05 Dec 2016
Arriva’s Chris Burchell appointed as chairman of the Rail Delivery Group
The managing director of Arriva’s UK Trains division has been appointed as chairman of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
Chris Burchell will commence his new role from 1 January and will succeed the RDG’s previous chairman Martin Griffiths, chief executive of Stagecoach Group, who has chaired the RDG Board for a three-year term since December 2013.
Chris Burchell said: “The RDG exists to enable train companies and Network Rail to succeed in transforming and delivering the modern, successful railway that Britain needs and wants, and I am proud to have been asked to lead its important work delivering that. I also want to pay tribute to three years of great leadership by Martin Griffiths.
“The railways have delivered remarkable growth, with passenger numbers doubling over the last twenty years. But this growth has brought challenges as the railways have become more crowded and the limits of capacity that can delivered from the existing network are increasingly being reached. At the same time, customer expectations continue to rise with demands for even better services, simplified ticketing and fares, and improved technology.
“Industry and government is responding through a £50bn-plus Railway Upgrade Plan with investment in new trains, infrastructure and services, and the customer agenda is, rightly, front and centre of the debate about how to modernise our railways.
“This is an important time for our railways and further reform is essential to meet the demands of customers and support the UK’s economy, and I’m looking forward to working with all our stakeholders to help shape this crucial agenda.”
Chris began his railway career as Area Production Manager at Railtrack, and after a period at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, worked as Director of Operations at Thames Trains. He was Managing Director at Southern Railway between 2004 and 2014 before taking up his current full-time role at Arriva. He was also chair of the railway industry’s cross-industry National Task Force between 2010 and 2016.
Arriva’s UK trains operations include Arriva Rail London, Arriva Trains Wales, CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways, Northern and Grand Central.
The Rail Delivery Group brings together all passenger and freight operators with Network Rail and HS2, providing services and support to enable them to succeed by delivering better services for their customers. The RDG also gives a voice to freight and passenger operators, as well as delivering important national ticketing, information and reservation services for passengers on behalf of member companies.