Carne’s vision for a Digital Railway

“PPM is still the prime measure and for me there is no doubt that we have to move to a right time railway way of thinking, both at the top level and at the Network Rail perspective,” says Carne.

“As the railway becomes more congested, these tiny differences in train paths and in train sectional running times create these interface issues within the network which then back up and create all sorts of problems.

“It’s becoming more and more critical that we focus on the very small deviations to the path and that we relentlessly strive to improve performance. That’s a joint effort with the TOCs, making sure that dwell times are adhered to and making sure that the trains then actually deliver the sectional running times - and stick to them. There’s no doubt at all that there’s still a lot we can still do to improve.”

What’s NR’s view and position on HS2 at the moment?

“We are very supportive of HS2,” says Carne. “The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed use railway line in Europe, and without major, further investment in capacity we are going to really, significantly impede the economic growth of the country. So I think that HS2 is a very necessary investment.

“Yes, it is a huge step - but a very necessary one. Beyond that, I think that HS3 also shows commitment to continued new investment in railways, particularly in the North.

“I am also very excited about the Northern Hub and the benefits that’s going to give to passengers in and around Manchester and the North in the next five years. It’s exciting that we are now thinking beyond that and asking ‘what are the next big steps that we could take to improve services in the North?’”

He’s right about that - and the changes in northern mindset following the Scottish referendum have led to a rising groundswell of opinion for more devolved regional powers, with transport high on the list of northern priorities. Neither Government nor NR can ignore this. Change is now inevitable.

Carne is also very keen to talk about NR’s people and skills requirements.

“If you look at HS2 or Crossrail, Thames Tideway, Hinckley… there are all these major projects occurring right across the country, so having enough skilled people to tackle these challenges is very important.”

He then says something that may prompt raised eyebrows around the industry, not least considering the ballooning costs and slow progress on electrification, in particular.

“Because we have such a strong track record in the delivery of these infrastructure projects, we are a very attractive breeding ground for people, some of whom leave. I am very proud that people have confidence and want to come and recruit people from Network Rail. So we have to therefore go out and develop new talent to replace that, and I think we have a tremendous programme of investment in people.

“The training centres we have are second to none. We have just opened a new one in York, we are opening one at Basingstoke very shortly, and we have a marvellous training facility at Westwood, in Coventry. So, our investment in people and developing people is one of the great strengths at Network Rail, and it’s something that I am absolutely committed to continuing to pursue.

“But I also think that this idea of what I call the Digital Railway, and the sort of technical transformation that can occur in the railway, will make the railway seem a much more dynamic and exciting place for young people to be a part of. We are competing against many other industries for the brightest and the best, so we have to think about how we are going to succeed in that market place and attract young people to want to come and join this industry.”

There’s one last aspect I want to drill down on - and that’s Carne’s relentless focus on safety. My worry is that his microscopic focus on fine detail runs the risk of losing sight of the bigger system safety picture.

When you visit the NR offices now, the receptionist self-consciously gives you a little safety lecture that comes down to being told to watch your step, hold the handrails - and if you see a safety risk, please tell us.

It was the same story on the BP Deepwater Horizon production platform off the US coast in 2010. It exploded, killing 11 people, causing massive pollution and costing BP billions of pounds in fines and compensation. The court cases still go on.

My point is this: what many people don’t know is that the night before, a group of BP top executives were on the mainland, preparing to fly out to the rig on the day it actually exploded - to present safety awards focused on watching for slips and trips and holding handrails.

They did ‘small personal safety’ well, but in the pursuit of an end to minor slips and trips, much bigger system risks went unaddressed. Is Carne running the same risk at NR, by making receptionists tell people such as Wolmar and myself effectively not to run in the corridors when we visit his office?

I think I detect a hint of irritation behind the smooth and controlled highly-polished exterior, but if it’s there, it’s only for an instant. I certainly think there’s a soupçon of discomfort. But he smiles again.

“It’s true that there were inspectors on the rig at the time,” he answers carefully. “They weren’t necessarily there to give the awards out - but I think that slightly misrepresents the situation that I am trying to talk about.

“So without wishing to talk specifically about BP and that particular incident - if you think about the waves of improvement that the oil industry (and our industry) has gone through… when you have had a serious accident like Piper Alpha, Clapham, Potters Bar or Ladbroke Grove, what happens is that there is a technical fix.

“People focus on an engineering solution, and that’s embedded in things like the safety cases and safety regulations and so on - so that’s about engineering improvements. But then the next wave is when you start to get into the safety management system: how do we ensure that our people have the right competency and skills to be able to execute their jobs properly?

“But the third wave is all about behaviours - it is about really getting people to change the way they work. The crucially important point is that you have to have all three waves. The danger is when you get to the third wave - the behaviours wave - you must not put all of your focus on that and forget about processes, skills, or engineering accidents. If you don’t have proper focus on all three waves then that is when you start to let the system you describe creep in.

“It is definitely the case, in my view, that in the oil industry there are now a lot of people who have almost forgotten this vital point. We will not be doing that.”

So you have to have all three in a mutually supportive tension? To hold the whole system together and keep it in safe balance?

“You make a very, very good point,” he concedes. “And I am acutely aware of it because when I talk about workforce safety, it’s not because I am not worried about train accidents. Of course I am worried about train accident risk - it’s the most important thing that we have to make sure we get right from a safety perspective.

“That’s why we have very clear plans of how we are going to reduce train accident risk by a further 50% in the next five years.

“But we are also changing our work processes - we are looking at safe systems of work. This is a fundamental change to the way we have controlled work on site in the past - we are making sure that the competencies for safe work leaders can only be held by permanent staff. They now cannot be held by contingent labour, so as you see - we are indeed working on all three elements of the safety journey at the same time.”

So when it’s time to pack his bag and leave NR (in two to three years judging by previous experience), what will he wish to leave behind as his legacy?

“If I felt that the railway was a safer place, that it had a real high performance culture embedded within it, was forward-thinking in terms of technology, and was brave enough and ambitious enough to apply that technology - then I think that would be a pretty good place to sign off.”

• This feature was published in RAIL 764 on 24 December 2014