Keeping NORTHERN moving

Lancaster Guardian

Northern train operator highlights the role operational employees across the business play in helping to keeping trains moving.

Transcript

00:00 [Bell]

00:01 [Train sounds]

00:02 One, two, one, two. Are we ready?

00:07 Strapping.

00:08 [Bell]

00:09 [Music]

00:10 Two and a half thousand times a day, somewhere across 3,000 kilometres of track.

00:15 One of our 345 trains depart.

00:17 One of more than 500 stations.

00:19 As part of a daily timetable.

00:21 That runs 22 hours a day.

00:23 That's about one every 30 to 40 seconds.

00:26 Each and every one of those services requires a highly skilled driver and a conductor to

00:31 operate safely.

00:32 That driver and conductor took a combined 15 months to become qualified and maintain

00:37 that safety critical knowledge through an ongoing programme of route learning and refresher

00:41 training.

00:42 The fleet they operate is made up of 11 different types of train.

00:46 Some we inherited.

00:48 Some we adopted from other train operators.

00:49 And over 100 we bought brand new.

00:52 Each has a different operating system and power source.

00:55 Some are diesel.

00:56 Some are electric.

00:57 And some are a hybrid of the two.

00:58 As such, only certain drivers are qualified to take the helm of certain trains.

01:03 Likewise for conductors.

01:04 Making sense so far. Are you following?

01:07 To ensure we have the technical knowledge where and when we need it, we have around

01:11 3,500 drivers and conductors at 23 crew bases across our network.

01:18 From Nottingham, our most southern point.

01:20 This is far south enough.

01:22 To Chathill, over 200 miles north.

01:25 The proper north.

01:26 And from Blackpool, on the west coast.

01:30 Come on Lancashire.

01:31 To Hull on the east. How do?

01:34 Right, let's turn it up a notch.

01:36 Drivers and conductors have days off. We go on holiday, we undertake training and yeah,

01:41 sometimes we get sick like everyone else.

01:43 And while on average about 400 new drivers and conductors join our team every year.

01:47 Equally, some of our staff do also move on.

01:50 Just like any organisation.

01:51 In fact, Northern is something of a gateway into the industry for drivers and conductors

01:56 who go on to work for train operators across the country.

01:59 When someone does decide to leave, we get about three months notice.

02:02 But for their replacement, we've got to advertise.

02:05 Shortlist.

02:06 Assess.

02:07 Interview, appoint and then train a replacement.

02:11 Which takes much longer.

02:12 It's never a straight swap.

02:14 For that reason, we're pretty much always on the lookout for people to join Northern

02:18 in one of these two crucial roles.

02:20 Wait for it. Now that's the stuff we can control. But there is more.

02:24 Safety critical engineering work and a whole host of unexpected disruption.

02:28 Such as track and signal failure.

02:30 Vandalism.

02:31 And yes, mother nature.

02:33 All impact the day to day running of our network.

02:35 And look, when the proverbial does hit the fan, and we know sometimes it does, there's

02:40 a whole army of support staff whose job it is to get us back on track and get the customer

02:44 from A to B.

02:45 Everyone involved in that process is a real person.

02:48 Someone's mum.

02:49 Someone's dad.

02:50 Someone's son.

02:51 Daughter.

02:52 Our bestie.

02:53 And they're in that job for a reason.

02:54 They care.

02:55 And they want to help.

02:56 So this is what they call the key messages.

02:59 Put simply, is our network one of the biggest and most complex in the country?

03:04 Yes.

03:05 Can it sometimes feel like a mission impossible to keep it all going?

03:08 Hell yes.

03:09 But are all of us at Northern working our socks off to provide the best service we possibly

03:13 can and keep Northern moving?

03:15 Dead right we are.

03:16 Did you get all that? Are we done?

03:17 You'd better have this mic back.

03:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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