Reviewing the success of Southern
December 2007

When Southern took over its current franchise from Connex in 2001, it inherited a franchise that was underperforming in every area. Over the last six years, Southern has made the transition into a modern, extremely efficient and highly regarded railway.
This is most accurately reflected in the overall satisfaction scores achieved in the last two Passenger Focus National Passenger Surveys. Southern achieved a score of 82.5% against
a regional average of 78.5% and a national average of 80%. In addition, there is a trend which shows that customer complaints have reduced significantly. This year alone, complaints reduced by 32%, while customer praise has increased by 52%.
Punctuality figures of over 90% of trains arriving at their destinations on time have consistently been achieved and the Moving Annual Average figure currently stands at 89.2%. The reliability of the Southern fleet is also approaching record levels.
Southern has seen passenger growth of 9%
in the last year, compared with the industry average of around 3% – yet it has managed to reduce its Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) figures this year from 3.1% in 2006 to 2.8% in 2007, a remarkable achievement, especially when this has been done using only existing resources. It is expected that this kind of growth will continue, as since 2003, passenger numbers have increased on Southern services by 21%.
How has this been done? Put simply, Southern has invested not only money, but time and effort in instilling one thought into the minds of those who work
for the Company – ‘Think like a Passenger’. This vision is at the heart of everything at Southern. All employees are encouraged to put themselves in the customers’ shoes and to think about how their thoughts and actions affect the service its customers receive.
This ethos exists right from the very top, starting with Southern’s managing director, Chris Burchell and continues right through the organisation. Every manager, every member of station staff, drivers, conductors, cleaners and engineers all work together with just one aim in mind – to ensure that passengers get the best possible levels of service.
In practical terms, Southern has invested heavily in new rolling stock, station improvements and depot modernisation. Over £900m has been invested in the introduction of brand new Electrostar and Turbostar trains, while a £115m modernisation programme has just been completed at train maintenance depots across the Southern network.
Southern’s mid-life fleet has also undergone a £20m upgrade and refurb programme, leaving the entire Southern fleet well placed to deal with the demands of today’s rail users. This is vitally important as last year, Southern carried 134.8 million people on journeys covering 3,161 million kilometers. Heavy investment in security measures at Southern stations and on-board Southern trains has resulted in a consistent reduction in crime on the network since 2003. 101 Southern stations have been accredited with Secure Stations awards, a scheme run by the Department for Transport in partnership with the British Transport Police. This figure equates to 63% of all Southern stations and is more than any other train operating company.
Environmentally, Southern understands that it needs to invest in the future of the planet. It has its own Environmental Management Group which looks at ways in which Southern can roll-out energy saving projects at stations and depots, and how every Southern employee can contribute to saving energy and be more responsible. It’s not only Southern’s passengers who are recognising its achievements. Southern has also won many prestigious awards recently for its stations, environmental work, engineering innovation, teamwork and coaching programme. And what of the future for Southern? Although the franchise is up for renewal in September 2009, there is plenty of change coming its way between now and then.
In June 2008, the dedicated airport service Gatwick Express comes under the stewardship of Southern. In December, changes to the Brighton Mainline timetable (as a result of the Brighton Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy) come into effect, with the provision of 11% more seats available on the line, together with the extension of Gatwick Express services running from Brighton. Also in December of that year, the first stage of the Thameslink programme goes live, with many changes to routes and rolling stock around the network taking place. Southern feels that it is in a  good position to win the next franchise.
With all the changes set to take place in the next 18 months or so, a great opportunity presents itself for Southern to show how well it can adapt to major change in a short period of time, and with ‘Think like a Passenger’ remaining at the heart of Southern’s doctrine, passengers can expect great things to come.
SOUTHEASTERN
Southeastern stands on the brink of bringing to fruition perhaps the most significant advance in Britain's railways for the past fifty years – the introduction of the nation's first truly high-speed trains.
Already the first of 29 Class 395 six-car units is undergoing acceptance trials on Kent mainlines, and when the whole fleet enters service in December 2009 it will provide a beacon for similar projects as yet still only being thought of.
Utilising the same High Speed 1 route taken from St. Pancras to the Channel Tunnel by Eurostar, the Hitachi-built trains will speed commuters to and from the capital at up to 140mph. Dubbed Javelins, they will take pride of place in getting hundreds of thousands of spectators to London's 2012 Olympic Games, whisking them from the city centre to the Stratford arena in a mere seven minutes.
But aside from the glamour, Southeastern is also making determined efforts to inject fresh pride and momentum into its day-to-day business of getting the region's commuters and leisure travellers where they want to be, comfortably and on time.
Goals have been set throughout its franchise to ensure that these aspirations are met, with the latest all day Passenger Performance Measure (PPM) set at 89.20% by March 31, 2008, and 93.74% by the end of the franchise in March 2014.
Every day, Southeastern runs 1,700 train services – 1,400 in and out of London – and in the morning peak carries 140,000 people into the capital in three hours. Work is constantly going on behind the scenes to improve the reliability of its 400 trains and enhancements made to provide passengers with clean and secure surroundings, both in transit and when using stations.
Where possible longer trains are being provided to ease crowding; timetables recast to provide additional train services; zonal fares introduced in the Metro area and all 182 stations on the 480 mile (773km) network signed and painted in a new livery to make them brighter and more user-friendly.
More importantly, staff are encouraged to put themselves in passengers' shoes in order to empathise more closely with what users expect and to make the experience welcoming and satisfying. NVQs are being used as a bench-mark for greater customer awareness, with at least 35% of staff so qualified by the end of 2009 and Southeastern achieving Investors In People(IIP) accreditation.
The company continues to rate safety and security as top priorities, and the innovation
of its predecessor in introducing police-accredited Railway Enforcement Officers to help patrol trains and stations has been further developed and refined.
Hotlines have been established to help ensure speedy removal of graffiti, and Secure Station and Park Mark Safer Parking Awards are now being achieved as standards are constantly raised. Modern four-camera colour closed circuit television surveillance systems with downloading facilities are being mounted in many trains, greatly enhancing the security of passengers during their journeys.
Southeastern's slogan is: "A growing railway for a growing region" and it expects to play a key role in contributing to £10 billion of mixed use development along the High Speed 1 route; 30,000 new homes and 50,000 new jobs in Thames Gateway, and 29,000 new homes and 30,000 new jobs in Ashford. Exciting and challenging times! 
LONDON MIDLAND
On November 11th 2007 Govia commenced its stewardship of the new London Midland franchise. The new franchise runs until September 2015 and brings together the former Silverlink County and most of Central Trains, in particular the West Midland regional services including the Snow Hill Lines and the Birmingham to Liverpool route. It also includes the Bedford to Bletchley and Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey branch lines.
London Midland operates two sub-brands: London Midland City, the network for the
West Midlands cities and region which will give full prominence to Centro’s Network
West Midlands brand; and London Midland Express Lines, for the longer distance routes.
Priorities for the franchise include: New trains, fresher-looking stations, improved punctuality and reliability, safer trains and stations, more ways to buy tickets and better information for passengers.
Over the course of the franchise, London Midland will invest almost £300 million. Highlights from this investment will be:
n New and refurbished trains
n Better information for passengers on trains and at stations
n New CCTV and increased security
n More parking spaces and cycle storage
n Improved accessibility at stations
n Improved customer service
n Introduction of smartcard technology
n New ticket gatelines at five Birmingham stations
n London Midland Task Force to combat crime on the network
n Secure Stations accreditation at
73 stations
n Development of a passenger information security centre

As well as introducing a new passengers’ charter which will make it easy for passengers to claim refunds when they are delayed, London Midland will set up a Stakeholder Advisory Board. This board will be made up of passengers and staff who will be instrumental in helping the company to make both strategic and tactical decisions for the benefit of passengers.
NVQ training in customer service will be given to all frontline staff within the first two years of the start of the franchise. Finally, London Midland will carry out an environmental benchmark audit within the first six months and set annual improvement targets to include carbon emissions and energy use, recycling and litter management and noise and light pollution. Reduced parking fees for drivers with low-emission cars and free parking for drivers with electric vehicles will be on offer for a three year trial period.