1. Meeting with Rail Minister: On 9th May I took part in a small delegation from the South West Assembly which met with the Rail Minister, Tom Harris, MP, in Bristol to discuss the South West’s rail priorities. My presentation concentrated on three themes: • The need for early action to address the exceeding low levels of passenger satisfaction with FGW reported by the National Passenger Survey, reflecting poor franchise performance and the high price of many turn-up-and-go fares. • A welcome for Network Rail’s emerging proposals for a Core High Speed Route Strategy that would bring direct and indirect benefits to rail passengers throughout the South West. • Practical ‘Quick Wins’ around improved delivery of the Greater Western franchise and the award of the then-awaited New Cross Country franchise which could all be achieved through Department for Transport actions. The argument was reinforced with contributions from each of the political leaders present. The Minister conveyed a notably positive and informed interest to what we had to say.

2. Greater Western management changes: FirstGroup announced significant organisational changes affecting First Great Western on 19th September. Andrew Haines, Managing Director of FirstGroup’s Rail Division, is now responsible for FGW’s day to day operations as Chief Operating Officer, pending the appointment of a permanent replacement for Alison Forster sometime next year. Alison has moved to a newly created post within FirstGroup. TravelWatch SouthWest has welcomed Andrew’s involvement – until very recently FGW did not even report to him as the Managing Director of FGW’s Rail Division. Andrew is one of the best senior people in the rail industry; he transformed South West Trains’ reputation when that company’s MD. Since FirstGroup decided on these changes, Andrew has taken the trouble to consult extensively with TravelWatch SouthWest in his determination to focus the efforts of his team on what he describes as FGW's new mission of "Putting Passengers First" as he makes new top team appointments. The reorganisation at FGW followed management changes at Network Rail, implemented on 4th September. These came at a time of rising concern about the performance short-comings of the Great Western Main Line and ahead of the announcement of significant Government funding becoming available for key capital projects. Dave Ward, previously Route Director for Kent has replaced Robbie Burns as Route Director, Western. Robbie is now Major Programme Director where he will be responsible for the Reading and Paddington station developments and major projects like the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

3. Contacts with First Great Western: The Company has had many discussions with members of First Great Western’s senior management over the last six months including a number of face-to-face meetings with Glenda Lamont, FGW’s Customer Services’ Director under Alison Forster. These have focussed on poor operational performance, timetabling matters, rolling stock shortages, overcrowding and fares.

It is clear that it would be wrong to lay all the blame for the unsatisfactory service received by passengers at FGW’s door. Poor performance is principally attributable to the exceptionally high failure levels with the life-expired infrastructure that characterises Network Rail’s Western zone. The Government said in its Transport White Paper of July 2000 that the Great Western Main Line would be up-graded by 2010: we are still waiting. But, in addition to the Government’s abandoned promise,the difficulties facing passengers are compounded daily by examples of Network Rail’s poor regulation as well as by FGW’s fleet and operational short-comings.

FGW’s fleet problems are partly attributable to the short-comings of the franchise deal with the DfTentered in to by FirstGroup. The effect of this deal was to protect the Government’s cash balances at the expense of a properly resourced passenger railway.

We have lobbied consistently to persuade both FirstGroup and the DfT of the need to address the franchise’s rolling stock shortcomings. While our discussions with Alison Forster and her FGW colleagues gave us assurance that they were alive to the issues (and the potential embarrassment when 14 Adelante units are returned for storage on coming off lease next year) we are concerned at the deterioration in service quality if un-refurbished surplus Pacers from northern England are drafted in to replace existing equipment. We kept in touch with London TravelWatch DfT entered in to by FirstGroup.

The effect of this deal was to protect the Government’s cash balances at the expense of a properly resourced passenger railway. We have lobbied consistently to persuade both FirstGroup and the DfT of the need to address the franchise’s rolling stock short-comings. While our discussions with Alison Forster and her FGW colleagues gave us assurance that they were alive to the issues (and the potential embarrassment when 14 Adelante units are returned for storage on coming off lease next year) we are concerned at the deterioration in service quality that will affect passengers if un-refurbished surplus Pacers from northern England are drafted in to replace existing equipment.

We kept in touch with London TravelWatch and their demand for a DfT review of the delivery of the Greater Western franchise. Members of our board were under some pressure to side publicly with this demand. After careful consideration we decided that it would be inappropriate for us to do so, noting that London TravelWatch was fulfilling a function in relation to the Greater London Travel area for which it has sole statutory responsibility – and for which it has a unique legal obligation to report any possible franchise breaches.

TravelWatch SouthWest does not have these responsibilities nor the public funds to withstand threats of legal action of the sort made to London TravelWatch. We must rely instead on other means to make our concerns known directly to Ministers and senior officials. Against this background we were pleased by FirstGroup’s late decision not to proceed with the 3-4% fares’ increase which it had advised previously would be levied by FGW from 9th September. Indeed, we positively welcomed FGW’s decision to introduce further reductions in some local fares.

Despite this and FGW’s welcome initiatives in introducing discounted advance purchase fares, we observe that, comparatively, FGW has some of the highest standard class turn-up-and-go fares of any operator in Europe. Swindon to London comes in at over 58p per mile – even more than Virgin West Coast for a comparable trip on the up-graded West Coast Main Line.

4. Timetable matters: We have provided feedback to train operators on the draft timetables produced by CrossCountry, South West Trains and FGW. This work has been hindered by the delay in release of arrangements for some of the local services.

5. Meeting with Bus Minister: On 22nd August I was a member of another small delegation of regional stakeholders assembled by GOSW to discuss the draft Local Transport Bill with Rosie Winterton MP, Minister of State at the Department for Transport. The delegation also comprised representatives of First, Somerset & Avon, Sustrans, Business West, the South West Assembly and the Regional Development. Agency. The Minister was accompanied by a team of DfT officials and two Bristol MPs - Dawn Primarolo, Minister of State for Health and Doug Naismith. I outlined TravelWatch SouthWest’s principal comments on the draft legislation to the Bus Minister. These included the need to:

• Further strengthening the proposed punctuality performance regime, emphasising both competitive journey speeds and journey reliability as vital measures of service quality.
• Extending the proposed new governance arrangements to secure the cooperative engagement of district authorities (who have responsibilities for planning, Section 106 agreements and parking) as well as upper tier authorities, including those districts forming part of the travel to work area of an upper tier authority of which they are not a constituent.
• Encouraging local public authorities to seek synergies and best value between their different streams of transport funding – for example, home-to-school transport, rural transport partnerships, South West Public Transport Users' Forum c.i.c. Chair's Report to the TravelWatch SouthWest General Meeting, 29th September 2007. social services’ and hospital services’ transport.
• Find better ways of championing the interests of bus passengers – an issue acknowledged by the Government.We subsequently submitted a full response to the Government’s consultation on the draft Local Transport Bill. This is available on the TravelWatch SouthWest web-site.
• Concessionary bus travel: We have continued to participate in the South West Concessionary Fares Working Group as it considers plans for the introduction of England-wide concessionary free travel from 1st April 2008 for the disabled and those over 60. We have emphasised to the DfT the need to encourage Traveline and local authorities to do more to promote easy access to public transport information if the Government’s intentions for the scheme are to be realised fully. It is also clear that the present arrangements for district council-based Concessionary Travel Authorities are unlikely to withstand the administrative and financial pressures that will be generated by a successful response to the extension of the concession.
• Increasing use of the advisory service that TravelWatch SouthWest is able to provide to local authorities and operators faced with the need to modify existing service patterns. TravelWatch advice to one predominantly rural, upper tier, authority identified by some as particularly insensitive to the needs of public transport users, led to significant modification of proposed service cuts while at least two operators have adjusted their proposals. We have also supported objections made by a number of member organisations to certain bus network changes in the region although we have had limited success in persuading the operators concerned to take these on board.

  8. South West Assembly: The summer was an important time for the transport work of the South West Assembly as the independent Examination in Public Panel discussed and tested the draft Regional Spatial Strategy. The draft RSS incorporates the Regional Transport Strategy, to which TravelWatch SouthWest and many of its members had made significant contributions over more than three years. We fielded an expert team to appear before the Panel for its examination of the transport sections of the draft RSS. The quality of our team’s work generated many positive comments and I am particularly grateful to the Company Secretary and the Administrator for their efforts in preparing for TravelWatch SouthWest’s appearances

  We have continued to provide advice to the South West Assembly officers responsible for transport matters and to participate in the full range of work undertaken by its Members. In particular, we were able to make significant contributions to a number of policy consultation responses being prepared for the Assembly, including its response to the draft Local Transport Bill, the DfT’s Regional Planning Assessment for rail and the development of a South West Rail Prospectus setting out the South West’s rail priorities in high-level terms. The latest version is available on at . The Prospectus was scheduled for discussion at the first meeting of the South West’s Regional

  Transport Board on 26th September. Other public transport matters currently under consideration by the Regional Transport Board include the Government’s Ports Policy Interim Review and the implications for the region of the DfT’s High Level Output Statement for rail.

  9. Regional Development Agency: We have continued to work with officers of the Agency and to take part in its Board Advisory Group on Infrastructure. Issues upon which this work has focussed since our last General Meeting were the development of a common regional position on rail matters, the draft Local Transport Bill, the run-up to the award by the Government of the New Cross Country franchise, Network Rail’s Business Plan and the RDA’s Airport Policy Review. We have worked with The Campaign for Better Transport (formerly T2000), to win support for bus operator representation in the RDA’s Board Advisory Group.

  10. Sub National Review: The Government published its Sub-national Economic Development & Regeneration Review (SNR) during July. The SNR set out plans for refocusing powers and South West Public Transport Users' Forum c.i.c.

  Chair's Report to the TravelWatch SouthWest General Meeting, 29th September 2007. responsibilities for promoting economic growth throughout the English regions. RDAs would have executive responsibility for the development of a single regional strategy that coordinates jobs, economic growth, housing, planning and environmental objectives. Local authorities would have greater responsibility for shaping local strategies and for delivery. Regional Assemblies will cease to exist by 2010. Little, if any, thought appears to have been given to the future of stakeholder representation in the new arrangements and their contribution to a more inclusive democracy. This omission poses a potential threat to the ability of the voluntary and community sector, and of business and the unions, to be heard. There is no doubt that stakeholder representation has been vital in ensuring that we have been able to get public transport issues on to the regional agenda. Without strong stakeholder engagement there is a danger that public spending in the South West could once again be dominated by the Canute-like, car-oriented transport schemes so beloved by the old shire hierarchy that controlled local government in the region.

  11. European activity: The European Passengers’ Federation, of which TravelWatch SouthWest is a member, has been working to ensure that passengers’ rights legislation provides a safety net throughout the EU. Air passengers’ rights are already protected and the EU is likely to propose protections for maritime and bus and coach passengers. It has now agreed draft legislation to make rail transport more attractive and competitive. This is called the Third Railway Package. From 2010 the rail market will be opened to competition for international passenger transport. This has competitive implications for Eurostar. The EU has also agreed to review steps towards greater competition in the rail passenger market in 2012, with implications for domestic train operators (although perhaps less so in Britain where there is already some provision for open access competition).

  The European Passengers’ Federation has had some success in promoting passengers’ rights, where it has argued for the introduction of minimum obligations that are enforceable throughout the EU. The draft regulation covers all rail journeys and services throughout the EU. Train Operators will be required to:

  • Comply with a minimum set of obligations concerning the provision of information about services to intending travellers, including fares and ticketing, and to implement a computerised system for rail transport that conforms to a European standard and ensures compatibility between different operators’ arrangements in relation to schedules, fares, seat availability and reservations and accessibility for disabled people and persons of reduced mobility.
  • Fulfil minimum levels of obligation to passengers in the event of delay, missed connections and cancellations (compensations for delays is set at 25% of the ticket price for a delay of 60 to 119 minutes and 50% of the ticket price for a delay of 120+ minutes).
  • Provide appropriate facilities for, and assistance to, persons with reduced mobility travelling by rail.
  • Establish systems for defining and monitoring service quality standards, managing risks to personal security, liability for death or injury to passengers and their baggage and complaints’ handling.

  Member States have won the right to exclude urban, suburban and regional rail traffic from some aspects of the Regulation. However, the legislation will apply to all rail passenger services in respect of:

  • Availability of tickets,
  • Liability for passengers and luggage,
  • Insurance,
  • The right to transport of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and
  • The personal security of passengers.

  As with other aspects of railway operation, the devil is in the detail. The draft Regulation covers a range of specifics ranging from carefully worded rules about the carriage of bicycles to a requirement for operators to provide refreshments and accommodation when appropriate if passengers suffer delays of more than 60 minutes.

  Christopher Irwin