MetroWest

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

MetroWest seems to have been adopted to describe the rail part of the Greater Bristol Metro. There is much going on behind the scenes, as the Agenda and papers for the December meeting of the local travel body gives a lot of detail:

Rail Update
Purpose
1. To update Members on rail issues.
Background
2. Since its meeting on 21 January 2011 Rail Update reports have become a regular feature at the Joint Transport Executive Committee. With so much happening in the rail industry, for example on electrification, the Great Western Franchise and the MetroWest proposals, there is a continued need for rail updates.
MetroWest
3. As a major transport scheme prioritised and overseen by the Local Transport Body Board the main reporting on MetroWest progress is now to future Board meetings. The Board^s meeting on 2 December 2013 includes Agenda Item 6 on MetroWest.
Great Western Franchise and First Great Western updates
4. Since the last meeting on this Committee it has been confirmed that First Great Western will continue to run the Great Western Franchise from 13 October 2013 to 20 September 2015. All existing timetabled services are maintained, with additional services previously run as per agreements with local authorities protected. Following this period it is likely that a further contract will be negotiated before a long term franchise is let. The timescales for this and the competition for the longer term franchise are to be confirmed by the Department for Transport.
5. With the electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the introduction of electric rolling stock there is the opportunity for the diesel powered Class 165 ^Thames Turbos^ trains to be cascaded for use on MetroWest and other West of England local services. This was raised with Stephen Hammond, Under Secretary of State for Transport at a meeting on 20 November 2013 (see below).
6. During the franchise term First Great Western will be working closely with the local authorities on the MetroWest project. First Great Western is also working with the local authorities to bring forward station improvements through New Stations Improvement Programme and Access for All programmes (see below). Other priorities for the next two years are to make a start on fitting wifi to trains and working with the Department for Transport to create additional standard class capacity on the High Speed Trains. First Great Western has restated its commitment to funding the Community Rail Partnerships and is working with the West of England authorities to provide stability for the Partnerships and manage the work going forward (see Neighbouring Authorities).
Access for All
7. The local authorities met with First Great Western on 30 September 2013 to input into First Great Western^s Access for All bid. On 15 November 2013 First Great Western organised a tour of local stations to discuss long term issues including access and input into station masterplans. First Great Western is currently finalising the list of desired improvements at local stations and will assign a level of importance for the work to be carried out with safety being the main criteria. First Great Western plan to issue this document along with funding levels in late December 2013.
8. At Nailsea & Backwell Network Rail has announced that it will now need to undertake engineering work to stabilise the embankment and improve the platforms before work can go ahead on the new ramps. North Somerset Council has written a supporting letter for the ramp to Network Rail and the Department for Transport. Network Rail is also working up a scheme for platform renewals. The North Somerset Council car park at Nailsea & Backwell work will open in March 2014. The new ramp at Keynsham has been further delayed by contractual problems with the completion date now March 2014.
Ashton Gate, Ashley Down and Horfield Stations study
9. Bristol City Council has commissioned Halcrow to examine options and demand for new stations on the Filton Bank between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway and Ashton Gate on the Portishead Line. The study will now consider an alternative Horfield station site at Constable Road together with a demand assessment for both Horfield and Ashley Down. The study is expected on January 2014.
Electrification
10.A brief for a study into extending electrification in the West of England has gone out to three bidders ^ Atkins, Arup and Halcrow. The study will look at filling in the gaps in electrification, changes in operating costs and revenues, train availability, depots and the minimum size of train fleet. The report is expected mid/late March 2014 so that it can feed into Network Rail^s refresh of the national Electrification Route Utilisation Strategy.
11.With work advancing on the new IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) deport at Filton, Hitachi and VolkerFitzpartick will be invited to the 14 March 2014 meeting of this committee to give an update.
Ministerial meeting
12.As reported to the meeting of this Committee on 11 September 2013 the Leaders of Bath & North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council, South Gloucestershire Council, the Mayor of Bristol and the Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership wrote to Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport on 11 July 2013 pressing the case for extending electrification and requesting a meeting.

13. On 20 November 2013 Councillors Nigel Ashton, Brian Allinson, Dine Romero and Geoff Gallop and Colin Skellett, Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership met with Stephen Hammond M.P., Under Secretary of State for Transport. MetroWest, the need for the four tracking of Filton Bank, the cascade of Class 165 trains and extending electrification were all raised. The Minister was very supportive and pleased to see the four councils and the Local Enterprise Partnership working so closely together. He indicated the Government would look favourably on proposals if more funding became available.
Network Rail Update
14.The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)) on 31 October 2013 published its Periodic Review 2013: Final determination of Network Rail's outputs and funding for 2014-19. Essentially it sets out what Network Rail can do over the next five years. It follows on from the draft Determination published in June 2013.
15.The four tracking of Filton Bank (described as Dr Days to Filton Abbey Wood capacity) is included in Annex E to the report in Table E.1 on p918. It is listed along with a host of ^Other Named Schemes^ under the general heading ^Schemes subject to the cost adjustment mechanism included in the overspend/underspend framework.^ Bristol Temple Meads passenger capacity is on the same list. No individual scheme cost figures are provided in this section although a total cost of ^5.9bn is. Effectively this means Network Rail will be provided with an overall budget within which they will budget for individual schemes.
16.The ORR is giving Network Rail until March 2015 to work up efficient plans for these enhancements before approving the funds. Network Rail remain confident the scheme will happen and they continue to design and plan for the scheme.
17.As reported to the 14 June 2013 meeting of this Committee Network Rail has been consulting on its new Long Term Planning Process including four market studies covering Long Distance, Regional Urban, Freight and London and the South East. Following consultation the four studies have now been published.
18.The studies take a 30 year time horizon to 2043 and focus on markets and not individual train services. Demand forecasts are made for 10 and 30 years and ^conditional outputs^ (capacity, frequency, journey time requirements) identified to accommodate predicted growth to 2043. Conditional outputs emerging from the market studies includes:
^ Increasing the frequency of trains to two trains per hour on the Severn Beach Line and services to Yate and Gloucester.
^ Provide services to enable better connections across Bristol.
^ Improve services between Cardiff and Bristol (including Patchway), Exeter to Bristol and London to Bristol.
^ Increase capacity to meet demand through train lengthening or improved frequency of services.
^ Improve the off peak and inter peak frequency of trains at Oldfield Park.

19.The Western Route Study, which covers the West of England area, will use the conditional outputs from the market studies and overlay them on the scope area to assess what is needed in order to accommodate them. Work on the Western Route Study formally commenced on 8 November 2013. It is the first of the route studies and has an indicative 18 month programme. The main objective of the study is to identify funding choices for Control Period 6 (2019-2024) in the wider context of the next 30 years.
20.Whilst Network Rail leads on the Long Term Planning Process, this is on behalf of the rail industry and key stakeholders. The process is managed through a Board Meeting, Working Groups and Regional Groups. The West of England councils have been invited to participate in the West of England Regional Group. The first Regional Group meeting to launch the Western Route Study is on 29 November 2013.
Portway Park & Ride platform
21.An options workshop to take Portway to GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects) Stage 3 will be held on 28 November 2013. Network Rail has offered to fund and develop a GRIP 3 study to assess the options for a new station at Portway. The workshop will establish new programme dates for delivering the station.
Security at local stations
22.At the 13 September 2013 meeting of this Committee Councillor Mark Bradshaw asked for a report on safety at local stations to be included in the next Rail Update report. The British Transport Police have been invited to this meeting.
23.First Great Western has provided the following update for local station and on board security issues:
1) The vast majority of First Great Western stations still have and have retained their ^Secure Stations^ accreditation.
2) First Great Western has recruited an additional 20 Assistant Ticket Examiner (ATE) colleagues who will work in the central region, many of which will focus on the Bristol sector. This will ensure a more visible First Great Western colleague presence both on stations and on board trains.
3) First Great Western is in the advanced stages of extending the ticket gate line operational hours at Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa stations. This will result in those ticket gate lines being operational for broadly the same amount of time that the station is open. This will control access to those stations and train services and provide a far more safe and secure station and on train environment.
24.Several initiatives are already being delivered or are planned on security. They are:
^ Installation of CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) and real time information at Keynsham station as part of the Somerdale development.
^ CCTV at Bedminster station is being investigated although there are issues around linking the cameras in.
^ Review of the need for CCTV at Severn Beach line stations west of Clifton Down.
^ Crimes at Bath remain at low levels and the city centre received The Purple Flag award for excellence in the management of town centres at night.
^ Tackling increasing graffiti along the Oldfield Park to Twerton railway corridor will be a priority for the Bath Police and Communities Acting Together partnership.
^ The Severnside Community Rail Partnership carries out a lot of work in getting local people involved in the care of small stations and this had helped in terms of improving safety. Crime at stations on the Severn Beach line and other inner city stations has fallen.
Bristol Temple Meads masterplan
25.The Bristol Temple Meads Master Plan is being consulted in draft by Network Rail and First Great Western. They are engaging with Bristol City Council officers on the scale and scope of the project.
Neighbouring Authorities
26.Somerset County Council announced in September 2013 that it would withdraw all funding from the Severnside and Heart of Wessex Community Rail Partnerships. For the Severnside Community Rail Partnership this would amount to the loss of ^4,500 in income. First Great Western has restated its commitment to funding the Partnership at existing levels with no corresponding reduction in contribution. Following a reassessment of the impact the withdrawal of funding will have Somerset County Council is proposing to provide ^1,000 of funding to both Community Rail Partnerships in 2014/15. A final decision is awaited. Alternative sources of funding for individual projects in Somerset will be sought by the two Community Rail Partnerships.
Severn Beach Designated Line Development Plan
27.As part of the Designated Line status, the Severnside Community Rail Partnership is required by the Department for Transport to produce a Line Development Plan which focuses on short/medium term small scale improvements and initiatives. Work has now started on reviewing the Plan for the period up to the implementation of MetroWest
Environmental Impact Assessment
28.Whilst rail^s share of journeys to work is modest, modern rolling stock contributes less carbon emissions than other forms of transport. Reinstating the railway line between Portbury and Portishead and the construction of new stations under Phase 1 and Phase 2 will have a visual and environmental impact.
Risk
29.Implementation of new infrastructure, electrification, franchises and rolling stock are at present largely beyond the control of the West of England authorities. Under decentralisation the Department for Transport may want to transfer certain risks and the local authorities will need to fully understand the implications.
30.Under the Local Transport Body the level of future Major Transport Scheme funding may be insufficient to deliver MetroWest. Other sources of funding may have to be found to make up any shortfall. Priced Options for MetroWest may come in at too high a price.
Resources (financial and personnel)
31.Delivering MetroWest will require additional resources and funding. If taken up Priced Options for MetroWest Phase 1 and Phase 2 will require financial support from the local authorities for the first three years. Subject to meeting value for money criteria the Department for Transport may fund the services from then on.
Equalities Implications
32.It is expected that First Great Western^s contract to run the Great Western Franchise to 20 September 2015 and the long term franchise after that will meet Equality Act 2010 requirements clearly setting out the obligations on the train operator relating to persons with disabilities. This should include physical alteration works at stations to facilitate accessibility, the setting up and managing of a Minor Works^ Budget to carry out small scale alterations with an Annual Minor Works^ Programme and establish a Disabled People^s Protection Policy. As reported above First Great Western is developing schemes under Access for All and will be submitting bids for funding at the end of November 2013.
33.New stations provided under the MetroWest will be designed to meet all statutory accessibility standards.

There's a lot there. I am particularly glad to see some reassurance about four-tracking, possible electrification infill, the study into new stations, and the aspiration for 2 tph for Severn Beach, Yate, and Gloucester. I hope this is a lot sooner than 2043! Missing is any firm word about the Henbury loop.

I opened a new topic as I don't think it would fit elsewhere. MetroWest is not to be confused with MetroBust, the ^200 million white elephant road-building scheme.

[chuffed]

A very welcome posting FTN. It is pleasing to see so much apparently going on, even if much of it is behind the scenes, and not yet visible to the casual observer. I think you should be asked to cast the first sod ( wonder who he/she might be ....may I suggest a certain lady deputy speaker of the commons who has done so much damage to our transport infrastructure by her meddling!)

[anthony215]

Good to see there is still alot of work going on behind the scenes.

My new years wish for 2014 is that everyone gets their act together and Metrowest is given the green light including the Portishead re-opening

[chuffed]

 Surely Four Track Now, should be the final signature on the letter.......

BRISTOL MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) are urging transport minister Patrick McLoughlin to confirm funding for the upgrading of the rail track north of Bristol which would help to create the MetroWest system for local train services.

Bristol North West MP Charlotte Leslie has been backed by five other MPs in the Bristol area as well as Bristol Mayor George Ferguson in signing a letter to Mr McLoughlin to press ahead with four-tracking at Filton Bank as soon as possible.

They will now meet transport officials after flagging up the crucial importance of the upgrade to the MetroWest scheme.

They also repeated the case in the letter for a Henbury Loop and recognised the huge benefits MetroWest would bring to the region.

The key, they said, was the four-tracking because it would provide the additional capacity required for existing and future services ^ local, regional and national, freight and MetroWest.

In the letter, they said: "Until funding has been finally confirmed (for four tracking), progress of other projects will be hampered. We therefore request final confirmation and progression of this funding with all speed, or clarification of why there are any delays in doing so.

"We do not ask for additional funding, but simply that announcements are made and monies already promised are brought forward to end speculation and dispel uncertainty."

The MPs said that, along with the four tracking, there were three further issues which need resolving relating to MetroWest:

● Electrification of the MetroWest local network: This, they said, would bring benefits for both passenger and freight services. The MPs said: "With the Portishead and Henbury Lines serving the Portbury and Avonmouth docks respectively, there are obvious benefits to be had from electrification for both freight and passenger services.

"These will include extending to Weston-super-Mare and possibly onto Taunton, the existing Severn Beach Line and the planned reopening of the Portishead and Henbury Lines."

● "Cascade" of rolling stock: With the electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the introduction of electric rolling stock, there is an opportunity for the Class 165 'Thames Turbo' trains to be used on MetroWest and other West of England local services.

● Bristol East Junction: The MPs said they were concerned that a simple renewal of Bristol East Junction would not provide enough capacity for all of the proposed train services and they have urged the Department for Transport to ask Network Rail to reconsider its renewal plans. The MPs said this junction was critical for inter-city electric train services to and from Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa and Bristol Parkway. It is also vital for the MetroWest scheme.

Ms Leslie, who has campaigned strongly for the Henbury Loop and better rail services, said: "Cross-city-region and cross-party working is essential. Bristol needs this infrastructure, especially with the prospect of thousands of homes on the northern fringes of the city, that is why it is so important we put any party-political differences behind us and speak with one voice ^ a Voice for Bristol.

"We must get assurances and final confirmation over the four tracking. Campaigners have been told this was more or less a done deal and every day without confirmation adds to uncertainty."

The MPs who signed the letter are Jack Lopresti (Con, Filton and Bradley Stoke); Kerry McCarthy (Lab, Bristol East) Stephen Williams (Lib Dem, Bristol West); Dawn Primarolo (Lab, Bristol South) and Dr Liam Fox (Con, North Somerset).


Read more: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/MPs-MINISTER-TRACKING-PLEA/story-20456195-detail/story.html#ixzz2qgfSpb6W

[TonyK]

Surely Four Track Now, should be the final signature on the letter.......

I haven't ruled out making my thoughts known. Might just swing it, although the last time I tried to interfere, the government fell, and someone ended up behind bars. Still not sure whether that was the right result...

[TonyK]

Further news come to light, in the form of Network Rail's own interim report on MetroWest. This is 38 pages long, so I will not quote extensively.

It brings to the table Network Rail's obvious specialism in such matters. It finds some fault with the GRIP3 report prepared by Halcrow, but finds the general scheme to be do-able, and to have decent cost-benefit ratios.

It raises a few, for me, surprising points:
  - the proposed platform (singular) in the Digby Wyatt shed is actually just an extended Platform 1. On return from Weston today, I took a fresh look, and the alignment is correct for that
  - the second platform in there, Platform 0, seems not to be the done deal it seemed to be last year (what is in these shifting sands?) and may be contingent on MetroWest. Without it, there will be no extra platforms
  - unless Platform 2 is brought back into use, which doesn't seem a big deal to me
  - there will be major revisions of timetables following the advent of Crossrail, which may give opportunities for tinkering that do no exist today
  - Network Rail is keen to proceed with four track, now!, and seems to be taking it as a given, but yet NR^» (Network Rail - home page) has no plans to enhance Dr Days junction, merely to replace like for like
  - a bridge at Quays Avenue still looks like NR's favoured option, with no mention of a level crossing
  - Halcrow underestimated the goods traffic, or it has increased since 2010 to up to 20 tpd each way on the Portbury line. I went to Weston today for the first time in a while, and was surprised also at how big the Freightliner depot at South Liberty Lane has become.
  - GRIP4 for phase 1 is achievable in a short time with reworking of the proposed timetables

All told, cautiously upbeat.

[trainer]

  - a bridge at Quays Avenue still looks like NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s favoured option, with no mention of a level crossing
 

Without wishing to stir the pot again, I think the very recent discussions on the principles of level crossings re-started (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26478145), I fear the good burghers of Portishead will find their stations on the edge of the town.

[Lee]

Interesting parallels at Wisbech, where the quote for a bridge over the A47 is pushing up the costs of a station in the town itself - http://www.cambstimes.co.uk/mobile/news/cost_of_plans_to_reinstate_wisbech_train_line_rocket_by_40m_but_leaders_insist_they_can_make_it_happen_1_3423942

They seem to be very aware (perhaps understandably) of the dangers of cost overruns on capital projects such as guided bus, as well...

Parallels too with Tavistock and the possibility of developer funding linked to new housing.

[stuving]

So a news item reports that the "cost" has gone up by over ^40 million - meaning from ^12 million to ^52.6 million.
That ^12 million figure is quoted in last year's Atkins study report, but they just took it from a previous ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) report without comment.

That 2009 ATOC report (Connecting Communities)has been discussed here before (see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=4850.0). It gives very limited details of each new/rebuilt line and station, and none at all of its costing methods.

For Wisbech, it gives a BCR^▸ (Benefit Cost Ratio) of 1.8 excluding capex and only 1.1 including their ^12 million of capex. It describes the line as a "mothballed freight line", so presumably the cost is for relaying track and renewing other parts, with no civils other than the station at Wisbech.

For each line it gives the number of level crossings - eight for Wisbech-March, in less than eight miles (this is fenland after all). There are no comments about any further implications of reintroducing level crossings, not even the one on the A47. (Were things so different then?)

Having seen how that old ATOC estimate (a term that flatters it somewhat) has been taken as gospel and used to make "news" when a new figure is so much larger, consider NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s attitude to initial cost figures. Needing to say something about the practicability of any of the routes bypassing Dawlish, before doing the study (even if an old one done in a different context exists), they are obviously going to pitch their figures high. Wouldn't you?

[Lee]

Ministerial visit appears to have given Wisbech folks renewed hope - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26552717

The point highlighted by stuving in the previous post is again a factor in the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article.