East Midlands franchise.

Transport Focus defines franchise expectations

It is easy to get the impression that the needs of passengers are a long way down the list of priorities in the franchise bidding process.In recognition of this Transport Focus, as the official channel that represents rail users, undertakes research to inform the Department for Transport. It has just published its findings into expectations for the new East Midlands franchise which is due to start in August 2019.

A starting point is that a substantial premium for the franchise contract is paid to the Government. It was £ 74 million on a turnover of £ 392m in 2015, and Transport Focus makes the valid comment that there should be more input from passengers about how the surplus is spent.

For current operations it was found that while the train service largely delivered basic needs, the rolling stock in use was felt to be dated, not always clean, and lacking in current requirements for plug sockets and free WiFi that are facilities provided by comparable operators.

The summary was that East Midlands Trains (EMT) has delivered the basics well, which provides a solid foundation for a new franchise where there is the opportunity to deliver beyond passenger expectations.

This is reflected in the most recent National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) result for spring 2017, when 88% of users were found to be satisfied with service provision - although the usual Achilles heel was present with only 52% of passengers considering the operator dealt well with delays, a below-average statistic compared with other longer-distance operators.

What passengers wanted most was up-to- date rolling stock. The complaints were focused on the Class 153 and Class 156 Sprinters used on secondary routes that date from 1987, although the Class 158 Express Sprinters (1989), HSTs (1976) and Class 222 Meridian (2003) types did not escape criticism. The NRPS also revealed that only 75% of passengers considered that the vehicles used on local trains received satisfactory upkeep and repair.

For main line operations, the curtailment of future electrification will require a different rolling stock solution than would have been the case. The HSTs and Class 222s have a maximum speed of 125mph, but more importantly the high powerto-weight ratio of the Class 222 type has enabled accelerated timings. If bi-mode Class 800 series IEP trains are chosen, particularly to replace the HSTs, the performance characteristics will not be as good when running in diesel mode.

In any quest for new trains passengers should be careful what they wish for, as the arrival of Class 387 electric units on Great Northern and Great Western commuter routes has been greeted with incredulity that Bombardier could offer and Porterbrook (the leasing company) could purchase trains with totally unsuitable seating for outer- suburban duties. The experience is like sitting on a fabric-covered board without any cushioning, as observed by many - including Paul Newman in his recent letter ( Open Access, RAIL 835).

For stations, the facilities at the major cities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester are felt to lack grandeur, although the improvement work at Nottingham has been well received. The stations clearly lack the scale of renovation that has taken place at St Pancras and Leeds, although the reality is that any substantial redesign would need to be part of a commercial development such as at Birmingham New Street.

On secondary and rural routes, many stations feel completely run down and passengers have concerns about personal security - given a lack of CCTV, good lighting and train running information, and at busy locations a lack of adequate seating, shelter and toilet facilities. This looks to be where franchise bidders can raise their bid assessment quality scores by investment.

Transport Focus has drawn on its previous generic research report How rail passengers really feel, published in June 2016 and which found that negative emotions are caused by crowding and a lack of on-board amenities.

The particular gripe is the feeling that EMT takes no action to provide additional capacity on services it knows will be busy, including journeys to Skegness in the summer months and Christmas markets in the winter. There was also judged to be a poor response to the travel demand for race days at Uttoxeter and football matches at Derby.

This is a legacy from long ago, when it became accepted that providing capacity beyond the normal timetable was generally in the ‘too difficult’ category, after the withdrawal of dated trains in a drive to remove rolling stock retained for such use.

A number of operators have noticeably changed their attitude, by providing additional services to meet the needs (for example) of the Glastonbury festival, rugby at Cardiff, and golf tournaments in Scotland. It is much easier to hire in capacity than it used to be from independent train operators with suitable resources.

Ticketing arrangements outside the main centres are not well rated by passengers. There is uncertainty about whether you are expected to buy a ticket before travel when there is no facility to do so, due either to ticket vending machines being out of service or the dangerous practice of expecting users to use a level crossing to access the ticket office.

Smart ticketing is coming, and providing online web purchase, mobile apps and equipment at stations is another source of potential quality scoring for bidders.

The timetable also needs to evolve to meet current passenger expectations. At many locations the service does not start sufficiently early for travel to work journeys, and finishes in the evening before people can use a train home after attending an evening event.

A lot of work will be required by bidders to integrate newly electrified services between London and Corby that will serve Wellingborough and Kettering, where there will be a withdrawal of stops on main line trains as well as at Bedford and Luton.

From December 2018 train planners will also have to contend with pathing for 14 of the 24 trains per hour that are planned to operate on the Thameslink central section, which will mean greater use of the fast lines used by services to Corby, Nottingham and Sheffield. These constraints bring the prospect that many longer- distance commuters will find their journey time extended, which raises the question of whether fewer Thameslink services should operate as far as Bedford.

“The particular gripe is the feeling that EMT takes no action to provide additional capacity on services it knows will be busy.”