HEART OF WESSEX RAIL PARTNERSHIP LINE PLAN 1 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE HEART OF WESSEX LINE The Bristol to Weymouth (Heart of Wessex) Line is served by up to eight daily services each way on a series of routes shared with other services - main line, regional and local. The 87 mile route connects 20 stations, ranging from Bristol Temple Meads with a total footfall of 10.1 m (the 35th busiest station in the country), through several market towns in Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset to small rural halts. Appendix (page 11) shows the route of the line. The line is scenic for almost its entire length, running along the southern edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and giving access at several stations into the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The route “intertwines” with the Kennet & Avon Canal, with two stations offering excellent access to this. Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites are joined by the route – the City of Bath and the Jurassic Coast, for which Weymouth is a key gateway. 2. THE HEART OF WESSEX RAIL PARTNERSHIP Initiated in 1994 as the Bristol to Weymouth Rail Partnership, the first partnership agreement was drawn up in 1998. In 2003, the name was changed to The Heart of Wessex Rail Partnership to match the new branding for the line. First Great Western took over the franchise in 2006, and in September 2015 became Great Western Railway (GWR). The company has significantly increased the level of commitment to this partnership from the train operator. The Local Authority funding partners, signed up to a revised partnership agreement since 2009 are: Bristol City Council, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Wiltshire Council, Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council, Dorset County Council and West Dorset District Council. Between them, these partners supply 50% of the current core funding requirement with Great Western Railway matching this on a pound for pound basis. The partnership has one full time employee. Application of annual funding contributions is currently 58% for salary and administration costs, 27% for marketing and 15% for the Community Projects Grant Fund. Additional funding contributions for specific projects from Great Western Railway has enabled the partnership to develop a much improved website, and has facilitated additional projects including some infrastructure improvements to stations. 3. ACTION PLAN The core Action Plan agreed with the funders in 2003 laid the foundation for a new approach to the partnership’s work, and has determined its continuing development and work programme. The overall objective to raise awareness and increase use of the Bristol to Weymouth line was to be addressed through i) building community involvement, ii) improving information provision & promotion of the line’s destinations/local economies, and iii) enhancing station environments and facilities, including access to them by other modes of travel. 1 The Heart of Wessex Line is designated as a Community Rail Service. Definition from DfT website: “Service Designation: changes the approach to franchise management, with more freedom given to the train operator working with the local community rail partnership. Service designation would include relevant stations” Match funding for small projects is available to community rail partnerships who support designated lines (DCRDF) and any bids would need to correspond with areas of work specified in this Line Plan. 1 4. DELIVERY AGAINST ACTION PLAN Overall objective: raise awareness and increase use of the Bristol to Weymouth line Passenger journeys on the Heart of Wessex Line have grown from 705,500 in 2003 to 2,046,000 in 2015. In the chart below, cumulative percentage annual growth over 2003 is shown for the Heart of Wessex, the total of eight lines making up the Severn & Solent region2 and for national Regional Rail Operators3. Appendix (page 11) shows the Severn & Solent region map. Regional Operators FGW Severn & Solent total Heart of Wessex 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 The growth rate on the Heart of Wessex Line over the period is three times the national average and double the overall growth rate within the Severn & Solent area. The “share” of the total passenger journeys in the Severn & Solent region made on the Heart of Wessex Line has risen from 9.8 % to 14.9 % over the period. There has been no change to the service provision. For every 100 journeys made in 2003, 290 journeys are now being made on the same trains. The rate of growth has slowed over the last two years and, for the first time in 12 years, in 2015 the growth on the line did not exceed the regional average (6% growth on Heart of Wessex, 7% for total of all eight Severn & Solent lines). Lower levels of annual growth may in part be due to increasing capacity limitations. i) Building community involvement. During 2003, an intensive round of meetings with local organisations resulted in an initial series of small community projects promoting or enhancing the line and stations. This has expanded steadily, and many of the stations have been adopted by volunteers from the local communities, with a range of other projects initiated by community groups to promote local economies, walking, access improvements and customer information contributing substantially to the partnership’s objectives. A total of over 13,000 hours of work is contributed annually by 120 voluntary supporters. ii) Promotion of the Bristol to Weymouth route, now branded as “The Heart of Wessex Line”, has been a core priority. This started from a very low base of awareness – during the early years it 2 Data supplied by FGW. SEVERN & SOLENT TOTAL includes total of passenger journeys on: Cardiff-Portsmouth, Bristol-Exeter, Bristol-Weymouth, Bristol – Great Malvern, Bristol –Severn Beach, Bristol – Cardiff, Bath – Filton and Swindon-Westbury. (See map on Page 7). 3 Office of Rail Regulation. Regional Rail Operators excludes London and South East. 2 was not uncommon to encounter members of the public who thought the line had closed, or simply had no idea that they were able to reach Bath and Bristol by train. Hence a large proportion of the growth in use of the line coincides with the partnership’s promotional work in the first six years of the original action plan. Passenger journeys doubled from 705,000 in 2003 to 1,489,000 in 2009, growing a further 37% over the next six years to 2,046, 000 in 2015. iii) Improving station environments. In 2003 it was common for the line to be referred to as a “Cinderella” route. Unstaffed stations in particular were extremely grim public spaces. One had been voted the worst station in Britain by The Daily Telegraph, and vandalism, including graffiti of many years’ vintage, blighted several of the stations. A series of Working Party projects was initiated between 2003 and 2006, and with Local Authority funding five of the stations saw substantial improvements, including CCTV. From spring 2006, when the franchise was taken over by First, a further group of stations saw significant investment, meeting aspirations on the community wish list, and there has also been a continuous series of small projects initiated by local groups and funded by the partnership’s Community Projects Grant Fund, cumulatively enhancing stations and making them significantly more welcoming. 5. THE COMMUNITY RAIL WORKING PARTY and the COMMUNITY WISH LIST The Community Rail Working Party (CRWP) consists of representatives from local communities who contribute to enhancing and promoting the route. CRWP meetings with managers from the Train Operating Company are by invitation only to those actively contributing to the partnership’s work. The focus is on sharing ideas and finding solutions to problems in a spirit of “joint ownership” of the line. CRWP meetings have effectively become an “engine room” for the partnership’s work with communities, and an increasingly important contributor to the train operator’s understanding of local needs. “The Matrix” of short, medium and long term projects, ideas and aspirations is updated at least four times a year, summarising recent communications with voluntary and community groups, meetings at stations and issues raised at Community Rail Working Parties. It is recognised that at any one time the total number of short term aspirations, requests and project ideas far exceeds the resource available from the Station Management team, and the partnership officer, Stations Manager and Community Rail Manager meet periodically to review and prioritise items on the Matrix. Long term community aspirations on The Matrix form The Community Wish List that is held in readiness for new funding opportunities The current Community Wish List is summarised on page 8, and some key community wish list items delivered since 2006 are summarised on pages 9 &10. 3 LINE PLAN 6. FUNDING PARTNERS’ PRIORITIES Local Authority priorities are summarised in the following chart: Priorities Desired outcomes 1. Economic Enhancing vitality of local economies by encouraging footfall & spend and Growth promoting local business. Strengthening and underpinning local businesses and improving access to training and employment. 2. Carbon Stimulating behavioural change by encouraging more use of public transport. Reduction, Health Contributing to better safety, security and health by promoting and facilitating & Staying Safe more use of low carbon modes of transport, including walking and cycling. 3. Localism Developing sustainable, direct community involvement & participation 4. Accessibility Helping to address accessibility and equality issues. Improved information provision to aid understanding & ease of use of public transport. Promoting/facilitating use of intermodal links The train operator’s requirement from the partnership is for a continued emphasis on building (and retaining) passenger use of the line, and providing an effective conduit to improving their understanding of and response to community needs and aspirations.