Rail pair carry on at the top

OLDHAM’S train operator has a new boss . . .the man who has been doing the job for the last three months.

Ian Bevan has been confirmed as managing director and his deputy Steve Butcher also keeps the title as well as taking the new role of chief operating officer.

They have been acting in those roles since Heidi Mottram, who had lead Northern, Britain’s biggest train operator, since it won the franchise.

Mr Bevan and Mr Butcher were chosen by Serco and Abellio, the joint owners of Northern Rail, to lead the company over the next four years until the Government lets a new franchise.

They were in their acting posts when the Department for Transport granted Northern a two-year extension to its franchise because it was performing so well.

Dominic Booth, Chief Operating Officer of Abellio (formerly Ned Railways) and Jeroen Weimar, Managing Director of UK Transport, Serco Group plc, said: “Ian and Steve bring a huge amount of talent and expertise to their new roles.”

The operator has improved the punctuality of its services from 83.7 per cent of trains on time in the 12 months to December 2004 to 91.5 per cent of trains on time in the 12 months to June 2010.