HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Agenda Item No. ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING & TRANSPORT CABINET PANEL 7 2 NOVEMBER 2016 AT 10.00AM THAMESLINK 2018 TIMETABLE CONSULTATION Report of the Chief Executive& Director of Environment Author:- Trevor Mason, Team Leader Rail Strategy & Liaison (Tel: 01992 556117) Executive Member/s:- Derrick Ashley, Environment, Planning & Transport 1. Purpose of report 1.1 To consider the County Council’s response to Govia Thameslink Railway’s consultation on the 2018 timetable. 2. Summary 2.1 GTR is consulting on major timetable changes which would be introduced in 2018. These changes affect nearly half of all Hertfordshire stations. 2.2 There are significant benefits to Hertfordshire rail users in terms of overall service levels and destinations served. Rail users will also benefit from new trains. There, however, some negative implications for certain services at particular locations. 2.3 This paper sets out a draft response to GTR’s proposals. The deadline for responses is 8 December. 3. Recommendation/s 3.1 For the Cabinet Panel to agree the draft consultation response as set out in Appendix 2 3.2 For the Executive Member to write to the Secretary of State to press for early delivery of the new platform at Stevenage station and /or other appropriate solutions to enable full delivery of the 2018 timetable without the need for bus substitution between Watton-at-Stone and Stevenage. 1 4. Background 4.1 Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has issued a consultation on the proposed new timetable for 2018. The consultation runs to 8 December. 4.2 The routes affected in Hertfordshire are the current Thameslink route through St Albans, the Great Northern routes via Stevenage and the Hertford loop, and the West London Line services via Watford Junction. 4.3 The consultation thus has implications for the following stations: Baldock, Bayford, Berkhamsted, Brookmans Park, Cuffley, Elstree & Borehamwood, Harpenden, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hertford North, Hitchin, Knebworth, Letchworth, Potters Bar, Radlett, Royston, St Albans City, Stevenage, Tring, Watford Junction, Watton at Stone, Welham Green, Welwyn Garden City, and Welwyn North. 4.4 The proposed changes result from the completion of the Thameslink Programme, which will see the connection of the Great Northern line to the Thameslink tunnel via St Pancras, the introduction of a new train fleet, and the full re-opening of London Bridge station. 4.5 The current consultation covers the main principles of the new timetable, for example service frequency and destinations served. A further round of consultation, setting out the proposed actual timetable, is due to be held in Spring 2017. 4.6 The GTR consultation documents can be found at http://www.thameslinkrailway.com/your-journey/timetable-consultation . 5. Changes to Hertfordshire Services 5.1 The overall changes to rail services in Hertfordshire are set out below. Further detail is included in Appendix 1 to this report. (a) Thameslink Route 5.2 The Thameslink route covers the services from Bedford to St Pancras and to the south of London. The stations in Hertfordshire served by this route are Elstree & Borehamwood, Harpenden, Radlett and St Albans. 5.3 The key changes for the route are: • An increased service frequency; • The introduction of a new service to Rainham via Greenwich and Dartford; • The introduction of the new Class 700 trains 2 (b) Great Northern Mainline 5.4 The Great Northern Mainline covers the services from Peterborough and Cambridge to London via Stevenage. The stations in Hertfordshire served by this route are Baldock, Hatfield, Hitchin, Knebworth, Letchworth, Potters Bar, Royston, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City, and Welwyn North. 5.5 The key changes for this route are: • An increase in service frequency; • An increase in the number of directly-served destinations by diverting most services via the Thameslink tunnel rather than terminating at London Kings Cross; • The introduction of the new Class 700 trains for services via the Thameslink tunnel and the cascade of 2014-built trains for the other services. (c) Great Northern Metro 5.6 The Great Northern Metro covers the services into Moorgate. The stations in Hertfordshire served by this route are Baldock, Bayford, Brookmans Park, Cuffley, Hatfield, Hertford North, Hitchin, Letchworth, Potters Bar, Stevenage, Watton at Stone, Welham Green, and Welwyn Garden City. 5.7 The key changes for this route are: • An increase in service frequency; • The withdrawal of services between Letchworth and Stevenage (these stations will continue to be served by the Great Northern Mainline route); • The introduction of new Class 717 trains which will be in fixed 6-car formations. (d) West London Line 5.8 The GTR Southern services on the West London Line provide trains between Milton Keynes and East Croydon via Watford Junction. The stations in Hertfordshire severed by this route are Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead and Watford Junction (although it should be noted that the majority of services at these stations are provided by London Midland and are not included in this consultation). 5.9 The key changes for this route are: • Exploration of increasing train lengths to 8-car throughout the day; • Improved reliability by extending services to Purley or Coulsdon Town, or stopping them at Selhurst. 3 6. Issues for Hertfordshire 6.1 The proposed new timetable is overall beneficial for Hertfordshire rail users, with increased frequency of train services, new destinations from the Great Northern Mainline, and the introduction of new rolling stock. However, there are a number of issues which would, or could, be detrimental or do not accord with the county council’s aspirations set out in the Rail Strategy. These issues are: • Temporary bus substitution of Hertford North to Stevenage services; • Possible increased overnight engineering possessions; • West London Line services; • Changes to some off-peak and weekend services at particular stations. Hertford North to Stevenage Services 6.2 GTR’s overall 2018 timetable planning included the assumption that a fifth platform would have been built at Stevenage in order to allow trains to reverse without blocking mainline services. However, the Hendy review of Network Rail’s work programme postponed the new platform into the next funding period (2019 – 2024). This means that it will not be available for the start of the new timetable. 6.3 GTR’s proposed temporary solution to this is to terminate northbound trains at Watton at Stone as from May 2018. This would be supplemented by two shuttle bus services; one running direct from Hertford North to Stevenage, and the other running from Watton at Stone to Stevenage. Conversations with GTR suggest that these bus services would be at a half-hourly frequency. 6.4 GTR estimates that 1,100 passengers would be affected each day. 6.5 There is no specific date for delivery of the fifth platform. Network Rail’s East Coast Route Study will be published for consultation in Spring 2017. It is likely that the Stevenage platform will be a high priority within this study, but there is no guarantee when it will be built. Network Rail is unable to provide details of how long it would take to build the platform, but it would be reasonable to assume that the earliest it would be made available is early 2020. This would imply that bus substitution would be in place for at least two years. 6.6 The draft consultation response in Appendix 2(a) (Question 81) proposes that the county council firstly opposes the bus substitution and urges GTR to investigate other options, but secondly if there is no alternative to seek high frequency bus services to offset the extra and unpredictable journey times. 4 6.7 It is also proposed that the county council writes to the Department for Transport, urging the delivery of the Stevenage platform at the earliest opportunity. Overnight Engineering Possessions 6.8 The consultation document sets out that “Network Rail’s maintenance programme will need to be enhanced in response to the increase and changes to services throughout the network to ensure on-going reliable and robust infrastructure”. 6.9 GTR is therefore seeking views on options such as reduced frequency after 23.00, earlier last trains on Monday to Wednesday, and later first trains on Sundays. 6.10 The draft response set out in Appendix 2(a) (Question 14) opposes any changes to first or last trains for routes serving Hertfordshire. West London Line 6.11 GTR provides Southern services from Milton Keynes to East Croydon via the West London Line. These services call at Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead and Watford Junction. 6.12 The county council’s Rail Strategy sets out an aspiration for these services to be extended to serve Gatwick Airport. This is not included in GTR’s consultation, and therefore the draft response to Question 63 is worded accordingly. Reduction in Off-peak and Weekend Services 6.13 The consultation material focuses on peak services to/from London, which for Hertfordshire is the main flow. For these services the overall pattern is an increase or no change in the number of trains per hour. However, there are a number of stations where there is a reduction in the number of off-peak or weekend services, and where off-peak services are downgraded from semi-fast to all-stoppers. 6.14 The detail of these off-peak / weekend service changes is less clear in the consultation material, and work is continuing with districts, local user groups and discussions with GTR to clarify all the changes. 6.15 It has therefore not been possible to consider these changes within this paper. A list of such changes will be presented to the Panel meeting, but this may require further updating before the consultation closes on 8 December. 7.