Rail Business Manager of the Year
Entry submission for: Richard Brown, Chief Executive, Eurostar
Submitted by Simon Montague, Director of Communications, Eurostar
Summary
Chief executive Richard Brown has successfully steered Eurostar through a year
of extraordinary progress and change. He has personally driven the train v plane
emissions research and launch of the Tread Lightly environmental initiative. He
has overseen Eurostar’s leading role in the Railteam partnership and launch of
through fares across the UK. Above all he has steered the preparations for the
unprecedented overnight move of a train operator to a new terminal,
maintenance depot and railway; while achieving record passenger numbers and
sustaining record levels of punctuality. Eurostar is now at the forefront of the
debate about a new era of rail travel.
Background
Richard Brown joined Eurostar as Chief Executive in August 2002, at a time when
revenues and passenger numbers were falling, punctuality was poor and the
management structure in urgent need of overhaul.
Between the opening of the first section of High Speed 1 in September 2003 and
the end of 2006, passenger numbers increased by almost 30%.
In September 2005, Eurostar’s old first class was split into Business Premier and
Leisure Select - with spectacular results. Business passenger numbers have
increased even faster - by nearly 30% since the beginning of 2006.
Punctuality in the calendar year 2006 reached a record 91.5% and has continued
at more than 91% to November 2007, alongside the huge extra burden on the
operations teams of preparing to move both the London terminal and
maintenance depot in November 2007, and then bedding in Eurostar’s faster
services using two new international stations and a new line.
By comparison, the airlines which compete on Eurostar's routes continue to
deliver an average punctuality of around 70%.
October 2006 - October 2007
During summer 2006, some of Eurostar's largest corporate clients started asking
for comparisons of the CO2 emissions generated by high-speed train journeys
and the alternative of short-haul flying. Chief executive Richard Brown, with a
lifelong interest in reducing environmental impacts, immediately recognised the
time had arrived for Eurostar to demonstrate its green credentials.
He oversaw the commissioning of independent research from Paul Watkiss &
Associates and AEA Technology - leaders in the field – who were given a brief to
undertake the most detailed possible comparison of the CO2 emissions of a
Eurostar journey between London and Paris or Brussels, and the equivalent flight.
The researchers used detailed data including actual load factors for Eurostar and
each of the airlines (the latter sourced from the CAA), electricity sources for each
part of Eurostar’s routes including transmission losses from power stations, train
energy consumption; and the various distances of the different air routes,
individual aircraft types in use on each route, and even aircraft engine types.
The researchers concluded that a Eurostar journey generates one-tenth of the
CO2 emissions of an equivalent flight. Richard immediately recognised the value
of this simple, powerful message for boosting rail’s environmental credentials.
The findings were published in early October 2006 – not unexpectedly to limited
initial media interest. Richard and his colleagues were unconcerned - they were
confident that the enormous difference between plane and train would soon
attract media and public attention – and it would be more effective for the media
to ‘find out for themselves’ than to have yet another green message pushed at
them. They also recognised that the ‘greening’ of Eurostar would be, and should
be seen as, a marathon and not a sprint; and that recognition would come
through action over time, not over-enthusiastic PR. Even so, and within weeks,
this train v plane comparison entered the transport and travel media
consciousness, where it became and remains firmly rooted and accepted.
Even before the research was commissioned, Richard realised that whatever the
findings, simply demonstrating that Eurostar was less environmentally damaging
than flying would not be enough. So in the autumn of 2006, he put together a
business-wide team with members from every major department, to work out
how Eurostar could become greener still.
Richard personally set the target of a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions per
passenger journey by 2012. He also personally drafted the 10-point plan to
reduce all Eurostar's other environmental impacts. These two key elements came
together to form the 'Tread Lightly' initiative that he unveiled in April 2007.
For the transport and travel industry, this was a groundbreaking moment.
Eurostar became the world's first train operator, and largest mass transport
operator, to promise to make all journeys carbon neutral - from the date of the
move to St Pancras International, 14 November 2007. The 'one-tenth'
comparison and Tread Lightly have led the way in enabling the rail industry to
take part in the vital debate about the extent to which high-speed rail, and indeed
UK rail as well, can act as an environmentally alternative to short-haul air in the
global effort to tackle climate change.
For many businesses, this pioneering environmental stance would have been
enough extra work alongside ‘business as usual’. For Richard Brown, it was but
one strand of activity over the past year.
Throughout the winter of 2006/07, Richard and fellow high-speed train CEOs on
the Continent were also quietly working on the creation of Railteam, a partnership
of nine high-speed train operators across northern Europe. Railteam was officially
launched in July 2007, its partners setting the ambition of doubling the number of
international rail journeys across Europe, to 25 million by 2010. Early benefits of
Eurostar, such as information points at hub stations, are already in place. The key
feature, a universal ticket distribution platform, will be launched in 2009.
Although Eurostar is among the smallest members of Railteam, it has found itself
in a leading role on issues like ticket distribution systems, because of Richard’s
personal drive, Eurostar’s unique international expertise, and the particular
importance of the Railteam concept for Eurostar's future commercial growth.
Immediately Railteam was launched, Eurostar then set about a separate but
similar piece of work, striking deals with half-a-dozen leading UK TOCs to
introduce through fares from 68 towns and cities across Britain to destinations
across Belgium, France and the Continent. These went on sale on 14 November,
the date of Eurostar’s move.
But even these further strands of CEO activity were small beer beside Richard
Brown’s main priority during October 06 - October 07: to plan, direct and prepare
the final steps for an unprecedented move of an entire train operation overnight,
from one terminal to another, together with a parallel overnight switch of
the train maintenance depot – all to take on the night of 13/14 November 2007.
The move directly affected the jobs, working locations and lives of 1000 staff two-thirds of Eurostar's employees. Richard led Eurostar's programme of activity
which, among other things, included:

Successful negotiations with the unions over relocation and new working
practices

A change management programme for all 1500 staff, which included
inviting every single employee to a day-long “Reintroducing to Eurostar”
seminar, held every weekday for seven weeks, that hugely raised staff
awareness and enthusiasm

Close and constant liaison with Eurostar’s UK parent company LCR and its
contractors over the progress of works at St Pancras, Ebbsfleet and
Stratford stations, plus Temple Mills depot and High Speed 1 itself

International marketing and PR programmes, firstly to get across the facts
of the move and then to raise public excitement
o
The marketing programme included a simple yet very striking
series of double page advertisements in the national press over six
months, each using the slogan “x months to go” over various shots
of the Barlow Shed at St Pancras International
o
The PR programme included a 50-stop national roadshow round
Britain to explain the new opportunities to connect with Eurostar as
a result of the move; and record journey time runs from Paris and
Brussels to London, which resulted in the largest and most positive
media coverage in the history of Eurostar

An enormous IT programme to make sure that all new systems at the new
stations would work

A highly complex programme of operational logistics across three depots
in three countries and three languages to ensure several months of driver
training on the new route, at the same time as delivering commercial
services that continued at more than 91% punctuality during a period of
rapid and sustained passenger growth

A plan to cope with a huge increase in demand to highest-ever levels
during the Rugby World Cup, with an extra 125,000 passengers carried
during the tournament, just a month before the move

The procurement of two new office buildings near St Pancras International,
for operational, customer service and head office staff

Highly detailed management of the fit-out contractors in the final months
before the move, to make sure it could successfully go ahead
From the travellers and media point of view, the move went entirely successfully.
Punctuality on the first day of operations was 97%, hampered only by students
who temporarily got onto the tracks in France as part of a wider industrial action
by SNCF unions which began on the eve of the move. During the subsequent
week, performance has continued to exceed 90%, despite continuing strikes in
France and inevitable teething problems at the new stations.
In summary it seems fair to say that, under Richard Brown’s helmsmanship and
thanks variously to Eurostar’s pioneering work on the environment, growing
activity with continental and UK TOC partners, and a brilliantly executed move all supported by a highly-effective communications campaign - there can barely
be an adult in Britain who is unaware of Eurostar’s move or of the new public
discussion over the possibility of a new era in short-haul travel.
Paradoxically, the smooth and perhaps effortless-seeming success of Eurostar’s
recent achievements actually masks the sheer complexity, volume and quantity
of work that Richard Brown has directed over the past 12 months. It is a tribute
to his understated, empowering leadership style and his recognition of the
importance of teamwork and his staff, that Eurostar has achieved so much.
In short time and thanks to his direction, the media are now talking freely and
frequently about high-speed rail as a harbinger of a new, greener era of shorthaul travel. Passenger numbers and revenues continue to rise to new and record
levels with every reporting period. It is entirely appropriate that during 2007,
Richard received the CBE for his services to the railway industry over 30 years.
This entry is necessarily brief, given the dedication of everyone at Eurostar to the
momentous activities of November 2007. I nevertheless hope it does justice to
Richard Brown and the results delivered under his leadership, and make him a
worthy entrant for the award for Rail Business Manager of the Year.