Member Article

Ongoing Go-Ahead Southeastern partnership to create up to 245 jobs

Newcastle-based transport provider, The Go-Ahead Group, today welcomes the Department of Transport’s announcement that its 65% owned train operating company, Southeastern, will continue to run the South Eastern franchise until June 2018.

A ‘Direct Award’ contract has been agreed which will see a host of schemes rolled out over the next three and a half years to improve train services and the passenger experience.

Highlights of the new franchise, running from 12 October 2014 to 24 June 2018, include new and improved services, better information and more value offers and ticketing.

Most notably, the franchise will create more jobs.

Up to 75 extra staff will be hired and deployed to gatelines at key stations whilst an additional 170 customer service staff will be on hand to provide information to help passengers.

Moreover, the opening hours at Canon Street station will be extended so that staff are available between 04:30 and 01:30 and to accommodate services running into the station later that day.

However, the contract was condemned by rail union RMT who see the rail privatisation as having only an adverse effect on passengers.

RMT acting general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “This is a reward for total and abject failure which speaks volumes about the racket which is rail privatisation.

“No matter how badly these private train companies let down the travelling public they can still rely on the government to protect them and the fat profits and subsidies they are robbing from the rail network.”

Go-Ahead chief executive, David Brown, said: “We’re pleased that the government has put its confidence in Southeastern to deliver further enhancements for passengers.

“The plans to be delivered offer benefits for passengers, taxpayers and the communities that we serve.

“Today’s announcement is an endorsement of our record of delivering improving train services, record investment in the route network, better customer service and strong passenger growth over the last eight years.

“In that time our stations have seen over £100 million worth of improvements, making them more accessible, safer and easier to use, and we’ve delivered the UK’s first ever domestic Highspeed service and expanded its reach to include more stations in Kent.

“There’s no doubt that the next three years will be a challenging period, with the major service changes required to accommodate the redevelopment work at London Bridge.

“This work is vital to enhance connections across London and is part of the £6.5 billion government-sponsored Thameslink Programme.

“The changes to the 2015 timetable will help customers make the journeys they need to throughout the duration of these works.

“The schemes announced today have been agreed by government and our key objectives are to continue to deliver improvements for passengers, assist commuters through the period of change that the Thameslink Programme presents over the coming three years, and continue to attract and encourage new customers to use our services.”

Image used under wikimedia creative commons license. Credit: Ed Webster

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