Just the ticket
THE third floor of an office tower block is perhaps not where you'd expect to find flashing lights, rushing air and a shaking platform indicating a tube is about to pull in.
However, for London Underground staff learning their trade, the West Ashfield 'station' in West Kensington, is the ideal learning tool, simulating the operational environment of a real tube station - without the hassle of those pesky customers getting in the way.
Complete with station entrance, ticket office, Oyster ticket gates, platform, tube carriage and a service control room, West Ashfield looks and feels like a real underground station, meaning that staff can learn all about operating tubes without disrupting passengers.
Kevin Hafter, head of operational learning, said: "It provides an integrated approach to training for staff.
"We can train every staff member in a safe and controlled environment where they can learn, make mistakes but not get in the way of the running of the real railway."
The simulation suite, built by design company Paragon Creative at a cost of £834,000 and given the sign-off last October, trains all types of frontline underground staff - tube drivers, station supervisors, duty station managers, signal staff and line controllers.
After swiping specially designed Oyster cards through ticket gates - our real travel cards have a configuration not recognised by the training suite and could trigger a system crash - we make our way to the station platform, where a refurbished tube carriage and driver's cab are used to simulate tube journeys.
As if they were playing a highly sophisticated videogame, trainee drivers use levers to operate the cab while a simulated video flashes on screen showing their progress through a virtual tunnel, with light signals popping up to let them know when they need to alter their speed.
Somewhat disappointingly, the carriage itself doesn't move in and out of the platform - instead an 'audiovisual and tactile' experience recreates the atmosphere of an approaching train.
Light signals change, fans blast air to create the impression of wind being pushed along by a moving train, and vibrations rumble under our feet on the platform, while a live PA system gives staff the chance to practice making announcements.
Jim Sitch, operational learning development manager, said: "Before this (simulated suite), we were mainly training in classrooms.
"Training staff in a realistic environment gives them the confidence to deal with the real life situation."
Underground bosses plan to train 20,000 staff at West Ashfield in the next five years, as well as involving emergency services, including the police, ambulance and fire authorities.
sofia.mitra-thakur@archant.co.uk
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Hammersmith&Kensington
Times News |
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