Network Rail Selects Rostering Solution Providers

Network Rail, the publicly-owned firm responsible for the upkeep of much the UK’s rail network, has chosen suppliers for its new rostering solution.

Network Rail intends its new rostering system to enable greater efficiency, ultimately improving rail safety and helping train operators to minimise delays and disruptions and improving the passenger experience.

Consultancy and outsourcing firm Capgemini and workforce management solutions provider ClickSoftware have won the contract to deliver an automated system to the rail organisation.

The service aims to optimise the rail firm’s signalling and maintenance workers by improving when an employee works, where they work while factoring in compliance requirements, job priority and employee preference.

The rostering system is also said to aid Network Rail schedulers, supervisors and managers – replacing the current mixture of earlier-generation IT, paper-based and local spreadsheet-based processes.

The organisation hopes that productivity will increase and improve safety by incorporating comprehensive traceability facilities.

IT System “Will Strengthen Resources”

“The new IT system will strengthen our ability to resource our signalling operations and maintenance activities effectively,” claimed Network Rail director of maintenance and operations services Neal Lawson.

“This will allow us to deploy the right team to the right place at the right time. It will therefore enable us to make optimum use of our workforce and their skills and to maximise the availability of track to the train operators, thereby helping rail passengers by minimising delays and disruptions to services,” he added.

Development work on the new solution is taking place in the UK, Israel and Capgemini’s Advanced Planning and Scheduling Global Solution Centre in India.

Network Rail recently hit headlines after it paid a fine that is being used to fund better passenger wi-fi services on trains.   

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