Southern Railway: Publication of a Customer Oriented Timetable

Abstract

In 1998, the Southern Railway (SR) undertook a project to qualitatively upgrade its railway timetable, with the objective of making it more user-friendly. The outcome of this effort, which resulted in the publication of a significantly improved version of the timetable in August 1998, had a dramatic impact in how it was received by the various stakeholder including users, advertisers, and the entire railway administration. Other railway zones attempted to ‘copy’ the format and features for their 1999 version, and most importantly, the Railway Board requested the SR to bring out the 1999 Trains at a Glance (TAG). The efforts for bringing out the SR timetable were spearheaded by a project team. The case focuses on the “complex’ organizational processes involved and the determination and efforts put in by the team. Having brought out three editions of the SR timetable and the TAG, the project team had various concerns as of January 2000. These included stabilization of the timetable format and features for future editions, institutionalization of the production, contractual arrangements for outsourcing and an approach for an internet based e-timetable.