Rail Report 2015/16 - QUARTER 3

Introduction The Connect Rail Report provides an up to date summary of patronage data at all Tees Valley stations, performance data for train operating companies that serve the Tees Valley and the results from regular station audits. The report is produced by Connect Tees Valley (CTV) on a quarterly basis, in line with rail industry operating periods. There are 13 operating periods covering the year, starting in April.

This report covers Quarter 3 for 2015/16 (20 Sept ‘15 - 12 Dec ‘15), comprising operating Periods 7, 8 & 9.

Patronage Data (see table 2) Patronage data for all stations in the Tees Valley is supplied to CTV every month by the Office of Rail & Road (ORR) and . Table 2 (see page 7), shows the level of patronage at all stations within the Tees Valley for Periods 7, 8 & 9 of the 2015/16 operating year alongside figures from the corresponding periods in 2014/15.

PERCENTAGE CHANGE AGAINST QUARTER 3 OF 2014/15 ….. +0.5% Commentary

Tees Valley rail patronage saw a marginal increase of +0.5% against the same quarter for 2014/15, which equates to 7,570 additional passenger journeys. Following on from last year’s (2014/15) record breaking figures, the grand total for Quarter 3 of 1,599,480 passenger journeys (annoyingly just 520 shy of 1.6m) is once again the best ever for a regular 12 week quarter (Quarter 4 at 16 weeks, is not on the proverbial level playing field) since the collation of Tees Valley Rail data commenced in 2007/2008! Whilst the net effect for the Quarter was positive, per period the totals were a mixed bag. With the exception of an unnaturally elongated Period 1 (32 days), Period 7 was the first time that in excess of 550,000 passengers have been recorded in one period however on the flip side, both Periods 8 & 9 suffered identical negativity of -2%.

An impressive 10 stations showed year on year growth in each period of the Quarter (including 6 with double digit positivity throughout), whilst only 2 stations (Redcar Central & South Bank) were negative throughout.

Of the consistently good, Marton jointly shared the biggest margin of improvement (36% - P8) and whilst Period 9 dropped below 1,000 passengers for the first time in the last six periods, it was still up by 20% year on year. There was delight at Dinsdale when patronage topped 5,000 in a period for the first time (P7) - jointly with Marton it also notched the largest period percentage year on year increase (36% - P7) in Quarter 3. At Yarm numbers exceeded 11,000 in each period of a quarter for the first time with Period 8’s 11,651 being the second highest figure recorded.

Thornaby was the only one of the major stations to record growth in each period with , and Middlesbrough all returning mixed results. At the other end of the spectrum, Redcar Central was one of only two stations to show negativity throughout, continuing an unhappy sequence of five consecutive periods of year on year decline.

The stations to the east of Middlesbrough continue to give cause for concern. Following on from the introduction of the much improved hourly frequency timetable (from May 2013), South Bank’s

Connect Tees Valley Page 1 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3 percentage growth was skewed impressively and consistently upwards. However it transpired that some of that growth was attributable to a ticketing anomaly, whereby it was significantly cheaper for passengers requiring a period return from Middlesbrough to Newcastle to book their ticket as if they were starting out from South Bank. Northern removed that anomaly in May 2015, so some of the year on year decline showing at South Bank (the first since Period 2 in 2012/13!) is down to the figures settling to reflect actual (rather than pseudo) usage. Marske’s Period 9 figure (5,438) was its lowest for almost two years however Longbeck bucked the trend, with growth throughout the Quarter with Period 8 (3,638) being its best figure for 17 periods.

National Performance Data

Table 1 indicates the recent performance of all passenger train operating companies that serve the Tees Valley. This data is published by the ORR for each operator in the country in a quarterly report, which is approximately 3 months in arrears. Public Performance Measure (PPM) is the industry standard means of measuring the percentage of passenger trains that are run on time. Comparative data, where available, is provided for the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

The figures for the operators categorised by the ORR as long distance, indicates the percentage of trains arriving within 10 minutes of the timetabled arrival at their final destination - for the regional operators, it is the percentage of trains arriving within 5 minutes. It should also be noted that these are franchise-wide figures that do not relate specifically to any routes or services.

TABLE 1: PPM PUNCTUALITY DATA for TEES VALLEY RAIL OPERATORS - QUARTER 2 (2015/2016) QUARTER LONG DISTANCE OPERATORS Q2 (2015/16) Q1 (2015/16) Q2 2014/15 86.8 89.4 88.6 First TransPennine Express 90.7 91.4 88.1 Arriva Cross Country 89.9 91.6 88.8 Grand Central 88.5 90.0 88.1 REGIONAL OPERATORS Northern Rail 92.1 93.0 91.1

Source: ORR 2015-16 Quarter 2 Statistical Release - Passenger & Freight Rail Performance

Commentary

With the exception of Virgin Trains East Coast, all the operators showed year on year improvement when compared against Quarter 2 (2014/15). Virgin Trains East Coast was the poorest performer in Quarter 2 and the only operator to slip back year on year (-1.8%), though last year’s 88.6% was still under East Coast’s jurisdiction. First TransPennine Express was both the best of the long distance operators and the only one to break through the 90% ceiling - it also recorded the biggest margin of improvement, up 2.6% year on year. Arriva Cross Country, after recording back to back PPM Quarters exceeding 90% for the first time since 2011/12, just failed to make it a hat trick by a measly 0.1%! Grand Central, similarly missed out on a hat trick, having just recorded its first ever consecutive PPM Quarters in excess of 90%, it dropped back to 88.5% this time round. Northern Rail was once again the king (or queen) of the castle, this time by 1.4% from its nearest challenger (FTPE) and was the best overall performer for the seventh consecutive quarter - it was last deposed in Quarter 3 2013/14.

Connect Tees Valley Page 2 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3 Northern Rail Performance Data (see table 3)

In advance of the publication of industry-wide data by the ORR, Northern Rail, the operator of the majority of services within the Tees Valley, kindly supplies CTV with up to date monthly Public Performance Measure (PPM) figures. These figures have been disaggregated by route to give a clearer picture of performance. As these services are classed as regional by the ORR, the percentages shown for Northern Rail relate to arrivals within 5 minutes of timetable at their final destination. Table 3 contains this performance information for periods 7, 8 & 9 of 2015/16. The table also shows the Moving Annual Average (MAA) and the appropriate target for each period set by Northern Rail for routes in its AD North Area.

Commentary

All Local Lines: some of the difficulties afflicting key locations and therefore potentially impacting upon the performance of all the routes under review are noted here. In an attempt to take the laughs out of leaf fall, Northern’s website (and associated social media) published a daily morning forecast throughout the autumn categorising the risk of service disruption due to poor railhead conditions. A link was also provided to ’s site highlighting the strenuous efforts they made to combat the problem, as they strove to keep lines operating without seasonal delay. Lineside evidence is also in abundance of NR’s ongoing programme of vegetation clearance from areas immediately adjacent to the trackbed, as they seek to reduce the potential for delay in future years. Locally the leaf fall effect was mixed, with performance on the Tees Valley line holding up well whilst the suffered worse. On Halloween at Middlesbrough, high passenger volumes were the stated contributory factor of 14 PPM failures/296 minutes delay & 4 cancellations. Whilst it was a Middlesbrough FC home game (attendance 20,943 - about average), the Rugby World Cup Final (at Twickenham) and Whitby Goth Weekend, the impact was still somewhat surprising. Middlesbrough to Newcastle (): one major incident dominated Quarter 3, when the Tyne & Wear Metro overhead wires were brought down at Brockley Whins by the aftermath of storm Desmond on 7th December. For 48 hours many Northern services were curtailed to operate between Middlesbrough and Newcastle only with bus replacement for local Nunthorpe services (Whitby trains were unaffected). The cumulative effect was a not insignificant 91 PPM failures/1,915 minutes delay & 41 cancellations and a Period 9 PPM figure of just 75.29%, the poorest for 12 months. Saltburn to Newcastle (2 trains via Darlington): the low level of service seemed to proof the route against the worse that autumn could throw at the Tees Valley, with Period 8’s 93.75% being the best of the bunch this time round and in so doing contributed to the MAA exceeding 90% for the first time in several years - just three years ago (period 8; 2012/2013) the MAA was a fairly dismal 81.69%. See the All Local Lines note above, for some incidents which may have impacted on the performance of this service. Middlesbrough to Whitby (Esk Valley Line): year on year, period 8 slumped by almost 10% to 71.67% (also the poorest figure of the Quarter) whilst in Period 9 the MAA declined to 84.71% (90.35% in 2014/15), a far cry from the heady days just 18 months ago when the MAA regularly topped 90%. In Quarter 3, three incidents, a unit brake fault at Whitby, a 20 mph emergency speed restriction between Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe and a signal token failure at Glaisdale caused a total of 45 PPM failures/963 minutes delay & 5 cancellations. Saltburn to (Tees Valley Line): despite the deciduous detritus the Tees Valley Line performed strongly with even its weakest period (P9) still showing a creditable 88.19% and the MAA crept up by 0.15%, indeed the figures even surpassed those of what had been a disappointing summer Quarter 2. During Period 7, a 20mph temporary speed restriction between Grangetown and Redcar Ore Terminal Junction contributed 10 PPM failures & 604 minutes delay whilst in October, points failures at Saltburn West Junction and Stockton Cut Junction caused disruption (31 PPM failures/556 minutes delay & 7 cancellations). Freight loco failures at Darlington (Nov 24th - reported as causing ‘60 minute delays in all directions’) and Eaglescliffe (Dec 8th - 21 PPM failures/430 minutes delay & 8 cancellations) also disrupted passengers plans.

Connect Tees Valley Page 3 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3 Station Inventory Surveys (see table 4)

As part of a Service Quality Agreement with Northern Rail, station inventory surveys are undertaken by CTV at all Northern Rail stations in the Tees Valley every two months. All faults (with photographs where applicable) are reported back to Northern Rail immediately for any appropriate action, in line with targets that the company has set. Surveys at Darlington, Thornaby, Middlesbrough and Yarm stations, which are the responsibility of Virgin Trains East Coast or First Transpennine Express, are undertaken every three months.

Commentary

An unwelcome anniversary occurred in mid-February, it now being two years since the temporary closure of the main entrance and station frontage car park at Middlesbrough. The good news is that at the end of February works were finally underway on the significant upgrade of Wood Street station car park (photo ), which provides direct pedestrian access via the eastern end of platform 1, which to date has been little better than a pay & display wasteland (with CCTV coverage).

The roll out of Customer Information Screens continues with Longbeck, and South Bank the most recent recipients - at the time of going to press, only Marton and Nunthorpe stood in the way of 100% coverage of all Tees Valley stations (British Steel Redcar and Airport excluded).

Onward Travel Posters (OTP) are often out of date partly due to the frequency of bus service revisions, the worst example is at Stockton which is dated December 2012 (photo ) - several bus routes that were withdrawn up to two years ago still feature. At Thornaby almost as soon as the OTP was last updated (October 2015) it was inaccurate again, whilst the revised information supplied had been correct, at the eleventh hour Arriva changed a service number - granted, it’s hardly a seismic shift but given that the only information supplied is a destination and service number(s), that actually represents quite a high degree of inaccuracy! Similarly, following Arriva’s latest round of service changes (from 21st February 2016), the posters at James Cook, Gypsy Lane and Nunthorpe are now also out of date. Given that the Useful Information Posters already supply contact details for Traveline, it may be more useful (to the non-smart user) to also incorporate details of how to reach the nearest bus stop, where detailed timetable information is available and then just withdraw the fairly basic and often inaccurate OTP’s.

After dark, Stockton station is the gloomiest in the Tees Valley. Even when all the lights are working (some are currently long term casualties), there are still many shady areas some of which are caused by the overbearing presence of the centrally sited footbridge, with the unlit shelters actually situated underneath the switchback ramps (photo ). Having being built to support an overall roof (Darlington style) the high walls (Grade 2 listed) now serve only to increase the sense of remoteness and isolation. Given its open plan, modern building and superior train service, it’s not difficult to see why Thornaby is the station of choice for many Stockton residents. Meanwhile the neglected awkward edifice that is Stockton station remains - the least that its post sunset passengers deserve is well lit platforms and shelters. Following a significant and in some cases dramatic programme of station upgrades throughout the Tees Valley in recent years, this is one issue that appears to have slipped through the net - here’s hoping for a brighter future!

And finally it’s good news from Redcar Central where just before Christmas Britain’s first telescopic sliding level crossing barriers were installed (photo ), replacing their unreliable wind afflicted predecessors. To date they have survived the attentions of Eva, Frank, Gertrude and Henry without reported incident. Hopefully the apparently constant presence of two gate supervisors who marshal their movement across West Dyke Road (at not inconsiderable expense?) is not a cause for undue concern.

Information

It is anticipated that the last(?) Tees Valley Rail Report (Qtr 4 - 2015/16), will be published in late April 2016.

If you have any comments, queries, or wish to report any information please contact -

Ian Fotherby (text) -  01642 524445;  [email protected] Lisa MacGregor (surveys) -  01642 524447;  [email protected]

Connect Tees Valley Page 4 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3 Photo Album (Inc Station Audit Images)

 Middlesbrough station Wood Street car park -  Stockton Onward Travel Information Poster - now being made fit for purpose. last updated December 2012.

 Stockton shelter - dim after dark …..  Marske - damaged panel in the westbound shelter the future is bright???

 Redcar Central - there was a hole in platform 2  Redcar Central - Great Britain’s first telescopic sliding (currently covered by a temporary mastic repair) level crossing barriers ..… and two gate supervisors!

Connect Tees Valley Page 5 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3 TABLE 2: TOTAL RAIL PASSENGERS BOARDING & ALIGHTING AT TEES VALLEY STATIONS - QUARTER 3 (2015/2016)

PERIOD (2015/2016) PERIOD (2014/2015) YEAR on YEAR % CHANGE STATION 7 8 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 ALLENS WEST 5,607 5,514 4,932 5,184 5,157 4,492 8 7 10 7,635 6,825 6,906 6,495 6,443 5,811 18 6 19

DARLINGTON 191,094 185,428 178,655 185,058 189,133 186,746 3 -2 -4

DINSDALE 5,418 4,114 4,743 3,979 4,113 4,050 36 0 17 EAGLESCLIFFE 16,645 16,731 14,034 16,106 15,928 14,613 3 5 -4 GYPSY LANE 2,580 2,430 2,412 2,289 2,153 2,149 13 13 12

HARTLEPOOL 56,707 55,524 52,914 54,882 55,640 55,734 3 -0 -5

JAMES COOK 2,521 2,359 2,456 2,287 2,094 2,102 10 13 17 LONGBECK 3,461 3,638 3,500 2,988 3,173 3,314 16 15 6 MARSKE 7,330 6,189 5,438 6,978 6,330 6,573 5 -2 -17 MARTON 1,151 1,062 876 884 782 733 30 36 20

MIDDLESBROUGH 118,186 111,423 113,329 109,075 115,342 111,505 8 -3 2

NORTH ROAD 2,704 2,345 1,990 2,602 2,372 2,071 4 -1 -4 NUNTHORPE 2,841 2,666 2,782 2,725 2,861 2,776 4 -7 0 REDCAR CENTRAL 26,366 23,867 23,531 26,987 26,357 24,149 -2 -9 -3

REDCAR EAST 9,016 8,788 9,088 8,989 9,812 9,222 0 -10 -1

SALTBURN 18,282 17,872 16,291 17,897 19,159 18,034 2 -7 -10 SEATON CAREW 4,761 4,023 4,034 4,237 4,767 4,469 12 -16 -10 SOUTH BANK 1,935 1,626 1,752 2,300 2,488 2,590 -16 -35 -32

STOCKTON 6,691 6,206 6,033 5,653 6,017 6,202 18 3 -3

TEESSIDE AIRPORT 4 3 0 0 0 0 not applicable not applicable not applicable THORNABY 48,313 51,568 50,370 45,524 50,979 47,735 6 1 6 YARM 11,002 11,651 11,312 10,413 11,469 10,738 6 2 5

TOTALS: 550,250 531,850 517,381 523,534 542,567 525,809 5 -2 -2

Source: LENNON data provided by Northern Rail and the ORR (period 7: 20/09/15-17/10/15 period 8: 18/10/15-14/11/15 period 9: 15/11/15-12/12/15)

Connect Tees Valley Page 6 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3

TABLE 3: PPM DATA for NORTHERN RAIL - QUARTER 3 (2015/2016) PERIOD 7 PERIOD 8 PERIOD 9 ROUTE Actual MAA Target* Actual MAA Target* Actual MAA Target* Middlesbrough to Newcastle 90.26% 88.46% 91.00% 79.77% 88.80% 91.00% 75.29% 87.98% 91.00% (Durham Coast Line) Saltburn to Newcastle 89.80% 89.38% 91.00% 93.75% 90.57% 91.00% 83.33% 90.81% 91.00% (2 trains via Darlington) Middlesbrough to Whitby 82.79% 87.03% 91.00% 71.67% 86.35% 91.00% 73.95% 84.71% 91.00% (Esk Valley Line) Saltburn to Bishop Auckland 91.88% 91.58% 91.00% 89.12% 91.68% 91.00% 88.19% 91.73% 91.00% (Tees Valley Line) Source: Northern Rail (period 7: 20/09/15 - 17/10/15 period 8: 18/10/15 - 14/11/15 period 9: 15/11/15 - 12/12/15) MAA - Moving Annual Average PPM - Public Performance Measure * - stated PPM Target for all Northern services (see www.northernrail.org > northern > performance figures)

Connect Tees Valley Page 7 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3

Seating

TABLE 4 (page 1 of 2)

TEES VALLEY STATIONS:

INVENTORY RESULTS

QUARTER 3 (2015/16) Room /Waiting

bleInformation

Screens

Signagefrom Road Network Signageon Station Approach DDACompliant System PA and Health Safety Timeta Bus/Taxi Information GeneralSignage & Information ServiceChange Information PlatformNumbers Points Help &Response NoSmoking Signage Ticket Office WaitingRoom Shelter/Canopy Shelter PlatformSeating Toilets CIS Parking Cycle CarParking CCTV Lighting VegetationControl BrokenGlass Graffiti Free LitterFree 2014/15 Allens West 2015/16 2014/15 Billingham 2015/16 2014/15 Darlington 2015/16 ? 2014/15 ? Dinsdale 2015/16 ? 2014/15 Eaglescliffe 2015/16 2014/15 Gypsy Lane 2015/16 2014/15 Hartlepool 2015/16 ? 2014/15 James Cook 2015/16 2014/15 Longbeck 2015/16 2014/15 Marske 2015/16 2014/15 Marton 2015/16 ? 2014/15 Middlesbrough 2015/16

Connect Tees Valley Page 8 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3

g

Seatin

TABLE 4 (page 2 of 2)

TEES VALLEY STATIONS:

INVENTORY RESULTS

Seating

QUARTER 3 (2015/16) Room /Waiting

System

Signagefrom Road Network Signageon Station Approach DDACompliant PA and Health Safety TimetableInformation Bus/Taxi Information GeneralSignage & Information ServiceChange Information PlatformNumbers Points Help &Response NoSmoking Signage Ticket Office WaitingRoom Shelter/Canopy Shelter Platform Toilets Screens CIS Parking Cycle CarParking CCTV Lighting VegetationControl BrokenGlass Graffiti Free LitterFree 2014/15 ? North Road 2015/16 ? 2014/15 Nunthorpe 2015/16 2014/15 Redcar Central 2015/16 2014/15 Redcar East 2015/16 2014/15 Saltburn 2015/16 2014/15 Seaton Carew 2015/16 ? 2014/15 South Bank 2015/16 2014/15 Stockton 2015/16 2014/15 Teesside Airport 2015/16 2014/15 Thornaby 2015/16 2014/15 Yarm 2015/16

Satisfactory Not of a satisfactory standard throughout Not satisfactory Not applicable ? Unable to ascertain KEY: ? Previous year’s records

Connect Tees Valley Page 9 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3

TABLE 5: RAIL FARES REVISION (from Jan 2016) - SAMPLE TEES VALLEY FARES

PREVIOUS NEW TICKET TYPE PRICE PRICE % LOCAL JOURNEY NOTES (standard class) (as at (from CHANGE Dec 2015) Jan 2016) Darlington - Bishop Auckland Day Return - anytime £4.90 £5.00 2.0 Middlesbrough - Whitby Day Return - anytime £10.10 £10.20 1.0 Anytime Return £40.70 £41.10 1.0 Via any permitted route Middlesbrough - York Direct route only (not valid via Darlington). Day Return - off peak £13.00 £13.10 0.8 Off peak: after 0845 Mon - Fri (valid on 0828 ex M’bro); valid anytime Sat & Sun. Day Return - anytime £10.00 £10.10 1.0 Hartlepool - Newcastle Day Return - off peak £9.30 £9.40 1.1 Off peak: after 0900 Mon - Fri; valid anytime Sat & Sun. Saltburn - Middlesbrough Day Return - anytime £5.00 £5.10 2.0 South Bank - Redcar Central Day Return - anytime £3.40 £3.50 2.9 Local Note: fares shown, are the cheapest available (if bought immediately prior to travel from a ticket machine, ticket office or on the train) day returns PREVIOUS NEW TICKET TYPE PRICE PRICE % LONG DISTANCE JOURNEY NOTES (standard class) (as at (from CHANGE Dec 2015) Jan 2016) Anytime Return £96.50 £97.50 1.0 Darlington - Edinburgh Off Peak Return £69.70 £70.10 0.6 Off peak: after 0929 Mon - Fri; valid anytime Sat & Sun. Anytime Return £143.00 £147.10 2.9 Grand Central trains only Eaglescliffe - London Kings Cross Grand Central trains only (not valid on Off Peak Return £98.60 £101.40 2.8 0645 ex or 1650 ex Kings Cross, Mon - Fri) Anytime Return £48.50 £49.00 1.0 Via any permitted route Thornaby - Leeds Via any permitted route. Off Peak Return £35.80 £36.10 0.8 Off peak: not valid for arrival in Leeds before 0930 Mon - Fri; valid anytime Sat & Sun. Anytime Return £71.50 £72.20 1.0 Yarm - Off peak: not valid for arrival in Manchester Off Peak Return £60.30 £60.90 1.0 before 0930 Mon - Fri; valid anytime Sat & Sun. Long Distance Note: 1) fares shown, are the cheapest available (if bought immediately prior to travel from a ticket machine, ticket office or on the train) period returns 2) booking in advance (usually for specific trains), may secure cheaper travel options Source: www.nationalrail.co.uk (data provided in good faith for illustrative purposes only - Connect Tees Valley cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies contained herein)

Connect Tees Valley Page 10 Rail Report - 2015/16 Quarter 3