Chiltern Railways : Right on time
Published : October 2008
In an industry almost unshakably associated with poor service in its relatively short, privately- owned history, Chiltern Railways provides a rare success story. Mark Young looks at some of the initiatives that have led to Chiltern posting the best punctuality levels in the country.
With a turnover of around £100 million and 750 staff, Chiltern Railways runs passenger service trains between London and Birmingham, Kidderminster, Stratford-upon-Avon and Aylesbury. The average punctuality for passenger services in Britain is around 90 per cent; Chiltern Railways boasts 95 per cent – the best in the country.
Since the company’s formation 15 years ago in the midst of the privatisation process, Chiltern has increased its passenger numbers by around 200 per cent, which includes around nine per cent from the last year alone. Competing with Virgin Trains on the London to Birmingham line, Chiltern has now taken 30 per cent of that particular market away from its rival. So what have been the factors that have driven this success?
“Safety, reliability and good customer service – that’s what people want out of passenger train services, so that’s what we provide. Simple,” said Chiltern Railways’ managing director, Adrian Shooter.
But how exactly has Chiltern accomplished the goals that Shooter advocates as paramount to the running of a good passenger service?
One reason Shooter puts forth for Chiltern’s timekeeping achievements is that across 338 train services per day, “we don’t rest until we understand why every last minute of delay has occurred”. Whether due to a signal failure, staffing issues, technology faults or anything else, by monitoring and recording the reason behind each service interruption, the company is able to identify the most common and important causes. It then puts management focus onto resolving the issue, in order to alleviate the threat of future disruptions.
Another big reason for the company’s success, according to Shooter, is its approach to personnel. When staff learn how to drive the trains, they are put through their paces with a simulator machine at the company’s headquarters in Buckinghamshire. The system is the preceding step to putting trainees into actual train cabs and has been, according to Shooter, an effective in-house training investment. It conjures up situations, including unexpected events and emergencies, to prepare drivers for what they might face in the job.
Chiltern’s development of employees is certainly impressive. The company culture is to concentrate on employing “the right type of people”, based on attitudes rather than existing qualifications. “Commitment, interpersonal skills, willingness to learn – those are the sort of things we look for in potential employees,” said Shooter. “If they have those qualities, we are prepared to give them the skills they need to succeed in this job. Most of our staff are trained in-house, though obviously for certain skilled roles like mechanical engineers for example, we do look for people who have the necessary capabilities to do the job.”
Chiltern has recently spent close to £6 million on a new fleet of trains boasting the latest efficiency technology. And innovation doesn’t stop there. Having seen the number of tickets bought from automated machines in stations surge to 40 per cent of the total from five, following a simplifying redesign, Shooter is convinced that utilising new technologies to offer an increased number of platforms for accessing the service is one of the key steps towards overall customer satisfaction. “It’s about making Chiltern Railways a viable option for the broadest range of people,” said Shooter. “That means offering things like ticketing systems through emerging fields of technology that make it quicker and easier to book and use the service, as well as providing conventional means like ticket offices and phone lines.” The next development Shooter and his team are looking to implement is Near Field Communication (NFC). The firm already has a system in place whereby tickets can be sent in barcode form to mobile phones and then scanned by ticket inspectors; but NFC, a system similar to Bluetooth, effectively allows a mobile to act as a smartcard. Oyster is due to roll out the technology on its Transport for London network in the coming months, after a successful trial earlier this year. “We need to work out which systems are currently most convenient for our customers and get them implemented,” added Shooter. “We also need to anticipate which technologies will take off in the future.”
Making the service accessible has also involved some finer logistical points that, though small, have managed to higher the firm’s stock in the eyes of its customers, said Shooter. One such initiative was to extend the tables in carriages to allow two people sitting opposite each other to comfortably work on laptops. Another was to build multi-storey car parks at numerous stations. “We want to take people off the roads and onto the rails, so we have to make it a viable option. We asked what people need; they told us and we gave it to them. They’re happy, so they use the service, so we’re happy.” Such initiatives resulted from an ideal that Shooter considers critical – good communication. “We promote direct communication throughout our ranks and with our customers. It’s essential. Internally, we talk to each other and work through problems as a team. And we celebrate our successes as a team too.” That communication starts early; Shooter said he has personally greeted each and every new employee – now at a total of over 600 – into the firm since the beginning of his 15-year tenure.
Overall, it’s the positive outlook instilled throughout the company – via effective communication and the drive from staff to be part of a prosperous enterprise – to which Shooter mainly accredits Chiltern’s success.
“Everybody puts more effort in when they are happy in the environment they are working in,” Shooter explained. “They feel they are making a positive contribution into a successful operation and they feel they are valued. Success breeds success. “We want to be recognised as the best passenger carrier in the UK and the way we are going to do that is by providing a safe, reliable, welcoming and value for money service, all day, every day. Simple!” he concluded. END