Delivering Crossrail - the challenge for the operator

In this presentation, Charles will also cover:
Project developments - what you can see now
How Crossrail will operate, and why detailed and intensive operator involvement is crucial at this stage;
- Passenger flow modelling
- Relationships with other operators
- The relationship between systems and the operator
- Latencies which need to be considered

Charles has been professionally involved in railway operations and railway systems since 1978. He joined British Rail as a Railway Operations Management trainee. There followed posts as Station Supervisor in Newcastle and Freight Manager for the North East coalfield (when it existed!).

He then spent 2 years developing microcomputer based train planning applications, before becoming Development Manager for the East Anglian rural services.

In 1988 he became Route Manager for the North East London line from London to Kings Lynn, during which time authority was secured for Kings Lynn line electrification and modernisation. In 1990 he joined the embryonic BRT, which absorbed the former BR telecommunications network.

The company created a fibre network which was taken over by Racal, and later Global Crossing. Charles was responsible for the development of this network, and the arrangements with the many telecoms operators who used it to support their own networks.

In 2003 he joined Crossrail to develop the relationship with the existing railway operators; he was heavily involved both in the development of the Crossrail Bill, and the many agreements which were needed with petitioners to ensure it's success, as well as support to the Bill process as it passed through the Select Committees.

Since 2009 he has been Head of Rail Operations, providing professional operations support to the designers of the Crossrail project.