Aspect Spring 2017

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The employee magazine of Arriva Trains Wales/Trenau Arriva Cymru

SPRING 2017

Rhyl Rail Bus initiative is

national pilot project PAGE THREE

CENTRE PAGES

Exceptional Contribution Awards Spotlight

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Award winners truly demonstrate putting values into action HAVING been recently involved in my 13th Exceptional Contribution Awards and my fifth as Managing Director – i.e. the one with the privilege of handing out the awards – I take enormous pride in hearing the amazing stories of colleagues.

Our winners truly demonstrate our values in action. I was particularly pleased to see this year’s Gold award winners from the stations team, Mike and Neil, who won because of their consistency in their application of these values.

I’m proud that we have many such members of the team in Arriva Trains Wales and it’s great to recognise outstanding efforts. But I know we have many unsung heroes as well so let’s use the monthly Spotlight Awards to recognise and say thank you to those that are doing great jobs but as yet are unrecognised for their great behaviours.

On a completely different subject, I know many of you are keen to know as much as possible about the refranchising process. This process will generate uncertainty and lots of likely ill-informed gossip.

To prevent this we will step up the communication to you this year – albeit sometimes there may be little to report because much of what is happening is happening without Arriva Trains Wales.

We have had to create boundaries between Arriva Trains Wales and Arriva Group (our bid team). This is to ensure a level playing field between the bidders – otherwise the incumbent, Arriva Trains Wales, could gain an unfair advantage.

What we know currently is that there are four bidders still in the process (Arriva, MTR, Keolis and Abellio) and the competitive dialogue phase has started in which bidders discuss issues and solutions with Transport for Wales. This

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By Managing Director IAN BULLOCK phase is expected to last until the summer. After this phase an Invitation to Tender will be published – effectively the specification on what the future railway will look like will be sent out to bidders. Our understanding is Transport for Wales hope to announce the winner in early 2018.

Finally on a personal note, having undertaken the role of Managing Director for the last four years and before that, the roles of Projects Director and Customer Services Director since 2003, I have reached the decision that it is time for me to focus on different things.

As a result, I will be stepping down as Managing Director from the summer (date to be confirmed once my successor is appointed) and I will then move to a role at Arriva Group in their Business Development team.

I’ve had a fantastic career over 14 years at Arriva Trains Wales. I’m proud to have played a part in building the Arriva Trains Wales success story from its beginnings alongside the amazing people we have in our business.

However, I’m really looking forward to trying something new.

At Arriva Trains Wales it will continue to be business as usual over the coming months and I will continue as MD being supported by the senior team until my replacement is in post.

Gerrard Jones with the Sheaffer pen given to him as a thank you gift from a customer.

A customer’s appreciation G

ERRARD Jones has received many accolades over the years for his outstanding customer service – but none so unexpected as a gesture from a customer of seven years’ standing. He was surprised – and delighted – to receive an expensive Sheaffer pen and a pot plant from a lady whom he had helped with travel advice during the time she was a student.

Dr Amal Alsalamah bought tickets at Cardiff Queen Street during the time she was studying for a medical degree at the Pontypridd campus of the University of Wales.

She travelled widely, taking her family to London and Scotland, and she appreciated Gerrard’s advice and patience

so much that she went out of her way to make her gratitude known.

“She sent me a really lovely letter out of the blue when she had qualified,” said the Customer Service Advisor who is in his 20th year in the ticket office.“It thanked me for being friendly, helpful and super-nice by going out of the way to make her journey smooth.

Gerrard received a Spotlight award for enhancing the Customer Experience.

Employees are being reminded that they can nominate colleagues for Spotlight awards under any of the Five Pillars – Customer Experience, Trusted Partner, Operational Excellence, Revenue and Employee Experience.

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Augmented Reality app opens up interactive content REQUESTS in the Employee Survey for improved internal communications have prompted Arriva Trains Wales to launch a new mobile app using state-of-the-art technology.

The Arriva Trains Wales AR app (AR stands for Augmented Reality) is available to download from the App Store for Apple devices and Google Play for Android.

Fitting in with the internal comms objectives of improving ways of keeping people informed and launching digital innovations, the app gives direct links to useful information on Arriva Jobs and

great staff benefits at The Village. It streams down multimedia presentations with video, downloads and links to useful websites.

To see the app in action, check out the insert delivered with this magazine in which HR Director Gareth J. Thomas discusses 2017 business priorities and outlines which key business areas will receive focus and attention this year as well as the challenges for the franchise and plans for future investment.

Follow the instructions and point a phone at Gareth’s photograph where indicated to make it come to life.

The app can also deliver push notifications to people’s mobile devices, with up-to-the-minute news on weather, network conditions and much more.

Internal Communications Manager Katrina Tzannis said:“AR is an effective new technology which is being used by lots of organisations to keep in touch with employees, customers and stakeholders.

“Over the next few months we will be looking at lots of exciting uses.”

To download the app visit your app store and search for Arriva Trains Wales AR.

One Arriva project promotes

joined up journeys A

N imaginative “One Arriva” initiative has been launched at Rhyl station to enhance the customer experience.

The Rail Bus Integration Project encourages people to use bus and rail in tandem on their journey. New signage, advertising and a touchscreen journey planner with live bus and train times have been installed at the station to signpost the bus links as well as local attractions.

Arriva Trains Wales is piloting the integration project for Arriva Group, to highlight simple ways customers can use both bus and rail to complete their journeys.

The initiative, being carried out in partnership with Arriva UK Bus, has been rolled out in two phases over 18 months and provides one ticket for train and bus travel in and around Rhyl.

Rhyl was chosen as the pilot venue because the bus station is just outside the station.“The aim is to enhance the customer experience by giving customers the opportunity to do more of their journey through public transport,” said Louise Watkinson, a member of the project team.

“There’s a strong emphasis on connected mobility and joined-up journeys. We have put CIS information for trains in the bus station as well as bus info on the railway station.

“There’s more visibility for timetable information on the station, we have installed WiFi on the station to keep people more connected and we have moved bus stops closer to the station.”

Vinyl footprints, pictured, have been installed on the ground leading to the

Arriva Trains Wales Rhyl Station Supervisor Jacqui Small gives customer Paul Heaton advice on integrated Rail Bus journeys at the Rhyl Interchange bus station. The front cover photo features Customer Service Advisor Tom Lloyd with a bus timetable. nearest bus stop and there will be enhanced customer support at the bus station during peak times. ● The project was officially launched to coincide with the opening of the new bus depot at the station. Dr Manfred Rudhart, Chief Executive Officer of Arriva and Ann Jones, AM for Vale of Clwyd, were shown the improvements by Arriva Trains Wales Managing Director Ian Bullock, Ben Davies, Project Manager for Arriva Trains Wales and Louise Watkinson, Project Team Member.

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Tiger Team tackle service problems A specialised Arriva Trains Wales/Network Rail group acting as a Tiger Team has developed a series of recommendations for managing service recovery after incidents such as failed trains or points failures.

The Tiger Team concept – originally developed by NASA during space missions – involves a number of experts meeting together for a set time to solve a specific problem.

Rowan Phillips (Fleet), Carl Hurcombe (Control), Simon Turton (Stations) and Donna Wallace (Resources), together with Ray Charles, Paul Wilkins and Ben Pomeroy of Network Rail, brainstormed over four weeks.

They were asked to develop recommendations that would reduce the ratio of primary delay minutes to reactionary delay minutes.

The team analysed data, reviewed current processes, visited other Train Operating Companies to examine best practice and delivered 20 recommendations to the Board of Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail.

The main recommendation, to develop a train-service specific service recovery plan, is being progressed immediately.

Anniversary invitation ARRIVA Trains Wales Customer Service staff based at Bridgend station were invited to attend the 10th Anniversary Dinner and Awards night of the Bridgend Coalition of Disabled People.

Support for the group is just one of the ways Arriva Trains Wales demonstrates its commitment to helping disabled people.

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Arriva Trains Wales Technical Support Engineer Nicholas Armstrong-Bryan pictured inside one of the Pacer units during refurbishment.

Carriage Cleaner David Short gives a carriage a deep clean.

Painter Ben Mackie uses a roller to paint seat shells.

Replacing window seals is Carriage Cleaner Martin Shapcott.

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Painter Tim Woods gives seat grab handles a brand new look.

Vehicle Builder Paul Scullion overhauls a toilet.

Pacers refresh is enhancing

passenger experience T

HE ongoing £430,000 Refresh Lite programme to revitalise a substantial part of Arriva Trains Wales’ rolling stock is being well received.

Over 12 months all 30 of the Class 142 and 143 Pacer units, which most usually serve the Valley Lines, are being given a wide-ranging makeover to enhance the passenger experience.

Out of the Class 150 fleet, 18 will then receive attention, with a total of 48 trains scheduled to go through the refresh process during the entire project.

Customer feedback so far via Twitter has been excellent, praising the new-look units as they return into service following their makeover at Canton Maintenance Depot.

The first stage of the refurbishment is a complete strip-out of each unit interior followed by a deep clean.

Revitalisation includes the overhaul and painting of seat shells, replacement of seat covers and backs with the latest Arriva moquette material and replacement of protective window films.

The light diffusers are being cleaned, the door step wells are being cleaned and repainted

and the grab handles being repainted.

A complete overhaul of the toilets is producing impressive Carriage results with components of the Cleaner “furniture” being renewed.

Simon Hughes, Engineering Jordan Coombes replaces seat Director, said:“The results of cushions.

Refresh Lite so far have been fantastic and it’s excellent to be able to make noticeable improvements to our passenger experience.

“The engagement we had with the Welsh Government at the beginning of the project has had a real impact.

“We have already had two visits from interested politicians, giving us an excellent opportunity to explain all the challenges we face at our maintenance depots.”

The carriages are being refurbished one at a time to minimise the effect on fleet contingency plans.

Lee Howard, Fleet Technical Support Engineer who is leading the project, said:“A dedicated The Refresh Lite brief, initially team of maintenance engineers developed by Shift Production gives a lot of care and attention Manager Mark Morgan, will to each individual unit as it provide a template for similar comes in.

“The overall aim is to provide a refurbishment programmes in the future. more pleasant travelling Craig Williams, Train experience for the customers.”

Presentation Manager, said:“We are adding detailed pictures, taken from the first unit to be refreshed, to our fleet cleaning manual so that the required standard is clear to our train presentation staff.”

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Cardiff Customer Relations Manager Amber Sutton is presented with her award by Managing Director Ian Bullock.

GOLD AWARD WINNERS: Customer Service Advisors Neil Jones, left, and Mike Palfrey.

Canton Maintenance Team Leader Gareth Williams receives his award from Ian Bullock.

On stage at the presentation evening is Co-Host, Head of Stations Bethan Jelfs.

Gateline duo hit gold standard for

their pride and passion Bridgend Stations Environmental Operative Rob McAndrew.

Chester Driver Tony Stickells.

Shrewsbury Conductor Steve Cottrell.

Cardiff Driver Vaughn Aitken.

Llandudno Junction Customer Service Advisor Elwyn Greenhaigh receives his award from Ian Bullock.

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T

WO members of the gateline team at Cardiff Central scooped the Gold accolade at the Exceptional Contribution Awards for being “proud and passionate people delivering excellent service every time”.

Customer Service Advisors Mike Palfrey and Neil Jones were singled out for the way they live the Arriva Trains Wales values as they regularly go the extra mile to welcome customers and stakeholders to the station.

Mike was praised for working incredibly long hours, going out of his way to help customers and being a breath of fresh air with his affable smile and positivity.

His colleague Neil was nominated for being “super helpful,” being a team player and working unsociable hours at a moment’s notice. The duo were among the 30 finalists who were honoured at the annual awards which recognise people who have impressed with their outstanding contribution over the past year.

Hosts at the special celebration evening at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cardiff were Bethan Jelfs, Head of Stations and Carl Hurcombe, Control Centre Manager,

with employees and guests enjoying a three-course meal before the presentation of the awards by Managing Director Ian Bullock followed by disco dancing into the night.

A high-spot of the Awards was the unveiling of an accolade in the new category of Team of the Year.

The inaugural recipient was the Arriva Trains Wales Control team, praised for their exceptional efforts through a high-pressure year which included a prolonged period of traincrew shortages, infrastructure problems and increased workload.

The citation pointed out the team’s “incredibly hard work” in dealing with a huge

amount of alterations each day, balancing units and handling calls from inconvenienced customers.

Other staff in the limelight included Gareth Williams, Maintenance Team Leader based at Canton, who tracked down the owner of a suitcase handed in to Lost Property which contained anti-rejection drugs for an organ transplant. Gareth’s detective work led him to contact a Los Angeles hospital and four hotels before he finally reached the owner of the suitcase via a FaceTime session.

Mark Brocklehurst, Crewe Conductor, was honoured for delivering talks to trainees about his experience witnessing and

coming to terms with a suicide on the network.

Bridgend Stations Environmental Operator Rob McAndrew was praised for giving meticulous evidence in a court case where a customer was claiming damages.

Eddie Ahmed, Vehicle Builder based at Canton, received an award for his exemplary work in overhauling a toilet unit, sanding back panels to remove all etched graffiti and chipped paint.

Vaughn Aitken, Cardiff Driver, received an accolade for avoiding a potential collision between two passenger trains.

Elwyn Greenhaigh, Customer Service Advisor at Llandudno Junction, was praised for going the extra mile by

helping customers with additional needs and by often re-setting the alarm at the station in his own time.

Customer Relations Manager Amber Sutton received an award for her excellent work in overseeing two major projects, enabling Arriva Trains Wales to remain compliant with legal requirements relating to the customer experience and providing a large amount of relevant information to the regulator.

Steve Cottrell, Shrewsbury Conductor, was praised for his “amazing” customer service skills which are used as an example to trainees.

Tony Stickells, Chester Driver, was given an award for compiling weekly reports which monitored the introduction of the Driver Advisory System and submitting detailed performance updates in real time to the delay team.

Canton Vehicle Builder Eddie Ahmed.

Crewe Conductor Mark Brocklehurst.

Pictured with Ian Bullock and representing Control who won the Team of the Year award at the Exceptional Contribution Awards are (left to right) Duty Control Manager Steve Morris, Valley Control Duty Manager Ken Harwood, Route Controller Mark Hirst, and Customer Information Controllers Clive Raison and Alun Thomas.

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Cardiff Customer Relations Manager Amber Sutton is presented with her award by Managing Director Ian Bullock.

GOLD AWARD WINNERS: Customer Service Advisors Neil Jones, left, and Mike Palfrey.

Canton Maintenance Team Leader Gareth Williams receives his award from Ian Bullock.

On stage at the presentation evening is Co-Host, Head of Stations Bethan Jelfs.

Gateline duo hit gold standard for

their pride and passion Bridgend Stations Environmental Operative Rob McAndrew.

Chester Driver Tony Stickells.

Shrewsbury Conductor Steve Cottrell.

Cardiff Driver Vaughn Aitken.

Llandudno Junction Customer Service Advisor Elwyn Greenhaigh receives his award from Ian Bullock.

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T

WO members of the gateline team at Cardiff Central scooped the Gold accolade at the Exceptional Contribution Awards for being “proud and passionate people delivering excellent service every time”.

Customer Service Advisors Mike Palfrey and Neil Jones were singled out for the way they live the Arriva Trains Wales values as they regularly go the extra mile to welcome customers and stakeholders to the station.

Mike was praised for working incredibly long hours, going out of his way to help customers and being a breath of fresh air with his affable smile and positivity.

His colleague Neil was nominated for being “super helpful,” being a team player and working unsociable hours at a moment’s notice. The duo were among the 30 finalists who were honoured at the annual awards which recognise people who have impressed with their outstanding contribution over the past year.

Hosts at the special celebration evening at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cardiff were Bethan Jelfs, Head of Stations and Carl Hurcombe, Control Centre Manager,

with employees and guests enjoying a three-course meal before the presentation of the awards by Managing Director Ian Bullock followed by disco dancing into the night.

A high-spot of the Awards was the unveiling of an accolade in the new category of Team of the Year.

The inaugural recipient was the Arriva Trains Wales Control team, praised for their exceptional efforts through a high-pressure year which included a prolonged period of traincrew shortages, infrastructure problems and increased workload.

The citation pointed out the team’s “incredibly hard work” in dealing with a huge

amount of alterations each day, balancing units and handling calls from inconvenienced customers.

Other staff in the limelight included Gareth Williams, Maintenance Team Leader based at Canton, who tracked down the owner of a suitcase handed in to Lost Property which contained anti-rejection drugs for an organ transplant. Gareth’s detective work led him to contact a Los Angeles hospital and four hotels before he finally reached the owner of the suitcase via a FaceTime session.

Mark Brocklehurst, Crewe Conductor, was honoured for delivering talks to trainees about his experience witnessing and

coming to terms with a suicide on the network.

Bridgend Stations Environmental Operator Rob McAndrew was praised for giving meticulous evidence in a court case where a customer was claiming damages.

Eddie Ahmed, Vehicle Builder based at Canton, received an award for his exemplary work in overhauling a toilet unit, sanding back panels to remove all etched graffiti and chipped paint.

Vaughn Aitken, Cardiff Driver, received an accolade for avoiding a potential collision between two passenger trains.

Elwyn Greenhaigh, Customer Service Advisor at Llandudno Junction, was praised for going the extra mile by

helping customers with additional needs and by often re-setting the alarm at the station in his own time.

Customer Relations Manager Amber Sutton received an award for her excellent work in overseeing two major projects, enabling Arriva Trains Wales to remain compliant with legal requirements relating to the customer experience and providing a large amount of relevant information to the regulator.

Steve Cottrell, Shrewsbury Conductor, was praised for his “amazing” customer service skills which are used as an example to trainees.

Tony Stickells, Chester Driver, was given an award for compiling weekly reports which monitored the introduction of the Driver Advisory System and submitting detailed performance updates in real time to the delay team.

Canton Vehicle Builder Eddie Ahmed.

Crewe Conductor Mark Brocklehurst.

Pictured with Ian Bullock and representing Control who won the Team of the Year award at the Exceptional Contribution Awards are (left to right) Duty Control Manager Steve Morris, Valley Control Duty Manager Ken Harwood, Route Controller Mark Hirst, and Customer Information Controllers Clive Raison and Alun Thomas.

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By Safety and Operations Director STEVE TYLER

Speed of recovery from Storm Doris sent out message to our customers DESPITE Storm Doris we still ran 93.7 per cent of our trains on time in February and if Doris hadn’t blown through I’d be congratulating everyone on running 94.5 per cent of our trains on time last month.

The weather is something that we can’t change but we can be prepared and despite much of the industry suffering disruption for several days after the storm I am pleased that we showed our customers what we’re made of and ran a virtually full service the next day.

The Conwy Valley line is sadly still closed due to significant damage and we’re working hard with Network Rail to get it re-opened.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing safety tours at Prestatyn and Colwyn Bay stations as well as visiting some of our Traincrew Depots in the north of our patch.

It’s always a real pleasure to get out and about on our network and meet people at places I don’t get to as often as I’d like. The hard work and commitment of everyone in our business is a real pleasure to witness Following the Safety Culture workshops last year we will be undertaking a survey again this year to find out if the work we put in has made a difference.

We all know that running a safe railway is a pre-requisite to success but having a culture where people can feel free to support that effort is critical to improving our safety standards.

There’s never room for complacency with safety and that’s why I’m happy to learn more about the way people across our organisation feel.

I hope you take part in the survey and I hope you remember the messages that were put across during 2016 together with the great work done by our safety culture champions throughout the business.

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Gareth Dyson with the spectacles he now longer needs. Below, the view of Runcorn he now sees from the garden of his home in Helsby, Cheshire.

Road accident left Gareth with better eyesight A

N Arriva Trains Wales Conductor has made a remarkable return to work after a life-threatening road accident.

Gareth Dyson was cycling on his day off in February last year when he was struck by a car and hit his head on a telegraph pole.

He received facial injuries and was lucky to survive – but, astonishingly, the accident has left him with better eyesight than before.

“I was in hospital for three days after being in the trauma unit and I had two operations,” said Gareth.“I had lost feeling in my face and I could not see out of my left eye.

“As I recovered I was not able to wear the glasses I have used since I was aged 11.

“I soon realised that my long distance sight was better than it had been before.” Gareth knew for sure his eyes were stronger when it became clear he could see the town of Runcorn from his window at home for the first time.

Medical tests have since confirmed that his eyes are stronger since he received his bang on the head. An optician says he now does not need glasses after 27 years of wearing them.

Chester-based Gareth added:“Thanks to HR for supporting me and speeding up an operation on my injured wrist.”

Tom Blake, Gareth’s Conductor Manager, said:“We are delighted to welcome Gareth back. We kept in touch with him while he was recovering.

“We devised a phased return-to-work plan to rebuild his competency which included a route refreshment course and STAR mobile retraining.”

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New intranet is

valuable link A

RRIVA Trains Wales’ new-look intranet is being welcomed as being an inspiring forum for news, views and general information.

It features quick links to forms and documents and gives information on the company’s values and behaviours.

There is a download section with useful links and logos as well as updates on franchise matters. Coming soon is a social board where people can post items to sell and flag up events such as team nights out.

The valuable intranet site offers all the latest news under one roof and it hosts Pillar Talk along with the digital form of

Aspect magazine. Employees around the network are making good use of the new site.

Jacqui Small, Supervisor at Rhyl station, said:“I find the new intranet really useful for accessing relevant information about the company. It’s in an enjoyable format and items such as the Twitter reports giving customers’ views are fascinating.”

The new intranet is a response to requests in the Employee Survey for improved internal communication. It will act as a platform for communications from Directors to staff, enhancing the employee experience.

Rhyl Customer Service Advisor Matty Luke checks out the company’s new-look intranet.

Mo goes extra mile after bridge fire MACHYNLLETH Duty Manager Mo Kohler was nominated for a Spotlight award under the Customer Experience Pillar for going the extra mile when Barmouth Railway Bridge caught fire.

Mo came into work of her own

volition even though it was her day off.“She provided excellent customer care to passengers, organised rail replacement coaches and drew up a detailed roster for the following day,” said Cambrian Station Manager Dave Crunkhorn.

By Human Resources Director GARETH J. THOMAS

We all need to keep our focus in the changeable times ahead OUR Employee Survey results are in and, despite a disappointing response rate, you have told us that you remain pretty engaged with the business which is great.

This is evident from the encouraging start to the year we have had with us showing an upturn in performance across all areas of business.

Our PPM performance has steadily remained above 93.5 per cent which means that we are giving our customers the consistent service that they should have come to expect from us – and, in turn, complaints and media interest have dropped.

Our income from passenger revenue has also improved, a trend that we are confident we can continue with the excellent operational service we are seeing.

Interestingly, there have been a number of press articles about the fines that some of our passengers are receiving as a result of travelling without a ticket.

Naturally, these stories paint us in an overly harsh light (in fact we only recoup the ticket price) as in the majority of cases we will offer people many opportunities to buy a ticket.

These cases are the exceptions and not the norm but we are right to ensure that we are paid for the services we provide. Headlines, as we know, are easily made!

One area that you told us quite clearly in the survey that we need to do better in is how we communicate with you and keep you informed about and involved in decisions about our business.

We will continue with our Roadshows this year to give as many people as possible the opportunity to chat directly with Directors and Senior Managers as well as using some of the new technology available to us to share messages more immediately and more personally with you.

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Five minutes with Michael David Michael, aged 25, has taken up a permanent position in Control after completing his apprenticeship at Arriva Trains Wales. Here he takes time out to tell us about himself.

What are you doing at the moment?

After completing my Operations Apprenticeship, I have recently been appointed as a Customer Support Controller.

I am required to communicate service alterations to the public and staff as well as sourcing replacement road transport during disruption whilst adhering to CSL2 (Customer Service Level 2) and PIDD Customer (Passenger Information During Disruption) Support Controller standards. It can be very intense, especially Michael David at when an event such as Storm Doris occurs! his desk in Control But on the whole it’s very enjoyable. at St Mary’s House.

How did you become interested in working for a rail company?

My uncle has worked on the railway for more and convince them to restart Oasis. I’d throw than 20 years and kept on at me to apply. He in Ricky Tomlinson, Caroline Aherne and has always said how enjoyable his job is and Craig Cash for the laughs. how good the opportunities are to progress and form an excellent career. I saw the How do you relax? apprenticeship advertised and chanced my arm. The rest is history.

I love playing golf and try to get out on the course at least three times a week during the summer. I’m currently playing off a handicap What was the best thing about your of 14. To relax, I enjoy playing the guitar or apprenticeship with Arriva Trains Wales? playing on the PlayStation.

I was incredibly lucky that I was able to spend time with various different functions What did you want to be when you were including Stations and Drivers which gave me a good railway grounding. I’d say the best growing up?

I always wanted to be a professional football thing was the development days with the player as all young boys do. At Christmas, a other apprentices from around the business.

Manchester United kit was always top of the It allowed us to share our experiences and list. offer advice to each other.

Which famous people alive or dead would you invite to a dinner party?

I’d have to say Liam and Noel Gallagher because once the fighting stopped, I’d try

What are your favourite music and films?

Music: Oasis, Stereophonics, Catfish and the Bottlemen. Films: Starsky and Hutch, Happy Gilmore, Shawshank Redemption.

If you could go back in time what period would you choose to go back to and why?

Definitely the Seventies! Apparently you could go on a night out with £10, have four or five pints, a curry and still come home with change! Not sure about the platform boots and hairdos mind!

What is your most valuable possession?

I don’t own anything that valuable so probably my car.

What is your favourite place in the world?

Sequoia National Park. I spent a weekend in a log cabin there when I coached “soccer” in California. It was absolutely incredible.

What’s the best bit of advice you have ever been given?

“Treat other people how you would like to be treated” – courtesy of my mother.

Campaign promotes low cost advance purchase tickets A leisure-themed media campaign was launched during March to showcase Arriva Trains Wales’ low cost Advance Purchase tickets. The message to potential customers was:“Save up to 49 per cent on what’s important to you.”

The campaign enthused people to

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visit faraway friends and places, go on family outings, to football and festivals – all using the value-for-money offer on longer distance journeys. The publicity drive included radio sequences, press advertisements, online and social media posts and posters.

Tickets are available from 12 weeks before travel, up to 6pm the day before the journey. The campaign was designed to support Arriva Trains Wales’ Purpose of “Connecting people and communities to what is important to them”.

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Stations Sales Manager Tasmin Fullwood, left, talks with customers Chris Harry, centre, and Enfys Hughes at Cardiff Central station about buying tickets using the Arriva Trains Wales mobile app.

Updating customers

on ways to buy S

T Mary’s House-based volunteers in Cardiff have been joining station queues to inform customers about the various ways to buy a ticket. Customer education forms the first of three phases in Arriva Trains Wales’ 2017 Revenue Protection strategy.

The aim is to enthuse travellers with the Buy Before You Board policy which highlights different purchasing options. As well as buying at ticket offices, customers can use Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) or the Arriva Trains Wales app.

The volunteers have focused on peak-time queues to spread the message.

“The first few weeks of customer education have shown that the reliability of our own

ticketing systems do impact on people’s buying habits,” said Chad Collins, Head of Retail.

“Therefore during this year we plan to spend £700,000 improving our retail systems.”The TVMs on stations will be upgraded with new card payment devices, new internal PCs and opening screen graphics.

Card-only TVMs will have additional printers added with a change to internal metalwork to stop tickets getting stuck.

Extra barcode scanners to check tickets on the mobile app will be added to gatelines and the gateline back office server will be upgraded. The website, mobile website and mobile app will also be improved.

Roadshows reinforce key safety messages A series of safety roadshows have been held around the network to reinforce key messages regarding the importance of safe practice.

The shows were staged at various locations in North and South over two weeks and were

run on the back of the success of similar events last year and further developments in the safety excellence programme.

Arriva Trains Wales’ ground-breaking Safety Culture programme has already won two rail industry awards.

Dave shares expertise to keep service running A call went out to Dave “Trains” Williams when Arriva Trains Wales’ Class 67 Loco hit a problem at Manchester Piccadilly.

The driver experienced a complete speedometer failure and after liaising with Maintenance Control he was about to declare the service back to Llandudno discontinued.

But he put in a last minute call to Holyhead Driver Dave who has extensive knowledge of the loco fleet.

Dave was nominated for a Spotlight Award under the Operational Excellence Pillar.

His analysis that an alternative speedometer could be activated via the Quatro system on board the loco led to the service being reinstated.

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Conductor carries out train repair A Shrewsbury Conductor who restores cars in his spare time used his mechanical knowledge to repair a train while on duty on the Heart of Wales line.

When off duty, Peter Harber brings Rover 800 cars back to life by fitting new gaskets and valves where needed.

But his engineering skills were put to railway use when the train he was working out of Llanwrtyd Wells experienced a drop in air pressure.

Peter investigated by looking underneath the train, located a pipe which had come loose on the compressor and solved the problem by tightening it up.

Ready for Spanish fans The eyes of the world will be on Cardiff for the UEFA Champions League Final in June. Customer Service Advisor Mike Palfrey holds up a match ball replica outside the National Stadium of Wales.

Team gears up for champions final T

HE world’s biggest sporting event of the year is coming to Cardiff – and Arriva Trains Wales is gearing up to help it run smoothly.

A project team has been set up to deliver an event plan for the UEFA Champions League Final 2017 and the associated Festival of Football in June.

The Train Operating Company is liaising with the Football Association of Wales as it develops a staffing and train plan that meets the projected demand.

“We want to ensure that we deliver a great customer

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ASPECT Spring 2017

experience to both our regular customers and those visiting from the outside of Wales,” said Len Sharps, Project Manager, who thanked colleagues who have volunteered to help make the Champions League Final in Cardiff a night to remember.

“New solutions and alternative ways of working are being devised to meet the unique requirements of the event.”

The UEFA Champions Festival opens with the Ladies Final 2017 at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, June 1.

The UEFA Champions League final – to be broadcast in more

than 200 countries – will be played at the National Stadium of Wales on Saturday, June 3.

Customer Services Director Lynne Milligan said:“We are working with many other agencies including Cardiff City Council and everyone is pulling together to showcase Cardiff as a great destination for sporting events.”

The UEFA final is the world’s most watched annual sporting event on TV, and the largest ever to have been staged in Wales.

THE customer experience of Spanish-speaking visitors to the UEFA finals in Cardiff will be enriched thanks to the linguistic talents of Jamie Harris.

The Cardiff Conductor already delivers Spanish tuition in his own time to colleagues. He is now keen to widen the language development opportunity to other teams and the British Transport Police in the run-up to the event.

Jamie received a Spotlight award recently and was given an accolade at the Exceptional Contribution Awards for his exemplary customer service.

Have you got news for us?

IF you have a story for Aspect please contact Internal Communications Manager Katrina Tzannis by emailing katrina.tzannis @arrivatw.co.uk or call 02920 720687.