London Underground and Thales are winners at National Rail Awards for outstanding teamwork on Northern Line Delivery

A team from London Underground and Thales has won the Outstanding Teamwork Award at the National Rail Awards for their work on the modernisation of the Northern Line.

The Northern Line is the busiest of London’s tube lines, making it a particularly challenging part of the network to modernise.  Installation of Thales’s SelTrac communications-based train control (CBTC) system – which automatically controls the movements of all 106 Northern Line trains, and which replaced the 40-year-old legacy signalling – had to be achieved within the very limited engineering time and while keeping as much of the service running as possible.

Central to the team’s success in meeting the challenge was an integrated approach. London Underground (LU) and Thales defined their working relationship as ‘One Team’, with project managers and engineers from both companies working side by side as a single team on everything from defining the user requirements and the design scope, to the detailed management of installation and testing works. The approach was followed throughout the entire project – from the senior LU and Thales executives who jointly oversaw the project and formed the ‘One Team Board’, to the combined teams of engineers working in the tunnels. The project was delivered this with far fewer closures and high reliability.

As a result, the project to modernise the Northern Line was completed in May 2014 with few weekend closures, high reliability, six months early and under budget. When the new timetable is introduced, the line will be able to run 24 trains per hour – representing a 20% increase in capacity – and a faster and more reliable experience for passengers.

The National Rail Award judges commented: “This entry impressed due to the comprehensive approach taken in ensuring that a ‘One Team’ culture was embedded at all levels of this major and difficult project. The approach proved the success that a genuine win-win culture can bring”.

David Waboso, London Underground’s Capital Programmes Director, said:

“These awards are a recognition of the hard work, commitment and innovation displayed by London Underground‘s staff and partners.  However we are not complacent and we will continue to innovate, collaborate and invest to ensure we deliver a world-class service for the millions of Londoners and visitors who use the Tube.”

“We are delighted that the National Rail Awards has recognised the outstanding teamwork that made the Northern Line project such a success,” said Alistair McPhee, Vice President of Ground Transportation Systems for Thales UK.  “The close working relationship of Thales and London Underground was certainly one of the hallmarks of the project and I am very proud of what we have achieved together – delivering ahead of schedule and budget”.

It was a double celebration for Thales at the National Rail Awards. Also in the Outstanding Teamwork Award category, another Thales project – the Manchester Metrolink tram system, with Transport for Greater Manchester – was Highly Commended by the judging panel.

Image: Stuart Harvey, Programme Director at London Underground (centre left), Andy Bell, Programme Director at Thales (centre right), and the LU/Thales team receive the Outstanding Teamwork Award at the National Rail Awards.