Rail North DfT Partnership 24 January 2014 1 Agenda 10.00 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Rail North Leaders meeting with Secretary of State for Transport Rail North – DfT Partnership 24 January 2014

1

Agenda

• 10.00 Meeting starts
• Long Term Rail Strategy
• Discussion
• 10.30 Secretary of State arrives
• Rail North - DfT Partnership Principles
• Discussion
• Electrification Task Force
• 11.30 Secretary of State leaves
• Discussion (if required)
• 12.00 Lunch

Developing a Long Term Rail Strategy for the North of England

James Lewis, Chair WYITA and representing the Leader of Leeds City Council Ben Still, Interim Director General, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive; on behalf of Cllr Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council

Long Term Rail Strategy

• Provides a long term perspective on how rail services can be developed to

support economic growth

• Takes a twenty year view on the future of the North’s passenger and

freight railway

• Leaders Meeting on 4 July 2013 agreed to hold a public consultation on

the draft Strategy

• Consultation July-October 2013 produced 111 responses including from

all Local Transport Authorities in the North either individually or in groups

Dimensions of rail in the North

• 15 million population, 25% of UK GVA
• 534 stations in the North, 21% of the UK total
• 10 franchised and 2 open access operators
• Approximately 173 million passengers per year in 2011/12
• 66% growth in patronage from 2002 to 2012
• Freight flows to and from the North are more than the rest
• f the Country combined

Objectives of the Strategy

Overarching objective to strengthen economic growth in the North

Connectivity Capacity Coherence Cost effectiveness

• Targeted

improvements to journey times

• Improved

frequencies

• Faster end to

end journeys

• On train to

tackle

• vercrowding
• On track to

meet additional demand for passenger and freight

• A more

coherent and user friendly network

• Defined

categories of train services

• Simpler fares
• Lower running

costs for freight and passenger services

• A more

efficient network

What the Strategy would provide

• Clear information before the trip
• A single walk-up fare system across the north, integrated with other

modes (not removing the opportunity for advance purchase and

• ther discounts)
• Fast and frequent links between the North’s core cities
• Connected journeys to main centres and London, with certainty
• Attractive trains
• Convenient journey times, including for leisure and airport trips
• An efficient network for moving freight to market

The key theme is a connected network

Areas for further consideration

Overall, respondents are supportive of the approach of the Strategy Consultation has revealed six specific areas for further consideration:

• Route re-openings/reinstatements and new stations
• Low use stations
• Named centres
• Freight
• High Speed Rail 2
• Implementation

Next Steps

• Endorsement of the six specific areas for revision to the Strategy
• Seek approval of a final Strategy in the first quarter of 2014
• At the same time, publish a full consultation report and the responses

received

• Strategy is very important in helping to influence future rail planning

processes and underpinning the partnership with the Department for Transport

Recommendations

• 1. Note the progress that has been made on developing a Long

Term Rail Strategy for the North of England;

• 2. Endorse the six specific areas that have emerged from the

consultation process as the issues to be addressed in arriving at a final Strategy; and,

• 3. Request officers to consider these issues and present a final

Strategy for endorsement by a future Leaders Meeting in Spring 2014.

Discussion

Rail North – DfT Partnership Principles

Rail North – DfT Partnership Principles

The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP Secretary of State for Transport

Rail North – DfT Partnership Principles Sir Richard Leese

Our rail objectives

• Decision-making for railways in the North should be devolved to the

North

• Our economies are ever more inter-dependent – railways play a key

role

• Focus should be on places in the North, their prosperity and

passengers

• Transport and rail must serve those places that are prospering, and

those in need of regeneration

• North of England authorities are best placed to understand how the

substantial public funds invested in rail can drive better economic

• utcomes across the North

Recent progress

• Rail North proposition was submitted to DfT at the end of September
• All Transport Authorities in the North supported that proposition.
• In November it was agreed with the Secretary of State that account needed to be

taken of the scale and pace of the proposals – and a partnership should be constructed around franchise design and management

• Key shared objectives include:
• Growing the railway to maximise the benefits of infrastructure investment and linking this to railway

efficiencies;

• Having a platform for determining investment priorities within the Partnership;
• Risk and reward sharing between members of the Partnership; and,
• A partnership structure that allows the balance of risk to change over time

Rail North franchise output objectives

• Service development in line with the economic objectives of capital

investment and other initiatives.

• A baseline set of services must be broadly equivalent to today’s
• The capital programmes necessitate an enhancement in services from 2016
• nwards if their economic objectives are to be met
• Additional capacity to support growth
• Multi-modal smart ticketing
• Increasing quality through replacement of life-expired trains and

refurbishment of older carriages

• Station improvements focussing on passenger security,

retail/information and car/cycle parking.

The Rail North – DfT Partnership Principles

• The Partnership Principles include arrangements to

ensure the franchises will be jointly designed and managed

• The document is divided into three sections
• The objectives and principles of devolution
• Franchise design and procurement
• Franchise management

Key points in officer discussions

1. Actively Rail North involvement in franchise design and procurement 2. Early discussion on franchise objectives and financial scope 3. Establishment of a senior Joint Officials Group including the Director General Rail at DfT 4. Collective resourcing of working groups and embedded staff in DfT 5. Periodic engagement between Rail North Leaders and the Secretary of State – including on any specific issues as they arise 6. The need to provide for growth (a) on day-one, and (b) during term of franchise, noting that affordability will be a key objective for both DfT and Rail North 7. Establishing constitutional arrangements in principle for the Joint Venture and Rail North by the summer

Franchise design and procurement

• DfT will be responsible for the design and procurement

projects and the letting of franchise contracts. The North of England will be fully involved in this period.

• Reviews will take place around critical set of milestones
• DfT Business Case approvals
• Completion of OJEU, PQQ, prospectus and public

consultation documents/plan (late Spring/early Summer)

• Development of draft and final invitations to tender and

further steps leading to franchise awards (latter half of 2014 onwards)

Decision-making

• During franchise design phase
• We will develop and formalise decision-making

structures comprising of a formal Leaders’ Committee and an SPV (Rail North Ltd).

• With DfT we will develop in-principle proposals

for a single integrated partnership structure by May 2014.

Franchise management – after Feb 2016

• Integrated partnership structure will assume direct responsibility for

managing the franchises.

• Risks and responsibilities to be shared between North and DfT. Balance of

risk may change over term of franchise.

• An executive team should have substantial delegated responsibility
• Team overseen by a Board comprising officers from authorities

(representing Rail North) and DfT – could have independent chair

• Accountability would be achieved by Rail North directors reporting back to

a Rail North Leaders Committee

• Periodic reviews between Minister and Leaders established

Recommendations

1. Note the significant progress that has been made in developing the principles around the partnership with DfT in respect to the franchising of Northern and TransPennine Express rail services. 2. Agree the Partnership Agreement as set out in this summary and in the supporting papers as a basis for further engagement. This Agreement creates a working arrangement within which we can deliver a framework for rail services which meet the requirements of Rail North subject to affordability constraints. 3. Agree that a small sub-group of Leaders should be formed to progress the devolution work until more formal structures are established, and to make suggestions as to how that group might be constructed. 4. Agree that officials should fully participate in the working arrangements outlined in the Partnership Agreement, and agree a collective approach with the DfT to resourcing these arrangements.

Discussion

Electrification Task Force

David Brown DG, Merseytravel

Electrification Task Force

• Identify and recommend to government a programme

for development and electrification in the North

• Produce an Interim report to the Secretary of State by

December 2014

• Task Force likely to include MPs, Rail North and Network

Rail

• List of schemes in Press Notice is not exclusive

Recommendations

• 1. Leaders are asked to determine that two of them should

represent Rail North on the Task Force.

• 2. Leaders are asked to agree that one lead officer will be

designated by Chief Executives to support those who are appointed to serve on the Task Force.

Discussion