WE MUST SEE HUMILITY, OLD SKILLS - AND TEAMWORK

TL;DRAbstract

In the article, the Virgin Trains Chief Executive, Chris Green, examines some of the problems facing the railway industry. A survey shows that train reliability is the most important of customer priorities, although, unlike other forms of transport, railway operations comprise the sum of many small acts, any one of which can cause widespread delays. The collapse of a professional service delivery has been brought about by: (1) new owners in a fragmented industry underestimating the complexity of the industry; (2) too many knowledgeable junior and middle managers have left the industry; and (3) the new-style industry has been in too much of a hurry to contract out core work. The result has been a collective loss of skills in the basics of running the railways. There may have been a saving in experienced supervisory roles, but at a cost of delays, broken rails, cable cutting, locomotive failures and project overruns. What is needed is an urgent rediscovery of lost skills through training

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