PASSENGERS TO BENEFIT AS SOUTH WEST TRAINS AND NETWORK RAIL FORM NEW ALLIANCE

Monday 30 Apr 2012

PASSENGERS TO BENEFIT AS SOUTH WEST TRAINS AND NETWORK RAIL FORM NEW ALLIANCE

Region & Route:: National

Single senior management team now responsible for trains and track
Focus on reduced delays, better customer service, more efficient working
“Deep alliance” is first for the UK rail industry

Train company South West Trains and infrastructure operator Network Rail today (30 April 2012) announced the launch of a new alliance with the aim of delivering better rail services in the south and south-west of England.

A single senior joint management team now has responsibility for both trains and track on the route operating out of London Waterloo in a first for the UK rail industry.

It is aiming to cut delays for passengers, provide better customer service, deliver more effective management of disruption, and improve the efficiency of the railway through more collaborative working and better decision-making. The new alliance is also expected to benefit rail freight operators who use the Wessex route.

The alliance, which officially went live on 29 April, is a first for the UK rail industry and has been approved by the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation. The alliance is planned to run until 4 February 2017, the expiry date of the South West Trains franchise agreement.

The creation of the alliance follows the publication of the McNulty Report last year, which recommended a package of measures to reduce inefficiencies in the UK rail system. It also delivers a key element of the Government’s Rail Command Paper, issued in March 2012, which called for closer co-operation between operations and infrastructure.

The alliance also builds on the existing joint working between South West Trains and Network Rail through the Wessex Integrated Control Centre at London Waterloo, which co-ordinates the operational response to incidents on the route, as well as recent moves by Network Rail to devolve operational responsibility to regional units.

Sir Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach Group, the parent company of South West Trains, said: “This new model is a real opportunity to deliver change that will benefit both passengers and taxpayers and support our objective of growing the railway. Safety will continue to be our top priority and will remain at the core of the way we run the railway. By working more closely with Network Rail than ever before, and with aligned incentives, we can deliver a more customer-focused and more efficient railway for the long-term."

David Higgins, chief executive, Network Rail, said: "This marks a new phase in the evolution of Network Rail as we continue to push decision making away from the centre, empowering our front-line managers to run the railway more effectively, and forging closer working relationships with our customers, the train operators. Network Rail will continue to focus on delivering our obligations to all parties, protecting the interests of all customers whilst maintaining the seamless operation of the whole network."

Under the alliance, the combined management team will consider the “whole railway” in making decisions, resulting in a range of improvements for passengers and employees:

More effective station management: a single management team for London Waterloo, the UK’s busiest railway station with more 90 million passengers a year
Better planning of track maintenance work: smarter train planning and improved access to provide more time for renewals, leading to a more reliable and punctual train service
Improved response to disruption: a single team dealing with operational incidents on the network through the Wessex Integrated Control Centre
Faster decision-making: quicker resolution of issues through joint responsibility for work at stations
Aligned objectives and incentives: employees from both organisations working towards common goals with consistent incentives to improve performance
Building skills: cross-functional development opportunities for employees, enhancing skills and providing wider job experience
Pooled resources: opportunities to share facilities, helping with winter preparations and providing a more efficient response to train service disruption
Operational efficiencies: joint training, communications and occupational health processes

The alliance senior management team will be headed by Tim Shoveller. Tim began his career working as a train guard at Guildford, and his 20-year railway career has included senior management positions at Virgin Trains and Eurostar. More recently, he headed up the East Midlands Trains franchise for four years, before moving onto become managing director of South West Trains in January 2012.

Tim Shoveller added: “The creation of this joint alliance provides a real opportunity to deliver an even better service for our passengers, and we have already had a very positive response to this new way of working. Our focus now will be on leading and supporting our 6,000 employees and managers who play a critical role in the delivery of our train services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Together we will develop a collaborative way of working through the alliance and deliver a great train service for our passengers.”

The senior management team has more than 200 years’ experience in the UK rail industry covering train service delivery, rail infrastructure management and train fleet manufacturing and includes:

Managing director – Tim Shoveller
Infrastructure director – Jim Morgan
Operations director – Mark Steward
Fleet director - Christian Roth
Safety & assurance director – Brian Cook
Human resources director – Kelly Barlow
Commercial director – Sam McCarthy
Customer service director – Jake Kelly
Finance director – Andy West

A governance board, with equal representation from both organisations, will oversee the operation of the alliance and take major business decisions. Arrangements are in place to ensure the interests of other passenger rail companies and freight operators are protected. Both companies retain their own identities and staff. There are no changes to terms and conditions of employment or collective bargaining agreements with recognised trade unions.

For media enquiries, please contact:
South West Trains on 01738 442111 or email media@stagecoachgroup.com
Network Rail on 020 3356 8700 or email mediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

Notes to editors

Biographies of the new alliance executive team (photographs are available on request):

Alliance managing director – Tim Shoveller. Tim Shoveller began his career working as a train guard at Guildford, and his 20-year railway career has included senior management positions at Virgin Trains and Eurostar. More recently, he headed up the East Midlands Trains franchise for four years, before moving onto become Managing Director of South West Trains in January 2012
Alliance infrastructure director – Jim Morgan. Jim has more than 40 years experience in the rail industry, both in the UK and overseas. His extensive railway career has included time spent working in a variety of engineering and operations roles both for train operators and for Network Rail. Jim has been involved in major projects such as the electrification of the West Coast Main line, the creation of Hull Trains as the UK’s first open access operator, and he has also been instrumental in rolling out new signalling technology within Network Rail
Alliance operations director – Mark Steward. Mark started his 29-year career in Shrewsbury as a train guard and has held senior positions with Merseyrail Electrics, First North Western, Silverlink and East Midlands Trains. In his new role as operations director, Mark will head up the integrated control centre, train planning and performance as well as maintaining overall responsibility for operational staff including signallers and train drivers. Mark joined South West Trains as operations director in early March
Alliance fleet director - Christian Roth. Christian has covered a variety of roles in his 18-year railway career, both in the UK and in Germany. His experience includes engineering management as well as project management and development. He joined South West Trains in December 2008, following five years heading up the UK rail business for Siemens
Alliance safety & assurance Director – Brian Cook. Brian started his 38-year railway career as a train driver and has since developed a vast knowledge of operational railway safety. He has worked with South West Trains since the start of the franchise and currently holds the position of safety & environment director
Alliance human resources director – Kelly Barlow. Kelly joined the railway as a management trainee in 1999 and has held senior HR roles within both East Midlands Trains and South West Trains, and has most recently worked in the Stagecoach business development team
Alliance commercial director – Sam McCarthy. Sam has worked for Network Rail for the last four years, and most recently has held the position of finance director for the Wessex Route. She has extensive experience of financial control, both in the UK and in Europe. In her new role as commercial director, Sam will head up various commercial and financial activities across Network Rail and South West Trains, including marketing strategy, service development, contracts and procurement and enhancement activity
Alliance customer service director – Jake Kelly. Jake started his career as an economist specialising in transport for a leading accountancy company, which included an 18-month period spent on secondment to Railtrack. He moved to Stagecoach in 2002, and worked as part of the major projects and business development teams. More recently, he held the position of customer service director at East Midlands Trains, before moving to South West Trains in 2010. As customer service director, he will be responsible for all passenger-facing staff, including guards, retail and station staff
Alliance finance director – Andy West. Andy has 37 years experience in the rail industry and has gained extensive experience of rail finances, having held senior financial positions, both pre and post privatisation. He has been finance director of South West Trains since 2000

Stagecoach Group

• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.

• Stagecoach is one of UK’s biggest bus and coach operators. Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach's 8,100 buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The company's business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge.

• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.

• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.

• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,700 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Budget coach service megabus.com links more than 70 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter and transit services, as well as tours, charters, sightseeing tours and a small number of school bus services.

Wessex route

• The Wessex route is geographically similar to the South Western Trains network, which is one of the busiest commuter rail operations in Europe. The route serves the long-distance routes of London Waterloo to Portsmouth, Southampton, Weymouth, Salisbury and Exeter. The North Downs line links Reading and Guildford to Redhill/Gatwick Airport. The South West London commuter routes are divided into Main Line Suburban for the lines branching out to the east of the main line and the Hampton Court branch and Windsor Suburban for services to the west of the main line.

Stagecoach South Western Trains

• Stagecoach South Western Trains operates around 1,700 trains a day on a network in the south and south-west of England, carrying more than 200 million passengers a year. It serves more than 200 stations and employs around 4,500 people. SSWT operates around 80% of the total train miles run on the Wessex route. Other passenger rail operators serving stations on the route are First Great Western, Southern and CrossCountry. Rail freight operators also use the Wessex route, mainly to carry intermodal freight to Southampton Docks

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