operational knowledge. You also have TOCs moving towards apprentices who specialise very early on in specific roles, which increases competition for roles and doesn't give enough space for a varied rail career for those on their way up.

A lot of Network Rail ops grads end up in projects or as LOMs, but I don't think this gives them the right experience. A lot of people also use train planning as a way up but this is very office-based and doesn't give enough experience of the way the railway works on the ground. There are ways up, but I don't think it gives the right number of leaders with a strong operational and commercial background.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Yes, plenty of those are willing to chew your ear off if you choose the right pub!

I once met a former BR manager a few years ago and yes, he had a LOT to say

 

[Dr Hoo]

I once met a former BR manager a few years ago and yes, he had a LOT to say

Unfortunately having lots to say cannot always be equated with being the most helpful to listen to. (Probably true in many fields.)