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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Deborah Hall & David Laister

Rix Group's former HQ to become Network Rail call centre as £3.8m contract lands in Hull

Rix Group’s former head office is to become a customer service support centre for Network Rail.

The Spyvee Street base is to be taken on by ESP Group after its Journeycall brand won a £3.8 million three-year contract.

It will be a satellite office for the Scottish business, headquartered in Arbroath, joining sister business Systex, a smart transport specialist, in the city.

Read more: Deal done to demolish distinctive Hull city centre retail outlets as gateway site prepared

Rix recently completed its move to Two Humber Quays, after buying the prestigious Hull Marina location in a high profile deal.

Journeycall provides customer service support and smartcard services for the UK transport industry.

Theresa Slevin, group chief executive at ESP, of which Journeycall is part. (Paul Reid)

The further expansion into Hull will see a team of 33 employees running the Network Rail National Contact Centre 24/7, 365 days a year.

It will be the primary point of contact for Network Rail, the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain.

Theresa Slevin, group chief executive at ESP, of which Journeycall is part, said: “This is a significant contract win for us, and one that we’re incredibly proud to be working on.

“It is an exciting time for the business as the Network Rail National Contact Centre is enabling us to expand south of the border into Hull and increase our service offerings.

“Network Rail’s core objective of ‘putting passengers first’ aligns perfectly with our own ethos, and we are committed to ensuring that every contact we have with passengers and customers provides a positive experience.

“Our highly skilled teams are experienced in delivering first rate customer support and have a proven ability to effectively and efficiently manage a full spectrum of inbound and outbound customer interactions, so we’re extremely well-prepared to manage this work.

Another prestigious brand will now be associated with Hull. (PA)

“Additional specialist training has already commenced, and we’re looking forward to getting started early next year.”

Journeycall will handle 6,000 enquiries a week across four pillars, the National Helpline, including emergency line; the central switchboard, the commercial property helpdesk; and an out of hours media service.

An existing team is transferring, with Journeycall planning to expand further with additional contract wins.

The team will operate across a wide range of contact channels including telephone, email, live chat, whitemail, Facebook messenger, Whatsapp, and other social media channels.

Sarah Sanders, head of contact and community engagement at Network Rail, said: “We are delighted to have appointed Journeycall as our contact centre service provider.

“Having visited their Arbroath operation and spent time with the leadership team we are optimistic that the service we provide to our customers will be even better than ever before.”

Garness Jones completed the letting, which follows major expansion by Hull’s ResQ in the contact centre sphere.

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