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Northern appoints Tony Plumbley to lead engineering for major rail signalling upgrade

Northern has announced Tony Plumbley will lead the organisation’s engineering preparations for the roll-out of ‘European Train Control System’ (ETCS) signalling across its network.

Plumbley, who lives in Northwich, Cheshire, joined Northern as head of engineering from Merseyrail two-and-a-half years ago, having previously worked for Cross Country, Arriva and Bombardier.

Since then, he has delivered the train operator’s digital trains programme, developed the new operations management maintenance system and helped prepare the Northern fleet for autumn leaf-fall with double variable rate sanding equipment.

In his new role, he will support Barry Thomas, Northern’s head of ETCS, to ensure a smooth integration of the system for colleagues in operations, programmes, training, engineering, safety and commercial.

Steve Rowell, director of new rolling stock programmes at Northern, said: “Tony has successfully delivered a number of major projects since joining the team in 2022 and we couldn’t ask for a better engineering lead for the ETCS roll-out.

“ETCS is an exciting development for the rail industry and Northern is assembling a team to ensure we’re able to play our part in making the rail network even safer and more efficient.”

Tony Plumbley added: “I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into all things ETCS. Northern has given me so many great opportunities to work on exciting projects with real-world customer benefits – and ETCS will be game-changing for the industry when it comes online.”

Plumbley joined Northern from Merseyrail and has previously worked for Cross Country, Arriva and Bombardier. Recruitment for a new head of engineering at Northern will begin shortly.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with nearly 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

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