CV
Curriculum Vitae of John Cartmell, MA, CEng, FIMechE
Short version
From prequalification in 2002 until the end of July 2005, John Cartmell was appointed, on secondment initially from Bombardier and latterly from John Cartmell Associates Ltd, as Project Director of the Bombela consortium which has been awarded the USD 3.4 billion PPP Gautrain project in South Africa. Commercial close in September 2006 allowed construction to start in advance of Financial Close which was achieved on 25th January 2007 with a non-recourse loan of about USD 421 million from a syndicate of local banks. The Bombela consortium comprises Bombardier, Bouygues, Murray & Roberts and Strategic Partners Group with RATP as sub-contract operator and maintainer.
From 1975, as an adviser to the Hong Kong Government, John contributed to the design and multi-contract structure of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway and has since helped to design both light and heavy passenger rail systems to meet the transport objective in an efficient and economic way. Responsible for Business Development and Sales, he has been concerned with several PPP and PFI projects including Birmingham, Nottingham (100% privately financed) and London Underground.
John has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (I Mech E) London. He was Chairman of the I Mech E Railway Division in 1995/6.
Synopsis
John Cartmell has 32 years experience of railway consulting and contracting with skills in scheme evaluation, system design, business development and tendering of PPP/PFI projects. He is self-motivated and enthusiastic for the achievement of corporate and project success at all levels and has built up a large network of industry contacts.
As a mechanical engineer he has been responsible for the design of the railway as an efficient and cost-effective system for carrying passengers, embracing all electrical and mechanical works from the track upwards and including the civil interface. He has helped to design street running light rail systems and contributed to the implementation of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (HKMTR) as promoter’s consultant. HKMTR continues to carry over 80,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) in the morning peak with operating costs only 65% of rail revenues. Property development revenues played a trend-setting role in reducing Government contributions to the project.
He was invited to join the partnership of Kennedy and Donkin and was given responsibility successively for the firm’s project management and for the co-ordination of marketing and sales world wide. He sat on the then U.K. Government DTI Railway Sector Group promoting railway exports. In 1986 he led the creation of the railway consultancy Kennedy Henderson and was appointed as Managing Director. The venture was most successful and achieved a 20% gross margin on an increasing turnover, and a return on investment that exceeded plan. He achieved similar success but on a smaller scale in establishing Travers Morgan’s division of Railways and Transit in the market place. Both organisations continue to prosper as Parsons Brinckerhoff and Capita Symonds’ railway divisions respectively.
He joined AEG in 1995 and continued in rail system marketing and sales roles in the successor organisations Adtranz and Bombardier. As a businessman he has a sound understanding of PPP and PFI projects and was closely involved in the Nottingham LRT Project Development Group which tested technical, patronage and commercial parameters to the satisfaction of local and central government adjudicators and now borne out by project success.
Later, he was appointed as Project Director of the Bombela Consortium in its bid for an 80 route.km standard gauge commuter railway PPP project in South Africa, Gautrain. The consortium was appointed as Preferred Bidder on 2nd July 2005, achieved Commercial Close (which allowed construction to start in an attempt to open in time for the June 2010 World Cup soccer event in South Africa) in September 2006 and Financial Close on 25th January 2007. The loan agreement was signed in the sum of ZAR 3.1 billion (about USD 421 million) towards the total project cost, including financing charges, of ZAR 25 billion (about USD 3.4 billion).
He was elected chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division in 1995/6 and led a most successful year with over 1,000 people attending the annual luncheon for the first time.
Employment history
Automotive Products Ltd, Leamington Spa, 1966 to 1975 :
Graduate training ; Development Engineer, Borg & Beck clutches ; Operations Controller, Lockheed brakes.
Kennedy & Donkin, Woking, Hong Kong and Godalming, 1975 to 1988 :
Workshops Engineer ; Project Manager ; Layout Co-ordination Engineer ; Contracts Engineer ; Partner responsible for Hong Kong Mass Transit project, and variously for the firm’s project management development and marketing & sales; Managing Director Kennedy Henderson Ltd.
Travers Morgan Ltd, East Grinstead, 1989 to 1994 :
Director, Railways and Transit.
AEG (UK) Ltd, Adtranz Total Rail Systems, Bombardier Transportation Total Transit Systems, 1995 to 2005 : Strategic Planning Manager ; Systems Engineering Manager ; Business Development Manager ; Director, P D & S Europe Middle East and Africa.
John Cartmell Associates Ltd, established 1st March 2005 :
Principal offering consulting services in the design and engineering of rail systems to meet the transport objective in the most economic and efficient way, project contract and financing structures and related fields.
Project responsibilities and achievements
Kennedy & Donkin, now Parsons Brinckerhoff
Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (HKMTR) Modified Initial System, Tsuen Wan Extension and Island Line – engineering design and contract documentation, tender adjudication of a project that opened three months early and under budget. Technical studies of tunnel temperatures, design co-ordination with civil engineering colleagues of a late ventilation design change and investigation of a post-construction ATO signalling malfunction. The “well-proven but contemporary” design philosophy has stood the test of time and the railway is one of the most efficient and heavily laden in the world carrying over 80,000 pphpd in the morning peak.
Docklands Light Railway – study, design and tender documents.
West Midlands LRT – economic study of the system now operating.
Transmanche Link – performance specifications for shuttle trains.
Travers Morgan, now Capita Symonds
Eastern European Railways – business and technical evaluation for EBRD of Slovakian and Bulgarian railway workshops and of Baltic States infrastructure.
Channel Tunnel – capacity study of Network Southeast track infrastructure.
Royal Mail – railway advice regarding Willesden automatic processing centre.
West Midlands LRT – system design, specifications, tender documents and concession tender assessment and negotiation as promoter’s consultant.
Valencia Metro Lines 3 and 5 – basic designs and specifications.
LUL Jubilee Line extension – integrity of E & M contract documents with civil.
Railway privatisation – with Ernst & Young, structural and business advice to DTI on the contract between BRIS infrastructure maintenance and Railtrack. Many of the problems of the adopted privatisation structure were foreseen.
AEG/Adtranz/Bombardier
BERTS, Bangkok – engineering design and contract documents.
Nottingham Express Transit – Project Development Group to validate project design and economics, now proven by initial operation. The system runs partly in-street with road traffic and partly segregated with main line interfaces. The project was the first to achieve 100% private sector finance under PFI.
Salvador, Mauritius, Jerusalem and Palermo – customer liaison, partner selection to form consortia and successful prequalification with those partners.
Manchester Metrolink Phase III – senior full time Bombardier representative in consortium team for proposal submission.
Gautrain Rapid Rail Link – Bombela Consortium Project Director for prequalification, submission of Standard and Variant Proposals with BAFO and FBAFO updates for this USD 3.4 billion commuter railway PPP project in which excellent client relations and a keen negotiated position were achieved. Bombela was appointed as Preferred Bidder by the Gauteng Provincial Government on 2nd July 2005 and achieved Financial Close on 25th January 2007. The first part of the 80 route-km standard gauge railway is planned to open in time for the World Cup Soccer event in June 2010 with the remainder to follow 6 months later.
John Cartmell Associates
Retained by the Bombela Consortium as Project Director with special responsibility for communications and relationships with the Provincial Government client and for the Consortium’s position on system capacity (rail, car parking and feeder bus), patronage and revenue. Reported to the Consortium Steering Committee whose meetings he chaired. Achieved selection as Preferred Bidder on 2nd July 2005.
Retained by Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd for systems development and sales assistance in project evaluation, prequalification and tendering. Helped to re-evaluate the company’s position in relation to the Tel Aviv Light Rail project.
Retained by Capita Symonds in researching for their London client international benchmarks of economy, efficiency and good industry practice in the development, operation and maintenance of mass transit railway systems.]
Education, Professional Training and Development
Education
Trinity College, Glenalmond.
Emmanuel College, Cambridge (Mechanical Sciences Tripos 1966).
Courses
- Leadership in Management, Leadership Trust Ross on Wye, 1987
- Program for Executive Development, IMEDE (now IMD) Lausanne, 1988
Papers
- “Planning considerations for the accommodation of electrical and mechanical plant”, Hong Kong conference, 1980
- “An overview of the future”, BCB London, 1986
- “The role of the Consulting Engineer”, IMechE London, 1988
- “Road versus rail : horses for courses”, CIT North Wales, 1991
- “Rubber and steel or Life goes full circle”, IMechE RD Chairman's address, London 1995
- “The economics of tilting trains”, IMechE London, 1996
Domestic
Born 23rd August 1943. Married with three of his own children and three step children, none now dependant. Living in Derbyshire and available to travel.
John is a keen oarsman, sailor, steam enthusiast and choral singer. He obtained his Private Pilot’s Licence in May 2006 and currently has some 50 hours solo time to his credit.
Contact landline + 44 (0)1283 585565, mobile + 44 (0)77 0202 0088, e-mail johnc@rail-consult.co.uk.
Last updated: JC, 5th January 2007