MALCOLM HOLMES, Executive Director at West Midlands Rail Executive, and DENISE WETTON, Central Route Director at Network Rail, tell PHILIP SHERRATT how this summer’s Commonwealth Games will be a major milestone in the region’s post-Covid recovery
'The world will be watching us’ says Network Rail’s Central Route Director Denise Wetton of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Birmingham from 28 July to 8 August. ‘The Olympics last year in Tokyo were held behind closed doors, so this is the first big international event since Covid to welcome spectators.’
Public transport, rail included, always has a vital role to play in major events such as this. The UK has good experience of successful delivery – the 2012 London Olympics went off without a hitch from a transport perspective.
That said, at the time of interview in early January the Omicron variant was still causing difficulty for businesses across the UK, and high levels of self-isolation amongst staff were prompting train operators across the network to reduce timetables. Planning for a major event while managing these ongoing challenges is not easy – although Ms Wetton says she now has a separate team focused on the Commonwealth Ga…
