An initiative between Network Rail and Arriva Rail London is providing their Operations Directors with direct experience of each other’s roles. ANDY RODEN speaks to GUNNAR LINDAHL and MATT POCOCK to discover how the railway could benefit
One of the most glaring limitations of separating track and train at rail privatisation was that it placed huge barriers in the way of providing management and timetable planning teams with a whole system view and the experience from both sides of the infrastructure management and operations equation.
While there have been occasional initiatives to bridge that gap, the sheer complexity of contractual arrangements has meant the only way for an individual to gain comprehensive whole-railway experience has generally been to join a different organisation. Now a new initiative between Network Rail and London Overground operator Arriva Rail London (which has just secured a two-year extension to its concession) seeks to change that.
The first 'guinea pigs’ – to use their own term – are Network Rail’s Wessex Route Operations Director Gunnar Lindahl and his counterpart at ARL Matt Pocock, who are swapping roles for 18 months, starting this August.
Mr Pocock explains how this in…