#DayInTheLife with Nadine Rajkumar, Senior Service Manager at RDG

Nadine Rajkumar, Senior Service Manager at RDG, talks to us about what it's like supporting key services: the Rail Availability and Reservations Service (RARS) and Passenger Assist, in the latest of our #DayInTheLife series at RDG..

How would you describe your role to a friend??

I would say that I’m a chief escalation point and firefighter for the services I manage - the Rail Availability and Reservations Service (RARS) and the Passenger Assist Service.??

These are valuable services that RDG works with the industry to provide for the customer. RARS (Rail Availability & Reservation Service) enables passengers to reserve seats on specific train services across Great Britain. Passenger Assist is an app that simplifies assisted travel requests, making rail more inclusive and accessible.???

What does a typical day look like for you??

On any given day, I monitor the services to ensure they are running smoothly and within the agreed Service Levels, review any requests raised by operators and retailers, and serve as an escalation point for any issues that need to be resolved quickly.??

My typical day involves collaboration of some kind – either internally with the Project and Product teams to review and approve system releases and improvements or externally with suppliers, operators and retailers.??

What are the key components of your role??

My key focus is ensuring that the services are up and running and delivering as expected for our customers - operators, retailers and passengers. This involves monitoring the service and rectifying reliability issues when or before they become visible.??

An example of a reliability issue for RARS is if some bookings are failing, which may result in frustration for customers.??

For Passenger Assist, an example would be if staff cannot log in to the system and we need to work quickly to ensure they have access to information on customers requiring assistance at the station they work at.?

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What are some of the skills needed to do your role???

Listening - my main customers are the operators and retailers who may all have different points of view, so you really need to listen to get find common ground. It’s important to understand the audiences and different stakeholders so I can communicate effectively with them.?

Another key skill is assertiveness, in particular, the ability to say no if a request from an operator or retailer is not in the best interest of the overall service.???

What area(s) of your job do you enjoy the most??

I actually like the ‘firefighting’ aspect of my role. When things go wrong, it is very fulfilling to be able to bring together the right resources and get to the root of the problem. Also, the lessons learnt can be used to make continual improvements to the services, providing a better experience for the customer in the future.???

If you could wave a magic wand and do any other job in the world, what would you do??

I’d get paid for travelling, eating my way around the world and recreating the exciting and new flavours in delicate patisserie.??

I love cooking, baking and sharing the food I make with anyone within range! My Trinbagonian food allows me to share my culture and cuisine with others. I am also currently obsessed with making macarons which are delicate, challenging, beautiful little morsels of happiness. They are so temperamental but it is so fulfilling when they play nice and allow me to create something exquisite.?