Agenda item

To consider the update on operational rail matters, and the updates from the train operators.

Lead: Gary Bogan and David Hoggarth

6.1          Members received the report of the Rail North Partnership Director and Head of Strategic Rail. The train operating companies were then invited to update the Committee.

6.2          David Horne provided an update from LNER which included an overview of the company. He explained that since being put into public ownership in 2018, it has been on a mission to improve and transform services on the East Coast Mainline in order to contribute to a successful and thriving North of England. LNER services alone have generated approximately £2.8 billion to the economy.

6.3          He explained that the company works in partnership with industry partners including Network Rail, suppliers and local authorities along the route, and investment is being made in a number of stations across the North.

6.4          The company has taken a long term view of the business and business plans have been developed with the needs of the business and customers at their heart. This approach has enabled them to get to a place where they are carrying 24 million passengers a year; however, he recognised that opportunities exist and acknowledged issues with overcrowding.

6.5          Addressing performance, he informed the Committee that a joint strategy is in place with Network Rail East Coast Route where plans are in place for CP7 (Industry 5-year funding period) that focus on investment in infrastructure and making the infrastructure assets more reliable and the network more resilient. The company is working in collaboration with Hitachi to improve the reliability of its train fleet.

6.6          He explained that the implementation of the new East Coast timetable has been delayed but the company is working with industry partners on the final stages of development, and once in place it will provide extra capacity, as well as faster and more frequent services and more jobs. 

6.7          The Chair highlighted the importance of this line for the North and the Northern economies.

6.8          Lord McLoughlin asked about the amount of freight being used on it and the implications of this. He also asked about the new ticket pricing being piloted.

6.9          Mr Horne highlighted the importance of this route for freight stating that it amounts to around 80 million tonnes. Investment on the line over the last decade has been centred on providing additional capacity for freight along the East Coast Corridor and the new timetable designed with freight services in mind.

6.10       He outlined their fares and ticketing work, highlighting the introduction of single leg pricing and simpler fares which is currently on trial with initial signs being positive and thousands of people choosing the "Flex” option. He recognised that more work needs to be done with those who use third party websites to buy tickets.

6.11       Cllr Gannon raised the issue of lack of capacity on LNER.

6.12       Mr Horne explained that there has been 30% growth since the last timetable change and the Azuma Trains have been introduced, adding an extra 100 seats to every service, these have been filled.

6.13       Mr Mellors updated on Avanti West Coast. He informed the Committee that the company is working hard to address the fundamental issues that have been driving poor performance and whilst believing that significant improvements have been made, he acknowledged that these need to continue and that investment is needed to deliver consistently.

6.14       He explained that the company is working closely with Network Rail to address the performance challenges, and a performance improvement strategy is in place. The strategy also addresses asset reliability, the need for a more resilient railway and improvements to service recovery.

6.15       He reported a reduction in operator cancellations in the previous 12 weeks, whilst recruitment activity has continued there has also been an increase in the number of productive drivers available. He believes that they are on track to deliver more services with extra services being run in the June timetable and more planned by the end of 2025.

6.16       He acknowledged that there are some residual issues that need to be resolved in order to consistently deliver a reliable railway and whilst the company has been able to negotiate changes to rostering and annual leave arrangements, it does not have a mandate to negotiate with the Trade Unions to seek rest day workingpay awards and substantive changes to terms and conditions. He emphasised Avanti’s desire to work with Government to resolve these issues. 

6.17       The Chief Executive reminded the Committee that following the last meeting in February and the subsequent Board meeting in March the Chair of the TfN Board together with the Chair of Rail North Committee wrote to the Secretary of State providing advice on Avanti; however, due to the election no substantive response was received and TfN had been invited to resubmit the letter following the general election. He advised that the advice of officers remained unchanged from March and recommended that the letter should be resubmitted following the meeting, in advance of the Secretary of State’s meeting with Avanti later in the week. He believed that she should be aware of TfN’s view on this matter and recommended the letter should also include reference to the deterioration in infrastructure performance and operation.  

6.18       Members agreed the Chief Executive’s recommendation.

6.19       Ms Williams provided an update on Northern. She apologised for their recent poor performance and particularly for performance on Sundays in the North West. She explained that this is because Sundays are not included in the working week for their train crews in the North West. Additionally, she advised that there has been ‘action short of strike’ by ASLEF drivers. She stated that in the short term the company wants to stabilise the situation by resolving the ‘action short of strike’ with ASLEF and whilst resolving this will help to solve the short term issues she advised that in the long term more action is required. The company is working with the Rail North Partnership to examine reform so that a resilient service can be run on a Sunday and in the short term services that cannot runare being taken out of the Sunday timetable. 

6.20       The Head of Programmes for Northern confirmed that a contractual breach notice has been issued to Northern as they had reached the limits on self-cancellations and the Rail North Partnership will work with them on a remedial plan. 

6.21       Cllr Hunt stated that the results of the recovery plan are not being seen in South Yorkshire and noted that a whole network approach is required as the issue is not only impacting the North West; other areas are also experiencing cancellations. He also raised the issues of sickness and training backlogs.

6.22       Ms Williams advised that progress is being made on training highlighting the high levels in both Sheffield and Liverpool Lime Street. Training throughput is being protected despite the high sickness levels and the lack of rest day working available. Additionally, there is a robust sickness plan in place which includes switching occupational health advisors and this is beginning to deliver positive results. 

6.23       Cllr Faulkes expressed concern at the current situation in the Liverpool City Region and offered assistance to help improving matters.

6.24       Ms Williams explained that initially crew were spread too thinly on Sundays. However, this was not working so the company opted for a more targeted approach and is now protecting routes with higher footfall. 

6.25       Cllr Gannon emphasised that it is the responsibility of the companies to plan ahead to address the issues of industrial relations, sickness and training.

6.26       The Head of Strategic Rail stated the breach notice places matters on a more formal level and allows members to see the plan in full. The plan will be shared, and the Committee briefed in the next four weeks.

6.27       The Rail North Partnership Director acknowledged that Northern has tried everything possible to return to an acceptable figure but there is difficulty in tracking what initiatives and investments will bring improved service. The plan will allow them to track each initiative on a monthly basis.

6.28       The Chair requested that any decisions that are made on or options for specific routes also be included in the plan.

6.29       Mr Chris Jackson provided an update on TPE. He informed the Committee that the business is in a better and different place to last year with colleague engagement and stakeholder satisfaction both up by 40%, the operation stabilised, cancellations reduced and “P codes” now almost non-existent. He advised that excellent progress has been made in reducing driver training backlog allowing for the re-introduction of some services in June and more in December giving a 12% increase in seats across the network.

6.30       The Chair asked if there can be an acceleration in reinstating other services before December.

6.31       Mr Jackson answered that it is not possible for extra services to be added before December, but late night additional services are being run to support the late night economies and big music events across the North.

Resolved:

That the Committee:

1)   Notes the information in the report and supports the actions that Rail North Partnership (RNP) is taking to ensure operators focus on delivering the services passengers need.

2)   Notes the updates from train operators and the business update from LNER

3)   Agrees to resubmit its advice to the Secretary of State in respect of the future of the West Coast operator

4)   Agrees, subject to amendments made by the Committee, the response to the Open Access applications.