Signalling Diagrams Kent

Florian Ellebrecht made this Freedom of Information request to Network Rail Limited Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was successful.

Florian Ellebrecht

Dear Network Rail Limited,

Could you please provide signalling diagrams like the ones of a former request (https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...) for the following routes?

SO110 - Victoria to Ramsgate via Herne Hill and Chatham
SO130 - CHX to Dover/Eurotunnel via Tonbridge
SO140 - Swanley to Ashford
SO150 - Sittingbourne Western Jn to Sheerness-on-Sea
SO160 - Faversham to Dover Priory
SO180 - Paddock Wood to Strood
SO220 - Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West
SO240 - Buckland Jn to Minster East Jn
SO310 - Hither Green to Rochester Bridge Jn via Sidcup
SO600 - Willingdon Jn to Ashford

Thank you in advance for your help.

Yours faithfully,

Florian Ellebrecht

FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/00313

Dear Florian Ellebrecht

Information request

Thank you for your email of 13 March 2023. I can confirm that your request is being processed under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) / Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). I will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any event by 13 April 2023.

To confirm, I have taken your request to be the following:

Could you please provide signalling diagrams like the ones of a former request (https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlo...) for the following routes?

SO110 - Victoria to Ramsgate via Herne Hill and Chatham
SO130 - CHX to Dover/Eurotunnel via Tonbridge
SO140 - Swanley to Ashford
SO150 - Sittingbourne Western Jn to Sheerness-on-Sea
SO160 - Faversham to Dover Priory
SO180 - Paddock Wood to Strood
SO220 - Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West
SO240 - Buckland Jn to Minster East Jn
SO310 - Hither Green to Rochester Bridge Jn via Sidcup
SO600 - Willingdon Jn to Ashford

If I have misunderstood your request in any way, then please reply back to this email and let me know the exact information you require from us.
On occasion we may need to consult with third parties about requests, in line with the recommendations in the Code of Practice issued by the Cabinet Office.

If you have any queries please contact me.

Please remember to quote your reference number in all future communications.

Kind regards

Isabella Battaglia | Information Rights Compliance Specialist
Freedom of Information | Legal & Corporate Services

Network Rail | 1st Floor | Willen Building | The Quadrant: MK Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

1 Attachment

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/00313

Dear Florian Ellebrecht

Please find attached our response to your recent information request.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Warm Regards,

Isabella Battaglia | Information Rights Compliance Specialist
Freedom of Information | Legal & Corporate Services

Network Rail | 1st Floor | Willen Building | The Quadrant: MK Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

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Florian Ellebrecht

Dear Isabella,

I wonder why for these documents, there should be reasons for public safety but not for the documents that were given in https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...
I want to understand how the decision was made, so what's the difference here to the other (older) request?

Yours sincerely,

Florian Ellebrecht

FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Hi Florian,

Thank you for your email. I definitely appreciate that it is odd and confusing that we disclose signalling diagrams in some FOI responses, but not for others.

When we receive requests for these diagrams, we consult with the relevant signalling expert who examines each diagram individually to assess whether or not they are safe to disclose or if disclosure would pose a security threat to the railway.

Some diagrams are high level and only really detail parts of the signalling that can be viewed when passing by. However, some diagrams are far more detailed and reveal the inner workings of the signal. If this was put in the public domain, it would provide individual's enough information to successful disrupt and damage the railway.

In the instance, the latter is the case. The diagrams you have requested are more detailed than the ones you have linked below, and provide specific details on how these signals work. This is why the public safety exemption was engaged. For your request, I liaised with the Head of Signalling for Kent, who ran through the diagrams and explained why these specific diagrams were too detailed to be disclosed.

I hope that this goes some way to explaining why at times we disclose signalling diagrams, but at other times we cannot. If you think that this request has not been processed compliantly and legally, please do let us know and we can process an internal review for you.

Warm regards

Isabella Battaglia | Information Rights Compliance Specialist
Freedom of Information | Legal & Corporate Services

Network Rail | 3rd Floor | Caldecotte Building | The Quadrant: MK Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/
Pronouns: She/Her
#MyNameIs
Ee-Zaa-Bel-Laa Baat-Taal-Lee-Aa (pronunciation) I do this to encourage others to do likewise and to take time to understand and learn how to say our colleagues' names.

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of some frequently asked questions or drop us a line.

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Florian Ellebrecht

Dear Network Rail Limited,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Network Rail Limited's handling of my FOI request 'Signalling Diagrams Kent'.

It is argued that there are too detailed diagrams, thus providing a source for attacks on the infrastructure. I would like to ask you to reconsider this. There are already numerous videos and pictures of the routes online, which show the exact locations of the signals etc. and are accessible to everyone. Furthermore, there has been no increase in attacks/sabotage on the infrastructure reported by other countries. Therefore, the danger of such attacks is much lower than actually assumed.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Florian Ellebrecht

Compliance & Appeals FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Reference: IR2023/00436

Dear Florian Ellebrecht,

Thank you for your email to the FOI team asking about the response you
received to request FOI2023/00313. I can confirm that the Compliance and
Appeals team will carry out an internal review of the handling of this
request.

When someone receives one of our responses and contacts us to say that
they think that we haven’t provided the correct information or we have
made an error with a response, we deal with this as an ‘internal review’.
The purpose of the internal review procedure is to provide a fair,
thorough and independent review of the handling of your request under the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). This is the statutory
‘right of appeal’ provided under the EIR to all requesters.

In accordance with regulation 11(4) of the EIR, we will complete the
review no later than 40 working days from the date of your complaint, in
this case by 8 June 2023 . However, I will aim to respond to you sooner
than this if possible.

Yours sincerely

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email complianceandappeals[Network Rail request email] | Web
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of some frequently asked questions or
drop me a line.

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference Number: IR202300436

Dear Florian

Please find attached a letter from Network Rail in response to your
request for an internal review of FOI2023/00313.

Kind regards

Anisha Pandya
Information Rights Specialist | Freedom of Information
[1]Network Rail, 1^st Floor Willen Building, The Quadrant: MK, Elder
Gate, Milton Keynes, MK9 1EN
Website: [2]Freedom of information (FOI) - Network Rail

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Jonathan Mantle, Network Rail Limited

1 Attachment

OFFICIAL

Hi Florian

I hope you’re well.

I was wondering if you might have a few minutes next week to discuss your
request with someone from our FOI team.

We wanted to explain some of the challenges we’re facing and discuss what
we might be able to do to help find a resolution.

I think that What Do They Know blocks email addresses and phone numbers,
so it might need you to email from a different address to allow us to
share contact details and arrange a conversation.

(I should add that you’re under no obligation to speak with us about this
but I think it might be helpful for everyone involved).

Jonathan Mantle (LLM Information Rights) | FOI Manager

Freedom of Information | Legal and Corporate Services

[1]Network Rail | 1^st Floor | Willen Building | The Quadrant: MK
Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email: [2][Network Rail request email]

Web: [3]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Pronouns: He/Him

#MyNameIs

Jon-Na-Thun Man-Tul (pronunciation) I do this to encourage others to do
likewise and to take time to understand and learn how to say our
colleagues’ names.

Description: Description: Logo

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of [4]some frequently asked questions
or drop me a line.

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2. mailto:[network%20rail%20request%20email]
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4. https://www.yammer.com/networkrail.co.uk...

Florian Ellebrecht

Dear Jonathan Mantle,

Please excuse my delayed response.
In the meantime, I got the email from the ICO (Case Reference: IC-235699-G8F5) on the internal review. As proposed under point 33 ("We think that it might be possible to provide two or three redacted documents to the applicant without triggering Regulation 12(4)(b) if they were to submit a new request letting us know which of the diagrams they wanted us to provide.") I want to specify my request for the following routes:

SO110 - Victoria to Ramsgate via Herne Hill and Chatham
SO220 - Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West
SO240 - Buckland Jn to Minster East Jn

Thank you for your efforts.

Yours sincerely,

Florian Ellebrecht

FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01007

Dear Florian Ellebrecht,

Information request

Your correspondence was received by Network Rail on 13 August 2023. I can
confirm that your request is being processed under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Environmental Information Regulations
(EIR). I will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any
event by 11 September 2023.

I understand you are asking us to provide the following information:

Signalling diagrams for

SO110 - Victoria to Ramsgate via Herne Hill and Chatham

SO220 - Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West

SO240 - Buckland Jn to Minster East Jn

If I have misunderstood or misinterpreted your request in any way please
let me know as soon as possible.

On occasion we may need to consult with third parties about requests, in
line with the recommendations in the [1]Code of Practice issued by the
Cabinet Office.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please remember to quote your reference number in all future
communications.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal & Corporate Services

[2]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [3][Network Rail request email] |

Web [4]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Dear Florian,

Thank you for your amended request. I have had a chance to look at this in
more detail now and I wanted to let you know that we are likely to still
encounter the same difficulties as we did with your previous request.

For routes SO110, SO220 and SO240 there are a total of 34 documents. I
note at paragraph 26 in the ICO decision it provided some detail of our
explanation on why it would create a disproportionate burden to provide
the documents, I have copied this paragraph below:

‘NR did carry out the exercise described in paragraph 24 ii) and ‘while it
was possible to redact the smallest of the documents in approximately 40
minutes, the largest of them took four hours to redact. At the most
conservative estimate we think it would take the FOI team 2.5 hours per
document to carry out the redactions – this works out at 220 hours in
total (88 documents multiplied by 2.5 hours)… In addition to this one of
our signalling engineers would need to set aside a minimum of 88 hours to
review the documents and propose amendments.’

Therefore, this would still take roughly 2.5 hours for each of the 34
documents plus additional time for a signalling engineer to review.

In order to focus your request on a limited number of documents, as
suggested in the ICO decision notice, it may be better to target your
request for a specific location, such as a station or junction.

To give you an idea of the areas covered by each signalling diagram I have
reviewed the first three in SO110. The first one covers
Bickley-Chislehurst Jn-St Mary Cray. The second covers Fawkham Jn –
Meopham- Green Street. The third one I looked covers Loughborough Jn -
Peckham Rye - Ravensbourne - Sydenham Hill - Brixton.

Therefore, if you target your request by location rather than route, it
will reduce the number of documents and the chances of the request being
refused under regulation 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information
Regulations.

Please let us know if you would like to submit an amended request.

Yours sincerely

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

[1]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [2]complianceandappeals[Network Rail request email] | Web
[3]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of [4]some frequently asked questions
or drop me a line.

From: Danielle Stratton <[email address]> On Behalf Of FOI
Sent: 14 August 2023 15:42
To: Florian Ellebrecht <[FOI #959248 email]>
Cc: FOI <[Network Rail request email]>
Subject: RE: Kent Signalling Diagrams Acknowledgement FOI2023/01007

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01007

Dear Florian Ellebrecht,

Information request

Your correspondence was received by Network Rail on 13 August 2023. I can
confirm that your request is being processed under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Environmental Information Regulations
(EIR). I will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any
event by 11 September 2023.

I understand you are asking us to provide the following information:

Signalling diagrams for

SO110 - Victoria to Ramsgate via Herne Hill and Chatham

SO220 - Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West

SO240 - Buckland Jn to Minster East Jn

If I have misunderstood or misinterpreted your request in any way please
let me know as soon as possible.

On occasion we may need to consult with third parties about requests, in
line with the recommendations in the [5]Code of Practice issued by the
Cabinet Office.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please remember to quote your reference number in all future
communications.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal & Corporate Services

[6]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [7][Network Rail request email] |

Web [8]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

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Florian Ellebrecht

Dear Danielle,

Thank you for your reply and the brief examples of the areas covered by a diagram document. I therefore specify my request for the route between Rochester and Ramsgate. If this remains too much, I request that the section be further reduced to Faversham - Ramsgate.
The other two routes mentioned above should still be considered if possible.

Yours sincerely,

Florian Ellebrecht

FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Dear Florian,

Thank you for you coming back to me on this. I am just in the process of reviewing the diagrams to see which cover Ramsgate to Faversham and Ramsgate to Rochester. Please bear with me as I am not an expert on the track in the area so may need to seek additional guidance.

I will let you know how many this includes and whether this is possible as soon as I can.

Yours sincerely

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist
Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN
Email complianceandappeals[Network Rail request email] | Web http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of some frequently asked questions or drop me a line.

show quoted sections

FOI, Network Rail Limited

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01098

Dear Florian Ellebrecht,

Information request

I have gone through all the documents now and checked they are the right
ones. There are five drawings for Ramsgate to Faversham and nine for
Ramsgate to Rochester so I’ll start by processing a request just for the
Ramsgate to Faversham ones as suggested and see how long that takes.

I have taken this request as received on 27 August 2023  and I will
endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any event by 25
Septemer 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal & Corporate Services

[1]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [2][Network Rail request email] |

Web [3]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

[mobile number]

Email [4]complianceandappeals[Network Rail request email] | Web
[5]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of some frequently asked questions or
drop me a line.

show quoted sections

FOI, Network Rail Limited

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01098

Dear Florian,  

Please find attached a letter in relation to your Freedom of Information
request.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

[1]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [2][Network Rail request email] |

Web [3]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Description: Description: Logo

From: Danielle Stratton <[email address]> On Behalf Of FOI
Sent: 14 September 2023 12:43
To: FOI <[Network Rail request email]>; Florian Ellebrecht <[FOI #959248
email]>
Subject: RE: Kent Signalling Diagrams Acknowledgement FOI2023/01098

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01098

Dear Florian Ellebrecht,

Information request

I have gone through all the documents now and checked they are the right
ones. There are five drawings for Ramsgate to Faversham and nine for
Ramsgate to Rochester so I’ll start by processing a request just for the
Ramsgate to Faversham ones as suggested and see how long that takes.

I have taken this request as received on 27 August 2023  and I will
endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any event by 25
Septemer 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal & Corporate Services

[4]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [5][Network Rail request email] |

Web [6]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

[mobile number]

Email [7]complianceandappeals[Network Rail request email] | Web
[8]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of some frequently asked questions or
drop me a line.

show quoted sections

FOI, Network Rail Limited

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01098

Dear Florian,

Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.

The documents being disclosed with this response are too large to send by
email therefore I have uploaded them to this link: [1]FOI202301098 -
OneDrive (sharepoint.com)

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

[2]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [3][Network Rail request email] |

Web [4]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Description: Description: Logo

From: Danielle Stratton <[email address]> On Behalf Of FOI
Sent: 25 September 2023 15:56
To: FOI <[Network Rail request email]>; Florian Ellebrecht <[FOI #959248
email]>
Subject: RE: Kent Signalling Diagrams FOI2023/01098

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01098

Dear Florian,  

Please find attached a letter in relation to your Freedom of Information
request.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

[5]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [6][Network Rail request email] |

Web [7]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Description: Description: Logo

From: Danielle Stratton <[8][email address]> On Behalf Of FOI
Sent: 14 September 2023 12:43
To: FOI <[9][Network Rail request email]>; Florian Ellebrecht <[10][FOI
#959248 email]>
Subject: RE: Kent Signalling Diagrams Acknowledgement FOI2023/01098

OFFICIAL

Reference number: FOI2023/01098

Dear Florian Ellebrecht,

Information request

I have gone through all the documents now and checked they are the right
ones. There are five drawings for Ramsgate to Faversham and nine for
Ramsgate to Rochester so I’ll start by processing a request just for the
Ramsgate to Faversham ones as suggested and see how long that takes.

I have taken this request as received on 27 August 2023  and I will
endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any event by 25
Septemer 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal & Corporate Services

[11]Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

Email [12][Network Rail request email] |

Web [13]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Danielle Stratton | Information Rights Compliance Specialist

Freedom of Information Team | Legal Corporate Services

Network Rail | The Quadrant: MK | Elder Gate | Milton Keynes | MK9 1EN

[mobile number]

Email [14]complianceandappeals[Network Rail request email] | Web
[15]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

Got a query about FOI? Have a browse of some frequently asked questions or
drop me a line.

show quoted sections

Danielle Stratton, Network Rail Limited

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Chris left an annotation ()

To save this being backed up with code requests, I've temporarily posted the files here:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/y1rf2tlfx...

Would appreciate if someone from WDTK would place the contents (there are 5 PDFs) somewhere more permanent.

Gareth Rees left an annotation ()

We've extracted the files to https://files.whatdotheyknow.com/request...

Gareth
-- WhatDoTheyKnow