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To keep up-to-date with Fourth Friday Club events, the Secretary recommends that you sign up for the e-Notice service. Details of the next meeting, plus changes or additions to the programme, are contained in a personal e-mail sent out a month in advance to e-Notice subscribers.

If you are already a club member could we ask you to subscribe to e-Notice to ensure that the Secretary can keep you informed. Potential members and anyone who is interested in receiving details of future meetings of the Fourth Friday Club are are also warmly invited to sign-up.

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The next meeting will be held on Fri 23 March 2012

Speaker: Howard Smith, Chief Operating Officer of London

Meetings in 2012:

Friday 22 June - featuring the Railway Industry Innovation Awards

Friday 28 September - rail tour event

Friday 23 November - featuring the Golden Spanners Awards

Membership

Membership is open to all in the UK railway industry.

Membership can be held by firms with a principal point of contact: in the event that the principal is unable to attend a meeting, he or she can designate a colleague to attend instead.

Details of forthcoming meetings are contained in an e-mail sent out a month in advance to club members and interested parties.

A response to the e-mail from Members is appreciated, for catering and badge-making purposes.

How to join

For an invitation to the free trial meeting contact the Club Secretary James Abbott

e-mail: modern.railways@googlemail.com

Phone: 01892 860406

A simple format

Aimed at maximising the time of busy executives, Fourth Friday Club meetings are based on a simple formula which has proved to be highly successful.

Members meet at 12.15 for 12.45 at a hotel in central London . Following an opportunity for networking over pre-lunch cocktails, a three course lunch is served. Open seating at lunch maximises the opportunity for meeting new people.

Modern Railways Industry & Technology Editor Roger Ford gives a short talk on a topical industry subject. Roger is known for his provocative style and his introduction at the start of the first course is intended as a conversation-starter, over the hors d'oeuvre.

It is a Club rule is that meetings always close promptly at 14.30, although the hotel bar is available for further networking or informal meetings.

Why join?

In today's fast-moving, fragmented railway industry networking is the key to business success- you need to keep your ear to the ground to discover what your customers and competitors are up to. The Fourth Friday Club provides the ideal opportunity for busy executives in the UK rail industry to learn about the latest developments from our top-level speakers while keeping up to date with the topics of the day by networking with colleagues from other firms from every sector of the industry. Meetings take place in convivial surroundings at a hotel in central London .

The club provides the opportunity for high level networking within a strictly controlled tike frame - a valuable attribute when executive diaries are increasingly pressed. Unlike conferences, which are expensive and usually require one or more days to be given up, the Fourth Friday Club takes a defined two-hour lunch-time slot at the end of the week when schedules are often less busy.

To see the list of attendees at a recent meeting click here

Arriva Trains Wales wins punctuality plaudit

The 2011 Golden Whistle Awards ceremony took place at the Fourth Friday Club on Friday 28 January 2011. The winners were: 

Golden Whistles Awards 2011, winners 

Best operational performance, Right Time arrivals: Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail Western Route - gold whistle  

Most improved operational performance, Right Time arrivals: London Overground and Network Rail Anglia - silver whistle   

Best operational performance – Freight Performance Measure: DB Schenker and Network Rail London North Eastern - gold whistle 

Most improved operational performance – Freight Performance Measure: DB Schenker and Network Rail London North Eastern - silver whistle  

Best operational performance – delay minutes, operator: CrossCountry - gold whistle 

Best operational performance – delay minutes Network Rail Route: Wessex - gold whistle 

Most improved operational performance – delay minutes, operator: DB Schenker - silver whistle 

Most improved operational performance – delay minutes, Network Rail Route: LNW - silver whistle  

Managing disruption – best: c2c - gold whistle

Managing disruption – most improved: First TPE - silver whistle  

Operational safety - train driving: First TPE - gold whistle 

Operational safety - passenger management: South West Trains - gold whistle 

Outstanding individual operator: Ben Rule, National Express East Anglia - gold whistle 

Special award for operational excellence: Northern Line runaway team - gold whistle 

Gold Whistle

Silver Whistle

2

LOROL and Anglia Route

2

LOROL and Anglia Route

Operational Performance - Freight Performance Measure MAA

2

Freightliner Intermodal and Anglia Route

2

Colas Freight and Anglia Route

Operational Performance - TOC/FOC Delay Minutes on Self

1

CrossCountry

1

Colas Freight

Operational Performance - NR Route Delay Minutes

1

East Midlands Route

1

Anglia Route

Operational Safety - Train Driving

1

East Coast

-

Operational Safety - Passenger Management

1

First Capital Connect

-

Managing Disruption

1

Virgin

1

LOROL

Outstanding Individual Operator

1

Judging W/C 16/01

-

Special Award

1

Croydon Tramlink

-