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Privatisation Monday, 27 July 2009 We are looking for your views on the success or otherwise of Privatisation or Nationalisation. Should the East Coast line be nationalised? Has the Franchise with EMT been successful? Your chance to tell us what you think. Answers about recent fire on East Midlands Trains 1. What was the cause of the fire, and what steps are being taken to prevent a recurrence? The cause of the fire was impellor failure leading to the failure of the turbo charger. The defect was of a type that had not been seen before. Changes to the maintenance regime have been initiated to avoid a repeat of this failure. 2. How long did it take to recognise the event as a major incident likely to lead to delays of 2 hours or more, rather than something likely to be cleared up in an hour or so? While one sympathises with those who in the heat (pun unintended!) of the moment have to make decisions as to the seriousness of an incident. We suggest that any event leading to damage to the overhead line, isolation of the overhead line on all tracks, or requiring the assistance of the Fire Brigade is likely to lead to lengthy delays. Although trippings of the overhead line were experienced, it was not until 23:05 that it was identified/confirmed that overhead line was down, some 2 hours 20 minutes after the initial incident. Further damage was then identified over the following hour. On 95% of occasions like this we would have had the line back with 60-75 minutes. The overhead line damage was not expected and was made worse by the sheer number of trapped electric trains meaning that our diesel trains had no clear tracks to run on. The priority was therefore rescue of passengers on trapped trains 3. How soon did someone in a senior position take charge of the incident? The Duty Control Manager is the senior person on duty and was involved from the outset. On call managers and the on-call Director were advised of the incident. On-call managers were in attendance at St Pancras, Kettering and Derby Control once it was discovered that the overhead line was down. The actual on-site recovery was in the hands of Network Rail. 4. How satisfied are you with the management and staff coverage at St Pancras in the late evening? We understand that St Pancras is managed by NR on behalf of LCR, where does the division in responsibility between NR and EMT lie? Staff coverage at St Pancras was poor and on-call staff were not in a good position to assist due to their home locations. This has been reviewed and the EMT manager on that shift at St Pancras is no longer in that role. Development of a Joint TOC Disruption Plan is one of the recommendations from the EMT internal investigation into the incident. NR make the announcements at St Pancras and employ customer service staff. It was found that these customer service staff did not have up to date information to provide to passengers. There is no doubt that EMT failed to keep their staff and customers suitably informed of the situation and alternative travel arrangements and a number of corresponding recommendations have been made in EMT’s internal investigation. 5. Why was the staff on the ground apparently in possession of little information to pass on to stranded passengers? Given the modern technology available did your Control pass on to everyone along the line the same message, and if so, what was it? The Information Controllers position in the East Midlands Integrated Control Centre is not staffed after 22:00. Therefore there were inadequate resources to provide effective communication/ information at the time of the incident. The EMT internal report recommends that the staffing of the Information Controllers position is reviewed within the next 3 months to ensure that we are able to provide information to passengers at all times during times of severe disruption. 6. Given the nature of this busy station, how did staff try to communicate with passengers both on the trains and concourse and how successful was this? Staff on the concourse at St Pancras and on-train did their best with the little information they possessed. It is recognised that information dissemination was not good and the info that was provided was not good or always accurate. Both issues are covered in recommendations in the EMT internal inquiry. 7. What was the sequence of messages and were they appropriate? Appropriate messages were provided by the Information Controller until 22:00. The provision of information then deteriorated – see response to 5 above. 8. Why was provision of refreshments apparently so tardy? If it was known that no trains would leave for an hour or more, what advice should have been given to passengers on seeking food and drink in the meantime, and did this happen? This is recognized as being a failing on our part. The Duty Station Manager at St Pancras that evening should have taken the lead and, for example, opened the First Class lounge to provide refreshments to passengers. We have recently appointed a new grade of Customer Service Managers at St Pancras and we are confident that they will not allow this situation to be repeated. 9. How was FCC handling their passengers and did this have any bearing on the lack of buses? FCC had a lot of issues, including passengers on trains which were trapped due to the overhead line damage. FCC did manage to obtain some buses but these were not necessarily used to best advantage and in the best interests of all passengers. There was not good coordination between FCC and EMT – for example, at one point, the EMT concourse at St Pancras became overcrowded because FCC sent all their passengers to the EMT concourse advising that EMT was running trains, which was not the case. A number of lessons learned have been identified as part of the EMT internal investigation. A cross TOC disruption plan including arrangements for alternative rail routes, alternative road transport and dissemination of customer information would be beneficial and is being developed as a result of this incident. 10. What consideration was given to sending passengers by other routes from Kings Cross or Euston with connecting transport to East Midlands stations (for example train Euston-Northampton with buses arranged to Wellingborough)? By the time disruption occurred, the last long distance trains from Euston and Kings Cross had departed. 11. Once passengers were eventually despatched from St Pancras at ca.03.00 what measures, such as buses or taxis, were put in place at stations along the line to assist them in reaching their homes or final destinations? Whilst attempts were made to obtain buses/taxis, it was found that there was a severe shortage. Passengers were advised to source taxis at own cost and claim back the fare. Any requests for help from stations along the line would have been passed through EMT Control. It should be borne in mind that the crew working this train should have been home by midnight and stayed on long after their finish time to take the stranded passengers home. 12. What happened to the passengers on the train involved in the incident? They were detrained at Luton station for alternative services/transport. 13. What happened to passengers waiting along the line? Presumably north of Bedford they were catered for by trains turning back there, but what happened at Luton and Luton Airport Parkway and what provision was actually made? Bedford and stations north thereof were served by trains turned back at Bedford. Luton passengers would have ended up on FCC buses to Bedford then by train 14. Were affected passengers given claim forms or otherwise informed on how to seek compensation? This was not part of the EMT internal investigation on this occasion. Response to Consultation on Network Electrification Strategy Tuesday, 21 July 2009 This response concerns only those options and parts of the Draft Strategy which affect passenger services in the East Midlands. Gaps and Options We generally support the analysis undertaken and the Gaps and Options identified. However, we suggest that in Table 5.2, Gap B11.5, electrification of Peterborough-Doncaster via the Joint Line, in addition to providing a diversionary route, would also provide a new passenger service opportunity. Electrification would allow Kings Cross-Peterborough trains to be extended to Spalding, Sleaford and Lincoln, providing a new through service. Strategy We strongly support the proposed inclusion in the core Strategy of the Midland Main Line as detailed in Option A.10. Electrification of this route would provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to secure improvements in capacity, speed, loading gauge and customer access at a lower price than if they are done later and separately. We suggest that electrification should follow the line speed work between St Pancras and Sheffield and track remodelling in the Nottingham area funded in Control Period 4, and be coordinated with remodelling in the Leicester area to cater for growth in east-west freight traffic arising from the Peterborough-Nuneaton loading gauge improvement scheme. We also suggest that any funding issues are dealt with by staging the work rather than reducing the specification. Electrification of the Midland Main Line without inclusion of principal diversionary routes is a cause for concern and would handicap moves towards the ‘Seven Day Railway’, see below. We also support review of the business case for the following additional schemes: Ambergate Junction-Matlock Birmingham-Derby and Sheffield-Doncaster/South Kirkby Junction Newark Northgate-Lincoln Nuneaton-Water Orton Nuneaton-Coventry Haughley Junction-Nuneaton Corby-Manton Junction-(Syston) Irrespective of the respective primary reasons for their selection as Options, electrification of these routes would benefit passenger services in the East Midlands. We suggest that Newark-Lincoln, a route with simple track layout and few over-bridges, would make an ideal pilot scheme. Corby-Manton Junction-Syston provides an alternative diversionary route to a two-track section of the Midland Main Line. In this connection, we are concerned that Gap 19.6 Nottingham-Clay Cross Junction is not listed for further review. This route, together with Trent Junction-Trowell Junction, provides essential diversionary routes for the Midland Main Line and electrification would also enable intermediate stations to continue to be served by through trains from St Pancras. Finally, electrification from Nottingham to Clay Cross would strengthen the case for electrification of Dore-Hazel Grove, Option 11.2, by permitting the operation of East Midlands-Manchester-(Liverpool) electric services. Train Drivers Prepare to Strike Monday, 20 July 2009 Drivers working for East Midlands Trains are going on strike after rejecting the firm's latest pay offer. Members of the Aslef union will walk out on Fridays and Mondays for the next three weeks - with the first stoppage taking place this Friday. Managers at the company have described the strikes as "crazy" - saying some of the 400 drivers had been offered a pay increase of around 6%. Aslef said 75% of drivers had voted for strike action. Sunday service to Skegness goes full steam ahead Thursday, 9 July 2009 Nottinghamshire’s legendary figure Robin Hood will ditch his horse for a train ticket to Skegness to meet his friend the Jolly Fisherman, who is celebrating his 100 year anniversary. His visit will be to launch a new direct Sunday train service running from Mansfield Woodhouse via Kirkby and Hucknall to Skegness, which will be launched on 12 July 2009 by Nottinghamshire County Council and East Midlands Trains. The service has been introduced at the request of the County Council and will be operated by East Midlands Trains. As the County Council is already funding the Sunday service on the Robin Hood line between Nottingham, Mansfield and Worksop – the through train to Skegness is being run at no additional cost. Nottinghamshire County Councillor Richard Jackson, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, said: “Skegness is traditionally a very popular tourist attraction for Notts residents as it is located so close to the county. The start of this new Sunday service means that families from Mansfield and Ashfield districts can jump on the train and travel directly to Skegness knowing, at the same time, that they helping the environment by travelling sustainably.” “Since we launched our Robin Hood Line Sunday Service in December last year, which runs from Worksop to Nottingham, patronage has been building up very steadily, which is very positive news as it is showing that more Nottinghamshire residents are opting to use this service.” Commenting from East Midlands Trains, Lawrence Bowman, Station Manager at Nottingham said: “We’re extremely pleased to be providing Robin Hood line passengers with this brand new direct service to Skegness. We know what a popular destination Skegness is with the county’s residents, whether it be for a day trip or even a longer holiday, and we hope that by providing this brand new direct service, we can make it even easier for people to enjoy a relaxing trip to the seaside this summer.” Come and join Robin Hood on the train journey from Mansfield to Skegness on Sunday July 12 at 8.40am, and receive a complimentary soft drink, beach ball or bucket and spade. East Coast Mainline Franchisee Statement Monday, 6 July 2009 Following this week’s announcements about the East Coast rail franchise, I am writing to assure you that National Express remains committed to ensuring that high standards of service are maintained and that any transfer to public ownership is conducted in an orderly and professional manner. Contrary to some media reports, the Department for Transport has not nationalised the East Coast railway, nor has National Express been stripped of its franchise. However, we have indicated to the Government that if current poor trading conditions prevail, due to the recession, the financial support available to National Express East Coast (NXEC) from its parent company, National Express Group plc, under the franchise agreement, will be exhausted by the end of 2009. In those circumstances, the East Coast railway will be transferred to public ownership. The Government has stated that it intends to tender for a new East Coast franchise operator from the end of 2010. Importantly, both National Express and the Government have confirmed that customers are unaffected by this week’s announcements. It is business as usual for NXEC passengers, with services continuing to be run according to the published timetable, and tickets sold and honoured in the normal way. Passenger focus Rail survey Spring 2009 Thursday, 2 July 2009 The link below will take you to the latest survey by Passenger Focus. It makes quite interesting reading: http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/nps/content.asp?dsid=2913
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