Rail Professional interview: Alistair Gordon


We need to find a way to incentivise staff to play their part in delivering a successful railway


Keolis is bidding for franchises on its own, after 15 years as a shareholder in other ventures. Its chief executive, Alistair Gordon, tells Paul Clifton why


PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON WEIR: www.simonweir.com N PAGE 20 APRIL 2012


early one in three rail journeys in Britain is made on a train in which Keolis has a stake. The French company has been involved in railways here since privatisation as a minority shareholder in Govia, which runs Southern,


Southeastern and London Midland. More recently Keolis has partnered FirstGroup to run TransPennine Express, and it is part of the consortium that runs trams in Nottingham. Now it is striking out alone, as one of four bidders


for West Coast. And it intends to bid for others. Why? Has something gone sour in its hitherto successful partnerships with others? ‘We have always had an ambition to run franchises


on our own,’ says Keolis CEO Alistair Gordon. ‘We think we have a lot to offer.’


But what can the company do for future franchises that it cannot already do as part of a very successful partnership? Surely going alone diminishes the range of skills with which it can take on the competition? ‘We can offer the same,’ he says. The dominant shareholder in Keolis is French state railway SNCF, which runs TGV and has a stake in Eurostar, equipping the company with skills in revenue management, pricing and marketing – hence why Keolis feels it’s in a position to bid alone for intercity franchises. Although it is the biggest public transport operator


in France, to the British traveller Keolis is a name largely unheard of. So Gordon has poached PR guru Marsid


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