United Kingdom - Trains

- 2,000 employees
- 1,000 route miles
- 126 train sets
- 244 stations managed
- 950 services every weekday
- Contract duration: 2003 - 2018

On a network covering more than 1,000 miles of track, Arriva Trains Wales provides inter-urban, rural and commuter passenger rail services throughout Wales and the English border counties. It operates all stations in Wales, and those predominantly served by it in the border counties, including Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford.

Arriva Trains Wales works closely with the Welsh Assembly Government, the contract provider, in delivering the rail elements of their National Transport Plan. The business has invested more than £30 million in train maintenance, fleet reliability improvements and refurbishment, station upgrades, improved ticketing and customer information facilities, and customer and employee security.

Successes

• Arriva was awarded a Golden Whistle award for the best overall right time (arriving on time or early) train operator for punctuality in the UK.
• The industry’s National Passenger Survey recently confirmed that Arriva Trains Wales’ customer satisfaction had risen to 87 per cent, six per cent above the contract benchmark.
• Arriva started operating on the Ebbw Valley Line in 2008, providing passenger services on the line for the first time in 40 years, with 100 services a week to Cardiff. Arriva also began operating on the Vale of Glamorgan Line in 2005.
• In 2008 Arriva launched a twice daily direct service from Holyhead to Cardiff and return including first class accommodation and a restaurant car.
• Arriva is delivering a £7.5 million train refurbishment programme on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government which will provide improved on-board facilities.

Want to know more?

• Visit the Arriva Trains Wales website

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- Became part of Arriva in 2011
- 790 employees
- 215 route miles
- 67 train sets
- 36 stations managed
- 353 services every weekday
- Contract duration: 2002 - 2021

Chiltern Railways provides scheduled passenger services along the M40 corridor between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street, and London Marylebone to Aylesbury via Amersham.

It is the only UK mainline train company to hold a 20-year contract. Passenger miles have increased threefold since 1996.

Successes

• Chiltern Railway’s £250 million Evergreen route upgrade project will deliver improved journey times from the Midlands to London. It will also add a new line to Oxford, the first new rail link from London to a major British city since 1910. Faster trains, reduced journey times, and new park and ride hubs are among the benefits that the major investment programme will deliver to hundreds of thousands of passengers.
• Punctual trains and comfortable seats helped Chiltern Railways win Best Train Company at the 2010 Guardian Travel Awards. The awards highlight the very best experiences across the travel industry by newspaper readers.
• In 2010 Chiltern Railways celebrated the tenth anniversary of Warwick Parkway: the first station to be built and owned by a UK train operator. Since opening, the award-winning station has received much praise, with passenger numbers rising to over half a million a year.

Want to know more?

• Visit the Chiltern Railways website

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- 1,620 employees
- 1,478 route miles
- 91 train sets
- 295 services every weekday
- Contract duration: 2007 - 2016

The CrossCountry network is the most extensive rail contract in the UK. Stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance, and from Stansted to Cardiff, it calls at over 100 stations.

Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of the UK’s 10 largest cities and delivers 295 services every weekday, equating to some 31 million passenger journeys a year.

Successes

• For the second year running, CrossCountry won a Golden Spanner award in 2010 for operating one of the most reliable train fleets in Britain. Its Voyager 220 trains outperformed all other intercity fleets. CrossCountry was also presented with a Golden Whistle for being the most improved train operator for reducing its delay minutes.
• CrossCountry has pioneered print-at-home rail e-tickets in the UK, bringing easier booking and purchasing to customers’ homes. Now, 20 per cent of all tickets bought online are e-tickets.
• Following successful trials, CrossCountry is rolling out a new seat reservation facility on all main routes to help customers who don’t know in advance exactly which train they want to catch. Passengers can now reserve their seat via mobile phone up to 10 minutes before the train leaves the station.
• CrossCountry is looking to further develop its free iPhone timetable app which has been downloaded more than 200,000 times.

Want to know more?

• Visit the CrossCountry website

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- Became part of Arriva in 2011
- 1,140 employees
- 70 route miles
- 61 train sets
- 55 stations managed
- 838 services every weekday
- Contract duration: 2007 – 2014 (two-year extension option on contract)

LOROL operates the London Overground network, including trains, services and stations, under contract to Transport for London (TFL). The joint venture with partners MTR Corporation was launched in November 2007.

The network covers Stratford to Richmond, Watford Junction to Euston, Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction, Barking to Gospel Oak, and the East London Line between Highbury and south London. It links 20 of London’s 33 boroughs.

Since the start of LOROL’s contract in November 2007, passengers have benefited from new trains, staffing of all stations, and the upgrading of stations inherited at the start of the contract.

Successes

• LOROL worked with TfL to open the East London Line ahead of schedule involving recruiting 250 new employees, the opening of a dedicated control centre and the deployment of a new fleet of class 378/1 electric trains. Since opening, an average of 95.8 per cent of East London Line trains have met the public performance measure, making it one of the best performing railways in the country. On opening the new line, the number of services operated each day by LOROL doubled.
• A new fleet of class 172 diesel trains were procured by LOROL and commissioned in autumn 2010. The new units settled into reliable service delivering industry-leading levels of performance.
• Customer satisfaction since the start of the concession has increased from 69 per cent to 85 per cent.
• LOROL won a Golden Whistle award for most improved operational performance as measured by right time arrivals (arriving on time or early).
• Passenger journeys on the existing network, excluding the new East London Line, have grown by 40 per cent over 18 months, with lengthened trains introduced on LOROL’s key north London routes.

Want to know more?

• Visit the London Overground website

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- Became part of Arriva in 2011
- 510 employees
- 48 route miles
- 45 train sets
- 59 stations managed
- 1,907 services every weekday
- Contract duration: 2010 – 2017 (two-year extension option on contract)

The Tyne and Wear Metro is a light rail network of 60 stations used by 40 million passengers a year, serving Newcastle, Sunderland and the surrounding area in the north east of England. It was the UK’s first modern light rail service. The seven-year contract, operated on behalf of Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, covers delivery of the train service, fleet maintenance and modernisation of all trains, plus day-to-day station management.

Successes

• A 100 Day Clean Up campaign aimed at immediately raising station and train standards to the new Service Quality Regime won the Customer Service category at the 2010 Light Rail Awards. A software system to report and escalate faults was runner-up in the Innovation category.
• The My Metro staff engagement programme was central in helping motivate staff throughout a period of change. Managed in house, and delivered to more than 95 per cent of staff, the scheme helped to reassure employees, share the company’s objectives and embed an understanding of its vision and values.
• A recent survey revealed improved customer satisfaction with eight out of 10 people saying they were satisfied with the Metro service. It also showed significant progress in ease of understanding signage, and clarity of announcements, with continued improvements in information, security and comfort, station lighting, and cleanliness.

Want to know more?

• Visit the Nexus Tyne and Wear Metro website

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- Became part of Arriva in 2008
- 210 employees

Based in Crewe and founded in 1996, LNWR is a leading maintenance depot and servicing facility for electric and diesel trains. It is one of the largest train depots and stabling facilities on the West Coast Main Line and services one of the most diverse fleets of trains in the UK.

The business has grown following substantial investment in developing heavy maintenance work, and has recruited a versatile and skilled team of train maintenance professionals and is training apprentices.

LNWR now also operates from depots in Gateshead, Bristol, Cambridge and Eastleigh. The principal business of these depots is to service CrossCountry trains on behalf of Bombardier, however LNWR is looking to expand current operations to cover heavy maintenance and refurbishment work.

LNWR is currently working on a major 18-month contract for the overhaul and heavy refurbishment of Arriva Trains Wales fleets.

Want to know more?

• Visit the LNWR website

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Arriva, through Alliance Rail Holdings, is exploring opportunities for open access passenger rail services: those operated on a purely commercial basis, with no contract or concession agreements.

An open access operator must offer a service that provides national and network benefits, that is generally not otherwise available and does not simply duplicate routes already served by the network.

Operators apply to the Office of Rail Regulation for access rights and to Network Rail for train paths in the timetable.

Alliance Rail Holdings is finalising its development plans for the operation of new rail services on a number of routes from 2014.

Want to know more?

• Visit the Alliance Rail Holdings website

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