BBC railway in Britain documentary - starts Tuesday 12th

A Dub in Glasgo

A reminder for those who do not know about this show

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/07/the-railway-keeping-britain-on-track.html

'Filmed over a year across the nation, this new six-part observational documentary series for BBC Two goes behind the scenes of an industry we all love to complain about - the railway. With unprecedented access to Network Rail and Britain’s leading train companies The Railway: Keeping Britain On Track reveals the inner workings of one of Britain’s biggest institutions.

Britain’s railway is the oldest and one of the busiest in the world. With nearly 1.5 billion journeys made every year, it is a huge network under constant pressure. We see how track-workers, train guards, drivers and management teams strive to keep Britain moving. But on the railway anything can happen. Major and minor incidents play havoc with tight schedules, from suicides and faulty signals, to cable theft and Mother Nature, all bent on bringing the railway to a grinding halt, causing chaos for thousands.

The first episode follows staff at London’s King’s Cross station working in the cramped and tiring conditions of the old concourse, where overcrowding is at its worst in 20 years. While platform staff search for late drivers to keep trains running on time, management are on a recruitment drive for the station’s new multi-million pound Western Concourse. Meanwhile, in the travel centre, passengers can hardly disguise their horror at the high fares some have to pay.

We see every aspect of this iconic station and the dedicated staff who work there, including train dispatcher Laxman, who has an emotional week as he prepares to leave his beloved railway and head off into retirement after 35 years at King’s Cross.

The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track is part of BBC Two’s Genius of Inventions.'

davidlacey

what was everyones take on the first episode? i thought it was a good take on areas alot people dont see from the cleaner to the managing director. Irish rail should have been taking notes....

corktina

my take was that however much paint they throw at the railway , the old-guard BR staff are still there with their lack of skills and bad attitudes (with the exception of Lax) Someone on National Preservation commented that it was just like a Ricky Gervais Production and I think maybe it actually was!

The new concourse didn't look too impressive to me either!

A Dub in Glasgo

I have not seen it yet, I was watching the football on Tuesday and I recorded it. I am working in London this week and was at King's Cross yesterday due to this disruption. I think the new concourse is great and much much better than the old concourse which by the looks of it has now been demolished.

101sean

I watched it last night, very interesting difference in attitudes between the old guard and new management! Lax was a gem.

Was in Kings Cross last week myself, very impressive and a big difference from when I surveyed the drains through the bomb gap as it was then about 8 years ago!

The old ticket offices are currently being demolished to expose Cubitt's frontage for the first time in years.

Looking forward to the rest of the series.

A Dub in Glasgo

Watched it today, although good it was a bit slow in pacing.

I have met loads of people like Laxman working on the railway, he came out the best by far. I have also met loads who do not give a fcuk about their job and muddle along.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the episodes (detailed below from Network Rail internal email)

2. Summer madness (Leeds station)
Filmed over the summer months in and around Leeds station and the Yorkshire area, this episode covers a real mix of issues and people from the industry including station staff, train drivers, BTP officers, our maintenance teams and York route control. It covers the Real Ale Trail (Northern); how route control deals with, and the impact of trespass; NR’s trespass campaign, how we reacted to the flooding, compensation, cable theft; and the tragic death of a young lad at Rossington.

3. Standing room only (Reading)
A chance to showcase the work at Reading and the people that are delivering the project, including behind the scenes planning meeting about closures (T-6), the Cow Lane Bridge slide and the building of a new platform 10. The episode also features how our mobile operations managers work, seeing how we handle a dead dog on the line and a suicide at footpath crossing. The cost of delays is highlighted again and we see the impact of delays caused by a freight train cutting through a cable – both passengers’ experience and our teams fixing it. Excess Baggage at Paddington also features along with customer service for elderly and disabled passengers at the station.

4. West Coast Main Line
On the trains at Euston with Virgin staff dealing with passengers, including with Liverpool and Everton fans heading for the FA Cup semi final and final; Customer service at Manchester Piccadilly with NR’s station team; out with Asset management and Babcock doing track renewals where we get to understand the pressures to get work done in a tight timeframe so not to impact on service next day. The capacity issues and the case for HS2 is also made subtley.by the narrator.

5. Railway on my doorstep (how the railway impacts on communities)
Another real mix of people and issues are covered including the economic impact of reopening of the Ebbw valley railway, both for passengers and jobs. It looks at how station staff in Liverpool and Cardiff cope with crowds when sporting events and parades are on; fare dodging; training new staff; trespass; rubbish clearances trackside and off-track; the impact of high winds on services on the ECML @ King’s Cross station; and how we have dealth with the concerns of people in Steventon in Oxfordshire as we upgraded the level crossing.

6. Scotland
The final episode looks at the railway north of the border. It follows a track worker in the West Highlands, one of the remotest parts of the network; maintenance teams known locally as “ice men” who work at night to keep the tracks clear of snow and ice during winter; and see how we replace track outside Edinburgh Waverly as well as operations at Glasgow Central.

101sean

Much to look forward too, I'll have to keep an eye out for our company logo on hi-vis at some of the worksites!

A Dub in Glasgo

Watched the 2nd one today, a big improvement on the 1st in my view. The Northern driver had a very dry wit and those pub crawls look a nightmare to deal with

corktina

yes I agree, it showed Britains Railways in a much better light.

sporty56

Anyone notice gent doing safety video in programme 2 was Phil Verster now with Irish Rail ?

A Dub in Glasgo

Phil Verster was with Irish Rail, he is now the Route Managing Director of the LNE route of Network Rail

sporty56

Apologies for wrong information on Phil Verster. As Dub in Glasgow correctly points out he's now back in UK - pity as he struck me as a real railwayman who knew his job and that's a bit rare these days.

Richard Logue

Phil's a top bloke and runs what I think is the best run route in NR.

corktina

Episode 3 was lack-lustre I thought. Disjointed and meandering. Had they copncentrated on the huge project at Reading they could have made an entire series on it.

steamengine

I thought the last programme was very entertaining - particularly Norman the long serving station master operating this one man station and enjoying every moment of it - dressed for the part too. The big shut down for the signal cable repair and the points repair was interesting and clearly a lot of time pressure too for the Network Rail guys repairing the switch. And of course the Intercity swishing by - always interesting that - to some at least !

davidlacey

norman is, what IE lacks!

101sean

I had hoped to see more of the infrastructure workers rather than lots of Friday night drunks and complaining passengers but it's good all the same.

A Dub in Glasgo

Just finished watching it - I enjoyed it, had to stop the recording to explain a few things to my wife and sons like

* The woman who said 'It must be illegal to pack us in like this' - the train was full and she still chose to travel on it!
* The big delay with the severed cable - The RAIB taking so long to decide they don't need to investigate. The S&T guys who were on site all the time could have fixed than in the first hour
* The fact that trains need to stop when there is cable damage - the railway operates fail safe, in other words, it is better to stop the service than to allow trains to run in an unsafe mode. If it was up to me, I would be emphasing this at every opportunity
* The guy at the end who said 'one line is blocked, the other open - why can't they just run the train up and down the one line' - halving capacity, may not be bi-directional working, there is more traffic that his communter train

I thought the girl in lost property handled herself well and the 2 guys on the HST catering were a laugh, nice touch about the cheese!

I have been there on big Christmas jobss and it is unrelenting. I don't know how many of the viewers will have joined the dots regarding the fares increasing and the multi billion pound investment, it is British Government policy to make the fare payer pay the majority of the cost of operating, maintaining and upgrading the railway

A Dub in Glasgo

I watched the 4th one tonight, again very good. Looks like they started with the duff one. Blea Moor is a great location and the signaller, when I was there, was so happy to seeus (S&T) as it looked as if he had not spoken to someone for days

Hilly Bill

Richard Logue wrote: »

Phil's a top bloke and runs what I think is the best run route in NR.

Just dont get on his wrong side

101sean

There's an excellent magazine special on the Settle and Carlisle line in WH Smiths which may be obtainable here in bigger Easons.

Still a enjoying the series despite too many drunks and not enough track action. The relaying train was impressive though.

Shame they weren't around filming when a baby was born on a train in West Malling yesterday!