The UK national railway network, which includes some 2 500 stations, operates around 24 000 mainline passenger services daily for approximately 3 000 000 passengers. Following privatisation of the UK national railway network in 1995, the UK mainline passenger services are operated by franchise holders, of which there are currently 19. National rail enquiries is an integral part of the UK railway network by being the passenger train operators’ initial customer contact point for the provision of independent national rail travel information.
The proposed contract(s) primarily concern(s) services for the provision of inbound contact centre operation(s) for National Rail Enquiries to provide passenger train service information. It is currently estimated that the service to be provided will need to respond to around 4 000 000 calls per year with an Average Handle Time of around 180 seconds per call.
The service provider will provide the general public with: information on train services, including timetables, fares and promotions, real time running information and service interruptions; the NRE customer relations service via phone, e-mail and white mail; first line technical support for new media services; bookings and payments for passengers requiring assistance at stations; all other associated data connected with UK rail travel.
The selected supplier will be required to provide and equip the service location(s) and recruit, train and manage the workforce.
Services must be provided:
In English, minimum Level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), 364 days per year, 24 hours per day, By inbound phone, via TextBox for hearing-impaired passengers via e-mail from National Rail web site contact forms via white mail to support customer relations activities.
The service provider must be able to receive data electronically and access databases via secure IP links, and have the capability to host third party applications, in order to utilise the UK rail industry-accredited standard data sources and systems to deliver the services.
A detailed service specification will be provided with the contract documentation at the ITT stage.
Development of the services. As a major provider of customer information National Rail Enquiries continuously assesses its operations, channels and information provision in order to optimise customer satisfaction at best value. The scope of the service(s) and the manner of their delivery may change during the term of the contract. Stringent quality standards will be established and will need to be monitored.
TISL may require additional services which are deemed to be necessary for the provision of the main services and may be procured from the existing provider following negotiation provided that such negotiation does not fundamentally alter the terms of the initial contract.