COMMENT
“The concept was to use them in conjunction with a Class 67 locomotive and an Mk3 DVT in push-pull mode, as the then EWS Company Train. Of course we now know that EWS became DB Schenker and similarly Laing Rail, one of Wrexham & Shropshire’s shareholders, were also bought by DB and are now DB Regio UK.”
As soon as the team had clearance from the ORR, they had to get the operation up and running as quickly as possible.
“As soon as you start spending money on staff and rolling stock you need revenue coming in through the door as quickly as possible. We then set ourselves the target of beginning services in April 2008 and began working towards that in terms of training staff and setting up the business.
“We took on existing drivers who
already had experience, so that all we had to do was training on our rolling stock and route. It is well known that training drivers from scratch is time consuming – time we did not have. However, with the train managers, we took on three existing guards and ten people new to the industry. We were confident we could train them as guards from scratch within the timeframe and that allowed us to employ excellent individuals with the right customer services and people skills and then train them to be guards. We also mirrored this approach with our stewards and on-board team.
“The one hiccup in our plans was again rolling stock. Despite having started the refurbishment as soon as was possible, the delivery of the stock began to be delayed from very early on. We could not afford to delay so we approached Cargo D, a charter
“ We reminded applicants that until the ORR gave the go-ahead it was just a pipe dream.”
company that had bought some Mk3 coaches at the same time we had. We were able to hire some Mark 3s which, along with some locos from DB Schenker, meant we could begin services on target in April 2008 although with the expense of having two locomotives on each train in the absence of the DVTs.”
Andy says since start day in April 2008 the company has grown and learnt a huge amount and this has contributed towards its current success. However, there is still some way to go.
“Although we have done very well, we are still not making a profit and our shareholders are quite rightly asking us when this is going to happen.”
So, the big question is, when does Andy think this will happen?
“Whilst this is dependant on a huge number of variables, we are fairly confident we have a plan that will allow us to at least break even in 2011.”
Considering this service was set up right in the middle of the biggest recession which Britain has gone through for a long time, for a train operating company set up from scratch to break even will certainly be a great achievement.
This achievement is also the result of clever planning in terms of the services which the company offers. Take for example their anytime first class ticket, which costs around half as much as an anytime first class
ticket on many other operators.
“Our business is all about attracting people to use our business, to get people out of their cars and to get new people travelling on rail. Another fundamental part of the business plan was to get people travelling between Shropshire and London who do not at the moment. One of the key things which stood out in Renaissance Trains’ proposal was the small number of people using the railway to travel between the two places. It was even lower than places like Skipton in Yorkshire.”
Along with pioneering new business, Wrexham & Shropshire has been developing a new approach towards customer service which has won them not only many passengers but the highest ever customer satisfaction score on the National Passenger Survey.
“I think it comes down to the fact we employed all new people who wanted to work for us and knew if the business did not succeed we would all be out of a job. That is a fairly good incentive for people to perform, at all levels of the business.
“This has led to a real feeling of teamwork because we are quite literally in this together and this shows in the way our staff treat our customers. For example there aren’t many rail operators who – in the case of a train cancellation – will have their staff escort passengers on to another company’s service to ensure everyone makes it to their destination.”
Have you experienced Wrexham & Shropshire’s customer service? Tell us what you think at
opinion@railtechnologymagazine.com
rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 11 | 21
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