Northern train operator highlights the role operational employees across the business play in helping to keeping trains moving.
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00:00 [Bell]
00:01 [Train sounds]
00:02 One, two, one, two. Are we ready?
00:07 Strapping.
00:08 [Bell]
00:09 [Music]
00:10 Two and a half thousand times a day, somewhere across 3,000 kilometres of track.
00:15 One of our 345 trains depart.
00:17 One of more than 500 stations.
00:19 As part of a daily timetable.
00:21 That runs 22 hours a day.
00:23 That's about one every 30 to 40 seconds.
00:26 Each and every one of those services requires a highly skilled driver and a conductor to
00:31 operate safely.
00:32 That driver and conductor took a combined 15 months to become qualified and maintain
00:37 that safety critical knowledge through an ongoing programme of route learning and refresher
00:41 training.
00:42 The fleet they operate is made up of 11 different types of train.
00:46 Some we inherited.
00:48 Some we adopted from other train operators.
00:49 And over 100 we bought brand new.
00:52 Each has a different operating system and power source.
00:55 Some are diesel.
00:56 Some are electric.
00:57 And some are a hybrid of the two.
00:58 As such, only certain drivers are qualified to take the helm of certain trains.
01:03 Likewise for conductors.
01:04 Making sense so far. Are you following?
01:07 To ensure we have the technical knowledge where and when we need it, we have around
01:11 3,500 drivers and conductors at 23 crew bases across our network.
01:18 From Nottingham, our most southern point.
01:20 This is far south enough.
01:22 To Chathill, over 200 miles north.
01:25 The proper north.
01:26 And from Blackpool, on the west coast.
01:30 Come on Lancashire.
01:31 To Hull on the east. How do?
01:34 Right, let's turn it up a notch.
01:36 Drivers and conductors have days off. We go on holiday, we undertake training and yeah,
01:41 sometimes we get sick like everyone else.
01:43 And while on average about 400 new drivers and conductors join our team every year.
01:47 Equally, some of our staff do also move on.
01:50 Just like any organisation.
01:51 In fact, Northern is something of a gateway into the industry for drivers and conductors
01:56 who go on to work for train operators across the country.
01:59 When someone does decide to leave, we get about three months notice.
02:02 But for their replacement, we've got to advertise.
02:05 Shortlist.
02:06 Assess.
02:07 Interview, appoint and then train a replacement.
02:11 Which takes much longer.
02:12 It's never a straight swap.
02:14 For that reason, we're pretty much always on the lookout for people to join Northern
02:18 in one of these two crucial roles.
02:20 Wait for it. Now that's the stuff we can control. But there is more.
02:24 Safety critical engineering work and a whole host of unexpected disruption.
02:28 Such as track and signal failure.
02:30 Vandalism.
02:31 And yes, mother nature.
02:33 All impact the day to day running of our network.
02:35 And look, when the proverbial does hit the fan, and we know sometimes it does, there's
02:40 a whole army of support staff whose job it is to get us back on track and get the customer
02:44 from A to B.
02:45 Everyone involved in that process is a real person.
02:48 Someone's mum.
02:49 Someone's dad.
02:50 Someone's son.
02:51 Daughter.
02:52 Our bestie.
02:53 And they're in that job for a reason.
02:54 They care.
02:55 And they want to help.
02:56 So this is what they call the key messages.
02:59 Put simply, is our network one of the biggest and most complex in the country?
03:04 Yes.
03:05 Can it sometimes feel like a mission impossible to keep it all going?
03:08 Hell yes.
03:09 But are all of us at Northern working our socks off to provide the best service we possibly
03:13 can and keep Northern moving?
03:15 Dead right we are.
03:16 Did you get all that? Are we done?
03:17 You'd better have this mic back.
03:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]