Maarten Spaargaren to step down as Merseyrail MD on 1 January, 2015

After leading Merseyrail successfully for over three years, Maarten Spaargaren has indicated his intention to step down as Managing Director from 1 January 2015.

Summer 2015 will be a watershed moment for Maarten and his family in terms of the education of his children, and Maarten wants to allow some time to consider future career options in either the Netherlands or the UK. Commenting on his decision, Maarten said: "I am immensely proud of what Merseyrail has achieved in the last three years, the highlights being our record breaking NPS scores and the numerous awards we won during this period. I want to thank all Merseyrail staff for their contribution; I have truly enjoyed working with all these great colleagues. I've taken this decision now, in order to give Abellio and Serco time to prepare a smooth succession plan and to allow myself time to make these big decisions about my personal and professional future."

Commenting on behalf of Abellio and Serco, Dominic Booth and David Stretch said: "Maarten has been instrumental in the on-going success of Merseyrail. He has led continuous improvement in the effectiveness of the business, which is evident across our suite of business metrics, in particular the best ever NPS scores. We would like to thank him for his commitment and contribution to the business. In the interests of ensuring appropriate business continuity, we appreciate the advance notice Maarten has given of his upcoming departure which has allowed us to put arrangements in place to ensure a smooth handover."

"We are pleased to announce that following a short hand-over in December, Alan Chaplin, currently Service Delivery Director and Deputy MD of our Northern Rail franchise, will take over as interim MD from 1 January 2015 while we recruit a permanent successor. Alan has previously held the position of Acting MD at Northern Rail and we are confident that Merseyrail will continue to prosper under his stewardship."

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