Today marks a year since Sheffield-based Diamond Seating made a dramatic transformation into Diamond Rail Services.
The change was more than just in its name: it was a complete upgrade in its offering to its customers, delivering an expanded suite of capabilities. No longer simply a train seating specialist, Diamond Rail Services set out on a journey that saw it become a proven name in full interior refurbishment.
In doing so, Diamond dazzled many of its customers with its pace. In the space of 12 months, it proved it could deliver top-tier turnkey engineering and maintenance services. This work includes sourcing, manufacturing, installation, certification, and asset management, including labour supply.
The result is a range of new orders from the likes of South Western Railway and Great Western Railway… and an extra spring in Diamond’s step.
“I know a lot of people who have said that Diamond has changed,” Jenny Dempsey, business development director at Diamond Rail Services, said. “And it has: we are able to help customers with much, much more than we could have done years ago, and that adds extra positivity to the business.
“But in some ways, some things haven’t changed. You need to be anchored by values that go back a long way. Ours go back to when the business started in 1976.”
Time-honoured Diamond values are, Jenny says, a blueprint for client care. “At the core of our business is customer-centric service,” she said. “Collaboration is key. You have to work with a business and provide solutions from a position of true understanding.
“We also remind ourselves every day that we work as one team.
“Finally, Diamond Rail Services is about innovation. We are about solving the problems of today to help our customers deliver tomorrow’s rail services.”
Putting the brand to work
Do it right, and a rebrand can be a resounding success.
“I think most people associate us with our new brand now — they know we do a lot more than simply seats,” Jenny said.
“The biggest change customers appreciate is our Service Quality solutions. We have completed work with South Western Railway on their 15X and 455 fleets, which involved completing seat cover changes, painting rectifications and maintenance.
“The tasks were small but numerous; when you stand back, you see how this small-scale work, altogether, makes a major difference to an on board environment.
“This considered approach helps our customers deliver high-standard Service Quality results: ensuring they obtain incentives and not fails from the Department for Transport.
“We have also completed campaigns with Metrolink trams in Manchester, where we worked with them to remedy some serious graffiti and vandalism issues. We built on an already good relationship with the customer, and as a result, we were very pleased with the feedback we received.”
This kind of positive word of mouth is clearly helping drive the business to further success: “We have also seen a rise in enquiries by 60% for interior refurbishments,” Jenny said. “Our new service offer and the strong branding absolutely plays a part in that.”
Diamond Rail Services – proven capabilities
If 2021 was about growth for Diamond Rail Services and telling prospective customers what it was capable of, 2022 is about telling everyone what it has achieved. Jenny said: “We are proven!
“We continue to develop our Service Quality offering, and we have active conversations with several train operating companies and maintainers. The ambition for 2022 is to take the next step and gain a contract for interior maintenance.
“Our first project of the year is working on East Midland Railway’s 170 fleet. This will see us updating the seats in standard and first class and completing Service Quality audits for the operator. Diamond Rail Services is project managing this work, so we will also oversee all compliance requirements for EMR.
“Diamond aim to be the go-to supplier for turnkey projects. Our USP is that we can package up refurbishment work to be cost-effective for customers and give them a single point of contact as opposed to dealing with a lot of suppliers.
“In short, Diamond Rail Services promises to be your long-term, dependable and resourceful partner in refurbishment.”
