Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Executive Director of Place

Councillors Maton and McNicholas, Cabinet and Deputy Cabinet Member respectively for Business, Enterprise and Employment, have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The Committee considered a briefing note of the Executive Director of Place which explained the reasons for the delays in opening the Arena Railway Station; the issues in respect of event trains; and how it was proposed to move forward. Richard Brookes, Commercial Director and Steve Fisher, Head of Regional Services, London Midland, Richard Howarth, Network Rail and Ian Walters, the Council’s consultant on NUCKLE attended the meeting for the consideration of this item along with Councillor McNicholas, Deputy Cabinet Member for Business, Enterprise and Employment with special responsibility for Transportation.

The briefing note indicated that NUCKLE (Nuneaton, Coventry, Kenilworth and Leamington) was the name given to a package of rail projects to radically upgrade north-south services through Coventry. The ultimate aim was to create a rail corridor with high quality services connecting the East Midlands/North East through Coventry to the Thames Valley and South. The project had been split into a number of phases with the first phase being the building of new stations at Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park, improvements at Bedworth and a new bay platform at Coventry with associated track and signal changes to enable more frequent services. The intention was to deliver phase 1 as a whole but due to an overheated signalling market meaning significantly increased signal costs, phase 1 became unaffordable. In light of the potential loss of significant European Regional Development funding and the Department of Transport funding, Cabinet, at their meeting on 4^th March, 2014 gave approval to split phase 1 as follows:

1.1  the construction of two new stations and improvements at Bedworth

1.2  the building of the bay platform at Coventry and the associated works and the crossover at the Arena.

These issues delayed the start of the project by a year.

The Committee were informed that the new stations were completed by the end of July but the opening date had been delayed due to Network Rail requiring a cabinet to be climate controlled; staffing issues at London Midland; Network rail’s requirement for signalling and commissioning plans; and the submission of the entry into service documentation.

The main purpose of the Arena Station was to serve the day to day needs of Ricoh Arena, the Arena Retail Park and local residents rather than the demand for major sporting events. The aim of phase 1 was two trains per hour between Coventry and Nuneaton with a minimum of two coach trains. Currently services could run once per hour until the bay platform was complete, expected to be Autumn 2017. Reference was also made to the lack of availability of diesel rolling stock which was unlikely to available until December 2017.

The Committee were informed that the Arena Station was capable of supporting sufficient services to move over 3,000 people to and from events. A six coach platform had been provided along with queuing facilities. The current lack of train capacity had been the reason for the Safety Advisory Group’s decision to close the station for an hour after major events. It was possible for event organisers to charter trains to enhance normal services.

Three further actions were currently being pursued to ensure that the Arena Station could support the ambitions of ACL/Wasps: (i) encouraging the provision of events trains, (ii) the delivery of the bay platform and associated infrastructure as soon as possible and (iii) engaging with partners to investigate alternative diesel rolling stock options.

Members raised a number of issues and responses were provided, matters raised included:

·  When was the station likely to be open

·  Further information about the availability of diesel rolling stock

·  Could event trains be scheduled into Coventry station without the bay platform

·  Further details about the delays in electrification projects that would have released diesel rolling stock

·  Concerns about how the situation looked to members of the public

·  Further details about the proposals for the crossover at the Arena

·  Was there potential for using the quieter platforms 2 and 4 at Coventry Station

·  Concerns about the length of time it would take before phase 1.2 was complete

·  Whether there was capacity for chartered trains to operate at Coventry Station on event days

·  When would the Entry into Service documentation be submitted

·  A concern that the public had not been fully informed about the decision and implications to deliver phase 1 of the project in two parts

·  The financial costs of using chartered trains and the costs of train fares compared to the costs of using the bus or car parks

·  Once the bay platform is operational at Coventry Station, what will happen to the existing capacity that has been released

·  In light of the significant time it has taken to reach this stage of the project, the need to have a date for when phase 1.2 will be completed

·  The challenges still to be faced.

RESOLVED that:

(1) The issues set out in the briefing note and raised at the meeting be noted.

(2) The Cabinet Member for Business, Enterprise and Employment and the Deputy Cabinet Member with special responsibility for Transportation be requested to ensure that both Council Members and the public be kept fully informed of all developments during the different stages of the NUCKLE project, making particular use of the local media.

(3) The Cabinet Member for Business Enterprise and Employment and the Deputy Cabinet Member with special responsibility for Transportation be requested to ensure that the Entry into Service document is complied with, completed and submitted as a matter of urgency.