Network Rail's route director, Midland and Continental, Dyan Crowther.
NETWORK Rail’s Dyan Crowther is relishing her new job as route director of two main line routes that could not be more dissimilar.
She especially enjoys the fact that, despite their radical differences, one line is playing a major part in the success of the other.
The Midland main line is feeding growing numbers of customers from Northern and Midlands cities into the new European rail gateway, St Pancras International.
HS1 is the widely acclaimed, 68-mile high speed railway that, in turn, feeds millions of people a year into France and Belgium from the showpiece station.
Therein lies the synergy – and one of the main reasons why Network Rail has created the new route organisation, Midland and Continental.
Eurostar, which runs trains to Lille, Paris, Brussels and beyond, says its greatest passenger growth – some 18.3 per cent year-on-year – is coming from the North and Midlands, which now has easy connections to international trains. So the efficient operation of the Midland main line has become vital to Eurostar.
Dyan, 45, who was the first female managing director of a privatised train company – Arriva Trains Northern – is no stranger to challenging roles and new responsibilities. “It’s great, absolutely great,” she enthuses.
In her 22 years on the railway, starting out as a young station manager in south London, Dyan has worked her way up the career ladder. Her new job is a far cry from those early days as a young British Rail graduate operations management trainee. She started at Peckham Rye in south London with more than 100 station staff, learning her operational craft, then moved up to become station manager of one of London’s busiest stations, Charing Cross.
Later came moves to InterCity at King’s Cross as retail manager, then to Railtrack as head of stations, working in commercial property relationships.
She was also an account executive in Midlands Zone, but her toughest jobs involved the former – and at the time, troubled – Arriva Trains Northern, which she joined as commercial director.
At the time, the company was on its knees, with staff shortages, poor performance, and staff morale at an all time low: “I felt it could not get any worse,” she recalls.
“We started again from the basics.”
She stayed for two-and-a-half years, finally becoming managing director. Her lasting joy is that the company went on to be voted best operator, with a staff member winning Rail Personality of the Year.
“I always say you don’t get bad people, only bad leaders,” she says.
Dyan, who is married to Network Rail station development manager Martin, juggles her demanding schedule with being a mum to three children and running the family home in Baldock, Herts. She is also an assistant Brownie pack leader.
Her last posting – to York as Net-work Rail’s route director, North East, – stretched the demands on her time to the limit and she admits the new appointment allows easier commuting.
So why did Network Rail create the new route structure?
Dyan’s last job involved the operation of more than 3,500 route miles, with some 20 passenger and freight companies to look after. She also had responsibility for much of the East Midlands, including the Sheffield to London route.
But with more than £1 billion of upgrades planned for east coast routes from next year, the huge Derby-based East Midlands resignalling programme already under way, HS1 and St Pancras International operational awaiting new Kent domestic trains, and the new Thameslink programme, the decision was taken to create a new route directorship.
“As East Coast route director you were always juggling balls in the air,” Dyan says.
“You had major freight customers – 40 per cent of the nation’s freight is in the North East route director’s area – plus Northern Rail, National Express East Coast, First Capital Connect and East Midlands Trains, previously Midland Mainline.
“It was decided that, with more than 20 customers on the East Coast route, plus the huge investment due in the next four years and all the work happening in the East Midlands and at the London end with the Thames-link programme, the responsibilities should be split.”
Dyan’s new job keeps her constantly on the move. Although her main office is at Network Rail HQ, 40 Melton Street, London, she travels regularly from St Pancras International to Derby and also into Kent.
Her new areas of responsibility also differ widely. The Midlands part takes in train operators East Midlands Trains, First Capital Connect and freight companies.
Network Rail is asset owner with track and signalling in the hands of a maintenance director. Dyan’s Midlands teams are chiefly operational people such as signallers and controllers.
By contrast, the ‘continental’ part of her title includes responsibility for maintenance and operations of the high-speed line and of three stations – St Pancras International, Stratford and Ebbsfleet.
Although Network Rail has an agreement with Carillion to provide maintenance of the track, structures and signalling on the route, HS1 remains in the ownership of London & Continental Railway.
She says: “There are very big differences in the responsibilities we have for each of my areas and, of course, Southeastern is very involved.
“The train company will come in as a key player next year when it starts running the Class 395 Hitachi trains from Kent destinations to London via HS1. We will be recruiting five more signallers to work at Ashford IECC to control routes used by the 395s. We also have our own professional heads at Singlewell.”
Dyan and her team have to make sure paths are available for mileage testing of the Class 395 Hitachi trains. Southeastern’s new services on HS1 from the tail-end of 2009 will need to be as seamless as possible, but will have to fit into a new Southeastern timetable, designed with train planning consultants from Europe.
“At the moment 56 Eurostar services a day run on HS1 – the introduction of the Kent services will triple that. It will mean a big difference in customer throughput and flow patterns at St Pancras International.”
Station cleaning and security teams are part of Dyan’s remit on HS1.
“Since the opening of St Pancras International last year it’s been a case of things bedding down. We are now out of project mode and into improving what we have.
“Many people would look around and say the station doesn’t need improvement but we have to listen to train companies who have franchise commitments and we have to make sure things are delivered. So we have to work with all stakeholders and find out what does need improving.
“For instance, we are currently looking at station signage and gathering feedback from the public on this. We have to take a step back and look at path-finding.
“St Pancras International is a great inheritance and legacy from the past but, like most big buildings, until it starts fully operating problems don’t show up.”
At the same time, the Midlands part of Dyan’s portfolio involves massive investment schemes, including linespeed improvements on the Midland main line at a cost of £60 million, longer platforms at Loughborough, and the East Midlands resignalling scheme which will see the control of 464 route miles centred at the new Derby signalling centre by 2016.
Dyan is keen to emphasise that all three will be major Network Rail successes. “We are always judged by our last failure,” she says. “The question is, how do you counterbalance that.
“I feel that, industry-wide, we don’t celebrate our successes enough.”
She also believes the railway industry is still a family, despite privatisation: “The railway glue keeps everyone together. That’s why the industry is quick to respond to major incidents – everybody works together.”