Mick Miller

Said the following about Peter Jackson:

“Peter was appointed by Arriva Rail London (ARL) in early 2023 as their Project Manager to work with Network Rail (NR) to relocate their operational staff out of accommodation that had existed for many years and deliver a brand new ARL Traincrew facility at London Euston Station. This was a particularly critical assignment as the area currently inhabited by ARL traincrew on the Parcel Deck at the station was urgently required to be cleared for the HS2 enabling works programme to be delivered; the timescales were very short and the key requirements for the ARL staff had still not been fully agreed, whilst the build of the new facility had continued apace to meet the overall programme.

As NR's Programme Manager for the physical works, I met with Peter and realised at that first meeting that Peter was a person who exhibited all of the qualities required to deliver a complex, integrated industry project to a very tight timescale and someone that I could work with. Peter showed immediate leadership within his organisation to confirm their final, actual requirements to move in but made it clear to my team that he would work with us every step of the way to make sure that both organisations' outputs were met. Peter threw himself into the project 100% and always made himself available to discuss and resolve any issues that arose. On several occasions, Peter offered innovative, compromises to meet his organisation's needs while not endangering the end date. One major challenge that we had was the lack of physical space within the building, conflicting with the need for the traincrew to have mandatory, information noticeboards available in the booking on point area. Legally, the facility could not be occupied without the information being displayed. Rather than simply saying "That's your problem NR", Peter worked with ARL's management and IT teams to accelerate the delivery of a new electronic, interactive, information screen. He then worked with Traincrew representatives to get the initiative agreed upon and purchased the screens. As a delivery team, we simply provided data links and installed the screens and the space problem was solved. Peter was on site most days in the last few months of the fit-out of the building and gained the trust of all staff working in the area as an intelligent client who was ultimately the end user. When problems arose on the project, Peter always adopted the position of "These things happen - what can we do to still meet our objectives". It was this calm, resourceful demeanour that built trust with all stakeholders involved in the project and enabled us to successfully move ARL's staff into their new facility within the programme and budget.

Peter's leadership, hard work, personal behaviours, ingenuity and a clear understanding that a "One industry" approach must be adopted to successfully deliver a project in a cross-industry environment, means that ARL staff have a brand new, bright, modern facility at Euston Station for the first time in a generation and HS2 enabling works can continue without further costs being incurred.“