On the right track It has rarely been transports of delight on Scotland's rail system. Can Mary Dickson drive through the changes that really matter to passengers, asks Colin Cardwell

Did this really represent the gilded age of rail travel? Mary Dickson, the managing director of First ScotRail is keen to dispel several myths about our rail network. Keen is perhaps an understatement, as there is a gleam of zeal - and steel - as she talks not merely about culture change but "huge culture change... a revolution... a massive crusade."

It's a crusade the 36-year-old takes seriously. She cannot afford not to:

Dickson carries the can for the safety of passengers and the punctuality of trains on a daunting geographical reach and on the UK's biggest suburban network outside London.

First ScotRail took over the franchise in October 2005 and despite the long hours, the constant monitoring of services and the delicate politics of working both with Network Rail and the Scottish Executive, Dickson says she is still enjoying it. "It's an incredible, multi-faceted business. We're running 2,000 services a day and that equates to 70m passenger journeys a year. That's a huge volume."

One of Dickson's first tasks in an industry formerly famous for being disputatious was to complete negotiations for a pay deal, one that was structured across two years. It was, she says, the first time that the staff had been paid on time for the past ten years and was crucial for motivation.

"Now the employees can actually see some improvement in terms and conditions, " she continues, warming to the theme. "They can see that this is actually a company that cares about paying them their salary on time and didn't involve sitting for six months haggling round the table."

And, tempting though it is to over-reach on obvious railway metaphors, Dickson regards that as a major milestone. One of several she believes the company has reached in overcoming some of the legacy issues left by the former operator. "We had to change a very structured, hierarchical system of management, " she says with some ferocity. Then swiftly and dextrously adds: "Of course, I'm not here to criticise the past, a past that was structured in a way that was thought to be fit for purpose.

"But there was little investment in training;

in Scotvecs; there was no real drive in terms of the 'soft' qualities."

Dealing sensitively with the unions, she says, is "paramount" to achieving the company's objectives, and with the devolved powers enjoyed by Scottish transport minister Tavish Scott, her remit is clearly one that is highly politicised: Dickson is no slouch when it comes to lobbying for improvements and funding.

"There is public subsidy which, of course, means a lot of political interest - and the devolution of rail powers is very topical. Train types, journey times. . . that's all driven by the Executive. But on top of that you have the day job of running a business with your staff."

There's perhaps a slightly uneasy but unsurprising ambivalence between Dickson's natural generosity of spirit and industry goals that are based on cold business rationale. She talks about these goals as engaging "affection, the affection of our customers". But this is only achievable if everyone shares the commitment, and it is a fierce commitment.

She is certainly preoccupied with people issues. "I want us to go to a whole new platform in terms of customer service. Yes, safety absolutely comes first and departing and arriving on time is crucial but beyond that it's the customer service delivery and that's the major change I'm driving.

"And it's people who are going to change the business. I can develop all these business plans and everything can look fantastic on paper but if I don't have everyone, at every level of seniority doing their bit for the business, I'm not going to deliver it."

Everyone doing their bit means picking up rubbish from the station floor, and that famously includes Dickson. We haven't yet discussed the novelty of her being a woman in the men's world of railways but surely her insistence on everything being pristine has something to do with it?

It's an obsession she readily admits to. "I'm absolutely fastidious about cleanliness, " she says. This is, literally, paying off. Scotland's rail franchise, as are others, is penalised for failings over lateness, graffiti and cleanliness and in the last quarter of 2005 it saw its failureto improve fines fall by 20-per cent against the previous three months.

She is, she says "hugely impatient" to see performance improve still further. "One of the main frustrations I have is that if you have a major disruption in the morning, at the busiest time when people are coming in to work, I can't press the button and instantly deal with the volume of people coming in and out of the station. I want that thing to have been done yesterday.

"But the challenge is to change that, to get out of the 'too difficult' camp and deal with the responsibility that says: 'I will get you home tonight and I'll get you there in time.'" After two years writing the business model, the farmer's daughter from East Lothian is clearly relishing getting her hands dirty with the day-to-day issues of the business.

She monitors the network's logbooks from 4am each day and, if she sees anything untoward, is straight on the phone. "I want to know what's going on? Is anything else going to be disrupted? How are we communicating this?"

Bland excuses are out: "This train will depart late because the incoming train's arrival was delayed" is not in her lexicon. But, she says, that old mantra is in itself a challenge.

"The industry cannot work unless the train operator and the maintenance provider are in complete partnership." Which, although she is much too diplomatic to say so, is Network Rail.

Which is the source of further frustration:

"The things that are outside my control;

however, I have a responsibility to drive industry partnerships."

If she willingly accepts responsibility, she clearly expects others to follow. You can't achieve what we want to achieve unless you have the whole workforce pulling in the same direction, " she maintains.

And that means some 4,000 staff co-operating in progressive change that involves delivering a GBP40m programme of improvements for customers over the seven-year life of the franchise.

Not that she sees that as the end goal. "I'm engaged in a number of strategic projects that actually go outwith the timescale of this current franchise. There are things that we're contracted to deliver and I must ensure that we do deliver a very highly specified contract.

But that is just the basics. We've been through the exercise of doing a four-year business plan.

"We have to ask ourselves what our vision is. What's the wider strategy? What further funding can we leverage into the business?

And that's been challenging because the business has never been asked to do anything like that before."

Dickson is setting off at a smart pace now, clicking off "the challenges" on her fingers.

The First Scotrail job she says, is one that she's always wanted - "because it's one of the few national brands left that is so visible" - and she claims to have developed a passion for railways. "Though I didn't have a train set when I was a child, " she admits - and the chance is too good to miss. "You do now, " I suggest. "Yes, one of the biggest train sets in the country."

She permits herself a brief laugh before ruthlessly launching back into "responsibility, customer services, core issues that drive the industry".

Unsurprisingly, Dickson does have a very human side. Though impeccably groomed, she frets and worries about the photographer's clickings.

But impeccable appearance, and impeccable professionalism are central to her desire to bring a customer service dimension to the business. The company has committed to full Investors in People IIP accreditation within three years of franchise commencement and "communication, working environment, people" are constantly recurring themes.

Dickson is acutely aware that she is always under the brutal, interrogative spotlight of government, passengers' groups and business leaders and has rather bravely put herself and her colleagues up for grillings by Disgusted of Milngavie at regular meet-the-management sessions.

She eschews the Range Rover to face up to the serried suits of the Edinburgh-Glasgow commute on a daily basis. And at least equally bravely, has put herself up for appraisal as to how fellow directors rate her performance and style; A process that she describes as one of the most painful exercises she has been through.

And when she's not at her desk, on the mobile, on the train? Dickson is thinking of giving up one of her fast-track hobbies:

offshore powerboat racing, but, as a selfconfessed country girl, she finds rare moments of solitude - or as she would probably put it, "a finite time" - on horseback under East Lothian skies. She has, she admits, had to learn to be less hands-on.

The deadlines, and the pressure she puts on herself and her team are extraordinary;

Dickson feels that keenly, and admits that she has lost some people along the way because of that pressurised environment but is effusive about the loyalty of the existing staff when she arrived.

"I initially only brought in eight new people to deliver the transition in a business that had about 3,500 people, " she says.

"It would have been hugely arrogant if I'd said: 'That's everyone out now and here are all the new people coming in to change things'."

Robert Louis Stevenson's maxim: "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour" applies to Dickson, especially in the often neglected second clause.

Amid the plaudits and awards (she has just been named Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors, Scotland) this is a highprofile job in which she knows she is always walking the line.