A new approach to rail passenger services in London and the South East Working in partnership to improve services and support growth
1 MAYOR OF LONDON Contents
A message from the Secretary of State for Transport and the Mayor of London 2 Executive summary 5 Introduction – Rail’s role in London and the South East’s success 6 A partnership approach 12 Principles for success 14 Governance and timing 20 What can be achieved? 1. More frequent services, better interchanges and increased capacity 24 2. Greater reliability for all passengers 27 3. High standards of customer service 28 Conclusion – A world-class railway for the future 31 Appendix 1: Planned contract schedules for London and the South East operators 32 Appendix II: Possible improvements in support of a London Suburban Metro 34 More information and feedback 36
2 1 A message from the Secretary of State for Transport and the Mayor of London We’ve come a long way since the days of the steam engine and the Victorian pioneers who laid the foundations of the railway network as we know it today. The phenomenal growth of London and the South East over the past 150 years or so is without doubt directly linked to the development enabled by our railways.
Today, our trains and stations help to carry a While there have been considerable successes, tremendous number of people from A to B. incidents such as the disruption caused at But as anyone who travels regularly in or London Bridge last year show that we need around the region will observe, our railway is a much more joined-up approach to delivery. Patrick McLoughlin Boris Johnson under huge pressure. London’s population is When completed, the London Bridge project Secretary of State for Transport Mayor of London set to rise from 8.6 million today to 10 million and the wider Thameslink capacity upgrade that by 2030, while the population in the adjacent it supports will be a huge boost to the entire travel-to-work areas of southeast and eastern region. Additional capacity through the heart For them to thrive, access to jobs and the cheapest fare. The launch of contactless England is expected to increase too from 15 of London will enable faster access to jobs and housing has to improve. At the same time payment directly from bank cards across to 17 million over the same period.1 leisure opportunities, and additional capacity the level of customer service provided has to London has further reinforced our position at the station itself will in turn allow greater match the expectations of people travelling as a world leader in this area. Consequently the number of passengers on numbers of trains to be run throughout the on the services. the region’s transport system is growing very wider network in Kent, Sussex and beyond. Such improvements are, like the journeys they quickly. Given that job growth predominates Journeys across the region need to be support, fundamentally local. London remains in the cities which are better served by rail, This demonstrates the simple fact that our seamless, and the barriers that prevent people at the heart of the national rail network, with action is needed now to ensure our rail network rail network is a shared resource – it carries from travelling easily, such as the complexity can continue to support jobs, apprenticeships of the ticketing system or variety of service in London. The busiest London terminal, and housing across the country, as well as to the surrounding region, and it also caters standards, need to be addressed. Waterloo, has nearly 99 million passenger trips enhance our quality of life. for local journeys to and from regional centres a year and has seen nearly 60 per cent growth outside of London such as Cambridge, We have seen through the introduction of over the last decade.2 This is a national network, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Reading, smart cards such as Oyster in the London area but a regional growth story. Basingstoke, and Southampton. how this allows customers to travel when they
2 3 This Government has set a bold path for Under the published national franchising ensuring that decisions affecting infrastructure programme, all the major franchises in the region that supports local and regional growth are Executive summary placed in the hands of those who know the needs of that region best and are able to deliver million of the region’s rail passengers every year. • With growth across London and the South • Three key principles for success will form the local jobs and housing that our economic East set to continue, our rail network is the starting point of the partnership’s work growth depends on. Before Christmas the We propose to form a partnership between essential to providing extra housing and jobs, announcement of £1.2bn of investment in rail TfL and the DfT to provide strategic direction as well as enhancing people’s quality of life South East region: services in the north of England, delivered 1. More frequent services, better train operator contracts and to provide a place • Parts of the network have been transformed – by the national franchising system but to be interchanges and increased capacity where all local authorities, Local Enterprise for example the DfT’s c2c franchise and TfL’s – to support growth, carry more people Partnerships (LEPs) and other local bodies can London Overground. Large scale infrastructure what can be achieved. and help address crowding have a direct input to how passenger services investments such as the Thameslink In the South East the success of the c2c are improved. programme and Crossrail are underway 2. Greater reliability for all passengers franchise and the London Overground are – putting excellent performance at the examples upon which we need to build. The opportunity presented by this sequence of • However across our region much more needs heart of train operator contracts franchise renewals is vast. The need to support 3. High standards of customer service – In this prospectus we set out a path towards local growth through better rail services is a high and management of rail passenger services including more integrated information, fares a joined-up regional approach, where local priority for all. We are pleased to embark on this and ticketing, as well as weekend and night authorities inside and outside London can joint endeavour and look forward to an exciting deliver better outcomes for local people. services and a more accessible network have a greater say in the way in which services new chapter in the history of our railways. And we need to make best use of our shared railway infrastructure • This proposal includes the transfer of Department for Transport (DfT) and Patrick McLoughlin: Boris Johnson: responsibility from the DfT to TfL for inner Transport for London (TfL). In doing so we Secretary of State Mayor of London • To address these issues, we propose suburban rail services that operate mostly recognise that there needs to be a greater for Transport to establish a partnership between the or wholly within Greater London, as current partnership between our two organisations DfT and TfL that will provide joined-up franchises fall due for renewal. The DfT will to ensure that we can collectively get the continue to be responsible for outer suburban best from the great legacy of Victorian rail management of rail passenger services services. The partnership will ensure that infrastructure which the region enjoys. across London and the South East a joined-up approach enable LEPs and local authorities to input • As we progress this proposal we are keen to hear views and suggestions from local services, providing a stronger voice for authorities, LEPs, elected representatives local people and helping to leverage local and other stakeholders. Questions are posed investment to drive growth throughout the prospectus, and information about how to get in touch is on page 36
4 5 A modern, high-performing rail network is fundamentally important to our economy, environment and quality of life.
Rail has played a vital role in the emergence of London as a world city at the heart of a thriving region – a huge asset for the UK in the competitive Over 90% global economy. Journeys on rail-based transport in London have almost doubled in the last 25 since 2000 has occurred within years. Growth has been particularly strong outside 500 metres of a station traditional peak hours, as London’s wealth of leisure, retail and cultural attractions draws visitors from across the UK and overseas. Major towns and cities outside London such 2 million as Cambridge, Brighton and Reading have extra people have been accommodated seen similar trends. in London since 1980 without building on green belt land, partly thanks to rail Businesses have chosen to locate in London and the South East because the extensive rail network provides access to the largest potential labour force, customer base and supply chain in Europe. 31% The railways need to enable people to move easily to, from and within the Capital, and to and from of the UK’s Gross Value Added is key regional economic centres as well. generated in London and the South East
as many rail trips are made by residents of London and the South East each year 4x than by those living elsewhere in the UK Introduction Rail’s role in London and the South East’s success
6 7 missed through fragmentation of decision A work in progress making and a failure to recognise the vital Recent growth has been possible because role local priorities play in securing of major improvements to many parts of development and growth. the rail network.
With the region’s railways under more pressure than ever, we can’t afford to focus between operators for contracts to run only on the needs of London or the South services has brought innovation. The industry East individually, ignoring the reality that has worked together to provide more capacity, the economy of the region as a whole with longer trains on a number of routes. The has to work together. launch of domestic services on High Speed 1 has cut journey times from Kent by as much Our railways play a critical role in as 50 per cent and many of the large stations, joining the region together – commuters such as Blackfriars, King’s Cross, St. Pancras, coming in and out of London are vital Reading and Gatwick Airport, have been rebuilt for London’s economy, but also critical or are about to be improved. in the local economies in the areas where they live, supporting town centres and The high performance of and good customer regional services. satisfaction with c2c, the operator of services from London to South Essex, shows the That same rail infrastructure supports local value of continuous improvement and what journeys from within London, especially could potentially be achieved on other parts south of the river where the London of the DfT-sponsored rail network. The Because rail is so critical to accessing employment, London is growing at an Underground system is not as widespread. people also want to live close to stations with unprecedented rate and modernisation of London Underground, funded by both TfL and Government, excellent rail services. This means better railways substantial growth is expected We have also seen over recent years the are fundamental to building more homes and has led to world-class train frequencies, over the wider South East. growth of regional centres, attracting their supporting the growing population. own jobs and growth and demanding regional shorter journey times, increased capacity on There is a huge opportunity for local, regional rail journeys which don’t focus purely on Rail is central to quality of life too. It enables in delays. Another success story is the and national economies to grow, creating access to social and leisure opportunities, collaboration between TfL and the rest of the new jobs and housing. But the region’s full reduces carbon emissions and air pollution, and Our rail system has to accommodate all these rail industry to create London Overground, potential will not be realised without the right helps reduce congestion on the road network. needs. The customers of the railways aren’t which recently expanded to include more infrastructure and transport services in place. Transporting freight by rail creates economies in just customers of one rail company or local routes in northeast London. goods distribution, helps remove trucks from the Recent years have seen good progress area, they often make journeys across our roads and relieves congestion. in modernising parts of the rail network; region, accessing different transport services but sometimes opportunities have been
8 9 London Overground Launched in 2007 London Overground is an orbital rail network for the Capital, formed from existing railways, including some that were previously dilapidated or disused
4x 50% Growth in ridership Cut in delays
Ridership is up, delays are down and customers have gone from after launch, and before the effect of capital investment in new trains and infrastructure was felt c2c London Overground’s success is down to effective partnership established a reputation as a highly regarded modern train operator, achieving 97.1 per cent investment in the route punctuality last year, the highest of all the UK’s train operators. A new 15 year franchise a consistently reliable and high-quality service