UK MPs to oppose outsourcing of rail inquiries to India

Train operators may draw flak for their decision at a House of Commons hearing on Wednesday.

Updated on: Nov 11, 2003, 12:08:00 IST

PTI | By Anonymous, London

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Plans to move the National Rail Enquiries to India has come under severe criticism. Train operators are expected to come under fire at a House of Commons committee hearing on Wednesday.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), believes outsourcing to India could save them £10m a year. However, many bidders have reservations about the plans and have said that quality could be affected and they would prefer to keep the operation in Britain. The move to go offshore will be questioned by members of the transport select committee, chaired by Labour's Gwyneth Dunwoody.

The decision to consider relocating National Rail Enquiries is said to have resulted from a proposal floated by British Telecom (BT) nearly 12 months ago. At that stage the proposal was rejected, but ATOC now has it back on its agenda. Four companies have been short listed. The names include BT, FirstGroup and Serco, which already provide the service, but the identity of the fourth company is yet to be known.

A report in The Guardian claims some of those shortlisted are opposed to the outsourcing, because of quality and because they do not want to close their British call centres and make job cuts at facilities that work very well. "Our experience is that moving back office work to India can work very well. But it isn't as effective when you move customer facing operations, which involve dealing with complex inquiries from the public," a contender has been quoted.

Allegedly BT has lobbied to lure ATOC to opt for a move to Bangalore. A pilot operation is already underway in Bangalore. The Guardian claims to have leaked documents revealing that BT had delivered a presentation and a risk assessment to ATOC's board detailing the attraction of Indian call centres.

National Rail Enquiries receives 60 million calls a year, which are answered by 1,700 operators in Cardiff, Derby, Newcastle and Plymouth.

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