NXEA Announce Customer Service Investment

In what will be seen by some as a tacit acknowledgement that trains are in a pretty poor state, that customer service often falls short of expectations and to perhaps soften the blow of the significant fare increases that are imminent, NXEA has announced a range of measures to improve things as follows:

• 20 additional cleaning staff to improve presentation and cleaning on board trains and between journeys 
• A new cleaning team improving exterior presentation of trains, complementing NXEA’s additional investment of £2m in new carriage washers at Ilford and Orient Way train maintenance depots 
• An enhanced station cleaning programme for NXEA’s London stations and other key stations 
• Improvements in communication and engagement with customers led by the recruitment of a new Customer Information Manager and welcome hosts at key stations including, London Liverpool Street, Cambridge, Colchester, Ely, Ipswich, Norwich and Witham 
• Provision of free weekend travel for partners of NXEA annual season-ticket holders 
• Production of a new Commuter News publication for season-ticket holders and enhanced at-seat breakfast service for First Class customers on the 07.10 and 07.40 Intercity services from Norwich 
• Senior Citizens 2-for-1 travel offer on Wednesdays in the New Year

The MRUA will continue to press for the reinstatement of the texting service that is seen by many as key to improving customer communications. 

Network Rail Criticised By NXEA

Andrew Chivers, Managing Director of National Express East Anglia, has written to local MPs criticising the performance of Network Rail, saying that its progress in reducing delays caused by infrastructure problems in the last seven years had been "minor" when compared to NXEA's record in tackling delays caused by train faults. Passengers have suffered from long delays recently as a consequence of overrunning maintenance work.

As well as over-running engineering work last week, Mr Chivers said it had also emerged that “some of the additional infrastructure problems on Tuesday and Wednesday resulted from sub-standard installation of equipment during the same weekend engineering work programme”. “Network Rail have already carried out an initial investigation, which suggests that the key causes of the problems related to poor project management, inadequate programme preparation and unsatisfactory real time delivery of the works by the contractors...,” Mr Chivers said. “They are taking steps to ensure that better planning and monitoring of such schemes is in place for future projects.

“We have acted quickly to raise our concerns with the Network Rail Route Director, Andrew Munden. In addition, our group chief executive Dean Finch has also met personally with the Network Rail Chairman, Rick Haythornthwaite, to emphasise just how damaging such disruption is for our passengers and to highlight our wider discontent that the rate of performance improvement and overall punctuality standards being achieved by Network Rail on the Great Eastern Mainline are not acceptable. Their progress in reducing infrastructure-related delays over the last seven years has been minor in comparison to the major reduction we have achieved in delays caused by train faults.”

He added that National Express East Anglia had also appointed a manager to work at the joint control centre in London, and would co-locate teams at Network Rail depots to increase the urgency in Network Rail’s decision-making and create a “greater focus on passengers’ needs”.

Whilst the Manningtree Rail Users Association welcomes this public criticism by NXEA of the services provided by Network Rail there is concern too that NXEA's handling of these problems can be handled so much better.  Improved communications, including the reintroduction of a text alerting service and better use of the NXEA website, are essential.

Coach Hits Bridge At Manningtree

A coach being used on a rail replacement service was involved in a serious accident whilst attempting to use the A137 underpass next to Manningtree station yesterday evening.  10 people were taken to hospital suffering mainly from injuries sustained by flying glass.  One of the injured had to be cut free by emergency services.

It appears that the coach was too tall for the low bridge.

Call For Rail Safety Review

Following on from predictions of more overcrowding on trains as more and more people are expected use the railways, the Chair of the Transport Select Committee has called for a review of passenger safety.  Louise Ellman is calling for Health & Safety legislation to be looked at again.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board, which is owned by the train operating companies, has denied safety is being compromised whilst admitting that overcrowding caused discomfort.

Apart from the obvious potential for disaster in the event of an accident, passengers are often to be  found passing out in cramped conditions on a daily basis.

Unlike planes and buses there are no legal restrictions on how packed a train can be.  However, the Office of Rail Regulation, which is in charge of keeping the railways safe, said overcrowding did not affect safety and pointed out that rail was the safest form of land transport.

Overcrowding To Get Worse

A report by MPs has stated that overcrowding on trains will get worse and that targets set by the Department for Transport for increasing passenger places will be missed. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was concerned that the "already unacceptable levels of overcrowding will simply get worse and even more intolerable".

The PAC went on to state that ""At present there is no incentive for the rail industry to supply extra capacity without additional public subsidy.

"The DfT should, for future franchises, require operators to take measures themselves to avoid overcrowding and to meet the costs of doing so."

The report recommends that new carriages be fitted with automatic passenger counting equipment and that smart card technology be adopted to monitor passenger numbers to target overcrowding.

At present franchisees, such as National Express East Anglia (NXEA), are not incentivised to make the investment necessary to ensure that services keep up with growth in demand. This is one of the reasons the government is reviewing the franchising system with a view to providing longer franchises to encourage the necessary investment.

NXEA is increasing the number of seats available to Manningtree commuters in the new December timetable but the growth in passenger numbers nationally - 40% in ten years - may see this as a temporary solution if that sort of increase in replicated here.

Poor Communication Over Delays

The MRUA has asked National Express East Anglia for an explanation as to why this morning's delays caused by overrunning engineering work were not better communicated to passengers.  It is thought that it was known late yesterday afternoon that services would be adversely affected this morning by the overrunning work by Network Rail to overhead lines near Ilford.  However no action appears to have been taken by NXEA to advise passengers until this morning.

The MRUA will be asking NXEA to reinstate its texting service to passengers.  This was replaced by an emailing service earlier this year but this morning's events clearly show that emails sent at 3:30am are less likely to be read in time than a text message.

Disappointing Attendance In Parliamentary Debate On NXEA

Witham MP, Priti Patel, secured a debate in parliament entitled "The Performance of National Express East Anglia" which took place yesterday.  In the debate Ms Patel took the opportunity to raise her constituents' concerns at the service provided by NXEA with the Rail Minister Theresa Villiers.  Sadly only one other MP was present - the MP for Brigg and Goole (Yorkshire, before you ask).

It is disappointing to note that no other Essex MPs were present and that an opportunity for a consolidated approach was not taken.  The MRUA has this morning written to Bernard Jenkin MP to highlight the disappointment already being voiced by Manningtree and Harwich commuters.