Rail Business Awards 2010 Preview


Wrexham & Shropshire First Great Western London Underground


C2C


Heathrow Express In the past year Heathrow Express has


achieved a number of business growth and service improvements, which indicate its success as a train operator within the industry.


FIRST GREAT WESTERN The past 12 months have seen First Great Western introduce more trains, more services and more staff. Attention to detail across the company has built on the acknowledged successes of 2009. Performance, safety and security have all


improved, while customer satisfaction and passenger numbers continue their rising trend. FGW has been performing consistently at high levels right across the franchise, proving that the company’s improvements are part of a sustainable process rather than a one-off event.


LONDON UNDERGROUND London Underground has continued to deliver very high levels of service performance in 2009-10, and in the first half of 2010-2011, with customer satisfaction scores at their highest ever levels. At the same time, LU is delivering a massive upgrade programme for faster, more frequent and reliable train services. Since July 2009, 16 new Victoria Line trains


have entered passenger service. The first of the new ‘S-stock’ trains for the sub-surface lines were delivered to London in October 2009, and entered passenger service in August 2010. Other developments delivered over the past year include the completion of the massive redevelopment of King’s Cross St Pancras station.


GB Railfreight GB RAILFREIGHT


As well as renewing and expanding several existing contracts with long-standing customers, GB Railfreight has gained a significant volume of new business. Going from strength to strength, during one week in September 2010 GBRf broke its own record for the number of trains run in a week – a total of 529 services. One new contract in particular, an agreement to deliver biomass to one of Britain’s biggest power stations regularly, puts GBRf at the forefront of environmental development within both the rail freight and the power generation industries. Now in its second decade, GBRf continues to prosper and with Eurotunnel as its new owner, the next 10 years promise to be as successful and innovative, with European opportunities beckoning.


WREXHAM & SHROPSHIRE Since launching its services in 2008, Wrexham & Shropshire has set out to provide the best customer service to be found on the UK rail network. As an open- access operator, its success depends on being able to entice people out of their cars onto its trains. Wrexham & Shropshire has improved its offering by listening to its passengers and finding innovative ways to meet their needs. The Toc’s top priority it to care for its


passengers and, most importantly, listen to them. Its customer focus has been reflected in the National Passenger Survey – the Toc is very proud to have scored the highest ever overall satisfaction rating of 99 per cent.


London Midland C2C


C2C has provided consistently high standards of service and continuous improvement across all aspects of its operations over the past 12 months. Achievements include delivery of: the best ever performance in the industry; the best ever moving annual average; excellent fleet management; impressive Right Time, Every Time operational initiative; increased customer satisfaction; the introduction of new products and enhancements to its energy efficiency and environmental credentials; plus significant progress in other areas such as safety and security, integration and customer communication. This has been achieved through greater involvement of customers through a passengers’ panel and a company strategy through a summary business plan.


LONDON MIDLAND London Midland has undergone an incredible period of change in the last year. From poor performance and sustained criticism in 2009, the company has transformed itself to become the most improved operator for overall customer satisfaction in Passenger Focus’ National Passenger Survey. Through sheer determination and a focus on putting passengers first, London Midland has shown one of the largest-ever swings in passenger satisfaction. Performance has improved, pushing London Midland’s moving annual average through 90 per cent. The operator posted a record period performance figure of 93.3 per cent in 2010.


Page thirty-five


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36