Will Robinson

I am a Chartered Institute of Rail Operators (CIRO) Chartered Rail Operations Consultant. I have been working in the rail industry for 4 years post-graduation in both control centre and consulting environments. I have been involved in a diverse set of timetabling projects, requiring a wide range of knowledge, including: the opportunities and limitations of different signalling systems; heavy and light rail; freight and passenger stock; and international infrastructure. Projects have focussed significantly on meeting the strategic aims that new timetables are looking to meet. Through my time working in the Elizabeth Line Control Room, I have experience of incident management and key communication skills needed to efficiently mitigate the impacts of any given incident.

Mott MacDonald – Rail Operations Consultant (2022 – Present)

The role has exposed me to a multitude of rail operations systems, including making timetables, pathing services using unique signalling systems; generating run times and Sectional Run Times (SRTs); delay recovery capability; proposing and assessing the effectiveness of new infrastructure; and working within Network Rail rules and regulations. I am competent with timetable planning software, notably ATTUne, and have experience with RailSys, RouteRunner and TIP. The latter two were used to calculate SRTs. 

Success in this role has required a knowledge of different infrastructure. I have worked on UK heavy rail, light rail and metro systems, and on US based light rail projects. To complete the work to the standard expected of me, I need to develop a strong understanding of the operational characterises of each, the opportunities presented and the limitations of each system. 

Projects where I had heavy involvement in train planning were East West Rail (EWR), where I was responsible on ATTUne for finding additional peak time paths into Cambridge on the existing timetable, including additional ECS moves and replatforming to accommodate the extra services, whilst remaining Timetable Planning Rules (TPR) compliant. Work on HS2 Manchester Piccadilly station also involved working with platform occupation, to assess the capacity and operational limitations of the station size and station throat design. 

A Windermere based project involved assessing the required interventions to increase frequency from 1tph to 2tph, and work on NEXUS Tyne and Wear Metro involved creating a new timetable, which was required for the incoming class 555 stock, replacing the class 599s, which had different performance characteristics. Work done for a private client involved creating new geography and assessing the impact of the new infrastructure, and the impact on the existing timetable. Work on the South Wales Mainline involved creating a new timetable for planned additional stations, accommodating mixed traffic. Working for SYMCA on the Sheffield Supertram exposed me to UK based light rail working and work on the Boston Green Line for MBTA exposed me to US based light rail.

Capacity assessments and SRT calculations are other skillset that the job has let me develop, working closely with TPRs, 5-mile diagrams and Sectional Appendices (Sas) legislation and information. Capacity assessments for TfGM on key Manchester corridors for additional passenger services and I have needed to conduct capacity assessments to assess the feasibility of operating additional freight trains to large scale construction sites. Work on Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) involved calculating SRTs through the planned neutral section at Marsden, and the operational impacts of operating the units under different voltages. 

Secondment to RfLI Elizabeth Line Control Centre – Incident Support Controller (2023 –2024)

I was seconded to work at the Elizabeth Line Control Room as an Incident Support Controller (ISC). The main responsibility of the role involved incident management, with contracting emergency services and RfLI IRMs, categorise incidents, produce milestone plans and draft command structures, updating on call managers and assist the SIM in any other incident specific way. The role also included logging of incidents, line wide messaging and possession monitoring. Safety was paramount in all decision making within the control room, in accordance with rule books and legislation, to make sure that the railway operated without posing risk to personnel or infrastructure. 

An understanding of CBTC, ETCS and the associated rulebooks was crucial to this role, as well as a deep understanding of the infrastructure and safety critical communication skills. During the secondment, I dealt with multiple incidents and needed to take the initiative in pre-emptively mitigating the impact of any given incident. The experience gave me an invaluable insight into control room operations and how different stakeholders operate and communicate with each other. 

Capita - Transport Planner - Rail & Public Transport (2021 – 2022)

My role at Capita gave me skills in planning new infrastructure at a business case stage, notably the Swansea Bay & West Wales Metro. This project employed my strategic thinking skills, assessing new services or extensions of existing services against the strategic aims of the project. Work also included assessing the impact of new rolling stock and electrification, with regard the WelTAG policies. 

As this project was at business case stage, critically assessing proposed options through BCR calculations, capital, and operating costs, and working with WelTAG framework was crucial to successfully completion of the work. I was tasked with designing and conducting a public consultation, consulting with key stakeholders in the planning process and conducting site visits. 

University of Brighton -  

MSc Town Planning Merit

2019-2020 

University of Brighton -

BA Geography 2:1

2016-2019

Chartered Institute of Rail Operations - 

ACIRO - 2024