A dedicated police response vehicle is getting used across south and west London to aid reduce disruption to passengers resulting from emergency incidents at the railway.
The vehicle, which have been commissioned and funded by the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance in partnership with British Transport Police, is the 1st of its kind for use full-time and follows successful trials in the course of the Olympics.
It allows railway engineers, driven by and accompanied by BTP officers, to get to incidents using blue lights and sirens which helps to minimize response times and reduces the length of delays to passengers.
The vehicle is getting used to answer incidents which are causing, or have the capability to cause, disruption at the Wessex route out of London Waterloo and has already had a good impact on disruption levels.
Tim Shoveller, managing director of the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance, said: “This unique vehicle reduces the quantity of time it takes to get to incidents at the railway which subsequently reduces the length of delays to trains and ultimately to our passengers.
“It covers one of the crucial busiest sections of railway within the country which, when something goes wrong, has a knock on effect around the south and south west of britain. The vehicle allows BTP officers and railway engineers to travel to an incident within the same way that other police vehicles can to an emergency, which enables us to clear incidents and perform repairs more quickly.
“It proved its worth in the course of the Olympics and we’re confident it may continue to assist us run a more efficient and effective railway.”
Superintendent Jason Bunyard, from BTP’s London South area, said: “Passenger safety would be improved via the recent vehicle to get engineers and kit to the scene of incidents and to get trains moving again as quickly as possible.
“Because we understand the disappointment caused to passengers who’re held up by incidents at the railway, our aim is to get an officer there once possible as a way to get stuck trains moving again quickly.
“By getting the road moving sooner, there’ll even be fewer crowd questions of safety in and around stations.
“Once on the scene, the officer driving the EIU vehicle will perform regular policing duties and work alongside colleagues to unravel any crime or issues of safety and help get the network moving.
“This is a brilliant opportunity for BTP officers to work with South West Trains and Network Rail colleagues, in a bid to maintain the railway a secure place whilst operating to its best capacity.”
The vehicle, called an emergency intervention unit (EIV), was in use for a month and has attended a considerable number of infrastructure incidents which during the past would have caused longer delays to services. Other sorts of incident the vehicle has attended includes trespassers and helping reopen the railway after a passenger had fallen onto the track.
The vehicle have been modified to hold essential railway repair equipment and is police marked with Network Rail and South West Trains branding. It will become based at London Waterloo station and should cover the Wessex route so far as Epsom, Chessington South, Oxshott, Weybridge, Shepperton and Feltham.
It have been funded until March 2014 and in addition to responding to emergency incidents, it would even be used to patrol known hotspots to aid reduce incidents consisting of cable theft and vandalism. When available, it will likely be used on other railway routes which travel into south London when required.
The EIV is one method getting used by the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance to enhance the railway within the south and south west of britain. Greater than £360m a year is spent on improving and maintaining the track and infrastructure around the route. an additional £30m is being spent to enhance the reliability of the flexibility supply used to run trains.
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