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National Rail Enquiries shake-up sparks outrage

News that 50 per cent of the jobs at National Rail Enquiries are to be moved from the UK to India has attracted significant criticism from passenger groups worried that the service provided to the public will be poor.

Under the recently announced plans, call centres in Derby and Plymouth will close. The 500 jobs lost in the UK will then be transferred to new premises in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Two other centres in Cardiff and Newcastle will remain open, although many people are unhappy about the strategy and insist customers will be unable to get useful information due to operatives' poor command of the English language and limited local knowledge.

Management insists that enquiries will be dealt with "promptly and efficiently", a prediction which does not impress the average commuter.

"This is an absolute disgrace," fumed one member of the Rail Passengers' Support Organisation sardined onto the delayed 08:21 from Bowker to Darling. "It is absolutely contrary to what we've been demanding for years. The new Indian call centre wallahs are university graduates with excellent spoken English and a good grasp of Britain's geography. Their 500 British counterparts are either Welsh or Geordie, so why for the love of all that's Holy didn't they give their jobs to the Indians too?"

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