February 8, 2022 • 32 mins
Juliette Maxam and Lucy Wright return to delve behind the scenes of Greater Anglia.
East Anglian poet Luke Wright talks about how his love of East Anglia inspires his work in the latest episode of Greater Anglia’s Life On Rails podcast. Listen to find out what Luke is writing next, and hear him read a poem about his dad’s daily commute to London.
This episode also reveals the extensive testing new trains are subjected to before being declared fit for passengers; the weird and wonderful excuses proffered by fare dodgers, and how the railway prepares for March winds and April showers.
Finally, podcast regular fares guru Ken Strong explains how to travel between London and Norwich for just £6.60.
We’d love to hear from you, please tweet us at @GreateAngliaPr #LifeOnRails. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast as well, and visit www.greateranglia.co.uk/podcast to discover more.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Juliette Maxam (00:02):
Hello, I'm Juliette Maxam.
Lucy Wright (00:04):
I'm Lucy Wright, and this is Life on Rails.
Juliette Maxam (00:07):
We both work in PR at Greater Anglia, and we want
to show you exactly what makes one of the UK's
biggest train companies tick.
Lucy Wright (00:14):
We're talking to a range of people, from trained testers
to sustainability experts, as well as some special Greater Anglia celebrities.
Juliette Maxam (00:21):
In the spring episode, we talked to the award- winning poet and
East Anglian resident, Luke Wright.
Luke Wright (00:26):
I was a terrible writer when I first started. Everyone's a terrible writer. No one's great off the
bat. You've just got to work on it. It's like anything else.
Juliette Maxam (00:33):
Head of safety, security, and sustainability; Matt Wakefield.
Matt Wakefield (00:37):
When you take into account the railway in its entirety,
people don't realize the amount of influence or how we
help and assist local communities in connecting those together.
Juliette Maxam (00:46):
Our resident fares guru, Ken Strong.
Ken Strong (00:49):
Nowadays a wide range of real cards that cover a
large sway of the population. So you can have everything
from the 16 to 25 real card. And then of
course, at the other end of the spectrum, we have the senior real card...
Juliette Maxam (01:02):
And Kim Bucknell head of revenue protection.
Kim Bucknell (01:05):
Always blame you mum. So my mum did not give
me any money for my ticket as she spent it on
fags. I didn't buy a ticket because my goldfish died and
my head is all over the place, which is probably
one of our recent, most funny ones
Lucy Wright (01:15):
To kick things off though, we are going to speak
to John Lusher, one of the leads in our new
fleets program.
Juliette Maxam (01:23):
Hi John.
John Lusher (01:24):
Hi Juliet. How are you?
Juliette Maxam (01:26):
Good thanks. You've done a lot of work testing our
new trains. Can you tell us what these tests are
and why we have to do them?
John Lusher (01:33):
Certainly. Testing of new trains falls into a number of
categories really. You could split it into two main sections.
One is the testing that's undertaken by the manufacturer. Secondly,
it's the testing that we undertake as a business to
ensure that we use these trains correctly. So manufacturer testing,
I suppose, starts with what we call type testing. So
the type testing process is effectively demonstrating that you have
(01:54):
a safe train. If we take the fundamentals, there are
standards that require the train to be able to break
from certain speeds at certain deceleration rates obviously. They're sensible
obviously. Through to a whole range of very detailed standards,
especially for us with electrified units or electric units, lots
of demonstration that's all safe for traction and breaking, et
(02:16):
cetera. The other part of type testing is more the
customer requirements. So for our manufacturers to demonstrate to us
the functionality that effectively we've ordered and we've bought has
been delivered. So if I was to take a simple,
although not a simple system by any means, but a
simple example would be our passenger information systems, what we
call PIS.
Juliette Maxam (02:36):
Flash screens in the trains.
John Lusher (02:38):
Absolutely. Yes. So customers will see screens and hear audio
announcements. And there are standards which govern the minimum requirements
that we have to provide. But obviously with modern technology,
we provide more information. So on a simple level, the
weather, the destination, interchange information at major stations, passenger loading
(02:58):
information, which coaches are busier than others. And all of
that is something that we test in conjunction with the
manufacturer to ensure that it's working. Effectively that gets us
to a position where we have a train that we are
authorized to use. It's a safe train been built and
is compliant. Our responsibility then as a train operating company is
(03:18):
to ensure that we use that safe train in a
safe manner. And then we come to basically our testing,
which we refer to as route proving. So we will
take trains to all of our stations and we'll measure the
step and the gap between the train and the platform edge,
what we call the platform train interface. We'll check that
drivers can see signals, we'll check our method of dispatch
(03:40):
at that location is safe. That everything we do in
normal business for our customers has been assessed, validated, and is
safe for us to enter passenger service.
Juliette Maxam (03:50):
Blimey. You must be exhausted after all of those tests. It's
so complicated, isn't it? I mean, why isn't it just
like a car? You get a car, you don't have to do all of those tests before
you start driving it around.
John Lusher (04:02):
No, see, I mean, it has been exhausting. We're out
overnight, mostly because that's when there's access on the network.
And obviously we have to do certain things in degraded lighting conditions.
So going out at night helps us prove the worst
case scenario for certain systems. We're relatively small orders. So
where car manufacturers are producing thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds
of thousands, in some cases of the same item. It's
(04:24):
not really the same on the railway. So Greater Anglia
for our all stone fleet we have 133, five car
trains. That's quite a big order, but they're actually relatively
bespoke items. There's a standard platform if you like for
other types of trains, but they're all slightly different. And
I think that drives a different approach and more things
need to be tested more often. I think the other
(04:45):
thing with the car industry of course, is that there's
obviously many years of testing go on, but behind closed
doors, not out on the passenger network so it's not quite
so obvious.
Juliette Maxam (04:54):
Yes, I suppose so. And it was really interesting what you said
about taking the trains out at night, because that's when
there was time available or spaces on the network because
obviously we had to fit the testing around normal passenger
services, freight services, et cetera. We also tested our trains
abroad, didn't we? Why did we test them in different
(05:14):
countries when they're to run in East Anglia?
John Lusher (05:17):
That is very true. The UK isn't really blessed with
huge amounts of testing facilities. They have to access the
European test sites because there's no capacity in the UK.
So we've tested in Romania, Czech Republic, Germany. And all
of that is to the evidence and the type testing
validation that the train is safe to operate in the UK.
Juliette Maxam (05:37):
Gosh, that's just so strange, isn't it? So that they're
tested abroad to make sure that they can be brought
over here and work in the UK?
John Lusher (05:45):
Absolutely correct. And it's all about meeting the specifications. So it sounds
very exciting, but in Romania it's a 13 kilometer long
high speed donor, really. You go round and round and
round and round in circles for 10 hours a day,
Juliette Maxam (06:03):
Like a grand pre track?
John Lusher (06:04):
Like a grand pre. Yes.
Juliette Maxam (06:06):
And you can actually drive the trains didn't you? So have you taken them for a
little spin around a test track?
John Lusher (06:11):
I used to be able to drive the trains, it's a competence that
I haven't maintained into the new trains program. My job
is making sure that our driving colleagues are satisfied with
the product we bring into service and our customers of course.
Juliette Maxam (06:26):
And do the drivers like them?
John Lusher (06:28):
Yes. The feedback of both types, both the old storm
and the starter fleets is overwhelmingly positive. I think for
the starter fleets in particular have having a cab mock
ups, obviously, the first step of this process nearly five
years ago. Now we have a wooden mockup it's all
intense and purposes. It's a fake train or a fake
cab. And that gave our driver colleagues chance to sit
(06:50):
in the train, operate the controls. And yes, we've moved
the arrangements of certain buttons, the layout of the day
desk or following feedback from the people whose office it
is essentially.
Juliette Maxam (07:01):
Fabulous and we did the same for customers of course.
John Lusher (07:04):
And we did exactly the same process for customers with
the internal layouts. Absolutely.
Juliette Maxam (07:06):
Brilliant. Well, thank you very much, John. That was absolutely fascinating. I'm sure so many people have no
idea the complexity of what goes into bringing new trains
into passenger service.
John Lusher (07:18):
That's quite all right. You're very welcome.
Lucy Wright (07:22):
It's time to welcome back our resident Ferris guru, Ken Strong.
Ken, welcome back. People are planning their days out and
it'd be really nice to talk to you about rail
cards and how people can save money while using them.
So could you just talk me through a couple of
the different types of rail cards that are available?
Ken Strong (07:37):
Yes. There are varieties. A wide range of real cards
that cover a large sway of the population. So you
can have everything from the 16 to 25 rail card. Older
people may remember it as the young person's rail card.
And as it suggests, you can get that from the age
of 16 to the age of 25, but you can also it's maybe not
(07:57):
so widely known. You can get it if you're a
mature student as well in full- time education. And then
more recently there has been a 26 to 30 rail
card. Virtually the same terms and conditions as the 16 to
25 and gives the same one third off, pretty much
all rail fairs. And another useful tip to know with
that one, if you turn 30 by one on the
(08:17):
day before you turn 31, and then you can have
another year's worth of it for virtually the whole of
your year while you're 31. It's perfectly legal to buy it on the day
before you turn 31. I did it myself when I
turned 26, because there wasn't a 26 to 31 then, but when I was
turned 26, I bought the 16 to 25 one and had a
full year of it when I was actually technically over
(08:38):
the age of being entitled to it.
Lucy Wright (08:40):
Brilliant tip by the day before, you're about to leave
the age bracket. That's a great idea.
Ken Strong (08:45):
And then of course at the other end of the spectrum, we
have the senior rail card, which is for anybody aged 60 and above.
So don't worry about pension ages and the changing of
pension ages. It's just, if you're 60 or over, you can get the
senior rail card. And I should point out all rail
cards cost 30 pounds for a year. And some of
them come into the year versions as well, which are
(09:06):
slightly cheaper, but by and large it's 30 pounds for a year and
they can be bought online or at stations. You need
a photograph for the digital version for the 16 to
25 and the 26 to 30, but not for the senior. There
are also ones for armed forces and veterans, which is
a new one. It's recently come out. The veterans rail
card. And you only have to have spent one day
(09:26):
in the armed forces or the reserve forces in your entire
life to qualify as veterans. So as long as you
can prove it with old pay slips or with some
sort of service record or discharge record or anything at
all that can prove that you were in the armed
forces, you can get a veteran's rail card and that will give you the standard
one third off as well. And there's a family and friends rail
card, which as it suggests is for family groups. And they changed the
(09:48):
name a few years ago to family and friends to
emphasize that the people traveling don't have to be related.
So if you're traveling with your kids and another families
kids, you're taking them all out to the seaside for the
day, you can get the discount for the whole party
up to four adults and four children on one rail
card. And another fairly new one that has come in is
the two together, which has it suggested for two people traveling together.
(10:09):
They both have to be named. So it has to
be the same two people all the time on that one.
That's another very useful rail card, which has been very
successful as far as I know, since it was brought in a few years ago.
Lucy Wright (10:19):
Good, so lots of rail cards, lots of savings to
be had, but we also have our advanced fares. Now
we spoke about those in our last episode and it's
some of the best value fares that we offer. And
they start from as little as six pounds on our
network, but can you use a rail card alongside an
advanced purchase fare?
Ken Strong (10:38):
Absolutely. You can. So our London to Norwich or Norwich
to London fares start at 10 pounds for the cheapest
level, which you will find on off peak services if you
book well enough in advance, that goes down to 6. 60 pounds with a rail
card, which is a fantastic deal. So you can get from Norwich to London
and back for just over 13 pounds, which is a
good deal in anybody's book, I would say. And another
(11:00):
thing to notice those affairs aren't being increased in the
forthcoming fare revisions. That can stay at 6. 60 pounds
for the foreseeable future. Eventually at some point it may change, but not yet.
Lucy Wright (11:12):
Well, that is great Ken. Thank you so much for
helping people save money again. Enjoy your spring travels and I, you in the next episode.
Ken Strong (11:17):
I'm looking forward to my spring travels and I'll see you soon.
Lucy Wright (11:24):
It's now time for meet a member of staff. And
today I'm talking to Kim Bucknell head of revenue protection
at Greater Anglia. Hi Kim. Thanks for joining me.
Kim Bucknell (11:31):
Hi Lucy. Thanks for the invite.
Lucy Wright (11:33):
So could you just talk me through your role a
bit, please?
Kim Bucknell (11:35):
I'm the head of revenue protection. So I responsible for
tickets, travel, and basically I manage approximately 150 revenue protection inspectors.
I've got six depots across the whole of Greater Anglia.
Lucy Wright (11:50):
So a lot of people, a lot of responsibility for what is unfortunately a
bigger problem than we would like it to be. So
last year, our ticket inspectors issued more than 54, 000 penalty
fares to the value of over a million pounds. And
the railway is now funded by the government so ultimately
the taxpayer. So not paying for a ticket or making
a false labor pay claim can be stealing from the
(12:12):
taxpayer. So how big a problem is it, do you feel?
Kim Bucknell (12:14):
I mean, I do. I think the delay repay stuff that we
did last year certainly did see people that were abusing the delay
repay scheme. And like you were saying, Lucy, it's a taxpayer that pays that.
And again, last year our whole department took over 4
million pound in a combination of penalty fares issued and
prosecutions that we took people to court for. It's still
a problem. We still have quite a high percentage in
(12:35):
tickets travel.
Lucy Wright (12:36):
So it's always cheaper to buy a ticket. The penalty fare
is either 20 pounds or double the single fare when
the fair is more than 10 pounds for a single
ticket. And even worse, you could end up in court
and we don't want that to happen. We just want
people to buy a ticket. So it's always cheaper to buy a
ticket than risk of fine. And Kim, over the years
your colleagues must have had some quite wild excuses. Could
(12:56):
you tell me some of those please?
Kim Bucknell (12:58):
Yeah. We've had some really good ones. So we've had
my dogs eaten my ticket. I'm going to buy my
ticket at the other end and/or at the end of the week
when I get paid and always blame you mum. So
my mum did not give me any money for my
ticket as she spent it on bags. I didn't buy a
ticket because my goldfish died and my head is all
over the place, which is probably one of our recent
(13:18):
most funny ones.
Lucy Wright (13:19):
I think also you must hear at the moment as
well, my ticket's on my phone and I haven't charged
it or I haven't got my phone with me. What's
your advice to people perhaps charge their phone before they
leave the house?
Kim Bucknell (13:29):
Definitely charge your phone. And I think if you read
the small print, when purchasing in the tickets, it does
say that you need to be able to produce your
ticket and have a fully charged phone. We are not
able to charge your phone for you. So you've got
to be able to do that and produce your ticket
when asked. So yes, definitely charge your phone before you travel.
Lucy Wright (13:48):
So you make a good point there. You've always got
to buy your ticket in advance. There are so many
ways to do it via the app, ticket machines. And
if you ever need any help or you're a bit
confused and don't know what to do, there is a
button on the ticket machines that you can press, which
will take you through to a member of staff who
can help you actually buy the ticket. And Kim, we
ask everybody, if we can see their ticket, it's not
targeted at anybody in particular. It's all customers, all passengers, isn't it?
Kim Bucknell (14:09):
Yeah, it is. So we board trains and we literally ask everybody for a ticket, but we
do use different types discretion. So depending on the situation.
Lucy Wright (14:17):
And I think it's important to note as well, if anybody feels that they
have had a genuine mistake and the penalty fare has
been issued incorrectly, they can appeal it. There is an
appeals process and that's not dealt with by us it's
an independent body. And I think it's also worth reminding
people as well, just to check that your rail card
is still valid. I think people haven't traveled for quite
some time or their pattern of travel has been a
(14:37):
bit disrupted due to the pandemic. And unfortunately, if somebody
does have an expired rail card that could result in
a penalty fare, couldn't it? So it would be worth people checking
that they have a valid rail card if that's what
they're able to use.
Kim Bucknell (14:49):
Yes, definitely. And just a quick reminder to people. If
you've got a rail card, then you are required to
provide that rail card at the time of producing your ticket.
Some people do go on our self- service ticket machines
and actually purchase a ticket with a discount not realizing
that they have to have a rail card to accompany that ticket that
they've purchased. And again, as you said, Lucy, if you
(15:09):
are traveling with an out of date rail card, then you
will also be penalty fare because you're not entitled to
that discount at that point.
Lucy Wright (15:16):
Definitely. So to conclude, it's always cheaper to buy a
ticket. Don't take the risk.
Kim Bucknell (15:21):
It's definitely cheaper to buy a ticket.
Lucy Wright (15:23):
That's great. Thank you so much, Kim.
Juliette Maxam (15:27):
Joining us today from Greater Anglia is Matt Wakefield. He's
our head of safety, security, and sustainability. But it's the
sustainability that we're interested in today, Matt. So can you
tell me what is sustainability? It's more than just the
environment, isn't it?
Matt Wakefield (15:43):
It is Julia. And yes, I suppose when we look
at sustainability, it's whole 80% of it for Greater Anglia
is the environment and the carbon reduction, but sustainability is a
lot more wider than that. It's also under looking sort of
social and economic factors that we're working towards as well.
Juliette Maxam (16:00):
What are these social and economic factors? What do we do
to be sustainable?
Matt Wakefield (16:06):
When you take into account the railway in its entirety,
people don't realize that the amount of influence or how
we help and assist local communities in connecting those together
and the social value that that brings with it. It's
also in terms of the economic factors as well. So
bridging cities to workplaces and homes and towns to workplaces
(16:27):
and big major towns. So if you could take into account timetable
developments, opening new stations with our colleagues from Network Rail,
bringing those communities together and also making sure that people
can commute and connect people together where they need to be.
Juliette Maxam (16:41):
Is it the sort of stuff we do branch lines connecting
the rural communities, taking visitors to places, like sharing them, and
bringing money into the towns, supporting their economies. Is that what
you mean?
Matt Wakefield (16:55):
Sustainable development takes up a number of another areas that
we look into. So having a positive social impact to
the communities we serve, provide an end- to- end journey.
So how we look at last mile, how do people commute
into the rail stations, and how do they get out of the railway stations
when they get to their destinations? So do we link
up with local bus operators, et cetera, to harmonize timetables,
(17:17):
et cetera. And also supporting local economies. So when you take
into account new stations that have opened on the network
recently where we've worked with Network Rail. So Salem is
a great example where we've just opened a new station.
The impact that has to the local economy is tremendous.
Bringing people to work and to leisure and certain people they
need to visit. We're all part of that really.
Juliette Maxam (17:38):
It's easy to see how we can support local economies, getting
visitors to them so they can spend money in our
local communities and local areas. But I suppose we play
quite a big part because we are a big employer for the region,
aren't we?
Matt Wakefield (17:52):
We are a big employer for the region, not only for a
directly employed to us, but the supplier chain further down as
well. Not many people would realize this, but being sustainable
is actually acquiring and making the railway more attractive for
new people to come and join us.
Juliette Maxam (18:10):
It's time now for seasonal myth busters, where we quiz
one another on how the changing weather affects travel. It's
my turn to put Lucy in the hot seat. And
today we're talking all things spring. So Lucy, what weather
should we expect in spring and how's it going to
affect the railway?
Lucy Wright (18:27):
The railway is really safe, but weather particularly extreme weather
can pose some risks. So those risks include strong winds,
very heavy rain, which can lead to flooding and even
land slips. So when we are aware of any bad
weather, when we know bad weather's on its way, we
start by having weather conferences. These are between us and
Network Rail and other operators who also share the line
(18:51):
with us and also weather forecaster. We have professional weather
forecasters on these conferences as well. So we all have
a very detailed view hour by hour of what weather
we are likely to expect and what parts of the
network it's likely to affect.
Juliette Maxam (19:05):
That sounds great, Lucy. It's really good to know and
to demonstrate how the rail way works together to anticipate what's
coming up. But what I'm interested in is what happens
when we get those high winds, what effect can it
have on the railway?
Lucy Wright (19:21):
So the main problem with high winds is that it
can blow things onto the track. Usually trees, branches, vegetation,
that kind of thing, things which grow near the railway.
The worst case scenario I think would be if the
high winds brought a tree down and that went and
brought the overhead lines down, that means that we can't
run trains until the tree has been removed and the
overhead lines have been repaired. This kind of thing can
(19:42):
take several hours depending on the severity of it. So
that would be the worst case scenario with high winds.
Flooding as well is another risk. So there's heavy rain
flooding, which is where the water level rises above the
rail. So we either have to reduce the speed of
the train or temporarily stop running trains until the water
can be pumped away. Heavy rain is also a huge
threat to us because it dislodges the ballast. So that's
(20:04):
the little stones that the track bed sits on that
can be dangerous and lead to further problems. There's also
storm surges. So that's when there's a change in the
sea level, which is caused by a storm. Thankfully, these
aren't very common, but a lot of our network is
close to the coast. So it's something we need to
be aware of and prepare for. When this happens Network
Rail would monitor the situation and again, deploy any extra
(20:27):
staff if needed. If there are any areas that are at risk.
Juliette Maxam (20:30):
We've had some interesting things on the overhead wires, haven't
we Lucy? And in case people don't realize the importance
of the overhead wires. They have the electricity in them,
which power the trains. Just remind me of some of
the things that have ended up on overhead wires over
the years?
Lucy Wright (20:47):
We've had all kinds of things which have been blown
onto the overhead wires. Balloons is a big one. We've
had quite a few large collections of balloons. Plastic sheeting,
we once had a tent. I know it probably sounds
quite funny, but it can cause really lengthy delays. And
it also is a huge cost to the railway. And as
a result of that the taxpayer. Network Rail estimate that
(21:07):
before COVID this cost around a million pounds a year,
cost the taxpayer a million pounds a year. So definitely
something we need to be aware of and take seriously.
Railway lines they run at 25,000 volts. It's very dangerous
to retrieve them. So if a set of balloons gets
caught on there, the overhead lines have to be switched off.
We have to remove the obstruction on the overheads before
we can run again. And obviously this takes time. We
(21:28):
don't want to delay people. We know people want a
punctual service. So if you are at the railway station
and you do have balloons, please don't let them go.
And if you live near to a station and you
have gazebos, trampolines, any kind of plastic sheeting, anything like
that in your garden, please make sure it's secure if
you know that we are expecting storms and highway and
that kind of reign. So it'd be really, really helpful and
(21:50):
much appreciated.
Juliette Maxam (21:52):
Yes, I'd echo that. And so would our customers who don't
want to be held up while these things are sorted
out. Although it has to be said that Network Rail
do try and get things sorted as quickly as possible.
And we try and get our customers on the move
as quickly as we possibly can.
Lucy Wright (22:07):
Definitely. Anyone who lives near the railway, all of our railway
neighbors of which we know there are thousands on our
network. If you could just keep an eye on any
trees, anything like that, if you do need to cut
them back, then we would really appreciate it.
Juliette Maxam (22:21):
And is there any other advice that you want to give
to people? I mean, first of all, I would perhaps
say the railway runs perfectly smoothly most of the time, doesn't
it? The vast majority of the time, these instances are rare,
aren't they?
Lucy Wright (22:33):
Definitely, our punctuality and performance is very high. It is
in the 90s. So we are running a good and
a reliable service. Weather is unpredictable, we can't always predict
what's going to happen, but we do promise that soon
as we find out anything, we will let you know.
We will let you know via our way website via our
social media and via our app. So please always check
before you travel. If you do bring balloons to the
(22:55):
railway, please don't let them go. And if you do
live near the railway, please do just keep an eye
on any trees and vegetation that you might have growing nearby.
Juliette Maxam (23:02):
Thanks very much, Lucy. That was really interesting and really
informative too. Look forward to speaking to you in the
summer about all things hot weather related. It's time for
travel surgery. Today, we're talking to award- winning poet, an
East Anglia resident, Luke Wright. Luke's written plays, poems, and
(23:23):
short films, and has just released his third full poetry
collection. The Feel Good movie of the year. And this
year, he's his own 30 date headlining tour. Hi Luke.
How are you?
Luke Wright (23:34):
I'm very well, thank you for having me on.
Juliette Maxam (23:36):
Luke, I'm a bit of a fan I have to
admit. And I've seen you perform all of your verse
plays. The Remains of Logan Dankworth, Frankie Vah, and What
I Learned From Johnny Bevan. They're absolutely staggering and cinematic
in that you draw your audience in and you live
the experience. How do you do it? Did you train as
an actor and how do you possibly remember all those words?
Luke Wright (23:59):
Well, I definitely didn't train as an actor. When I first
started doing poetry, the first people I saw that made me love
poetry. People like John Cooper Clarke and Martin Newell, both
also residents of East Anglia, and they did their poetry on stage.
And so for me, that made sense. I could write
a poem in the morning. I could perform it in
(24:19):
the evening. That was really exciting. I could immediately get
feedback from my work. So I just naturally got up
on stage with it. The reason I even ended up
doing verse plays is that I wrote, What I Learned
from Johnny Bevan was all written in the third person.
And it was me on stage telling this story about
a guy called Nick and a guy called Johnny. And
when I got a director on board, he said, "This is very
confusing. Why are you telling this story?" And I said, "
(24:40):
Well, because I'm a poet. And that's what I do." He said, " Well
audiences don't care about that. They want to know the
story." So he goes, "You need to put it in the first
person." So all of a sudden I was Nick and that was
acting. And as far as the learning goes, well, it's
practice. I've been doing this for 23 years now, learning
verse and I'm just quite good at learning stuff. I
have huge numbers of words in my head, many hours
(25:03):
at a time.
Juliette Maxam (25:03):
So natural talent at writing and acting.
Luke Wright (25:07):
No. Hard work Juliette. It's our hard work, I think it is. I was
a terrible writer when I first started. Everyone's a terrible writer.
No, one's great off the bat. You've just got to
work on it. It's like anything else.
Juliette Maxam (25:18):
And you have got a huge range of material, which you
are touring with. Your books of poems, your verse plays,
you support John Cooper Clarke, who was your inspiration, you
have a band, you're connected with latitude. God, I'm exhausted
just talking about it. What's your favorite out of all of this?
Luke Wright (25:36):
My own poetry tours. Like what I'm doing at the moment, it's about
an hour and a half with break in the middle.
And I feel like I'm doing my biggest range of
material and I feel like its me at my best. So
I think they're probably my favorite. And I'm also at the
moment writing a new verse play. And I think that's
the most challenging thing to write. So I'm in one
(25:56):
of my good years where I'm performing poetry in the
evenings and I'm doing something really quite challenging with my
writing during the days.
Juliette Maxam (26:03):
You've got some of your poems on your website. So
listeners go to Luke Wright's it and you can see
his work and read it for yourself. One of the
poems is, And I Saw England. And it's about you
taking a dip in the River Waveney. How much are
you inspired by East Anglia?
Luke Wright (26:20):
I think a poet should have a place really. I
feel very East Anglia and I grew up in, well, near Corchester.
I went to the University of Norwich and now I live in Bungay
in Suffolk. And I kind of always thought I'd leave.
When I was 18, I was desperate to leave and
go to London and I did for a little bit, but I've
taught all over this country and I realized that there's
nowhere quite like home.
Juliette Maxam (26:40):
We need to get down to finding out where we're
going to send you on the train, on Greater Anglia
trains. So you say you like swimming, you like the River
Waveney. What else do you like doing in your spare time?
Luke Wright (26:51):
Well, I love the coast, I love the stretch of
coastline. I've becoming quite obsessed with it actually. But the next
show that I'm writing is going to be set. The character's
going to be taking a walk along this bit of
coastline actually from Sizewell up to Yarmouth, but I know
that quite well. And I was wondering what I don't
know, the areas I don't know. Is I don't know
down to Felixstowe, Saxmundham, the Suffolk line, all that area.
(27:14):
I know Wistow and Corchester from growing up. I Norwich, I know Southwold down to
Obra but there's that bit of Suffolk, which really I
don't know at. It's a bit mad really that I've
lived here for all my life pretty much and I
don't know that part of the world. So I'll be
interested in going to check out that part of the world.
Juliette Maxam (27:32):
Oh, well, we can certainly help with that. And do you like
walking? Do you like long walks?
Luke Wright (27:37):
Yeah, no, I love walking. I really do. In fact, I think walking
is essential for good mental health. I try and walk
for at least an hour every day and every couple
of weeks I like to go for something a bit more involved, a good
few hours.
Juliette Maxam (27:50):
Well, in that case I've got something that's absolutely perfect
for you. The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership have
got a whole booklet, the East Suffolk Line Walks. And it's
really difficult to narrow it down for you because there
are so many brilliant walks that they've got here. They've
got a walk actually, which is inspired by another East
Anglian writer. I don't know if you've heard him, Adrian Bell.
Luke Wright (28:13):
Yeah.
Juliette Maxam (28:14):
Which is from Brampton to Bekos. There's two that I
think would be perfect for you. The Deben and Coast
Walk, which is a 10 mile walk. Longer if you
get lost like I did, and I did it. And the All Wealth and
Trimley Marshes. So the Deben and Coast Walk is just
incredible. You basically, you start at Trimley, cut across inland,
(28:36):
and then you go along the River Deben all the way
along the coastline, and then onto the north seater past
Felixstowe Ferry, which is a little Hamlet of Felixstowe, old
Felixstowe. And then into Felixstowe itself, which is actually a
really interesting place.
Luke Wright (28:49):
Great.
Juliette Maxam (28:49):
It was really grand when the railway started and it used
to have two stations with really long platforms. That's a
lovely walk. Absolutely brilliant.
Luke Wright (29:00):
Count me in Juliette. That sounds great.
Juliette Maxam (29:01):
Well, it's been an absolute pleasure talking to you, Luke.
If you'd just like to say a little bit about
your tour, because I really recommend people to check you
out and I believe you've got a poem for us too.
Luke Wright (29:12):
Yeah. Thanks very much, Juliette. So I'm on tour all
this year and all the dates up until may, including the
one in Trimley near Felixstowe and Cambridge and a few other places
in this area. That's all on my website, Lukewright. com. uk. And
I'm going to read you this poem because it's a
trains' poem. My dad was a commuter. He commuted from
Kellyville to Liverpool street every day for 30 years. And
(29:34):
this is a poem about when I was 15 and
I got a holiday job and I went up on
the train with him every day. It's called Kellyville Into
Liverpool Street. For 30 years, the buzzer went at six.
You'd take your breakfast in a lonely half light, your
milky tea, your marmalade and burnt toast. The carbon whiff
(29:54):
lingering till we rose to fill the room with cocoa
pops and squabbles. By then you were at your desk in
Bond street, out sight and largely out of mind. Our
lives, a giddy world of girls or pokes. Not till
I had a summer job at 15, did I observe
this quiet early ritual. A briefcase in the brolly ever
(30:17):
cautious. Among the first cars in the station car park,
which I believe gave you a sort of status. A
short walk to the bridge and trains to London. Perpetually ahead
of local bots who went to work in Corchester or
Ipswich. The fat bloke who sell papers and bad coffee
and greeted tourists for the sign knew you. A brisk
(30:39):
nodding, your Telegraph appeared. He always had the right change,
which he liked. Then on the platform, Tom Luke will
wait here the best place for a good seat. You were
right. And I believed as any children do that, you
and you alone had cracked the system. Your coming back
at half past five was different. Your straight back to
(31:01):
morning dignity was slouched. He looked a good deal older
then as you grab fitful scraps of sleep, a slow,
sad, lean towards the aisle until before you fell some
well worn sense will jolt you back upright. Sometimes you'd
snore and I'd shoot eyeball hatred at flash young things
who raised a sarky brow. Oh dad, some days you
(31:25):
looked as if you'd walk those tracks, although it's only
now I know how heavily fatigue can weigh on us.
The dramas that eclipse my life that summer must have
felt so flimsy next to yours. I vowed I'd never
work your daily route. The trains I catch criss cross
the country's back, but as they do, I lean and
(31:47):
fall asleep.
Juliette Maxam (31:53):
And that's the end of this episode. We hope you've
enjoyed learning more about Greater Anglia.
Lucy Wright (31:58):
Please do leave us a rating or review on your podcast
platform and tweet us at Greater Anglia PR.
Juliette Maxam (32:03):
Life on Rails releases quarterly. So be sure to check
back next time for episode four, which we'll focus on
all things summer.
Lucy Wright (32:10):
And in the meantime, follow or subscribe to the podcast
for free so you never miss an episode. And visit
our website@ www. greaterangalia. co. uo/ podcast. For more information.
Juliette Maxam (32:21):
Thanks for joining us.
Hello, I'm Juliette Maxam.
Lucy Wright (00:04):
I'm Lucy Wright, and this is Life on Rails.
Juliette Maxam (00:07):
We both work in PR at Greater Anglia, and we want
to show you exactly what makes one of the UK's
biggest train companies tick.
Lucy Wright (00:14):
We're talking to a range of people, from trained testers
to sustainability experts, as well as some special Greater Anglia celebrities.
Juliette Maxam (00:21):
In the spring episode, we talked to the award- winning poet and
East Anglian resident, Luke Wright.
Luke Wright (00:26):
I was a terrible writer when I first started. Everyone's a terrible writer. No one's great off the
bat. You've just got to work on it. It's like anything else.
Juliette Maxam (00:33):
Head of safety, security, and sustainability; Matt Wakefield.
Matt Wakefield (00:37):
When you take into account the railway in its entirety,
people don't realize the amount of influence or how we
help and assist local communities in connecting those together.
Juliette Maxam (00:46):
Our resident fares guru, Ken Strong.
Ken Strong (00:49):
Nowadays a wide range of real cards that cover a
large sway of the population. So you can have everything
from the 16 to 25 real card. And then of
course, at the other end of the spectrum, we have the senior real card...
Juliette Maxam (01:02):
And Kim Bucknell head of revenue protection.
Kim Bucknell (01:05):
Always blame you mum. So my mum did not give
me any money for my ticket as she spent it on
fags. I didn't buy a ticket because my goldfish died and
my head is all over the place, which is probably
one of our recent, most funny ones
Lucy Wright (01:15):
To kick things off though, we are going to speak
to John Lusher, one of the leads in our new
fleets program.
Juliette Maxam (01:23):
Hi John.
John Lusher (01:24):
Hi Juliet. How are you?
Juliette Maxam (01:26):
Good thanks. You've done a lot of work testing our
new trains. Can you tell us what these tests are
and why we have to do them?
John Lusher (01:33):
Certainly. Testing of new trains falls into a number of
categories really. You could split it into two main sections.
One is the testing that's undertaken by the manufacturer. Secondly,
it's the testing that we undertake as a business to
ensure that we use these trains correctly. So manufacturer testing,
I suppose, starts with what we call type testing. So
the type testing process is effectively demonstrating that you have
(01:54):
a safe train. If we take the fundamentals, there are
standards that require the train to be able to break
from certain speeds at certain deceleration rates obviously. They're sensible
obviously. Through to a whole range of very detailed standards,
especially for us with electrified units or electric units, lots
of demonstration that's all safe for traction and breaking, et
(02:16):
cetera. The other part of type testing is more the
customer requirements. So for our manufacturers to demonstrate to us
the functionality that effectively we've ordered and we've bought has
been delivered. So if I was to take a simple,
although not a simple system by any means, but a
simple example would be our passenger information systems, what we
call PIS.
Juliette Maxam (02:36):
Flash screens in the trains.
John Lusher (02:38):
Absolutely. Yes. So customers will see screens and hear audio
announcements. And there are standards which govern the minimum requirements
that we have to provide. But obviously with modern technology,
we provide more information. So on a simple level, the
weather, the destination, interchange information at major stations, passenger loading
(02:58):
information, which coaches are busier than others. And all of
that is something that we test in conjunction with the
manufacturer to ensure that it's working. Effectively that gets us
to a position where we have a train that we are
authorized to use. It's a safe train been built and
is compliant. Our responsibility then as a train operating company is
(03:18):
to ensure that we use that safe train in a
safe manner. And then we come to basically our testing,
which we refer to as route proving. So we will
take trains to all of our stations and we'll measure the
step and the gap between the train and the platform edge,
what we call the platform train interface. We'll check that
drivers can see signals, we'll check our method of dispatch
(03:40):
at that location is safe. That everything we do in
normal business for our customers has been assessed, validated, and is
safe for us to enter passenger service.
Juliette Maxam (03:50):
Blimey. You must be exhausted after all of those tests. It's
so complicated, isn't it? I mean, why isn't it just
like a car? You get a car, you don't have to do all of those tests before
you start driving it around.
John Lusher (04:02):
No, see, I mean, it has been exhausting. We're out
overnight, mostly because that's when there's access on the network.
And obviously we have to do certain things in degraded lighting conditions.
So going out at night helps us prove the worst
case scenario for certain systems. We're relatively small orders. So
where car manufacturers are producing thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds
of thousands, in some cases of the same item. It's
(04:24):
not really the same on the railway. So Greater Anglia
for our all stone fleet we have 133, five car
trains. That's quite a big order, but they're actually relatively
bespoke items. There's a standard platform if you like for
other types of trains, but they're all slightly different. And
I think that drives a different approach and more things
need to be tested more often. I think the other
(04:45):
thing with the car industry of course, is that there's
obviously many years of testing go on, but behind closed
doors, not out on the passenger network so it's not quite
so obvious.
Juliette Maxam (04:54):
Yes, I suppose so. And it was really interesting what you said
about taking the trains out at night, because that's when
there was time available or spaces on the network because
obviously we had to fit the testing around normal passenger
services, freight services, et cetera. We also tested our trains
abroad, didn't we? Why did we test them in different
(05:14):
countries when they're to run in East Anglia?
John Lusher (05:17):
That is very true. The UK isn't really blessed with
huge amounts of testing facilities. They have to access the
European test sites because there's no capacity in the UK.
So we've tested in Romania, Czech Republic, Germany. And all
of that is to the evidence and the type testing
validation that the train is safe to operate in the UK.
Juliette Maxam (05:37):
Gosh, that's just so strange, isn't it? So that they're
tested abroad to make sure that they can be brought
over here and work in the UK?
John Lusher (05:45):
Absolutely correct. And it's all about meeting the specifications. So it sounds
very exciting, but in Romania it's a 13 kilometer long
high speed donor, really. You go round and round and
round and round in circles for 10 hours a day,
Juliette Maxam (06:03):
Like a grand pre track?
John Lusher (06:04):
Like a grand pre. Yes.
Juliette Maxam (06:06):
And you can actually drive the trains didn't you? So have you taken them for a
little spin around a test track?
John Lusher (06:11):
I used to be able to drive the trains, it's a competence that
I haven't maintained into the new trains program. My job
is making sure that our driving colleagues are satisfied with
the product we bring into service and our customers of course.
Juliette Maxam (06:26):
And do the drivers like them?
John Lusher (06:28):
Yes. The feedback of both types, both the old storm
and the starter fleets is overwhelmingly positive. I think for
the starter fleets in particular have having a cab mock
ups, obviously, the first step of this process nearly five
years ago. Now we have a wooden mockup it's all
intense and purposes. It's a fake train or a fake
cab. And that gave our driver colleagues chance to sit
(06:50):
in the train, operate the controls. And yes, we've moved
the arrangements of certain buttons, the layout of the day
desk or following feedback from the people whose office it
is essentially.
Juliette Maxam (07:01):
Fabulous and we did the same for customers of course.
John Lusher (07:04):
And we did exactly the same process for customers with
the internal layouts. Absolutely.
Juliette Maxam (07:06):
Brilliant. Well, thank you very much, John. That was absolutely fascinating. I'm sure so many people have no
idea the complexity of what goes into bringing new trains
into passenger service.
John Lusher (07:18):
That's quite all right. You're very welcome.
Lucy Wright (07:22):
It's time to welcome back our resident Ferris guru, Ken Strong.
Ken, welcome back. People are planning their days out and
it'd be really nice to talk to you about rail
cards and how people can save money while using them.
So could you just talk me through a couple of
the different types of rail cards that are available?
Ken Strong (07:37):
Yes. There are varieties. A wide range of real cards
that cover a large sway of the population. So you
can have everything from the 16 to 25 rail card. Older
people may remember it as the young person's rail card.
And as it suggests, you can get that from the age
of 16 to the age of 25, but you can also it's maybe not
(07:57):
so widely known. You can get it if you're a
mature student as well in full- time education. And then
more recently there has been a 26 to 30 rail
card. Virtually the same terms and conditions as the 16 to
25 and gives the same one third off, pretty much
all rail fairs. And another useful tip to know with
that one, if you turn 30 by one on the
(08:17):
day before you turn 31, and then you can have
another year's worth of it for virtually the whole of
your year while you're 31. It's perfectly legal to buy it on the day
before you turn 31. I did it myself when I
turned 26, because there wasn't a 26 to 31 then, but when I was
turned 26, I bought the 16 to 25 one and had a
full year of it when I was actually technically over
(08:38):
the age of being entitled to it.
Lucy Wright (08:40):
Brilliant tip by the day before, you're about to leave
the age bracket. That's a great idea.
Ken Strong (08:45):
And then of course at the other end of the spectrum, we
have the senior rail card, which is for anybody aged 60 and above.
So don't worry about pension ages and the changing of
pension ages. It's just, if you're 60 or over, you can get the
senior rail card. And I should point out all rail
cards cost 30 pounds for a year. And some of
them come into the year versions as well, which are
(09:06):
slightly cheaper, but by and large it's 30 pounds for a year and
they can be bought online or at stations. You need
a photograph for the digital version for the 16 to
25 and the 26 to 30, but not for the senior. There
are also ones for armed forces and veterans, which is
a new one. It's recently come out. The veterans rail
card. And you only have to have spent one day
(09:26):
in the armed forces or the reserve forces in your entire
life to qualify as veterans. So as long as you
can prove it with old pay slips or with some
sort of service record or discharge record or anything at
all that can prove that you were in the armed
forces, you can get a veteran's rail card and that will give you the standard
one third off as well. And there's a family and friends rail
card, which as it suggests is for family groups. And they changed the
(09:48):
name a few years ago to family and friends to
emphasize that the people traveling don't have to be related.
So if you're traveling with your kids and another families
kids, you're taking them all out to the seaside for the
day, you can get the discount for the whole party
up to four adults and four children on one rail
card. And another fairly new one that has come in is
the two together, which has it suggested for two people traveling together.
(10:09):
They both have to be named. So it has to
be the same two people all the time on that one.
That's another very useful rail card, which has been very
successful as far as I know, since it was brought in a few years ago.
Lucy Wright (10:19):
Good, so lots of rail cards, lots of savings to
be had, but we also have our advanced fares. Now
we spoke about those in our last episode and it's
some of the best value fares that we offer. And
they start from as little as six pounds on our
network, but can you use a rail card alongside an
advanced purchase fare?
Ken Strong (10:38):
Absolutely. You can. So our London to Norwich or Norwich
to London fares start at 10 pounds for the cheapest
level, which you will find on off peak services if you
book well enough in advance, that goes down to 6. 60 pounds with a rail
card, which is a fantastic deal. So you can get from Norwich to London
and back for just over 13 pounds, which is a
good deal in anybody's book, I would say. And another
(11:00):
thing to notice those affairs aren't being increased in the
forthcoming fare revisions. That can stay at 6. 60 pounds
for the foreseeable future. Eventually at some point it may change, but not yet.
Lucy Wright (11:12):
Well, that is great Ken. Thank you so much for
helping people save money again. Enjoy your spring travels and I, you in the next episode.
Ken Strong (11:17):
I'm looking forward to my spring travels and I'll see you soon.
Lucy Wright (11:24):
It's now time for meet a member of staff. And
today I'm talking to Kim Bucknell head of revenue protection
at Greater Anglia. Hi Kim. Thanks for joining me.
Kim Bucknell (11:31):
Hi Lucy. Thanks for the invite.
Lucy Wright (11:33):
So could you just talk me through your role a
bit, please?
Kim Bucknell (11:35):
I'm the head of revenue protection. So I responsible for
tickets, travel, and basically I manage approximately 150 revenue protection inspectors.
I've got six depots across the whole of Greater Anglia.
Lucy Wright (11:50):
So a lot of people, a lot of responsibility for what is unfortunately a
bigger problem than we would like it to be. So
last year, our ticket inspectors issued more than 54, 000 penalty
fares to the value of over a million pounds. And
the railway is now funded by the government so ultimately
the taxpayer. So not paying for a ticket or making
a false labor pay claim can be stealing from the
(12:12):
taxpayer. So how big a problem is it, do you feel?
Kim Bucknell (12:14):
I mean, I do. I think the delay repay stuff that we
did last year certainly did see people that were abusing the delay
repay scheme. And like you were saying, Lucy, it's a taxpayer that pays that.
And again, last year our whole department took over 4
million pound in a combination of penalty fares issued and
prosecutions that we took people to court for. It's still
a problem. We still have quite a high percentage in
(12:35):
tickets travel.
Lucy Wright (12:36):
So it's always cheaper to buy a ticket. The penalty fare
is either 20 pounds or double the single fare when
the fair is more than 10 pounds for a single
ticket. And even worse, you could end up in court
and we don't want that to happen. We just want
people to buy a ticket. So it's always cheaper to buy a
ticket than risk of fine. And Kim, over the years
your colleagues must have had some quite wild excuses. Could
(12:56):
you tell me some of those please?
Kim Bucknell (12:58):
Yeah. We've had some really good ones. So we've had
my dogs eaten my ticket. I'm going to buy my
ticket at the other end and/or at the end of the week
when I get paid and always blame you mum. So
my mum did not give me any money for my
ticket as she spent it on bags. I didn't buy a
ticket because my goldfish died and my head is all
over the place, which is probably one of our recent
(13:18):
most funny ones.
Lucy Wright (13:19):
I think also you must hear at the moment as
well, my ticket's on my phone and I haven't charged
it or I haven't got my phone with me. What's
your advice to people perhaps charge their phone before they
leave the house?
Kim Bucknell (13:29):
Definitely charge your phone. And I think if you read
the small print, when purchasing in the tickets, it does
say that you need to be able to produce your
ticket and have a fully charged phone. We are not
able to charge your phone for you. So you've got
to be able to do that and produce your ticket
when asked. So yes, definitely charge your phone before you travel.
Lucy Wright (13:48):
So you make a good point there. You've always got
to buy your ticket in advance. There are so many
ways to do it via the app, ticket machines. And
if you ever need any help or you're a bit
confused and don't know what to do, there is a
button on the ticket machines that you can press, which
will take you through to a member of staff who
can help you actually buy the ticket. And Kim, we
ask everybody, if we can see their ticket, it's not
targeted at anybody in particular. It's all customers, all passengers, isn't it?
Kim Bucknell (14:09):
Yeah, it is. So we board trains and we literally ask everybody for a ticket, but we
do use different types discretion. So depending on the situation.
Lucy Wright (14:17):
And I think it's important to note as well, if anybody feels that they
have had a genuine mistake and the penalty fare has
been issued incorrectly, they can appeal it. There is an
appeals process and that's not dealt with by us it's
an independent body. And I think it's also worth reminding
people as well, just to check that your rail card
is still valid. I think people haven't traveled for quite
some time or their pattern of travel has been a
(14:37):
bit disrupted due to the pandemic. And unfortunately, if somebody
does have an expired rail card that could result in
a penalty fare, couldn't it? So it would be worth people checking
that they have a valid rail card if that's what
they're able to use.
Kim Bucknell (14:49):
Yes, definitely. And just a quick reminder to people. If
you've got a rail card, then you are required to
provide that rail card at the time of producing your ticket.
Some people do go on our self- service ticket machines
and actually purchase a ticket with a discount not realizing
that they have to have a rail card to accompany that ticket that
they've purchased. And again, as you said, Lucy, if you
(15:09):
are traveling with an out of date rail card, then you
will also be penalty fare because you're not entitled to
that discount at that point.
Lucy Wright (15:16):
Definitely. So to conclude, it's always cheaper to buy a
ticket. Don't take the risk.
Kim Bucknell (15:21):
It's definitely cheaper to buy a ticket.
Lucy Wright (15:23):
That's great. Thank you so much, Kim.
Juliette Maxam (15:27):
Joining us today from Greater Anglia is Matt Wakefield. He's
our head of safety, security, and sustainability. But it's the
sustainability that we're interested in today, Matt. So can you
tell me what is sustainability? It's more than just the
environment, isn't it?
Matt Wakefield (15:43):
It is Julia. And yes, I suppose when we look
at sustainability, it's whole 80% of it for Greater Anglia
is the environment and the carbon reduction, but sustainability is a
lot more wider than that. It's also under looking sort of
social and economic factors that we're working towards as well.
Juliette Maxam (16:00):
What are these social and economic factors? What do we do
to be sustainable?
Matt Wakefield (16:06):
When you take into account the railway in its entirety,
people don't realize that the amount of influence or how
we help and assist local communities in connecting those together
and the social value that that brings with it. It's
also in terms of the economic factors as well. So
bridging cities to workplaces and homes and towns to workplaces
(16:27):
and big major towns. So if you could take into account timetable
developments, opening new stations with our colleagues from Network Rail,
bringing those communities together and also making sure that people
can commute and connect people together where they need to be.
Juliette Maxam (16:41):
Is it the sort of stuff we do branch lines connecting
the rural communities, taking visitors to places, like sharing them, and
bringing money into the towns, supporting their economies. Is that what
you mean?
Matt Wakefield (16:55):
Sustainable development takes up a number of another areas that
we look into. So having a positive social impact to
the communities we serve, provide an end- to- end journey.
So how we look at last mile, how do people commute
into the rail stations, and how do they get out of the railway stations
when they get to their destinations? So do we link
up with local bus operators, et cetera, to harmonize timetables,
(17:17):
et cetera. And also supporting local economies. So when you take
into account new stations that have opened on the network
recently where we've worked with Network Rail. So Salem is
a great example where we've just opened a new station.
The impact that has to the local economy is tremendous.
Bringing people to work and to leisure and certain people they
need to visit. We're all part of that really.
Juliette Maxam (17:38):
It's easy to see how we can support local economies, getting
visitors to them so they can spend money in our
local communities and local areas. But I suppose we play
quite a big part because we are a big employer for the region,
aren't we?
Matt Wakefield (17:52):
We are a big employer for the region, not only for a
directly employed to us, but the supplier chain further down as
well. Not many people would realize this, but being sustainable
is actually acquiring and making the railway more attractive for
new people to come and join us.
Juliette Maxam (18:10):
It's time now for seasonal myth busters, where we quiz
one another on how the changing weather affects travel. It's
my turn to put Lucy in the hot seat. And
today we're talking all things spring. So Lucy, what weather
should we expect in spring and how's it going to
affect the railway?
Lucy Wright (18:27):
The railway is really safe, but weather particularly extreme weather
can pose some risks. So those risks include strong winds,
very heavy rain, which can lead to flooding and even
land slips. So when we are aware of any bad
weather, when we know bad weather's on its way, we
start by having weather conferences. These are between us and
Network Rail and other operators who also share the line
(18:51):
with us and also weather forecaster. We have professional weather
forecasters on these conferences as well. So we all have
a very detailed view hour by hour of what weather
we are likely to expect and what parts of the
network it's likely to affect.
Juliette Maxam (19:05):
That sounds great, Lucy. It's really good to know and
to demonstrate how the rail way works together to anticipate what's
coming up. But what I'm interested in is what happens
when we get those high winds, what effect can it
have on the railway?
Lucy Wright (19:21):
So the main problem with high winds is that it
can blow things onto the track. Usually trees, branches, vegetation,
that kind of thing, things which grow near the railway.
The worst case scenario I think would be if the
high winds brought a tree down and that went and
brought the overhead lines down, that means that we can't
run trains until the tree has been removed and the
overhead lines have been repaired. This kind of thing can
(19:42):
take several hours depending on the severity of it. So
that would be the worst case scenario with high winds.
Flooding as well is another risk. So there's heavy rain
flooding, which is where the water level rises above the
rail. So we either have to reduce the speed of
the train or temporarily stop running trains until the water
can be pumped away. Heavy rain is also a huge
threat to us because it dislodges the ballast. So that's
(20:04):
the little stones that the track bed sits on that
can be dangerous and lead to further problems. There's also
storm surges. So that's when there's a change in the
sea level, which is caused by a storm. Thankfully, these
aren't very common, but a lot of our network is
close to the coast. So it's something we need to
be aware of and prepare for. When this happens Network
Rail would monitor the situation and again, deploy any extra
(20:27):
staff if needed. If there are any areas that are at risk.
Juliette Maxam (20:30):
We've had some interesting things on the overhead wires, haven't
we Lucy? And in case people don't realize the importance
of the overhead wires. They have the electricity in them,
which power the trains. Just remind me of some of
the things that have ended up on overhead wires over
the years?
Lucy Wright (20:47):
We've had all kinds of things which have been blown
onto the overhead wires. Balloons is a big one. We've
had quite a few large collections of balloons. Plastic sheeting,
we once had a tent. I know it probably sounds
quite funny, but it can cause really lengthy delays. And
it also is a huge cost to the railway. And as
a result of that the taxpayer. Network Rail estimate that
(21:07):
before COVID this cost around a million pounds a year,
cost the taxpayer a million pounds a year. So definitely
something we need to be aware of and take seriously.
Railway lines they run at 25,000 volts. It's very dangerous
to retrieve them. So if a set of balloons gets
caught on there, the overhead lines have to be switched off.
We have to remove the obstruction on the overheads before
we can run again. And obviously this takes time. We
(21:28):
don't want to delay people. We know people want a
punctual service. So if you are at the railway station
and you do have balloons, please don't let them go.
And if you live near to a station and you
have gazebos, trampolines, any kind of plastic sheeting, anything like
that in your garden, please make sure it's secure if
you know that we are expecting storms and highway and
that kind of reign. So it'd be really, really helpful and
(21:50):
much appreciated.
Juliette Maxam (21:52):
Yes, I'd echo that. And so would our customers who don't
want to be held up while these things are sorted
out. Although it has to be said that Network Rail
do try and get things sorted as quickly as possible.
And we try and get our customers on the move
as quickly as we possibly can.
Lucy Wright (22:07):
Definitely. Anyone who lives near the railway, all of our railway
neighbors of which we know there are thousands on our
network. If you could just keep an eye on any
trees, anything like that, if you do need to cut
them back, then we would really appreciate it.
Juliette Maxam (22:21):
And is there any other advice that you want to give
to people? I mean, first of all, I would perhaps
say the railway runs perfectly smoothly most of the time, doesn't
it? The vast majority of the time, these instances are rare,
aren't they?
Lucy Wright (22:33):
Definitely, our punctuality and performance is very high. It is
in the 90s. So we are running a good and
a reliable service. Weather is unpredictable, we can't always predict
what's going to happen, but we do promise that soon
as we find out anything, we will let you know.
We will let you know via our way website via our
social media and via our app. So please always check
before you travel. If you do bring balloons to the
(22:55):
railway, please don't let them go. And if you do
live near the railway, please do just keep an eye
on any trees and vegetation that you might have growing nearby.
Juliette Maxam (23:02):
Thanks very much, Lucy. That was really interesting and really
informative too. Look forward to speaking to you in the
summer about all things hot weather related. It's time for
travel surgery. Today, we're talking to award- winning poet, an
East Anglia resident, Luke Wright. Luke's written plays, poems, and
(23:23):
short films, and has just released his third full poetry
collection. The Feel Good movie of the year. And this
year, he's his own 30 date headlining tour. Hi Luke.
How are you?
Luke Wright (23:34):
I'm very well, thank you for having me on.
Juliette Maxam (23:36):
Luke, I'm a bit of a fan I have to
admit. And I've seen you perform all of your verse
plays. The Remains of Logan Dankworth, Frankie Vah, and What
I Learned From Johnny Bevan. They're absolutely staggering and cinematic
in that you draw your audience in and you live
the experience. How do you do it? Did you train as
an actor and how do you possibly remember all those words?
Luke Wright (23:59):
Well, I definitely didn't train as an actor. When I first
started doing poetry, the first people I saw that made me love
poetry. People like John Cooper Clarke and Martin Newell, both
also residents of East Anglia, and they did their poetry on stage.
And so for me, that made sense. I could write
a poem in the morning. I could perform it in
(24:19):
the evening. That was really exciting. I could immediately get
feedback from my work. So I just naturally got up
on stage with it. The reason I even ended up
doing verse plays is that I wrote, What I Learned
from Johnny Bevan was all written in the third person.
And it was me on stage telling this story about
a guy called Nick and a guy called Johnny. And
when I got a director on board, he said, "This is very
confusing. Why are you telling this story?" And I said, "
(24:40):
Well, because I'm a poet. And that's what I do." He said, " Well
audiences don't care about that. They want to know the
story." So he goes, "You need to put it in the first
person." So all of a sudden I was Nick and that was
acting. And as far as the learning goes, well, it's
practice. I've been doing this for 23 years now, learning
verse and I'm just quite good at learning stuff. I
have huge numbers of words in my head, many hours
(25:03):
at a time.
Juliette Maxam (25:03):
So natural talent at writing and acting.
Luke Wright (25:07):
No. Hard work Juliette. It's our hard work, I think it is. I was
a terrible writer when I first started. Everyone's a terrible writer.
No, one's great off the bat. You've just got to
work on it. It's like anything else.
Juliette Maxam (25:18):
And you have got a huge range of material, which you
are touring with. Your books of poems, your verse plays,
you support John Cooper Clarke, who was your inspiration, you
have a band, you're connected with latitude. God, I'm exhausted
just talking about it. What's your favorite out of all of this?
Luke Wright (25:36):
My own poetry tours. Like what I'm doing at the moment, it's about
an hour and a half with break in the middle.
And I feel like I'm doing my biggest range of
material and I feel like its me at my best. So
I think they're probably my favorite. And I'm also at the
moment writing a new verse play. And I think that's
the most challenging thing to write. So I'm in one
(25:56):
of my good years where I'm performing poetry in the
evenings and I'm doing something really quite challenging with my
writing during the days.
Juliette Maxam (26:03):
You've got some of your poems on your website. So
listeners go to Luke Wright's it and you can see
his work and read it for yourself. One of the
poems is, And I Saw England. And it's about you
taking a dip in the River Waveney. How much are
you inspired by East Anglia?
Luke Wright (26:20):
I think a poet should have a place really. I
feel very East Anglia and I grew up in, well, near Corchester.
I went to the University of Norwich and now I live in Bungay
in Suffolk. And I kind of always thought I'd leave.
When I was 18, I was desperate to leave and
go to London and I did for a little bit, but I've
taught all over this country and I realized that there's
nowhere quite like home.
Juliette Maxam (26:40):
We need to get down to finding out where we're
going to send you on the train, on Greater Anglia
trains. So you say you like swimming, you like the River
Waveney. What else do you like doing in your spare time?
Luke Wright (26:51):
Well, I love the coast, I love the stretch of
coastline. I've becoming quite obsessed with it actually. But the next
show that I'm writing is going to be set. The character's
going to be taking a walk along this bit of
coastline actually from Sizewell up to Yarmouth, but I know
that quite well. And I was wondering what I don't
know, the areas I don't know. Is I don't know
down to Felixstowe, Saxmundham, the Suffolk line, all that area.
(27:14):
I know Wistow and Corchester from growing up. I Norwich, I know Southwold down to
Obra but there's that bit of Suffolk, which really I
don't know at. It's a bit mad really that I've
lived here for all my life pretty much and I
don't know that part of the world. So I'll be
interested in going to check out that part of the world.
Juliette Maxam (27:32):
Oh, well, we can certainly help with that. And do you like
walking? Do you like long walks?
Luke Wright (27:37):
Yeah, no, I love walking. I really do. In fact, I think walking
is essential for good mental health. I try and walk
for at least an hour every day and every couple
of weeks I like to go for something a bit more involved, a good
few hours.
Juliette Maxam (27:50):
Well, in that case I've got something that's absolutely perfect
for you. The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership have
got a whole booklet, the East Suffolk Line Walks. And it's
really difficult to narrow it down for you because there
are so many brilliant walks that they've got here. They've
got a walk actually, which is inspired by another East
Anglian writer. I don't know if you've heard him, Adrian Bell.
Luke Wright (28:13):
Yeah.
Juliette Maxam (28:14):
Which is from Brampton to Bekos. There's two that I
think would be perfect for you. The Deben and Coast
Walk, which is a 10 mile walk. Longer if you
get lost like I did, and I did it. And the All Wealth and
Trimley Marshes. So the Deben and Coast Walk is just
incredible. You basically, you start at Trimley, cut across inland,
(28:36):
and then you go along the River Deben all the way
along the coastline, and then onto the north seater past
Felixstowe Ferry, which is a little Hamlet of Felixstowe, old
Felixstowe. And then into Felixstowe itself, which is actually a
really interesting place.
Luke Wright (28:49):
Great.
Juliette Maxam (28:49):
It was really grand when the railway started and it used
to have two stations with really long platforms. That's a
lovely walk. Absolutely brilliant.
Luke Wright (29:00):
Count me in Juliette. That sounds great.
Juliette Maxam (29:01):
Well, it's been an absolute pleasure talking to you, Luke.
If you'd just like to say a little bit about
your tour, because I really recommend people to check you
out and I believe you've got a poem for us too.
Luke Wright (29:12):
Yeah. Thanks very much, Juliette. So I'm on tour all
this year and all the dates up until may, including the
one in Trimley near Felixstowe and Cambridge and a few other places
in this area. That's all on my website, Lukewright. com. uk. And
I'm going to read you this poem because it's a
trains' poem. My dad was a commuter. He commuted from
Kellyville to Liverpool street every day for 30 years. And
(29:34):
this is a poem about when I was 15 and
I got a holiday job and I went up on
the train with him every day. It's called Kellyville Into
Liverpool Street. For 30 years, the buzzer went at six.
You'd take your breakfast in a lonely half light, your
milky tea, your marmalade and burnt toast. The carbon whiff
(29:54):
lingering till we rose to fill the room with cocoa
pops and squabbles. By then you were at your desk in
Bond street, out sight and largely out of mind. Our
lives, a giddy world of girls or pokes. Not till
I had a summer job at 15, did I observe
this quiet early ritual. A briefcase in the brolly ever
(30:17):
cautious. Among the first cars in the station car park,
which I believe gave you a sort of status. A
short walk to the bridge and trains to London. Perpetually ahead
of local bots who went to work in Corchester or
Ipswich. The fat bloke who sell papers and bad coffee
and greeted tourists for the sign knew you. A brisk
(30:39):
nodding, your Telegraph appeared. He always had the right change,
which he liked. Then on the platform, Tom Luke will
wait here the best place for a good seat. You were
right. And I believed as any children do that, you
and you alone had cracked the system. Your coming back
at half past five was different. Your straight back to
(31:01):
morning dignity was slouched. He looked a good deal older
then as you grab fitful scraps of sleep, a slow,
sad, lean towards the aisle until before you fell some
well worn sense will jolt you back upright. Sometimes you'd
snore and I'd shoot eyeball hatred at flash young things
who raised a sarky brow. Oh dad, some days you
(31:25):
looked as if you'd walk those tracks, although it's only
now I know how heavily fatigue can weigh on us.
The dramas that eclipse my life that summer must have
felt so flimsy next to yours. I vowed I'd never
work your daily route. The trains I catch criss cross
the country's back, but as they do, I lean and
(31:47):
fall asleep.
Juliette Maxam (31:53):
And that's the end of this episode. We hope you've
enjoyed learning more about Greater Anglia.
Lucy Wright (31:58):
Please do leave us a rating or review on your podcast
platform and tweet us at Greater Anglia PR.
Juliette Maxam (32:03):
Life on Rails releases quarterly. So be sure to check
back next time for episode four, which we'll focus on
all things summer.
Lucy Wright (32:10):
And in the meantime, follow or subscribe to the podcast
for free so you never miss an episode. And visit
our website@ www. greaterangalia. co. uo/ podcast. For more information.
Juliette Maxam (32:21):
Thanks for joining us.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.