Rail Delivery Group
 | |
| Industry | Rail transport |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Association of Train Operating Companies, Rail Delivery Group |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
| Website |
www |
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) is a body in the privatised British railway system.
RDG is an unincorporated association owned by its members, which are Network Rail, the owner of the rail infrastructure; the train operating companies that provide passenger services; and the freight operating companies. It owns the National Rail brand.
RDG replaces
- the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), comprising only the train operating companies. ATOC was set up by the train operators formed during the privatisation of the railways under the Railways Act 1993.
- the former Rail Delivery Group, formed in 2011 to formulate policy and undertake communications on behalf of the entire rail industry.
Services provided by the Rail Delivery Group include National Rail Enquiries, sponsorship of the Plusbus schemes, the management of rail discount cards and the licensing of railway travel agents. It also produces the definitive National Routeing Guide, available on its website, defining the validity of tickets, and has some input in the content of the National Fares Manual, which is distributed by the National Rail website.
Main operations
- Revenue allocation and settlement through ORCATS systems
- National Rail Enquiries
- Railcard marketing
- Staff travel arrangements
- International products
- The relationship with Transport for London
- Travel agent licensing
- Railway policy formulation
- Industry communications with the public
In December 2009, ATOC outsourced call centre operations for National Rail Enquiries to India with the loss of 200 jobs in the UK.[1] The House of Commons Transport Select Committee had considered the move in 2004.[2]
Senior personnel
- Paul Plummer, Chief Executive since September 2015, succeeding Michael Roberts, CEO 2008-2015[3]
- Gary Cooper, director of operations, engineering and major projects
- Jacqueline Starr, managing director, customer experience (including National Rail Enquiries)
- Dennis Rocks, interim director of RSP
- Elizabeth de Jong, director of policy and research
- Edward Welsh, director of communications
- George Lynn, finance director
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
On 15 June 2009, ATOC published the report, Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network, an analysis for short-term localised development of the passenger network, detailing schemes taking from between two years nine months to six years to complete, that it believed would be commercially viable (i.e. with a benefit-cost ratio greater than 1.0). These would complement existing long-term national projects. The report detailed up to 40 communities with a population of over 15,000 where stations could be built or re-opened, including 14 schemes involving using new or re-opened lines, and seven new Parkway stations on existing passenger lines.[4][5]
Two of the proposed stations were selected in 2013 for funding by the government's New Stations Fund, administered by Network Rail:[6] Ilkeston and Kenilworth, both to open in 2017.[7][8] Oxfordshire County Council included a proposal for a Wantage & Grove station in their 2015 local transport plan.[9]
European equivalents
As rail franchising also takes place in other countries, most European countries have one or more equivalent organisation.
In Germany, the Tarifverband der Bundeseigenen und Nichtbundeseigenen Eisenbahnen in Deutschland (Tariff Association of Federal and Non-Federal Railways in Germany; TBNE) is responsible for railway ticket revenue distribution. Political representation of TOCs is carried out by mofair e.V.
In Sweden, the equivalent organisation is the Branschföreningen Tågoperatörerna (Association of Swedish Train Operating Companies).
See also
References
- ↑ National Rail Enquiries Transfers Call Centre Jobs From The UK To India Archived December 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Sky News. 16 July 2009
- ↑ National Rail Enquiry Service - Eleventh Report of Session 2003-04 House of Commons Transport Select Committee
- ↑ McClair, Kevan. "Paul Plummer to run RDG and ATOC | Rail Delivery Group". www.raildeliverygroup.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- ↑ "Move to reinstate lost rail lines". BBC News. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ↑ "Connecting Communities - expanding access to the rail network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. Archived from the original (pdf) on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ↑ "New Stations Fund". Network Rail. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ↑ Quinn, Shannyn (17 January 2017). "Opening date for Ilkeston train station finally revealed". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ↑ Jackson, Sam (5 January 2017). "Kenilworth Station opening delayed until December 2017 due to signalling problems". Kenilworth Weekly News. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ↑ https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default/files/folders/documents/roadsandtransport/transportpoliciesandplans/localtransportplan/ConnectingOxfordshirevol1policyandoverallstrategy.pdf