Eurostar response to the Independent Review
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CEO statement transcript
The findings and recommendations of the Independent Review of the disruption to our service before Christmas have been published today. We welcome the Review and accept fully its conclusions. We know that we let our customers down before Christmas and we are very sorry for this.
The Review is thorough, detailed and gives a clear list of recommendations. It is our intention to implement all of these recommendations as quickly as possible and over the next 18 months we will be investing more than £30 million to further improve passenger care during disruption, customer communication both inside and outside the Tunnel and the resilience of our trains during severe weather conditions.
We are committed to do everything we can to put things right, to improve our service and to win back your trust and confidence. Although we appreciate this will take time, we want let you know about some of the improvements we will be making over the coming weeks which will address many of the recommendations in the Review.
We are working closely with Eurotunnel to undertake a comprehensive review of all the procedures for rescue and evacuation from the Tunnel and as part of this we’ll be jointly purchasing two further rescue locomotives, to improve the rescue process. We will also be investing £12 million in a state-of-the art communications system which will significantly improve communications within the Tunnel.
In addition to the measures set out in our letter to passengers of 17 January we are going to be making the following further improvements to our customer care and communication processes including:
- a 24/7 call centre operating during periods of disruption
- regular SMS text messaging and email updates for customers
- a more robust contingency plan to draft in extra staff during disruption
- appointing a new Director of Business Service Continuity to take charge of the implementation of all these changes so they are carried out speedily and effectively
Our key actions...
Read our key actions for change, to ensure that this issue does not arise again.
Read the key actions...We recognise that the most important changes we are making are those to strengthen the reliability of our trains in severe weather. Following the breakdowns in December we immediately carried out a series of tests and modifications which proved effective during the severe weather in January. However, we are carrying out additional operational and technical measures in line with the Review’s recommendations.
In addition, to ensure that we fully identify all of the necessary modifications going forward we will establish a dedicated technical group comprised of engineering specialists from Alstom, Eurostar and SNCF. This group will carry out an in-depth feasibility study, consulting with other railway companies operating in difficult weather conditions. The solutions recommended by this review will then be carried out as part of the mid-life overhaul of our trains.
Eurostar is fully committed to ensuring that the disruption our travellers experienced before Christmas never happens again and that we win back your confidence and trust in our service.
