David Gibson, Managing Director at Hull Trains

Big Interview

Phil Ascough of Ascough Associates talks to David Gibson, Managing Director at Hull Trains, about the future of the industry.

The man who is getting Hull Trains ontrack back

Let’s start with some statistics. They can be used to enlighten or confuse but in David Gibson’s case they trigger curiosity, a desire to know more detail of a career which by any standards is remarkable for its rich variety.

David was in the RAF and a member of a leadership team on a large scale training deployment in Oman, which after 9/11 welcomed 35 US aircraft from all over the world to fly the first operational flights against the Taliban. He was awarded the MBE.

As a director at Hull City Council from 2003 his wide responsibilities embraced about 5,000 employees and a £100m budget. They also included housing and emergency planning, a combination which in 2007 made him the obvious choice for the role of flood recovery director, charged with leading the effort to dry out thousands of houses and deal with insurers.

As chief operating officer with Calmac Ferries, David looked after a £1.2bn public service contract with 33 ships and 55 ports and harbours and 1,000 seafarers covering 33,000 square miles.

He has the fondest memories: “It was amazing. You learned about lifeline ferry services and what it’s like to live on some of those islands. It was an absolute privilege to do that job.”

There is more, but limited space means we must fast forward to David’s current job as Managing Director at Hull Trains, which he took on in October 2021 having previously been COO for G4S with a Covid test centre business with 9,500 staff and a £350m turnover.

He said: “People ask why I came to something so small but that misses the point. As a train operator you have all the responsibilities of any other train operator, safety requirements, reliability, engineering challenges, generally looking after customers and providing high quality services.”

Hull Trains had emerged from a long tunnel of operational difficulties with a new fleet of units and staff who, despite the frustrations of customers, were generally still held in high regard. Then the pandemic struck.

As an open access operator which exists entirely on its ability to sell tickets, the business hit the buffers.

David said: “The new fleet was introduced during 2019-20 and it has never yet had a full year’s run at a timetable. The service had been hibernated three times, was not making any money and First Group continues to support the business as it recovers.”

But apart from the significant and industry-wide implications of industrial action the outlook at Hull Trains is optimistic.

Voted train operator of the year in 2016 and winner of an array of customer service awards, Hull Trains is now gaining recognition for outstanding team work, outstanding individual contribution and fleet achievement.

David said: “We are all about the customer and I am really pleased that, even though we have not yet fully recovered the industry, is taking note of what’s happening here.”

He began that recovery on taking over the team at the company’s new offices in Cherry Court, Ferensway, by embarking on a full review of the market and the fares and finding some interesting post-Covid trends.

“The leisure market is now much longer,” he said.

“Thursday night through to Monday, and the business market is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. People have been working from home, don’t need to travel as

‘We are breaking the mould of being seen as just Beverley and Hull to London and back’

ABOVE LEFT: David Gibson celebrating Hull Trains’ 21st anniversary

frequently and are now taking the opportunity – because they can – to work from where they are, already be away in London for the weekend and avoid all the traffic on a Sunday by coming back on the Monday.” There’s an awareness that growing numbers of customers are using Hull Trains to London from Grantham, where competitor services don’t call, and from Doncaster. When fans of football and rugby league vacated Huddersfield for a weekend of big games in London, many travelled on Hull Trains. David said: “We are breaking the mould of being seen as just Beverley and Hull to London and back so we have done a number of connection deals with other operators. “Coming north, we are lifting the profile of the business. We have had sponsorship arrangements this season with Hull FC, Hull Kingston Rovers and

Beverley racecourse and with London Broncos who are on TV once a week. “If there are problems on the east coast main line we can take you to Doncaster and arrange for you to swap to Sheffield and go to St Pancras. We don’t focus on our route, we focus on our customers.”

An internal comms initiative, Project Paragon has “united us around a common vision for the business to recover, stabilise and grow.”

A partnership with the University of Hull is delivering significant reductions in carbon emissions for the trains and the building. A plan to replace engines with batteries will enable Hull Trains to operate electric services between East Yorkshire and Doncaster while other operators wait for electrification to finally arrive.

Major improvements are planned at Paragon Station and Howden Station, and the company has achieved an excellent rating from the Office of Road and Rail for the involvement of the workforce in its safety management.

On the corporate front, David adds: “We have an outstanding commercial team and a business travel service working with current and potential business customers to find out what their needs are and explain to them how we are changing the shape of our services and find out what we need to do to help them.”

And he remains confident the business will address the most important number of all.

“There are an awful lot of reasons to be cheerful with a bright future, outward looking, we are carrying the name of Hull on our trains proudly. The revenue pressures don’t go away, we still have to be profitable and with a following wind we will achieve that this year.”