South Eastern Trains, the train operator that runs services in Kent, South London and parts of East Sussex has appointedÊweb design andÊbuild agency Fortune Cookie
to redesign its website and intranet. The South EasternÊTrains region covers 178 stations, 1,700 train journeys each day and handles 132.2 million passenger journeys every year.“We’re delighted to be working with the Strategic Rail Authority on this project,” said Fortune Cookie’sÊManaging Director Justin Cooke. “Fortune Cookie will leverage all of the skills and experience that we’veÊgained over the past five years building websites for Britain’s railways to deliver South EasternÊTrains a world-class, customer focused design.”

By applying user centric thinking to the design process, Fortune Cookie will create a fresh and modern design combined withÊa clear and simpleÊlayoutÊto deliver an engaging and vibrantÊwebsite.ÊUsingÊRNIB validated Accessibility Guidelines, Fortune Cookie will also ensure that the new design is accessible by as manyÊSouth EasternÊTrains usersÊas possible, including those with disabilitiesÊand those using a wide range of browsers and internet connection speeds.ÊAs a Microsoft Certified Partner, Fortune CookieÊwill draw from itsÊexpertise ofÊdesigning websitesÊusingÊMicrosoft Content Management Server and intranets using Microsoft Sharepoint to deliver a site optimised for South Eastern Trains technical environment.ÊThe new website is expected to launch in the autumn of 2004.

The travel and tourism sector is one of Fortune Cookie’s key markets with clients including Europcar, Sandals Resorts and Kuoni.ÊThey have over five yearsÊexperienceÊof designing award-winning websites for Britain’s railways, working with organisations such as Anglia Railways, ‘one’ Railway, First Group, National Express Group, Hull Trains and GB Railfreight. The company recently completed the design of an accessible website for ‘one’ Railway which included the delivery of a new online brand, an inspiring look and feel, enhanced navigation and e-commerce facilities in the form of journey planning and online ticket sales, allÊwithinÊextremely short timescales.

Fortune Cookie’s work for Anglia RailwaysÊisÊconsidered industry leading. In 2003 an independent report cited the website as “the benchmark for train operating company websites” and the siteÊwon numerous awards for corporate communications, e-commerce andÊthe RNIB SeeÊIt RightÊmark for accessibility. The number of unique website users has increased by 500% in three years and online ticket sales by an average of 200% year on year.ÊOne of the key challenges for passenger train operating companies is maximising revenue based on an allocated quota of tickets on certain routes. Fortune Cookie implemented an intuitive promotions engine for Anglia that effectively allowed them to “productise” tickets based on their quota allocation and offer passengers online booking facilities in real-time. This not only increased revenuesÊbut reducedÊthe cost of saleÊandÊmaximised Anglia’s return on quota.

Ê
——-