London North Eastern Railway, Agility Trains and Hitachi Rail have joined forces as part of a pioneering three decade agreement which was revealed at the fourth anniversary of the first Azuma train operating passenger services for the LNER route back in May 2019.

The industry-leading approach will see the organisations commit to a set of values and behaviours as part of a Relationship Charter in order to create the best possible outcomes to benefit customers.

The innovative Charter will support an ongoing open and collaborative working relationship between LNER, Agility Trains and Hitachi Rail, covering all areas of collaboration over the remaining 23 years of existing contracts and potentially further into the future.

Agility Trains, who is a sub-contractor for Hitachi Rail were contracted by the Department for Transport as part of the second stage of the Intercity Express Programme during 2014 for 65 brand new high-speed Azuma trains and associated depots on the East Coast Mainline.

Azuma trains are British built and were designed, accepted and deployed in collaboration with LNER.  During this time, the Department for Transport also put in place a long-term operational agreement between Agility Trains and the rail operator in order to create passenger rolling stock services through to August 2046.

Linda Wain, Engineering Director at LNER, said: “By outlining common values and high standards for collaboration and interaction, the Charter is a commitment to working together to reach our shared competitive goals and to achieve operational benefits through a spirit of mutual trust and openness. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at LNER and ensuring they enjoy the best possible experience when they travel with us.  Working together with our partners is a key part of delivering the best service.”

James Le Couilliard, Agility Trains’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Charter cements our commitment to partnership in the delivery of outstanding passenger rail services across the East Coast through an open, collaborative approach – allowing us to collectively benefit from each organisation’s disparate skills, expertise, experience and knowledge. Enshrining our shared values, standards and behaviours across all areas of interface allows us to more effectively strive for our common goals, through a genuinely equal partnership, for long-term industry success and passengers benefit”.

Sara Holland, Fleet Director East Coast at Hitachi Rail, said: “Our collaboration has resulted in the British-built Azuma achieving award-winning performance. The Relationship Charter will build on this success, ensuring shared values and high standards are engrained in everything we do from boardroom to depot.”

The Relationship Charter also lays out opportunities available for active collaboration in order to offer each organisation the ability to hit goals and provide the best benefits for the relationship, such as

• Strategic: Continual contact between owner and project leads
• Tactical: Managers, supervisors, and team leads, collaborating to develop ways of working
• Operational: Sharing resources, skills, data, information, knowledge
• Interpersonal: Personal relationships are the mortar that holds everything together
• Cultural: Respect, appreciation, understanding and awareness across disciplines and roles.

This revolutionary approach to collaboration may see further Relationship Charters put in place as standard across the rail industry, with LNER also considering the rollout of the model to other partners and suppliers.