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REF0066 Written evidence submitted by Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways FosBR is a rail user group advocating for investment in local rail in the Bristol travel to work area. The area has seen good passenger growth in recent years, albeit with some flattening- off in recent years https://fosbr.org.uk/news/passenger-growth/ Our campaign successes include persuading Bristol City Council to hire a second trainset on the Severn Beach Line, introducing a new evening service in a 100-minute gap in the timetable, the delivery of Filton Bank four-tracking and the investment in the MetroWest programme by the West of England Combined Authority. 1. The use of public transport and the way that people choose to travel, both locally and for longer domestic journeys We noticed a considerable drop in ridership over lockdown but have now seen a much higher ridership on local services in the past month. We consider that trains are the most trusted form of public transport and that passenger confidence has returned much faster than expected. We therefore commend the commitment shown by the West of England Combined Authority to the MetroWest programme (the reopening of the Portishead Line and the Henbury line, and half-hour services to Westbury and Gloucester) and recommend that government support this commitment in the face of Covid-19. 2. Central and local governmental transport priorities and finances and funding for transport. We recommend that government invest in Network Rail and also in supporting train operating companies through this time. Even if partial lockdown is in place, the cost to the public health and climate crisis of a car-dominated culture is too great to allow public transport to founder. We would recommend that other infrastructure providers should be brought in to give expert second opinions on the scoping and planning of major rail projects to avoid over-running of the costs and timescales in future. 3. The devolution of transport policy-making responsibilities and powers We commend the work of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) in investing in all forms of public and active transport. We would encourage government to ensure that WECA have adequate transport staffing to be able to bring studies and expertise in-house, such as modelled by the West Midlands Rail Executive. We would urge government to ensure that WECA halt their JLTP4 (Joint Local Transport Plan) road-building plans, as this will simply bring more cars onto the road and result in higher congestion and poor air quality. REF0066 4. The resilience of the transport system for future crises We are grateful to the government for funding the railways through the height of the lockdown. We note that the service frequency was reduced during this time, and that this was done at very short notice – this shows that the local rail system does have the capability to adapt to future lockdowns. We would commend investigation into ways of saving money during future lockdowns. 5. The decarbonisation of transport and the capability to meet net zero carbon emissions targets by 2050 We have already responded to the zero-carbon consultation and reiterate these points here: a) the use of battery, hydrogen or biogas trains; b) Network Rail’s recommendation to electrify local lines; c) the completion of the national electrification programme, prioritising lines with fewer overhead bridges and using hybrid trains to bridge the gaps in the network. We fully support the approach outlined in Network Rail's Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy, and urge that Pathway 4 (net zero carbon emissions by 2040) is selected. 6. Innovation and technological reform within transport a) Signalling and infrastructure: we recommend that the key innovation should be moving-block signalling to allow trains to run closer to each other, and the use of passing loops to allow fast trains to overtake slow trains at local stations. b) Rolling-stock anti-idling measures: We also recommend that all trains should be enabled to switch off their engines to avoid idling at stations and junctions. September 2020.

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