The RailStaff Awards 2024

Paul Case

CPC Project Services LLP

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Nominations for Rail Person of the Year

David Westcough

Said the following about Paul Case:

“Paul Case has done more for industry promotion, skill development and innovation in UK Rail than many may hope to do to in a lifetime. He freely and selflessly gives his time, energy and passion to improving the careers of others, while excelling in his own project management career.

In just six years, Paul Case has achieved exceptional results in his drive to promote the rail industry, to inspire and develop the careers of his peers and colleagues, and to give back to the industry in which he serves. Whilst excelling in his career in Project Management, Paul has been fundamental to the development of multiple industry programmes and initiatives, which enhance the careers of young professionals, and support the development of the next generation of skilled leaders.

Through his work as a project manager, his key involvement with Young Rail Professionals (YRP) -a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers to support the career development of its members - and, most recently, his role in establishing ‘Young Rail Tours’, Paul has had a wide and substantial impact on the careers of many peers and colleagues, at all levels. In putting together this nomination, it was evident from the colleagues whom I have spoken to that there is overwhelming support and respect for Paul’s passion and dedication to improving the UK rail industry and the careers of those within it.

For this reason, I and many others wholeheartedly support Paul in this nomination for Rail person of the Year.

Project Management Career

Paul began his career in Project Management as a graduate project manager for Transport for London, where he was selected against fierce competition for a place on this scheme. Over two years, Paul worked on several high-profile projects including: the £30m Elephant and Castle Roundabout Redesign; the award-winning Forest Road Ventilation Shaft (as part of the Victoria Line World Class Upgrade); and as a Project Manager delivering a complex programme of infrastructure renewals as part of the Station Works and Improvement Programme (SWIP). During this time, he also completed his APM Introductory and Practitioner Qualifications and completed a two-year MSc in Project and Enterprise Management at University College London (UCL), for which he was awarded a Distinction. Emphasising the critical importance of safety in rail construction projects, Paul’s research thesis explored the impact of the April 2017 changes to the Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations and their effect on the behaviours of railway project teams; for which he was also awarded a Distinction.

Whilst I didn’t work directly with Paul during his time at TfL, his colleague Tom Aley, Assistant Project Manager for the LU’s Four Lines Modernisation Programme (a £5.4Bn signalling upgrade programme), attested to his passion for work and his willingness to go above and beyond to support his colleagues, stating;

‘I have known Paul for many years. He has always been dependable, motivated, energised and a great team player. He is always at the end of the phone and happy to help whenever he can, in any way. He will always put in 100% and is always looking to learn new skills and take up new roles outside of his scope’.

More recently, Paul joined CPC Project Services as a Project Consultant, where he is commissioned to Crossrail as a Senior Coordinator in the central Testing and Commissioning Team. He is responsible for coordinating testing and handover activities across the central stations section, ensuring that assets and systems are installed, tested and assured ready for use. Of his role at CPC, Andrew Shackleton, CPC Partner, said;

‘Paul is an outstanding project management consultant. His strategic and organisational skills are making a significant contribution to a challenging client project and his approach has won high praise from clients and colleagues. He is also very active in the wider industry and brings commitment, passion and an entrepreneurial spirit to all aspects of his work, whilst seeking to develop his core skills and professional standing’.

CPC Associate Partner, John Chappell said;

‘Paul is a strong player and represents himself and CPC well with respect to our Values. He is a great asset to the business and good fun to have on the team. He is innovative and embraces and inspires others towards creative thinking and novel approaches. He is a consummate networker and highly resourceful.

Paul has progressed rapidly in his career and continues to show exceptional potential. In his role at Crossrail, Client, Jon Arrowsmith, Testing and Commissioning Manager noted his willingness to go beyond the requirements of his role and potential to develop into a leadership role in rail, stating;

‘Paul has developed into an indispensable member of my team and is the first person I go to with difficult issues. Recently Paul has been developing and delivering exec level workshops that directly feed into CEO level decision making. These are work streams that will help deliver the project on time and budget. The time savings and streamlined processes that Paul is helping to deliver are beyond his role in T&C, looking at handover and operational interfaces with the incoming Infrastructure managers.

By delivering these work streams he is exposing himself to the senior management team with very high levels of competency. I look forward to continue working with, and even one day, working for Paul, as I’m sure his career will continue from strength to strength.’

Young Rail Professionals

Paul is perhaps best known for his indispensable role in the development and success of Young Rail Professionals (YRP), through which I was fortunate enough to meet him. Through YRP, Paul’s passion and drive for the industry and the inspiration and leadership he has shown over the past five years have enabled YRP to grow and develop in a way that has impacted positively on the careers of hundreds, contributing to the image and promotion of the industry as a great place to work.

Having joined Young Rail Professionals just over five years ago, Paul’s outstanding personal contribution to its growth and impact cannot be overstated. His contributions and achievements are too numerous to list in this submission, but some key highlights include:

• Established the ‘Politics of Rail’ series, an on-going high-profile annual event where senior industry leaders, politicians, civil servants and journalists speak and answer questions about the main political issues impacting the industry;

• Established the ‘Welcome to Rail’ series of annual events to welcome new entrants to the industry and introduce them to junior colleagues for support and mentoring purposes;

• Ran YRP’s formative Corporate Membership programme, linking YRP with companies and organisations and more than doubling YRP’s income; enabling it to deliver more development activities and grow into a national organisation;

• Set-up the annual YRP leadership conference – bringing all YRP volunteers together from across the UK annually to network, share knowledge and plan new development activities;

• Led the team that delivered YRP’s annual dinner in London in 2017 – attracting the largest crowd to date (over 500) and introducing two new award categories to the awards; namely: Apprentice of the Year and Mentor of the Year;

• YRP National Chairman for 2017/18 – leading the organization’s strategy and supporting over 70 volunteers nationwide.

Whilst Paul’s formal role ended in 2018, he remains as a member of the Advisory Board for YRP, continuing to play an active part in ensuring the growth and success of YRP and its ability to deliver benefits to the UK Rail industry. In September 2018 he represented YRP at the European Commission, presenting to the Platform for Rail Infrastructure Managers in Europe (PRIME), where he shared learnings from the UK on how to promote careers in rail, address the widening skills gap, support diversity and aid the development of young professionals.

He is a judge for the National Rail Awards (NRAs), volunteering alongside senior colleagues in assessing and celebrating the hard work of industry colleagues and organisations.

Through his hard work, dedication and passion, Paul has touched on the careers of hundreds across the industry, and all of this is on top of his day job. Below are some comments from YRP colleagues whom Paul’s work has affected:

Laura Reardon, Chair, YRP London and South East Committee

Paul has continued to show his dedication to YRP by sacrificing significant amounts of personal time to provide invaluable support to volunteers and committees. At the end of his tenure as National Chair he could have easily taken a hands-off approach, but instead his advice, knowledge and willingness to connect those across the industry has enabled YRP to maximize their impact and support the ongoing development and promotion of young professionals.

Sheila De Sousa, Senior Telecommunications Engineer, WSP said;

Paul is dependable, driven, motivated and innovative. I know Paul from YRP, where he has been National Chair, and during his tenure I saw the profile of the group rise significantly. He is still actively involved and supports the current chair where required.

Paul always strives to deliver and goes the extra mile. I believe his trailblazing activities have enhanced the profile of the Rail Industry, whilst enabling the newest generation within the industry to be aware of, and involved in, the future of the railway.”

Paul has been an incredible asset to me during my own tenure as National Chair of YRP. He has provided me with invaluable advice and support, often at a moment’s notice – always going the extra mile to ensure that my concerns and issues are resolved quickly and successfully.

I admire the enthusiasm and drive he shows towards the development of young people working within the industry, shown most recently in his leadership in the development of the new Young Rail Tours initiative.

Young Rail Tours

Paul has most recently co-founded a new cross-industry initiative called Young Rail Tours, which seeks to deliver affordable, accessible and inspirational domestic, European and intercontinental tours.

The concept started to take form in 2017 when Paul, as chair of YRP, joined with Ben Vallely and Emil Tschepp, then Chair and Vice Chair of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division Young Members, to organise joint study tours for their members. This led to Paul, Ben and Emil organising a tour in the Netherlands in April 2018, where 38 young professionals visited sites including; Utrecht Central Station, the Netherlands ‘Operationeel Control Centum Rail’ (OCCR), and the NR Watergraafsmeer maintenance facility.

Whilst this was only the first tour the group had organised together, it met with positive responses from delegates with 88% saying that they would like to attend future tours and 94% feeling it delivered value for money. Comments included: ‘I enjoyed it a lot, there were many presentations, and these were very informative’; ‘Good variation in presentations, technical and non-technical. Some great quality speakers clearly experts in their field’ and one delegate stating that, ‘Everything was perfect!’.

Following this success in the Netherlands, a more ambitious tour was planned for April 2019 to Munich, with Paul taking a lead in developing and leading. The tour was initially planned for 40 delegates, but Paul and his co-organisers were overwhelmed when over 70 young professionals requested a place. Eventually 46 attended this tour, which included: a tour of the Stammstrecke 2-line construction; a walking tour of Munich; a private tour of the Munich Transport Corporation (MVG) museum; a visit to Siemen’s Munich Rail Service Centre, and a tour of the DB Netz Bavarian Regional Rail Control Centre.

Again, the tour was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, with 100% of delegates saying the tour delivered value for money and 97% stating that they would attend future tours. One delegate said, ‘the tour was fantastic! I have found the experience very valuable, making new connections and friends in the industry, and feeling welcomed into the YRP and IMechE community’.

Recognising a demand and need in the industry to provide development tours targeted towards the needs of young professionals, Paul and colleagues from the IMechE set out to develop a cross-industry initiative to deliver up to two tours a year for young professionals in Rail. In just four months, they established Young Rail Tours (YRT), a programme supported by the IMechE, IRSE, IET and YRP, to deliver these tours for young professionals. This was done by Paul in his free time, through his passion for enhancing the careers and opportunities of his colleagues.

YRT has already delivered a successful domestic tour to Scotland in September 2019, including: a presentation from Bill Reeve, Director of Rail, Transport Scotland; a tour of the Glasgow Subway Depot; a presentation from David Shirres, Managing Editor Rail Engineer magazine; and a trip on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway. David Shirres, a host on the tour noted that ‘It was an absolute pleasure to join the group this weekend’, while Bill Reeve said, ‘it was a real pleasure to welcome you all to Scotland. I was impressed by the number of delegates you brought – and the breadth of disciplines represented’.

Paul and YRT are working on delivering a tour to Japan for 11 nights in March 2020. Having already secured visits with JR East, JR Central and Hitachi, YRT has invited potential delegates to take part in a lottery – to ensure fair allocation of places. Interest has already far exceeded expectations, with over 150 expressions of interest received in just two weeks.

Paul’s colleagues have been overwhelmingly positive about his role in establishing and delivering YRT. Bonnie Price, APM said;

‘Young Rail Tours has given me a wonderful opportunity to meet other young people in a somewhat silo’d industry. I have expanded my network hugely from attending two tours (Munich and Scotland). Not only did I have a fantastic time being exposed to knowledge I wouldn’t have gained in my job and sub-sector of rail, but I got to meet and network with people that have already proved good to know in my career.

Paul and his co-founders have created an incredible organisation and I already can’t wait to attend more tours. Learning and expanding my network and my knowledge has opened-up my future career path, which I wouldn’t have known about or considered if I had not attended YRTs tours.

I cannot over-sell how worthwhile these tours are to my development as a young professional.’

As well as organising tours, Paul has established YRT as a point of contact for groups wishing to visit the UK Rail Network. In July and August 2019, Paul took a leading role in arranging and facilitating tours across the UK for a group of 40 professionals visiting from China’s CRRC Corporation. Working with International Study Programmes (Prague), Paul helped arrange an incredibly varied and comprehensive tour and series of events across the country, bringing Chinese and UK colleagues together to share ideas, learn and network. Nikola Jarolimova of ISP said;

Paul freely gave his time, dedication, expertise and resources to help us deliver an incredibly successful tour of the UK Rail industry for CRRC Corporation; arranging events, speakers and networking evenings all across the UK. His passion for bringing rail colleagues together and sharing knowledge and expertise is infectious and we are looking forward to working more with him in the future.

While still early in its inception, YRT, through Paul’s energy and passion, has already begun to establish itself as a new, powerful force for developing the careers of young professionals and forging links with colleagues and organisations worldwide.

I cannot more strongly recommend Paul for the award of Rail Person of the Year at the Railstaff Awards.“