Danny Matthews

Said the following about The Bristol Parkway Team:

“The Bristol Parkway Team have had an extremely challenging year as they have dealt with and continue to deal with large scale engineering works that are impacting our customers. We have just seen three weeks go past where Bristol Parkway was completely shut. The team here covered the Rail Replacement Operation at four different locations – Bristol Parkway, Patchway, Yate and Filton Abbey Wood. Ensuring the highest level of customer service, the team successfully helped thousands of customers make their journeys safely. With Patchway being the main station for travel from between Wales and London during this blockade, the team here also ensured that individuals with accessibility issues were informed and able to make their journeys still successfully. The team went above and beyond to make sure that everybody made it to their end destination.

During this time numerous members of the team showed outstanding leadership skills to ensure the smooth running of this operation on the ground. They used their team working skills and initiative to deal with several difficult situations throughout the blockade including vulnerable passengers, train delays that impacted the RRS operation and many more. Also, their fantastic communication skills meant that all four sites were managed simultaneously. This communication also extended to working exceptionally well with the Possession Delivery Team, Revenue Protection and First Transport Solutions to deliver a smooth three-week blockade. The passion, commitment and teamwork shown during these three weeks exemplifies the excellent work the team have done for the whole year (already having dealt with a blockade earlier this year).

The team at Parkway have embodied the values and behaviours that we hold here at GWR. They have continually put in time and effort for our customers going beyond what is normally expected. They have gone above and beyond to meet the expectations of our customers and colleagues alike. They have a personal approach that has left customers smiling, and with a fantastic rapport with the team. They have used their empathy, especially over the last few weeks, to ensure that customers have had the best experience possible. They have acted with integrity, supporting colleagues and customers throughout the blockade and during the previous year. They have also responded to and resolved issues quickly and effectively, taking ownership, being proactive and making key decisions to delight our customers.

Everybody within the Bristol Parkway Team has gone above and beyond to ensure that our customers get the best experience possible during both our normal running, but also during the blockades we have seen at the Station. They have sacrificed personal time to deliver the smoothest possible three weeks for our customers.

The end result has been a fantastic delivery of the three-week blockade – with a large number of compliments coming from not only our customers but also fellow GWR colleagues. The team have worked tirelessly in preparation for the next major possession which sees the lines along the Filton bank redoubled - which will have a large impact on our customers here at Bristol Parkway – with only three weeks of normality in between. This will be another three weeks of disruption that I am sure the team here will manage expertly.“