Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 40 | Page 7

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7
/NEWS
/ADVICE
The Hitachi-built Azuma train officially
went into service in May.
Aycliffe-built Azuma
train enters service
O
ne of Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe-built
Azuma trains carried passengers on
the East Coast Main Line for the first
time in May.
The new Intercity Expresses should
have started running last December, but
the already postponed launch was further
delayed by continuing problems with
electromagnetic interference, which affected
signalling and safety-critical CCTV systems.
The problems have now been resolved on
part of the East Coast Main Line, and the
first Azuma entered service by working the
11.03am from London King’s Cross to Leeds,
returning to London from West Yorkshire at
1.45pm.
No date has been set for introducing
the new trains on the section between
Edinburgh and Doncaster, but LNER is
hoping it can start running them on services
to Newcastle and Scotland by the end of the
year.
The Azumas have better acceleration
than the trains they are replacing, but a full
timetable taking advantage of this is not
expected to start before December 2020.
LNER managing director David Horne
said: “The launch of the first Azuma trains is
a truly momentous event for LNER and the
communities that we serve.
“Setting new benchmarks in rail travel is
part of our DNA, and the new Azuma trains
are the next big step for LNER in making the
customer experience the best that it can be.
“They will transform travel with improved
reliability, greater levels of comfort and an
average of 100 more seats on every train
compared to the current fleet.
“From extra leg-room and improved Wi-
Fi to being more environmentally friendly
and accessible to more people, the Azuma
experience is a real revolution in rail travel.’
The new Azuma trains are part of the
government’s £5.7bn Intercity Express
Programme which will modernise LNER
services on the key intercity route used by
more than 22 million people each year.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling MP
said: “The arrival of the state-of-the-art
Azuma trains along the East Coast is the next
step in one of the biggest transformations on
the UK’s railway.
“We are proud the Azumas have been built
in the UK, supporting our supply chain and
creating hundreds of skilled jobs.”
We’re ‘closing economic gap’ – report
T
he North-East is closing the economic
gap on other areas of the country but
“there is still more to be done” in a
number of key areas, an annual report on the
region’s economy says.
The North East Local Enterprise
Partnership (LEP) has published its second
annual Our Economy report, giving an update
on areas such as unemployment, business
growth, skills level and rates of innovation.
According to the report, the North-East is
still lagging behind the rest of the country
in most areas of economic performance,
though the gap in areas such as
unemployment has narrowed and the North-
East significantly outperforms the rest of the
country in securing foreign investment.
Andrew Hodgson, chair of the North-East
LEP, said: “Given the political and economic
uncertainty we’ve experienced in the last few
months, it’s more important than ever we
continue to review the performance of the
North-East economy.
“The data in Our Economy 2019 shows
we can have confidence in our approach, but
it also identifies the areas, as a region, we
need to address, for example, low levels of
innovation.
“This kind of detailed analysis is vital
as we continue to develop the North-East
Local Industrial Strategy in partnership with
Government.”
The report reveals that the unemployment
gap between the North-East and the rest of
England (excluding London) has reduced by
34% since 2014, though recent months have
seen that trend starting to reverse.
But there are significantly lower levels
of business activity – 44 new businesses
per 100,000 people were created in the
North-East compared to 65 in the rest of
the country – while businesses were less
innovative and spent less on research and
development.
By the end of last year, the number of new
jobs had increased by 71,000, with 70%
meeting the LEP’s “better jobs” criteria.
STREAMLINING
YOUR BUSINESS
Jon Anderson, managing director of
business software at razorblue, shares
a valuable insight into the foundation of
any successful project; efficiency…
E
fficiency is integral to any
business; it can maximise margins
or provide a competitive edge.
Could your business be more
efficient?
I frequently encounter clients that
invest in machinery and staff training,
but their business performance is often
compiled of disparate spreadsheets
updated by hand. At worst, they don’t
have processes at all.
Many of them struggle to see the
value in clear procedures. In today’s
highly competitive marketplace it can
often be the difference between making
a profit or a loss.
If you’re leaking money on a
product line or your job costing isn’t
guaranteeing a profitable return – it’s
time to act.
Lacking correct, timely information
or robust business processes is the
difference between success and failure.
The best place to start is to speak
to your staff; it is surprising how many
great ideas emerge from individuals
employed in key roles within your
business.
Are your processes well-defined? Or
are they cumbersome and error-prone?
Once the areas for improvement are
determined, you can start exploring
solutions.
From system integration to manual
data input reduction, automated
Business Intelligence tools and bespoke
end-to-end software solutions; there
are options available to suit all business
requirements.
When it comes to efficiency, the key
to success is finding a partner with both
technical and business expertise. The
Business Software team at razorblue
have extensive experience in helping
businesses overcome these challenges;
please get in touch to see how we can
help.
Jon Anderson
Business software
razorblue