Great Western Railway and Network Rail Western have announced a new integrated leadership structure for London Paddington, bringing management of the station under a single joint team for the first time.
The move forms part of wider efforts to bring track and train operations closer together ahead of the transition to Great British Railways.
Lauren Clancy has been appointed to the newly created role of Integrated Station Lead, working across both organisations and overseeing operations at the country’s third busiest rail terminus.
The appointment marks the first time a Network Rail-managed station has introduced an integrated leadership arrangement with a train operating company.
Clancy joins from Anglia Railway, where she led track and train integration programmes involving Network Rail, c2c, Greater Anglia and Transport for London. Earlier roles included station management positions at Stratford, Ebbsfleet and St Pancras International.
She said: “It’s a really exciting time for the industry and to be at the forefront of a once-in-a-generation change like this is brilliant.”
The new structure continues a broader programme of collaboration between GWR and Network Rail Western. Over the past year, the two organisations have combined their Control functions into a single joint team and integrated route and access strategy operations, building on an alliance agreement first signed in 2016.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said the changes were intended to simplify operations and improve the customer experience.
“This appointment is about efficiency, opportunity for simplicity of structure and stronger focus on the customer,” he said.
“We don’t have to wait for Great British Railways to achieve change and we don’t need to wait until we are in the public sector – we can get on and do things today.”
Network Rail Western’s Head of Passenger Strategy, Susan Evans, said the approach would remove organisational barriers and improve how Paddington operates, particularly following the growth in passenger numbers driven by the Elizabeth line.
“London Paddington is one of the busiest stations in the country, particularly since the introduction of the Elizabeth line, and this new way of working will put passengers first,” she said.
Clancy will report jointly to GWR Head of Stations James Adeshiyan and Susan Evans at Network Rail Western.
