Briefing Note of the Director of City Services and Commercial
Minutes:
The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a briefing note and presentation which provided an update on Network Rail’s 5-Year Plan; the Coventry – Leicester – Nottingham direct rail link project and the Heart of England Community Rail Partnership’s work on engaging young people and families with the rail network.
Mr S Ireland (Network Rail) and Mr A Clarke (Midlands Connect) attended the meeting in support of this item.
With regards to the Network Rail 5-Year Plan, Mr Ireland explained that the Plan covered the 2024 to 2029 control period. The figures within the Plan may be subject to change and there will be further updates in due course as the Plan is currently going through the Department for Transport (DfT).
The presentation provided information in respect of the Central Route – Heart of Britain’s Railway; Lead Train Operators; Non-Lead Train Operators and Freight; Asset Base; Overarching Principles; Access Utilisation; and Start of Control Period 7 by Numbers.
It was noted that the central route covers a major part of the national rail network. Network Rail are the infrastructure manager for the main link between the West Midlands and London, a key commuter line in and out of Birmingham; and a vital freight route. The central route is also home to Birmingham New Street, the busiest station outside of London and the hub of the national rail network. With more than 160,000 passengers using the station every day, Birmingham New Street helps connect the Southwest with Scotland and the Northwest with East Anglia. Some key statistics were highlighted as follows:
· More than 2,400 trains a day carry passengers across routes
· 188,000 tonnes a week of nationally-important freight
· 160,000 passengers per day through Birmingham New Street
· 152 Stations
· 1,103 miles of track
· 1,216 sets of points
· 505 wire runs (OLE)
· 1,668 colour signals
· 136 semaphore signals
Mr Clark presented information in respect of the work undertaken by Midlands Connect, particularly in respect of the Coventry – Leicester – Nottingham direct rail link and the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) to Government. The presentation indicated that the SOBC had been resubmitted to Government and set out the costs and benefits of improving the rail service, including a new direct service to the East Midlands. Midlands Connect were seeking money for the next stage, an Outline Business Case, and ultimately the construction by the early 2030s. The Presentation also highlighted the following:
· The Rationale – Economic Growth, Access to Opportunity and Railfreight.
· The current indirect route from Coventry to Leicester.
· What is needed – the preferred option of 1 train per hour local and 2 trains per hour regional.
· The infrastructure required – Coventry Bay Platform Capacity (twin bay for preferred option), Higher Speeds from Coventry to Nuneaton (from 45mph to 60mph), Nuneaton ‘Diveunder’, and Leicester 4-Tracking (South Wigston to Leicester).
· Key Headlines:
o Journey Times – now 56 minutes – future 30 minutes
o People using Rail – now 3% - future greater than 25%
o Value for Money – greater than 2 ‘high’ but greater than 3 with railfreight
o Benefits – More then £400m, of which £150m is to the wider economy.
· Next Steps
o Submission to RNEP – two stages of submission
o Then onto Outline Business Case (funds permitting) [2025-26]
o Network Rail to lead the Outline Business Case on behalf of Midlands Connect [2027-28]
o Entry into service by early 2030s but relies on timely decision making [by early 2030s]
The Board made statements, asked a number of questions and received answers in respect of the following:
· The importance of trains and buses being integrated.
· Who is responsible when there are train cancellations, whether it falls to Network Rail or the relevant operators.
· The process for applying for compensation when there are delays.
· How information is shared with communities within local regions and what information is published.
· How to ensure that a customer is able to purchase the cheapest option ticket when sometimes it is cheaper to buy tickets for the journey in stages/
· How technology has impacted on what services are available at stations.
· What percentage of tickets are now sold electronically.
· Coventry station being the second busiest in the region, links to the bus interchange, and issues of where taxis are stopping.
· Why there are so few carriages on the Cross Country network, often resulting in trains being crowded.
· Whether Coventry had benefitted from any of the HS2 funding.
· How many apprentices are involved with the HS2 project.
· Whether there would be a swift ticketing approach to support the uptake of journeys from Birmingham to Leicester.
· Whether there could be different transport types available in light of the current timescales to 2030.
· What the likely impact of freight would be.
· Whether there had been any investigations to implement projects on a sectional basis.
The Board requested that the following additional information be circulated by Network Rail and Midlands Connect:
a) An update on the development of the railway bridge of Holyhead Road.
b) A summary of quarterly reports that an be shared with residents.
c) Information on delay / cancellation responsibilities across Network Rail and Operators and performance information in respect of stations.
d) Information on the benefits to Coventry in respect of HS2 funding.
e) The number of apprentices involved with HS2.
f) Information on how the Planning and Infrastructure Bill may assist with proposals for the Midlands Hub.
RESOLVED that, the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):
1. Note the contents of the report and accompanying papers.
2. Include the formation of Great British Railways and proposals for once the current rail contract expires on a future agenda for the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3).
3. Request that the additional information requested in a) to f) above be circulated to the Board.
Supporting documents: