HEADLINE NEWS

Reduced timetable in England here to stay; Call for freight ‘tsar'; New flexible season ticket controversy; Another HST power car is preserved; Last HST trailers leave Scotland for scrap.

NETWORK Rail and the train operating companies (TOCs) which hold Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements, acting as employers, and trade unions ASLEF, RMT, TSSA, and Unite, representing rail industry workers, signed an Enabling Framework Agreement (EFA) on June 15.

The content of the EFA reflects a need to reduce industry costs to match an expected annual revenue shortfall of £2billion compared to pre-Covid earnings from ticket sales. With a lower number of passengers, it is intended that the 15% timetable reduction that was applied in May 2021 will continue.

A recruitment and pay freeze will be instigated with no funding provided for outstanding pay reviews from 2020 or new cases put forward in 2021. One exception provides for a salary increase of up to £250 per annum for staff earning less than £24,000 annually.

Both sides accept that there will be job losses, but aim to avoid compulsory redundancy by providing a voluntary severance scheme, retraining and industry-wide redeployment opportunities.

As demand recovers, there is no intention to restore trains removed from the timetable, but instead the policy will be to strengthen existing services. This is a big change in operating philosophy and suggests rolling stock will be kept in reserve, which is likely to be problematic given the almost exclusive use of fixed formation trains.

Devolution of responsibility for providing train services to a number of public authorities means that the

EFA will relate only to the timetable in England, which is presided over by the Department for Transport. Operations that are sponsored by Transport Scotland, Transport for Wales, the London Mayor, and the Liverpool City Region will be excluded, as well as open access passenger operators.

TICKET OFFICES TO GO?

In future, train operators running concessions will no longer collect fares and a big reform is intended with the creation of a new digital sales platform (see July issue). This will be accessed by the public using ‘smart technology' for the payment of tickets purchased in advance and pay-as-you-go systems like London's Oyster Card.

This suggests that the need for ticket offices will disappear, as there will be certainty about the cheapest fare available for the journey, something that passengers are currently unable to find out using ticket vending machines, unless simplified zonal fares are in use.

Revenue will be paid directly to the public body granting the concession which will include the former InterCity East Coast and Northern franchises which are controlled by the ‘operator of last resort' company owned by the DfT. An expected benefit is that it will no longer be necessary to pay commission to third party service providers such as Trainline. This is a variable amount, but is typically 6% of the ticket value. Although this does not sound particularly high, when applied to thousands of transactions, it can lead to substantial payments.

It is unclear about the way Great British Railways will operate in future as there will be no incentive for concession holders to undertake marketing activity to increase demand or carry out revenue protection activities. The removal of other agencies earning commission also discounts the effort made by the companies to promote rail travel.

A skilled part of existing activity by train operating companies is to set fares based on maximising income and this is a resource that is not easily transferable to the new GBR regions. In summary, it is essential that incentives to increase revenue, probably on a shared basis, are offered to the concession operators to ensure income from discretionary travel is maximised.

FREIGHT UNAFFECTED

Rail freight services are unaffected by the EFA, which have not been subject to the dramatic drop-off in demand experienced by passenger operators as a result of the Covid pandemic. In fact, some additional services have been provided as port and terminal intermodal capacity have been expanded. There is recognition that more capacity is needed for the sector, which will be helped by a reduction in passenger services.

Network Rail investment in the Strategic Freight Network is also taking place to improve gauge clearance and provide the ability to run longer trains. Rail is increasingly being considered as an option by distributors who previously used other modes. The sector might benefit from the fact that distribution companies are facing an acute shortage of up to 100,000 qualified Heavy

Goods Vehicle drivers as a result of the introduction of new driving standards and restrictions on the use of staff from European Union countries.

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