Andrew Chivers is the new Managing Director for National Express

KEY PRIORITIES FOR National Express CONTINUE TO BE PERFORMANCE, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SAFETY

Regional train operator National Express will welcome a new Managing Director on 1 January 2007 as Andrew Chivers succeeds Dominic Booth, who is leaving to head up NedRailways UK Limited - the overseas arm of the Dutch national railway company.

Andrew, an engineer by background, has a thorough understanding of the demands of large scale railways with experience at Thames and Chiltern. He has also been responsible for achieving excellent punctuality records at c2c and Silverlink, as Managing Director of London Lines. Commenting on his appointment, Andrew Chivers said :

I am delighted to be joining National Express at this exciting time for the region. London and the East of England are regions of critical importance to the national economy and two of the fastest growing economic areas in the UK. The rail service we provide is integral to the success of the region and I can assure passengers that our priorities will continue to be offering a safe, punctual and reliable railway, allied with excellent standards of customer service.

I would like to pay tribute to Dominic Booth who has achieved significant improvements to the service whilst at National Express, including the following initiatives :

" Improving punctuality standards
" Working with Network Rail to generate additional, earlier investment in the rail infrastructure in the region
" Completion of the refurbishment programme for the MK3 carriages on the mainline intercity Norwich - Ipswich - Colchester - London route
" Refurbishment of over half of the 61 Class 315s used on the Metro and West Anglia routes
" The successful transfer of the Class 317 fleet for West Anglia services from Hornsey
" Embedding positive timetable changes on Metro, Stansted Express and West Anglia routes
" Re-painting and upgrades for over 20 Mainline and Metro stations
" Introduction of attractive new fares on a number of routes across National Express, including the mainline advance purchase fares (starting at just £5 single to London)
" Further timetable and station upgrades on local and rural routes
" Gaining wider recognition and awards for our catering service, Wymondham station and our community rail routes

I've been working with Dominic on a number of projects at National Express over the last 8 months, which will enable us to manage a seamless transition. I'm looking forward to building on the organisation's positive progress, to make National Express an even more successful company, providing the first rate service our passengers expect and we intend to deliver.