The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track (2013) s01e01 Episode Script
Kings Cross
1 Britain's railway.
"We are sorry to announce" The oldest and one of the busiest in the world.
Thank you.
Just slow down.
Slow down.
Surely this is illegal to be packed in like this.
A huge network under constant pressure.
Absolutely mental today.
No driver.
No driver? Come on, look for the driver and guard.
Where anything and everything Start tampering.
.
.
can mean delay and chaos for thousands.
Backs against the wall.
He's got a suicidal female on board.
Train's now 90 late, owing to hitting a pheasant.
I've heard everything now.
Filmed over a year across the nation, That one.
The seat next to the banana.
.
.
we go behind the scenes of an industry we all love to complain about.
Do you want a hand? That's ã323.
50.
Oi! Hey! Hey! Hey! With the railway people determined to keep Britain moving.
To infinity and beyond.
It's a battle.
TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS Which one, my love? 16:30 to York.
Don't panic yourself, my darling.
I find it humiliating.
I find I'm just being treated like a dork.
You shouldn't feel that because you're not.
But it is.
He's treating us like we're animals.
He must feel like he's like cattle.
Look at this place.
There's no room to move.
You start getting more than 50 people in here, it starts looking like mayhem.
Unblock the doors, please.
Can you make your way in, please? Friday evening rush-hour at King's Cross, one of London's oldest stations.
It's not my fault the train hasn't turned up.
What a shit place it is.
47 million people a year pass through the station on their journeys to Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and beyond.
Off you go, good luck.
What do you mean by as soon as possible? As soon as the driver gets in his cab he'll be going.
Built in 1852, when people travelled by steam train and horse-drawn cart, today the station is struggling to cope with the demands of 21st-century train travel.
BLOWS WHISTLE This station, to be honest with you, it's like a giant cave.
It is dark and it's dreary.
Do not expect any niceties because, as you see, this is what you get.
We have here my own little private joke, I call it A&E, you know.
Cos, yeah, it does look like that, casualty.
But I feel they think they're being cheated in a way.
You know, they're paying money to travel.
But they're also paying money to be able to feel safe and comfortable.
I think that's what they're going to get next door.
Next door, the biggest transformation in the 160-year history of King's Cross station is underway.
Costing half a billion pounds and 15 years in the making, the new western concourse will hold three times more people than the old station and comes with a hotel, shops and restaurants.
The hope is that the massive semi-circular space attached to the side of the old station will transform the passengers' travelling experience.
When it comes to tables around, say, passenger satisfaction, amongst all of the Network Rail managed stations, we're always at the bottom, always, and we have been for years.
So, I guess really the new station has always been the hope.
It's like, when the new station opens, when we get there, then we can do it, then we can be top, then we can be the best, then we can smash it out the park.
With three months to go until the modernised King's Cross is unveiled, passengers continue to cope with the less glamorous reality of their daily commute through the old station.
And it's Friday, the busiest day of the week.
The Travel Centre is the first port of call when things go wrong.
HUMS Next, please.
Staff here describe themselves as working on the frontline.
So you're talking about the system again.
Everyone blames the system.
I've got vouchers through a cancelled train because of the system.
The reason you can't find me a cheap fare is because of the system.
I can't change the system.
But somebody else can.
What can I do? Speak to your manager, who'll speak to his manager, who'll speak to his manager.
Everyone blames the system.
Then the system will work.
I can do that.
It won't change But you won't do that.
It won't change.
But you won't do that.
You said you can do that but you won't.
You're happy Do you want the ticket? Yeah, I'll book that ticket.
Do you have a preference of seating? Would you like the window or aisle? Yeah.
I'll have a window, quiet with a table and power point, if the system will allow it.
The window usually has a power point.
How can there be nobody here at London King's Cross station who can sort something as small as a ã99 problem? I've no way of giving you your money back.
I'm sorry.
The address is here.
Do you want to take this monitor? Stop filming.
This man's being ridiculous.
I'm not being ridiculous, you are.
I'm just asking for my ã99 back.
Why did you call me a racist? Because you are.
You're an idiot.
You're an idiot.
That's what you are.
Major league prick.
Another day in the Travel Centre.
So, is that a clip-on tie? Yeah.
So, why do you wear clip-on ties? Simple, for the simple reason, the same reason we wear clip-on lanyards.
Someone grabs it and off it comes.
The same with the tie.
Someone grabs it and it'll come away in their hands.
So I can then retreat.
And what sort of steps will I take? Flipping great big ones.
When the customers are upset, they want two things.
They want to express their feelings and then they want their problems solved.
And we try to do that.
We try not to confuse them, we try not to be confused ourselves.
We try to empathise with them.
Empathy means always having to say you're sorry.
Saying sorry to a customer does not imply that you did anything wrong.
It simply conveys that you're generally sorry that the customer has had a bad experience.
So here goes.
Behind the scenes, the station's customer-service culture is being overhauled.
East Coast Trains, one of the four main train operating companies at King's Cross, is managed by Steve Newland.
He wants his vision to be central to the station's transformation.
Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Last-minute glitches.
Is it all going all right? Well, like all projects, they seem to run to the wire.
And this one is no different.
We have a clear vision, which is to provide the best possible customer journey experience, and make King's Cross a great place to work.
It's about creating a dynamic team with inspirational leadership.
It's about championing a "just do it" approach to delivering what we call five-star quality service.
What do you think is most important to the passenger? I think the majority of customers would say we just want the basics and we want value for money.
We're working hard to provide that for them at King's Cross.
Hello.
All right? Yeah.
All right? Yeah.
In the East Coast control room there's news that one of their trains has run out of fuel.
Delta 5, all East Coast mobiles, train on platform 5 is a failure.
Passengers for Peterborough and Doncaster to travel on 11:08.
If there's any passenger for Wakefield and Leeds, any passenger for Wakefield and Leeds to travel on the 11:35.
Laxman Keshwara has worked at King's Cross for over 30 years and is one of East Coast's most experienced employees.
Yeah, Lima to Oscar.
How does that happen? How does a train run out of petrol? What happened is sometimes there's an error of judgement on our side.
Not looking at the fuel gauge and making sure we haven't got enough We have got enough fuel to reach the destination.
Somehow, somewhere down the line somebody missed that.
A bit embarrassing, to be honest with you.
We've had it before where we sent an engine out, when we were GNER, and it ran out of fuel there.
So they had to wait until they can get a Thunderbird to tow it back to the original depot.
This is the second time I've heard about that, running out of fuel.
It's quite comical, to be honest with you.
At the Customer Information point, Alexis has been listening to customer complaints for years.
I don't think there's any need to keep putting fares up.
It says three out of four rail passengers on some routes are unhappy about the cost of tickets and the standard of service they get.
When you think about the infrastructure in other countries, much cheaper than here.
Where's value for money? I don't think it's right.
You can go on a five-star holiday for some of these fares, can't you? Yes, please.
Hello, there.
How much is the next train to Hull? In recent years, ticket prices have risen dramatically.
At peak time on a Friday afternoon, fares are at their most expensive.
That's it.
That's ã28 then, please.
Thank you.
Hello, there.
I'd like a return to Newcastle, going today and coming back tomorrow.
You're looking at ã301 for a return, sir.
That's a lot of money.
Peak travelling time now, sir, I'm afraid.
That's outrageous.
Yes, sir.
I can fly there for less than that.
It's your prerogative, sir.
Single fare to Bury St Edmunds, ã48.
10.
What I was going to say was Sometimes I do think it's expensive.
But if we were to charge, say, ã10 return to Leeds, where will the money come from to maintain trains, to pay staff? For all the little things that people don't see in the background that go on, like maintenance of the trains, the tracks, all that.
It has to be paid for from somewhere.
I bought my tickets and left them at home.
But it's just a piece of paper.
If you've not got your ticket, you have to buy a whole new ticket.
Can you not go home and get it? No, I travelled two hours to get to King's Cross.
If you wait until 6 o'clock, it's a lot cheaper, ã50 cheaper.
Yeah.
I'll just wait until 6.
Britain's railway has higher fares than the rest of Europe, where train travel is more heavily subsidised by government.
In Britain, government policy has shifted the burden of cost on to the train user rather than the taxpayer.
But with demand for rail travel set to double over the next 20 years, the government is investing ã9 billion to modernise the rail infrastructure, and this comes at the taxpayers' expense.
Every now and then you get one.
Does it mean anything that the prime minister's on your train? Honestly, no.
To me, I'm just at work, so it doesn't mean anything.
BLOWS WHISTLE Why is it so expensive to travel by train? Well, I don't know, is it really that expensive? It is expensive, everything's expensive.
Life is expensive now, you know.
A lot of people sometimes give us a lot of stick thinking we're the ones who are creating all the chaos when, in fact, a lot of it comes from politicians and the powers that be.
You know, but life's what you make it.
It's not all about the money.
It's not all about the money, is it, eh? You've got to be happy with what you've got.
That's the secret of life, there ain't no secret.
CHUCKLES WHISTLE BLOWS As Friday night draws to a close, the last trains pull away.
Some staff are still working their shifts.
Cleaners, amongst the lowest-paid employees at the station, often go unnoticed, as they remove the rubbish, vomit and worse, left behind by the constant stream of people travelling through.
Somebody is vomit there, someone is vomit.
Ronnie's worked 12-hour shifts cleaning the trains at King's Cross since the days of British Rail.
Hello, darlings.
Which class is this? First class.
Have you ever travelled first class? No.
How many years have you been doing this job? 21 years on April the 8th.
I'm here 21 years.
The sooner I leave here the better.
Is there anything good about the job? No.
Nothing at all.
When you clear up the first class and go, like, some of the people here, oh, god, what must their homes be like? But you know what their homes are like, they're in first class, they've got cleaners in their houses.
They can afford to make the place a mess.
They pay to make it in a mess, don't they? We're paid a pittance to clear it up.
Oh, and if you want to find a dirty book, first class.
What do you mean? They sit there with the paper and a dirty book in front of the paper so no one else can see.
You find them in the toilets in first class.
Knickers under the seats.
Really? Yeah.
As work to finish the new station on time continues, outside the old familiar King's Cross life carries on.
Take your hands out of your pockets.
Hands out your pockets I know that you understand me.
Even before the railway existed, King's Cross was known for its poverty, crime and prostitution.
Excuse me, I'm very sorry to bother you, my name's Terry, I'm homeless.
Today, alongside the redevelopment, the police are trying to enforce a zero-tolerance policy to clean up the area.
Excuse me, can you spare any change? Excuse me, can you please help, anything? Can you spare any change, I'm homeless.
I haven't got any, sorry.
I just ended up here off the coast.
And it was so busy and someone come up to me and started chatting to me and said they'd look after me.
But, unfortunately, that person got me on to drugs.
And how old were you then? And how old are you now? And still here? Yeah.
A long time to be here, isn't it? Yeah, it is.
How much have you got? ã8.
Not bad.
Yeah.
Bung him in.
It was scary years ago to live in King's Cross, it was very scary.
People were getting robbed, mugged, everything.
But it's a safer place now? Yes, it is.
The police have done a good job.
That's good.
With the radical face-lift coming to the station, Steve Newland wants to encourage a similar transformation in his workforce.
OK, I've titled this presentation A Time For Change.
We're going through some fantastic changes at King's Cross and it's about time we did change.
The vision is very simple.
We know there'll be days where you're a bit under the weather or a bit stressed.
Yeah? But, by and large, we want you to come and really enjoy wanting to come to work at King's Cross.
But, equally, it is about providing a great service for the customer.
What we call a seamless journey experience.
Trains cleaned, tanked, stocked, despatched safely and on time.
We can't afford any errors.
Yeah? So there's a lot of work that we need to do here going forward.
A bronze medal or silver medal is not good enough.
You have to deliver gold.
Yeah? We run a five-star hotel here at King's Cross.
It's not two-star or three-star.
I've always said and I've been open and honest, if you can't deliver or don't want to deliver the standard, it's not a problem, we'll find another hotel for you to work at.
The hope that change is coming to King's Cross is tempered by the realities of trying to run a railway.
With nearly 87% of their trains running on time, East Coast claim to be on their way to providing a five-star service.
Do you travel by train? Every day.
Where do you get the train from? Peterborough.
Do you travel by East Coast? Not all the time.
Not all the time.
Sometimes I have to travel with First Capital Connect.
What's that like? Bearable.
What can go wrong? All sorts.
Broken rails.
Bad maintenance.
Anything really, you know.
Trains fail.
But that's what it's all about.
You just have to grin and bear it.
"We are sorry to announce that the 16:33 East Coast service to Leeds has been cancelled.
" "We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" Back on the station concourse, it's evening rush-hour.
A failed Doncaster train is blocking the line and trains are arriving late at King's Cross.
Sorry for the delay, sir, you'll be entitled to a full refund, sir.
Whatever sort of ticket? Yes, sir.
Sorry for the delay, madam.
That's all right.
What's been going on? We had a major disruption this afternoon due to failed train.
And it's caused all this disruption, major disruption.
We are in the middle of rush-hour evening peak and we are struggling with the train crew at the moment.
Come on, my friend, come on, my friend.
Let's go, let's go.
Yeah, number 8? Yes, number 8.
Lax is responsible for despatching the trains.
He's under pressure.
For every minute a train is delayed the train provider at fault must pay a ã150 fine to Network Rail.
I've got the driver for 18:03 and 17:30.
With Union regulations requiring drivers to have half-hour breaks between journeys, Lax now has four trains full of passengers at a standstill.
Come on, what's happening, mate? Is he there? Driver, is he there? Come on, guys, look for the driver and guard.
Come on, mate.
No driver? No driver.
Come on.
Oh, it's driving me crazy today.
Darling, it's becoming diabolical.
I haven't got driver for 18:00.
I had a driver for 18:30, 19:00.
I've got 18:00 in platform 2, full and standing, it's nearly 52 minutes now late.
If he's coming down, fair enough.
Yeah, I can see him coming down.
Whether he's the one, I can see him coming down.
Thanks.
I know it's not your fault.
No, I was just having my break.
Are you going, mate? Hello? You haven't got a driver? How can that happen? It's shocking.
Because of the problem down the line, all the drivers were delayed.
I can understand - I have to close the door, please.
Come on now, please, if you're going.
Thank you.
Yeah, received.
When you're ready, just go for it.
I don't know what's in number 3.
Number 4, when you're ready, go for it.
How late was that train? An hour and ten minutes.
An hour and ten minutes late? Yeah.
I've got to go and check this one quick.
With the fine of a ã150 per minute owed to Network Rail, the delay of just this train will cost East Coast over ã10,000.
Thanks, mate.
I'd like to welcome you all to the March meeting of the King's Cross branch of ASLEF.
At a local King's Cross pub, train drivers are holding one of their monthly union meetings.
The Chair requested a minute's silence be held for brother Andy Morrison, our district organiser who recently passed away.
Apologies were received from G Russell and S Stevens.
With the responsibilities of the job, and salaries starting at ã50,000 a year, drivers are considered the elite of the railway.
Union membership ensures their right to taking breaks between journeys is protected.
You wouldn't want to get on a train where your driver hasn't had a wee or a drink or something to eat with a grumbling belly.
You'll get lack of concentration, lack of observing signals, complying with speeds, and it could ultimately lead to a major fatality.
You need a break away from that cab and just to humanise yourself again.
A lot more now, we're sitting on our own because of the way the driving job and the driver's role has evolved.
Whereas, we used to be together and a great part of a team.
It can seem to be more isolated now than we ever was before.
What's great about being a train driver? Everything.
CHUCKLES Yeah, it's a good job.
It's not a job, it's a way of life, ain't it? I think.
Back at the station, Ronnie is coming towards the end of another shift.
I've got 15 chickens, four snakes, four dogs.
I've always loved animals.
I've always been When my mates were playing with their dolls and prams, I was going round finding slow worms and newts and lizards.
I've never been one for dolls and prams and that.
It's always been I just always loved the animals.
Which do you prefer, animals or human beings? Definitely animals.
Always.
They don't lie to you, they don't use you.
And, however old and ugly you get, they'll always love you.
There's a thing round there, and they're supposed to go in there and eat the poison.
But they don't, they're not that stupid.
They get through the hole in the bottom of the bins and pull all the food out.
They usually make a right mess, the little sweetie pies.
Why don't people like them? I honestly don't know.
I think they're cute.
They probably think they're germy, but everyone's got germs, ain't they? It's not only the animals.
That one didn't look well, did it? I didn't notice.
Yeah, it was really slow.
Echo 1-1, yeah.
Lax came to Britain from Pakistan in the 1960s and has been working on the railway ever since.
But after 37 years in the industry, he's now about to retire.
Yeah, Mike.
Yeah, Mike.
I'll pass Mike 13 a wheelchair required, Mrs Cooper.
No problem.
Thank you.
Bye.
Bye.
Lax, wonderful to see you again.
There are legends on this railway and there are leg-ends.
You, my friend, are a legend.
I can't let you go.
You're too good.
Will you ever find anyone like Lax to work here again? No, no, no.
You've only got to take a look at the man, how smart he is.
A shining example of how we would want everybody on the railway to be.
If I had my time in authority, at senior level, I'd have everybody looking like that.
It's absolutely fantastic.
He's got the respect of his staff, the respect of me, his managers.
A shining example.
He'll sadly be missed.
Ah! Give us a kiss.
ALL LAUGH King's Cross has been my life.
I've spent nearly 35 years at King's Cross.
This is when the royal family came to King's Cross, when the HS2 were introduced.
Her Majesty on platform 1.
I was here when the King's Cross fire took place.
I was on a late shift on that day.
And we had 19:30 departed to Leeds on platform number 5.
I was on the barrier line when suddenly the smoke came out of the entrance of the Underground.
And we thought it was minor and suddenly it came very drastic.
Then we had to evacuate the station.
And then we had to shut the station down, to be honest, you know.
As you know, we lost a lot of lives.
A lot of memories, you can say that.
When Lax started on the railway, British Rail was actively recruiting employees from immigrant communities, and the jobs were jobs for life.
But times are changing.
Today, many of the station staff are on short-term contracts.
That will take you on the Underground.
That's fine.
In time for the new station's opening, a new team of customer-service assistants has been recruited to help passengers negotiate the recently installed ticket-barrier gates.
We're probably waiting for the train to arrive, for the people to get off, and then it becomes the 7:53 to go back.
Excellent.
Lovely.
Thank you very much.
Good luck with that.
Good.
Another happy customer, hopefully.
What do you like about the job? The pay.
It's why I've come out of retirement for a job is that my pension, which gets paid on a Monday, runs out by Friday lunchtime, before I've done my food shopping in a well-known large retailer.
I haven't met anybody that I would say was really bad.
But I've met some very nice people in very bad moods.
You have to try to see behind that to actually see the person and then understand the predicament they're in.
They've just missed the train, they've got to get somewhere, they're in a rush to go to a funeral.
Those sort of things.
So you have to try and imagine it was you on the other end of this.
Gates are open, walk on through.
Ooh, nice.
I've got one of those.
It's not as nice as yours, though.
Sometimes they look through you and so forth.
But I think they think about us as being human beings when they sort of rock up about half a minute to go, when the train's about to launch and all of a sudden you're there because "You're the one that actually went and blocked me, because I missed my train.
" Off we go.
With more people than ever before using Britain's trains, over-crowding in the rush-hour is at its worst for 20 years.
".
.
has been cancelled.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" It's 5pm and a cancelled service means the pressure on subsequent trains is pushed to the limit.
I've got a reserved seat and I've come in good time to comfortably sit down and go all the way to North Yorkshire, and I find there isn't a reservation system.
They do this all the time.
I've paid nearly a ã100 return to Peterborough, which It is like a cattle truck.
What are they doing to get you a seat? Have you had an announcement? I imagine the refreshments trolley will be up and down.
The passengers go in two by two, hurrah, hurrah The passengers go in two by two, hurrah, hurrah The passengers go in two by two If you get lost, we'll show you what to do And we all do what we can to get you on the train The railway, unfortunately, over a number of years has had its knockers.
Sometimes, you know, we've deserved a bit of a knock.
But, by and large, you know, we're all, across the whole industry, we're very, very passionate about running trains from A to B on time, seven days a week, 365 days of the year in some cases.
We'd love to give everybody a seat, but that's not possible because more people are travelling by train.
We're running more trains now than we've ever done.
And we're moving in the right direction.
There's a fantastic opportunity with the station due to open in a few weeks time, to create something very, very special here at King's Cross.
So we're focusing on the basic principles of customer service.
Everybody wants a train every 15 minutes.
Customer service is not treating customers as you want to be treated.
It's actually treating customers as they want to be treated.
That's the difference between us I wouldn't go along with that.
.
.
and excellent customer service.
We know what their expectations should be, don't we? Tell me what their expectations should be.
What their expectations should be? Well, what should a train service provide? An affordable means of travel within the financial constraints of trying to run a railway.
So how do we then, or how do you, make sure that those customers' expectations are exceeded at King's Cross station? That's the purpose of customer service.
Yeah, I don't think we live in the same world, do we? The purpose is to transport people from A to B, sometimes via C, in some sort of civilised surroundings.
In a train that departs when it says it's going to depart.
And arrives at the destination when it says it will arrive.
That's all I expect from a train.
The dream of an efficient railway, with trains that always run on time, has some obstacles that cannot be avoided.
I don't know why Fridays seem to be a favourite day for mucking things up.
Trains going down, people deciding that enough's enough.
Um What do you mean? Do you mean? Well, people who've had enough is enough.
They decide that Friday afternoon is as good a time as any to finish it, you know.
Sad things, but then life ain't exactly a bed of roses.
"The 16:33 East Coast service to Leeds has been cancelled.
" "We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" Another Friday evening at King's Cross, and the knock-on effect of a fatality an hour north of London is still being felt 24 hours later.
I don't know if you know about the incident that happened last night where someone was hit by a train.
No, I wasn't aware, no.
What's happened is that, because the crews were all displaced, trains had to leave their starting point late.
This train, unfortunately, left late and, of course, it incurred delays on the way in.
The thing that's symptomatic about most of the railway service is they don't communicate with their customers.
It's extremely typical.
If something goes wrong, nobody knows.
That lady has been very kind in telling us what's happened.
Nobody else is.
Some people are going to have to stand now for 2ý hours to get back to the north-east.
It's just totally unacceptable.
I went up there.
I was actually at the platform about to get on the thing and they wouldn't let me on.
They waited about a minute before they took off and locked the doors.
You can get on any train.
I can get on this train? Any train going to York.
I know, but I've got to wait an hour, a whole hour, and I won't have reserved seats, which is outrageous.
We're only human, we're not robots, you know, we're not machines.
And just how a customer is tired, feels angry, upset, we feel the same.
When I worked at another station, a customer that I was laughing and joking with, you know, selling them a ticket.
He bought a ticket, went through the barrier, walked down the platform and walked straight into a train.
He'd bought a ticket to get through the barrier so that he can end his life.
And you know, you know, the sad thing that happened after.
His dad came And I'm going to start crying now.
Sorry, I've had a hard day.
His dad came Because he wanted to see the person, the last person that spoke to him.
That's what people don't understand, that when their journeys are disrupted, they need to really, really think about the fact that they're not the ones getting the knock at the front door, you know.
How long have you been doing this job for, Steve? I'm in my 11th year, which, when you consider other people in here, it's no time at all.
Really? Yeah.
There's some here with over 20 years' experience, you know.
Received, thanks.
We locked it up, it's ready to go out.
"Further delay to 1-Alpha 9-4 at Stoke, owing to hitting a pheasant.
" "Train now 90 late.
" So, hopefully, once we've, you know, given it its last rites, we can carry on.
LAUGHS I've heard everything now.
With only weeks to go until the new King's Cross station is completed, the final preparations for opening day are being put in to place.
From my perspective, when the station opens, it's going to be amazing.
It's going to be the most fabulous station.
It'll be, I keep saying, the jewel in the crown of Network Rail stations.
If we've got this world-class facility that people are going to come from all around to look at, and we haven't got a world-class team running it, then that's an absolute nightmare.
And, really, we should be able to have a team that are really proud to work at King's Cross.
Thank you very much for coming in to see us today.
Um, the interview today is for station-control assistant at King's Cross, as you know.
To start, could you give us a brief overview of your CV and let us know what you're doing at the moment? I'm working out of King's Cross Sorry, St Pancras station.
Yeah.
Can you describe an occasion when you delivered excellent service to a customer? Excellent service? Maybe last Christmas, when I was upstairs on the floor, all the snow, we were doing customer assistance off the trains.
Can you describe the difference between good service and excellent service? A good service is something where customers come to me, ask me how do I get to platform 16.
I could explain, "Go down platform 8, up the stairs, through the barriers, take a left, you'll find it.
" Or, for excellent customer service, I can actually take him there.
Could you give us an example of when you've worked in an effective team.
So you might want to think about what made the team effective, what were the goals of the team, any challenges you faced as a team.
What attracted you to the role of station-control assistant at King's Cross? Eventually, I would like to become a train driver.
OK.
So I understand the importance of getting experience in station control.
We've been stopped.
Lax, sorry to interrupt you.
Your last day, no late departures, right-time railway.
I will try my utmost best.
Like you always do.
Are you sure you still want to go? You don't have to.
Change your mind.
Just for me, change your mind.
All right.
Have a good Friday evening.
No problem, sir.
Thanks.
I will give my utmost best.
Well done.
Have a lovely time.
We'll have some nice onion bhajis.
Right.
Have a good shift.
I will see you later.
Yes.
Thanks.
No problem.
Thanks.
My son rang this morning, before he left, he said, "Wish you all the best.
" Yeah.
And that's the way it is.
Lax is East Coast.
The railway has been his sole bread and butter and the only job he's ever known.
It's How can I say? It's like having a mother to him, to have this job.
And always in his heart will always remain the railway system.
Before the last shift of Lax's working life, he has to hand over the tools of his trade, collected over 35 years at King's Cross.
Did you keep all this in your locker? I've still got some more.
This is important.
It's the interlocking system and everything, complete menu.
I don't think many people have got this, there's only one or two left now.
Um Yeah, I've never seen this before.
And this one is for the tanking.
We still use this tanking point, as you know, from platform 1 to 13, because there's hardly any left now, so be careful.
Definitely.
It's like clearing out your shed.
This is for the DVD interlock bulbs.
For when the DVD interlock fails.
Very useful.
Right.
And the rest is all junk.
You've got one more box there.
This is my personal things.
OK.
I guess, in the olden days, when the service was disrupted, I used to keep all my toothbrush, razorblade, all this in case I have to stay back overnight.
When we had the bombing, I stayed here the whole night.
The whole night? While all the bodies were cleared.
Clean all the blood from platform 1.
Tidy up everything until the last body went away.
Clean everything.
Then the police officers escorted me to the hotel.
Right.
It's been a pleasure.
It has been a pleasure, Laxman.
It has been a pleasure.
It has been a pleasure, indeed.
Laxman, Laxman.
I'm not going to see you tomorrow.
This is I'll miss you.
I'm going to miss you too, hon.
I'll miss you.
You're going to have to come back and see us some time.
I will.
You know what I mean? Oh, you're I can hear it in your voice, you're getting all emotional.
I can't believe it.
You take care, honey.
Yeah.
Thank you.
All right.
Echo to all points, especially Alpha Control.
I would like to thank everybody for helping me over the years.
Today is my last day, I will be leaving on 21:00 departure.
God bless you all and thank you very much once again.
"Yeah, hi, Lax.
Going to miss you loads and good luck for the future.
" Thanks very much.
Thank you.
I can't say more.
I'll walk down with you, Lax.
Yeah.
Definitely first class tonight.
ANNOUNCEMENT OVER SPEAKERS "And on behalf of Network Rail and East Coast, "I would like to wish him a very happy and long and pleasurable retirement.
" "And thank him for his loyalty and dedication for the last 37 years.
" "Thank you very much, Laxman, have a very nice retirement.
" Wish you all the best.
I'll see you.
Alright.
Thank you.
Bye, brother.
I'm going to miss you.
Bye.
Oh, thank you.
Thanks.
See you, Steve.
Thanks.
Excellent.
Bang on time as well.
When you notice the time is flying by, you can't stop it.
You can't get it back.
All you have is memories.
It just makes you think that we're not here for long really, are we? What do you think about travelling by train? Well, when my mate used to work here and she used to tell me how lovely it was, you know, when it used to snow.
It used to be all white, it was dark out, all white and sparkly.
And all the rivers and especially nearing Newcastle and that.
And, yeah, she used to tell me how lovely it was going along.
Have you ever seen that? No.
So you've never been on a long train journey? No.
Never.
I don't suppose I ever will.
I don't know what the weather will be like on Monday.
Thank you very much.
But you will get to York on that train today.
What time will it come on Monday? I don't know about Monday.
And Monday? I don't know whether you'll get back.
You should do.
Train departures from the new western concourse.
If you're catching a train, round to the new western concourse.
Train departures from the new western concourse.
If you're catching a train, go round the corner.
Just follow it round.
If you're catching a train, train departures from the new concourse.
Departures from the new concourse.
Departures from the new concourse.
Round the corner, ten seconds.
Just follow the signs.
All departures from the new western concourse.
This is arrivals only.
If you're catching a train, round to the new concourse.
It's opening day.
King's Cross has been transformed from a grubby relic of the Victorian era into a transport super-hub, fit for the 21st-century world of rail travel.
Essentially a grand departure hall, it won't make the trains run on time, but it will mean people can wait for their trains in style.
Whatever you need, vinyls, maps, let me know and I'll get it.
OK, my love.
Thank you.
Hi, sir.
Platform 4.
It's strange.
It feels like I'm not actually in King's Cross no more, and we're temporarily, say, like, in St Pancras or something.
Yeah, you know what I mean? And that I'm going to get in trouble because I didn't turn up for work.
That's what it feels like.
The old concourse is now an arrivals hall, forcing regular King's Cross passengers to change their well-trodden routine.
You can use your tickets to go from here but it'll change after a while.
And it will never be the same again? It will just be arrivals concourse.
It's ridiculous, isn't it? Sorry about that, sir.
We're getting arrivals come in, they all head for here, and it's a case of just spreading the load for people.
Get them away from the gate.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Use the barriers to the far left.
Anybody else down to the new ticket office.
The gents where you can't get in through the turnstile until we mend it.
And see the departure boards.
Yeah.
Good-o.
Oh, they didn't say a lot, did they? Is anyone even looking at you? Some looked at me as if I was out on day release from the lunatic asylum.
Right, yes, sir, where would you like to be? If you come over here, you've got half a chance of getting over there.
Do you want to come over here and get through here? This is concession day today, as it's the first full-blown public day in the rush-hour of this wonderful new edifice.
It's very nice.
Thank you.
We'll let you through for being polite.
I explained to the lady, it's rubbish.
I came in, I used the ticket, I went to get a coffee Where are you? Then they say I've got to go all the way back round to come in.
It's not very clear.
Right, we'll just go and check the lounge.
Suzannah, can I just grab you for two seconds? This flowerpot, yeah, it's lovely, isn't it? I want to put it somewhere a bit different where it's out on display more, where people can see it.
Doesn't look too bad.
Are you happy with it? Yeah.
Is this your favourite room? Very happy.
My favourite room? Yeah, I think it probably is.
It probably is.
It's got a bit of style and a bit of class about it.
I wish the windows were a bit cleaner, but, er Number 6, please.
The 10:06 is on platform 11A.
The one after that will be the 10:36, sir.
Fine.
I'm obliged.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy yourselves.
It's lovely, isn't it? I could stay here all day.
That's nice, isn't it, Steve? Yeah, very nice.
Do you get many people that are positive about it? Oh, yeah, they like it.
But they want to try working in it.
Number 6, please.
The acoustics are terrible.
Ooh! Number 6, please.
No one's coming.
I don't want to shout, otherwise I'll deafen you.
Go ahead and shout, I don't mind.
Number 6, please.
6.
Here.
Joe.
Yes, sir? How are you mate? Not bad, sir.
You've got warm hands.
Warm hands, kind heart.
Thank you, sir.
How's your day? He's one my best men, he's fantastic.
Absolutely brilliant.
An example of what we're looking for.
Thank you very much.
Shame you can't get your badge up the right way.
Oh, thank you very much.
Joe, are you happy? Very much.
There you go, everyone's happy.
Smiling faces.
Everyone's happy.
Aren't you happy, Julia? Very happy.
There you are.
Everyone's happy.
Is everybody happy? Everyone's happy.
Look at that gentleman, everyone's happy.
It's infinitely better.
What a lovely concourse.
Fantastic, isn't it? What a lovely concourse.
I'm waiting for the York train.
It used to be matter of standing in a huge queue.
Yeah, all cramped up like that.
You can sit up there, have something to eat.
Stand around in comfort.
It's wonderful.
Thank you.
It's progress.
There you go, progress.
"We are sorry to announce that the 16:33 East Coast service to Leeds has been cancelled.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" I'll miss my friends, I will miss my work.
I can't say that I won't miss them.
I will be seeing them now and then.
I will be inviting them, I will be having parties.
Already applied for a couple of voluntary jobs.
helping old people in their house and homes and everything.
I've got a few contacts.
I don't want any money.
Just a few hours in the evening, you know, to kill time with them.
A very quiet area here.
It's very quiet, isn't it? It's very different to King's Cross.
Yeah, yeah, it is.
It's very different to London.
Please put your tickets through the gate The do-run-run-run, the do-run-run Because if you don't then you will be late The do-run-run-run, the do-run-run If you miss your train you might have to buy your ticket again It takes a long time and it's a lot of pain So do-run-run-run, please do-run-run So long, see you soon, tootle-loo, here we go
"We are sorry to announce" The oldest and one of the busiest in the world.
Thank you.
Just slow down.
Slow down.
Surely this is illegal to be packed in like this.
A huge network under constant pressure.
Absolutely mental today.
No driver.
No driver? Come on, look for the driver and guard.
Where anything and everything Start tampering.
.
.
can mean delay and chaos for thousands.
Backs against the wall.
He's got a suicidal female on board.
Train's now 90 late, owing to hitting a pheasant.
I've heard everything now.
Filmed over a year across the nation, That one.
The seat next to the banana.
.
.
we go behind the scenes of an industry we all love to complain about.
Do you want a hand? That's ã323.
50.
Oi! Hey! Hey! Hey! With the railway people determined to keep Britain moving.
To infinity and beyond.
It's a battle.
TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS Which one, my love? 16:30 to York.
Don't panic yourself, my darling.
I find it humiliating.
I find I'm just being treated like a dork.
You shouldn't feel that because you're not.
But it is.
He's treating us like we're animals.
He must feel like he's like cattle.
Look at this place.
There's no room to move.
You start getting more than 50 people in here, it starts looking like mayhem.
Unblock the doors, please.
Can you make your way in, please? Friday evening rush-hour at King's Cross, one of London's oldest stations.
It's not my fault the train hasn't turned up.
What a shit place it is.
47 million people a year pass through the station on their journeys to Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and beyond.
Off you go, good luck.
What do you mean by as soon as possible? As soon as the driver gets in his cab he'll be going.
Built in 1852, when people travelled by steam train and horse-drawn cart, today the station is struggling to cope with the demands of 21st-century train travel.
BLOWS WHISTLE This station, to be honest with you, it's like a giant cave.
It is dark and it's dreary.
Do not expect any niceties because, as you see, this is what you get.
We have here my own little private joke, I call it A&E, you know.
Cos, yeah, it does look like that, casualty.
But I feel they think they're being cheated in a way.
You know, they're paying money to travel.
But they're also paying money to be able to feel safe and comfortable.
I think that's what they're going to get next door.
Next door, the biggest transformation in the 160-year history of King's Cross station is underway.
Costing half a billion pounds and 15 years in the making, the new western concourse will hold three times more people than the old station and comes with a hotel, shops and restaurants.
The hope is that the massive semi-circular space attached to the side of the old station will transform the passengers' travelling experience.
When it comes to tables around, say, passenger satisfaction, amongst all of the Network Rail managed stations, we're always at the bottom, always, and we have been for years.
So, I guess really the new station has always been the hope.
It's like, when the new station opens, when we get there, then we can do it, then we can be top, then we can be the best, then we can smash it out the park.
With three months to go until the modernised King's Cross is unveiled, passengers continue to cope with the less glamorous reality of their daily commute through the old station.
And it's Friday, the busiest day of the week.
The Travel Centre is the first port of call when things go wrong.
HUMS Next, please.
Staff here describe themselves as working on the frontline.
So you're talking about the system again.
Everyone blames the system.
I've got vouchers through a cancelled train because of the system.
The reason you can't find me a cheap fare is because of the system.
I can't change the system.
But somebody else can.
What can I do? Speak to your manager, who'll speak to his manager, who'll speak to his manager.
Everyone blames the system.
Then the system will work.
I can do that.
It won't change But you won't do that.
It won't change.
But you won't do that.
You said you can do that but you won't.
You're happy Do you want the ticket? Yeah, I'll book that ticket.
Do you have a preference of seating? Would you like the window or aisle? Yeah.
I'll have a window, quiet with a table and power point, if the system will allow it.
The window usually has a power point.
How can there be nobody here at London King's Cross station who can sort something as small as a ã99 problem? I've no way of giving you your money back.
I'm sorry.
The address is here.
Do you want to take this monitor? Stop filming.
This man's being ridiculous.
I'm not being ridiculous, you are.
I'm just asking for my ã99 back.
Why did you call me a racist? Because you are.
You're an idiot.
You're an idiot.
That's what you are.
Major league prick.
Another day in the Travel Centre.
So, is that a clip-on tie? Yeah.
So, why do you wear clip-on ties? Simple, for the simple reason, the same reason we wear clip-on lanyards.
Someone grabs it and off it comes.
The same with the tie.
Someone grabs it and it'll come away in their hands.
So I can then retreat.
And what sort of steps will I take? Flipping great big ones.
When the customers are upset, they want two things.
They want to express their feelings and then they want their problems solved.
And we try to do that.
We try not to confuse them, we try not to be confused ourselves.
We try to empathise with them.
Empathy means always having to say you're sorry.
Saying sorry to a customer does not imply that you did anything wrong.
It simply conveys that you're generally sorry that the customer has had a bad experience.
So here goes.
Behind the scenes, the station's customer-service culture is being overhauled.
East Coast Trains, one of the four main train operating companies at King's Cross, is managed by Steve Newland.
He wants his vision to be central to the station's transformation.
Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Last-minute glitches.
Is it all going all right? Well, like all projects, they seem to run to the wire.
And this one is no different.
We have a clear vision, which is to provide the best possible customer journey experience, and make King's Cross a great place to work.
It's about creating a dynamic team with inspirational leadership.
It's about championing a "just do it" approach to delivering what we call five-star quality service.
What do you think is most important to the passenger? I think the majority of customers would say we just want the basics and we want value for money.
We're working hard to provide that for them at King's Cross.
Hello.
All right? Yeah.
All right? Yeah.
In the East Coast control room there's news that one of their trains has run out of fuel.
Delta 5, all East Coast mobiles, train on platform 5 is a failure.
Passengers for Peterborough and Doncaster to travel on 11:08.
If there's any passenger for Wakefield and Leeds, any passenger for Wakefield and Leeds to travel on the 11:35.
Laxman Keshwara has worked at King's Cross for over 30 years and is one of East Coast's most experienced employees.
Yeah, Lima to Oscar.
How does that happen? How does a train run out of petrol? What happened is sometimes there's an error of judgement on our side.
Not looking at the fuel gauge and making sure we haven't got enough We have got enough fuel to reach the destination.
Somehow, somewhere down the line somebody missed that.
A bit embarrassing, to be honest with you.
We've had it before where we sent an engine out, when we were GNER, and it ran out of fuel there.
So they had to wait until they can get a Thunderbird to tow it back to the original depot.
This is the second time I've heard about that, running out of fuel.
It's quite comical, to be honest with you.
At the Customer Information point, Alexis has been listening to customer complaints for years.
I don't think there's any need to keep putting fares up.
It says three out of four rail passengers on some routes are unhappy about the cost of tickets and the standard of service they get.
When you think about the infrastructure in other countries, much cheaper than here.
Where's value for money? I don't think it's right.
You can go on a five-star holiday for some of these fares, can't you? Yes, please.
Hello, there.
How much is the next train to Hull? In recent years, ticket prices have risen dramatically.
At peak time on a Friday afternoon, fares are at their most expensive.
That's it.
That's ã28 then, please.
Thank you.
Hello, there.
I'd like a return to Newcastle, going today and coming back tomorrow.
You're looking at ã301 for a return, sir.
That's a lot of money.
Peak travelling time now, sir, I'm afraid.
That's outrageous.
Yes, sir.
I can fly there for less than that.
It's your prerogative, sir.
Single fare to Bury St Edmunds, ã48.
10.
What I was going to say was Sometimes I do think it's expensive.
But if we were to charge, say, ã10 return to Leeds, where will the money come from to maintain trains, to pay staff? For all the little things that people don't see in the background that go on, like maintenance of the trains, the tracks, all that.
It has to be paid for from somewhere.
I bought my tickets and left them at home.
But it's just a piece of paper.
If you've not got your ticket, you have to buy a whole new ticket.
Can you not go home and get it? No, I travelled two hours to get to King's Cross.
If you wait until 6 o'clock, it's a lot cheaper, ã50 cheaper.
Yeah.
I'll just wait until 6.
Britain's railway has higher fares than the rest of Europe, where train travel is more heavily subsidised by government.
In Britain, government policy has shifted the burden of cost on to the train user rather than the taxpayer.
But with demand for rail travel set to double over the next 20 years, the government is investing ã9 billion to modernise the rail infrastructure, and this comes at the taxpayers' expense.
Every now and then you get one.
Does it mean anything that the prime minister's on your train? Honestly, no.
To me, I'm just at work, so it doesn't mean anything.
BLOWS WHISTLE Why is it so expensive to travel by train? Well, I don't know, is it really that expensive? It is expensive, everything's expensive.
Life is expensive now, you know.
A lot of people sometimes give us a lot of stick thinking we're the ones who are creating all the chaos when, in fact, a lot of it comes from politicians and the powers that be.
You know, but life's what you make it.
It's not all about the money.
It's not all about the money, is it, eh? You've got to be happy with what you've got.
That's the secret of life, there ain't no secret.
CHUCKLES WHISTLE BLOWS As Friday night draws to a close, the last trains pull away.
Some staff are still working their shifts.
Cleaners, amongst the lowest-paid employees at the station, often go unnoticed, as they remove the rubbish, vomit and worse, left behind by the constant stream of people travelling through.
Somebody is vomit there, someone is vomit.
Ronnie's worked 12-hour shifts cleaning the trains at King's Cross since the days of British Rail.
Hello, darlings.
Which class is this? First class.
Have you ever travelled first class? No.
How many years have you been doing this job? 21 years on April the 8th.
I'm here 21 years.
The sooner I leave here the better.
Is there anything good about the job? No.
Nothing at all.
When you clear up the first class and go, like, some of the people here, oh, god, what must their homes be like? But you know what their homes are like, they're in first class, they've got cleaners in their houses.
They can afford to make the place a mess.
They pay to make it in a mess, don't they? We're paid a pittance to clear it up.
Oh, and if you want to find a dirty book, first class.
What do you mean? They sit there with the paper and a dirty book in front of the paper so no one else can see.
You find them in the toilets in first class.
Knickers under the seats.
Really? Yeah.
As work to finish the new station on time continues, outside the old familiar King's Cross life carries on.
Take your hands out of your pockets.
Hands out your pockets I know that you understand me.
Even before the railway existed, King's Cross was known for its poverty, crime and prostitution.
Excuse me, I'm very sorry to bother you, my name's Terry, I'm homeless.
Today, alongside the redevelopment, the police are trying to enforce a zero-tolerance policy to clean up the area.
Excuse me, can you spare any change? Excuse me, can you please help, anything? Can you spare any change, I'm homeless.
I haven't got any, sorry.
I just ended up here off the coast.
And it was so busy and someone come up to me and started chatting to me and said they'd look after me.
But, unfortunately, that person got me on to drugs.
And how old were you then? And how old are you now? And still here? Yeah.
A long time to be here, isn't it? Yeah, it is.
How much have you got? ã8.
Not bad.
Yeah.
Bung him in.
It was scary years ago to live in King's Cross, it was very scary.
People were getting robbed, mugged, everything.
But it's a safer place now? Yes, it is.
The police have done a good job.
That's good.
With the radical face-lift coming to the station, Steve Newland wants to encourage a similar transformation in his workforce.
OK, I've titled this presentation A Time For Change.
We're going through some fantastic changes at King's Cross and it's about time we did change.
The vision is very simple.
We know there'll be days where you're a bit under the weather or a bit stressed.
Yeah? But, by and large, we want you to come and really enjoy wanting to come to work at King's Cross.
But, equally, it is about providing a great service for the customer.
What we call a seamless journey experience.
Trains cleaned, tanked, stocked, despatched safely and on time.
We can't afford any errors.
Yeah? So there's a lot of work that we need to do here going forward.
A bronze medal or silver medal is not good enough.
You have to deliver gold.
Yeah? We run a five-star hotel here at King's Cross.
It's not two-star or three-star.
I've always said and I've been open and honest, if you can't deliver or don't want to deliver the standard, it's not a problem, we'll find another hotel for you to work at.
The hope that change is coming to King's Cross is tempered by the realities of trying to run a railway.
With nearly 87% of their trains running on time, East Coast claim to be on their way to providing a five-star service.
Do you travel by train? Every day.
Where do you get the train from? Peterborough.
Do you travel by East Coast? Not all the time.
Not all the time.
Sometimes I have to travel with First Capital Connect.
What's that like? Bearable.
What can go wrong? All sorts.
Broken rails.
Bad maintenance.
Anything really, you know.
Trains fail.
But that's what it's all about.
You just have to grin and bear it.
"We are sorry to announce that the 16:33 East Coast service to Leeds has been cancelled.
" "We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" Back on the station concourse, it's evening rush-hour.
A failed Doncaster train is blocking the line and trains are arriving late at King's Cross.
Sorry for the delay, sir, you'll be entitled to a full refund, sir.
Whatever sort of ticket? Yes, sir.
Sorry for the delay, madam.
That's all right.
What's been going on? We had a major disruption this afternoon due to failed train.
And it's caused all this disruption, major disruption.
We are in the middle of rush-hour evening peak and we are struggling with the train crew at the moment.
Come on, my friend, come on, my friend.
Let's go, let's go.
Yeah, number 8? Yes, number 8.
Lax is responsible for despatching the trains.
He's under pressure.
For every minute a train is delayed the train provider at fault must pay a ã150 fine to Network Rail.
I've got the driver for 18:03 and 17:30.
With Union regulations requiring drivers to have half-hour breaks between journeys, Lax now has four trains full of passengers at a standstill.
Come on, what's happening, mate? Is he there? Driver, is he there? Come on, guys, look for the driver and guard.
Come on, mate.
No driver? No driver.
Come on.
Oh, it's driving me crazy today.
Darling, it's becoming diabolical.
I haven't got driver for 18:00.
I had a driver for 18:30, 19:00.
I've got 18:00 in platform 2, full and standing, it's nearly 52 minutes now late.
If he's coming down, fair enough.
Yeah, I can see him coming down.
Whether he's the one, I can see him coming down.
Thanks.
I know it's not your fault.
No, I was just having my break.
Are you going, mate? Hello? You haven't got a driver? How can that happen? It's shocking.
Because of the problem down the line, all the drivers were delayed.
I can understand - I have to close the door, please.
Come on now, please, if you're going.
Thank you.
Yeah, received.
When you're ready, just go for it.
I don't know what's in number 3.
Number 4, when you're ready, go for it.
How late was that train? An hour and ten minutes.
An hour and ten minutes late? Yeah.
I've got to go and check this one quick.
With the fine of a ã150 per minute owed to Network Rail, the delay of just this train will cost East Coast over ã10,000.
Thanks, mate.
I'd like to welcome you all to the March meeting of the King's Cross branch of ASLEF.
At a local King's Cross pub, train drivers are holding one of their monthly union meetings.
The Chair requested a minute's silence be held for brother Andy Morrison, our district organiser who recently passed away.
Apologies were received from G Russell and S Stevens.
With the responsibilities of the job, and salaries starting at ã50,000 a year, drivers are considered the elite of the railway.
Union membership ensures their right to taking breaks between journeys is protected.
You wouldn't want to get on a train where your driver hasn't had a wee or a drink or something to eat with a grumbling belly.
You'll get lack of concentration, lack of observing signals, complying with speeds, and it could ultimately lead to a major fatality.
You need a break away from that cab and just to humanise yourself again.
A lot more now, we're sitting on our own because of the way the driving job and the driver's role has evolved.
Whereas, we used to be together and a great part of a team.
It can seem to be more isolated now than we ever was before.
What's great about being a train driver? Everything.
CHUCKLES Yeah, it's a good job.
It's not a job, it's a way of life, ain't it? I think.
Back at the station, Ronnie is coming towards the end of another shift.
I've got 15 chickens, four snakes, four dogs.
I've always loved animals.
I've always been When my mates were playing with their dolls and prams, I was going round finding slow worms and newts and lizards.
I've never been one for dolls and prams and that.
It's always been I just always loved the animals.
Which do you prefer, animals or human beings? Definitely animals.
Always.
They don't lie to you, they don't use you.
And, however old and ugly you get, they'll always love you.
There's a thing round there, and they're supposed to go in there and eat the poison.
But they don't, they're not that stupid.
They get through the hole in the bottom of the bins and pull all the food out.
They usually make a right mess, the little sweetie pies.
Why don't people like them? I honestly don't know.
I think they're cute.
They probably think they're germy, but everyone's got germs, ain't they? It's not only the animals.
That one didn't look well, did it? I didn't notice.
Yeah, it was really slow.
Echo 1-1, yeah.
Lax came to Britain from Pakistan in the 1960s and has been working on the railway ever since.
But after 37 years in the industry, he's now about to retire.
Yeah, Mike.
Yeah, Mike.
I'll pass Mike 13 a wheelchair required, Mrs Cooper.
No problem.
Thank you.
Bye.
Bye.
Lax, wonderful to see you again.
There are legends on this railway and there are leg-ends.
You, my friend, are a legend.
I can't let you go.
You're too good.
Will you ever find anyone like Lax to work here again? No, no, no.
You've only got to take a look at the man, how smart he is.
A shining example of how we would want everybody on the railway to be.
If I had my time in authority, at senior level, I'd have everybody looking like that.
It's absolutely fantastic.
He's got the respect of his staff, the respect of me, his managers.
A shining example.
He'll sadly be missed.
Ah! Give us a kiss.
ALL LAUGH King's Cross has been my life.
I've spent nearly 35 years at King's Cross.
This is when the royal family came to King's Cross, when the HS2 were introduced.
Her Majesty on platform 1.
I was here when the King's Cross fire took place.
I was on a late shift on that day.
And we had 19:30 departed to Leeds on platform number 5.
I was on the barrier line when suddenly the smoke came out of the entrance of the Underground.
And we thought it was minor and suddenly it came very drastic.
Then we had to evacuate the station.
And then we had to shut the station down, to be honest, you know.
As you know, we lost a lot of lives.
A lot of memories, you can say that.
When Lax started on the railway, British Rail was actively recruiting employees from immigrant communities, and the jobs were jobs for life.
But times are changing.
Today, many of the station staff are on short-term contracts.
That will take you on the Underground.
That's fine.
In time for the new station's opening, a new team of customer-service assistants has been recruited to help passengers negotiate the recently installed ticket-barrier gates.
We're probably waiting for the train to arrive, for the people to get off, and then it becomes the 7:53 to go back.
Excellent.
Lovely.
Thank you very much.
Good luck with that.
Good.
Another happy customer, hopefully.
What do you like about the job? The pay.
It's why I've come out of retirement for a job is that my pension, which gets paid on a Monday, runs out by Friday lunchtime, before I've done my food shopping in a well-known large retailer.
I haven't met anybody that I would say was really bad.
But I've met some very nice people in very bad moods.
You have to try to see behind that to actually see the person and then understand the predicament they're in.
They've just missed the train, they've got to get somewhere, they're in a rush to go to a funeral.
Those sort of things.
So you have to try and imagine it was you on the other end of this.
Gates are open, walk on through.
Ooh, nice.
I've got one of those.
It's not as nice as yours, though.
Sometimes they look through you and so forth.
But I think they think about us as being human beings when they sort of rock up about half a minute to go, when the train's about to launch and all of a sudden you're there because "You're the one that actually went and blocked me, because I missed my train.
" Off we go.
With more people than ever before using Britain's trains, over-crowding in the rush-hour is at its worst for 20 years.
".
.
has been cancelled.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" It's 5pm and a cancelled service means the pressure on subsequent trains is pushed to the limit.
I've got a reserved seat and I've come in good time to comfortably sit down and go all the way to North Yorkshire, and I find there isn't a reservation system.
They do this all the time.
I've paid nearly a ã100 return to Peterborough, which It is like a cattle truck.
What are they doing to get you a seat? Have you had an announcement? I imagine the refreshments trolley will be up and down.
The passengers go in two by two, hurrah, hurrah The passengers go in two by two, hurrah, hurrah The passengers go in two by two If you get lost, we'll show you what to do And we all do what we can to get you on the train The railway, unfortunately, over a number of years has had its knockers.
Sometimes, you know, we've deserved a bit of a knock.
But, by and large, you know, we're all, across the whole industry, we're very, very passionate about running trains from A to B on time, seven days a week, 365 days of the year in some cases.
We'd love to give everybody a seat, but that's not possible because more people are travelling by train.
We're running more trains now than we've ever done.
And we're moving in the right direction.
There's a fantastic opportunity with the station due to open in a few weeks time, to create something very, very special here at King's Cross.
So we're focusing on the basic principles of customer service.
Everybody wants a train every 15 minutes.
Customer service is not treating customers as you want to be treated.
It's actually treating customers as they want to be treated.
That's the difference between us I wouldn't go along with that.
.
.
and excellent customer service.
We know what their expectations should be, don't we? Tell me what their expectations should be.
What their expectations should be? Well, what should a train service provide? An affordable means of travel within the financial constraints of trying to run a railway.
So how do we then, or how do you, make sure that those customers' expectations are exceeded at King's Cross station? That's the purpose of customer service.
Yeah, I don't think we live in the same world, do we? The purpose is to transport people from A to B, sometimes via C, in some sort of civilised surroundings.
In a train that departs when it says it's going to depart.
And arrives at the destination when it says it will arrive.
That's all I expect from a train.
The dream of an efficient railway, with trains that always run on time, has some obstacles that cannot be avoided.
I don't know why Fridays seem to be a favourite day for mucking things up.
Trains going down, people deciding that enough's enough.
Um What do you mean? Do you mean? Well, people who've had enough is enough.
They decide that Friday afternoon is as good a time as any to finish it, you know.
Sad things, but then life ain't exactly a bed of roses.
"The 16:33 East Coast service to Leeds has been cancelled.
" "We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" Another Friday evening at King's Cross, and the knock-on effect of a fatality an hour north of London is still being felt 24 hours later.
I don't know if you know about the incident that happened last night where someone was hit by a train.
No, I wasn't aware, no.
What's happened is that, because the crews were all displaced, trains had to leave their starting point late.
This train, unfortunately, left late and, of course, it incurred delays on the way in.
The thing that's symptomatic about most of the railway service is they don't communicate with their customers.
It's extremely typical.
If something goes wrong, nobody knows.
That lady has been very kind in telling us what's happened.
Nobody else is.
Some people are going to have to stand now for 2ý hours to get back to the north-east.
It's just totally unacceptable.
I went up there.
I was actually at the platform about to get on the thing and they wouldn't let me on.
They waited about a minute before they took off and locked the doors.
You can get on any train.
I can get on this train? Any train going to York.
I know, but I've got to wait an hour, a whole hour, and I won't have reserved seats, which is outrageous.
We're only human, we're not robots, you know, we're not machines.
And just how a customer is tired, feels angry, upset, we feel the same.
When I worked at another station, a customer that I was laughing and joking with, you know, selling them a ticket.
He bought a ticket, went through the barrier, walked down the platform and walked straight into a train.
He'd bought a ticket to get through the barrier so that he can end his life.
And you know, you know, the sad thing that happened after.
His dad came And I'm going to start crying now.
Sorry, I've had a hard day.
His dad came Because he wanted to see the person, the last person that spoke to him.
That's what people don't understand, that when their journeys are disrupted, they need to really, really think about the fact that they're not the ones getting the knock at the front door, you know.
How long have you been doing this job for, Steve? I'm in my 11th year, which, when you consider other people in here, it's no time at all.
Really? Yeah.
There's some here with over 20 years' experience, you know.
Received, thanks.
We locked it up, it's ready to go out.
"Further delay to 1-Alpha 9-4 at Stoke, owing to hitting a pheasant.
" "Train now 90 late.
" So, hopefully, once we've, you know, given it its last rites, we can carry on.
LAUGHS I've heard everything now.
With only weeks to go until the new King's Cross station is completed, the final preparations for opening day are being put in to place.
From my perspective, when the station opens, it's going to be amazing.
It's going to be the most fabulous station.
It'll be, I keep saying, the jewel in the crown of Network Rail stations.
If we've got this world-class facility that people are going to come from all around to look at, and we haven't got a world-class team running it, then that's an absolute nightmare.
And, really, we should be able to have a team that are really proud to work at King's Cross.
Thank you very much for coming in to see us today.
Um, the interview today is for station-control assistant at King's Cross, as you know.
To start, could you give us a brief overview of your CV and let us know what you're doing at the moment? I'm working out of King's Cross Sorry, St Pancras station.
Yeah.
Can you describe an occasion when you delivered excellent service to a customer? Excellent service? Maybe last Christmas, when I was upstairs on the floor, all the snow, we were doing customer assistance off the trains.
Can you describe the difference between good service and excellent service? A good service is something where customers come to me, ask me how do I get to platform 16.
I could explain, "Go down platform 8, up the stairs, through the barriers, take a left, you'll find it.
" Or, for excellent customer service, I can actually take him there.
Could you give us an example of when you've worked in an effective team.
So you might want to think about what made the team effective, what were the goals of the team, any challenges you faced as a team.
What attracted you to the role of station-control assistant at King's Cross? Eventually, I would like to become a train driver.
OK.
So I understand the importance of getting experience in station control.
We've been stopped.
Lax, sorry to interrupt you.
Your last day, no late departures, right-time railway.
I will try my utmost best.
Like you always do.
Are you sure you still want to go? You don't have to.
Change your mind.
Just for me, change your mind.
All right.
Have a good Friday evening.
No problem, sir.
Thanks.
I will give my utmost best.
Well done.
Have a lovely time.
We'll have some nice onion bhajis.
Right.
Have a good shift.
I will see you later.
Yes.
Thanks.
No problem.
Thanks.
My son rang this morning, before he left, he said, "Wish you all the best.
" Yeah.
And that's the way it is.
Lax is East Coast.
The railway has been his sole bread and butter and the only job he's ever known.
It's How can I say? It's like having a mother to him, to have this job.
And always in his heart will always remain the railway system.
Before the last shift of Lax's working life, he has to hand over the tools of his trade, collected over 35 years at King's Cross.
Did you keep all this in your locker? I've still got some more.
This is important.
It's the interlocking system and everything, complete menu.
I don't think many people have got this, there's only one or two left now.
Um Yeah, I've never seen this before.
And this one is for the tanking.
We still use this tanking point, as you know, from platform 1 to 13, because there's hardly any left now, so be careful.
Definitely.
It's like clearing out your shed.
This is for the DVD interlock bulbs.
For when the DVD interlock fails.
Very useful.
Right.
And the rest is all junk.
You've got one more box there.
This is my personal things.
OK.
I guess, in the olden days, when the service was disrupted, I used to keep all my toothbrush, razorblade, all this in case I have to stay back overnight.
When we had the bombing, I stayed here the whole night.
The whole night? While all the bodies were cleared.
Clean all the blood from platform 1.
Tidy up everything until the last body went away.
Clean everything.
Then the police officers escorted me to the hotel.
Right.
It's been a pleasure.
It has been a pleasure, Laxman.
It has been a pleasure.
It has been a pleasure, indeed.
Laxman, Laxman.
I'm not going to see you tomorrow.
This is I'll miss you.
I'm going to miss you too, hon.
I'll miss you.
You're going to have to come back and see us some time.
I will.
You know what I mean? Oh, you're I can hear it in your voice, you're getting all emotional.
I can't believe it.
You take care, honey.
Yeah.
Thank you.
All right.
Echo to all points, especially Alpha Control.
I would like to thank everybody for helping me over the years.
Today is my last day, I will be leaving on 21:00 departure.
God bless you all and thank you very much once again.
"Yeah, hi, Lax.
Going to miss you loads and good luck for the future.
" Thanks very much.
Thank you.
I can't say more.
I'll walk down with you, Lax.
Yeah.
Definitely first class tonight.
ANNOUNCEMENT OVER SPEAKERS "And on behalf of Network Rail and East Coast, "I would like to wish him a very happy and long and pleasurable retirement.
" "And thank him for his loyalty and dedication for the last 37 years.
" "Thank you very much, Laxman, have a very nice retirement.
" Wish you all the best.
I'll see you.
Alright.
Thank you.
Bye, brother.
I'm going to miss you.
Bye.
Oh, thank you.
Thanks.
See you, Steve.
Thanks.
Excellent.
Bang on time as well.
When you notice the time is flying by, you can't stop it.
You can't get it back.
All you have is memories.
It just makes you think that we're not here for long really, are we? What do you think about travelling by train? Well, when my mate used to work here and she used to tell me how lovely it was, you know, when it used to snow.
It used to be all white, it was dark out, all white and sparkly.
And all the rivers and especially nearing Newcastle and that.
And, yeah, she used to tell me how lovely it was going along.
Have you ever seen that? No.
So you've never been on a long train journey? No.
Never.
I don't suppose I ever will.
I don't know what the weather will be like on Monday.
Thank you very much.
But you will get to York on that train today.
What time will it come on Monday? I don't know about Monday.
And Monday? I don't know whether you'll get back.
You should do.
Train departures from the new western concourse.
If you're catching a train, round to the new western concourse.
Train departures from the new western concourse.
If you're catching a train, go round the corner.
Just follow it round.
If you're catching a train, train departures from the new concourse.
Departures from the new concourse.
Departures from the new concourse.
Round the corner, ten seconds.
Just follow the signs.
All departures from the new western concourse.
This is arrivals only.
If you're catching a train, round to the new concourse.
It's opening day.
King's Cross has been transformed from a grubby relic of the Victorian era into a transport super-hub, fit for the 21st-century world of rail travel.
Essentially a grand departure hall, it won't make the trains run on time, but it will mean people can wait for their trains in style.
Whatever you need, vinyls, maps, let me know and I'll get it.
OK, my love.
Thank you.
Hi, sir.
Platform 4.
It's strange.
It feels like I'm not actually in King's Cross no more, and we're temporarily, say, like, in St Pancras or something.
Yeah, you know what I mean? And that I'm going to get in trouble because I didn't turn up for work.
That's what it feels like.
The old concourse is now an arrivals hall, forcing regular King's Cross passengers to change their well-trodden routine.
You can use your tickets to go from here but it'll change after a while.
And it will never be the same again? It will just be arrivals concourse.
It's ridiculous, isn't it? Sorry about that, sir.
We're getting arrivals come in, they all head for here, and it's a case of just spreading the load for people.
Get them away from the gate.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Use the barriers to the far left.
Anybody else down to the new ticket office.
The gents where you can't get in through the turnstile until we mend it.
And see the departure boards.
Yeah.
Good-o.
Oh, they didn't say a lot, did they? Is anyone even looking at you? Some looked at me as if I was out on day release from the lunatic asylum.
Right, yes, sir, where would you like to be? If you come over here, you've got half a chance of getting over there.
Do you want to come over here and get through here? This is concession day today, as it's the first full-blown public day in the rush-hour of this wonderful new edifice.
It's very nice.
Thank you.
We'll let you through for being polite.
I explained to the lady, it's rubbish.
I came in, I used the ticket, I went to get a coffee Where are you? Then they say I've got to go all the way back round to come in.
It's not very clear.
Right, we'll just go and check the lounge.
Suzannah, can I just grab you for two seconds? This flowerpot, yeah, it's lovely, isn't it? I want to put it somewhere a bit different where it's out on display more, where people can see it.
Doesn't look too bad.
Are you happy with it? Yeah.
Is this your favourite room? Very happy.
My favourite room? Yeah, I think it probably is.
It probably is.
It's got a bit of style and a bit of class about it.
I wish the windows were a bit cleaner, but, er Number 6, please.
The 10:06 is on platform 11A.
The one after that will be the 10:36, sir.
Fine.
I'm obliged.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy yourselves.
It's lovely, isn't it? I could stay here all day.
That's nice, isn't it, Steve? Yeah, very nice.
Do you get many people that are positive about it? Oh, yeah, they like it.
But they want to try working in it.
Number 6, please.
The acoustics are terrible.
Ooh! Number 6, please.
No one's coming.
I don't want to shout, otherwise I'll deafen you.
Go ahead and shout, I don't mind.
Number 6, please.
6.
Here.
Joe.
Yes, sir? How are you mate? Not bad, sir.
You've got warm hands.
Warm hands, kind heart.
Thank you, sir.
How's your day? He's one my best men, he's fantastic.
Absolutely brilliant.
An example of what we're looking for.
Thank you very much.
Shame you can't get your badge up the right way.
Oh, thank you very much.
Joe, are you happy? Very much.
There you go, everyone's happy.
Smiling faces.
Everyone's happy.
Aren't you happy, Julia? Very happy.
There you are.
Everyone's happy.
Is everybody happy? Everyone's happy.
Look at that gentleman, everyone's happy.
It's infinitely better.
What a lovely concourse.
Fantastic, isn't it? What a lovely concourse.
I'm waiting for the York train.
It used to be matter of standing in a huge queue.
Yeah, all cramped up like that.
You can sit up there, have something to eat.
Stand around in comfort.
It's wonderful.
Thank you.
It's progress.
There you go, progress.
"We are sorry to announce that the 16:33 East Coast service to Leeds has been cancelled.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
" I'll miss my friends, I will miss my work.
I can't say that I won't miss them.
I will be seeing them now and then.
I will be inviting them, I will be having parties.
Already applied for a couple of voluntary jobs.
helping old people in their house and homes and everything.
I've got a few contacts.
I don't want any money.
Just a few hours in the evening, you know, to kill time with them.
A very quiet area here.
It's very quiet, isn't it? It's very different to King's Cross.
Yeah, yeah, it is.
It's very different to London.
Please put your tickets through the gate The do-run-run-run, the do-run-run Because if you don't then you will be late The do-run-run-run, the do-run-run If you miss your train you might have to buy your ticket again It takes a long time and it's a lot of pain So do-run-run-run, please do-run-run So long, see you soon, tootle-loo, here we go