The new ScotRail franchise: good for passengers, staff and Scotland Improving your journey from door to door magazine Abellio ScotRail Investing for the future The Abellio Way Magazine – Abellio ScotRail special – Spring 2015 Travelling on the Forth Bridge and enjoying the wonderful view A northern gannet flying in front of Bass Rock SCOTRAIL SPECIAL - SPRING 2015 3 CONTENTS Ambitious plans and Abellio It is with enormous pleasure that I find myself writing 4 WE ARE ABELLIO the introduction to this special edition of The Abellio What can you expect from us? Way Magazine from my home in Edinburgh. When Abellio was granted the privilege of operating 6 JEFF HOOGESTEGER MEETS TRANSPORT Scotland’s rail services, I had no hesitation in making this my home. You may consider that a rather self- MINISTER DEREK MACKAY serving decision, after all who wouldn’t choose to live “This is an incredibly exciting period for transport in this beautiful country! However, as a Dutchman, it in Scotland” won’t surprise you that it was also a sensible business decision. 10 ABELLIO’S VISION FOR THE NEW The Scottish Government has ambitious plans to SCOTRAIL FRANCHISE transform its railways and I am grateful to them for Good for passengers, good for staff and choosing Abellio to assist in that purpose. We have many exciting and challenging plans for ScotRail, as good for Scotland you will read in this special edition, and it is my intention to work with the team wherever possible 13 WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE PASSENGER to deliver them. ScotRail and Network Rail Performance for passengers 14 BOOSTING TOURISM Living here, I will also be travelling by train most days to our new UK headquarters in Glasgow, and regularly Travel the Great Scenic Railways of Scotland using other parts of the ScotRail network. During these trips, I’ll be carefully scrutinising the performance we 16 TRAVEL FROM DOOR TO DOOR deliver for our passengers, and also expect them to tell Journeys go beyond a-to-b me exactly what they think about our services. In that respect, I would like to take this opportunity 17 GET ON YOUR BIKE! to pay tribute to the ScotRail workforce. They regularly The introduction of Bike & Go at achieve high levels of performance and customer satisfaction. We now look forward to working with 10 Scottish stations them and Network Rail to realise the full potential of Scotland’s railway through our plans which 18 NEW ROLLING STOCK include: brand new trains; a true intercity Introducing the new Hitachi trains service; more smartcards; new flexible fares; exciting community programmes; and of course 20 FULL STEAM AHEAD! the creation of a railway tourism experience Running services with some of the oldest worthy of Scotland’s world-famous scenery and attractions. In particular, we look forward to trains in the world – steam trains! welcoming the new Borders Railway into the ScotRail family. 23 TRANSPORT SCOTLAND Interview with Aidan Grisewood, Director of Rail I hope you enjoy the Abellio ScotRail special edition of the magazine, and I look forward to 24 BRINGING THE BORDERS RAILWAY TO LIFE our journey together over the coming years. The longest domestic railway built in Britain for over 100 years Jeff Hoogesteger CEO Abellio Group 26 HOW OUR COUNTRIES CONNECT? Scotland and the Netherlands: a historic relationship The Abellio Way Magazine Eva Stijnman, Rose Teunissen MattStansfield, GeorgiosArt, Borders Railway, Image Select ScotRail special - Spring 2015 (editor-in-chief), Roel Willems SAKhanPhotography, Ewg3D, (Findlay Rankin, Alamy, Published by Abellio Group Images TT, Elgol, Jarnogz, Jgshields, ARCO-G Lenz) P.O. Box 2025 Jurjen Poeles, Frank Rogner, Nicola Ferrari, Martin McCarthy, Editing and design 3500 HA Utrecht Aubrey Wade, Cate Gillon, Lauren Entienou), Getty Images (Chaitanya Gloedcommunicatie, Nijmegen The Netherlands McGlynn, Williams Photo Agency, Deshpande, Maremagnum, Jim Printed by Pieter Glerum, Simon Rawles, Richardson, Richard McManus), Mediacenter, Rotterdam The Editorial Team Mirjam Klever, Andrew Block, Amy Shutterstock.com (Stephen Finn, Mike Connelly, Ed Coumans, James Kouwenhoven, George Brooks, Tim Stirling, Targn Pleiades, All rights reserved. Dark, Cameron Jones, Yvonne Paul Childs, Erna Pennekamp, Heartland Arts, Tanatip Reproduction in whole or in Mulder, Nicolet Pennekamp, iStockphoto (Blackjake, George Chantaraviwat, Jule Berlin), part without written permission Wies Peters, Dirk van Sambeeck, Clerk, Romrodinka, inFocusDC, VisitScotland (Paul Tomkins), is strictly prohibited. 4 THE ABELLIO WAY MAGAZINE HOW WILL PASSENGERS delivering a truly integrated national BENEFIT? transport network. Based on our experience of operating And let’s not forget that many train trains, trams and buses across Europe, journeys in Scotland are an experience We are Abellio has put together a clear plan in their own right. Our plans will for ScotRail to make sure the national deliver scenic services worthy of the rail service is in tune with the way nation’s world class tourist sights and people throughout Scotland have told destinations. us they want to live. It will benefit passengers across the entire network, OUR HERITAGE whether travelling to work, on Abellio is a subsidiary of Nederlandse business, visiting friends and family Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways, NS), or to enjoy the great outdoors. enabling us to draw on more than In the Central Belt, we will deliver 175 years of expertise in the delivery In October 2014, brand new trains, purpose-built for of passenger transport services. NS Transport Scotland Scotland, and on routes connecting operates one of the busiest and most announced that Abellio the country’s seven cities we will complex rail networks in the world, would run the new replace the existing trains with with over 5,200 scheduled domestic ScotRail franchise, telling high speed trains refurbished to a train services each day. Abellio was high standard. This will provide faster established in 2001 and already the nation to expect a services on spacious trains with more successfully operates three train transformation in rail carriages and new onboard facilities. franchises in the UK, as well as bus travel across the country. Elsewhere on the ScotRail network, services in London and Surrey: That may sound quite we will sharpen timetables and Abellio Greater Anglia (since 2012), improve connections between Abellio London & Surrey (since a task, but it is a true services and smarten up the trains. 2009), Northern Rail (since 2004) and reflection of Ministers’ The availability of smartcard and Merseyrail (since 2003). With public ambition for Scotland’s internet tickets will make journeys transport businesses in the UK, railway and the changes more convenient. Significant discounts Germany and the Netherlands, we we have promised to will be available and buying tickets are now able to share best practice will be quicker. Passengers will be on a pan-European scale. deliver over the lifetime able to hold tickets for rail, many of the franchise. What other public transport trips, car BEYOND A-TO-B can you expect from us? parking and cycle hire on a single We strongly believe that, with our smartcard. We will also put in place 175 years of experience, we have a range of other measures to make a social duty to our passengers sure customers’ journeys to and which extends beyond their journey from stations are faster and easier. on one of our trains, trams or buses. For example, there will be better The ability to move freely, safely connections with buses, new tickets and with ease is a precondition for combining rail with ferry and air a healthy, successful and sustainable Claire Bereziat travel, and we will create the UK’s nation. We see public transport as Lecturer in Tourism, largest cycle/rail network. New part of the lifeblood of society. Glasgow Caledonian University information sources will put After all, our services help people passengers in control of their carry out the essential tasks of “I am extremely excited by journey. Our intention is that everyday life. We help passengers Abellio’s outline of their concept ScotRail will play a key role in travel to work, go to school and (for tourism). It is refreshing to discover that tourism, one of Scotland’s economic priority sectors, is deeply embedded in Abellio’s bid, with an ambitious vision that will be transformative and exploit new opportunities.” Clara Walker Executive Director, Forth Environment Link “We welcome the opportunity to work closely with Abellio on a number of strategies including the development of a CyclePoint at Stirling station to promote and integrate cycling throughout the network, and involvement in an advisory group to oversee and support Abellio’s Cycling Innovation Plan.” SCOTRAIL SPECIAL - SPRING 2015 5 meet friends and family. Our services must play an integrated role in the socio-economic development of the societies we serve. As such, we Abellio: GERMANY invest in station improvements, hub development and innovations so that Beyond a-to-b we can cater for travel from door-to- door, not just between our stations. Our core focus is on one simple 20,000 Employees objective: working with all partners to meet our passengers’ transport 1.7 million passengers per day requirements during their entire journey. It means our customers are always at the heart of everything 1,500 buses we do. HOW WE WORK: 2,876 trains THE ABELLIO WAY UNITED KINGDOM Our first responsibility is always to our passengers, our clients and our 236 trams staff. We deliver efficient, high quality and innovative services and will not hesitate to challenge the traditional Countries conventions of travel so that we can Netherlands provide better quality, safer, more United Kingdom convenient transport services that Germany genuinely benefit our clients and customers. We do this ‘the Abellio Way’. This is our strategic frame- work, which provides a common NETHERLANDS and collaborative way for us to work with our clients and stakeholders, and for everyone in our business to Simon Walton work together.