S M A R T Slaithwaite and Marsden Action on Rail Transport The action group for public transport in the Colne Valley of Yorkshire Response to Consultation on Draft Railplan 7 1. Summary 1.1. Data relating to the train service at Slaithwaite and Marsden is missing from the report. Whilst it would be welcome to have some understanding as to why this is, it is more important that this is rectified by inclusion of the missing data. 1.2. According to its website, WYITA is the driving force co-ordinating the provision and development of high-quality public transport services for everybody within West Yorkshire. WYITA’s duty is to 'secure or promote the provision of a system of public transport which meets the needs of the area', should ensure that is remedied and that the needs of the whole area, including Marsden and Slaithwaite, are taken into account in reports shaping its public transport policy. Both the Yorkshire Rail Network Study and Draft Railplan 7 fail to do this. 1.3. Specific proposals for service improvement at Slaithwaite and Marsden are missing from the report. If the proposals within the report were to be implemented in full, the outcome would be to leave Slaithwaite and Marsden as two of only four stations in West Yorkshire to have a service which is no better than hourly. 1.4. As the final version of Railplan 7 will inform the franchising process, it is important that it contains Metro’s aspirations for maintaining and improving the train service, and that it covers all routes within West Yorkshire. Without substantial amendment so far as the service to Slaithwaite and Marsden is concerned, it fails to do this. 1.5. SMART supports, in general terms, the vision, general objectives, proposals and implementation plan subject to the comments and caveats set out in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 below. However, the line-specific proposals in draft Railplan 7 for the Huddersfield line are inadequate. We advocate a range of proposals specific to the Huddersfield to Stalybridge route. 1.6. SMART’s proposals for the Huddersfield to Stalybridge route can be summarised as follows: • Increase frequency to half-hourly calling at all intermediate stations between Huddersfield and Stalybridge; • Increase capacity for freight, express and local passengers; • No increase in the number of expresses until the infrastructure is provided to enable this to be done in addition to a half-hourly local passenger Page 1 of 13 service and freight traffic. Increased capacity for express services can be provided by lengthening existing trains; • Local connectivity to be maintained; • Improved quality of rolling stock following electrification; • Real-time passenger information to be provided at both Slaithwaite and Marsden, as a high priority; • Station accessibility improvements at Marsden to be prioritised; • Investment should be made in secure car parking provision at Slaithwaite (including CCTV). • Platform extensions at Slaithwaite and Marsden; • A new station at Golcar/Milnsbridge; • Implementation of the Northern Hub proposals in full, including reopening the disused Standedge tunnels; • Sunday services to be improved; • Bus substitution during engineering works to be minimised; • A commitment to investigate and remove cross-boundary fare anomalies 1.7. It is stated that the plan will be regularly reviewed and updated 1. We would submit that it needs substantial change now to rectify the lack of data, analysis and proposals for train services at Marsden and Slaithwaite. 2. About SMART 2.1. SMART (Slaithwaite & Marsden Action on Rail Transport) represents rail users from Slaithwaite and Marsden in West Yorkshire, and are active in trying to promote better services for local people trying to use the train services for work and leisure. 2.2. These stations are currently served by an hourly service between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield with additional trains running at peak hours. 2.3. One of the difficulties encountered by SMART over the years has been that Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria is the only service in West Yorkshire which is operated by Northern Rail’s west division based in Manchester (and before that by First North Western). The train service is managed and staffed from Manchester, but management of the station facilities takes place from York. Links between Metro and Northern Rail’s west division are not as close as those with Northern’s east division and this has in the past resulted in a lack of consultation on changes to service patterns. 3. Objectives of Railplan 7 3.1. West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority is a statutory body under the legal provisions of the Transport Acts 1968 and 1985. Together with the Executive, its duty is to 'secure or promote the provision of a system of public transport which meets the needs of the area'. 2 3.2. The plan will inform the specification of the next rail franchises in the North as well as helping make the case for devolution of responsibility for rail away 1 Draft Railplan, page 7 2 Source: http://www.wyita.gov.uk/about Page 2 of 13 from the DfT. Railplan will set out the ambition to have a greater role in rail decisions at a local level. The draft plan sets out West Yorkshire’s rail vision to have the best suburban railway in the country by 2026, supported by 4 key Objectives: • To double rail patronage in West Yorkshire; • To improve passenger satisfaction; • To develop a rail network that is more affordable to use, invest in and run; • To exploit the benefits of high-speed rail when it arrives in West Yorkshire in the 2030s. 3.3. “The draft plan sets out priorities and interventions by each line of route. It is intended that these plans be used to develop business cases to influence the DfT and the rail industry (who currently make the major decisions and hold the budgets for rail) to invest in them.” 3 3.4. It is stated that this Railplan covers all passenger rail routes within and to West Yorkshire 4. 3.5. The content of Railplan 7 needs to be analysed according to how effectively it fulfils these objectives, and we consider it here with particular reference to how it meets these objectives and aspirations in relation to train services at Slaithwaite and Marsden. 3.6. Railplan 7 will inform WYITA’s input into the franchise renewal process, so it is essential that it fully sets out their aspirations for future service patterns for many years ahead, for all routes within West Yorkshire. 4. Analysis of data 4.1. Data for the Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria route is largely missing from draft Railplan 7. Although information is provided about frequency of trains 5, train capacity and growth forecasting 6, punctuality and reliability 7, and quality of rolling stock 8, none of this information relates to trains serving Slaithwaite and Marsden. This omission needs to be rectified. 4.2. We are surprised that Metro does not acknowledge the existence of an hourly service between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria. This is the only service to call at Slaithwaite and Marsden stations, and it is not listed as one of the train services on the Huddersfield line 9. However, services at a number of poorly-used stations well outside the West Yorkshire Metro area, for example Cattal, Hammerton, Poppleton, Ulleskelf and Church Fenton, are listed. 4.3. The only data relating to Slaithwaite and Marsden is the ORR data for station usage, and some limited information about station facilities, car parking, accessibility and passenger information. 3 Source: WYITA Kirklees District Liaison Committee dated 4 th April 2012, agenda item 8. 4 Source: Draft Railplan 7, paragraph 1.4 5 Draft Railplan 7, Evidence Appendix. Gap Evidence – Gap 1: Train Service Frequency 6 Draft Railplan 7, Evidence Appendix. Gap Evidence – Gap 7: Train Capacity and figure 9 page 31 7 Draft Railplan 7, Evidence Appendix. Gap Evidence – Gap 9: Train Performance 8 Draft Railplan 7, Evidence Appendix. Gap Evidence – Gap 9: Train Quality 9 Draft Railplan 7, page 28, figure 6 Page 3 of 13 4.4. Immediately, the data upon which Draft Railplan 7 is based fails in its stated objective to cover all passenger routes in West Yorkshire. 4.5. In the absence of any data in the report, we will attempt to provide some of the missing data. Some of this will be anecdotal or based on estimates, but nevertheless, this represents a much better basis for analysis and decision- making than the absence of data from draft Railplan 7. We strongly recommend that Metro should obtain and include data for Slaithwaite and Marsden on a comparable basis to that provided in draft Railplan 7 for all other routes within West Yorkshire. 4.5.1. Frequency of trains 4.5.1.1. Slaithwaite and Marsden stations are served by an hourly daytime service calling at all stations between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria, with some additional trains at peak hours. 4.5.1.2. A Sunday service on the entire route between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria, funded by TfGM, was introduced in December 2006. Although this represents an improvement on the previous two-hourly service between Huddersfield and Marsden, it has also resulted in a deterioration in the service for three months of the year (six months during 2012/13) when Standedge Tunnel is closed on Sundays for engineering work. When the tunnel is closed, there is now no Sunday train service at all. 4.5.2. Train capacity and Growth forecasting 4.5.2.1. SMART does not have the information to make an assessment of current peak demand and capacity, nor to make a prediction as to future growth forecasts.