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DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE 5 March 2015

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DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE 5 March 2015 DEVELOPMENT POLICY COMMITTEE 5 March 2015 AGENDA ITEM 11 Subject DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT (RAIL EXECUTIVE) - EAST ANGLIA RAIL FRANCHISE CONSULTATION Report by DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES Enquiries contact: Jeremy Potter – Senior Planning Officer 01245 606821 [email protected] Purpose The purpose of this report is to seek the Committee’s approval for the proposed responses to the Department for Transport (DfT) East Anglia Rail Franchise Consultation. Recommendation(s) 1. That the Committee approves the consultation responses to Department for Transport (DfT) East Anglia Rail Franchise Consultation set out at Appendix 1. Corporate Implications Legal: None Financial: None Personnel: None Risk Management: None Equalities and Diversity: None Health and Safety: None IT: None Other: This consultation seeks feedback on the future of rail services in East Anglia which will be the subject of an award of a new Franchise agreement. The extent of improvements in railway services and capacity within Chelmsford City Council’s area has wide-ranging implications for existing communities and businesses. Consultees CCC – Sustainable Communities Directorate 1 Policies and Strategies The report takes into account the following policies and strategies of the Council: Local Development Framework (LDF) Documents Core Strategy and Development Control Policies - Adopted DPD Focused Review of Core Strategy and Development Control Policies – Adopted DPD Chelmsford Town Centre Area Action Plan - Adopted DPD North Chelmsford Area Action Plan – Adopted DPD Site Allocations Development Plan Document – Adopted DPD Local Development Scheme, Third Review March 2013 Planning Obligations SPD – Adopted SPD Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule - February 2014 Duty to Co-operate Strategy, March 2014 The Chelmsford Local Development Framework takes into account all published strategies of the City Council, together with the Sustainable Community Strategy published by The Chelmsford Partnership. Corporate Plan Priorities The report relates to the following priorities in the Corporate Plan Attracting investment and delivering infrastructure Facilitating suitable housing for local needs Providing high quality public spaces Promoting a more sustainable environment Promoting healthier and more active lives Enhancing participation in cultural activities 2 1. Introduction 1.1 This report provides a summary of the key elements of the Department of Transport (DFT) Rail Executive consultation on the East Anglia Rail Franchise. The proposed responses to the consultation document are set out at Appendix 1 of this report 2 Background 2.1 The consultation period for this document runs from 9 December 2014 to 16 March 2015. The consultation document is available using the link below: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/east-anglia-rail-passenger-franchise 2.2 The DfT Rail Executive is seeking the views of stakeholders, including passengers, businesses and representative organisations, on the future of rail services in East Anglia. This consultation focuses on the future service to be provided by a Train Operating Company (TOC) through a new franchise agreement to start in October 2016. 2.3 A separate Network Rail consultation (Anglia Route Study), which this Committee considered at its meeting on 15 January 2015, focused on the future infrastructure requirements for the Anglia Route. The document contains a series of general consultation questions. Officers are attending a consultation event taking place at Anglia Ruskin University on 27 February 2015. A verbal update can be provided by Officers at the Committee meeting. 3 Context 3.1 Rail passenger services in East Anglia are currently provided under the Greater Anglia franchise. This franchise is due to expire on 16 October 2016. The DfT's Rail Executive currently anticipates that this will be replaced by a new East Anglia franchise. 3.2 The DfT’s Rail Executive will be inviting tenders to run the East Anglia franchise from October 2016. This consultation is part of the process of developing what the DfT’s Rail Executive want for passengers in the new franchise. The responses to this consultation will help inform the Invitation to Tender (ITT) process which is due for release in August 2015. The ITT will provide the basis upon which bidders who have passed the pre-qualification process must submit their proposal and will reflect what Rail Executive wishes to procure. It will additionally set out how the proposals will be evaluated. 3.3 It is proposed that the new East Anglia franchise contract will be completed in June 2016 ahead of the current Greater Anglia franchise expiry in October 2016. The consultation does not specify the proposed length of the new franchise. 4 Summary of Consultation Document Current Greater Anglia Franchise 4.1 The consultation document outlines the scope of the current franchise. This covers Intercity Services on the Great Eastern Mainline (GEML), Greater Eastern Services into London from Ipswich via Chelmsford and branches, the West Anglia Services into London from Cambridgeshire, Regional services across Suffolk/Norfolk and the Stansted Express. 3 4.2 On 31 May 2015 a number of inner suburban services and some stations will be devolved from the Greater Anglia franchise. These include: • Liverpool Street to Shenfield stopping services which transfer to MTR Corporation (Crossrail); • Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford which transfers to London Overground; and • Romford to Upminster which transfers to London Overground. New Franchise Objectives 4.3 The consultation document sets out the new East Anglia Franchise Objectives. These are set out below: • Help the economy of East Anglia thrive by offering higher quality rail services for passengers to and from the region and across the region with service levels that reflect the specific requirements of the different markets served, while working within the affordability constraints on public funding; • Realise the benefits from rail investment in East Anglia through a transformation in operations, ensuring journey time, frequency, reliability and connectivity benefits for passengers are delivered; • Deliver excellence in customer service through an innovative approach to all aspects of the passenger journey. Achieve consistently high standards of performance in the operation of rail services and minimise passenger inconvenience in the case of disruption; • Secure whole industry efficiencies and help reduce overall industry costs by working in partnership across the rail industry; • Support local communities to help deliver local transport integration, local regeneration and investment in and around stations; and • Improve social and environmental sustainability to reduce carbon emissions, use resources effectively, and build skills and capability within the business and supply chain. Proposed Service Specification 4.4 The consultation document provides a proposed approach to the specification of the services that the future operator will be required to deliver from October 2016. The document also states that regional stakeholders are clear about their long term aspirations for the franchise to support sustained economic performance in the East Anglia region, and to act as a catalyst for further growth. In particular they are keen to see reductions in journey times. The "Great Eastern Main Line Task Force" has been established to promote faster services between Norwich and London. 4.5 The consultation document indicates the intention to specify a minimum level of passenger services to be operated in response to stakeholder, passenger and market needs. In developing this specification it is likely that a level of flexibility for the operator to respond to the growing demographics of the region, market changes, and future commercial opportunities would be employed. There is an expectation that the passenger service specification will enable the operator to deploy rolling stock to optimise fleet and infrastructure. The value for money and financial impacts of all proposals for the service specification will need to be fully considered. 4 Infrastructure Schemes 4.6 The consultation document highlights the infrastructure projects contained with Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (CP5) which covers the period 2014-19. The key scheme on the GEML is the remodelling of Bow Junction in East London to improve capacity. Reference is also made to the recent Network Rail consultation for Control Period 6 (CP6) entitled the Anglia Route Study which was considered by this Committee at its meeting on 15 January 2015. No specific reference is made to the proposed infrastructure in CP6 within the current consultation. 4.7 The new station at North East Chelmsford (Beaulieu Park) is identified generically in a different section of the consultation document as a ‘potential third party promoted scheme’. Passenger Service Provision 4.8 The consultation document identifies the December 2014 weekday off-peak timetable as baseline for current passenger service provision. At present there are five trains per hour serving Chelmsford Station in this period and one train every forty minutes on the Southminster Branch serving South Woodham Ferrers and Battlesbridge. There is no reference to the frequency of trains at proposed new stations such as North East Chelmsford (Beaulieu Park). 4.9 The consultation document seeks feedback on the frequency of passenger service provision. It also highlights evidence that indicates that rail
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