Stagecoach Group

East Midlands Trains top team announced
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date 27 Sep 2007
source Stagecoach Group
type Press release

Stagecoach Group today (27 September 2007) announced the appointment of senior executives at East Midlands Trains, the new train company for the East Midlands and South Yorkshire area.

The company will take over services run currently by Midland Mainline and part of Central Trains from Sunday November 11.

Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of East Midlands Trains, said the new management appointments were looking forward to working with their colleagues in the company to improve rail services across the network.

“We have brought together a fantastic team to run the business,” he said. “We looked at a huge selection of people across the industry and those chosen have a range of competencies that will benefit East Midlands Trains. I am really proud that we have prepared and mobilized the business in such a short space of time – this is a good result.”

The new appointments are:

Jake Kelly – Customer Service Director

Jake Kelly started his professional life working in a building over Charing Cross railway station. His early career as a consultant saw him working for a number of different railway organisations. Since 2001, he has worked for Stagecoach and was Bid Director for the successful South Western franchise bid, and was most recently its Transition Director.

Jake said: “I am excited by the challenge of taking the best of both Midland Mainline and Central Trains’ legacies and, together with my team, creating a distinctive and even better customer experience for our passengers.”

David Horne – Commercial Director

David led Stagecoach’s successful bid for the East Midlands franchise and is currently the East Midlands Trains Mobilisation Director. He has worked in the rail industry since 1993 and has experience of intercity, regional and London & South East sectors in various commercial and strategic roles.

“I am very excited at the opportunities and challenges ahead for East Midlands Trains,” he said. “With the arrival of Eurostar services at St Pancras, the new East Midlands Parkway station and our faster mainline timetable, the foundations are being put in place to transform rail services to and from the East Midlands for our customers.”

Margaret Kay – Human Resources Director

Margaret Kay is joining as HR Director from sister company South West Trains where she was in the same role for two-and-a-half years, and five years previous to that Head of HR. A law graduate and expert in employment law, Margaret believes that employee commitment and advocacy is essential to the success of the business.

She said: “I believe passionately that by working together and putting our employees at the heart of everything we do we will be able to deliver the best service to our customers across the whole East Midlands region. I am very much looking forward to working with everyone so that together we can achieve this.”

Mark Steward – Operations Director

Mark Steward joins East Midlands Trains as Operations Director from National Express where he is currently Route Director for Silverlink County. He started his 24-year career in Shrewsbury as a train guard and has held senior positions with Merseyrail Electrics, First North Western and Silverlink working in Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and London.

He said: “There are some very exciting times ahead and as with any new franchise there are also fresh challenges, but as railway professionals we can share the good times and meet those challenges full on together. I look forward to meeting and working with you all very soon.”

Richard Bodicoat – Finance Director

Richard Bodicoat is a Chartered Accountant who has held various roles in industry over the last 10 years. He has held positions with WAGN, SET and as Transaction Finance Director of Rail Business Development within Stagecoach, including working on the East Midlands Trains’ franchise bid.

He said: “I am very excited about my new role as it is a great opportunity to bring the bid to life and deliver against it financially. We will be bringing the best out of a combined inter-city - rural train operating company and working with a new team of people to make this happen.”

Tony Wrighton – Engineering Director

Tony Wrighton is a Chartered Engineer with 27 years’ rail engineering and operations experience. He began as a BR engineering graduate trainee and worked at depots across the country. Tony was Commercial Director and then Production Director at Maintrain before becoming Fleet Director for MML in October 2003 and later its Production Director and deputy MD.

He said: “The new East Midlands Trains represents a considerable personnel challenge and reunites the committed fleet teams of Central Trains and Midland Mainline that I have worked with in the past to provide new solutions to the demands of the East Midlands franchise.”

Safety and Environment Director

Roger Walton, who is currently Midland Mainline’s Safety Director, will be Interim Safety and Environment Director. He will ensure a smooth handover of critical safety activities to Sharon Vye-Parminter when she joins East Midlands Trains.

Sharon has worked in the railway industry for 13 years in safety and performance roles, and will join EMT from Londonlines where she is Head of Safety.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Lisa Davies or Carmel Pernicano at East Midlands Trains on 020 7983 6199 or visit the company’s website at www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk

Notes to Editors

For photographs of the top team contact East Midlands Trains on 020 7983 6199.
For more information about the company, please visit our website – www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk
East Midlands Trains, run by Stagecoach Group, starts its seven-year-and-four-month franchise on Sunday 11 November 2007 at 2am. Highlights of the company’s plans include around £90 million of investment in station and train improvements, more CCTV cameras, extra car park spaces, improved journey times and better performance.
Stagecoach Group is a leading international transportation group, with extensive bus and rail operations in the UK and North America. Stagecoach operates the South Western rail franchise, which includes the South West Trains and Island Line networks, and also has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group.

Railhub Archive ::: 2007-09-27 STG-001