SECTOR FOCUS: BUSINESS TRAVEL
Passengers can stay connected
By Suzy Rigg Senior Communications Manager
Chiltern Railways likes to set itself apart by offering our passengers the best possible experience for doing business in the move. As a result of an exciting technological partnership, Chiltern Railways and EE, the UK’s largest mobile network operator, are set to transform onboard Wi-Fi experience for thousands of commuters with revolutionary continuous connectivity. Chiltern’s passengers can say
goodbye to the never-ending buffering, the non-loading web pages and the long waits as crucial emails hide in your outbox thanks to Chiltern Railways’ partnership with EE. It’s a partnership that will revolutionise how customers use their time onboard; providing them with a continuous connected experience similar to work or home. EE will be adding extra
network capacity and coverage through a wireless trackside network, making “no Wi-Fi bars” onboard a thing of the past – even when passengers are travelling through tunnels. The innovation transforms how business is done onboard with high speed connectivity and eliminates those troublesome ‘phone call drop-outs. No more “can you hear me, I’m going into a tunnel?” conversations, to the delight of fellow passengers. This improvement for our
business passengers is made possible by utilising EE’s network, the biggest, fastest and most reliable in the UK, to provide continuous connectivity to make the Wi-Fi experience on the Chiltern line best in class. Chiltern’s parent company Arriva has enabled the train operator’s investment and will use the innovative project as a test bed for a possible roll out across other Arriva franchises including the new Northern Rail franchise. Thomas Ableman,
Commercial Director of Chiltern Railways said: “We were one of the first train companies to introduce free Wi-Fi around five years ago on our London to Birmingham trains. Since then we’ve invested in 4G capability, however due to black spots on the line the service was limited in places. It was always our vision to deliver truly connected mobility and now, thanks to our partnership with EE, Chiltern will have the fastest and most reliable Wi-Fi in the country. We’ve just made it far easier to do business on the move.”
50 CHAMBERLINK MARCH 2016
SPONSORED BY: CHILTERN RAILWAYS
Park and ride will take more cars off the road
C
ommuters can now take advantage of extra free parking at Four Oaks railway station with the opening of a new £2 million Park and Ride
extension. Centro, the region's public transport delivery body,
has completed the work in just under four months, increasing park and ride capacity at the station by almost 20 per cent. The scheme, which built a steel framed single-deck
car park over one of the existing car parks, added 55 more spaces to the existing 275 at the busy station near Sutton Coldfield. The aim is to ease overcrowding at the park and ride
facility, which proved so popular with commuters that it filled up well before the end of the morning rush hour.
‘We want to keep encouraging more people to leave their cars and take the train’
Councillor Kath Hartley, vice-chair of the region’s Transport Delivery Committee, said: “The free parking spaces we provide at Four Oaks and other stations across the West Midlands have been hugely successful in attracting thousands of motorists to make the bulk of their daily commute by train. Park and Ride is extremely popular and spaces get snapped up very quickly each day.” The extra spaces will also help combat congestion
and carbon emissions by taking a further 32,000 commuter car journeys off local roads each year.
Signposting the way: Cllr Kath Hartley and London Midland’s Dave Whitley point commuters to extra Park & Ride space at Four Oaks
London Midland head of Cross City services, David
Whitley, said: “Passengers want their travel made simple. The extra capacity this investment brings will be a great benefit to our passengers while taking more cars off the road.” The scheme also included installation of low energy
lighting, CCTV cameras and help points linked to the Network Safety and Security Centre.
New stations boost services
Outsourcing: Ross Jackson (left) and Darrell Wilson
Two new railway stations – at Bermuda Park and Coventry Arena – have opened as part of a £13.6 million programme to improve rail services between Coventry and Nuneaton. The investment marks the initial
stage of a plan to develop the route from Nuneaton to Coventry and Coventry to Leamington Spa, with later work including a new platform at Coventry to increase the frequency of services and a new station at Kenilworth. The investment will give better
The perfect solution
Birmingham-based restaurant, pub and bar operator Mitchells & Butlers, has outsourced the management of its 550-strong car fleet to Fleet Operations. The independent fleet management services provider will take over
full day-to-day responsibility for the firm’s company car operations, including maintenance. Darrell Wilson, director of procurement and supply chain at
Mitchells & Butlers, said: “We selected Fleet Operations because of their transparent and ethical business model, which removes a lot of the traditional ‘smoke and mirrors’ associated with fleet services. “Their solution provides us with a full understanding of all costs,
without ‘hidden’ margins in the supply chain, which was particularly important to us given the total value of our fleet spend.”
rail access to jobs, retail, leisure and education across Coventry and Warwickshire while reducing road congestion. The Coventry-Nuneaton upgrade
is being delivered by Coventry City Council, Centro and Warwickshire County Council and is funded by the three partners, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Bermuda Park will be the 150th
station to join the London Midland network. The station will have 30 free car parking spaces and Coventry Arena will have 80 spaces.
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 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60