AGENDA Page No

E-mail: CommitteeServices@horsham.gov.uk

Direct line: 01403 215465

SCRUTINY & OVERVIEW COMMITTEE

SOUTHERN RAIL’S PERFORMANCE IN SEVERE WEATHER WORKING GROUP

THURSDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2014 AT 2:00 P.M. COMMITTEE ROOM 2, PARK NORTH, NORTH STREET, HORSHAM

Councillors: Roy Cornell (Chairman) Philip Circus Jim Sanson

You are summoned to the meeting to transact the following business.

Tom Crowley Chief Executive

AGENDA Page No. 1. Apologies for absence

2. To approve as correct the record of the meeting held on 30th May 2013 1

3. To receive any declarations of interest

4. Announcements from the Chairman or the Chief Executive

5. To consider progress on the Working Group’s recommendations and to hear from Southern Rail and Network Rail representatives

(i) Initial responses from Network Rail, Southern Rail and 5 West Sussex County Council

(ii) Southern Rail Stakeholder Report 2013 7

(iii) Passenger Focus: Rail Passenger Satisfaction Survey: Spring 2014 8

(iv) Draft minutes of the West Sussex Rail Users Association AGM 14 held on 31st May 2014

Horsham District Council, Park North, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1RL Tel: 01403 215100 (calls may be recorded) www.horsham.gov.uk Chief Executive - Tom Crowley

(v) Southern Rail punctuality figures 2010-2014 19

(vi) Southern Rail: Improving Train Punctuality 21

(vii) Network Rail website information: performance by train operator; 23 the impact of severe weather; and Sussex Route Plan

(viii) Press articles 33

(ix) Working Group’s Report (December 2012) - enclosed 47

Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather

Terms of Reference

1. To examine the problems which occur during icy or severe weather which causes the trains to fail

2. To consider what action Southern Rail and Network Rail have taken since last winter’s delays

3. To consider what safeguards are in place to deal with the disruption, especially at peak times, when trains do fail as a result of the severe weather

4. To identify Southern and Network Rail’s methods of communication to staff and passengers at times of disruption

5. To examine to what extent any action by HDC is appropriate

Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group 30th May 2013 Notes of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group 30th May 2013

Present: Councillors: Roy Cornell (Chairman) Philip Circus Jim Sanson

Also present: Councillor George Cockman

Simon Chapman, Route Enhancement Manager (Sussex), Network Rail Martin Grier, Head of Control and Performance, Southern Rail Trudie Mitchell, Chairman of Denne Neighbourhood Council Trevor Tupper, West Sussex Rail Users Association

1. TO APPROVE AS CORRECT THE RECORD OF THE MEETING HELD ON 31st OCTOBER 2012

The notes of the meeting held on 31st October 2012 were approved as a correct record.

2. TO RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN OR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

There were no announcements.

4. TO CONSIDER THE WORKING GROUP’S RECOMMENDATIONS AND TO HEAR FROM THE REPRESENTATIVES OF SOUTHERN RAIL AND NETWORK RAIL

The Chairman welcomed attendees to the meeting and explained the background to the review, how Horsham District Council had no regulatory powers in this area but wished to know how the Working Group’s recommendations were being progressed to enable it to represent the interest of residents of the District and to keep them informed of developments.

The Head of Control and Performance at Southern Rail acknowledged that performance during the severe weather in December 2010 had been poor. He tabled a document that outlined how improvements had been introduced and how Southern Rail’s plan for dealing with snow focussed on three key areas: preparedness, plan and delivery.

1 Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group 30th May 2013

Station audits had been carried out and equipment to clear platforms had been purchased or updated, 4X4 vehicles were available to deliver equipment or to transport staff members, Southern Rail’s Winter Plan had been rewritten, agreement existed with Network Rail about contingency timetables, and there was a clear understanding of who had to do what and by when.

The weather forecast reports provided to Southern Rail had, during the winter months of 2012/13, been highly accurate. Timely decisions had therefore been made if changes were required to rail services and that allowed information about a reduced or revised service to be provided to passengers in advance.

The Class 313 trains that operated on routes along the south coast did not perform well in severe weather. Those trains were taken out of service during periods of extreme weather.

Multiple Purpose Vehicles (MPVs) took preventative action before any snow and ice by laying heated fluid on the conductor rail.

Data relating to a week in November / December 2010 was compared to that for a week in January 2013. It showed that 1509 out of a total 2100 train services had operated during that period in 2010. In 2013 there had been 1956 trains in operation out of a timetabled 2085. That represented a significant improvement in the provision of train services during severe weather although some of the services were subject to delay.

The Public Performance Measure figures (which show the percentage of trains which arrived at their destination on time) indicated a 45.6% performance for Southern Rail in 2010 and a performance of 70.2% in 2013 for the sample weeks during periods of severe weather. That improvement in punctuality was achieved while running 93.8% of the normal train service over the sample week in 2013.

The Working Group recognised the improvement in performance since 2010 of Southern Rail during spells of severe weather.

The Working Group had emphasised that communication to passengers was a key issue. Members had previously noted that Southern Rail train drivers now possessed Blackberry communication and that Southern Rail was making more frequent announcements to passengers on board trains. Southern Rail and Network Rail accepted the importance of delivering service information to the public by various media and also at railway stations, and stated that improvements were being made. The Head of Control and Performance at Southern Rail explained how changes within the Control Centre would ensure that any train delays were identified early and investigated, consideration given to what actions were required, contact made with the relevant train conductor and information passed to station staff and displayed on the customer information screens where necessary. 2 Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group 30th May 2013

Resignalling works along the Arun Valley were scheduled for late 2013 and would allow line speed improvements between Christ’s Hospital and Pulborough, and the addition of signalling sections between Billingshurst and Horsham would improve flexibility and performance.

On a daily basis an average of 95% of the Southern Rail train fleet was available and in service. Trains received regular servicing but if there was a failure with a train(s) or more maintenance time was required, it could result in some services being cancelled or trains of short formation. Southern Rail was purchasing 140 new train coaches from Bombardier; the first of the coaches would soon be delivered. The life expectancy of current trains was estimated at between 40 and 50 years.

The new control operations centre at Three Bridges had been constructed and was being fitted out. It was anticipated that it would be operational around August 2013.

Network Rail’s Route Enhancement Manager agreed to forward an article written by the Director of the Network Rail Board which outlined changes to the rail industry, how it had matured and how it was managing the growth in passenger numbers with many more trains running to meet that demand.

Members were informed that Southern Rail would soon be commencing the franchise renewal bid process; its current franchise would end in June 2015.

The Working Group thanked the representatives and attendees for their comments and contributions. Members welcomed the improvements in the performance of Southern Rail during recent periods of severe weather and acknowledged Southern Rail’s continuing cooperation with Network Rail.

Members noted the press articles and a local resident’s representations which highlighted specific disruption to rail services because of snow and ice in early 2013.

The Working Group noted West Sussex County Council’s response to the recommendation that it include all access to railway stations on its list of priority routes for gritting. The County Council’s Winter Maintenance Service Plan included provision for the gritting of all A and B roads and roads of local importance including those main roads that pass most of the transport hubs. Its policy was to undertake precautionary salting of access roads to railway stations.

The Working Group agreed to request the representatives of Southern Rail and Network Rail to continue to keep the Council informed on a regular basis of their actions to maintain services during times of severe weather.

3 Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group 30th May 2013

A further meeting might be arranged in May 2014 to allow the Working Group to assess the ongoing improvements by Southern Rail and Network Rail.

The meeting ended at 11.35 a.m. having started at 10.25 a.m.

CHAIRMAN

4 Initial responses from Network Rail and Southern Rail and WSCC

Email from Simon Chapman, Network Rail

23rd January 2013

Thank you.

In respect of the first recommendation I can confirm Network Rail is happy to work with the Council to keep them informed and that we are happy to discuss how best this might be done.

Regards Simon

Email from Yvonne Leslie, Southern Rail

21st January 2013

Dear Raymond,

Thank you for the final recommendations.

We are happy to keep the council updated with actions relating to maintaining our services in severe weather. As an example, over the last few days we have been providing councils with the latest timetable plans for the next day (they are usually decided by 4pm the previous day during these conditions). These go to the transport officer team. (Let me know if you would like an additional recipient at the council for this information). And yes, staff have access to mobiles on which they can receive service information direct from our control team.

Regards

Yvonne Leslie Stakeholder Relations Manager

Note of a telephone call from West Sussex County Council in response to the Working Group’s recommendation (February 2013)

“To request West Sussex County Council to include access to railway stations on its list of priority routes for gritting.”

West Sussex County Council’s Winter Maintenance Service Plan document can be viewed on its website via this link: http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/your_council/plans_projects_reports_and/plans /winter_maintenance_service_pla.aspx

WSCC’s policy is to grit all A and B roads, and roads of local importance including those main roads that pass most of the transport hubs (but its gritting lorries do not grit the forecourts of rail stations).

Annex A of its policy document includes the precautionary salting of carriageways that satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

• District Distributors

• Important Bus Routes. (generally routes that run daily during weekdays with a service frequency of at least one bus per hour or more, in and between peak periods for schools and work)

• Access roads leading to large industrial establishments, as identified by West Sussex Highways

• Access roads leading to large educational establishments of 500 pupils or more (for example Colleges of Further Education, or Secondary Schools) as identified by West Sussex Highways

• Access roads leading to Airports, Hospitals, Ambulance and Fire Stations, Railway Stations and Bus Depots as identified by West Sussex Highways

• Roads on which West Sussex Highways consider wintry conditions present a higher than normal risk to the highway user for a road of that hierarchy and usage

Southern Stakeholder Report 2013

7 Contents

Working with our stakeholders 3 Liaison 3 Feedback survey 4 Our Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) 5 Strong collaborations for stations 6 National Stations Improvement Programme 6 Transforming the traditional 7 Major boost for Southern’s cyclists 8 Easier access 8 Working with access groups 9 Getting the best from the timetable 10 Smarter travel 11 Working together on improving service punctuality 12 Christmas milestone 12 Performance 13 Corporate Social Responsibility 13 Sussex Community Rail Partnership 13 Station partners 13 Community art 14 Working with our charities 14 Supporting Southern staff 15 Working with our stakeholders

We understand that our trains and Our Stakeholder Forums, held twice a stations are essential elements of year, continue to prove popular with the communities we serve and we passenger appreciate the knowledge of local representatives stakeholders in supporting the railway. from around the Their interest in our business helps us network, giving Stakeholders on the forums achieve our vision of ‘making every them a chance “The topics are really good. journey better’. for updates and It’s really worthwhile.” the opportunity Throughout the last year we have worked to speak with “The Forum is good for closely with local rail user groups, stakeholders and the senior members Passenger Focus & London TravelWatch, industry to network.” of our team. councils, politicians, Sussex Community This year “They are essentially mini- Rail Partnership (SCRP), our Stakeholder conferences…the presenters presentations Advisory Board (SAB), our staff and many are fantastic.” and discussions more to continue to improve the facilities included and services we provide. topics such This report provides a summary of as punctuality, Network Rail plans, the some of the major work we’ve Thameslink Southern and Great Northern undertaken together. We’d also like to franchise bid process, fleet updates and take this opportunity to thank all those our timetables. who have been involved with us during We are also inviting more stakeholders the last year – your help and feedback on ‘behind the scenes’ visits to is invaluable. encourage discussion between our staff Liaison and passenger groups. Pictured is a We keep in contact with stakeholders stakeholder visit to Stewarts Lane depot in a variety of ways from simple phone in Battersea from where our new 5-car calls and emails, to more structured trains were tested. meetings, seminars and forums. We are also proud of our collaborations with our stakeholders on significant schemes improving the physical environment for passengers. We’ve built on the feedback we gained during 2012 to continue to involve a wide range of stakeholders in our business activity. To this end, we held 265 stakeholder meetings and events, more than any other year.

3 Feedback survey

We conduct surveys to gauge Stakeholders also raised some concern stakeholder opinion on how we about the potential for uncertainty interact with them. In 2013, a strong during the franchise process. engagement score was maintained The Southern franchise comes to a with the average satisfaction score close in July 2015, and by summer amongst stakeholders moving 2014 the Department for Transport will upwards marginally to 8.3 out of announce which company has won 10 from 8.2 the previous year. the bid to run the service from that Overall, stakeholders said they are point. Stakeholders are keen to be kept happy with the level of engagement up to date with the process, and to and communication with us. see a continuation of the innovation in Some suggested that discussion projects seen in the franchise to date. about timetable changes could We will work to ensure that our be improved. We have therefore stakeholders remain informed instigated timetable seminars every during this transition period. six months where passenger reps meet our timetable team and review the year ahead, and beyond.

4 Our Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB)

SAB is made up of passengers and staff managers, one of last year’s winners, and meeting every two months to review a other stakeholders rode trains and visited specific part of our service and make stations to pick the best of our best. suggestions from their perspectives. Winners included Ifield station, in Throughout the year the board members the Judges Choice category, for the provided us with feedback and excellent customer service Mark suggestions to make improvements Hayward, who works in the Ticket to a number of areas, including Office, gives to his passengers, while communication during disruption, London Road (Brighton) bagged the our marketing plans and they got Community Award, for the outstanding involved in an accessibility awareness community garden at the station. programme called ‘This Is Me’. SAB has also come together to plan for The group also supported the Hipstars the year ahead. It aims to further develop competition, where schools on the the way it can help enhance our services, coastway created designs for ticket including looking at the methods we use wallets and, once again, it funded and to communicate engineering work and helped judge our internal Service Quality how we promote the links at London Awards, Stars and Tsars. For two days terminals with other forms of transport. members of SAB, Southern’s senior

5 Strong collaborations for stations

Working in partnership with other organisations we have been able to secure a succession of improvements at stations across the network this year.

National Stations Improvement Programme A number of projects have been local surroundings. Liaison with local completed this year under the banner groups at each of these locations of the National Stations Improvement helped shape the finished buildings Programme (NSIP), a Department for and they continue their interest Transport and Network Rail backed in the running of the stations. fund to improve medium sized Catherine Cassidy, of the Hassocks stations in England and Wales. Amenity Association Rail Group, New buildings at East Grinstead, was so pleased with the work Hassocks and Ashtead were completed on the station she described with new modular designs, purpose it as “a dream come true!” built based on the needs of the station At Three Bridges, NSIP also and local community. The project provided a new walkway and team went as far as matching the courtyard area between the station design of the external brick work building and the subway. of the nearby houses at Hassocks, keeping the station in touch with its

6 Transforming the traditional

We’ve teamed up with industry Railway Heritage Awards, while the experts to transform older buildings cycle storage was Highly Commended across our route. With the help of in the London Cycle Parking category Network Rail, the Railway Heritage of the Cycle-Rail Awards. Trust (RHT) and Transport for London, Throughout the year, building work was Battersea Park station ticket hall an added feature on Brighton station’s was restored to its former glory, busy concourse. The area was opened incorporating original designs by up to provide passengers with more architect Charles Henry Driver.

space, with more gates installed to give improved access to and from the platforms. The ticket office was moved to a new lighter area of the station, and new shops, a cafe and a waiting room were added as well. The work was funded by Network Rail’s and the Department for Transport’s Derelict land to the side of the building Station Commercial Project Facility was transformed into cycle storage, with additional funds from the allowing passengers to leave their RHT and Southern. Support from bike at the station, for the first time colleagues at Brighton & Hove City ever. The work at the station has been Council’s listed building team and at recognised with positive feedback RHT helped modernise the concourse from our passengers and local whilst enhancing aspects of the stakeholders. The station was also stations Grade II* listed status. highly commended at the National

7 Major boost for Southern’s cyclists

We know that linking cycling to train travel is important to many passengers and 2013 was the year where we exceeded our targets for installing additional parking spaces at stations. We now have almost 6,000 spaces across the network, with plans to add another 2,000 by 2015. We started the year installing 100 cycle parking spaces at south London stations through a project for Transport, Southwark Council with Network Rail and Transport for and Transport for London. It includes London. Carshalton Beeches, East parking, a Brompton cycle hire and Dulwich, Kenley, Reedham, Thornton a local maintenance facility. The hub Heath, West Norwood, Waddon and has helped support the local council’s Woodmansterne all benefited. plans for regeneration of the area At Peckham Rye, a new cycle hub around the station and was recognised (pictured) was built in a joint project when it won the London Cycle Parking between Southern, the Department category at the Cycle-Rail Awards. Easier access

Access to and around East Croydon station has become easier with a new footbridge and lifts linking the platforms. The bridge links up access to Lansdowne Road, making travel from the station into the town centre quicker and easier. This major project with Network Rail and Croydon Council will also significantly relieve and Upper Warlingham where input congestion on the existing entrance. from local stakeholder groups into the plans assisted with their successful A major project to increase car access completion. Pictured – representatives to stations was completed in 2013 from Tandridge District Council, with more than 1000 spaces added Warlingham Parish Council, East Surrey across the network. This includes two Transport Committee, Southern and of the first decking projects on the Network Rail open the new deck. Southern network at East Grinstead

8 Working with access groups

During the year we undertook a This linked with the charity’s travel survey with a variety of our disabled training programme aimed at increasing stakeholders and passengers to confidence in using public transport. understand more about how we can Similarly, we organised a ‘Try a Train make our services more accessible. Day’ with Downs View Link College This feedback is helping to create plans helping young adults with learning for the coming year, building on the difficulties to travel by train. work we’ve completed over the last 12 We’ve worked with Voice - Bognor and months which includes: remote access Chichester and Speak Up Burgess Hill gates at Streatham Common and West on the Thumbs Up scheme, developed Norwood, seating and information by the Brighton and Hove Learning pods at Gatwick Airport and height Disability Partnership Board, raising adjustable ticket office windows at East awareness of the needs of people with Croydon. We’ve also completed work learning disabilities in local services. on an updated Station Access guide, which is available from our website. The London Borough of Sutton strongly supported and assisted We worked with Grace Eyre, a charity our plans to provided step-free supporting people with learning access to Hackbridge platform 2. disabilities, on our ‘Try a Train Day’.

9 Getting the best from the timetable

We’ve worked with Network Rail A further 40 carriages will arrive in and industry colleagues to try to 2014 to provide even more trains on respond to requests from passenger the network. Once again, Network groups on the timetable we offer. Rail is increasing platform lengths on the route from Clapham Junction In May, despite the closure of three to Milton Keynes Central so that platforms at London Bridge, we were longer services can operate. able to continue to offer a strong service to the station, only diverting one train during the peak period, which now runs to London Victoria instead. We also doubled the number of trains running from East Grinstead to London Victoria on Sundays. For December, we introduced longer trains on routes in south London and Surrey with 26 new 5-coach trains providing increased capacity A group of our stakeholders joined on some of our busiest routes. This us for a trip on one of the new trains involved working closely with Network down the mainline in November. They Rail as it lengthened platforms to had a chance to see the new design accommodate the longer trains of the coaches, take a sneak peak in built by our supplier Bombardier. As the cab, as well as visit the revamped a result of these strong relations, Brighton station and hear about the first new train was delivered to the other improvement work we’ve us just 641 days after the signing of undertaken around the network. the contract, an industry record.

10 Smarter travel

Significant advances have been made on our pioneering smartcard, the key. It now covers almost 100 stations across the network. We have continued to lead the industry, working closely with the Department for Transport and Transport for London (TfL) on its development. We are the first train company ever to integrate our smartcard with Oyster readers in London. This means that customers travelling from the coast can use their key for journeys to East Croydon, Clapham Junction and London Victoria. This paves the way for Southern to set up other London stations and introduce travelcards, in association with TfL, during 2014. To support staff and passengers using the key, we’ve run a number We are also planning a trial of of roadshows around the network. ‘FlexiSeason’ on the key, a product This gives us a chance to talk more aimed to appeal to passengers to travellers about their needs, with more flexible travel patterns. explain the benefits of the key, such This will start early in 2014 and we as its simplicity, speed and added will be working with stakeholders security, and develop our staff’s covering the trial stations of Brighton, confidence with the systems too. Haywards Heath and Horsham These roadshows have been a great to encourage participation. success and the one at Eastbourne alone saw 500 registrations.

11 Working together on improving service punctuality

We’re focusing on performance The new platform at Gatwick reduces with our colleagues at Network the need for trains to cross over tracks Rail. It is one of our top priorities to reach suitable platforms, easing and last year we agreed a Joint train congestion in this busy section Performance Improvement Plan. of the main line. The signalling project The plan has included working modernised equipment between London closely together to upgrade Victoria and Battersea. The replacement signalling equipment, for example of ‘Stoats Nest’, a major rail junction along the East and West Coastways between Redhill and Purley, means due to complete in April 2014. trains can run at the normal linespeed once again as the speed restriction, We’ve brought together our Control imposed due to the track quality, team, along with Network Rail’s and has been removed. It has improved First Capital Connect’s in one new Rail the comfort of the journey as well. Operating Centre (ROC) at Three Bridges. This is allowing further integration Good liaison between our teams, and communication between all three Network Rail, Gatwick Airport, Transport companies, helping to improve our for London, other affected operators planning and the way we respond and our network stakeholders, in to incidents around the network. advance and during the works helped towards their successful completion. Christmas milestone A significant milestone was achieved over Christmas with the completion Performance of an £80m improvement programme Unfortunately, we finished the year with on the Brighton Main Line. This some major challenges for our network provided an extra platform at and our train punctuality suffered as Gatwick Airport, upgraded signalling a result. Persistent adverse weather equipment at Victoria and replaced led to trees and debris on the line, a major rail junction near Purley. flooding and landslips with 72 fallen trees or other obstructions on the line and four major infrastructure failures between 23 December and 1 January. The joint focus with Network Rail on performance continues and we are working hard on the reliability of our train services and the infrastructure to prevent delays occurring.

12 Corporate Social Responsibility

We’ve continued to work with a range of community groups, schools and charities to support local communities and improve our station environments. Below are some examples of this work. Sussex Community Rail Partnership We continue to work with the Sussex Community Rail Partnership to support its aim to connect communities with their local rail lines. This year saw its During the spring, Southern worked continued success with an additional with local groups to sponsor and two lines now covered, making a total host the Big Dig at London Road of five. The Marshlink, Uckfield -East (Brighton). Throughout the day local Grinstead and Arun Valley lines are people, Southern staff and then- now joined by Seaford - Brighton and Brighton and Hove Mayor Bill Randall Redhill - Tonbridge. For more about the met to plant flowers and vegetables, partnership go to - www.sussexcrp.org. using the compost created at the station from green waste donated Station partners by nearby residents. The ability to The Aldingbourne Trust, a group which ‘pick-a-herb’ continues to make the provides development and support station partnership there popular with for disabled people, continues to everyone passing through the station. maintain the flowers across a range of our stations. Their displays provide an ongoing welcome to customers as they travel around the network, while the students continue to develop their skills and confidence.

13 Community art Throughout the year we’ve displayed launch by dancer Joe Atkinson, at a range of local art at our stations. Haywards Heath station. This also At Hove we were pleased to work included work by illustrator Sam with local school pupils to support a Jones, photographer Brook Hayes design a poster competition, following and poet Catherine Hodgson. the suggestion of Hove MP Mike Worthing and Weatherley. Local school pupils were Littlehampton’s invited to design an eye-catching waiting rooms poster around the theme of ‘be were also considerate to spruced up other passengers with artwork - bin your rubbish’. created by The winner, students at Hannah Benn, was Chatsmore Catholic High School. The presented with art Sussex Community Rail Partnership vouchers in front encouraged the pupils to base their of her winning designs on original railway posters design displayed and the natural form. These have at the station. received fantastic feedback and we During the year we also hosted a are now in the process of working range of artists at stations, as part of with the school to produce artwork the ‘Art on the Line’ project. Individual for other stations, as well as a mural work brightened up our waiting rooms in the subway at West Worthing. and the art was brought to life at the

Working with our charities During the year we chose our second corporate charity, through staff votes in our employee survey. Martlets Hospice, in Brighton, was chosen to join the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, based near Sutton station. Through the votes we donated over £5,000 across these two charities and the staff and customers through bake sales, others which were shortlisted. station collections, quizzes, a football tournament with suppliers and a group In the autumn we held Charities Week of staff cycling the distance of the and staff from across our network network on two exercise bikes at East came together to raise money for both Croydon station over a 12 hour period. charities. Over £11,000 was raised by our

14 Supporting Southern staff Throughout the year we have continued Driver of the Year, while Conductor, to support our staff and we have Graham Matthews, also from Selhurst now achieved 94% of our frontline Depot, was Highly Commended in the staff and managers attending our Outstanding Customer Service award. Make Their Day! service excellence This represented our best results at training programme. This includes these awards and recognises the hard two days of Colours Behavioural work and commitment of our staff. Preferences development, focusing on staff recognising differences between customers and adapting their behaviour to match these. Our people have continued to be recognised throughout the year. At the Rail Staff Awards, our Continuous Improvement Team won the Depot Team of the Year, Adam Osborne- Hall, from Selhurst Depot, won Train

Thanks go to our stakeholders including: Ashtead Residents’ Association, Brighton Line Commuters, County Councils, London Boroughs, Town / City / Borough councils, all our accessibility groups, all our station partners, DfT, East Surrey Transport Committee, East Sussex Rail Alliance, Edenbridge & District Rail Travellers’ Association, Gatwick Airport, Harrow Rail Users, Hassocks Rail Group, London TravelWatch, Network Rail, Passenger Focus, Rail Future, Reigate, Redhill & District Rail Users, Southwark Rail Users’ Group, Sutton Rail Users’ Forum, Sussex Community Rail Partnership, TfL, ThWART, Tonbridge Line Commuters, Uckfield Railway Line Parishes Committee, Watford Rail Users’ Group, West London Line Group and West Sussex Rail Users. If you are a group representing passengers and would like to be on our stakeholder database, get in touch at [email protected]

Passenger Focus is the independent passenger watchdog. Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers. In spring and autumn we carry out the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS), a network-wide picture of passengers’ satisfaction with rail travel for Great Britain.

We ask passengers for their views of the specific journey they are making at the point they are surveyed, both in general and on a number of specific areas regarding the station, the train and the service received.

For Southern this time we spoke to 2,179 passengers. This page shows the headlines. Page 2 shows satisfaction with individual aspects of the station and the train. Page 3 looks at some factors in a bit more depth. The last page shows which factors have the biggest effect on satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

How routes are defined

Gatwick Express: Fast Gatwick Express services Gatwick – London Victoria

Metro: Journeys on rail lines that are within London

Sussex Coast: Journeys London – Sussex (and beyond), including Gatwick Express extensions between Gatwick Airport and Brighton

8 9 Satisfaction - in a bit more depth (Spring 2014)

10 What impacts on satisfaction and dissatisfaction?

Not all the factors shown above will have equal importance - some things will have a much bigger influence on whether a passenger is satisfied with the overall journey than others.

The charts below show which station and train factors are statistically most important in determining overall passenger satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

The analysis looks at which factors correlate most highly with overall journey satisfaction. For example, if those satisfied with punctuality are much more likely to be satisfied overall, then punctuality is likely to have a bigger impact on overall satisfaction - the higher the percentage figure below the greater the influence on overall journey satisfaction.

What has the biggest impact on What has the biggest impact on overall satisfaction? overall dissatisfaction?

This is just a quick look at passenger satisfaction.

To download the full National Rail Passenger Survey, visit: http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/national-passenger-survey- introduction

You can explore the results in more depth at: http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/our-open-data

11 Southern Rail website

National Rail Passenger Survey results 2014

The Spring 2014 wave of the survey showed that Southern have remained static with overall satisfaction at 78%.

In the detailed results, there were eight questions which had increased significantly year on year which demonstrates the investment we have made in staff training, cleanliness and upkeep of our trains and also in toilet facilities for our passengers.

One area had declined significantly which was punctuality & reliability of our trains. We know that this is the most important area for our customers, and a cross functional project team has been set up to focus on improving performance and more specifically, how we handle disruption. We hope to see the result of these efforts in the next survey which will be published in January.

National Rail Passenger Survey results for 2013

Southern has a number of customer satisfaction targets which are set by the Department for Transport. These are measured every six months by the National Rail Passenger Survey which is an independent survey run by Passenger Focus. Our latest results were published in January and they show that for 2013, we have an overall level of customer satisfaction of 77%. A breakdown of more specific results is shown below.

The surveys took place during September and October last year, which was a very difficult period of train performance and this was demonstrated in the results. We saw scores increase in some questions related to staff availability and train cleanliness, but in all other areas, our scores declined.

We are disappointed with the scores after the huge investment we have made in new trains and stations; frustrated and sorry that our passengers endured such poor performance – much of which was outside of our control with four fatalities and a serious trespass incident; and determined that we and our infrastructure providers Network Rail will continue to improve the reliability of the things we can control.

We will study the survey results and continue to invest in improving the reliability of our train services still further; while Network Rail will continue to work to reduce the signalling and infrastructure failures which dogged this period. This work has already started with the introduction of 170 new carriages and the successful completion of the £80 million package of improvements carried out on the Brighton mainline over Christmas.

Passengers’ overall satisfaction with Southern’s services and facilities:

Autumn 2009 82%

Spring 2010 84%

2011 82%

2012 82%

2013 77%

Spring 2014 78%

Minutes of the West Sussex Rail Users Annual General Meeting 2014

The meeting took place in the Studio of the Capitol Arts Centre Horsham on 31st May 2014

Officers Present: Monica Edmonds ~ Chairman Trevor Tupper ~ Treasurer and Membership Secretary Committee members present: Peter Bulling (Barnham), Nigel Denton (Littlehampton), Michael Gill (Arundel), Kevin Gordon (webmaster), Roger Keyworth ~ Accounts Examiner (Chichester), Moira Tracey (Crawley and Ifield) and Valerie Webb (Pulborough), Guests: David Scorey, Director of Operations, Southern Railways Andy Gardner, Southern Railways Station Group Manager, Worthing.

1. The Chairman welcomed members and guests to the meeting. There were apologies from Paul Brady (Amberley), Jake Clausen (Littlehaven), Jane Cobb (Horsham), Roger Leat (Bognor), James Marchant (Billingshurst) also Andy Leister and Simon Todd (Southern).

2. Approval of the minutes of the AGM 2013 as a true record was proposed by Valerie Webb and seconded by Peter Bulling and approved by the members present.

3. Appointment of officers. Monica Edmonds did not seek re-election. Michael Cover (Bosham) was nominated as Chairman and was elected unopposed as Chairman for the year 2014-15.

Trevor Tupper was elected unopposed as Treasurer and Membership Secretary for 2014-15.

4. Station representatives. All representatives volunteered to continue for the next year. Volunteers were needed for several stations along the Coastway.

5. Chairman’s address. The Chairman thanked all members of the WSRUA committee for their support during her tenure. In particular thanks were due to Michael Cover for leading on the franchise negotiations and Kevin Gordon for designing and maintaining the excellent web site and twitter feed.

The Chairman hoped that the award of the FCC-Southern franchise to GoVia would result in better services for West Sussex. WSRUA was in a strong position to represent rail users and had continued to raise awareness of the needs of rail users in West Sussex through consultation and representation with central and local authorities and rail companies.

The Chairman summarised the past year:  WSRUA continued to support the Community Rail Partnership financially, with a presence at Littlehampton and Arundel 150th Birthday celebrations in 2013 and at the Bognor and Barnham 150ths in 2014

 WSRUA responded to WSCC consultation on transport priorities attended meetings with HDC and the Gatwick Airport Consultative Committee.

14 The Chairman regretted that rail services in the last year had not improved and was concerned that West Sussex was expected to “sacrifice” one of its only London Bridge trains on the altar of the London Bridge modernisation.

WSRUA looked to GoVia to:  Provide more and better rolling stock to reduce the severe overcrowding of some peak and many weekend services.  Undertake more proactive monitoring of services to prevent overcrowding  Introduce more and faster services to a wider range of destinations as well as a far better service to London Bridge. WSRUA expected that the amalgamation of FCC and Southern services would provide more opportunities for useful services  Set in place meaningful consultation including the potential for improvements in timetables  Provide more parking at a reasonable price at many stations  Install new and better ticket machines, particularly at stations with few or no staff  Re-introduce on-board catering The Chairman thanked Michael Cover for taking on the role of Chairman and wished WSRUA an exciting and successful year under his Chairmanship.

6a). Treasurer’s Report and Accounts 2013-2014 The Treasurer reported that WSRUA had donated £150 to the CRP in 2013 and also in 2014 to support the 150 birthday celebrations. As agreed at the 2013 AGM the investment account was closed and all WSRUA funds were consolidated into the current account which had a healthy balance. The accounts for 2013-14 had been reviewed by Roger Keyworth the accounts examiner. Anthony Wills’ proposal that the accounts be adopted was approved unanimously.

6b) Roger Keyworth was elected unopposed as Accounts examiner for 2014-15.

7. Questions to the committee.

Anthony Fletcher made a number of points including:  It should be possible to upgrade to 1st class on board  There should be a waiting room at Victoria and other termini (point noted for action)  Station and on-board announcements were poorly worded using obscure jargon (Southern had recently employed and additional team specifically to improve announcements)  Action should be taken to reduce the queues at Victoria ticket office (noted)  Whilst the modernisation and refurbishment of stations was welcome the money might have been better spent on improving services (the station improvements were a franchise commitment and separately funded)

Michael Jarvis informed the committee that WSRUA was not particularly visible, for instance posters were not displayed prominently at stations (noted, WSRUA relied on Southern to display posters and used community noticeboards where these were provided).

Brendan Johnson stated that government subsidy of railways was set to reduce from 45% to 35% within five years. Fare increases were inevitable.

Michael Gill (Arundel) asked why there were no luggage trollies at Victoria (noted for action).

Roger Blake (Railfuture Ltd.) hoped that WSRUA would work alongside Railfuture to develop a rail transport strategy with West Sussex County Council (point noted for action).

The AGM closed at 10:50am

15 7. David Scorey, Director of Operations for Southern was invited to update the audience on recent performance and plans for the future.

David began by summarising events in the year 2013-14 including a number of significant events, some of which had affected Southern’s performance. These included:  The loss of three platforms at London Bridge which had reduced resilience in the timetable although only one train service was lost;  In October the Arun Valley re-signalling project which had improved performance but where there were reliability issues, and  The opening of the Rail Operating Centre (ROC) at Three Bridges, one of the first commissioned by Network Rail  In December the arrival of new 377 rolling stock along with new software  Also in December the Christmas blockades at Victoria and Gatwick Airport for improvements to Stoats Nest Junction to enable a significant increase in line speed and for installation of the new Platform 7 at the airport  More recently NR had reorganised their teams and the Southern area now had a new team with Dave Ward as the new route MD.

During the year there were over forty events that created over 2000 minute delays (24 in same period in previous year). Sadly the network also had the highest ever number of fatalities, again much higher than the previous year. These challenges plus the very bad weather over the winter months affected performance. Flooding and fallen trees meant that on some days it was necessary to run a reduced service and there were landslips on the Quarry line and at Oxted and Ockley which closed lines for some weeks. However a reduced service was timetabled and publicised which gave passengers some certainty about when and where to expect a train.

Some statistics – The performance year had started well, for example in the corresponding period last year 93% of services arrived within 4.59 minutes of published time: The moving annual average performance over the year 2013-14 was 85.8% which contrasted with the year 2012-13 which had been 87.8%.

On the plus side Southern had rolled out “the Key” to include 7 London termini thus widening the reach of paperless ticketing.

Southern had taken delivery of new 377/6 rolling stock. The older Electrostar trains were by far the most reliable with an average of 45,000 miles between failures. The reliability of the new 377/6s had been poor at first but had now risen to 9,000 miles between failures and would improve further.

During the past year there had been a higher level of train crew cancellations than planned, partly due to higher levels of staff ‘off track’, including staff off duty after fatalities or safety incidents. Southern had also lost more drivers than expected to other companies (eg freight companies) resulting in a small vacancy gap. Southern was currently recruiting 90 new drivers over the coming year and their in-house training would take 18 months.

Looking forward to the new franchise GoVia had set up a mobilisation team to transfer operations from FirstCapitalConnect (FCC). Southern will join the new combined operation in July 2015 and the franchise will run to 2021. By 2018 it is planned there will be 24 trains a day running through London Bridge and there will be 50% more passenger capacity across the network than at present.

16 Questions from the audience included:-

Q. Whether there was any clarity the routes on the network for the new franchise – it was to be hoped that there would be a seamless route from Horsham across London without changing A. Not known at this stage how routes would be designed, however the specification for the route needs to reflect demand. Through the franchise change process there are ways to amend timetables against the original specification if there are demonstrable alternatives. However it is to be expected that any changes would have to be demonstrated to be financially positive.

Q. On behalf of trackside residents – why were Southern spending considerable sums on refurbishing old rolling stock (the motors are left on all night and the noise is a nuisance to residents) and, will the new trains have their motors turned off when parked in the sidings? A. The new rolling stock was destined for the West London line and Metro area. When in “hotel” mode on newer trains only the systems necessary to maintain air pressure are kept running and this was required to maintain coupling.

NB It was later pointed out that drivers on South West trains powered down their trains and this was the same rolling stock. Why couldn’t Southern drivers do the same?

Q. Would Arun Valley lines have better rolling stock with arm rests, decent lumbar support and 2+2 configuration? Essential for long journeys. A. It is understood that new rolling stock would have 2+2 and arm rests.

Q. Would there be opportunities to improve offering on routes via Horsham, for instance alternating trains from Littlehampton and Bognor to improve journey times. A. The merged franchise would provide greater opportunities to run trains where people wanted to go rather than where trains crews were dispersed or rolling stock was parked. The advantage of having a single operator on all Sussex routes would be the complete control over the timetable and the ability to reduce conflict.

Q. Most of the time the Gatwick Express ran more than half empty. Would the service still be an independent operation? A. Although the contract terms were not public yet it was expected that Gatwick Express would remain as a brand.

Q. The system for collecting pre-purchased tickets from ticket machines had changed in the last few weeks and it was now necessary to input the booking reference for all purchases, even for one ticket. Why was this? A. Local management were not aware of any changes and would investigate and report back.

Q. The “key had operated the gates at Crawley but not at Horsham, why? Also booking via the Key required two log-ins which was confusing and not user friendly as was the two-hour delay between booking using the Key and collecting a ticket. A. The Key did not update in real time hence the two-hour delay. The process used “hot lists” connected via a back-office system. The Horsham gate should have accepted the Key and this would be investigated.

Q. When would the Key offer the full range of destinations? A. Within a year however there were dependencies including progress of the DoT SEFT ticketing project to deliver fully electronic flexible ticketing across the South East.

17 Other points made included:

Q. Were Southern aware of the complete mess at Platform 5 at Three Bridges? There were definitely safety risks there with the volume of passengers alighting on a narrow platform with other people waiting to board.

Q. Would Southern or its successor provide a later train down the Arun Valley line? The last train is the 22:32 which is far too early to be useful.

Q. As Southern was recruiting extra staff would more staff be allocated to Chichester where the south side gateline was not manned at peak times which was causing great inconvenience to passengers (particularly on busy trains from London in the evening).

Q. Would new rolling stock provide more luggage space? The current rolling stock could not cope with the baggage brought onto trains by passengers using trains to and from Gatwick or London termini.

Q. The forecourt of Bognor station was very dirty and messy. If this was within the remit of Southern their help would be appreciated in making the station environs more welcoming.

The meeting closed at 12:00 with thanks to David Scorey and Andy Gardner for an informative and lively Q&A session.

Monica Edmonds 13th June 2014

18 Southern Rail Punctuality 2010-2014

Sussex Coast

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014 % % % % %

Period 1 93.4 85.2 86.6 85.0 69.8 Apr

Period 2 92.6 92.5 82.4 83.7 80.9 Apr/May

Period 3 85.2 89.6 85.7 88.0 84.0 May/June

Period 4 81.6 89.7 93.4 88.4 85.6 June/Jul

Period 5 91.7 86.9 84.5 85.2 80.6 Jul/ Aug

Period 6 87.8 88.4 88.5 87.5 87.5 Aug/Sept

Period 7 83.6 Not 80.3 83.3 Sept/Oct available

Period 8 68.6 77.9 74.6 71.5 Oct / Nov

Period 9 58.2 78.7 68.1 66.9 Nov/ Dec

Period 10 56.5 69.8 66.4 58.2 Dec / Jan

Period 11 75.7 73.3 63.7 62.5 Jan/Feb

Period 12 81.9 75.2 76.6 65.4 Feb/ Mar

Period 13 84.4 83.9 77.0 75.9 Mar

Improving Train Punctuality

Improvements underway and planned on the Southern network

Recent performance O ver the last few months we know that the punctuality of our trains has not met our aspirations and targets, and passengers and stakeholders have been raising their concerns with us. Improving punctuality is our top priority and we have agreed a Joint Performance Improvement Plan with Network Rail which aims, with significant investment, to deliver more reliability and better performance across our network.

Backg round The mainline through Sussex and Surrey to and from London is one of the busiest routes in the country, indeed in Europe, so even small problems can have a domino effect with delays to trains building quickly over the rest of the network. This is particularly prevalent during the peak hours when traffic on the network is at its busiest. There has been unprecedented growth in passenger numbers over the last ten years with many more trains now running to cater for this demand. On weekdays, we run over 2,300 services and on the mainline alone, 38 trains per hour run in the morning peak, 31 of which are Southern trains. With so many trains on this route, it leaves very little margin to absorb even the smallest delay. It is acknowledged that there has been major investment in the UK’s rail service during the last 20 years but this followed many years of under-investment and there is more to do to improve the reliability of the rail infrastructure – particularly when considering the increased demand being placed on the system today. More investment is needed and is planned to reverse the historic lack of investment, as well as new projects to increase capacity on the network to welcome the increasing number of passengers who want to take the train.

Jor int imp ovement plan Below are some examples of the work we, and our industry partners Network Rail, are doing to enhance performance. Immediate improvements underway on the Southern network • network Rail has established a number of dedicated teams across the Southern network to analyse data collected from its track quality trains to predict potential defects on the network even earlier, before they become faults that could lead to delays. • network Rail is replacing impedance bonds (part of the signalling system that detects trains on the track) between Victoria and East Croydon with over two thirds of replacements already complete. The replacement of these bonds will improve the resilience of the train detection system, therefore reducing the likelihood of signalling failures in this key area of the network. The company is also refurbishing newer impedance bonds between Balcombe Junction and Preston Park on the mainline. To date, 53 of the 135 of these have been overhauled. • network Rail is extending use of its signalling and points monitoring equipment on the Southern network to allow engineers to identify potential failures earlier, therefore reducing service disruption. • a series of initiatives are being implemented, focused on improving the reliability of points operating equipment. • network Rail will be working on a number of station enhancements such as improving boundary fencing on the route between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport reducing the opportunity for trespass onto the railway.

21 P lanned Southern network enhancements O ver the next 18 months there will be a number of projects on the Southern network helping to improve its reliability and flexibility. These include: • east Sussex resignalling – the signalling will be modernised to allow line speed improvements between Glynde and Polegate, with additional infrastructure installed to increase network availability and flexibility. • arun Valley resignalling – the signalling will be modernised to allow line speed improvements between Christ Hospital and Pulborough as well as the addition of signalling sections between Billingshurst and Horsham, improving flexibility and performance. • gatwick Airport - a new platform will be built for Gatwick Express services, reducing the number of train crossing moves which will make our timetable more efficient and workable.

F tuture inves ment N etwork Rail this month set out its aims for the longer term up to 2019, particularly on how performance can be managed alongside increasing passenger numbers. These aims are contained in its strategic business plan, with a summary plan for each route, available at: networkrail.co.uk/strategicbusinessplan

Mdaino ific t o s to trains • The current train driver’s cab radio system is being replaced with a new digital system. This will ensure good signal strength with higher reliability train radio equipment, improving communication and fleet performance. • W e are increasing the monitoring of traction motors on our class 313 trains, which typically run along the coastway, as there have been issues associated with these recently. • on our class 442 trains, which typically run on our Gatwick Express services, we are installing a system which will allow real-time monitoring of key on-train systems so that problems can be detected early and therefore be repaired before they escalate. • our class 455 fleet, which typically runs in South London, has suffered from a number of service failures recently caused by leaks in air pressure regulators. These regulators have been replaced with a new type, and adjustments to the operating pressure have been made. This should resolve this problem. We are working in partnership with Network Rail on this joint improvement plan to help us tackle some recurring problems. Although there are sometimes events which are beyond our control such as inclement weather, lorries driving into rail bridges or animals on the line which can cause delays, we are focusing on issues that we are able to influence. We believe the actions we are taking with Network Rail will make an improvement to the service we offer our passengers as these initiatives bear fruit.

Performance The number of trains that arrive on time has risen dramatically since we took over the running of Britain's railway in October 2002 Public performance measure

The public performance measure (PPM) shows the percentage of trains which arrive at their terminating station on time.

PPM combines figures for punctuality and reliability into a single performance measure. It is the industry standard measurement of performance.

Performance for 17 August - 13 September 2014 (period 6)

The national PPM is 92.1%. This compares to 92.3% for the same period last year.

The moving annual average (MAA) is 89.5%.

Performance 2002-2014

Performance by train operator

The table below shows the average PPM for Britain as a whole and by train operating company. The moving annual average is calculated over the 365 days to 17 September 2014.

Punctuality % Franchise Punctuality % Moving annual period 6 2014/15 period 6 2013/14 average

Arriva Trains Wales 93.3 93.0 92.1 c2c Rail 98.1 94.4 96.4

Chiltern 96.6 96.9 94.8

Crosscountry 90.3 88.9 86.8

East Coast 83.4 89.0 86.2

East Midlands Trains 91.4 94.4 91.6

First Capital Connect 86.8 89.4 85.4

First Great Western 90.4 91.7 87.6

First Hull Trains 74.1 88.9 84.5

First Scotrail 93.2 93.7 91.5

First Transpennine Express 88.7 91.0 89.3

Grand Central 77.1 90.8 83.2

Abellio Greater Anglia 93.0 92.4 90.7

Heathrow Express 96.1 96.3 93.7

London Midland 88.4 89.2 86.7

London Overground 96.1 95.9 96.1

Merseyrail 97.2 96.6 95.6

Northern Rail 93.1 92.1 90.9

Southeastern 94.5 91.7 87.7

Southern 89.0 89.0 84.4

Stagecoach South West Trains 94.5 93.7 88.8

Virgin Trains 88.4 84.3 85.7

National 92.3 92.1 89.5

Notes:

The measure of train punctuality also known as PPM (public performance measure) means trains arriving at their terminating station within five minutes for commuter services and within 10 minutes for long distance services. This measure of punctuality is commonly used throughout Europe. National train punctuality is measured for all trains across the whole network, including cancelled services and delays caused by external factors (such as vandalism, extreme weather, suicides etc). Punctuality was not recorded in this thorough way until 1997. Before then Railtrack, and British Rail before that, did not measure all services and also excluded external factors and other items from their numbers. These figures represent provisional data for the period and individual operators' performance data may vary slightly from the full period performance report that we publishes on our website every month. Network Rail and the train operators run more trains across Great Britain than are run in most European countries - almost 20% more than in France and 60% more than in Italy. Great Britain's 24,000 trains per-day is also more than Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined.

Sub-operator performance

A breakdown of each operator's performance, known as sub-operator PPM, is available to download:

Sub-operator PPM, Period 6 2014 / 15

Right-time performance

Right-time performance measures the percentage of trains arriving at their terminating station early or within 59 seconds of schedule. The process for gathering data of this accuracy is currently not 100% reliable and the industry is working on improving the quality of this information to make right-time data more reliable.

The moving annual average is calculated over 365 days to 13 September 2014.

Right time % moving Franchise Right time %, Right time %,

period 6 2013/14 period 6 2014/15 annual average

Arriva Trains Wales 84.9 84.6 82.7 c2c Rail 86.2 84.6 83.0

Chiltern 89.9 88.5 85.2

Crosscountry 48.4 45.5 40.2

East Coast 53.6 62.7 57.0

East Midlands Trains 71.4 73.6 68.3

First Capital Connect 66.4 69.7 63.2

First Great Western 68.9 70.7 66.0

First Hull Trains 36.2 68.2 55.6

First Scotrail 60.3 62.7 59.5

First Transpennine Express 61.2 52.6 55.1

Grand Central 35.5 52.4 43.2

Abellio Greater Anglia 73.1 71.0 68.1

Heathrow Express 76.9 79.4 71.3

London Midland 63.4 65.3 61.8

London Overground 83.6 83.1 83.2

Merseyrail 71.7 68.2 70.2

Northern Rail 76.7 73.2 71.6

Southeastern 69.3 67.1 58.6

Southern 58.5 57.1 51.6

Stagecoach South West Trains 74.0 71.1 64.2

Virgin Trains 57.2 50.9 51.8

National 69.8 69.0 65.1

Cancellation and significant lateness (CaSL)

A train is counted as being cancelled if:

It is cancelled at origin It is cancelled en route The originating station is changed It is diverted A train is counted as being significantly late if it arrives at its terminating station 30 minutes or more late.

CaSL is not a regulated measure for Scottish train operators.

The moving annual average is calculated over 365 days to 13 September 2014.

Franchise CaSL %, CaSL %, CaSL % moving period 6 2013/14 period 6 2014/15 annual average

Arriva Trains Wales 2.4 2.6 3.0 c2c Rail 0.5 3.0 1.5

Chiltern 0.8 0.8 1.8

Crosscountry 3.7 5.7 5.2

East Coast 6.9 4.2 5.0

East Midlands Trains 2.7 0.9 2.2

First Capital Connect 5.0 3.0 4.1

First Great Western 2.1 2.1 3.6

First Hull Trains 10.0 5.2 6.3

First Transpennine Express 6.7 3.2 4.4

Grand Central 10.6 3.5 6.3

Abellio Greater Anglia 2.1 2.7 2.7

Heathrow Express 1.0 0.7 1.2

London Midland 2.7 3.0 3.4

Franchise CaSL %, CaSL %, CaSL % moving period 6 2013/14 period 6 2014/15 annual average

London Overground 1.9 1.8 1.8

Merseyrail 1.1 1.4 1.8

Northern Rail 1.3 2.0 1.8

Southeastern 1.5 2.9 3.7

Southern 3.8 3.1 5.0

Stagecoach South West Trains 1.4 1.4 3.2

Virgin Trains 4.7 5.9 4.9

England and Wales total 2.4 2.5 3.2

Average lateness

This measures the average lateness of a passenger as they alight from their train.

For each train, this is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers expected to alight at main stations by the punctuality to the nearest minute at those stops.

If the train is cancelled, we calculate it by multiplying the number of expected passengers by 1.5 times the service frequency on that route.

Category Average lateness in minutes, Average lateness in minutes, period 6 2013/14 period 6 2014/15

National 2.0 2.6

Long Distance 4.3 5.1

London & South East 1.6 2.3

Regional 1.8 2.2

Scotland 1.5 1.8

England & Wales 2.0 2.6

Delay split

The delay split shows who was responsible for passenger train delays of 3 minutes or more.

Network Rail caused delays: as well as infrastructure faults this figure includes external factors such as weather, trespass, vandalism, cable theft etc which account for approximately one third of the delays attributed to us and 20% of all national delays TOC on self delays: these are delays to a passenger train operating company's (TOC) services that are caused by that company TOC on TOC delays: these are delays to a passenger train operators services that are caused by another TOC The delay split was calculated over 365 days to 13 September 2014.

Network Rail TOC on self TOC on TOC

62% 26% 12%

How punctuality is measured

PPM measures the performance of individual trains advertised as passenger services against their planned timetable as agreed between the operator and Network Rail at 22:00 the night before. PPM is therefore the percentage of trains 'on time' compared to the total number of trains planned.

A train is defined as on time if it arrives at the destination within five minutes (i.e. 4 minutes 59 seconds or less) of the planned arrival time for London and South East or regional services, or 10 minutes (i.e. 9 minutes 59 seconds or less) for long distance services.

Where a train fails to run its entire planned route calling at all timetabled stations it will count as a PPM failure.

Note: unless specified otherwise, all data on and linked from this page is for initial indications only and is subject to change in subsequent publications.

Network Rail web pages

THE IMPACT OF SEVERE WEATHER ON TRAIN SERVICES IS A WAKE-UP CALL TO EVERYONE

20 February 2013

The quarterly performance monitor issued by the Office of Rail Regulation highlighted the impact of extreme weather on train performance.

1. Flooding causes landslip in Hartlepool

“It has been a difficult period for passengers, with disruption on many lines due to extreme weather. Our staff worked tirelessly, often in difficult circumstances, to get the railway back up and running and we would like to thank passengers and train operators for bearing with us during this time.

The damage that extreme weather can do to a Victorian rail network which was neither designed nor built for such challenges is clear. Whole lines were closed by flooding and tracks came close to being washed away by rivers which burst their banks. On the worst affected parts of the network, torrential rain caused up to sixty landslides in a single day.

This has been a wake-up call for the whole industry, which we ignore at our peril. As we set out when we launched our strategic business plan in January, we are playing catch up on decades of under-investment. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the embankments, cuttings, bridges, tunnels and other structures which have struggled to cope with extreme weather, alongside the burden of carrying more passengers than they were designed for. Our submission to our regulator for the next five-year funding settlement reflects our plan to tackle this.” David Higgins, chief executive, Network Rail

Our strategic business plan (England and Wales) for control period 5 (2014-19) was published on 8 January 2013. The plan contains details on the need to future-proof critical infrastructure against the impact of changing weather patterns, including more frequent flooding.

Link: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/publications/strategic-business-plan-for-cp5/

The majority of our structures and earthworks assets are over a century old. They degrade very slowly which, meaning their longevity, can lead to a perception that the asset is more robust than is actually the case. In the last periodic review, the case was not fully established for our proposed increase in expenditure of around £300m. During this control period we have carried out extensive further analysis of the required activity and expenditure levels. This analysis supports a significant increase in renewals to address the previous under investment.

Sussex Route (Summary Route Plan)

Link to the document: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/strategicbusinessplan/cp5/supp orting%20documents/our%20activity%20and%20expenditure%20plans/route%20pla ns/sussex%20route%20plan.pdf

Page 19

Seasonal management

Our aim is to drive out uncertainty around resilience and preparedness for changing seasonal weather patterns so that the appropriate controls can be applied at the right time and in the right place. A Seasonal Delivery specialist leads the Seasonal Management Plan’s for the Route. Over the last control period we have made some significant gains in this area; we will build on this success to better manage the risks that arise from extremes of weather. We aim to achieve this by:

• Development of an annual route vegetation management plan and joint review with train operators and other stakeholders to ensure that we are targeting the areas of concern and managing their expectation effectively;

• Reviewing the effectiveness of the rail head treatment programme and technology in use at the moment and seek to improve on the process in place, thereby maximising safety and availability of the asset;

• Building greater understanding between our Operational and Maintenance staff to educate them on the requirements and safety benefits of effective seasonal management initiatives, e.g. vegetation clearance;

• We will implement a programme of strategic briefings delivered at key times in the year prior to seasonal change to ensure all Operational Staff are aware of seasonal working instructions;

• We will review the effectiveness of localised weather stations on the route and identify any geographic areas that have poor coverage with a view to further installation of this equipment;

• Use of failure data to risk assess track circuits and build a case for further fitment of Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) in high risk areas.

This is Local London Southern Railway appoints troubleshooter to improve punctuality and reliability

Southern Railway appoints punctuality troubleshooter after sharp drop in performance

Tuesday 18 December 2012 by Mike Murphy-Pyle, Chief Reporter

A rail provider has been forced to appoint a troubleshooter to arrest a sharp downturn in punctuality and reliability.

Southern Railway's punctuality in South London has dropped by almost 10 per cent in the last year while reliability has gone down too.

The provider, which operates some of the busiest lines in the capital, has appointed David Scorey as performance director and tasked him with the job of looking at why performance has declined and how to improve it.

A Southern spokesman said: "Lately it is fair to say that our performance has not been as good as we, or our passengers, expect. A range of factors have affected our daily punctuality including weather related issues and railway infrastructure failures, but also some areas where we have direct control over our own processes and equipment."

Mr Scorey added: "The complexity of our network and the sheer volume of trains we run every day means that when there are problems, there’s quickly a knock-on effect to the performance of other trains and that has a significant effect on overall punctuality.

"I will be working with Southern’s own performance team and with Network Rail colleagues to ensure there is even more focus on bringing our performance up to the levels we aim to deliver and our passengers rightly expect."

Mr Scorey, previously in charge major projects at Southern, started his job on Monday but even before he took the reigns Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake met him to put across the views of people in Sutton.

He said: "It was a useful meeting. He acknowledged that Southern has seen a deterioration in performance and a sharper deterioration in the last three months.

"This is a key issue - when people are paying for a service they aren't getting it sticks in their throats."

Mr Brake asked about issues raised with him by constituents. These included the accessibility for disabled people at Carshalton and Carshalton Beeches stations, which he said is not set to change, and the lack of detailed information when trains are delayed which he said Southern is looking into.

Southern Rail News

Spring National Passenger Survey results published

Date: 19 Jun 2013.

The spring 2013 National Passenger Survey has just been released, with results showing that the work Southern has been focusing on over the last year has been recognised by passengers, but performance earlier this year has affected many of the scores.

Southern Managing Director, Chris Burchell said: “We understand and share our passengers’ frustration with our poor performance during the first part of this year. We know that punctuality is our passengers’ top priority, and so poor performance in this area affects how people view our service as a whole.”

There were a number of factors that affected Southern’s performance during the survey period as Chris Burchell explains: “Severe weather, some major infrastructure problems, a number of train failures and a fatality on the mainline, conspired to make the survey period a very challenging time for both our passengers and staff. Together with Network Rail we have been working hard to get our performance back on track and the signs of improvement are beginning to appear with a steady upward trend in the number of days ending with over 90% PPM. However, we know there is still much to do and everyone at Southern and on Network Rail’s Sussex Route is focused on keeping up the momentum of improvement on Britain’s busiest railway.”*

Mr Burchell added: “We are heartened that our passengers have recognised the continued effort and investment we have made in our services, in particular, our on-board toilet facilities and station facilities, which saw improved satisfaction scores. Hopefully they will now be beginning to see that our performance is also improving.”

In the two and a half months since passengers were surveyed, the number of days ending with 90% PPM or over has more than trebled compared with the same period before the survey was conducted.

Ends

*So what is Southern doing to improve performance?

Together with Network Rail, Southern has joint improvement plans which includes a continued strong investment in improving the Network Rail infrastructure though an increase in renewals and an increase in maintenance teams deployed on the Southern network, increased emphasis on incident containment and service recovery, and added focus on lessons learned from previous incidents with a view to improving incident management going forward.

To improve punctuality Network Rail and Southern have worked together to reduce the number of temporary speed restrictions imposed.

Network Rail continues to install remote condition monitoring systems to points and track circuits which can predict potential defects before they become failures. This enables Network Rail to respond immediately when a problem is flagged, potentially reducing delay times significantly as a result of preventive repair work. Network Rail plans to achieve 100% remote monitoring of its points and track circuits by mid 2014.

Major infrastructure projects such as an additional platform at Gatwick Airport station (platform 7), resignalling on the east and west coastways and bi-directional improvements on the Brighton Main Line will help to improve performance in the future.

Crawley News

Southern Rail cancel Monday morning trains due to storm risk

By CBallinger | Posted: October 27, 2013

SERVICE CANCELLED: Southern Rail has announced there will no trains on Monday morning until at least 9 a.m. SOUTHERN Rail has announced there will be no early Monday morning service across the network due to storm risk.

The train operator has taken the decision ahead of the expected severe weather set to hit tonight (Sunday) with gusts predicted to reach between 60-80mph. An ‘Amber Warning’ for wind has been issued by the Met Office.

Southern Rail has not announced at what time trains will start running tomorrow (Monday) but it is "highly unlikely" there will be any service before 9am.

A spokesman said: "We have closely monitored the storm that is approaching which we now expect to reach and affect our region between 0100-0900 tomorrow (Monday 28 October).

"We are advised that there is a strong likelihood that this will mean that trees and other debris may fall on and obstruct railway lines.

"We have worked closely with Network Rail, which has declared that while there is an immediate safety risk of fallen trees obstructing lines, no passenger services should run.

"As a result of this, we will not be running any services tomorrow until the storm has passed our region, and Network Rail has been able to assess any damage from the storm and confirm that lines are clear of debris.

"It is therefore highly unlikely that we will run any services before at least 0900 tomorrow morning and even when we are cleared to run, the first services will be very disjointed given the difficulties in getting trains and their crew to the right locations.

"Along with Network Rail, we have worked hard to make contingency plans, but in the interests of safety, this difficult decision has been made.

"We will therefore focus our efforts on providing a service as soon as we can tomorrow morning, but we anticipate that this will be a difficult and disruptive start to the week for our passengers."

Passengers are advised to check with National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 before travelling.

Rail passenger misery as almost half of Southern Rail trains run late

First published Saturday 21 December 2013 in News

Rail passengers in Sussex have had to put up with almost half their trains running late in the past year.

As thousands of people head home by train for Christmas this weekend, figures released yesterday show Southern trains only ran on time 56% of the time.

Network Rail published the “real” delay figures of UK train companies for the 12 months ending – ending December 7.

The figures, which are known as “right time” statistics, consider a train to be late if it has arrived 60 seconds later than signposted.

A spokeswoman for Southern said: “Our righttime figure is extremely disappointing, both for us and our passengers. We operate more than 2,300 services a day over a small geographical area, which means that when disruption occurs there is a larger knock-on effect to services, which impacts on our performance measures."

Southern has the fourth worst “right time” figures out of all national train firms.

The only firms with lower “right time” figures than Southern are Virgin Trains, East Coast Trains, and Crosscountry, which had the worst percentage of on- time trains at 44.5%.

Chiltern trains had the highest percentage of on-time trains at 87%.

Megan Yates, 19, who is travelling home to London this weekend said: “Trains have been pretty unreliable recently. The last time I travelled to London my train was almost 35 minutes late and almost caused me to miss an important engagement.”

Southern claims it is working hard with Network Rail to reduce infrastructure failures across the network.

A Southern spokeswoman said: “We are renewing our efforts to ensure that we run as robust a fleet of trains as possible to improve our performance throughout 2014.”

It’s hope that a new platform at Gatwick, new points at Stoats Nest near Purley and improvement to signalling at London Victoria will ease congestion.

Jimmy Nicholls, 22, who has commuted from London to Brighton for the last three months said: “For the most part delays have been tolerable, but there were several occasions when I was stuck waiting for over half an hour which is far too long.”

However, according to a survey by the European Commission of 26,000 travellers, UK train passengers are still the most satisfied in Europe.

Southern paid out £805,000 to passengers whose trains were delayed in the past year.

Under the Delay Repay scheme, passengers can claim compensation from train firms if they have been delayed for more than 30 minutes.

To see the results of the Network Rail survey yourself, visit http://www.networkrail.co.uk/about/performance

Christmas storms put Southern Railway bottom of punctuality pile

• January 14, 2014 • By David Stubbings www.getSurrey.co.uk

Fallen trees, landslips and flooding have all taken their toll on Southern Railway as it recorded the worst train punctuality over the Christmas period.

Figures released by Network Rail showed that between December 8 and January 4, 73.1% of Southern's services arrived on time, down from 82.4% in the same period 12 months ago which put it bottom of the country's 19 train operators.

Meanwhile, South West Trains was 15th on the list with 78.1% of trains arriving on time, down 12% from the same time last year after 140 trees fell across its lines during the festive period.

Southern, which serves east Surrey including Redhill, Oxted, Caterham, Reigate, Epsom and Dorking, recorded 72 fallen trees and other obstructions on its lines between December 23 and January 1, as well as six floods and two landslips.

During the strong winds and heavy rain, which flooded various parts of Surrey, Southern restricted a number of its services to a maximum speed of 50mph as trees fell across the network.

Southern's operations director, David Scorey, said: "Despite this poor punctuality result, we are proud of the dedication and effort shown by Southern and Network Rail staff who worked through extremely challenging circumstances to keep people moving throughout this exceptionally difficult period.”

The company said Christmas Eve was its worst day, when winds of around 70mph were recorded in east Surrey, but its main focus was to get "everyone home safely for Christmas, rather than on punctuality".

A South West Trains spokesman also said: "The situation was very different before Christmas when the strategy then was to get people where they needed to be.

"Between Christmas and new year the programme was to have a flow of trains but there were so many trees and landslips across the network.

"More than 40 trees fell across our network on December 23, blocking lines and in some cases hitting trains.

"Despite the challenging circumstances, the latest punctuality statistics demonstrate that we were one of the best performing train operators in the London and south east area."

'Tumultuous'

Southern has also apologised for the disruption - with engineering work also taking place in the festive period, including an £80m upgrade of the Brighton main line - saying it was working to improve the reliability of its trains.

Services have also suffered from a landslip near Ockley at Christmas, which is expected to keep the line between Dorking and Horsham closed until early February while 40m of collapsed embankment is repaired.

The only exception will be a very limited peak time service.

The Ockley landslip will also mean no diverted trains will be able to run from London to Gatwick on Sunday January 26 when engineering work will close the Brighton mainline at Purley.

A spokesman for Network Rail described the storms as "tumultuous", adding that they "tested the rail industry's resilience".

"Some 6,000 people worked in often challenging conditions to deliver over 300 projects aimed at improving and expanding the network for the benefit of its millions of daily users," he said.

Years of misery and rail frustration

Monday 18th August 2014

By Finn Scott-Delany and Ben James

RAIL companies operating in Sussex have the poorest levels of trust in the country, according to a survey published yesterday.

Passengers do not feel train companies are "on their side", and do not expect a good day-today service, truthfulness, fairness or good communication.

The three companies operating in the county were consistently in the bottom three of the survey by Passenger Focus.

It follows years of frustration for commuters who claim the rail network is the UK’s worst since at least 2011.

Southern, which operates between Brighton and London, and Chichester and Hastings, had the lowest overall rating from passengers across a range of areas.

On truthfulness, honesty and integrity and treating customers fairly, Southern was rated worse than any other operator, according to a survey by Passenger Focus.

On principles, industry leadership and “doing the right thing when no one is looking”, Southern also scored worst. It was also in the bottom three for value for money and industry reputation.

Out of 18 categories the operator was the worst-rated 11 times, and in the bottom three 15 times. Southeastern, which runs services between Rye and Bexhill, was second-worst to Southern, with 15 criteria in the bottom three.

First Capital Connect, which is running the Thameslink service between Brighton and Bedford until September, was rated in the bottom three ten times and the bottom five all but once.

Most South East and London operators scored poorly on trust according to the survey, which involved 4,000 passengers and about 200 customers of each operator.

Passengers have seemingly faced years of misery, with a Which? survey rating services the worst in the UK in 2013, and Passenger Focus surveys finding the same in 2012 and 2011.

Govia, part of Southern parent company Go-Ahead, will take over the Thameslink route in September. Southern’s Sussex networks will become part of the Govia Thameslink franchise in July 2015.

Southeastern’s East Sussex franchise ends in October but are under negotiation for an extension until 2018. Southern admitted the results were poor but blamed bad weather in January for causing network chaos and blighting passengers’ views.

The survey aimed to examine the differences in passengers’ perceptions of rail travel and the reality. But all three’s poor reputation was matched by their poor punctuality which was among the worst in the country.

Southern accepted it was disappointing to score so poorly, but not wholly unexpected considering the study was carried out in January, when savage weather brought transport networks to a halt.

It said it was unable to deliver a reliable, punctual service when the survey was undertaken.

A spokeswoman said: “The report again draws the conclusion that there is a connection between performance and trust.

“Unfortunately the survey was completed in January – a time when our performance was severely affected by some of the worst weather in living memory.

“Since then we have been working hard with Network Rail to improve performance and have made some good progress recently with performance steadily improving month by month. “We know there is still more to do to rebuild our passengers’ trust after what was a very long, frustrating winter for many of them.”

A Southeastern spokeswoman said: “The result of the latest report is disappointing, but reflects our own research. We’ve already invested in new information screens at stations and we’ve made changes to our website to communicate better with passengers. However, we accept that we have more work to do in this area.”

A First Capital Connect spokesman said: “We care very much about our passengers' journeys and have made huge efforts to improve those elements of the service within our control and to engage in new ways with our customers to help them at times of disruption. “In the latest National Passenger Survey results passenger satisfaction on the Thameslink South route between London and Brighton rose by 18% to 80% – a record for that route.

“We know we have to do more though and will press ahead with final improvements during the remainder of our franchise such as free station wifi at key stations to give passengers even easier ways of communicating with us."

The Government said more than £38 billion would be spent over the next five years to improve the railways. Shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh said: “Commuters in the South East have been particularly let down by incompetent ministers, who failed to introduce smart ticketing and agreed poor value franchise extensions after the West Coast fiasco.

“A Labour government will cap fares on every route, roll out smart ticketing and drive through the biggest reforms of the railways since privatisation, delivering a better deal for passengers and taxpayers.”

THE EVENING STANDARD

Rail commuters hit by 200,000 cancellations

Commuters in London and the South-East were the worst hit with nearly 90,000 trains failing to arrive

DICK MURRAY

Published: 18 September 2014

Frustrated rail passengers suffered more than 200,000 train cancellations last year, official figures confirmed today.

Commuters in London and the South-East were the worst hit with nearly 90,000 trains failing to arrive, increasing the overcrowding on following services.

London train operators Southern, South Eastern, First Great Western and South West Trains occupied the first four places in the top 10 “no show” list of shame revealed by the TSSA transport union.

The union analysed figures which were supplied to Network Rail by the train operators.

TSSA chief Manuel Cortes said: “These figures show the private rail firms are failing to deliver for passengers when it really matters, particularly for those in the South East who pay the highest fares to get to work.

“Late trains are bad enough but cancellations on this scale are unacceptable — they are a real slap in the face for passengers.”

The union fears that without radical changes to the running of railway services there will be no reduction in the high number of cancellations.

The figures are the third tranche of bad news for rail passengers in London and the South -East.

Two weeks ago it was revealed that on some routes one in three trains were late last year.

Then, just days ago, Labour claimed that changing the rail franchise arrangements to combine Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern into a “super-franchise” could result in some fares from Brighton to London rising by £664 a year.

Labour was accused by Go-Ahead, which runs the franchise, of “guessing” the new fares.

The cancellation figures, combined with fare hikes and late-running services, will fuel demands at next week’s Labour Party conference where delegates will debate plans for a public sector firm to challenge the private sector rail companies if Ed Miliband wins next May’s election.

Train cancellations among all companies across the network came to a total of 211,960.

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing Network Rail and train operators, said that across the network passengers were “now making 600 million more punctual journeys than compared to 15 years ago”.

He added: “While our railway has been transformed with newer trains and more reliable services, our aim is to continue to make it even better for passengers.”

10 worst offenders

1 Southern 34,701

2 Southeastern 22,443

3 First Great Western 17,842

4 South West Trains 16,245

5 First Scotrail 15,433

6 First Capital Connect 15,161

7 London Midland 14,638

8 Great Anglia 14,448

9 Northern Rail 14,700

10 Arriva Trains Wales 8,447

47 Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

REPORT OF THE SOUTHERN RAIL’S PERFORMANCE IN SEVERE WEATHER WORKING GROUP

1. Introduction

A Horsham District resident (a former Horsham District Councillor) had raised concerns about Southern Rail’s performance following disruption to rail services because of severe weather conditions in December 2010. He contacted the Council with details of his experience and, in particular, three main concerns: the reliability of Southern Rail and Network Rail, the inability of Southern Rail to maintain its performance in times of severe weather, and communication issues.

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee agreed that this was a valid topic for review. The Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group was established to undertake the review and Councillor Roy Cornwell was appointed as its Chairman.

2. Membership

Councillors Roy Cornell (Chairman), Philip Circus and Jim Sanson.

3. Objectives of the Review

Scope

At the first meeting of the Working Group the scope and terms of reference of the review were agreed.

The review would identify how severe weather had affected the rail services in Horsham District and consider what action the Council could take. For the purposes of the review, severe weather included rain, ice, snow and hot weather.

The Working Group met on 16 July, 28 August, 2 October and 31 October 2012.

Terms of Reference

1. To examine the problems which occur during icy or severe weather which causes the trains to fail

2. To consider what action Southern Rail and Network Rail have taken since last winter’s delays

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

3. To consider what safeguards are in place to deal with the disruption, especially at peak times, when trains do fail as a result of the severe weather

4. To identify Southern and Network Rail’s methods of communication to staff and passengers at times of disruption

5. To examine to what extent any action by Horsham District Council is appropriate

4. Summary of the Research Undertaken

The Working Group decided to consider the rail services affecting stations in the Horsham District (including Amberley, Billingshurst, Christ’s Hospital, Faygate, Horsham, Littlehaven, Pulborough and Warnham).

Following the Working Group’s first meeting on 16 July 2012, Parish and Neighbourhood Councils were informed about the Working Group’s establishment, its review, and were invited to comment and to attend a Working Group meeting if they wished to contribute to its work.

The Council issued a press release on 3 August 2012 (see attached as Appendix 1); users of local railway stations and services were invited to submit their comments about their experiences while travelling with Southern Rail during periods of severe weather.

The Working Group decided to interview representatives of the West Sussex Rail Users Association and officials from Southern Rail and Network Rail. Members compiled a list of questions to present to Southern Rail and Network Rail which were categorised under the following headings: severe weather conditions, network engineering, operator performance, and communications (see attached as Appendix 2).

The Working Group noted that the Cabinet Member with the portfolio for Highways and Transport at West Sussex County Council had written in December 2010 to the then Sussex Route Director at Network Rail to pass on the criticisms expressed to him by residents of West Sussex at the disruption to rail services in the county that month, and asking what lessons had been learnt. Network Rail’s response was noted; it outlined a number of mitigation plans that would address the issues and changes that were being implemented (see attached as Appendix 3).

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

The Working Group was keen to investigate whether any progress had been made against those plans and a letter was sent to Network Rail requesting an update.

The Working Group considered the information provided by the following attendees or contributors to its meetings.

West Sussex Rail Users Association (WSRUA)

Representatives: Monica Edmonds, Chair and Trevor Tupper, Treasurer, of the West Sussex Rail Users Association

Meetings between WSRUA and Southern Rail and Network Rail were scheduled to discuss Southern Rail’s preparations for winter 2012/13.

WSRUA suggested greater use of Twitter by rail companies to communicate messages to passengers. It had been a key method of communication to keep passengers updated when the emergency train timetable was introduced during periods of heavy snowfall.

WSRUA felt that overall Southern Rail was reasonably efficient at providing current and up-to-date information on its website which was useful for those with internet access.

Southern Rail had told WSRUA that its ice clearance machines would be serviced regularly to prevent a repetition of previous mechanical failures.

WSRUA felt that Southern Rail and Network Rail had sufficient equipment to cope with average summer and winter conditions but did not appear to have resources to deal with heavy snowfall which was an irregular occurrence.

WSRUA, when it received any relevant news from Network Rail and Southern Rail, emailed that to its membership and added it to its website along with links to any associated information.

Parish Councils’ comments

Comments were received from councillors at two parish councils. The Working Group considered the issues raised by them were not directly relevant to the review about Southern Rail’s performance in severe weather. References, however, to the need for better communication by the rail company, by means of sufficient and accurate information and an up-to-date website and contact telephone numbers for local railway stations, were noted.

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Public comments

One member of the public, a resident in Southwater, had provided details of his journey during a period of snow and how Southern Rail’s website had advised that trains would be operating on a revised service but no trains were running when he arrived at the railway station.

Southern Rail

Representatives: Colin Morris (Head of Trains), Mark Searle (Service Delivery Manager), Yvonne Leslie (Stakeholder Relations)

Southern Rail representatives attended the Working Group meeting on 2 October 2012 and provided an in-depth presentation to explain what action had been taken by Southern Rail to improve its services and prevent future disruption.

Southern Rail acknowledged that it had fallen short in the service it had provided during the exceptional bad weather in winter 2010. It had subsequently reviewed what had gone wrong and taken significant actions to try to prevent a repeat of that.

Newer, more modern trains were now in operation and they possessed higher technical equipment to deal with snow and ice. Since 2010, train drivers had been trained to respond to severe weather, drive in adverse conditions, and deal with faults that may occur.

Southern Rail had developed two plans to deal with periods of severe weather which would be enacted depending on the severity of the weather conditions. One of the plans was for a reduced train service and passengers would be informed when a limited service was operating.

Improvements to communication had also been implemented (see the paragraph on communication below).

Network Rail

Representatives: Simon Chapman (Route Enhancement Manager, Sussex), Andrew Lee (Seasons Delivery Specialist)

Network Rail representatives attended the Working Group meeting on 31 October 2012 and provided an informative presentation (relevant details of which are attached as Appendix 4).

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Network Rail had responded to the problems that it had encountered as a result of severe weather during the winter of 2010. Network Rail had learnt many lessons and changes had been implemented to its infrastructure and practices, and it was working closely with Southern Rail to provide an industry-wide approach to seasonal preparations. Network Rail had introduced a more systematic approach to how it would respond to instances of severe weather.

Improved weather forecasting services were provided to both Network Rail and Southern Rail. If severe weather was anticipated, decisions about changes to rail services would be taken by the Emergency Weather Action Team on the day before the implementation of changes to the service. A decision would be taken using Network Rail’s Decision Matrix which evaluated set criteria such as projected snow depths and air temperatures. Making a more timely decision would allow information about a reduced or revised service to be provided to passengers in good time.

An agreed revised timetable had been prepared which could, when required, be easily be uploaded onto the information systems. The rail company website and social media sites would be used to disseminate that information.

Network Rail had prepared an extensive action plan which outlined actions to be taken, starting from three days prior to an anticipated weather incident. Single Points of Contact had been identified and listed; those key people knew what actions had to be undertaken and by when.

Multiple Purpose Vehicles (MPVs) were based at Horsham which could switch from clearing leaf debris in the autumn months to taking preventative action before any snow and ice by laying heated fluid on the conductor rail. MPVs would be put into action if temperatures fell to 2 to 3 degrees Celsius.

Non-stopping ‘ghost’ trains would run in the mornings to clear any ice on the conductor rail. Snow and ice treatment trains would be used to keep lines open or to re-open lines after snow had fallen or ice had formed. There was an option of using a diesel fleet should the electric trains fail.

Points and conductor rail heating were now in operation in some areas and plans were in place to introduce more on the Arun Valley line along with improved signalling.

Train drivers could be accommodated in hotels near to depots to ensure they could get to work during times of severe weather.

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Operator performance

The Working Group noted that its list of questions for Southern Rail (see attached as Appendix 2) had largely been answered and addressed in its discussions with the Southern Rail representatives.

A re-signalling scheme for the Arun Valley line would take place in 2013 which should reduce the gap between trains from ten to four minutes and to make the trains more resilient to any disruption.

Since 2010 control support managers would be on call at times of potential disruption, senior staff would be available on call and available to travel to key locations during periods of disruption to strengthen the performance of Southern Rail.

Communications

The Working Group noted that there were monthly meetings between Southern Rail, Network Rail and other rail service providers in order to share information and improve communication and to agree targets.

The Working Group emphasised to Southern Rail and Network Rail the importance of providing accurate and timely information to passengers at times of disruption.

Southern Rail and Network Rail had a joint control centre at Croydon (which would be moving to Three Bridges in April 2013) which had improved how its communication was disseminated to staff and then to customers in a speedier manner.

Southern Rail now used Twitter to keep customers informed and to respond to their messages. Since 2010 all train drivers and train conductors had been issued with Blackberry mobile phones to which messages about action required in severe weather conditions could be quickly relayed. Train conductors had undertaken customer service training in order to improve levels of customer service.

Members of the Working Group suggested that passengers could provide their email addresses when buying season tickets and could receive updates on travel information by email.

The Working Group suggested that key contact telephone numbers could be printed on rail tickets to allow customers without internet access a means of communication that was readily to hand. Southern Rail agreed to consider that.

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Adaptations to the customer information screens on platforms meant that more accurate information would be displayed at times of disruption. Station staff had been provided with portable radio microphones to allow them to make announcements from the platform. In the future it was hoped that passenger information screens on trains could receive messages directly from the control centre.

Southern Rail was making more frequent announcements to passengers on board trains

5. Chairman’s conclusions

The severe weather conditions during December 2010 had a profound effect on all of the transport systems in the UK and had caused misery for many commuters. Like many counties, Sussex residents suffered hours of frustration and in many cases anger at not completing travel arrangements for employment.

It was apparent that the severe criticism of the rail service in 2010 had rung alarm bells for the train and rail operators and had acted as a wake-up call in many quarters. The entire operation of rail services had been fully investigated, many changes had been made and others would be implemented although that may take some time during a period of financial constraints. The Working Group felt that the Southern Rail and Network Rail might wish to better inform the public of the improvements that had taken place to date.

The Working Group welcomed the new and improved trains, better equipment, upgraded systems, revised procedures and improvements to the rail infrastructure. The Working Group, however, cautiously noted that these changes had yet to be tested by severe weather comparable to that of the winter in 2010.

It transpired over the course of the Working Group’s review that great efforts had been made by Southern Rail and Network Rail to address the issues. There could, however, be no room for complacency.

Working Group Members emphasised that communication was a key issue. It was important to keep passengers regularly informed of what was happening; even if there was no news, passengers should be told that. The improvements to communications were noted and the Working Group hoped that would continue to be a priority issue for Southern Rail.

The greater co-operation between Southern Rail and Network Rail, their combined control centre, and their regular network meetings were welcomed.

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

A more systematic approach for deciding how to deal with potential disruption because of severe weather and earlier decision-making about whether to implement a revised timetable or reduced service would benefit passengers who could be alerted in advance of any changes to rail services.

The Working Group was keen to assist further. Network Rail highlighted the issue of access to railway stations via the road network at times of severe weather. Although West Sussex County Council was responsible for gritting public highways, the District Council could request it to include access routes to railway stations on its list of priority routes for gritting. This issue had also been highlighted by the member of the public who had detailed his difficulties in getting to the railway station because the connecting bus service was unavailable because the road had not been gritted.

It was disappointing that there had been a lack of feedback on this review and a lack of attendance at Working Group meetings by the residents of Horsham District. The Chairman, however, wished to thank the representatives of the West Sussex Rail Users Association and Denne Neighbourhood Council for attending a number of the meetings and for their contributions.

The Chairman also wished to thank the representatives of Southern Rail and Network Rail for attending and providing extensive and valuable information.

The Working Group was content that it had gathered sufficient evidence from all interested parties. It was important to emphasise that Horsham District Council had no regulatory powers in this area and could only offer its guidance and advice to Southern Rail and Network Rail, and inform residents of the District about its findings and recommendations.

6. Recommendations to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee

1. That Horsham District Council, following the very full and valuable contributions that both Southern Rail and Network Rail made to the Scrutiny Review, request them both to confirm their commitment to keep the Council informed on a regular basis of all actions related to maintaining services in severe weather, thus allowing the Council to share such information with its electorate and monitor progress.

2. Request Southern Rail to confirm that their on-duty railway station staff will be equipped to receive direct communication from the rail control centre during periods of disruption to rail services.

3. To request West Sussex County Council to include access to railway stations on its list of priority routes for gritting.

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Appendices:

1. Horsham District Press Release 2. Working Group’s list of questions for Southern Rail and Network Rail 3. Letter from West Sussex County Council to Network Rail, and Network Rail’s response 4. Network Rail presentation

Councillor Roy Cornell Chairman, Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

December 2012

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Appendix 1

Horsham District Council Press Release REVIEW TO LOOK AT SOUTHERN RAIL’S PERFORMANCE IN SEVERE WEATHER

3 August 2012

HORSHAM District Council is conducting a review to look at how Southern Rail performs in severe weather.

The review aims to identify how severe weather has affected the rail service for the Horsham District and what action Horsham District Council could take in the future.

The review is being carried out by a new Working Group set up by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee at Horsham District Council and the Group met for the first time on 16 July 2012.

Members of the Working Group are keen to hear from users of local railway stations in the Horsham District, such as Pulborough, Amberley, Horsham, Christ’s Hospital, Warnham, Littlehaven and Faygate.

Comments from users of the local railway stations can be sent to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee by emailing [email protected]

Alternatively, send written comments to Scrutiny and Committee Support Officer, Horsham District Council, Park North, North Street, RH12 1RL.

The suggestion for a review was raised by a former Horsham District Councillor, who had concerns about three main issues.

These issues were the reliability of Southern Rail and Network Rail, the inability of Southern Rail to maintain its performance in times of severe weather and communication issues.

The aim of the new review is:

 to examine the problems which occur during icy or severe weather, which causes the trains to fail

 to consider what action Southern Rail and Network Rail have taken since last winter’s delays

 to consider what safeguards are in place to deal with the disruption, especially at peak times, when trains do fail as a result of the severe weather

 to identify Southern and Network Rail’s methods of communication to staff and passengers at times of disruption

 to examine to what extent any action by Horsham District Council is appropriate

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Councillor Roy Cornell, Chairman of the Southern Rail Performance in Severe Weather Working Group at Horsham District Council, said:

"The Working Group has excellent terms of reference criteria which will enable it to investigate all types of severe weather that have affected the operation of rail services within our district.

"It is our intention to therefore ask rail users to meet the Committee and explain their experiences while travelling with Southern Rail, and the effect it has had during severe weather conditions.

"The Committee will then ask management from Southern Rail and Network Rail to attend meetings at a later date."

The Working Group confirmed that for the purposes of the review, severe weather included rain, ice, snow and hot weather.

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee can question, call for information on and comment on any decisions of the Cabinet; review and monitor internal and external services; review issues of local concern and monitor and scrutinise outside bodies such as financial advisors and utility suppliers.

For more information, please call Horsham District Council on 01403 215138 or go to the Scrutiny pages on the Horsham District Council website http://www.horsham.gov.uk/council/members/scrutiny-overview.aspx

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Appendix 2

Questions for Network Rail and Southern Rail for the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

1. Severe Weather Conditions (both Network Rail and Southern Rail)

1. What action has Network Rail taken following last winter’s delays? 2. What action has Southern taken following last winter’s delays?

2. Network Engineering (for Network Rail)

1. Why do conductor rails still freeze up? 2. What are your future plans, knowing the problems of the past?

3. Operator Performance (for Southern Rail)

1. How many trains fail during each month? 2. How many failures were related to electric motor shut downs? 3. Are Southern 377 Electrostar trains fit for purpose in the winter? 4. What are the reasons for trains breaking down in the winter? 5. What are the summer and winter performance figures over the past five years and the historic trends? 6. What are your future plans, knowing the problems of the past?

4. Communications (both Network Rail and Southern Rail)

1. What are the procedures to move failed trains? 2. What are your communication methods to passengers on the train and at the station?

July 2012

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Appendix 3

Lionel Barnard Deputy Leader and portfolio for Highways and Cabinet Office Transport Ground Floor County Hall Chichester West Sussex www.westsussex.gov.uk P019 1RZ

Mr Mark Ruddy 10th December 2010 Sussex Route Director Network Rail Croydon CR9 3RT

Dear Mark,

Disruption to Rail Services in West Sussex

As part of the close working relationship between Network Rail and West Sussex County Council, I feel I need to pass on to you the criticism expressed to me by residents of West Sussex at the disruption caused to our main rail routes through the county last week.

Whilst I understand that the weather conditions were extreme it must be clear that even more people turn to public transport when the road network is affected. Additionally there are those that rely upon the rail service for their daily commute, possibly with season tickets for London. Naturally, if people cannot get to work this is not a good influence on our economy. As you will be aware, the government is placing a large emphasis on economic recovery in these times.

It would help me if you could outline what the learning points were for your organisation during the recent event (in particular when trains were stranded for ten hours resulting in passengers having to sleep overnight on the train itself) and whether any of your business resilience procedures have been revised.

I understand that much of the difficulty was due to icing and thus failure of the third rail power system. As far as future investment is concerned, are there any plans in your organisation to reduce the reliance on this form of traction and move to more diesel units or even to overhead electrification.

I look forward to your reply with interest.

Yours sincerely Lionel Barnard Deputy Leader and portfolio for Highways and Transport

Report of the Southern Rail’s Performance in Severe Weather Working Group

Appendix 4

WinterWinter 2012/132012/13

16 1 Appendix 4 Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPV)

 Winter MPV fleet: 4,13,16,17,18, 28 and 29  Additional 2 MPV 4 (Wigan) & MPV 28 (Kings Norton) will arrive following autumn  Current autumn fleet are fitted with ‘Anti-ice-module’ and could switch from Autumn treatment to Winter treatment within 2-3 hours at Horsham depot.  Lays heated Kilfrost Rail Plus as a de-icing agent .  Sleet brushes attached can help scrape ice from the conductor rail (3rd Rail)

17 2 Appendix 4 Gatwick Luggage Van (GLV)

 3 GLV(s) for the South east – Tonbridge (2) and Eastleigh (1)  Lay heated Kill Frost Rail Plus as a de-icing agent  Will be used during significant winter weather event to keep lines open to traffic and re-open lines that may have been temporarily closed.

18 3 Appendix 4 Snow and Ice Treatment Trains (SITT)

 6 SITT for the South east – Tonbridge (4) and Eastleigh (2)  Lay heated Kill Frost Rail Plus as de-icing agent  Will be used during significant winter weather event to keep lines open to traffic and re-open lines that may have been temporarily closed.

19 4 Appendix 4 Points Heating

 Brighton and Croydon delivery areas have inspected all their points heating equipment - Monthly inspections will be conducted

 Heat retainers will be fitted to point heaters at critical locations. - Heat retainers are covers that fit over the strip heaters improving heat transfer by 25 %

 Renewals of the point heating equipment has taken place at: - Sutton Ventnor Road, Wimbledon LE, Coulsdon Town, Selhurst CE, Tulse Hill, Streatham N/S and West Norwood Jn

20 5 Appendix 4 Conductor Rail Heating

 Each location will automatically operate using ambient temperature control.

 Frontline staff will conduct audits during cold periods to ensure all sites are working

 The map attached shows locations on Sussex that will be operational as of mid December.

21 6 Appendix 4 Key Route Strategy

1) Meteogroup provide weather forecast updates for the rail industry – Daily 03:30 Meteogroup Forecasts 2) The cumulative snow depths will be monitored across the route 3) At 0930 the day before a significant snow event a emergency industry conference will be held – If the risk of snow fall is great enough as a industry we will plan to run a revised train service the following morning. – Upload pre planned emergency timetables – Enable the information to be passed on the passenger the night before 22 7 Appendix 4 Key Route Strategy Decision Matrix

The decision matrix will provide guidance so industry partners can anticipate each others actions should the weather conditions highlighted in the matrix prevail.

23 8