Paul Barlow

Said the following about Cambridge Drivers Team:

“Cambridge drivers. I would like to nominate the Cambridge driver team for the RailStaff Safety Team Award.

Cambridge is a well-established CrossCountry depot with 37 drivers based there. Everyone at the depot is immensely passionate about safety.

Each year CrossCountry holds a safety culture survey to understand the level of focus on safety in each depot and, for the past several years, Cambridge has achieved the highest response rate and safety culture score within the business.

The survey is not the only measure of success, the depot has not had a SPAD for over 15 years which is unprecedented in the industry. Recently they were recognised by our MD Tom Joyner and ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan for their exceptional safety record and were awarded a prestigious CrossCountry safety award. This collaboration between CrossCountry and ASLEF, despite challenging times, shows the scale of this achievement and we’re all extremely proud of the team’s efforts (photo attached).

The Health and Safety reps at the depot are continuously highlighting safety risks to Network Rail and working collaboratively to tackle vegetation and trespasser risks. Recently, Cambridge Driver Dan Browning highlighted a trespasser safety risk at Syston involving young teenagers, Network Rail was able to intervene to prevent any further risk or reoccurrences, potentially saving lives due to these actions (Video included).

Last October, the depot once again highlighted its focus on safety when one of our Turbostar trains experienced a low-speed derailment after leaving the maintenance depot. Unfortunately, a maintenance worker had left a derailer in place as the unit left the maintenance shed. Due to the quick actions of the driver, the unit only derailed a few feet at low speed. I do not doubt that a more serious incident was prevented due to the depot's focus on safety which has improved the awareness of our drivers (photo attached).

Every day the team showcases their passion for safety. They’re always looking for ways to make our railways safer, it is for this reason, that the industry should recognise their efforts by awarding the team the RailStaff Safety Team Award.“