Article: Modern rail must be about the people on the trains

[ozbob]

From the Daily Telegraph click here!

Modern rail must be about the people on the trains

Modern rail must be about the people on the trains

    Howard Collins
    The Daily Telegraph
    February 21, 2013 12:00AM

SYDNEY'S rail service is, in many respects, decades behind services in other global cities and, as a result, people are reluctant to leave their cars at home.

I'm looking forward to arriving in Sydney and I'm ready to hit the ground running.

I've been overwhelmed by the support, encouragement and advice I've received since being appointed CEO of Sydney Trains. Sydney Trains will be established as the city's new rail operator on July 1 and I'm well aware it needs to do things better than RailCorp did.

It can't - and won't - be a wolf in sheep's clothing. But the transformation will take time. Cultural change doesn't happen overnight.

One of the things that struck me through the interview process for the CEO role and in my discussions with Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian is how strong the mood for change is in Sydney. Change can't happen soon enough.The fact is when you have a leaner organisation focused wholly on delivering services it's so much easier to get things done. We faced this in London when we did everything from making meat pies to a carpenter's shop building staircases.

The job is about getting people from A to B safely and on time. From what I understand red tape has sometimes crippled RailCorp.

We'll need to focus on getting the simple things right: improving the service for the customer, investing in infrastructure and making operational improvements.

Everything I've seen and heard from the government convinces me that we're on the same page.

I also think Sydneysiders have not had the opportunity to appreciate what a difference the Opal card will make.

There's no substitute for sustained infrastructure investment but you can also do simpler, important things that make a difference.

For example, when you reduce the amount of time trains stop at stations you can run more trains. I understand there was a trial at Town Hall to address that and I'm keen to explore that further.

We put Wi-Fi on to the Tube. It's made a huge difference in getting real-time information to people and let them catch up with emails.

I want our rail staff to be proud of working for Sydney Trains. I want them to take pride in lending a hand to customers. Railways traditionally don't do customer service well so that has to be a focus. Rail people often talk about moving trains around the network. But we don't just move trains, we move people, our customers.

So when there's a delay we should strive to let the customer know immediately.

We also need to remember our core job as rail operators is to get people to work, studies or other activities and then get them home safely. People want trains that are clean, reliable and fast.

In London, I use the system every day to commute to work and to get around and I will do the same in Sydney. There is no better way to understand these challenges than by being a customer yourself.

Howard Collins is the incoming CEO of Sydney Trains

I think we have heard this before ...   

[somebody]

I think we have heard this before ...   

I agree, and I don't think anything is going to be different this time.  The values of society are against it, in spite of the mood for change.  You never know, I could be pleasantly surprised.

[Stillwater]

What's the betting that the staff will get a new 'smart' uniform to reflect the 'new' Sydney trains?