House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee Cross-border provision of public services for Wales: Transport Tenth Report of Session 2008–09 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 7 July 2009 HC 58 Incorporating HC 401 xiii-xvi, Session 2007-08 Published on 17 July 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Welsh Affairs Committee The Welsh Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (including relations with the National Assembly for Wales). Current membership Dr Hywel Francis MP (Labour, Aberavon) (Chairman) Mr David T.C. Davies MP (Conservative, Monmouth) Ms Nia Griffith MP (Labour, Llanelli) Mrs Siân C. James MP (Labour, Swansea East) Mr David Jones MP (Conservative, Clwyd West) Mr Martyn Jones MP (Labour, Clwyd South) Rt Hon Alun Michael MP (Labour and Co-operative, Cardiff South and Penarth) Mr Albert Owen MP (Labour, Ynys Môn) Mr Mark Pritchard MP (Conservative, The Wrekin) Mr Mark Williams MP (Liberal Democrat, Ceredigion) Mr Hywel Williams MP (Plaid Cymru, Caernarfon) Powers The committee is one of the Departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/welsh_affairs_committee.cfm. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee is Dr Sue Griffiths (Clerk), Georgina Holmes- Skelton (Second Clerk), Judy Goodall (Inquiry Manager), Anwen Rees (Inquiry Manager), Carys Jones (Committee Specialist), Christine Randall (Senior Committee Assistant), Annabel Goddard (Committee Assistant), Tes Stranger (Committee Support Assistant) and Rebecca Jones (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Welsh Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6189 and the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Cross-border provision of public services for Wales: Transport 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 Our inquiry 5 Cross-border transport policy 5 2 Rail travel 6 Background 6 Infrastructure 8 Electrification 9 The Severn Tunnel and alternative routes 14 High Speed Rail 17 Station facilities 18 Franchising arrangements 20 Overcrowding 20 Inter-franchise connections 23 Coordination between the Department for Transport and the Welsh Assembly Government 24 Performance of Train Operating Companies 25 First Great Western 25 Arriva Trains Wales 27 Shortage of rolling stock 28 Virgin Trains and fares rises 30 Conclusion 30 3 Road travel 31 Road improvements 31 Planning Act 2008 33 Concessionary bus passes 34 Road freight 36 Traffic Commissioner for Wales 38 Community transport 40 Conclusion 41 4 Air travel 41 Cross-border travel to airports 41 Airports in Wales 44 Cardiff Airport 44 Small Welsh airports 48 Inward travel 48 Conclusion 50 5 Conclusion: connecting transport policy 50 2 Cross-border provision of public services for Wales: Transport List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 62 Conclusions and recommendations 52 Formal Minutes 58 Witnesses 59 List of written evidence 60 Cross-border provision of public services for Wales: Transport 3 Summary This inquiry has studied the cross-border connectivity of the Welsh transport network, including road, rail and air travel. The economic benefits of connectivity, both in the movement of people and of goods, should not be underestimated. The Welsh economy is sustained and developed by links across the border, primarily the South Wales to London road and rail corridor and in the north where the West Cheshire, Wirral and North East Wales area forms a sub-region with shared economic, social and environmental interests. In more rural areas, such as mid-Wales, the social importance of cross-border links is significant. Responsibility for transport policy is fragmented. The Department for Transport, which has responsibility for the UK network as a whole, also acts as the England funding body for matters which in Wales are funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. The Welsh Assembly Government now has significant responsibility for transport in Wales, but in both England and Wales local authorities also play an important role. During this inquiry we found that some improvements to the cross-border transport network are being held back because of a failure to co-ordinate policy between these parties. In rail, improvement schemes are too often evaluated only on their local benefits, rather than strategically across a wider region. There is significant scope for greater co-ordination of the different rail franchises. There has been a general failure to predict the increase in rail passenger demand and in consequence insufficient rolling stock is available on certain routes particularly at busy times. This is highly disappointing, coming at a time when all relevant bodies at every level of government are trying to persuade commuters to switch from car to public transport. High peak fares are also a disincentive to change transport modes. On the road network, improvement works are being held back by a failure to plan projects at strategic level. We have heard of a number of cases where routes of importance to those travelling between Wales and England are not receiving investment because they are not seen as local priorities for the English regions. It is not acceptable for the Department for Transport to leave these matters to local or regional authorities, given their limited budget and remit. We urge the Secretary of State for Transport to review these arrangements urgently and to put in place arrangements that are open and transparent and which clearly engage the Department and the Welsh Assembly Government in a joined-up and strategic approach to forward planning. The funding mechanisms and entitlements for concessionary bus passes in Wales and England are not currently compatible. While this may have arisen partly from the fact that Wales was the pioneer in free travel, and whereas arrangements have been put in place to deal with most anomalies in very local travel across the border, it is now time to remove the anomalies for those travelling longer distances. Older people in particular find the anomalies irritating and we also consider that encouraging cross-border travel through concessions will produce considerable economic and tourism benefits for communities on both sides of the border. We are not convinced that this has been seriously considered and explored at a strategic level. As long as this issue falls ‘below the radar’ for all concerned, 4 Cross-border provision of public services for Wales: Transport the anomalies will continue and the full benefits will not be reaped in England or Wales. Many Welsh passengers rely on airports in England, either due to geographical proximity or because Cardiff Airport does not serve the destinations they need. However, public transport links from Wales to Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham airports are inadequate, generating significant cross-border road traffic, which could be transferred to buses or trains. Efforts to improve the situation have been held back due to the lack of any cross-border strategic view or associated funding and regional authorities seem unwilling to look beyond their own borders. Cross-border traffic could also be reduced if Cardiff Airport served more destinations. In addition, opportunities for the promotion of Wales as a destination for inward visitors are being missed and the potential economic benefits of existing air services are not being maximised because airports, local authorities and VisitWales are not working with a common purpose. In nearly all cases, co-operation between the different parties involved in cross-border transport is based on good will and non-statutory frameworks. This can cause difficulties over questions such as funding and land use, or when the Welsh Assembly Government and Department for Transport are sending different signals about the priorities for local government in Wales and England respectively. Transport is a vital public service, but as an enabler rather than an end in itself. The social and economic benefits that connectivity brings are at present too easily overlooked. A focus on transport will be crucial to Wales’s interests as major decisions are made in the near future, particularly regarding the UK rail network. In recent years Members with constituencies in South Wales have watched major improvements in services to areas north of London with considerable jealousy and it is accepted that improvements have not kept pace on First Great Western Main Line services. There have been some improvements recently but these remain minor and the general level of service is unacceptable. We urge Ministers to press Network Rail to give priority to driving up performance in the short term and most importantly to plan for earlier electrification than has been contemplated so far. We also note the importance of later running trains from South Wales in order to enable local authorities and businesses in South Wales to promote their strengths in entertainment, sport and tourism in a way that is comparable, for example, to Bristol and cities in Yorkshire. We are particularly concerned that while we became satisfied about the long-term viability of the Severn Tunnel, so long as it is regularly maintained, the pressures on maintenance leads to considerable disruption to services at weekends. Delays and disruption are a serious problem for travellers and do damage to the economy of South Wales. We strongly urge the Secretary of State for Transport to take a fresh initiative to deal with the issues of electrification and timetabling on the Great Western Main Line.