Agenda item

Rail Update

(Member lead: Cllr J Blake, Director: Dave Pearson)

Decision:

Resolved:

 

(a)       That the Combined Authority’s concerns that rail passengers continue to experience delays, cancellations and short forming of trains and the steps taken by Northern, TransPennine Express and Network Rail to remedy this be noted.

 

(b)       That the Combined Authority’s initial submission to the Williams review of the UK Rail Industry be endorsed.

 

 

Minutes:

The Combined Authority considered a report of the Director of Transport Services which provided an update on the performance of the local rail service and on the industry reviews seeking to address the structural issues in the industry which are affecting passengers on a daily basis.

 

Following the last meeting, invitations had been sent to the Managing Directors of Northern and TransPennine Express together with the Regional Director of Network Rail to attend the meeting and outline their plans to improve punctuality and reliability and to restore confidence in the City Region’s rail service.  The meeting was attended by Paul Barnfield, Service Delivery Director, Northern and Paul Watson, Operations Director, TransPennine Express.  Members expressed their extreme disappointment that there was no representative from Network Rail present and asked that they be invited to the next meeting.

 

It was noted that although performance had improved following the December timetable change, issues did remain.  Members stressed their continued concerns that services were still failing to operate at an acceptable level and passengers and the local economy were being severely affected.  The effect on consumer confidence was highlighted with the latest National Rail Passenger Survey results showing that overall satisfaction was down by 11% to 72% on the previous year.

 

Members highlighted their concerns about several issues including the withdrawal of Pacer units, particularly on the Calder Valley line, shortforming of trains and communication with passengers.  In respect of the introduction of new rolling stock, Northern stated that they had a robust plan and were confident that all the Pacer units in West Yorkshire would be replaced by the end of 2019.  When Members asked for assurances that this would happen, Northern said that they could guarantee they had a plan that no Pacers would be in service by the end of 2019 but alternative options would need to be explored if issues occurred around fleet cascade. It was noted that there was to be a change of legislation in January 2020 which would affect older rolling stock and the train operating companies would need to ensure they were compliant.

 

TransPennine Express referred to the May 2018 timetable problems and the importance of providing a robust service which would help to restore passenger confidence. Their new trains were currently being tested and were expected to come into service on the Liverpool-Manchester and Leeds-York-Scarborough services in May 2019.

 

The Combined Authority thanked the Northern and Network Rail representatives for attending the meeting and reiterated the need to see continued improvements and better communication and engagement with the public as this was key to restoring passenger confidence.  Members asked that an update be provided at a future meeting.

 

Members noted that the inaugural meeting of the Train Operators Forum had been held and key issues and priorities for the year ahead had been discussed  This had been attended by Northern, TransPennine Express, Network Rail and Transport Focus and they had explained their plans for 2019 which were outlined in the submitted report. 

 

It was reported that the Rail North Partnership Review undertaken by Councillor Judith Blake and Andrew Johnson, the Minister for Rail, had been considered by the Transport for the North Board on 7 February 2019.  In respect of the Williams Review of the UK Rail Industry, Members noted the Combined Authority’s initial submission which was attached at Appendix 1. 

It was noted that the work being undertaken by Richard George, who was working closely with TfN, the Rail North Partnership, Network Rail and train operators was not yet complete but it was suggested that he be invited to a future meeting.

 

Resolved:

 

(a)       That the Combined Authority’s concerns that rail passengers continue to experience delays, cancellations and short forming of trains and the steps taken by Northern, TransPennine Express and Network Rail to remedy this be noted.

 

(b)       That the Combined Authority’s initial submission to the Williams review of the UK Rail Industry be endorsed.

Supporting documents: