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STRESS: SPEAR IT OR RUN AWAY!

22nd January 2004
Page 10
Page 10, 22nd January 2004 — STRESS: SPEAR IT OR RUN AWAY!
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Network Rail

Poor concentration, panic attacks, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, damaged performance and decision making... these can all be symptoms of prolonged and excessive stress. Not the buzz of adrenaline which helps to raise our game but the slow debilitating attrition of relentless pressure.

Haulage may seem a macho profession to many of you, but don't be fooled. Add the constant pressure to make enough money, the incessant congestion, tight deadlines, ignorant motorists and then the occasional curve ball like a breakdown into your drivers' lives and it will be a miracle if they don't suffer from excessive stress. As a species we weren't designed to cope with pressures you couldn't throw a spear at or run away from. Don't ignore the dangers. Encourage your drivers to talk. Offer them practical support, whether a counsellor or a morning off. Do something. The alternative is expensive. //Haulage may seem a macho

profession to many of you but don't be fooled"

• So the government is producing another master plan for rail which will demand yet more money. On one hand, every time another rumour of rail strategy escapes, we seem to heave a collective sigh. More strategy. More talking. More wasted money while road transport languishes on the hard shoulder, financially penalised at every opportunity.

But having said that, this review is long overdue. Our rail structure suffers from a multiplicity of layers, with Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority struggling not to overlap, and thousands of shareholders and franchised service providers all wanting their slice of profit and government support. If the latest review simplifies and streamlines this fiasco of semi-provision it can only be a good thing.

And why do we care? Why should road transport give a damn whether its government-subsidised rival stays on track? Because there is a wealth of initiatives and opportunities in the world of rail which we haven't yet explored. Next week we're looking at the freight bus concept, whose inventor, Tony Hagon, thinks we all spend too long trying to stay afloat to be innovative. If the railways could help make you money, would you hesitate?

Tags

Organisations: Strategic Rail Authority
People: Tony Hagon

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