“I am pleased to say that demand for North Star’s specialist rail operations expertise in the UK, Europe and internationally continues to grow. In the past 6 months we have provided operations advice, proposal management services, public sector advice and assistance to airports in rail connectivity on behalf of clients in the UK, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, France and the United Arab Emirates.
As always, we apply our customer-centric approach to everything we do. We are looking forward to future opportunities throughout Europe, the Middle East and further afield in a growing transport sector.”
-Richard Brown, Managing Director.
Proposal Management
In the private sector, we have supported a number of significant rail bids in the UK and overseas, including two major operations and maintenance bids for new rail systems in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In addition, we are supporting systems and operations bids in Norway, Denmark and Italy.
DfT Framework
We have enjoyed another year in partnership with Atkins providing consultancy support to the Department for Transport’s Rail Executive as part of the new STAR (Specialist Technical Advice for Rail) framework. The partnership has already been appointed to support PQQ ‘passport’ and franchise bid evaluations, the Cross Country Direct Award and two lots in the Rail Executive 2035 vision. We are also supporting Atkins in the provision of advice to Rail North with regard to the TransPennine Express and Northern franchises.
Airport Support
North Star’s support to London Luton Airport continues through the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Govia Thameslink Railway, driving a 40% increase in rail link use over twelve months. This represents the first stage in facilitating the airport’s expansion.
London Luton Airport also commissioned North Star Consultancy to review the existing East Midlands Trains timetable and examine opportunities to improve rail services serving Luton Airport Parkway. The report click here shows that increasing the number of hourly fast trains to Luton Airport Parkway through timetable change could significantly increase rail revenue (up to £110 million) at no cost to the rail operator or the DfT. It would also see the number of passengers travelling to the airport by train almost double, reducing traffic congestion by 70,000 journeys and saving 500 tonnes of CO2. To complete the link to the terminal, a people mover system to replace the current bus transfer from Luton Airport Parkway is making good progress.
Increasing European Portfolio
Other projects have included providing ‘expert witness’ support to a major international railway supplier, and in addition to those in Norway and Denmark, we have also completed successful commissions with rail companies in Italy and Spain. We look forward to meeting the ever increasing standards of service that customers demand.
