We’ll put frills back into train service – boss Customer experience ‘key’ as regional operator looks to retain its franchise
THE boss of the Midland rail franchise says he hopes to turn a “no-frills” service into a more passenger-friendly operation as the firm bids to retain the contract next year.
London Midland managing director Patrick Verwer defended the company’s drive to improve its service and reputation over the past four years – but admitted the firm had been very “internally focused” in the past.
But he claimed the operator was now putting travellers at the heart of its decision-making.
It is just over a year until the Department for Transport awards the tender for the West Midlands franchise – run by London Midland since 2007 – which includes services from Worcestershire to Staffordshire via central Birmingham, regarded as one of the city’s busiest commuter routes.
The most recent figures for June showed 67 per cent of London Midland trains were on time, while 95 per cent arrived within ten minutes of that timetabled.
The company runs more than 420,000 trains a year and achieved 86 per cent customer satisfaction, according to the National Rail Passenger Survey by Transport Focus.
Speaking exclusively to the Birmingham Post, Mr Verwer said: “Four years ago, there were quite big issues within London Midland when we had lots of cancellations.
“We then took control of all of that and implemented what we call the ‘Strong Foundations’ programme.
“We said we had to forget all the frills and the only thing that mattered was to focus on performance and getting your basics right – and that’s what we did.
“So, we started improving performance, service delivery, getting our driver and conductor numbers right and making sure we had a reliable service.
“That takes a lot of work and effort and it’s quite complex. I don’t want to use that as an excuse but, the reality is, train operating companies are very complex and you can’t change it overnight.
“Over the years, we’ve managed to improve and improve.”
He added: “It’s fair to say that, as an industry, we’ve been, for far too long, very internally focused. So, people in train operating companies used to focus on getting the timetable right and performance, performance, performance.
“And the whole customer experience – what they really want – was dismissed somewhat.”
The firm currently runs services from London to Crewe and Liverpool via the West Midlands, and is in a head-to-head battle with Dutch transport group Abellio to win the next tender which launches in October 2017. It was a threestrong shortlist until Hong Kongbased MTR Corporation mysteriously pulled out in June.
Whichever company wins the franchise, it will have to look forward to a slightly different working relationship with the Government as the new West Midlands Combined Authority will take over elements of the operation from the Department for Transport.
Mr Verwer said London Midland had a “shopping list” of goals, one of the most important of which was improving the way information was relayed to passengers during delays.
Train staff will be given computers to keep them date about problems and they will be resolved.
He said the company had also introduced more early morning weekend services in reaction to Grand Central opening last September, increased services to the capital and decreased the time between ordering a ticket online and being able to pick them up in person.
“We’ve got our processes in place now so we need to start focusing on what we can do to make it more convenient and easier for passengers to use our service,” he added.
“We talk to customers a lot so all the extra services we’ve put on on a Sunday morning are as a result of feedback from passengers and their requests.
“Obviously, there’s a limit to what we can do in such a short space of time but we’ve tried to maximise this feedback.”
The whole customer experience – what they really want – was dismissed somewhat
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London Midlland managing director Patrick Verwer, above