NEW STATIONS UNVEILED

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1 AUTUMN 2013 YOUR STAFF MAGAZINE NEW STATIONS UNVEILED PORTADOWN TRAIN STATION AND ANTRIM BUS & RAIL CENTRE OPEN PAGES 6 & 7 CUSTOMER INFORMATION DEVELOPMENTS PAGE 9 AWARDS SUCCESS PAGES 14 & 15 COMPETITIONS! PAGES 27 & 28

2 02 WELCOME TO EXPRESSLINES Autumn 2013 YOUR STAFF MAGAZINE Mail Box 03 Elaine McCann Editor Welcome! Welcome to the autumn issue of Expresslines. In this issue we have news of the opening of two Translink facilities, Portadown Train Station and Antrim Bus & Rail Centre. We also report on the range of projects the Customer Information Programme is delivering to provide better quality passenger information to our customers. Rising rugby star, Stuart Morrow, tells us about receiving two top awards this year; Siobhán Dunphy shares her story of how she managed to quit smoking; and we hear from Erin McCutcheon who is working on placement at Newtownards Bus Station. We also hear about Translink s new Charity Partner and have a round-up of the fantastic amount of fundraising by our staff. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue; remember to send in your news and photos for the next issue. Elaine McCann Editor elaine.mccann@translink.co.uk Telephone: Post or pop in: Expresslines, Marketing Department, Translink, Central Station, East Bridge Street, Belfast BT1 3PB EXPRESSLINES IS THE STAFF MAGAZINE FOR TRANSLINK EXPRESSLINES AUTUMN 2013 is published by Translink, the integrated public transport services provided by Metro, N I Railways and Ulsterbus. Our vision is to provide integrated travel solutions that are attractive, sustainable and good value. PRODUCTION Editorial: Marketing Department Design: Whitenoise, Photography: Various Print: WG Baird, This magazine is available, upon request, in a range of formats eg, braille, large print or audio tape. Please ring Contents Mail Box 03 News in brief 04 All in a day s work 05 Keeping you connected News in brief 08 News 09 It s all in the name of charity News in brief 12 News 13 Awards News in brief 16 This time it s persona 17 News in brief 18 Health & Wellbeing 19 News in brief 20 Straight Talking 21 Promotions Family Life Bio Buzz 26 Competition Translink Metro Professional and friendly drivers at WPFG I am an officer of the Milano local police and I stayed in Belfast for the WPFG, I want to compliment Translink for the professionalism and friendliness of your Metro drivers! Especially for the drivers of the 8B bus line that drove me and my friends from Elms Village to Belfast Centre. Thank you. E Costa, Italy Valuable help from Metro driver Mark Taylor I would like to thank one of your Metro drivers who was a Good Samaritan when I was in difficulty. My car broke down on the upper Newtownards Road and my partner was trying to push my car off the road but was unable to do so as there was a slight incline. It was raining very heavily and your driver very kindly stopped and helped push the car off the main road, by the time he returned to his bus his clothes were very wet. Please pass on my sincere gratitude for his selfless act. It was very heartening to receive such valuable help from a stranger. J Turner, Belfast Exceptional service from Metro driver Andrew Marshall On a journey on the 4A the traffic was slow and heavy and a number of passengers getting on the bus were frustrated but the driver displayed exceptional customer care skills. He was charismatic and warmly greeted each passenger. As the passengers left the bus he thanked them. He dealt with his customers in a personable manner and had them smiling before they found a seat. He was courteous to other drivers, and on one occasion when he had to brake quite hard due to a taxi swiftly changing lanes without indication, he apologised to everyone on the bus. The service received was exceptional and I would like to thank him. I ve been using the bus since February and have no complaints. P Mackey, Belfast Translink N I Railways Friendliness and helpfulness of N I Railways staff On behalf of the 1,000+ scouts, guides, their leaders and the staff at our recent Jamboree at Crawfordsburn, I write to express our thanks for your contribution in making it such a success. Your helpfulness when we were booking and making final changes was much appreciated. I have had many cards, letters and s which remarked on the friendliness and helpfulness of the N I Railways staff. Please pass on thanks to all. P Scott, Scout Association in Northern Ireland Enterprise Train Manager Michael Polland excels at customer service I travelled on the Enterprise service with my two children, my 6 year old who is fascinated with trains and also has ADHD quizzed your train manager Michael Polland about the train. His patience and customer service skills excelled and made my son s day with answering all his 50 questions. Coincidently, on our return journey on Sunday the same gentleman was working and again was approachable, helpful and a credit to your company. He recognised my son instantly and made his train journey a memorable experience that he hasn't stopped talking about. I hope that your staff are recognised for going above and beyond their duty. E McElarney Excellent job from Train Conductor Arlene Smith The conductor on my train from GVS to Dunmurry was a lady called Arlene who I regularly see on my daily journey to and from work. I would like to acknowledge how good she is at her job. She is very efficient and extremely pleasant and has the checking ticket system sorted. She always announces in a very efficient manner where the train will stop and asks all passengers to have their tickets ready for inspection. She does an excellent job checking tickets, catching any fare dodgers and saving Translink money. I have used the trains consistently for two years now and Arlene is the best conductor on my route. She should be employee of the year. M Fitzpatrick Translink Ulsterbus Concern and generosity from Coleraine based driver Steven Neill In August my family and I visited the Giants Causeway, my son hurt his leg so we caught the shuttle bus back to the visitors centre. The bus driver was concerned about my son's leg and gave him a bandage from the first aid kit. My son said he hoped his leg would be better by the bank holiday, the driver asked why and we told him we were climbing Snowdon for charity. The driver sponsored us for the climb, my wife and I were greatly moved by his concern and generosity and feel that it made our trip to Ireland! He is a credit to your company! Please pass on our heartfelt thanks and regards to him. G Owen, Wales GVS driver David Tate adds to a fantastic airport service We have just returned from holidays in Italy and used the Belfast to Dublin Airport service. It was luxurious Wi-Fi that worked, a lovely driver who was full of craic, very comfy seats with plenty of legroom and space for your bag overhead. Well done Translink, tourists using the service got a great insight into Northern Ireland hospitality and were shown the way things should be done! J & M Stubbs Consideration and kindness from Ballygowan bus drivers I am a totally blind person and use the bus service to travel from Ballygowan to Belfast where I work. Over the years I have come to know all of the bus drivers by name and I want to express my sincere thanks to be served by such a dedicated and thoughtful drivers. They have showed consideration and kindness that goes well beyond the call of duty. I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of the drivers working out of the depot at Ballygowan. Their quality of customer care and consideration of individual need is in my experience one of the finest examples of public service I have ever come across. H Mayne MBE Translink Services Praise for Contact Centre and Twitter service The staff at the Contact Centre are a pleasure to deal with answering queries related to the flag protest disruption. I'm sure it's a busy and stressful time for all Translink staff, but please pass on thanks and appreciation from a regular commuter. Regarding the flag protests, the Twitter service has really been invaluable quick, real-time answers, regular updates and the tone is just right! Keep up the good work! Z Robinson

3 04 News in brief All in a day s work 05 Innovative Railway Ballast Cleaning New Rambler Service Launched Erin McCutcheon, Work Placement Erin McCutcheon is working with Translink on a work placement through North Down Training; they arrange opportunities of placement in work for people with learning disabilities and difficulties. Erin has been working in the Lost Property section of Newtownards Bus Station every Friday for four months and has found the work really rewarding, she loves her new role which helps give her structure and routine. How long have you been on placement at Ulsterbus Newtownards? I have been working on placement since the end of May Recent rail engineering track safety work saw the removal, rehabilitation and replacement of the track ballast (stone) along the railway line between Newry and Poyntzpass. For this work the company trialled an On Track Ballast Cleaning Machine hired from Iarnród Éireann. Oliver Watts, Project Manager, explained: This innovative machine removes the ballast stone from underneath the railway sleepers, extracts unwanted materials and smaller stones through various screens and filters and finally reinstates the suitably sized stone ballast on the track bed underneath the railway sleepers. Where required the track is topped up with new stone ballast to replace the old inferior stone removed from the track bed. This method of working will help to avoid the requirement for full track removal and relay operations and potentially greater disruption for residents and passengers. PICTURED: (l-r) Clive Bradberry, Infrastructure Executive, Danny Kennedy MLA, Transport Minister, Catherine Mason, Group Chief Executive. Anti-Bullying Week 2013 Anti-Bullying Week will run from 18 to 22 November and is once again supported by Translink. Co-ordinated by the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum (NIABF), this year Anti-Bullying Week will focus on the theme of I See, I Hear, I Feel. This theme looks at how young people communicate with each other, both online and in the physical world, and the ways in which bullying can happen as part of this. This could include name-calling, teasing, spreading gossip, nasty text messages and embarrassing posts online, to name just a few. Welcoming the launch of the Anti-Bullying Week 2013 Lynda Shannon, Communications Manager, said: We have been working with the NIABF for a number of years to support the excellent work they do in preventing bullying and supporting young people who are going through a During the summer months Translink was delighted to launch the new Slieve Gullion Rambler Service 443, encouraging those in search of the perfect daycation to board the new service and witness the scenic area of Slieve Gullion. Supported by the Department for Regional Development s Rural Transport Fund, the service was officially launched in June and ran to 1 September. Three return trips from Newry Buscentre operated daily, serving the award-winning Slieve Gullion Forest Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty. PICTURED: (l-r) Driver Dessie O Hare, Tony McAteer, Clanrye Developments, Transport Minister, Danny Kennedy MLA, and Greg McLaughlin, Service Delivery Manager Newry, at the official launch of the new Slieve Gullion Rambler Service 443. difficult time as a result of bullies. Everyone has the right to travel on our services without the fear of bullying. We work hard to ensure our buses and trains are a safe and enjoyable way for all young people to travel. To find out more about Anti-Bullying Week visit: What is your role in the Lost Property section on a typical day? I put the details of the lost property on the register i.e. write a description of the item and the date it was found. I then place the item in a plastic bag. The bagged items are stored away until somebody comes to claim them. If nobody claims the item within a month then it is either disposed of or given to charity depending on its condition. I also help with answering phone calls and dealing with the public at the counter. What skills do you need or think are useful for your job? The skills required for dealing with lost property are clear hand-writing and good organisational skills. I also discovered that a pair of latex gloves comes in handy for handling the ever growing piles of smelly trainers found! When dealing with the public on the phone or at the counter you need to be well mannered and patient. Do you enjoy your placement what do you enjoy most? Yes. I look forward to my placement every Friday morning. What I enjoy most is interacting with my work colleagues and members of the public. Do you find any parts of the job challenging or difficult? Although I enjoy working with the public, I am unable to help with all enquiries and would need to ask for assistance from my work colleagues. I hope to eventually be able to deal with most queries once I have some more experience. Has your placement with Translink helped you? Yes, I feel my work placement has given me a better knowledge of the various jobs within an office. Would you recommend a placement with Translink to other people you know? I would recommend a placement at Translink as I have found it to be enjoyable and the people working there have been very helpful and supportive. What has been the most unusual item you ve seen left in Lost Property? The most unusual item is someone s wedding photograph and CD of the wedding ceremony! What hobbies or interests do you enjoy? I spend time drawing cartoons and shopping for items to add to my collection of Star Wars and Transformers memorabilia.

4 06 Keeping you connected 07 New Stations Unveiled Investment in new passenger facilities will attract more people to use our bus and train services, building a more sustainable and economically vibrant Northern Ireland. This year Translink has unveiled two new stations: the brand new Portadown Train Station officially opened in July and most recently, the new integrated Antrim Bus & Rail Centre officially opened in September. Antrim Bus & Rail Centre The official opening of the new integrated Antrim Bus & Rail Centre followed the successful completion of a 2.9 million construction project on time and on schedule. The cutting-edge passenger facility is Northern Ireland s first sustainable low carbon station. It is being showcased as an example of sustainable station development best practice, attracting visits from transport experts across Europe including Germany, Netherlands, France and the UK. It is a very effective mix of old and new; the original station s GradeII B architecture and façade has been restored, incorporating it with environmentally sound technologies and major eco-refurbishments. The project was funded by the Department for Regional Development and the European Union INTERREG IVB Programme through the Sustainable Stations Project (SusStations). Officially opened by the Minister for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA, at a special event attended by a number of local dignitaries and local community members, this new fully accessible station boasts many environmental features such as grey water harvesting system, a green roof, a geothermal heating system and swift bricks to accommodate bird nesting on site. Other features include: Park and Ride for 180 cars. Enclosed accessible passenger waiting area. Electronic passenger information. Integrated ticket and information office. Canopy construction to cover most platform area. Covered bicycle parking. Passenger lift. Highlighting customer benefits of the new facility, Group Chief Executive, Catherine Mason, said: Antrim Bus & Rail Centre leads the way in sustainable station development in Europe and reflects our company-wide focus on managing and minimising our environmental impact. Innovative eco-technology and biodiversity initiatives have been combined with excellent passenger comfort and accessibility features to create a first class passenger facility. Over half a million people use our facilities in Antrim annually and we hope that the new integrated bus and rail centre will further boost local passenger numbers. Portadown Train Station This EU and DRD funded 3.6 million redevelopment project has seen a new state-of-the-art Train Station open in Portadown, also completed on time and on schedule. The redevelopment project began in February 2012 and the station now boasts a wealth of new features, not only to be enjoyed by passengers but also benefiting employees: Improved general access to all external areas of the building, whether cycling, driving or being dropped off. A new interface between employees and customers when processing transactions and giving information. Provision of a new cantilevered Signal Gantry which will improve train driver sight lines ensuring that safety levels are maintained. Fully glazed wall to train platforms enabling passengers to see trains approaching and departing. A new comprehensive lighting scheme will ensure the facility is welcoming and safe for everyone all year round. Serving around 900,000 passengers every year, Portadown is our fifth busiest station; speaking about the new facility, Gerard McAtarsney, Route Manager, said: This is great news for our customers providing them with the comfort and convenience of new modern passenger facilities including waiting area, toilets and fully accessible lifts to reach station platforms. The new station was officially opened by the Minister for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA, alongside local dignitaries and local community and business representatives. Recognition must go to the Translink employees involved in these new station developments who saw the projects through from planning and construction works to completion, on time and on schedule. PICTURED: (1 & 4) The new integrated Antrim Bus & Rail Centre is Northern Ireland s first sustainable low carbon station. (3) A special Time Capsule was installed at Antrim Bus & Rail Centre marked for re-opening in items were provided by local people to represent the number of years since the station first opened in Pictured on site are: (l-r) Clive Bradberry, Infrastructure Executive, Richard Watts, SusStation Project, Anna Trzebiatowska Zmuda, Special EU Programmes Body. (2 & 5) The new state-of-the-art facility at Portadown Train Station boasts a wealth of new features. (6) Minister for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA, officially opened Portadown Train Station alongside Translink representatives, local dignitaries and local community and business representatives

5 08 News in brief News 09 Tidy Translink 2013 Cycle to Work Scheme Customer Information Developments on the Translink website and mobile site. Using train location, the application automatically calculates arrivals, delays, and performance of rail services and will advise customers if any train on the network is running more than 1 minute late. If a delay is more than 10 minutes a reason will be communicated to customers. The real time data is also used to provide online rainbow boards a quick ready reckoner using a red, amber, green colour coding system to indicate how services are performing at any given time. Real time information boosts customer confidence by providing easily accessible and accurate live information, empowering passengers to make decisions about their journey. The Tidy Translink awards scheme assesses and recognises the efforts of Translink employees who go the extra mile to create a more attractive and sustainable bus and rail network. This year the programme will extend from our bus and rail stations to also include a sample of other Translink facilities such as engineering depots and offices, with the view to expanding the Tidy Translink scheme group wide. Environmental Manager, Andy Bate, reports: This year s awards criteria have been developed to cover all the ways in which Translink employees improve the overall performance of their local facility. The awards encompass more assessment criteria covering environmental performance, safety, health and community matters, ultimately ensuring the long term sustainability of passenger transport facilities in Northern Ireland. PICTURED: Efficient water management will be a key focus in this year s TIDY Translink Awards: (l-r) Breanainn Mullan, Biodiversity Officer, Nicola Murray, TIDY NI, and Avril Connor, TIDY Translink Representative for Newcastle. Cycling is one of the easiest ways to fit exercise into your daily routine because it s also a form of transport. The Translink Cycle to Work Scheme is open to all employees with a permanent contract, enabling them to get a bike and associated safety equipment completely tax free. Short Strand Mural Since the scheme s reinstatement last year, there have been almost 300 bikes ordered by employees across the Group. If you want to keep up to date with the scheme and all things cycling, Cycle to Work s newly launched newsletter is available on the Translink SharePoint site, along with information on how to join the scheme. A group of American art students led by Charles Hoffman of Genesis+ Art Studio in Kansas City, Missouri aided a community mural project in East Belfast. Representatives from the Short Strand Community and Metro drivers from Short Strand Bus Depot worked together to help complete the mural, which transformed the walls of a nearby residential area. PICTURED: Metro Short Strand drivers Allister Taylor and George Coulter worked on the community project. The corporate Customer Information Programme (CIP) has delivered a range of projects greatly improving the availability and quality of passenger information across conventional and new customer information channels. Over the past 12 months the CIP programme has delivered: Additional and enriched data for services, network and places. A new point to point journey planner with enhanced functionality online/mobile and app. Real time passenger information for rail passengers through our Journey Check service online and mobile. An improved web experience and mobile site now attracting on average 1 million visitors per month; around half of visitors to translink.co.uk are doing so by mobile. Free Wi-Fi on-board trains and Goldline services. New Journey Planner Launch The new Journey Planner was introduced online, on our mobile site and as a Translink app as well as providing a new Contact Centre system. It provides a point to point planning service using map based data with a greatly extended data set of addresses/ roads/ streets/ localities/ stops and stations and points of interest to make it easy for customers to find relevant information about Translink bus and rail services. This means that customers don t need to have any prior knowledge of our services or network to find public transport journey solutions and makes it easier for us to attract new customers. The planner introduces new features such as a quick view of next departures from a selected origin and a map interface and importantly enables the customer to create their own timetable. The mobile planner and Journey Planner app for iphone and Android also use current location features the app is free to download from Google and iphone stores. The Journey Planner was introduced after a series of projects to digitise information about our services, network and local geography. The Journey Planner project integrated this information and created data on network interchanges. The journey planner tool is now used as the driver for other information services for example the Europa Buscentre departure screens and to produce all online and printed timetables. This means that all information is derived from a single source and is consistent and produced more efficiently. Journey Check/Real Time Passenger Information We introduced a new Journey Check - Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) system for rail services Web Significant developments have been made to the Translink website to enhance usability and functionality and to develop the mobile site. The integration of the new Journey Check and Journey Planner software has also improved the online user experience for Translink customers. The website continues to grow at a phenomenal rate with a rapidly growing number of visits through the mobile interface; over 10 million visits were made to the Translink website in the last 12 months more than half from mobile devices. Our social media presence is growing; we have 35,000 followers across the range of Translink Facebook and Twitter profiles. We are now concentrating on delivering customer information developments, campaigns and offers to our followers. Next Steps The Customer Information Programme will continue to focus on improving and making more data available to enable further enhancements of our customer information platforms for example RTPI and fares. In the short term however, we are introducing a new ticket finder on the website and rolling out mobile based/virtual departure screens for stops and stations across our network. We are also currently examining the potential of using the Journey planner to provide web based departure board screens in all stations, and using vehicle location information from our Eco Driving system on board buses, to deliver an automatic vehicle location solution for customers.

6 It s all in the name of charity New Charity Partner: Macmillan Cancer Support Translink is delighted that Macmillan Cancer Support is our newly nominated Charity Partner, which will work to raise awareness of the medical, emotional and practical support available to the many people affected by cancer right across Northern Ireland. After receiving a number of nominations from a wide range of worthy charities and following a rigorous selection and shortlisting process, Macmillan Cancer Support was chosen by a committee of staff representatives from across the company. With over 70,000 people living with cancer in Northern Ireland, many of you will be aware of someone affected by cancer and we are looking forward to raising awareness of the medical, Cancer Focus NI Fundraising emotional and practical support available from Macmillan Cancer Support to those affected by the disease. Translink is very much part of the local community we serve, and as such the selection committee chose Macmillan Cancer Support for the range of initiatives and support they can provide. In keeping with our Go Together and Go Healthy ethos, these initiatives will help us to educate our employees and wider society in taking positive steps towards a healthier lifestyle which can lower the risk of some cancers. The partnership will link in with the charity s Not Alone campaign to highlight the isolation often experienced by cancer patients and we have an awareness raising, innovative and informative programme of fundraising events and initiatives planned for the forthcoming year. If you have any fundraising ideas for your department, depot or office, please get in touch with the Marketing Department: extension We would love to hear from you and will try to incorporate your suggestions into our charity campaign. Kerry Black, Owen Loughran, John McConnell, Paul McGrattan and Steven McDowell, all from Translink s IS division, took to the streets with thousands of others at this year s Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon, to raise funds for the marathon s nominated cancer charity Cancer Focus NI. They crossed the finish line in 4 hours 30 minutes and 21 seconds but didn t stop there and held a successful fundraising quiz and auction night, organised by IS department colleague Seamus Kane. With support of the Translink Community Partnership Scheme, the fundraising total of both events was 1,506 which was donated directly to the Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon s nominated charity Cancer Focus NI. PICTURED: (l-r) Translink employee relay team; Steven McDowell, Kerry Black, Paul McGrattan, Owen Loughran and John McConnell. Shine A Light For Charity PICTURED: Translink s Cross Border Supervisor, Eddie Campbell, has been presented with an Award for Kindness from eight year old Emmet O Reilly from local charity Shine A Light for his customer care on the Enterprise service. The Shine A Light Foundation is a local charity supporting children living with cancer. Ulsterbus GVS and Bus Eireann Golf Day The Ulsterbus GVS and Bus Eireann Annual Golf Day is now in its 2nd year. With the event held in the south of Ireland last year, it was the turn of Ulsterbus GVS to host the day; held at the Hilton Golf & Country Club in Templepatrick. Organised by Mark Montgomery, Ulsterbus Inspector, and David Graham, former Europa Buscentre Assistant Service Delivery Manager, a total of 18 Bus Drivers and Inspectors (and a few retired colleagues) made up the teams for both sides. Through good sponsorship and successful planning everyone involved on the day had a fantastic day out. Unfortunately Ulsterbus narrowly lost out on the Buslink Trophy for the second year running. But the real winner on the day was the NI Children s Hospice, as a fantastic 1,000 was raised for them; Ulsterbus GVS have applied for this to be match funded by the Translink Community Partnership Scheme. Billy Telford Memorial Golf Day Translink has welcomed a cute new addition called Tel in partnership with Guide Dogs Northern Ireland. Following the success of the annual golf event with Translink employees raising over 5,000, a guide dog puppy has been named Tel and will spend the next year in training before being matched to a blind or partially sighted owner. Translink is pleased to support Tel and Guide Dogs NI and look forward to updates on his progress over coming years. Guide Dogs NI is a charitable organisation which relies entirely on the support of the public. As well as the world famous guide dog service, the charity also provides a range of other mobility training and advice to hundreds of visually impaired people every year. The Billy Telford Memorial Golf Day held in honour of esteemed colleague, the late Billy Telford also raised funds for the Foyle Hospice and Crosskennan Lane Animal Sanctuary. PICTURED: (l-r) Guide Dog NI s Dr. Michelle Lord and Translink s Cinty Stubberfield with Tel on his first visit to Belfast Central Station. Northern Ireland Children to Lapland Trust Instructor Lee McDowell and staff attending the Drivers CPC Course have raised a fantastic 2,930 for local charity Northern Ireland Children to Lapland Trust (NICLT). The charity takes terminally ill, long term sick and deserving children to Lapland every year. 1,465 was raised during the course, including 100 donated on behalf of St John's Bowling Club, Gilford by Driver Finbar Polin, Craigavon Depot. The Translink Community Partnership Board has match funded the amount which brings the total raised to 2,930. PICTURED: (l-r) Driver Joe Hadden, Engineer Darren Cully, Driver Sean Donnelly, Driver David Russell, Driving School Instructor Lee McDowell, Driver John Crossen, Fiona Williamson, NICLT Coordinator, Driver Eugene Boyle and Jack Rodgers MBE, NICLT Chairman. Uniform Collection Old and used Translink uniforms/workwear was collected via the Blythswood Care Organisation to be sent to those less fortunate in Serbia. PICTURED:(l-r) Front row: Danny Trainor, Duncrue Stores, Maurice Burton and Joe Davidson from Blythswood Care, John Adair, Duncrue Stores, with Lyndsey McKinstry, and Alan McCully, HR Department. Back row: Duncrue Stores staff Lee Rea, Damien Walsh, Kirk Wilson, Alex McCleeland, and Paul Armstrong. RailRoad donation to Marie Curie Cancer Care Marie Curie has received 1,500 thanks to the Translink employee charity RailRoad. The money was donated from the RailRoad staff ballot, which allowed winners to select a charity of their choice to receive donations from the Give As You Earn fund. The money will benefit Marie Curie Cancer Care nursing service in providing specialist nursing care to people with terminal illnesses. Marie Curie nurses provide care at any time of the day or overnight, looking after patients and their families to accommodate their physical, social, spiritual and psychological needs. PICTURED: (l-r) Clive Bradberry, Chairman of RailRoad, Grace Smyth, Marie Curie, and Adrian Simmons, RailRoad ballot winner. Fundraising for Prostate Cancer PICTURED: Nineteen employees across the Newtownards, Donaghadee and Portaferry depots ditched their daily shave for a month to grow moustaches in aid of prostate cancer. They were spurred on to take part in the annual hair growing fundraiser following a colleague s diagnosis of prostate cancer. The group raised a smashing amount of over 2,000 and would like to thank everyone who supported them in raising the monies which they hope will help fund much needed research.

7 12 News in brief News 13 Metro Drivers Wait Just A Minute New Coaches for Ulsterbus MBE for Services to Public Transport in Northern Ireland Twenty-three new interurban coaches have been introduced to passenger services on key Ulsterbus routes across Northern Ireland. Our Metro drivers have got behind an innovative new project with other local businesses and public services across Belfast to help those with learning disabilities and difficulties in everyday life. The JAM Card (an abbreviation of Just A Minute ) is a credit card-sized plastic card that people with learning difficulties can carry and use to alert staff in retail outlets, on public or private transport and in other areas of life that they need 'Just A Minute' of patience and time when interacting with you. The initiative was established by service users of NOW, a Belfast-based supported employment and training organisation that works with people of all levels of learning abilities helping them gain qualifications, experience and jobs with a future. The scheme has been promoted to our Metro drivers through employee briefings, open information sessions and has been incorporated into our CPC driver training programme. Translink Metro drivers can now recognise when some passengers need Just A Minute of time when interacting with them. Translink is delighted to support this initiative and would ask all our employees to be aware of the card and take an extra moment of time when dealing with those who produce them. PICTURED: Damien Bannon, Translink Metro Belfast Area Manager (centre) with NOW service users Angela O Neill and Gabriel Murray as Translink announce their support of the JAM card. The new coaches meet high standards in terms of comfortable seating, modern interior design, wheelchair accessibility and they comply with European emission standards. This is the first time these kind of buses have operated on interurban services and we are already getting some great feedback from our customers who are enjoying the enhanced levels of quality and comfort on board. A 4.5m investment from the Department for Regional Development provided the funding which allowed Translink to purchase the new coaches. A key objective in investing in public transport is to encourage commuters and other travellers to use public transport for their journeys instead of the private car. Catherine Mason, Group Chief Executive, said: This will no doubt help to make bus travel even more attractive to those people who want to access their local town or city to work, shop or study. As such we hope many more people give their local bus service a try and ultimately make it their preferred way to travel. The areas benefiting from the new coaches include Antrim, Larne, Coleraine, Newtownards, Bangor, Armagh, Newcastle, Belfast, Londonderry, Magherafelt and Dungannon. PICTURED: (l-r) Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy MLA, and Group Chief Executive, Catherine Mason, at the official announcement of the 4.5 million investment. Congratulations to Mal McGreevy, General Manager Rail Services, who received an MBE for services to public transport. Mal received his MBE from Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London on 25 January He was accompanied by his proud family, wife Patricia and children Paul and Aileen. Mal, who is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with over 30 years experience in a range of services, worked initially in the aerospace, tobacco and paper industries before joining Ulsterbus in Since then, he has held positions of Chief Engineer at Ulsterbus and Citybus and then Engineering Executive at Translink, which included responsibility for both bus and rail fleet strategies and fleet maintenance. He took up his General Manager of Rail Services position in 2004 and has been in charge of all railway passenger service operations, in addition to fleet engineering. Mal has been central to the development of Translink in his 20 plus years in public transport, including the upgrade of our bus fleets in the 1990s and the introduction of Goldline vehicles to Ulsterbus. Since 2000 he has worked on the modernisation of N I Railways along with delivering new levels of customer service. Mal successfully led the procurement of Spanish-built CAF trains; the Class 3000 trains were introduced in 2005 and the new Class 4000 trains which came into service in 2011/2012. The introduction of this new fleet has led to a huge increase in passenger numbers on the entire network, Mal said of receiving the MBE: This is a great recognition of the advances achieved on Northern Ireland s railway network over the past ten years and is a reflection of the dedication and commitment of everyone at N I Railways. Catherine Mason, Group Chief Executive, said: I extend my sincere congratulations to Mal. This is a great accolade and external recognition at the highest level of the excellent service delivered for passengers by Mal and his team. Mal s expertise is also recognised internationally, as the Chair of the Regional and Suburban Railways Committee of the International Association of Public Transport.

8 14 Awards 15 FPTNI Awards Irish Transport Trust Awards Werner Heubeck Memorial Cup IRTE Skills Challenge 2013 Translink had great success at the 2013 Federation of Passenger Transport Northern Ireland (FPTNI) awards. FPTNI is the trade body which promotes the use of public transport and represents the leading bus and coach operators across Northern Ireland. Translink received four awards: Bus Driver of the Year Winner: David Spratt, Metro Newtownabbey. Bus Driver of the Year Runner Up: Raymond Williamson, Ulsterbus Newtownards. The Danny Monaghan Raising Standards Award: Translink Eco-Driving Scheme. Serving the Community Award: Translink Youth Forum and ylink Youth Travel Card. PICTURED: (l-r) Raymond Williamson, Ulsterbus Newtownards, David Spratt, Metro Newtownabbey, Catherine Mason, Group Chief Executive, Ciaran Doherty, General Manager Bus, Lynda Shannon, Communications Manager, and William Patton, Quality, Health & Safety, Environmental Manager - Bus Division. An Ulsterbus Tours coach has won the Concours D'Elegance award (top prize in category) at the 2013 Irish Transport Trust Bus & Coach Rally, held at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra. PICTURED: Ulsterbus Tours Relief Driver; Raymond Wilson, who prepared and presented the winning coach. CIPD Awards PICTURED: (l-r) Congratulations to Ulsterbus Coleraine Drivers, Amanda Vauls, Mairead Campbell and Lisa Wallace who won the Werner Heubeck Memorial Cup at the 2013 Irish Transport Heritage Annual Bus Rally. ULR of the Year 2013 A representing team of Translink engineers scooped several awards, for a third year in a row, at the national IRTE (Institute Of Road Transport Engineers) Skills Challenge. The expert engineering team competed in a series of technical challenges beating technicians from across the UK and went on to receive top honours at the awards ceremony. William Scott achieved Top Scoring Mechanical Technician, Jan Colville was awarded runner-up Bodywork Technician and the team as a whole, which included Adam McGrath were joint winners of Mechanical Electrical and Bodywork Combined Team. Translink s Technical Engineer David Carson who led the Translink team throughout the competition commented: We are absolutely delighted with the result. While it is our aim to ensure our engineers are equipped with the necessary knowledge to maintain and rectify faults in our vehicles, the annual competition provides our employees an opportunity to promote their professional skills and measure their expertise against the very best in the industry. PICTURED: (l-r) Adam McGrath, David Carson, Technical Engineer, William Scott, and Jan Colville scooped awards at the IRTE Skills Challenge UK Rail Business Awards Translink won two top accolades at the UK Rail Business Awards in London, where we were up against all the 'big' train operators. Fleet Standards Engineer, Naomi Orr, won the Young Professional Award for the most outstanding young manager working within the UK Rail Industry. Our New Trains Two Programme won the Rolling Stock Excellence Award for demonstrating excellence within the UK rail industry's supplier network. Congratulations to James Erwin, New Trains Two Programme Manager, and the programme team. PICTURED: Mal McGreevy, General Manager Rail Services, Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy MLA, James Erwin, New Trains Two Programme Manager, and Naomi Orr, Fleet Standards Engineer. Translink was recently crowned winner of the highly coveted Change Management Programme of the Year award at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) awards in Belfast. We scooped the top prize with our innovative Translink Programme, a development initiative which embraces ongoing change, reform and continuous improvement of the business. PICTURED: Gordon Milligan, HR Director, said it was a tremendous honour to win this award and a testament to the hard work and dedication of those involved in helping to make the programme a success. Translink bus drivers Thomas McIlhone and Andy Johnson were awarded runner up positions at the Unite ULR (Union Learning Representative) of the Year 2013 awards. They provided advice and support to union members on learning needs and the opportunities available; this support has enabled colleagues to gain over 150 qualifications in the last year across the Belfast and Ballymena depots. Areas of training that they have promoted include; Essential Skills, Coach Driving, Spanish, French and ICT with many colleagues progressing to study formally at higher education level. PICTURED: Billy Gilpin, Employee Relations Manager, with Thomas McIlhone and Andy Johnson, Translink Belfast and Ballymena bus drivers, following their runner up awards for ULR of the Year NICCY Awards Translink lifted a Gold award at the Northern Ireland Children s Commissioner s 2012/13 Participation Awards for the work with the Translink Youth Forum and ylink scheme in the Putting Young People to the Forefront category. The NICCY awards are designed to highlight government departments and public bodies who can demonstrate they have involved children and young people in planning services and in the decisions that affect their lives. PICTURED: Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy MLA and NI Commissioner for Children and Young People Patricia Lewsley-Mooney (centre) congratulate Translink and its Youth Panel members: (l-r) Jack McCann, Maura Sloan, Claire King and Scott Oslon.

9 News in brief This time it s personal Ulsterbus Tours are the Ulster Rugby Official Coach Travel Partner Belfast Schools Travel Challenge Stuart Morrow rising rugby star How often do you play competitively? I play once a week usually, sometimes twice if we have a mid-week fixture in the Ulster League. We played our first AIL 1A fixture against Cork Constitution on 28 September at home. It s a great achievement for the club, as we are the first ever Ulster team to be involved at this level. What future goals do you want to achieve in rugby? Just to enjoy my rugby at Hinch. Our long-term goal is to compete at the top end of AIL 1A. Ulsterbus Tours has been appointed as Official Coach Travel Partner by IRFU Ulster Branch, providing a range of transport services for the Ulster Rugby squad. Announcing the partnership, Kay Sharkey, Ulsterbus Tours Business Development Manager, said: This is an excellent opportunity for Ulsterbus Tours to deliver a tailored quality coach service for Ulster s leading professional sports ylink Student Fayres team. It is a high profile role and we are looking forward to supporting the Ulster Rugby team. We will work closely with the IRFU Ulster Branch throughout the partnership to ensure a successful bespoke service is provided that meets the needs of both the squad and supporters. Translink Ulsterbus Tours will provide special coach and private hire services for rugby supporters and club members travelling to matches throughout the season. Translink attended all the main University and College student fresher fayres to help newly enrolled students find their way to class when using public transport and promote the ylink card. The ylink card is available to students aged years and each student is eligible to receive a third off Uni-link cash single fares making it just 1.90 per journey. Students were able to apply for their ylink cards directly at the fresher fayres with a free photobooth available to use. Alternatively, students can pick up an application form at any Translink station and return with 8 fee, passport photo and proof of age and identity. PICTURED: The ylink promotion team visited all the main University and College student fresher fayres. Local pupils from North and West Belfast schools have achieved a significant reduction in the number of school car journeys through the Healthy Choices Schools Travel Challenge. As part of a Translink initiative, year eight pupils from Colaiste Feirste, St Louise s Comprehensive College, De La Salle College, St Genevieve s High School and Christian Brothers School are battling it out with Dominican College and Belfast Model School for Girls. The challenge is run by Metro Safety Bus Coordinator Kevin Wallace and the Safety Bus team (this year marks their 10th Anniversary), with the support of Service Delivery Managers Phillip Woods and Gerry Mullan; visiting schools across North and West Belfast to inform school children on what they can do to help the environment and encourage more sustainable travel. One example of results so far shows Dominican College has achieved an 80% increase in bus journeys, with 16% more pupils walking to and from school and a 9% reduction in car journeys. PICTURED: Metro Safety Bus Coordinator Kevin Wallace with pupils from Dominican College. Stuart Morrow works in the Travel Centre as a Cross Channel Express sales clerk and this year completed a notable double when he was named the Ulster Bank Division IB Player of the Year and also received the Ken Goodall Award for Outstanding Club Player of the Year at the Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards. How did you first get into rugby? It was at secondary school, I attended Methodist College Belfast where it was compulsory to participate in rugby. I had always played football previous to this, so it was a big change but one I enjoyed. Which club/clubs are you a team member of? I m captain of Ballynahinch RFC for this season I have also been fortunate enough to play for the Ulster Ravens and the Irish Clubs XV. How often to you need to train? I would generally train about four times a week during the season and then play on a Saturday. Monday and Wednesday would be weights sessions in the gym, Tuesday and Thursday pitch sessions at Ballynahinch. This year you received two top awards what do those achievements mean to you? I was delighted to win the awards. I was lucky to be involved in a strong Ballynahinch team last season, where we won both the Ulster League and All Ireland division 1B. Initially, I was surprised just to be nominated for the Ulster Club Player of the year, but to win it was special. I was on holiday for the actual awards presentation, so my parents collected it on my behalf and in a way that was fitting as they have been so supportive to me throughout my career. To then win the Ulster Bank League Award was a bit of a bonus really. It was the first year they have been introduced, so again it was an honour just to be put forward. We were told at the awards ceremony in Dublin that the players nominated had been put forward by rival coaches in our league. In that respect, it was nice to be recognised by your fellow competitors. Would you recommend playing rugby to others? Yes, I ve made a lot of good friends for life through rugby and I think a lot of the values needed to play the game are transferable to your personal and working life. It s also given me the opportunity to travel throughout the whole country and abroad. Do you have any fitness regime tips for younger players? I think there s more focus on nutrition than there was when I was starting out. I d recommend just eating as healthy as you can. I think too many younger players go straight for supplements before they look at their diet. Are there any top rugby champions/heroes you admire? Nevin Spence. It has been one year since his untimely passing, along with that of his brother Graham and father Noel. I was fortunate enough to partner Nevin in the centre at Ballynahinch before he went on to play professionally with Ulster. He was a fantastic athlete and completely selfless both on and off the pitch. I have no doubt he would have went on to be a great Irish International. He remains a constant inspiration in my sporting career and was at the forefront of our thoughts during last year s league campaign. He will forever be a huge part of the culture at Ballynahinch RFC PICTURED: Stuart Morrow (centre) is presented with his Ulster Bank Division IB Player of the Year award by Gerry Reynolds, Ulster Bank, and Irish legend Reggie Corrigan.

10 18 News in brief Health & Wellbeing 19 Summer Services Round-up How I gave up smoking During the summer months, a variety of promotions ran across our services to encourage people to leave their cars at home and use public transport. Translink provided attractive transport solutions for a number of key events in Northern Ireland s summer calendar, including: World Police and Fire Games, City of Culture, Féile, East Belfast Arts Festival and Tennent s Vital. Our passengers were able to save time and money on fuel and parking with our hassle-free services. PICTURED: (1) The East Belfast Arts Festival teamed up with Translink and Arts & Business NI to create the East Belfast Public Art Trail. From wall murals to sculptures and hidden treasures, visitors to the East of the City picked up a free booklet and hopped on board Translink Metro bus services in East Belfast to discover for themselves the artistic gems on the streets of East Belfast from 28 August to 1 September. (2) NI Tridents ice hockey team members Mark Kane and Paul Maher joined Carol Lundy, Brand Manager, to announce the transport plan for the World Police and Fire Games in Belfast from 1-10 August. (3) Around 90,000 music fans travelled to this year s Tennent s Vital three-day festival from August. Translink provided special coach and train services for those travelling to the concerts at Boucher Playing Fields in South Belfast. (4) Alan Young, Service Delivery Manager (centre) is joined by Fleadh Cheoil na héireann musicians ahead of the world s largest celebration of Irish traditional music, song and dance which took place in Derry ~ Londonderry August as part of the City of Culture 2013 calendar. 4 Approximately 120,000 people in the UK try to give up smoking every day (actioncancer. org). Siobhán Dunphy, N I Railways Operations, shares her story of how she finally managed to quit. People say that money doesn t make the world go round, but when it came to my many attempts to stop smoking the reasons behind it were purely financial as I puffed away up to 200 per month, but I always soon gave in to the temptation of tobacco. What spurred my motivation this time was the chance of losing something that no amount of money could replace my health. Trawling the internet in search of a cause for my never budging cough I told my nearest friends and family my fears of lung cancer. Scared, I set in stone my stop date of Monday 18 February 2013 and contacted my local chemist to sign up for another programme to kick the habit. This time it was different. The night before I was destined to go cold turkey and armed with my remaining five cigarettes as my ten-year-old daughter stood beside me, I broke them one by one into the bin, each time giving a reason why both she and I wanted me to stop. This was My Time. A phrase used by many successful quitters. Day one arrived and the battle between my head and body commenced as I said aloud come on cravings, do your worst! I had won the first bout much to my mother and daughter s delight. The first two weeks of life without nicotine came and went with the use of step 1 patches and inhalator. Colleagues observed you re handling it differently and I seemed determined and they were truly supportive and understanding. Socialising was the biggest hurdle I had to overcome. On my first night out I puffed my inhalator so much I almost choked on it. However, I was not alone and almost half of the group that night were on some form of nicotine replacement therapy. With the ever developing world of technology I was introduced to an electronic cigarette which eradicated any cravings and it made giving up so easy! I ve been smoke free for 7 months now. I puff my electric cigarette when I feel the need to, which helps me greatly. My intention is to wean myself off that too in the near future. For now though I am healthier, happier and richer. I feel amazing achieving something I thought I never could. But the best feeling is I can now look at my daughter without feeling guilt. My success is down to Sheer determination NOT to end up in a hospital bed barely able to get a breath with my daughter holding my hand because of years of smoking. 2. The aid of the electronic cigarette one puff is enough to stop my body craving nicotine. My advice to anyone who wants to stop is that help is out there. Try to stop and Your Time will come. These websites offer help and advice to quit smoking: nidirect.gov.uk/smoking smokefree.nhs.uk want2stop.info

11 20 News in brief Straight Talking 21 Agri Safety Ulster in Bloom 2013 Think Safe Stay Safe Translink N I Railways works all year round with the agricultural community to remind them to take care and obey the rules at user worked crossings. There are just under 100 user worked crossings on our rail network, a crossing where the user opens and shuts the gates, and it is the user s responsibility to make sure that it s safe to cross and that railway traffic and other users of the railway are not put in any danger. This year s safety activity has included: The annual distribution of the publication The Safe Use of User Worked Crossings. International Level Crossing Awareness Day employees situated at key crossings around the network talked to motorists and pedestrians about their awareness of level crossing rules. Throughout the summer we attend agricultural shows all over Northern Ireland to remind members of the agri community of the risks associated with misuse of the rail network. We have just completed the second year of our CAFRE Safety Challenge, where we delivered a lecture and quiz to first year Further Education Agriculture and Land Based Technology students as part of their induction programme at Greenmount Agricultural College. Coming into winter we will be continuing to visit crossing owners and work with them to minimise risks at their crossings through holding training events and community safety discussions. We are also planning our 2014 safety calendar. We re always delighted to get help or suggestions from Translink colleagues so if you would like to be involved in future safety events, please contact Keith Pollock, Level Crossing Risk Coordinator on PICTURED: Keith Pollock, Level Crossing Risk Coordinator, with Dennis Torrens and son Adam at the Antrim Agricultural Society Show. This year s Ulster in Bloom competition attracted 107 entries representing local councils, businesses and community groups as well as 38 bus and rail stations. In the Floral Station categories, Ballymoney Train Station won the Best Station Award and Brighter Whitehead Community received the Community Rail Halt Award for their work at Whitehead Train Station. Other category winners include: Derry City (City), Carrickfergus (Large Town), Banbridge (Town), Ahoghill (Small Town), Broughshane (Large Village), Glenarm (Village) and Scarva (Small Village). The Most Improved title went to Saintfield while Lisburn scooped the Roses in Towns award. Special awards for outstanding presentation were presented to Grove Community Park in North Belfast, Carrickfergus Borough Council, Johnston Upholstery in Ballinamallard and Conway s Bar in Newtownstewart. Speaking at the results ceremony, John Trethowan, Chairman, said: We would like to thank and congratulate all our 2013 Translink Ulster in Bloom participants for their hard work and dedication. Beautiful plant and floral presentations play an important role in creating a lasting, positive and welcoming image of Northern Ireland, encouraging people to make return visits with friends and family. PICTURED: Ballymoney Train Station won the Best Station Award in this year s Ulster in Bloom Competition: (l-r) John Trethowen, Chairman, Evelyne Robinson, NILGA, Frank Moore, Northern Area Route Manager, Alderman Arnold Hatch and John Michael, Ballymoney Borough Council. During the summer months, Translink N I Railways generally sees an increase in incidents of trespass across the rail network, as a result of brighter evenings and school pupils being on holidays. We always remind people of the serious risks associated with trespass and the impacts it may have; from delays to services on the line where a trespasser has been reported, thereby inconveniencing passengers, through to the risk of serious injury or death. In July N I Railways revealed that since the beginning of June, when the majority of schools broke up for summer holidays, it had recorded 96 incidents of trespassing by pedestrians on the rail network. These incidents included a member of the public being reported close to tracks in Whitehead, a group of five youths being spotted under a bridge at Finaghy and a trespasser being removed from the line at Greenisland. Our annual summer safety campaign Deadline ran in July and August, to remind pedestrians and motorists to stay safe around railway tracks and facilities. Lynda Shannon, Communications Manager said: Safety, while always at the top of the agenda for Translink, particularly comes to the fore at this time of year. We always appeal for parents and carers to remind young people to stay away from tracks but they are not the only ones who decide to use the rail network as a shortcut. Of the trespassing incidents we recorded this summer, many of the trespassers were adults and one of them was a senior citizen! Sometimes people don t think about what they could be up against if a train came along at the wrong minute. When you take into consideration that Olympian Usain Bolt can cover just over 10 metres per second, while one of our trains travelling at 90 miles per hour covers 40 metres per second, it s clear that when it comes to man versus train, there s no contest! In August our annual prosecution figures (July 2012 and June 2013) highlighted that we had taken action against individuals regarding 76 safety related incidents along the rail network in Northern Ireland, totalling fines in excess of 9,000. The majority of these were dealt with through the courts, and represent almost half of all prosecutions made by the company over the past 12 months. While this figure was lower than it has been for several years, the reduction is attributable to the closure of the rail line for track upgrade works between Coleraine and Londonderry for eight months until the end of March this year, as the majority of level crossing misuse incidents by motorists and private crossing users take place on that stretch of track. You may have seen some of the shocking footage which appeared in the Belfast Telegraph at the end of August of a taxi driving around a car in front of it which narrowly escaped being hit by a train at William Street in Lurgan. Unfortunately some members of the public still don t understand the potential serious risks associated with beating the barrier. With your help and by highlighting near misses through the media, we will continue to remind passengers, pedestrians and motorists to stay safe around trains and tracks over the winter months. We will also be launching a new technology based schools safety project in early PICTURED: Our annual summer safety campaign Deadline ran in July and August, to remind pedestrians and motorists to stay safe around railway tracks and facilities.

12 Promotions Belfast Theatre Express Fantastically Frequent Goldline Love Metro Saturdays New daylink smartcard To help promote recent enhancements on Goldline services, along with marketing and PR, a series of Goldline Saturday Roadshows took place on 21 and 28 September in Newry, Derry ~ Londonderry and Larne, to showcase one of our new modern coaches and encourage more new people to give Goldline a try. We encouraged the general public to come on board and sample the interior of the new Goldline coaches, pick up service information and learn about the extras e.g. leather seats, free Wi-Fi and extra legroom. There were radio roadshows with live on-air promotion, Lucky Golden Ticket competition, free product giveaways, 50% off Goldline day return ticket vouchers and face painters for families with young children. Goldline X1/X2 The Love Metro 2 special Saturday Day ticket returns; offering unlimited Saturday travel across all Metro services from 9.30am to 7pm from 7 September to 16 November enticing more people to leave the car behind and give the bus a try. Typically a motorist travelling from the Shore Road into the City Centre could save up to 4.51 or from the Antrim Road could save up to 3.59 per Saturday if they used our 2 Metro Day ticket. PICTURED: Metro passengers will also have the opportunity to benefit from some great offers on selected Saturdays across the campaign including an exclusive promotion with Robinson and Cleaver Urban Deli, upon production of valid Metro ticket passengers will receive a complimentary scone when purchasing a cup of tea or coffee. City of Culture 2013 Translink N I Railways have partnered with the Grand Opera House and Hastings Europa Hotel in Belfast to offer a rail, room and theatre short break from only 80 per person per night. The new package is being promoted by the three partners and bookings are being managed by NIR Travel. Rail travel from Dublin and local rail within Northern Ireland, from locations likely to book a short break in Belfast, are being targeted. An initial launch leaflet has been produced for three key shows: Evita, CATS and the Christmas Pantomime Sleeping Beauty. The breaks are being promoted with a leaflet, posters, three partner websites and mailings, PR, social media and through NITB and BVCB. E-flyers have been issued to each partner database and competitions are being organised in the daily and ROI press. From 2 June to 2 September we ran exclusive online promotional fares for the X2 service to Dublin Airport and Dublin City for holiday goers and day trippers. Now a new promotional web fare is available on the X2 departure from Belfast. The 6a.m. promotion will be available from 22 September until 20 December. The 8 web fare will continue to be available until further notice on X2 services from Belfast. Selected X1 services are also available to buy online at full fare. Translink has been working in partnership with the City of Culture throughout 2013 providing bus and rail services to various events in Derry ~ Londonderry. As the year draws to a close, there are two major events remaining the Turner Prize and Lumiere. The Turner Prize exhibition will be on show at Ebrington from 23 October to 5 January The winner is announced at an awards ceremony on 2 December. Lumiere will take place from 28 November to 1 December. Local and international artists, lighting designers, and community groups will breathe new light into the city with a breathtaking series of lightworks. The festival is expected to be a popular family event with artworks sprawling right across the city in a sprinkle of winter magic. Translink will provide bus, coach and rail services for these events. Joint marketing activity with the Culture Company will promote the enhanced services and PR will help create positive brand association for Translink. As part of Translink s commitment to providing integrated travel solutions that are attractive, sustainable and good value, a new smartcard product called daylink will be introduced on 21 October. Customers can load their daylink card with 1, 5 or 10 days and use it to travel whenever they want, they don t have to travel on consecutive days and daylink smartcards can be topped-up with more travel when needed top up 1 day s travel on the bus or top up 1, 5 or 10 day s travel at Translink sales/top-up outlets.

13 24 Family Life 25 Retirements 40 Years Service Obituary Ken McKnight After 30 years service, Ken McKnight, Cross Border Service Manager, retired on 31 March Ken (pictured left) was presented with a signed Ulster Rugby shirt and a retirement do was held in his honour. Colleagues and friends at Translink thanked Ken for the valuable contribution he made over the years and wish him well in his retirement. William (Willie) Mulholland Rathfriland driver William (Willie) Mulholland retired at the end of May 2013 after 27 years service. Willie and his wife Lilly are pictured at a retirement dinner and presentation which took place in the Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle, attended by colleagues and friends. Edwin McMillan Edwin McMillan, Secretariat Manager, retired on 31 May 2013 after nearly 40 years service. His colleagues and friends at Translink marked his leaving with a presentation at COCH and wish him a happy retirement. PICTURED: (l-r) Edwin McMillan, Secretariat Manager, JP Irvine, General Counsel, and Philip O Neill, Chief Operating Officer. Catherine Mason, Group Chief Executive, presenting Austin Doherty, Senior Bodybuilder Pennyburn Garage Derry, with a commemorative pin to mark his 40 years service with the Company. Translink Wedding Congratulations to Katie Rea, Ulsterbus Larne, and Lee Rea, Duncrue Street Stores, who were married on 10 May 2013 in Ballygally Church with a reception at Ross Park Hotel, Kells. William (Billy) Megarity Many were saddened by the passing of popular former Armagh bus driver William (Billy) Megarity on 16 December Billy had worked for the company for 50 years, starting as a parcel boy with the UTA, later becoming a conductor and finally a driver with Ulsterbus. Up until he retired in 1992, he enjoyed nothing better than having a bit of craic with his passengers and seeing them safely to their destinations. In 2007 Billy s health deteriorated and he had several stays in hospital. The esteem in which he was held was witnessed by the large number who attended his funeral. Robert J Thompson Robert, known always as RJ, was a well loved and respected member of staff. He started his career as an Ulsterbus driver in April When driver mentors were introduced, RJ was the natural choice and successfully mentored new starts and gave advice on many matters to all drivers in Newtownabbey depot. RJ then successfully applied for the position of relief Inspector in the depot and again proved himself more than capable in this role. He will always be remembered affectionately as RJ to all of us in the depot and is greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his wife Lillias and son Matthew.

14 Bio Buzz Translink Supports Marine Litter Monitoring Programme General Waste Management 90% Recycling/Recovery Rate Competition WIN! WIN! WIN! 50 WORTH OF LOVE2SHOP VOUCHERS WITH SIMPLYHEALTH! A Simply Cash Plan with Simplyhealth could help ease your everyday healthcare bills. The Simply Cash Plan costs from just 2.40 a week and allows you to claim up to 100% money back on dental and optical costs and 75% money back on complementary treatments such as physiotherapy, up to your annual limit. we are recycling/ recovering 90% of all your general waste For more details or to join Simplyhealth call your representative Translink has teamed up with TIDY NI to help monitor and tackle marine litter across the country. As part of this partnership with TIDY NI, we adopted a beach near Bellarena Halt on the North Coast named Minearny, pledging to clean it quarterly. Since last October we have successfully completed thre clean-ups of the beach, with help from volunteers from across the Translink Group and contractors (a group from McLaughlin & Harvey supported our efforts during the Coleraine to Derry ~ Londonderry track relay). So far this has culminated in almost 30 bin bags of litter being collected! A report produced by TIDY NI and DOE reveals some surprising facts from the monitoring programme: String and cord has been the most common type of litter. Plastic has accounted for 73.5% of all litter found. 4,033 is the average number of pieces of litter recorded for every kilometre of beach. For more information see the full report on the Translink SharePoint site. Aside from general litter collected such as wrappers, plastic bottles and crisp packets etc. there was also a variety of plastic, tiles, glass, crockery, different bits of old rusted metal, carpet, and not to mention during the April beach clean we made our strangest find a World War II grenade! A huge thank you to everyone who has volunteered, for their great work, support and co-operation! We are always looking for more volunteers; look out for our next beach clean advertisement. PICTURED: Staff from the Infrastructure and Group SH&E Departments who volunteered at the April beach clean: (l-r) Scott Moore, Louise Foster, Arash Ghadaksaz, Tom McDonald, Ian Morrow, Simon Webber, Breanainn Mullan and Andy Bate. *Figure relates to an average of all the waste collected at Translink stations & facilities Latest figures (July 2013) reveal that Translink are now recycling/recovering 90% of all our general waste collected, an average across all our stations and facilities. This increase of 19% from July 2011 has been from the continuous effort of Wastebeater, our general waste management contractor, who have developed and improved their facilities and sorting technology, and also their collection activities. Breanainn Mullan, Biodiversity Officer Tel: or Breanainn.Mullan@Translink.co.uk WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN 50 WORTH OF LOVE2SHOP VOUCHERS? Simply answer the following question to be in with a chance of winning: With a Simply Cash Plan how much can you claim up to on complementary therapies? a) 100% b) 25% c) 75% Heather McAlister on Or call quoting 445 Please write Simplyhealth as the subject title and your answer to makemeawinner@simplyhealth.co.uk along with your name and contact telephone number. Love2shop vouchers are accepted at over 20,000 stores including Argos, Boots, Toys R Us, House of Fraser and Debenhams. Terms & Conditions: This free prize draw is open to Translink employees who are resident in the UK and are aged 18 or over. The closing date for entry is 01 November Only one entry per person. The prize is 50 worth of Love2shop vouchers. The first correct entry drawn will receive 50 worth of Love2shop vouchers and will be notified by telephone within one week of the closing date. If after 30 days, Simplyhealth are unable to contact the winner, an alternative winner will be chosen at random. Simplyhealth reserves the right to replace the prize with an alternative prize of equal or higher value. The prize is non-transferable with no cash alternative available. Should you win, you are agreeing to Simplyhealth promoting your name. Promoter: Simplyhealth. Simplyhealth is a trading name of Simplyhealth Access, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Simplyhealth Access is registered and incorporated in England and Wales, registered no Registered office, Hambleden House, Waterloo Court, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 1LQ. Your calls may be recorded and monitored for training and quality assurance purposes.

15 Competition WIN! WIN! WIN! CROSSWORD COMPETITION Win a fantastic tablet! Perfect for the internet, movies and music, or for books and magazines. You can bring it with you when you re on the go and take advantage of free Wi-Fi available on our services or even plan a journey using the Translink Journey Planner app! Send your completed crossword along with your contact details to: Expresslines Crossword Competition, Marketing Production, Central Station, Belfast, BT1 3PB. Closing date Friday 01 November. Name Staff Number Address Daytime Telephone ACROSS 2 A 3.6 million redevelopment project has seen a new state of the art Train Station open where? 3 Which card is for people with learning difficulties to alert staff that they need Just A Minute of patience and time? 6 Translink N I Railways works all year round with which community reminding them to take care at user worked crossings? 8 Where has a new integrated Bus & Rail Centre opened, following the successful completion of a 2.9 million construction project? 9 What percentage of all Translink general waste is collected and recycled? DOWN 1 Which cancer support charity is Translink s newly nominated Charity Partner? 2 Recent track safety work saw the replacement of ballast along the railway line between Newry and where? 4 What is the name of the annual summer safety campaign to remind pedestrians and motorists to stay safe around railway tracks? 5 Which Train Station won the Best Station Award in this year s Ulster in Bloom Competition? 7 Ulsterbus Tours were appointed Official Coach Travel Partner for which rugby squad?