SUBJECT - Loss of connecting trains and potential significant further loss of important connecting train - AXC & ATWThe situation around the Arriva Cross Country and ATW withdrawal of connecting service on the Gloucester line and the potential for worse to come is complex and interlinked.
Below is a summary of the situation.
1. The number of trains and the time for first and last trains as specified in the Arriva Trains Wales franchise for the Cardiff to Gloucester line service results in alternate one hour and two hour gaps in the service throughout the day.
2. ATW are operating 13 trains a day in each direction which is one more in each direction than the minimum specified in the franchise contract.
3. With 13 trains it is possible to fill two of the gaps in one of the peaks.At present this is the 16:12 and the 18:12 from Cardiff with their respective return workings at 17:45 and 19:45 off Cheltenham.
4. To fill the two hour gaps in the morning peak effectively requires two more trains to run.
5. The Arriva Cross Country franchise specified that two trains a day in each direction are to call at the "local" stops between Newport and Gloucester.
6. In theory therefore it should now be possible to basically cover both the morning and evening peak on the Chepstow line with an hourly service.
7. The Arriva Cross Country franchise however does not specify WHEN these two services are to run; this is left to the commercial judgement of the Train Operating Company.
8. Arriva Cross Country run two down services in the morning and one up service in the morning, all three of which fill a very useful local commuting need with the two hourly Arriva Trains Wales services around them.
9. For operating rather than passenger convenience (driver route refresher training etc.) Arriva Cross Country decided to run their final up service departing Cardiff at 21:00 at night.
10. This results today in the "no train for two hours" (standard Arriva Trains Wales two hour gap) followed by "three trains in one hour" (standard Arriva Trains Wales one hour gap with the Arriva Cross Country service squashed in between with only fifteen minutes between two of the trains) followed by "no trains for two hours" (standard Arriva Trains Wales two hour gap).
11. At the start of the Arriva Cross Country contract attended the Stakeholder conference in Bristol and raised the situation.Initial reaction was very positive with the Operating Director and Head of Timetables promising to look at it and sort it out.
12. Nothing happened and so raised again in response to both the Arriva Trains Wales and the Arriva Cross Country subsequent timetable consultations.Again no change.
13. Raised question of who is responsible for co-ordinating between Train Operating Companies for both connections and anomalies of service such as this with Tom Harris the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Railways.Question not answered but directed as far as connections with First Great Western to talk to the "dedicated Integration Manger" that the Franchise requires the company to have in place.
14. Mark Youngman of Mon CC followed up this question, and in a response from the Office of Rail Regulation to SEWTA they advised that it is ultimately the Department for Transport's responsibility.
15. After an unsuccessful second attempt via the next Arriva Trains Wales and Arriva Cross Country timetable consultations to get Arriva Cross Country to change this 21:00 evening service to a useful commuting 07:40 morning service from Cardiff, approached Debbie Brent at Department for Transport.Debbie Brent is the Department for Transport manager responsible for the Arriva Cross Country franchise.
16. Protracted series of exchanges followed with Department for Transport where owing to an apparent lack of detailed knowledge Debbie was continually responding with reasons obviously fed to her from Arriva Cross Country as to why it could not be done.Each reason in turn was immediately "shot down" as incorrect, irrelevant or not applicable to the proposal raised.
17. Eventually Department for Transport had a meeting with Arriva Cross Country to discuss the timetable situation.
18. Revised proposal from Arriva Cross Country still refusing to run the service in the morning where it would attract most customers but continue to run an evening train but now proposed to be earlier at 19:50 from Cardiff instead of the existing 21:00.
19. This proposal would mean for the Chepstow line "no train for an hour and three quarters" followed by "three trains in an hour and a quarter", followed by "no train for two hours" and still at a time of day when traffic is light.For Severn Tunnel Junction this results in two stopping trains only five minutes apart with the 19:50 on the Chepstow line and the 19:55 Cardiff departure on the Bristol line.
20. Early in September despite no hint in the previous months consultation on the timetable, received advice from Arriva Trains Wales that their 20:15 service to Cheltenham will not run as the Arriva Cross Country 19:50 provides an alternative service.
21. Following consultation with First Great Western they had introduced from the May 2009 timetable a stop on their Portsmouth to Cardiff to specifically provide a connection into the Arriva Trains Wales 20:15 service.To quote from the First Great Western Timetable: "To provide an enhanced level of service at Severn Tunnel Junction and to specifically improve connections into Chepstow line services the 2004 Bristol FSX / 1722 FO Portsmouth - Cardiff is to call additionally at Severn Tunnel Junction"
22. The earlier Arriva Cross Country service will have left Severn Tunnel Junction minutes before the train from Bristol arrives, breaking the connection and adding an hour's wait for the ten minute onward journey to Chepstow.
23. As the outward Arriva Trains Wales service is being withdrawn the return working the 21:45 from Cheltenham is also being withdrawn.Arriva Trains Wales say an alternative service will be provided by the Arriva Cross Country Nottingham to Cardiff additionally stopping at all stations.
Unfortunately this service runs over half an hour earlier.
24. This earlier Arriva Cross Country service breaks the thirteen minute connection off the 19:48 from London and adds an hour and a half wait at Gloucester for the next Arriva Trains Wales service down the line.(The down London services provide connections at Gloucester of normally around 10 -15 minutes into the Arriva Trains Wales down services.
With the Arriva Cross Country services half an hour later there is no connection into them.
However this is not needed as these services basically run through to Newport and Cardiff which are served direct from London via Bristol Parkway)
25. The result is still no commuting service arriving in the morning peak at Chepstow with a two hour gap between 07:49 and 09:49.The loss of the recently reinstated connection from Bristol into the Chepstow line. The loss of the connection from the London line into the Chepstow line.
The avoidance of a fifteen minute interval service to Chepstow at a quiet time of day but replaced by a five minute interval service to Severn Tunnel Junction. The removal of the one up and one down Arriva Trains Wales service that was above the franchise requirement.
The introduction of a one Arriva Cross Country down service above the Franchise requirement. An overall reduction of one service on a line that has seen a 20% growth between 2007 and the start of 2009.
26. Comment from Debbie Brent refuting the advice from the ORR saying that the DfT "is not directly responsible" but expects cooperation on timetabling between the Train Operating Companies in accordance with the Franchise agreements and following discussion she is satisfied that the Train Operating Company is meeting its franchise requirement to co-operate with other Train Operators in respect of their timetable development.... with a view to ensuring that:....the stopping patterns of such railway passenger services are placed at approximately evenly-spaced intervals throughout each relevant hour...... and ...... a reasonable pattern of railway passenger service is provided on the relevant route(s) to enable passengers to make Connections.......
27. In taking out the thirteenth service and reverting to the letter of the contract specification the comment from Mike Bagshaw of Arriva Trains Wales was:"Passenger demand at that time of the evening does not justify running the combined level of service that currently operates, which in one example gives Chepstow two services within 15 minutes.
The proposed combined ATW/XC timetable for December 09 gives a more appropriate spread of services for the demand at that time of the evening.
ATW do run many services over and above the PSR, but in the current climate we can only afford to do this where passenger volumes can justify the cost.
We don't believe that this change will cause any significant passenger inconvenience as there will remain a good spread of trains throughout the evening".
28. In considering the services in complete isolation one can understand Arriva Trains Wales view.Indeed it was basically the same argument we used as to why the Arriva Cross Country service should be moved to fill the two hour gap at the peak commuting time in the morning.
However if you consider the wider view that rail services in this country should in any way integrate with each other there can be little justification for the actions that have been taken.
29. The potential for further loss of integration now looms large. In the same way as Arriva Trains Wales have removed their services that were over their franchise requirement without consulting before deciding, there can be no reason to expect there will be any different approach from the Cross Country part of the Arriva organisation.The Department for Transport considers the system is operating satisfactorily and do not consider they have any responsibility or need for intervening.
30. There will be from December three down Arriva Cross Country services and one of these could be stripped out without notice in the same way.
31. The recently issued Great Western RUS has a section on Earlier Arrivals At Key Regional Centres that states "With the Birmingham to Cardiff journey opportunity it was further clarified that the gap related to direct journeys from Birmingham New Street to Cardiff Central between 05:30 and 07:30. If the 05:42 service could be retimed to depart Birmingham New Street later and achieve a faster running time, the identified gap could be filled. It was therefore agreed that this was a timetabling issue to be reviewed...."
32. The 05:42 is the 07:30 from Chepstow and from the latest station footfall survey undertaken by BT4C it ranks as the second highest service for passengers joining at Chepstow.
33. From the latest station footfall survey undertaken by STAG at Severn Tunnel Junction this service the 07:41 to Cardiff is the fifth equal highest ranked for joining passengers in total and is the highest of any service heading towards Newport and Cardiff (the other four are all towards Bristol).It is also by far the service with the most passengers that transfer between the two lines. The best example of integration that we have.
34. If this service is to achieve a faster running time between Birmingham and Cardiff it does not take a great stretch of the imagination to deduce that the stops on the Chepstow line will be stripped out.It can be claimed by Arriva Cross Country that it is a service over and above the Franchise specification and in the same way as Arriva Trains Wales stripped out their services without consulting it is entirely their prerogative to do so.
35. We then end up with the down commuting service matching the up commuting service, operating at a two hour interval with no arrival in Cardiff between half past seven until well after nine.
36. This has not happened yet and is only conjecture, but based on past experience and the attitude of both the Train Operating Company and the Department for Transport towards commuters and rail to rail integration it must rank as highly probable.
37. A not insubstantial amount of time and money is spent on appraising the wider social economic factors when considering transport interventions.Once a Franchise is let any social economic considerations are effectively ignored and decisions for the duration are basically made on the grounds of profit to the contractor.
This raises the question that if wider issues need to be considered initially, particularly with longer franchises, is not the whole concept flawed if they are not considered during the life of the Franchise?
Rail Services
There are basically two trains per hour from Cardiff that go through Bristol Temple Meads leaving half an hour apart and this has been the pattern for several years.Historically these have been alternate services along the Bath / Westbury/ Portsmouth route and the other along the Weston Super Mare / Taunton route.
Severn Tunnel Junction was served by both services.
The December 2006 service saw the proposed total withdrawal of all the Portsmouth services from Severn Tunnel Junction.
The Severn Tunnel Action Group (STAG) has been campaigning to re-instate all these services ever since, with partial success.
The reductions in services were based exactly on the DfT specification for the new Greater Western Franchise.
Following examination of the new Cross-Country franchise specification it was apparent that the three Cross Country services were also potentially at risk.
Integrated Rail Transport
The Portsmouth services when they stop at the Junction provide connections in each direction with the Gloucester Line services.The Taunton services do not connect in either direction with the Gloucester line services.
Neither the Taunton nor the Portsmouth services connect in either direction at Newport with the Gloucester line service.
Except on the occasions of any re-instated Portsmouth line services, passengers from and to east Monmouthshire and the Forest of Dean are forced to wait fifty minutes for the onward rail journey.
Integrated Bus Transport
Monmouthshire County Council has for years provided a local Bus Service (No.62) through the main part of the day.This is the only Bus service scheduled to call at the station. The service completes it circular route every one and a half-hours.
Prior to the December 2006 Rail cuts the Bus connected alternately with the Taunton and Portsmouth services.
Since the cuts alternate busses no longer connect with any rail services at the station.
Subject to resolution of an appropriate turning space Monmouthshire County Council have developed proposals for a dedicated Rail Link Bus service to cover the morning and evening peak rail services that are not at present covered by the local Service 62 Bus.
Other statistics
In the year after the December 2006 cuts 90% of all journeys from Severn Tunnel Junction were still to one of the thirty stations on the direct route between Cardiff and Portsmouth.The withdrawal of the through services has resulted in a reduction of off peak long distance travel from Severn Tunnel Junction to Portsmouth (20%), Fareham (9%) and Salisbury (5%)
Commuting travel still continues to grow strongly, in the last twelve months the numbers to Bristol, Filton Abbey Wood and Bath have grown by 17.7%
Progress
Not all the progress is a direct result of direct STAG campaigning.Re-instated First Great Western Portsmouth line services
The following twelve weekday Portsmouth line services now call at Severn Tunnel Junction: -
06:55, 07:55, 16:55, 17:55, 18:54 from Cardiff towards Bristol
06:15, 07:14, 17:14, 18:14, 19:14, 22:16, 23:16 from Bristol towards CardiffProposed Re-instatement
Following campaigning First Great Western had proposed the re-instatement of two services in the May 2008 timetable, the 08:30 from Cardiff (08:55 STJ) and the 18:54 from Bristol (The 18:35 from Bath, 19:14 STJ).Network Rail have blocked the re-instatement of the 08:30 but accepted the 18:54.
STAG has undertaken further investigation into this, the problems are a pathing confliction at Salisbury and potentially also at Westbury.
As a result First Great Western are looking again at this and it is hoped it will be possible for this service to be re-instated in the December 2008 Timetable change.Arriva Cross Country Services
The following three services have been retained at Severn Tunnel Junction: -
07:25 Cardiff to Newcastle
07:40 Birmingham to Cardiff
19:49 Newcastle to Cardiff
Following consultation the following three additional services are proposed to be introduced in December 2008: -
07:02 Cardiff to Nottingham
21:02 Cardiff to Nottingham
06:56 Gloucester to CardiffArriva Trains Wales
From December 2007 the thirteen services a day to Gloucester have been extended to Cheltenham, providing fast onward connections towards Birmingham and the North.Future service improvements
We believe we have about reached the limit of re-instatement of services through direct consultation / engagement with the Train Operating Companies.Further improvements to services will only come if
1. The DfT/ WAG can be persuaded of the wider Social Economic benefits of having integrated transport services, or
2. Increase the present low off peak usage, ( Severn Tunnel Junction has less than half the off peak usage per head of local catchment area population compared with other stations e.g. Chepstow)
3. The station is developed as a Park and Ride hub for east Monmouthshire.
Station Development
Backing the development and enhancement of the station has been an option for Monmouth County Council / SEWTA for several years.A long-standing aspiration for Monmouthshire County Council has also been the opening of a new station at Magor.
Network Rail have stated that any new stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel can only be on the Relief (Slow) lines, which they intend to upgrade and increase the line speed as part of the present re-signalling to accommodate 'Class 2 - Local or Stopping' passenger services.
Network Rail have also stated that it is possible to have a station at Severn Tunnel Junction or at Magor but not both.
The question of whether any potential development money should be directed by SEWTA towards Severn Tunnel Junction or Magor has been a dilemma for several years.
One aspect of this has been a reluctance to spend any minor upkeep expenditure on a station that potentially may be destined for closure.
Last Autumn Monmouthshire County Council held a site meeting and a workshop to examine the options of diverting all funds to a new Magor station and close Severn Tunnel Junction to putting all funds towards developing Severn Tunnel Junction and for the immediate foreseeable future shelving plans for Magor.
All variations and options in between were also considered.
While STAG was involved in the workshop, Monmouthshire County Council have requested that no details of what was discussed are disclosed pending further consultations by Monmouthshire County Council and an executive decision at Cabinet level.
Independently of what any Council decision may in the future be, other aspects continue to evolve as they cannot be held up pending the Council decision making process.
Development items
The station car park has been tarmaced and lined and improved lighting has been provided.The station is now in the DfT programme for the provision of disabled access within the next two years.
Under the Newport resignalling the disused Platform 4 will be brought back into use by Network Rail as part of the plans to improve the track layout, speeds and maintainability, probably 2009 or possibly 2010.
Consultants for Network Rail are at present working up Improvement options for the station as it has been included as part of the National Station Improvement Plan.
Arriva Trains Wales have started some minor Maintenance improvements, (Faded Station signs have been replaced)
Welsh Assembly Government is developing the business plan for the new M4 project that includes link road and other potential arrangements suitable for a Park and Ride station which is one of the WAG policy objectives / requirements for the new motorway.
It is expected this business plan will be put to the Minister for consideration by July 2008.
The Network Rail Route Utilisation Strategy Document issued for consultation proposes the development of Severn Tunnel Junction and no longer proposes the development of a station at Magor at this time.
Future Actions
A meeting has been arranged with the Under Secretary of State for Transport where it is hoped to develop discussion on Wider Economic Impacts if the Franchise Specifications are revised in order to re-introduce integration with other services.As marketing is excluded from the Train Operating Company's contracts, develop local marketing to raise the profile and usage of the existing services (particularly off peak) to justify further developments and provision of services.
It was hoped to create a Community Rail type Partnership, but the County Council who normally take the lead in the Community Rail Partnerships in the UK have declined at this time to be involved.
Alternative options without the Council's support are actively being explored and developed.
