DfT appoints Alex Hynes as Director General, Rail Services

[snowball]

RAIL mag #1005 went to press before the announcement, but the comment piece by Philip Haigh on page 3 seems to have been written in the knowledge that something like this was coming

An unrelated item on p.8 of the same issue mentions in passing that the current DG of Rail Strategy and Services is Conrad Bailey, so is Alex Hynes going to replace him?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I think the intention is to merge the current Infrastructure and Strategy & Services groups, so Alex would replace both Conrad Bailey and Anit Chandarana (who is returning to NR).
It's unclear where HS2/NPR will sit (currently a separate group).

 

[Tetchytyke]

Another one failing upwards then. Northern still hasn’t recovered from Hynes’ very special sort of management.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Another one failing upwards then. Northern still hasn’t recovered from Hynes’ very special sort of management.

While I agree with you in not being a fan of his, I felt it more shallow bluster and toxic positivity (i.e. claiming things were good when they were bad) that was the issue with him, not that he was actually bad at managing - what harms were caused, out of interest?

FWIW I would parallel him with Martijn Gilbert who refuses to consider that anything might possibly be bad about Lumo. Their style seems very similar.

 

[Tetchytyke]

While I agree with you in not being a fan of his, I felt it more shallow bluster and toxic positivity (i.e. claiming things were good when they were bad) that was the issue with him, not that he was actually bad at managing - what harms were caused, out of interest?

From what I am aware of, the ‘toxic positivity’ had an unfortunate habit of turning into ‘robust management’ of anyone who doesn’t share the same view. Which is why industrial relations, particularly in the north west, have been atrocious for many years and far preceding the current pay disputes.

His tenure at Northern also coincided with the absolute worst behaviour from Serco in holding the PTEs over a barrel, although how much of that was him and how much of that was the corporate culture at Serco I wouldn’t want to guess.

I would say Gilbert is different, although Gilbert certainly didn’t leave Go North East in the best of health.

 

[Bletchleyite]

From what I am aware of, the ‘toxic positivity’ had an unfortunate habit of turning into ‘robust management’ of anyone who doesn’t share the same view. Which is why industrial relations, particularly in the north west, have been atrocious for many years and far preceding the current pay disputes.

His tenure at Northern also coincided with the absolute worst behaviour from Serco in holding the PTEs over a barrel, although how much of that was him and how much of that was the corporate culture at Serco I wouldn’t want to guess.

Thanks. I suppose that's less visible to the passenger but gives useful background.

I would say Gilbert is different, although Gilbert certainly didn’t leave Go North East in the best of health.

I lost all respect for Gilbert when he posted a Tweet enthusing about a Lumo journey, specifically calling out how nice and clean the train was, but posting a photo of an utterly disgustingly filthy seat. That's heading into gaslighting territory. If anything I've more time for O'Leary at Ryanair who's honest about such things - in essence "it might not be that good but it's cheap so put up with it".

 

[Bald Rick]

RAIL mag #1005 went to press before the announcement, but the comment piece by Philip Haigh on page 3 seems to have been written in the knowledge that something like this was coming

An unrelated item on p.8 of the same issue mentions in passing that the current DG of Rail Strategy and Services is Conrad Bailey, so is Alex Hynes going to replace him?

Yes. Alex’s move was reported in the Observer a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

In effect it seems that three Rail DGs are being merged into two meaning that there should be better communicaiton between the projects and the passenger service side of things. No bad thing! The High Speed Group continues unchanged although it seems that Network North (nee NPR) is going to be transferred into it (previously it was part of the projects DG but, as NPR, was part of High speed as most of the infrastructure it might sponsor is high speed extensions to the former HS2 routes to Manchester and Leeds). Much of the planning and policy activity of passenger service is going to be combined with the similar groups working on Local Transport: again, no bad thing. So there will be single DG in charge of overall rail and local transport policy with, presumably, Hynes focussing on the delivery side of things (an area that DfT finds very difficult...) So, again, no bad thing. But how much of this will last the course, following the upcoming election....?!!!

 

[Meerkat]

Is it a good time to be bailing out of the Scotland job, as it sounds like the money is running out??
"One of my primary objectives in my current role has been to deliver a better, safer and more reliable railway for our passengers and our staff across the country"
Instinctively I think that should be THE primary objective, not just one of them.

 

[GordonT]

Thanks for clarifying.

Question - there have been fairly senior rail people in the DfT since it absorbed the SRA 20-odd years ago, but has there been one at DG level before?

Mike Mitchell who as best as I can remember went from BR to the Scottish Bus Group to First Group Rail (North West as was then GWR) to DfT.

 

[YorkRailFan]

The appointment will be effective from Monday, 15 April 2024.

Network Rail has also announced that Liam Sumpter has been appointed Managing Director of Network Rail Scotland. He will take up his new post, on secondment for the same two year period as Alex Hynes, on Monday, 15 April 2024.

Transport Scotland, Scottish Rail Holdings, and Network Rail remain committed to the Alliance Agreement, which has delivered collaborative working between ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland and ensures a close relationship between track and train – for example, the joint Integrated Control in Springburn, one of the first of its kind in the UK railway. The organisations will work together over the coming months to update and further strengthen the Alliance Agreement between ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland.

David Lowrie, ScotRail Chairman and Scottish Rail Holdings Chief Executive, said:

"Joanne Maguire has been an outstanding leader of ScotRail over the past two years and I am pleased that she has accepted the role of interim Managing Director. I know she will continue to work with the team to build on our recent successes, including strong passenger growth, customer satisfaction, and punctuality.

"We remain fully committed to the Alliance Agreement, which has delivered close collaborative working between ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland for the benefit of our customers. Over the coming months we will work with Network Rail and Transport Scotland to update and further strengthen the Alliance Agreement to continue delivering the best possible service for our customers."

Joanne Maguire, incoming ScotRail Managing Director, said:

"I am very proud to take on this new role and grateful for the opportunity to build on the work we have been doing together at ScotRail to deliver a safe, reliable, and green railway for the people of Scotland.

"Everyone at ScotRail continues to work hard to increase passenger numbers, grow revenue, and deliver value for money for the taxpayer. I am looking forward to continuing to play my part in this new role."

Alex Hynes, outgoing Scotland’s Railway Managing Director, said:

"I am delighted for Jo personally and know she will do a great job. ScotRail is in safe hands with her at the helm.

"ScotRail’s greatest asset is its people and I know Jo will lead them to even greater success."

Joanne Maguire appointed ScotRail Managing Director

Scottish Rail Holdings today announced that Joanne Maguire has been appointed interim Managing Director of ScotRail following Alex Hynes’ two-year secondment to the UK Government Department for Transport. The appointment will be effective from Monday, 15 April 2024. Network Rail has also...

www.scotrail.co.uk

Joanne Maguire has been announced as Hyne's replacement as Interim MD at Scotrail effective from Monday 15th April to replace Hynes' once he joins the IRB.

 

[185]

Network Rail has also announced that Liam Sumpter has been appointed Managing Director of Network Rail Scotland. He will take up his new post, on secondment for the same two year period as Alex Hynes, on Monday, 15 April 2024.

You just can't write this comedy of errors on this railway

2018:

Northern Rail boss is slammed for tirade of 'aggressive tweets'

A regional director for Northern Rail has come under fire for 'aggressive tweets' where he has told passengers that they're asking 'nonsense questions'.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Liam Sumpter has received backlash for his replies to tweets from passengers
The Arriva Rail North director has to regularly deal with complaints online
However some deem that telling people they're asking 'nonsense questions' is a step too far
A regional director for Northern Rail has come under fire for 'aggressive tweets' where he has told passengers that they're asking 'nonsense questions'.
Liam Sumpter, has also been slammed for blocking followers and belittling their failure to 'grasp the basics'.

My word.