GNER

GNER runs fast frequent passenger rail services on the flagship East Coast Line between London King’s Cross, The East Midlands, Yorkshire, The North East of England and Scotland, carrying more than 17.4 million passengers a year. The company was set up in 1996 and consistently achieves amongst the highest passenger satisfaction scores in the industry.

Business Challenge

GNER realised that its existing engines, Paxman Valenta, were coming to the end of their productive life and it was posing a problem knowing how to replace them as there were no “off the shelf” solutions available. The decision was taken to look for an expert who could help it through the evaluation process. Rubirail, a railway engineering consultancy that provides independent engineering services to the UK rail industry, was already known to the GNER management team. Its Managing Director, Russell Birnie, had previously been Chief Engineer for Bombardier with over 20 years experience in the railway industry. This vast experience was not only in the engineering arena but also across the full spectrum of railway commercial requirements with an additional in-depth understanding of the key players in the rail industry.

Solution

The first role given to Rubirail was to evaluate and analyse the incoming tender documents and to request any additional information or clarification that was needed. This strategic input saved GNER a considerable amount of time and effort and the submissions were quickly narrowed down to just one which was from the German supplier MTU (Motor Turbine Union). The next step for Rubirail was to work closely with Brush Traction which had been chosen as the integrators of the new engine into the Power Cars. Rubirail was able to quickly identify design errors and issues early in the process thereby allowing changes to be made without compromising timelines or incurring extra costs for GNER. The wealth of experience possessed by Rubirail was put to good use by it acting in an advisory capacity during the support contract negotiations with MTU. The support given by Rubirail resulted in GNER securing a good and robust maintenance contract.

Testimonial

“Rubirail’s wide range of skills and superior expertise have made it very easy for us to complete this project cost effectively and on time” Magnus Conn, Chief Engineer, GNER

Results

Once the project was successfully completed, Rubirail continued to provide support to GNER by assisting with continued service operations meetings which were established to ensure good internal training of staff.

“Rubirail provides honest, frank and professional advice with no contract variations. It gives exceptional value for money and the quality of output is impressive. I would not hesitate to use Rubirail again or to recommend its services to other companies”
Magnus Conn, Chief Engineer, GNER

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways has been operating since 1996. It runs scheduled passenger services along the M40 corridor between London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill, and from London Marylebone to Aylesbury via Amersham along the London Underground Metropolitan line. In 2002 operations were extended as far as Kidderminster and in 2004 it took over services between Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Chiltern Railways is dedicated to providing passengers with a reliable, welcoming and value for money service which offers them a real choice and a viable alternative to other modes of transport.

Business Challenge

Chiltern Railways has an ongoing requirement to ensure that its engines are reliable, compliant and able to meet acceptable standards. The objective is for each engine to deliver 400,000 reliable miles. It is important that the performance of engines is monitored regularly and modifications made where necessary. Chiltern Railways has capability within its organisation to provide the expertise needed to monitor the engines, but, it was looking for additional resource that would be able to add value and enhance the existing skills within the Chiltern team.

Russell Birnie, the Managing Director of Rubirail, was an established and well known expert in the railway field and had proved his competency whilst working as Chief Engineer for Bombardier. Chiltern Railways made the decision to employ Rubirail in a consultancy role to provide it with the option to cover a number of engineering bases.

Solution

Rubirail was able to fit seamlessly into the existing team at Chiltern Railways and because Rubirail was based in the Midlands it was able to act as an interface to Chiltern’s main engine overhauler. Rubirail was able to provide a focused approach to identifying areas of concern with the engines and in addition used its in-depth experience to work out the best solutions to any problem areas.

Testimonial

“Rubirail are prepared to challenge the status quo to provide us with a number of alternative options to any project. They have a focused approach and link easily into our objectives.” Carl Harvey, Fleet Manager, Chiltern Railways

Results

Rubirail has worked for Chiltern Railways for over two years and has been involved in all aspects of ensuring engine reliability through blending a mix of both strategic and tactical expertise. “Working with Rubirail has been very beneficial for us. The company gives excellent value for money and nothing phases it. Rubirail will always find a solution that is flexible and workable and I cannot recommend them highly enough”
Carl Harvey, Fleet Manager, Chiltern Railways