While snow, wind and freezing temperatures caused havoc across the UK over the past week, staff at Chiltern Railways were warmed by a huge amount of praise from the online community.
The train operator demonstrated some of the values that earned them the Train Operator of the Year award at the 2018 Rail Business Awards, with staff at both Chiltern Railways and Network Rail going above and beyond to keep the railway running.
#snowhero facts and stats
• Station staff and staff volunteers worked from the early hours until well into the night to clear platforms of snow and ice with some walking to the stations from their homes when roads were blocked. 620 tubs of grit were used over the period to make every customer’s journey as safe as possible.
• The business pulled together to keep Wembley Stadium station open meaning that drivers, station and control staff not only delivered the regular service, but also ran extra trains carrying an additional 8,286 passengers to and from two Tottenham Hotspurs home games.
• On call staff worked, sometimes through the night to update the website and provide the latest information to customers.
• Fleet teams installed “coupler bags” around the connections between trains to stop these from freezing and to allow for trains to be joined and split and keeping trains the right number of carriages.
• Colleagues at Network Rail had extra staff working on the route to remove snow from points and keep trains moving. They also used points heaters to keep the equipment free from ice.
Through the entire adverse weather period, 94% of Chiltern trains still arrived within half an hour of the advertised time, a feat in such challenging circumstances.
Alan Riley, Customer Services Director for Chiltern Railways, said:
“I am so proud to be part of a company where staff are willing to go above and beyond to provide the best possible customer service at all times. I’ve heard stories about staff members walking through the snow when the roads weren’t serviceable to clear platforms. Everyone worked really hard to keep our services running, and the feedback we have received from our customers via social media is overwhelmingly positive.”
Published 6 March 2018