Agenda and minutes

The Chair to Welcome Members and the public to the meeting.

Lead: Chair

1.1             The Deputy Monitoring Officer proposed that as the previous Chair of the Committee had stepped down from  Transport for the North and as there is no Vice Chair and a new Chair is yet to be appointed, the Chair of the Transport for the North Board Chair this meeting of the Committee.

 

The Committee agreed to this proposal.

1.2          Apologies were received from Cllrs Brown, Shore, Duncan, Waltham and Gannon.

 

1.3          The Chair placed on record his thanks to the outgoing Chair, Cllr Robinson, for all his hard work and commitment to the Committee and Transport for the North during his time as Chair and a Member.

Members are required to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interest they may have relating to items on the agenda and state the nature of such interest.

Lead: Chair

2.1          There were no Declarations of Interest.

To consider the approval and signature of the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record and to consider any requests for updates on matters contained therein.

Lead: Chair

 

3.1             The minutes of the Consultation Call held on 15 November 2022 were considered for their accuracy.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the Consultation Call held on 15 November 2022 be noted.

To appoint a Chair of the Rail North Committee and consider a change to the membership of Rail North Partnership Board.

Lead: Julie Openshaw

4.1             Members received the report of the Head of Legal.  The Chair anticipated that this matter would be resolved by the time the Committee meets again in June. 

Resolved:

1)   That the report be noted.

2)   That  Rail North Committee approves the change of one of the Transport for the North’s representatives on the Rail North Partnership Board from David Hoggarth to Darren Oldham.

 

To receive an update on rail operational matters and updates from the operators and Network Rail.

Lead: Gary Bogan

5.1             Members received the report from the Director of the Rail North Partnership.  Representatives from each of the Train Operating Companies were then invited to provide an update.

 

5.2          Mr Steve Montgomery provided an update on the current situation regarding Avanti. A recovery plan had been put in place last year and improvements are being seen, although there are challenges.  He explained that t the three trains an hour between Manchester and London had been be restored.  He informed the Committee that attempts are being made to bring more stability to the timetable although there is volatility on certain days and difficulties at the weekends due to terms and conditions.  Avanti is working with the Trade Unions on these issues.

 

He then addressed the issue of drivers and stressed that  rather than simply a shortage of drivers, the issue is a shortage of drivers who are deemed competent on the routes and drivers who have been restricted from duties due to long term sickness. He stated that the number of productive drivers is however increasing and that this is leading to a reduction in the number of cancellations. He added  that the next issue they needed to address is punctuality and delays to services.

 

5.3          Mr Matthew Golton provided an update regarding Transpennine Express.  He informed the Committee that the recovery plan has been submitted to the Department for Transport and explained that it sets out how TPE intends to resume reliable services. The plan sets out a series of actions and interventions across TPE which need to be delivered to return long term stability and reliability back to services. This includes measures to increase the number of available train crew to complete essential training, improving workforce relations, restoring reliability and rebuilding customer and stakeholder confidence.

 

The recovery plan assumes that there is no driver overtime working available and the target without that is to reduce crew related cancellations by up to 60% until the end of June.  He pointed out that should there be any further industrial action then this will impact on the rate of training as well as the recovery.

 

He acknowledged that he and his team recognise that the current situation is unacceptable, and that faster improvement and recovery is required.

 

Regarding Sunday services, he explained that TPE is in discussion with the Department for Transport and the Rail North Partnership about how they can be restored to an acceptable level.

 

5.4          Mr Nick Donovan provided an update on Northern.  Following the December 2022 timetable change  approximately  3,000 additional services per week have been running and these are not reliant on rest day working.  He then highlighted that during period 11 only 3.8% of services had been cancelled, including “on the day” cancellations, which is commensurate with the England and Wales average.

 

Mr Donovan updated on the current sickness levels within Northern;  there are some local hot spots with high levels of sickness, which is causing some issues on delivery.  On Sunday services, he explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider the early indications of how the revised service pattern is performing.  To provide an update on the progress of infrastructure development.

Lead: Charlie French

6.1             Members received the report of the Investment Planning Manager who highlighted the key points within the report.

 

6.2             Mayor Burnham expressed concern about the bottleneck in Manchester City centre which is major concern for the whole of the North and has been flagged as a concern by the Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner and officers at Transport for Greater Manchester.

 

He explained that the improvements proposed to infrastructure in Manchester City centre are not keeping pace with the extra services that Transpennine Route Upgrade will feed into the city centre, so there are additional passenger and freight services that will come into the city as a result of the TransPennine Route Upgrade.

 

He stated that there is little confidence that the necessary work will be done to enable those services to be absorbed without displacing local services or causing major disruption. In order to illustrate his point he likened on the situation to  a new motorway ending in a car park.  Whilst supporting the Transpennine Route Upgrade, he stated it will only be of benefit if Manchester City Centre can safely and reliably accommodate the extra traffic that it will generate, but a plan has not been seen for this.

 

He stated that the plan has not been thought through and that it impacts on existing parts of the railway with the result that the big step forward does not arrive, but see massive disruption and which could lead to history repeating itself.

 

6.3             Mayor Coppard raised the issue of capacity and specifically the upgrade to the Hope Valley line stating that it will not deliver the improvements in service required for the people of South Yorkshire, particularly the third fast train to Manchester and the connectivity between Sheffield and Manchester Airport.  He highlighted the importance of the connections between Sheffield and Manchester and was concerned that these would not be resolved until late 2020s or early 2030s which is not  good enough.  Cllrs Hannigan and Hinchcliffe also raised the issue of lack of connectivity between their areas and Manchester.

 

Mr Golton stated that he has asked for a fresh look at how greater connectivity is restored to Manchester Airport and will reach out to Members.

 

6.4             The Head of Strategic Rail stated that an invitation to the next Committee will be issued to the industry to allow provison for an update on the current position with the Manchester task force proposals.   Network Rail is working on a piece of advice which is due to be completed in March. He hoped that this will provide clarity to the Committee and allow it to measure the position against the set objectives. He also suggested revisiting the advice made several years ago due to there now being more schemes in the pipeline and much more information about the schemes; now is a good time to refresh the long-term strategy for Manchester.

 

6.5             The Chair stated that the capacity at Manchester will be essential. He highlighted the excessive problems with Leeds station and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the development work done by Transport for the North and Partners to update the “Blueprint” setting out development plans for the northern section of the East Coast Main Line.

Lead: Jonathan Brown

7.1             Members received the report of the Strategic Rail Lead. The Chair informed the Committee that the paper is for information.

 

7.2             Cllr Hinchcliffe rcommented on the Leeds Study terms of reference and as the delay in their publication is delaying progress she requested that  the Government be pressed to publish them   because this is vital for the economic future.

Resolved:

1)   That the Committee notes the updated East Coast Main Line Blueprint

2)   That the views of the Committee be noted on the future use of the Blueprint so that it achieves maximum value

3)   That the Committee notes the position on the Leeds HS2 Study and other East Coast Main Line issues.

 

To consider the overview of Transport for the North’s Strategic Rail Report.

Lead: David Worsley

8.1             Members received the report of the Rail Strategy Manager who highlighted the key elements of the report.

Resolved:

That the approach to the Strategic Rail Report be noted and the Committee endorse it as a supporting document for the Strategic Transport Plan.

To seek approval to establish a North-West Regional Business Unit.

Lead: David Hoggarth

9.1             Members received the report from the Head of Strategic Rail who highlighted the key points within the report.

Resolved:

1)   That Committee approves the establishment of a North-West Regional Business Unit

2)   That the Committee notes that the establishment of Business Units was highlighted to the December 2022 Transport for the North Board consultation call as one of the ‘quick wins’ on rail reform that the North can take ahead of full implementation of the planned rail reform.

To consider the update on the Strategic Rail elements of the draft Transport for the North Business Plan 2023/24 and the Department for Transport’s funding allocation 2023/24 and 2024/25. To provide an update on the 2023/24 Member Contribution payment.

Lead: Caroline Young

 

10.1          Members received the report and the Head of Strategic Rail highlighted the key points of the report.

Resolved:

1)   That the Committee endorses the approach set out in the report to the 2023/24 draft Rail Business Plan

2)   That the Committee notes the Department for Transport funding allocation for 2023/24 and 2024/25

3)   That the Committee approves the approach to the 2023/24 Member Contributions as outlined in this report.

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Items X on the grounds that:

 

(1)It is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during such item(s), confidential information as defined in S100A(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) would be disclosed to them in breach of the obligation of confidence; and/or

(2)it / they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as set out in the Paragraphs [listed below] of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of items 12 and 13 on the grounds that:

 

(1)        It is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during such item(s), confidential information as defined in S100A(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) would be disclosed to them in breach of the obligation of confidence; and/or

 

(2)        It/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as set out in the Paragraphs [where necessary listed below] of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

To consider the approval and signature of the private minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record and to consider any requests for updates on matters contained therein.

Lead: Chair

 

12.1          The private minutes of the Consultation Call held on 15 November 2022 were considered for their accuracy.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the Consultation Call held on 15 November 2022 be noted.

To provide an update on the Rail Operator business plans.

Lead: Gary Bogan

13.1       The report was received by Members who were then invited to ask questions and make comments.

Resolved:

That the report of the Rail North Partnership Director be noted.