National Rail Enquiries outsources web service

Contract will ensure the web site can cope with peaks in demand

National Rail Enquiries outsources its web site

National Rail Enquiries is outsourcing its web site infrastructure to improve resilience and ensure it can meet peaks in customer demand.

The organisation provides travel and network information to passengers and is one of the busiest web sites in the UK, attracting an average of 70,000 enquiries a day and 24 million users since it launched its new online journey planner last year.

Having its infrastructure managed by a third party will ensure the site can cope with peaks in demand during disruptions to the network, for example.

‘Our online journey planner accounts for 60 per cent of customer enquiries and our web site handles 80 per cent of all enquiries,’ said Jason Webb, head of online at National Rail Enquiries.

‘The site is central to our service and must be able to handle peaks in demand, which can rise up to 10 times the normal level during network disruptions.’

Managed services firm Vistorm will host the infrastructure, including managed firewall, intrusion prevention and traffic management to deliver high availability and threat protection.

National Rail Enquiries is also improving its database of information on station facilities to deliver more content to passengers.

‘The database provides information to rail operators’ web sites to ensure consistent information is available,’ said Webb.

‘We want to improve the way data is stored to improve our reporting. We also want to add rich content, such as maps, to ensure customers receive the latest and best information.’

The organisation aims to deliver the database by early 2008.

National Rail Enquiries is one of the most popular web sites for rail passengers because it provides information on the entire network, says a spokesman at rail watchdog Passenger Focus.

‘It is the primary web site for passengers, but it has had issues when lots of people log on. Providing additional data on the network will also be well received by passengers,’ he said.