Life after franchising

Leading the Arriva Group into life after franchising

UK Trains Managing Director David Brown on the need for a more passenger-centric railway

David Brown is under no illusions as to the challenges facing the owners of Chiltern, CrossCountry and Grand Central.

He picks up the baton as Arriva Group’s UK Trains Managing Director in the COVID pandemic era, when passenger numbers have been decimated, and just as the government announced the end of rail franchising.

But David isn’t one to get daunted by the task ahead – instead, ready and raring by the prospect to shape the future of rail in this country.

“I’m really excited about leading Arriva’s UK Train business at such a critical time for our industry, and I fully recognise the significant challenges we face as a result of COVID-19 and the impact it has had on the public transport sector as a whole,” he said.

Rising to challenges “Throughout 2020, everyone in rail has done an amazing job rising to the challenges the pandemic has thrown at us. Frontline staff in particular, deserve praise for how they’ve adapted to the situation and kept vital services running. It’s been a hard year – but we must remain resilient and adaptable as there will be many challenges ahead.

“Public transport will play a vital role in the country’s economic recovery and Arriva will be at the heart of this as we help get the country moving again, while also looking to the future of our railways and working closely with government to deliver reform.”

It is that reform which will be at the forefront of David’s mind as MD. Train operating companies are currently a few months into Emergency Recovery Management Agreements (ERMA), put in place by the Department for Transport to ensure continuity of operations while passenger numbers remain impacted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is a move which also marks the beginning of the end of rail franchising after 24 years in a bid to bring Britain’s fragmented network back together.

“I think it’s been generally accepted that the franchising system needed to come to an end, but now we must quickly look to the future,” said David.

“The ERMAs are an important stepping-stone as we transition away from franchising towards a fully reformed operating model, but my concern is the sector’s ability to respond fast enough to the change in passenger behaviour, with less commuting and more home-working.

“COVID has accelerated a trend we were already seeing, so the railways must now accelerate a response. I want to see a more passenger-centric railway and I don’t believe there is a ‘one-size-fits-all solution’. Government must use the individual expertise of the TOCs to drive the right solutions for the different parts of the market.

“The right solution for TfL’s London commuters will be different to users of long-distance rail services like those provided by CrossCountry.

Diverse expertise “We only need to look at aviation and how it has evolved its service, its use of technology and its fares and ticketing structures, to recognise the different needs of passengers on domestic versus short-haul or long-haul services. As owners of Chiltern, CrossCountry and Grand Central, Arriva

EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE, EXPERIENCE RADIUS

PLEASE CALL +44 (0)1604 622 865

info@radiusgroup.co.uk www.radiusgroup.co.uk

has diverse expertise and versatility across all the different operating models from concessions with TfL, to long-distance with CrossCountry or open access with Grand Central, and we will play a vital role in shaping the future of our railways.”

But David is more than up for the challenge and brings to the table a wealth of experience, having worked across all modes of transport in both the public and private sectors.

Among his previous prominent leadership roles are Chief Executive at Transport for the North, Chief Executive at Merseytravel, MD at Northern Rail and more recently as Arriva’s Group Communications Director.

“I’m proud of how we have responded to COVID-19 and if there is any upside to this crisis, it’s seeing our people recognised for the vital role they play in keeping communities connected and transporting key workers and others to their places of work.

“Like all transport providers, we have made some big adjustments to our operating procedures so that staff and passengers can feel confident and safe.

“This is also really important because we know the first journey a passenger makes will influence their confidence to return to public transport more regularly. In the short-term, we need to understand and respect this and make sure we are delivering against passenger expectations every day.

“Fares reform and more flexible season tickets are an obvious first step to respond to the changing needs of passengers. I would like to see

Our focus should be on those passengers who want to travel and need to travel by public transport

the sector working together to deliver this kind of tangible change now.

“In the longer term there are two big priorities which are intertwined. Firstly, the question of longer-term reform and how it can meet the future needs of passengers, and secondly how public transport will enable a greener future for all of society.

“We must work together as an industry to enable a future where public transport solutions can be seamlessly planned and integrated with other modes of transport such as walking, cycling and e-scooters to provide end-to-end solutions.

“As populations grow within our cities and infrastructure becomes more constrained, public transport must be the answer.”

But as there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic – with vaccinations starting in the UK – the railway needs to start to look at ways to attract people back onto the trains.

“For months, people were urged to avoid public transport – and this is obviously a difficult message,” said David.

“Right now, our focus should be on those passengers who want to travel and need to travel by public transport.

“There is a lot of research emerging from around the world to suggest that public transport provides a safe environment with very low risk of transmission when the right mitigations are in place.

“We know that after a long period of time away from public transport, people are naturally cautious, so the first journey really matters. We need to provide consistent levels of hygiene and service to help build passenger confidence.

“We also need to adapt our offering to provide sensible timetables and flexible ticketing in response to changed passenger behaviours.

“The sustainability agenda is also vital – we must get people back to public transport so we can move towards net-zero carbon emissions. It will be a tragedy if the legacy of COVID is that people return to their cars, our towns and cities become more congested and pollution levels increase.

“With the industry and government pulling together in the same direction, we can make a difference.”

PLANT INSTALLATIONS TOWER CRANE HIRE LIFTING ASSURANCE & CONSULTANCY CONTRACT LIFT SOLUTIONS