CityRail

Background
Scheduled maintenance of the rail network (trackwork) across the CityRail network affects many commuters on a daily basis.

CityRail sought a cost effective, timely means of communicating details of these track works to their key commuter customer segment, to enable them to plan their commute relative to potential inconvenience/delays these works cause.

	Objective: Inform commuters, in advance, of the trackwork which could potentially impact their daily commute.

Strategy
Deploy highly personalised e-mails to forewarn rail commuters of trackwork and route closures that may affect their daily/weekly travel.

Campaign overview
Commuters were invited to register for ‘Trackwork’ e-mails on the CityRail web site – click here to see the page.

On this page, the registrant selects up to 6 rail lines which they use as part of their commute.
XYZdirect developed a self service wizard through which CityRail uploads content for the weekly trackwork email.

The system dynamically compiles and broadcasts the HTML e-mails for each registrant, relative to the rail lines selected at point of registration. The system automatically and dynamically generates over 1,000 permutations of the bi-weekly message, ensuring each commuter only receives information on the trackwork relevant to their journey.

	Results: Successful mailing of bi weekly route-specific trackwork information on a self serve basis mailings are extremely cost-effective. The CityRail database has grown 100%, year on year, for 5 consecutive years. When surveyed 98% of registrants to the trackwork e-mail alert service described it as "very useful", with 95% stating they would recommend the service to colleagues.