Elysa Sorahan and Melinda Button from the Customer team inspect the new livery
ISSUE 21 / 3 JULY 2014 • Tell us what you think • Customer Charter • Sodding great • Board walk stands up as a success • Customer service training
New look VLocity Theo’s thoughts We’re in a new ‘fun’ancial year amidst a period of great change for the organisation. Just this week there are two things going on that will play a big part in making us a top five per cent customer service organisation...
Turns out it takes a lot to make our trains look the way they look. Last week some V/Line staff were treated to a special behind the scenes showing of the new livery on our VLocity trains.
Because of the unique shape of the VLocity,
Livery is the design and colour scheme of
are now covered in a higher percentage of
the outside of the train and if you don’t mind
class 1A reflective material than any that
us saying so this one is a ripper!
have gone before it.
It takes more than 450 people hours to
The new livery will be put through its
install the new livery on a single VLocity
paces in the next few weeks before it
and a team of 15 people worked around the
starts to get rolled out across more of the
clock to complete the first train in less than
VLocity fleet.
a week. The livery was developed by Public Transport Victoria and showcases its “network”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
graphic while keeping the V/Line purple front and centre.
the livery design was more complex than any other public transport vehicle in Victoria. Aside from looking really awesome, the livery is an Australian first in terms of visibility. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology the front and sides of the train
Page 2 / V/NEWS / Issue 21
2014 ‘Your Voice’ engagement survey
5
$
will be donated to the CFA
Last Wednesday Theo launched an exciting new initiative to the Senior Leadership Team, our new Customer Charter. The Customer Charter has been developed on the five things our customers have told us are most important and is a big step in reaching our goal of being in the top five per cent. They have told us that we need to be:
Safe and secure Safety is first in everything we do for our customers, our staff and our communities.
Reliable We want customers to have a reliable service that runs on time, with information and alternatives when things don’t go to plan.
Comfortable We want travel to be as clean and comfortable as possible.
Helpful We pride ourselves on being friendly and helpful.
Informative We will provide up-to-date information that is accurate and consistent. We need to focus on these five things to continue to deliver our high levels of customer service and look at where we can further embed them into our teams and roles. Everyone will have received a copy of the customer charter and a lanyard card in the mail and you can also find the charter on the internet. OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
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Tell us what you think and support the CFA The 2014 Your Voice Employee Engagement survey is about finding out what and how you feel about V/Line. Questions like: do you get enough support, encouragement and training; would you recommend V/Line as a place to work; are we customer focused; are we truly committed to safety? So, take 10 minutes out of your day to complete the survey. It’s 100% confidential and for each completed survey V/Line will donate $5 to the Country Fire Authority. This week you will receive an email from Insync Surveys with a link to the online survey. If you’d prefer not to do the survey online, your manager has a paper version with a reply paid envelope that you can send directly to Insync.
LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
You can also call Insync toll free on 1800 084 003 if you would prefer to talk to their staff. The survey will be open until Thursday 31 July. We have all done lots of these surveys over the years and sometimes it can seem that your voice is not being heard and no changes are made. In fact our leaders are listening and acting, but sometimes that message does not get back to you. Out of the recent Safety focus groups, for example, new and exciting initiatives were born including the live train tracker, in-field safety advisers and changes to the incident reporting database. All great ideas, that came from you. So keep talking and have your say.
V/NEWS / Issue 21 / Page 3
Sodding great
Test train puts us right on track Driver Samantha Carson stole the show, when Theo and Transport Minister Terry Mulder travelled on the new Regional Rail Link tracks between Sunshine and Footscray. RRLA Chief Executive Corey Hannett was also on board along with Nine News reporter Andrew Lund and his cameraman, who turned plenty of their attention to Sam.
Terry Mulder kicks of works at Epsom Station
Sam was a fountain of knowledge on the new tracks and was excited to point out that they would give customers a smoother ride and allow
Terry Mulder kicks off works at Epsom Station
us to avoid congestion once we get
Work has started on the construction of the new station at Epsom after Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder turned the site’s first sod.
to Epsom. It will also include a car park for 100 vehicles.
into the suburban area. The train was sparkling clean,
The new station will return passenger trains
everything ran smoothly and the
to Epsom, just north of Bendigo, for the first
Minister was very impressed. It was
time in 40 years and will provide a much
a great example of our customer
Once it is finished all services to and from
more friendly service for our customers who
relay in action with Customer, Service
Echuca will stop at the new station and an
currently have to catch a bus or drive to
Delivery and Asset Management all
extra Bendigo train will be extended to run
Bendigo Station.
working as one team to make V/Line look great on TV news.
Theo’s thoughts
After the June/July works, CONTINUED
when complex signalling and
• Tomorrow is the start of your chance to tell us what you think and support the great work of the CFA by participating in the Your Voice Employee Engagement survey.
urban area for Bendigo and Ballarat
commissioning is completed, our
services. There are a number of other
Bendigo and Ballarat trains will start
infrastructure projects ticking along
to use the new RRL tracks between
nicely which will also deliver great
Sunshine and Southern Cross.
• The customer charter has been launched and this will guide us on our journey to better customer service.
So take some time out from your busy day to have a breather, read the mag and look forward to an exciting couple of weeks.
benefits for our customers.
Regional Rail Link works are going on as I write this and we will soon have dedicated pathways through the
Keep each other safe, Theo
Driver Sam Carson at the controls of the RRL test train
Page 4 / V/NEWS / Issue 21
Board walk stands up as a success Last week we got a great indication of how much progress we have made in the past six months at the Board gallery walk. Theo and the Your V/Line Program Sponsors and Stream Leaders updated members of the Board on what we have achieved. At the first Board Gallery Walk, held in November, we informed the Board of the plans and strategies we had in place and where V/Line was heading in the next three years. This time around was a little different – we were able to show them the improvements we’ve made and what we’ve learnt in the process.
we’ll continue the vital steps to achieving
Stuart Beardwell, Siska Waddington,
the goals we’ve set out.
David Cameron and Les Lovell who
The members of the Board were impressed with what we’ve achieved and it’s a testament to all staff at V/Line who have worked for the greater good of the organisation.
A big thank you to Ross Blundell, Craig Barrett, Brendan Geary, Jenny Kelman,
worked so diligently to put this Board Gallery Walk together.
Dean Matthews, Carol-Anne Nelson,
Most importantly thanks to all staff for
John Pistak, Judith Sturman, Simone
their hard work over the last six months.
Reinersten, Mary Potter, Kate Stevenson,
It’s definitely paying off and it certainly
We acknowledged that we still have a lot
Rory MacManus, Tony Henwood, Melinda
doesn’t go unnoticed.
of work to do, and we demonstrated how
Button, Linda Mills, Cynthia Heydon,
It’s all about our customers Our Asset Management team will be up to their necks in projects over the next few months with works taking place to improve our tracks across the network.
Bungaree Loop
Taradale & Ravenswood Loops
2 July – 7 August
15 – 24 July
What’s happening? Replacing
What’s happening? Replacing 5600
4600 sleepers; level crossing track
sleepers.
reconstruction; draining and resealing bitumen road surface.
Cost: $1.45 million
Cost: $1.07 million
Dunolly to Inglewood
Murtoa to Hopetoun
15 July – 21 August
26 August – 13 November
customers great benefits including a
What’s happening? Replace 3100
What’s happening? Replacing 39,200
smoother ride and increased safety on the
sleepers; replace timber sleepers
sleepers; welding 375 short rails;
tracks and through level crossings. Our
with concrete ones on four bridges;
removing mud holes and restoring
freight customers will also experience a
reconditioning two level crossings.
drainage; inspecting and repairing
Once complete, these works will give
smoother ride when the Murtoa to Hopetoun works are finished.
Cost: $1.1 million
40 level crossings. Cost: $10.36 million
V/NEWS / Issue 21 / Page 5
Customer service training
Alice Morris (2nd Right) trains customer service staff Angela Brown, Matt Lamp and Clive Nicholson
Over 100 station staff from across
organisations worldwide. It has proven to
customer requirements and aligns to a
the state have now gone through our
be a great opportunity for staff to share
national unit of competency.
station staff customer service training.
experiences and get new tips on how to
It is all part of equipping our staff with the
deliver better customer service.
The training sessions have been organised by Pete Gibson and Brad Giddins and our
skills and tools to help get us into the top
The training goes towards a Certificate 4
V/Line trainers are Allan Lever, Alice Morris
five per cent of customer service
qualification in identifying and meeting
and Coral Irvine.
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
Big network changes on their way The Regional Rail Link (RRL) project is entering an exciting phase and our customers are about to reap the benefits. The RRL team will be working around the clock through the July school holidays to complete complex signalling works and new platforms at Footscray and Sunshine which will pave the way for the final stages of the project. Once the works are complete Ballarat and Bendigo services will gradually begin to use the new Regional Rail Link Tracks, meaning reduced congestion and improved reliability
Come 27 July there will also be a new
for our customers.
timetable introduced for the public transport
Gippsland corridor with some services
network. For us this will:
departing earlier or later, altered
North Melbourne Station, so these trains will
• Incorporate the changes around RRL.
journey times.
no longer stop there. Customers can change
• Mean some minor changes to services
at Footscray or Southern Cross to connect to
on the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and
next year when new VLocities will lead to
Metro Services.
Seymour corridors.
more services for our customers.
There is no platform beside the new tracks at
• Have a significant impact on the
Major changes to our timetable are expected
Page 6 / V/NEWS / Issue 21
Yes we Cannes
Pets corner Sam is a 13 year old Fox Terrier who belongs to Gayle Weller, Services Officer in Echuca. Here he is at Echuca Station wearing his PPE and standing behind the yellow line to keep safe.
Avoid the
Book a V/Line ticket to catch up with friends. vline.com.au
Sam
Talk about flexing your muscle on
it has been won by a small local organisation
submitted the award entry. And to our head
the world stage, a V/Line marketing
rather than a big worldwide player.
office Customer team who worked on it behind
campaign has pulled in a top
Just to refresh your memory, Guilt Trips was a
the scenes including: Customer Experience
campaign encouraging parents, families and
Manager Lisa Stolt, Customer Service Project
friends living in country Victoria to get in touch
Manager Stuart Beardwell, Senior Graphic
and invite their loved ones living in Melbourne
Designer Les Lovell, Digital Channels Adviser
The V/Line Guilt Trips campaign won the Grand
to take a trip back to visit, using V/Line.
Simon Lock and Monica Barrow who is
Prix award for Creative Effectiveness. This is the
Congratulations to our advertising agency
currently on maternity leave but suggested the
highest honour in the category and the first time
McCann, who created the campaign and
term Guilt Trip for the campaign.
honour at the world renowned Cannes advertising festival.
Fast fact Did you know...
Competition is very close for the longest
the opening of the line in the early 1860’s.
tunnel on the network. The Bendigo line
But the young buck (at least compared to
tunnels at Big Hill (390m) and Elphinstone
these two) takes the spoils; the Geelong
(385m) are pretty close. Both date back to
tunnel built in 1876 measures up at 425m.
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