On-Board Services Case Studies

Eurostar

I was originally asked to assist with the tendering of the on board service for Eurostar before service commenced. As the deadline the commencement of the service approached I was again contacted by Eurostar to act as the "Railways' Representative" ensuring that the views of all three shareholders were adequately and equally represented and to coordinate the activity of the on-board operator. This involved setting and monitoring service standards, managing the contract budget, working with the on board service operator to develop menus for the first class service and a product range for the on board cafe bar. I also assisted with the set up and opening of the Brussels logistics depot and advised on the Eurostar night service. Once the service was up and running i was reponsible for managing the budget and ensuring that the on board operator was meeting service and logistics standards. With thousands of pieces of equipment moving backwards and forwards between London, Paris and Brussels I was responsible for montioring equipment stock levels at each depot and ensuring surplus stock was moved to depots where there were shortages.

 

Thalys

Having carried out the detailed work on Eurostar I was approached by Thalys to help identify their on-board service strategy. In addition to detailed market research and benchmarking with other transport services, I organised a trial service which involved developing a service scheme, hiring temporary service staff, training them in a carriage mock up and then hiring an additional carriage attached to a standard train where the service could be tested in a real environment with business travellers. I also developed the service specification for the Amersterdam logistics depot and tendered the depot operator contract.

 

Baltic Ferries

I was asked to review one of a fleet of Baltic Ferries with the objective of developing an on-board service that could be duplicated across the fleet. The work involved reviewing the existing business, carrying out market research with passengers and then working with naval architects to design the new on-board service areas. The ferry company had been planning to add another deck to the vessel to accommodate the new services, but by developing a portfolio of offers, it meant that a better service could be provided without the new deck, saving several million euros. In addition, the survey identified that customers were less interested in increasing the speed of the ferry than ensuring that it arrived on time. This led to a slight revision to the timetable but generated fuel savings of over a million euros a year.

Contact:

john@johndix.co.uk

(+44) 020 8440 9607

(+44) 07976 687356

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