Alan Thwaites - SLC Rail

Alan Thwaites
Telephone: 01746 763558
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.slcrail.com

Profile

Alan is a hardworking and conscientious career railwayman
with 39 years’ continuous experience in operations, train
planning and fleet maintenance & cleaning. He has an
extensive knowledge of railway geography, infrastructure
and working practices leads to a comprehensive ability to
address railway operations issues of any type.
Alan’s focus on customer service improvement and goal oriented
outlook ensures that he is a core asset to any railway project
team.

Qualifications and Memberships

BSc Mechanical Engineering Bristol University, 1974
Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1981
Basic Management Skills, Ashridge College, 1984
Basic Workshop Practice, Loughborough University, 1974
Workshop Skills, RAF At Athan, 1973

[email protected] www.slcrail.com 01746 763558

Achievements

Timetable Development Manager, London Midland Trains
2007 to 2013
Alan was responsible for the preparation of development plans for service improvements
throughout London Midland. His management of the permanent timetable bids to Network Rail for
London Midland, ensures full compliance with the SLC, the Franchise Contract with the DfT. This
required coordination with many other TOCs and FOCs operating over the same routes, as well as
fleet maintenance and train crew management.

Core responsibilities and achievements:

• Among a series of timetable developments, the most significant has been the “Project 110”
enhancement introduced in Dec 2012 (off-peak) and planned for May 2014 (Peak).

• By running at 110mph, 2 additional fast line paths can be created each hour into and out of
Euston.

• This major improvement relieves serious peak congestion and reduces journey times by up
to 30 minutes for some stations in the Trent Valley.

Timetable Planning Manager, Central Trains Limited
2001 to 2007

Alan managed the permanent timetable for Central Trains, ensuring full compliance with the PSR,
the Franchise Contract with the DfT. This required coordination with many other TOCs and FOCs
operating over the same routes, as well as fleet maintenance and train crew management.

He was responsible for the submission of the Timetable bids to Network Rail for each TT change.
Core responsibilities and achievements:

• Prior to appointment, CT had committed a significant number of breaches from the PSR.
• Following Alan’s appointment, these had all but disappeared by 2007.
• Major upgrades to the services offered on the Snow Hill, Birmingham – Hereford and “Robin

Hood” lines were implemented in this period.

Permanent Timings Manager, Wales and West Passenger Railways Ltd
1997 to 2001

Alan was responsible for the preparation of the permanent timetable specification for South Wales
& West, requiring coordination with fleet maintenance, station operations and train crew
management.

He negotiated with Railtrack and other operators to achieve best possible times for W&W.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• All bids for the 2001 timetable were presented to Railtrack on time, compliant and within

[email protected] www.slcrail.com 01746 763558

the correct format.
• Improvements in Timetable patterns & service frequency were achieved with the 2000

service changes.
• All previous W&W bids were compliant and on time.

Services Planning Manager, Intercity West Coast
1992 to 1997

Alan was responsible for the preparation of the permanent timetable specification and associated
stock diagrams for InterCity West Coast, requiring coordination with fleet maintenance, station
operations and train crew management.

He negotiated with Railtrack and other operators to achieve best possible times for West Coast.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• The department became ISO 9001 accredited, a unique achievement for a train planning
unit.
• Fully conversant with PROTIM 4, DCM and the APlan process; also Word for Windows &
EXCEL.
• Punctual production of all specifications.
• Production of attractive patterned services.

Fleet Resources Engineer, InterCity West Coast
1988 to 1992

Alan was responsible for the planning of maintenance schedules for the West Coast fleet. He
planned for maximum availability from the fleet at minimum cost. This required a full appreciation of
the maintenance requirements for the fleet together with an intimate knowledge of the physical
constraints of each maintenance depot.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• Introduction of HST services to Holyhead, including provision of fuelling facilities.
• Prepared depot layout for IC250 project.
• Introduced fixed set formations with vehicles allocated to specific sets, greatly easing the
problem of incompatible maintenance dates.

Implementation Engineer, RAVERS
1987 to 1998

Alan was seconded to the implementation team for Rail Vehicles Record System, a mainframe
database for Traction & Rolling Stock components. His role required a detailed knowledge of the
components fitted to each vehicle and the overhaul cycle of each.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• All major components on each vehicle were identified, enabling them to be tracked
individually.
• This provided the base for specific monitoring of component lives and failure modes.

[email protected] www.slcrail.com 01746 763558

Depot Manager, Tyseley
1986 to 1987

Alan was responsible for all maintenance and cleaning on the 60 DMU sets allocated to the Tyseley
Depot. There was a total staff of 300, with a budget of approximately £8million. The principal
requirement of Alan’s role was to improve morale at a location that was perceived by its staff to be
in imminent danger of closure. This was achieved by careful attention to staff attitudes, making
them feel empowered in everything they did.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• The management at Tyseley was successfully integrated despite the staff being located on
two sites some distance apart.
• 75% of the allocated stock had been replaced due to asbestos contamination, much of the
replacements had been in store and were in poor condition.
• Introduction of a depot emblem affixed to all allocated stock enabled staff to identify
themselves as part of the team.
• This emblem is still in use.

Depot Manager, Oxley
1985 to 1986

Alan was responsible for all maintenance and cleaning on the 25 sets of InterCity stock allocated to
Oxley depot. With a total staff of 160 and a budget of approximately £4m, the depot had been
chosen as the pilot location for unified management of cleaning, maintenance and marshalling,
which was duly implemented.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• After a year, unified management was declared to be a total success.
• The new InterCity livery was being introduced at the time. By ensuring that all vehicles in the
new colours were marshalled together, a favourable impression of the depot was instilled in
senior management. This assisted in creating a very high level of morale among the staff.

Area Rolling Stock Engineer, Wolverhampton
1980-1985

Alan was Responsible for all rolling stock maintenance and repairs in an area from Birmingham
(exclusive) to the Welsh Coast. He worked with 100 staff at such diverse locations as Oxley,
Porthmadog and Aberystwyth.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• Full overhauls were effected on the rolling stock of the Vale of Rheidol narrow gauge
railway.
• The freight business was in serious decline and major staff reductions were needed. This was
achieved with the minimum of discontent.

[email protected] www.slcrail.com 01746 763558

Quality Control & Resources Engineer, Landore (Swansea)
1979 to 1980

Alan was responsible for all the support functions at Landore. This included motivating a disparate
group of staff (stores staff, finished work inspectors and shed cleaners) who had a cynical outlook on
employment and their ability to ‘milk the system’.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• Initial installation of ‘twin-tank’ modifications to the fuel systems of class 37 locomotives.

Senior Technical Officer, various locations.
1976 to 1979

Alan spent 3 years based at Western Region HQ at Paddington and at Old Oak Common.
The principle requirement was to troubleshoot any emerging problem before it caused serious
disruption.

Core responsibilities and achievements:
• Technical support to the depot staff as they familiarised themselves with the new HST sets.
• In particular, there was a problem with the axle box castings, which required daily
monitoring of many vehicles, carrying out crack-detection on each suspect casting.

[email protected] www.slcrail.com 01746 763558