East Coast beefs up customer services team

The state-owned rail operator has hired Neil Clucas for the

important role. He previously spent 13 years as director of operations at the Odeon and UCI Cinema Group.

He steps into the gap left by Jo North, who also held the title of deputy managing director. She left to start her own business in September.

East Coast has also appointed a new head of on-board services. Mark Tarry joins from Network Rail, where he was area general manager for the East Midlands.

In September, the operator confirmed the departure of its respected operations director, Mike Hogg. He was replaced by Danny Williams.

Despite the upheaval, East Coast's parent company revealed in its first annual report this month that it made an operating profit of 52m on turnover of 233.8m.

It took over the service a year ago after National Experience broke the terms of its franchise agreement, two years after previous holder GNER ran into financial difficulties.

The state-owned company has had to take tough decisions as it tries to bring the service into good shape ahead of the reletting of the franchise by the end of 2012.

These include the axing of the restaurant car service – the oldest in the UK – in an effort to stem heavy losses from its catering operations.

Karen Boswell, East Coast managing director, said the two new appointments are "great news for our business at a crucial time as we prepare to launch a new First Class on-board offer, which will include complimentary food and drinks served to customers at their seats, and the biggest timetable change in 20 years".

She said the new timetable, called Eureka!, will provide 20 more services, more than three million additional seats and "faster typical journeys". It is set to be launched in May.

Ms Boswell added: "Neil and Mark will bring a wealth of experience to help deliver these initiatives and continue to develop and improve our customer services and passengers' experience on-board our trains and at our stations."

Mr Clucas said: "I am delighted to be joining East Coast at such an important time for the business. Our focus is on offering a best-in-class customer service to all our passengers and I am determined to ensure their experience of travelling with us is always excellent."