City Link sets out plans for next big freeze

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City Link has set peak volume limits with all of its large customers, as well as promising customers it will not take on any new clients from 1st November until the New Year, as part of its plan to manage in case of winter storms.

It spent six months drawing up contingency plans to ensure its network will run smoothly in the event of another big freeze.

“We will have snow-clearing machinery in every depot and hub and a central command team has been formed to cope with emergencies,” said Duncan Faithfull, sales & marketing director.

Preparations include monitoring long, medium and short-term weather forecasts and making arrangements to bring in extra vehicles and drivers for peak periods, such as Christmas, if necessary.

Should there be an emergency resulting in a backlog at one depot, the central command team can re-direct parcels to the next nearest depot instead. It will also be able to redeploy staff if necessary.

The command team will be given updates on key data, so they can make well-informed decisions, and they will be responsible for pro-actively telling all customers about the status of the network via daily bulletins during a crisis.