On 11 November our railway changed. Mark Eaton, Head of Concession Management, gave a run down on the improvements already made.
Staffing
One of the biggest changes that took place overnight on 11 November 2007 was the full staffing of all stations. Over 100 additional LOROL staff and security colleagues from Manguard and Magenta took up new positions to provide cover at every station from first to last train. The change was most marked on the Gospel Oak to Barking line and there are now more staff at ticket gates across the network. Additional conductors and drivers have joined LOROL and staff are benefi ting from training courses at the new training centre. More drivers will be recruited over the coming months as the expansion of the timetable begins.
Increasing staff numbers has helped reduce crime on the network. Mark Eaton is pleased with the results, "Crime is down 40% on the same period a year ago, which is great news. More staff, joint working with British Transport Police and the installation of ticket gates have all helped."
Control centre
Control centre staff have been mastering the new Compass software, ahead of their move into a new control centre at Swiss Cottage, which opens at the end of April. TfL judges LOROL’s performance on a wide range of measures and control centre staff are working effectively to respond to the tough performance regime.
Performance
One of LOROL’s early successes as a company has been to deliver strong PPM figures. LOROL achieved a PPM of 94.71% during P1/2008, a major achievement in such a short time and in fact the best ever recorded result on this network.
Ticketless travel
LOROL agreed some tough targets with TfL to crack down on fare evaders. There has been a marked improvement with fewer people travelling without a ticket than in the past. Mark commented, "We need to build on this positive start and ensure we break the culture of ticketless travel." Penalty fares were introduced on the Gospel Oak to Barking line in January, making the entire Overground network a penalty fares railway.
Trains
The appearance of the existing fleet is improving. Within a couple of days of taking on the concession the old branding was removed and light touch London Overground branding was applied. Over half of the trains have been deep cleaned giving passengers much smarter and tidier carriages. The depot at Willesden used to be a satellite facility, but it is now a fully functioning central depot for the whole network.
Stations
Passengers at London Overground stations will have seen less graffiti since November. Over 90% of stations have been deep cleaned and repainted. Claire Brown, Customer Services Director, said, "We are going the extra mile and are tidying up areas beyond the station boundaries. We are keen to remove all the graffiti we can in and around stations. Cleaning up walls and railway pillars in the vicinity of stations makes good sense – even though it is beyond our remit – as our passengers benefit from a cleaner and smarter railway."
