Polestar's Rail Timetable And Web Publishing Deal

The Polestar Group has been awarded the contract to supply Virgin Trains in the UK with a web-based publishing system to produce its train timetables.

The Polestar Group has been awarded the contract to supply Virgin Trains in the UK with a web-based publishing system to produce its train timetables.

In addition, the group has been awarded a three-year print management contract, also for the printing and distribution of its timetables.

Virgin Trains' sought a single source partner for the successful provision of timetable production.

The publishing system, which has been designed by Polestar Applied Solutions, will reduce the current production cycle time, enabling greater flexibility and accuracy, said the company.

The system will be fully commissioned during the autumn and the first round of timetables will be printed in November.

It joins the Httprint e-procurement system installed by Polestar Applied Solutions across a number of the Virgin companies in April last year.

The print management contract represents significant additional business for Polestar 4c which is already one of Virgin's preferred suppliers, added the company.

Graham Leech, executive director commercial at Virgin Trains, said: "Virgin Trains' timetables are relatively complex due to the considerable length of the routes offered and the high level of connections with trains from other operators.

Whilst there were a few timetable production systems available, only Polestar Applied Solutions was able to offer the level of sophistication required and to tailor it to our specific needs." He added: "We were impressed by their hands on approach to understanding the complexities and nuances of train planning.

Professional technology expertise was always treated as a given, but clearly they have a breadth and depth of experience and understanding, which is second-to-none.

The new system will provide considerable time savings in the production of our timetables and will also enable us to improve accuracy of the data.

We will be able to start our schedule later, which means that the information will be as up to date as possible." Polestar Applied Solutions managing director, Paul Seaborn, said: "These new contracts are further evidence of Polestar's ability to provide bespoke services to major organisations.

The Virgin Group has made excellent use of the breadth of services Polestar can offer, firstly through our Httprint e-procurement platform, to our print management services and the development of a state-of-the-art publishing system." He added: "Whilst the strength of our working relationship has proven invaluable in developing the complex planning logic within the system, there was no doubt about our abilities to deliver from an IT perspective." Virgin Rail Group is the parent company of the two operations that operate the West Coast and Cross Country railway franchises, West Coast Trains and Cross Country Trains Limited.

The two businesses are run as an integrated operation under the trading name Virgin Trains.

The West Coast route network radiates from London Euston station to the West Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, North Wales and Glasgow, whilst the Cross Country hub is Birmingham New Street station from where services operate to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Penzance, Bournemouth, Brighton and Cardiff.

Virgin Trains was awarded the operating franchises in 1997.

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