UK engineers among the best in the world - 14/07/05
contractjournal.com Newsletter - 14.07.05
Editorial: Tube engineers rightly praised for bomb blast support
Tube engineers have been acclaimed for the part they played in helping evacuate the victims of the explosions in the capital last week. Online news editor Tim Wood adds his own thoughts on the people who were among the first to the scene.
The suspected terror attacks on the London Underground last week once again catapulted the construction industry into the spotlight - although for very different reasons.
Was it really only a week ago that the sector was celebrating the works bonanza expected after London was chosen to host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012?
However, one thing's for certain - adversity brings out the best of the people in the UK - none more so than the 100 engineers who were on the scene of the Tube bombings within minutes of the terrorist blasts.
London Underground’s Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was deployed to all three bomb blast sites at - King's Cross, Aldgate and
And wasn't it refreshing to read such a glowing homage to the unit's bravery from Tim O’Toole, managing director of London Underground, just 24-hours after the tragic events.
He said: "I would like to pay tribute to all London Underground staff for their heroic response to yesterday's atrocities. Prior to the arrival of the emergency services they had to work in the most appalling and difficult of situations that most of us will thankfully never experience. In particular, I want to pay tribute to the staff of the ERU who played a critical role in removing the dead and injured from the carnage underground. Along with emergency service personnel who worked tirelessly throughout the day; they were a credit to
Praise must also be given to TubeLines, set up as part of London Underground’s Public Private Partnership deal, to handle all emergencies across the Tube network.
According to a TubeLines spokeswoman they are the Tube’s most experienced and highly qualified engineers. "They have had a huge amount of training for all kinds of emergencies and are on call 24/7, 365 days a year. Their role is to get things up and running as soon as possible."
The construction sector faces a barrage of criticism on a weekly basis - let's be honest would CJ readers read their issue if it was all about how well a company is doing.
But when it is needed in times of crisis it is surely one industry you can rely on to ensure that the Great in Britain really is justified.