How GTR maintains around 300 stations and 30 depots on GeoWorks

A new franchise with no record of what it had to maintain

When GTR took over the Southern franchise in 2003, it inherited no records of asset condition and no inventory of what was actually on the ground. Before any maintenance could be planned, it had to build a complete asset database from a standing start.

That database was not a nice-to-have. GTR had promised real improvements against significant public and private investment, and it needed to deliver them against that scrutiny. When it later took on Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink in 2015, it faced the same starting point again, at a much larger scale.

Own the asset data, and run it on software that scales

GTR, part of the Go-Ahead Group, wanted lasting control of its own asset data and a system that scales with the franchise, not another tool to manage. It chose GeoWorks, with a six-week implementation, so the railway could start working from real records quickly rather than waiting out a long rollout.

GeoSphere for Transport, shaped around the railway

One database, tighter control, millions saved

GTR now works from one integrated asset database and information library shared across maintenance, finance and operations, rather than three disconnected views of the same railway.

• Around 4,000 maintenance jobs handled every month in a single system.
• Greater control of costs, suppliers and service quality across the network.
• Millions saved in maintenance costs across the franchises.

Extending the same approach as investment continues

As rail investment continues, GTR keeps extending the same approach across its franchises, deepening planned and preventative maintenance so more work is caught and scheduled before it becomes a failure on the network.