MARK NICHOLLS Rail operator One has announced it is to recruit 120 extra staff in a bid to raise standards in the service it offers.

MARK NICHOLLS

Rail operator One has announced it is to recruit 120 extra staff in a bid to raise standards in the service it offers.

The roles are right across the business and include new drivers, ticket office, platform and cleaning staff, as well as customer service centre and on-train roles.

The company says it is aiming

to improve the quality and consistency of service across its network over the next 12 months as it looks to build on recent improvements in punctuality - with around 87pc of trains arriving on time.

The company is also improving security for passengers and staff by fitting CCTV cameras on many of its trains.

Managing director Dominic Booth said: "This investment

in more than 120 additional employees across the One network, in all aspects of service delivery experienced by our customers, illustrates our clear focus on making train travel a more convenient, comfortable and enjoyable experience.

"By directly addressing those areas which we know have the greatest impact on travellers' journeys and which customers highlight as important to them in their feedback through research and correspondence, we hope passengers will see a visible improvement in service standards.

"The introduction of these new recruits should help improve reliability, enhance customer assistance and information provision, raise cleaning standards, make ticket purchase quicker and simpler, deliver faster, higher quality responses to correspondence and complaints, offer better on-train catering and provide greater security for passengers on their journeys."

The train operator says that:

An extra 24 drivers will be introduced on the Metro and West Anglia routes, which have the greatest density of service and are the busiest lines on the One network.

Sixty extra revenue protection inspectors will be employed to provide greater assistance for passengers, improve security, reduce fare evasion and "ticket-less travel" and provide better revenue collection.

At ticket offices a further 10 vacancies will be filled to help reduce or eliminate queuing.

A further 13 cleaners will be employed, helping to preserve, maintain and improve the condition of the carriages to raise cleaning standards.

At London Liverpool Street the number of platform staff will be increased by nine to offer extra customer assistance and information, whilst at the Customer Service Centre in Norwich, eight new employees will help improve the speed

and quality of response for advance ticket bookings by

phone and customer correspondence/complaints.

On the Norwich to London mainline intercity services extra at-seat catering in both First Class and standard accommodation will be launched from January 2 ,with an additional nine on-board stewards and stewardesses.