Passenger Transport: January 12, 2024 by Passenger Transport Publishing Ltd

NE HA W PP YE Y AR !

ISSUE 304 12 JANUARY 2024

NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS FOR A SECTOR ON THE MOVE

Stagecoach boss keen First plans open to lose ‘baggage’ of past Sheffield access service NEWS

Claire Miles, who took over as CEO last October, says: ‘I am absolutely determined, going forward, we will show up as a different type of company’ Stagecoach CEO Claire Miles has signalled her intention to cast aside the “cultural and political baggage” of the group’s past. The Perth-based transport group was acquired by German investment fund DWS Infrastructure in 2022, and Miles took over as CEO on October 2. In an interview with The Times last month, Miles said: “I am absolutely determined, going forward, that we will show up as a different type of company. Non-political. Non-judgemental.” For example, the group will no longer automatically oppose the introduction of bus franchising.

Claire Miles: ‘Non-political. Non-judgemental’

FULL STORY ON PAGE 05

First Bus adopts real Living Wage Company will become the UK’s largest national bus operator to make this commitment First Bus has announced that it will become a real Living Wage (RLW) employer from April 1, 2024. The move means that 1,300 workers across the UK will benefit from a rise in wages in line with the new commitment, bringing every employee to at least £12 per hour in pay rates. These colleagues are spread across the UK business in various roles and will include workers employed through third party contractors.

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Once accredited, First Bus will become the UK’s largest national bus operator to make this commitment. The RLW is a voluntary rate of pay commitment. It is calculated annually and set independently by

“We are once again demonstrating that we care” Janette Bell, First Bus

the Living Wage Foundation, based on actual living costs rather than the median earnings calculations used for the UK Government’s National Living Wage (NLW) standard, which is mandatory for companies to pay to workers aged 23+. The RLW is applicable to workers aged 18+ and is currently £12.00 per hour. First Bus managing director Janette Bell said: “We are once again demonstrating to our people and the market that we care.”

New service aims to attract motorists

NET ZERO

Haigh to focus Zemo on net zero transport

Ex Greener Journeys chief takes new role

INNOVATION & TECH

£10m invested in Merseyside tap-and-go

Integrating buses, trains and ferries

COMMENT

Five brakes on rail’s growth potential

Norman Baker thinks sector is held back

COMMENT

My hopes and fears for 2024

Alex Warner offers thoughts on new year

10/01/2024 16:53

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10/01/2024 15:44

CONTENTS

PASSENGER TRANSPORT PO Box 5496, Westbury BA13 9BX 020 3950 8000 editorial@passengertransport.co.uk

Miles is right to distance Stagecoach from its past Claire Miles didn’t mince her words when she was interviewed by The Times last month. She hailed Stagecoach’s “impressive track record of delivering brilliant outcomes for customers and stakeholders” when she was announced as the group’s new CEO Robert Jack last September, but it’s clear that there are aspects Managing Editor of the group’s legacy that concern her (see page 5). She wants Stagecoach to be “non-political, non judgemental”. Miles was at Skipton Girls High School in 1985 when the Transport Act allowed private bus operators to run bus services throughout Great Britain. Sir Brian Souter and his sister, Dame Ann Gloag, who founded Stagecoach in 1980, made a fortune as they built up what became Britain’s largest bus operator. It enabled Souter to spend £1m on a campaign to retain Section 28 in 2000, a decision that courted controversy at the time but appears even more out of step now. The hostile approach that Stagecoach took to bus franchising also seems out of step in 2024. Souter said he’d rather “drink poison” than support it. In 2012, when Nexus sought to introduce Quality Contracts, he was allegedly so angered by a letter requesting information that he tore it up and passed it back across the table. Stagecoach’s owners, German investment fund DWS Infrastructure, will want the focus to be on winning bus franchises rather than opposing them. While there is much to admire about Stagecoach, it’s understandable that Miles wants a break from the past. HAVE YOUR SAY Contact us with your news, views and opinion at: editorial@passengertransport.co.uk PASSENGER TRANSPORT editorial@passengertransport.co.uk forename.surname@ passengertransport.co.uk Telephone: 020 3950 8000 Managing Editor & Publisher Robert Jack Deputy Editor Andrew Garnett Contributing Writer Rhodri Clark Directors Chris Cheek, Andrew Garnett, Robert Jack OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS Passenger Transport Publishing Ltd PO Box 5496, Westbury BA13 9BX, UNITED KINGDOM Telephone (all enquiries): 020 3950 8000

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IN THIS ISSUE 10

WALES SUSTAINS BUS AND RAIL FUNDING

NAO FINDS EAST WEST RAIL BENEFITS UNCLEAR

ORGANISATION

PAGE

CPT Scotland 10 East Midlands Railway 6, 7 East West Rail 9 First Bus 1, 4 FirstGroup 7 First West of England 7, 8 Go-Ahead London 12, 22 Govia Thameslink Railway 12 Great British Railways 7 Great Western Railway 7, 22 Hitachi 6 HS1 6 Hull Trains 7 Japan Infrastructure Initiative 6 Liverpool City Region 13 LNER 7 Lothian Buses 8 Lumo 7 McGill’s 8 Merseyrail 7 National Audit Office 9 Network Rail 9 North Wales Transport Commission 11 Office of Rail and Road 7 Railway Industry Association 6 Rock Rail 6 Southeastern 13 Stadler 7 Stagecoach Group 1, 5 Thames Travel 8 Tower Transit 5 Trapeze ITS 13 Transport for Greater Manchester 5 Transport for London 6 Transport for Wales 10 Transport for West Midlands 8 Xplore Dundee 8 Zemo Partnership 12

CAN WE MAKE THE RAIL NETWORK RESILIENT?

‘SECTOR SHOULD BACK NEURODIVERGENT STAFF’

Despite recent improvements, the UK railway faces persistent challenges from weather incidents causing severe disruption. Nick Richardson writes: “Network Rail’s job is nearimpossible if multiple failures are likely to occur.”

More than half of project management professionals (58%) working in the transport and logistics sector consider themselves to be neurodivergent, according to a new survey by the Association for Project Management (APM).

REGULARS NEWS NET ZERO INNOVATION & TECH COMMENT CAREERS JOB ADVERTISEMENTS DIVERSIONS

04 12 13 14 21 22 24

12 January 2024 | 03

10/01/2024 17:39

NEWS ROUND-UP

PR battle as West Yorks bus consultation closes Both sides claim public support over bus reform proposals REGULATION

A public relations battle broke out last week ahead of the closure of a public consultation probing whether the local bus network in West Yorkshire should be brought under greater public control. Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire, launched the 12-week consultation giving local residents their opportunity to comment on plans for bus reform in October. It could lead to the introduction of bus franchising, with Brabin expected to make her final decision this spring. “We handle significant numbers of comments and complaints on bus services every year and 2023 has been no different,” said Simon

Warburton, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s executive director for transport ahead of the closure of the consultation. “The number of responses we’ve had so far have been brilliant, demonstrating how important good bus services are for us all.” Last week campaigners who want to see control of the local bus network pass to Brabin handed in a 12,000-signature petition to the mayor which called on her to introduce franchising. Local operators have proposed a partnership-based alternative called Enhanced Partnership Plus.

“There is a better alternative to franchising” Andrew Cullen

in punctuality and a ‘SIX MILLION MORE improvements decrease in the number of journeys PASSENGERS’ cancelled or cut short. Nearly 98%

First subsidiary reports signs of patronage growth PATRONAGE

First West of England has reported an increase in bus patronage on journeys within the West of England region during 2023. The operator has said its data suggests there were over six million more journeys compared to the previous year, totalling almost 53 million passengers in 2023 as opposed to just over 46 million in 2022. The company attributes this growth to an increasing number of passengers seeking more sustainable and cost-effective modes of transport. The company reported 04 | 12 January 2024 PT304p04-05.indd 4

of the planned journeys operated in full, while the remaining 2% were cancelled or curtailed due to various reasons, such as driver sickness, vehicle issues, or traffic congestion. The number of journeys cancelled or being cut short fell by 60% when compared to 2022, the operator said, adding that in 2023 it added almost 80,000 operational miles to its network by adding new services, providing extra buses on existing services or extending existing routes. On punctuality, the operator said that almost 83% of its buses ran on time in 2023, compared to nearly 78% the previous year – an improvement of almost five percentage points, and above the

Those proposals would see the bus network controlled through a Network Management Group, overseen by Brabin and the combined authority but including representatives from local operators, who would also retain the revenue risk for the network. Operators also revealed polling that suggested 50% of the 1,000 people probed felt the financial risk of running the region’s buses should remain with private bus operators, 25% said it should rest with the taxpayer and 23% said they didn’t know. Asked who is best placed to run bus services in West Yorkshire, 46% said private operators ‘but with greater scrutiny’ and 33% said the mayor. Over 50% reported they were aware of Brabin’s plans to introduce bus franchising. Speaking on behalf of operators,

average figure for England at 80%. “The past three years have been a tough time for the bus industry,” said Doug Claringbold, managing director of First West of England. “Not only did we - like the rest of the world - have to contend with Covid, but we’ve also faced the challenge of encouraging people back onto buses in a world where people’s lives and

First also reported other improvements

Andrew Cullen, managing director of First Bus in North & West Yorkshire, said: “These results deliver an overwhelming message that the public agrees with operators: Enhanced Partnership Plus, whereby we all work more closely with the Combined Authority, is what people want for West Yorkshire. “We agree with the mayor that bus reform is needed, but strongly believe there is a better alternative to franchising by choosing Enhanced Partnership Plus, an option which is truly unique to the needs of West Yorkshire.” However, the polling by Censuswide on behalf of local operators came to the opposite conclusion to that carried out by Survation, commissioned by franchising campaign group We Own It a few days earlier. Its polling of 1,018 people suggested strong public support in West Yorkshire for more public control of bus services in the region with 71% favouring public control of the local network.

travelling habits have dramatically changed. “We have also faced driver shortages, continuing traffic congestion, and ongoing, significant increases in costs. But despite all of this, our customer numbers are growing, and I’m pleased that the hard work we’ve put into reviewing our network and amending timetables has not only enabled us to increase the number of buses but also reduce the number of journeys we’ve had to cancel or reduce as well as improving our punctuality. Claringbold added that with over one million passengers each week, he recognised First West of England didn’t always get it right. “I hope the figures we’ve released today show that we are moving in the right direction,” he added. www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 17:14

“There’ve been a lot of statements made in the past about where we want to operate and how”

Stagecoach pledges new ways of working

Claire Miles has indicated a new approach to bus franchising and wants to turn the page on ‘cultural and political baggage’ of Souter years REGULATION

The recently appointed chief executive of Stagecoach has expressed regret over the group’s confrontational approach to bus franchising in the past and indicated a lack of interest in meeting the group’s co-founders, Sir Brian Souter and Ann Gloag. In an interview with The Times before Christmas, Claire Miles said she was keen to collaborate with local authorities, regardless of their chosen regulatory model. This shift in stance is likely to be welcomed by some Stagecoach managers who have privately indicated that the group’s aggressive position during the adoption of bus franchising in Greater Manchester damaged the group’s credibility with key stakeholders. Miles confirmed the company’s commitment to working with local authorities, stating: “No matter what the local authority’s view is on how they want their bus services to be run - whether that’s through franchising, like is happening here in Manchester we will work with it. “There’ve been a lot of statements made in the past about where we want to operate and how. The reality is that we need to do what’s right for customers. And if franchising is the right answer for that, we’ll get on board with franchising.” Miles’s pragmatic approach is likely to align with the preferences of German infrastructure fund DWS, which acquired Stagecoach www.passengertransport.co.uk

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Miles has indicated a fresh start for Stagecoach

last year. It seems logical that DWS would be inclined towards the steady financial returns that the franchising model could offer bus operators. Miles also said she was keen to cast aside Stagecoach’s “cultural and political baggage”. Much of that is linked to Souter’s controversial decision to donate £1m to a campaign in 2000 that opposed the abolition of laws in Scotland that prohibited “intentionally promoting homosexuality”. As recently as 2019, pressure from gay rights campaigners forced the Turner Prize to end a sponsorship deal with Stagecoach South East a day after it was announced. Meanwhile, last year Souter publicly condemned late-term abortions, likening them to the biblical slaughter of the innocents by King Herod. Gloag is also no stranger to controversy. Last year she faced accusations of people trafficking, a charge she has strongly disputed.

Following the takeover of the Perth-based group by DWS, Souter and Gloag sold their remaining shares in Stagecoach. Miles told The Times, in what the newspaper described as the “clearest message of our conversation”, that she wants to “draw a line under Stagecoach’s participation in culture wars under Souter and Gloag”. “They are nowhere near the business,” Miles claimed. “They had a massive impact on the business reputation and created a legacy for us. “I am absolutely determined, going forward, that we will show up as a different type of company. Non-political. Nonjudgemental. Embracing openness and diversity. All of that is really important to me and that is how I will run the business.” When asked wether she had spoken to Souter or Gloag since joining Stagecoach nearly three months ago, her curt response was an emphatic, “no”.

GUERNSEY SEEKS BUS OPERATOR

New contract to operate island’s buses up for grabs CONTRACTS

The States of Guernsey has announced it is seeking expressions of interest from potential providers to operate Guernsey’s bus network when the current contract with Tower Transit ends. The new contract would commence in April 2025 and it is anticipated that it will be for a minimum of seven years. Under the existing contract, the States own the major capital assets of the network which are leased to the operator. However, the States has said that interested parties will be able to quote on the basis of a number of different operating scenarios. Initial expressions of interest are required by January 17. “This new contract is therefore a fantastic opportunity for a provider to offer an important service to islanders,” said Lindsay de Sausmarez, president of the States’ committee for the environment and infrastructure. “It also ensures that the States continue to pursue best value and continuous improvements to bus travel to make it an even more attractive transport option for more people, more of the time.”

TFGM ACQUIRES BOLTON DEPOT

First Manchester facilitates works ahead of change FACILITIES

Transport for Greater Manchester has agreed terms to acquire First Manchester’s Bolton depot. The facility is due to pass to Stagecoach in March when the second phase of the franchised Bee Network will launch. First Manchester is facilitating the installation of electric bus infrastructure ahead of the transfer of ownership. 12 January 2024 | 05

10/01/2024 17:14

NEWS ROUND-UP

Japanese investor to sell UK rail interests Stake in EMR fleet and HS1 to be sold as part of exit plan FINANCIALS

A major Japanese investor is reportedly preparing to divest nearly half a billion pounds’ worth of British rail assets as part of its withdrawal from the challenging UK rail network. The Times has reported City sources that have confirmed that Mitsubishi HC Capital (MHCC) is in the process of selecting advisers to facilitate the sale of investments made under the Japan Infrastructure Initiative (JII). Under JII, a £400m investment was made in collaboration with leasing company Rock Rail for a fleet of 33 five-carriage trains destined for the East Midlands

TfL SECURES FURTHER FUNDS Government agrees to £250m for 2024 FUNDING

Transport for London and the government have agreed to a £250m funding injection for 2024 that aims to address a shortfall in capital investment funding. The government said it has now provided nearly £6.4bn since 2020 to support the capital’s transport network. Rail minister Huw Merriman added the deal was “fair to Londoners and taxpayers”. He continued: “This investment must be well managed in a way that doesn’t unfairly burden the pockets of taxpayers and motorists.” The Department for Transport said 06 | 12 January 2024 PT304p06-07.indd 6

Railway in 2019. Additionally, JII holds a £75m stake in the owner of the High Speed 1 line between London and the Channel Tunnel. The East Midlands investment is expected to be the first to be sold, followed by the stake in HS1, with an auction anticipated to commence in the spring. Both Mitsubishi HC Capital and Cantor Fitzgerald, its advisors, have refrained from commenting on the matter. Established in 2016, JII was created to “provide financial support for the export of the Japanese infrastructure industry”.

“We need a visible pipeline for rolling stock” David Clarke, RIA

the funding would be used by TfL for a number of projects, including new rolling stock for the Piccadilly line. However, there was no mention of new trains for the Bakerloo line, which are now more than 50 years old and the oldest rolling stock in regular use in Great Britain. The funding agreement has been welcomed by London transport commissioner Andy Lord, and he said TfL was now on-track to be financially sustainable in terms of its day-to-day operations as well as covering the majority of its capital investment. He continued: “It is good news that we have now reached an agreement with the government on the capital support that they will provide over the next year, and we are grateful for the support. However, we will now need to reassess our recent

Among its other investments is a stake in the UK’s Intercity Express Programme. The withdrawal of JII from the UK market also raises concerns for Hitachi, whose commitment to the UK is under scrutiny following the government’s decision to scale back HS2 and its reluctance to order new trains for the UK rail network. Hitachi’s involvement in building 54 HS2 trains alongside the French company Alstom has been impacted. In recent developments, Hitachi revealed a £65m write-down on the value of its £82m factory at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham and warned of over 10,000 jobs at risk in UK train manufacturing due to diminishing orders after the reduction of rail projects like HS2. Alstom is also planning

draft business plan and address the impact of the continuing shortfall in funding.” As part of the deal, in July TfL will set out its plan to maintain and strengthen its finances going forward while also continuing work to reform its pension scheme and seeking efficiencies in its investment programme.

New Piccadilly line fleet wins funding

significant redundancies at the largest train manufacturing plant in Derby due to a lack of orders. Speaking at a hearing of the Transport Select Committee last month, Railway Industry Association technical director David Clarke said the Department for Transport does not currently have a process or strategy for the procurement of rolling stock. “We need a visible and smoother pipeline for new and refurbished rolling stock, to provide clarity for rail suppliers and protect UK rail manufacturing and upgrade capacity in the short to medium term,” he added. In response to concerns, Peter Wilkinson, managing director of rail passenger services at the Department for Transport, defended the government’s position on LinkedIn this month. “The answer is not as simple as ‘there must be a rolling [stock] strategy’, because no such strategy will ever survive first contact with the rail reality,” he wrote.

REGULATED FARES CAPPED AT 4.9% Fares to rise in March in new annual change FARES

The government has capped the 2024 regulated fare increase at 4.9%, considerably below the 9% July retail price index figure on which they are historically based. The increase will come in on March 3, rather than January 1 and this change will be permanent. Transport secretary Mark Harper announced the news on December 22, two days after the Scottish Government announced Scottish fares would increase by 8.7% from April 1. However, ScotRail’s pilot to scrap peak fares will be extended by three months until June. www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 16:11

Five brakes on rail’s growth potential. Page 14

First plans Sheffield open access service New service aims to woo motorists to rail with faster journeys OPEN ACCESS

FirstGroup has revealed it has submitted an application to launch a new, faster open access rail service between London and Sheffield via the East Coast Main Line. It plans to operate two daily return journeys from London King’s Cross, calling at Retford, Worksop, Woodhouse and Sheffield. If approved, the proposed route will mark Sheffield’s first regular service from London King’s Cross since 1968 and provide Worksop with its first regular direct London train service in decades. FirstGroup estimates that approximately 350,000 people

in the Worksop and Woodhouse catchment areas will gain direct rail access to London through the new proposals. Many current rail users in these areas drive to Doncaster station for faster services to London, and a convenient rail offering from local stations aims to reduce these car journeys. Current East Midlands Railway services between London St Pancras and Sheffield take around two hours to make the journey. FirstGroup has indicated that research has found nearly 75% of trips between London and Sheffield rely on cars, while 9% opt for coaches. The proposed competitively priced rail service intends to encourage a shift from road to rail as the preferred mode of transport. FirstGroup said the venture would form part of its Hull

Trains open access business. It said since it launched in 2000 it has grown the number of direct services between London and Hull from one to eight services a day. It also builds on the success of Lumo, FirstGroup’s second open access service, which launched in October 2021 between London and Edinburgh and has now carried over two million passengers since it launched. “We have seen the level of growth and opportunity that is possible with open access,” said FirstGroup chief executive Graham Sutherland. “The new service will help to drive modal shift from road to rail by offering customers a more sustainable travel alternative between the two cities. We will be working closely with stakeholders as we build our case for this new offering.”

on the railways despite GOVERNMENT AXES experience LIVERPOOL STREET abandoning plans for the centralised TICKETING PLAN NOW THE BUSIEST online presence.

Plans for centralised GBR ticketing system scrapped RETAILING

The government has abandoned plans to establish a centralised online rail ticket retailer under the Great British Railways initiative, the Department for Transport has confirmed. The proposals were announced in May 2021 as part of the Williams Shapps Plan for Rail white paper. Nonetheless, on December 14, the DfT revealed that train operators would continue to sell tickets online alongside existing third-party retailers. The DfT insisted it was committed to enhancing the overall passenger www.passengertransport.co.uk

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“The private sector plays an important role in driving innovation and attracting more customers to the railway,” the DfT said. “We are focused on opening up railway data and systems, lowering barriers to entry for independent rail ticket retailers to improve passenger experience. “We are confirming that we are not pursuing plans to deliver a centralised Great British Railways online rail ticket retailer. Train operators will continue to retail to passengers online alongside existing third-party retailers while we develop measures to spur further competition in the online rail ticket retail market to make things better for passengers.”

Elizabeth Line sees Waterloo lose its crown STATIONS

The Office of Rail and Road has revealed that London Liverpool Street has replaced London Waterloo as the most used railway station in Great Britain. The opening of the Elizabeth Line was a principal contributing factor in the almost 80.4 million entries and exits to Liverpool Street between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, an increase of around 50 million. The Elizabeth Line has also impacted the figures for Paddington, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road which all feature in the top 10 busiest rail stations in Great Britain.

IN BRIEF GWR TO REVIVE BRISTOL LINK Great Western Railway is planning to run direct services between Bristol Temple Meads and Oxford for the first time in more than 20 years. In response to growth in demand for leisure travel by train, GWR wants to run two return Saturday services between the cities from September. A direct service last ran in 2003. BATTERY TEETHING PROBEMS? Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has said passengers who travelled on Merseyrail’s Kirkby line in 2023 could be entitled to compensation as a result of reliability issues with the train operator’s new fleet. It follows reports of teething issues with the Class 777 units when operating in battery mode to the new station at Headbolt Lane. In November Rotheram described the train manufacturer’s rollout of the new fleet as “frustratingly poor”. No further information has been released about the latest issues to beset the Class 777 fleet. LNER PERKS FRAUD A Freedom of Information request has revealed that train operator LNER has recovered £20,500 as a result of fraud relating to its LNER Perks loyalty scheme. The scheme offers a £5 voucher to spend on LNER Advance tickets for all new accounts created. LNER said it had identified 85 cases where individuals have created multiple accounts and 4,100 accounts have been flagged as duplicates. There have been no prosecutions, but “LNER has recovered the correct fares that were initially evaded” with an administration fee levied on top.

12 January 2024 | 07

10/01/2024 16:11

NEWS ROUND-UP

Priority works aim to mitigate disruption Bus lanes fast-tracked in Birmingham ahead of major HS2 works PRIORITY

Plans to install bus priority measures in the east of Birmingham have been brought forward in order to reduce disruption during a major longterm road closure. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has accelerated plans for the installation of dedicated bus lanes on Washwood Heath Road to support several local bus routes. As part of the HS2 project, two road bridges across existing rail lines are being replaced and upgraded, with Aston Church Road set to close from the end of March 2024. Once this work is complete, Saltley Viaduct will then close to allow its

MCGILL’S AIRPORT EXPANSION PLANS New rival to Lothian Airlink as Dundee growth planned NETWORKS

Lothian Buses is facing its first bus-based competition in many years on its Airlink 100 service between Edinburgh Airport and the city centre after McGill’s Bright Bus Tours operations launched a rival service on New Year’s Day. The Bright Bus Airport Express operates up to every 15 minutes with refurbished vehicles and aims to offers a “seamless and enjoyable experience for customers, connecting with Bright Bus hop-on hop-off tours around the city centre and to and from the Royal Yacht Britannia”. 08 | 12 January 2024 PT304p08-09.indd 8

replacement. Work on the bus priority measures is due to commence early this month and it is hoped the work will be completed ahead of the road closure. “This expedited installation is part of our long-term project to improve the reliability and efficiency of bus services in Birmingham, ensuring minimal disruption to passengers during the closure of Aston Church Road and Saltley Viaduct,” said Pete Bond, TfWM’s director of integrated transport. “Early delivery means that passengers on the 94, 95 and 14 services will enjoy the benefits of improved journeys sooner and disruption will be kept to a minimum.” The bus priority works form part of a £70m allocation from the

City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement that will support the creation of four new cross-city bus routes. Following the introduction of similar bus priority measures on the A34 and A45 last year Transport for West Midlands has reported that 82% of bus passengers surveyed along the A34 noticed improvements in journey times and reliability. Meanwhile, TfWM in partnership with the West Midlands Bus Alliance, has published its new West Midlands Bus Passenger Charter. It includes for the first time a so-called “last bus promise” under which passengers whose final bus of the day is cancelled or leaves earlier than usual can claim compensation for their alternative journey, such as a cab fare, home.

McGill’s said the growth of Bright Bus continues after four successful years of developing a quality touring product across the Scottish capital, and the company believes the Airport Express service is a natural next step to serve the thousands of tourists who use their hop-on, hop-off buses each year. “We’re always looking at new ways to give our customers great public transport connections and develop our Bright Bus leisure product further,” said McGill’s group managing director Alex Hornby. “Bright Bus has been a great success for us and we are keen to spread the magic of this start-up, friendly brand across the city, so incoming visitors and locals alike can reap the benefits of cheaper, faster, brighter and more sustainable travel options to and

from Edinburgh Airport. “The whole team is thrilled to be launching Bright Bus Airport Express and growing public transport usage across the city.” Meanwhile, fellow McGill’s subsidiary Xplore Dundee has revealed a 50% increase in passengers using its FLY service between Dundee and Edinburgh New service connects with tours business

IN BRIEF BRISTOL METROBUS GROWTH Bristol Metrobus has carried more than 25 million passengers since its launch in 2019. The m1 route, the busiest among the four services, marked its fifth anniversary in January, and has carried over 13 million passengers. With 30% growth since its start in January 2019, Metrobus, which is operated by First West of England boasts a 90% on-time record, surpassing the 80% English average for non-frequent services. SCIENCE PARK TRIAL ROUTE Go-Ahead’s Thames Travel operation has launched a threemonth trial service between Oxford city centre and the Oxford Science Park. The 3X service links Oxford railway station with the science park with eight return journeys. Thames Travel is operating the route on a contracted basis in order to assess demand for the service.

Airport in 2023. Xplore Dundee’s director and general manager Stephen Riggans said the operator is aiming to grow passenger numbers again during 2024. A new website for the service is planned and this will offer an easier booking process, better timetable information and real-time updates. “We’ve been thrilled with how FLY has been performing and the 50% increase in passengers is testament to the quality of service that we’ve been able to provide to both new and repeat customers,” he said. “As both domestic and international travel got back under way post-Covid, we were determined to build a great transport option that passengers could enjoy both before and after their flight at Edinburgh Airport.” www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 16:17

NAO finds East West Rail benefits unclear

National Audit Office criticises lack of clarity in how East West Rail project will achieve promised benefits from Oxford to Cambridge link FINANCIALS

Ministers have fallen short in demonstrating how the pledged benefits of the East West Rail project linking Oxford and Cambridge - a project that has already incurred a cost of over £1bn - will be achieved, warns a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO highlighted that it remains not yet clear how the benefits of the project will be achieved or how it aligns to other government plans for growth in the region. The project, divided into three stages encompassing upgrades, refurbishments, reinstatements, and new track alignments, has initiated the first phase, with services now operational from Oxford to Bicester Village. The East West Rail Alliance, comprising Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail, is actively reconstructing the Varsity Line to extend services to Bletchley, on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. Future stages involve upgrading the existing route from Bletchley to Bedford, where the route’s alignment will be extensively remodelled, followed by the construction of a new line from Bedford to Cambridge. The Department for Transport currently estimates the cost of the project will be between £5.7bn and £6.6bn. By March 2023, £1.121bn had been spent on the project with £936m spent on the section between Oxford and Bletchley. A further £185m has been spent on planning for the upgraded route www.passengertransport.co.uk

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between Bletchley and Bedford and the new line from Bedford to Cambridge. In 2021, the DfT assessed that the benefit:cost ratio for the project was between 0.5 under a low-growth scenario, and 1.1 under a high-growth scenario associated with new housing ambitions for one million new homes in the region by 2050. However, in May 2023, following revisions to their methodology and growth assumptions and the publication of a preferred route, DfT and East West Railway Company, the arms-length delivery company for the project, assessed that the benefit:cost ratio had fallen. Even when including wider benefits associated with land use change, they concluded the benefit:cost ratio to now be below one. This conclusion did not include strategic and indirect impacts. The NAO recognised that the DfT is reliant on other parts of the public sector and the private sector to deliver the benefits of the project. The original cross-government governance arrangements to plan and deliver growth across the

“Central government and local bodies must work together better” Meg Hillier

Oxford–Cambridge region were not sustained and abandoned in 2021. The Treasury has recently established a cross-government East West Rail Economic Growth Board to coordinate central government activity and support local development, but this only began meeting in September. “As with many transport projects, the rationale for East West Rail does not rest on the strength of the benefit:cost ratio for the project alone - which is poor - but on its wider strategic aim of overcoming constraints to economic growth in the OxfordCambridge region,” said the NAO. “This rationale has underpinned DfT’s decisions to approve and continue with the project to date. However, achieving the necessary value from the government’s investment in East West Rail will require stronger strategic alignment across government.” Commenting on the report, Meg Hillier, chair of the influential parliamentary Public Accounts Committee said East West Rail is a £6bn£7bn investment to support growth in a part of the UK that the government regards as economically important. “To achieve value from the investment of taxpayers’ money in East West Rail, government must be strategically aligned,” she added. “Central government and local bodies must work together better if benefits are to be realised over the long term.”

Handforth joined Network Rail in 2021

NETWORK RAIL ROUTE MD QUITS Handforth departs due to ‘challenges of role’ PERFORMANCE

Michelle Handforth stepped down as managing director of Network Rail’s Wales & Western route in the New Year. Rob Cairns, currently capital delivery director for Network Rail’s Eastern region, has taken temporary charge until a permanent successor can be appointed. Handforth joined Network Rail in the summer of 2021 as managing director of the Wales & Western region from the Aberdeen Harbour Board where she was chief executive. She previously held roles at Great North Eastern Railway as commercial director and with First Group as a strategic lead on franchise bids. Her departure followed the news that the Office of Rail and Road has launched an inquiry into persistently poor performance across the Wales & Western route. This was compounded by an incident near London Paddington on December 7 where damage to the overhead line equipment severely disrupted services. Some passengers were trapped on trains for more than three hours with no explanation from ontrain staff. It has been reported that Handforth had made the decision to resign before the Paddington incident, after recognising the challenges of the role. 12 January 2024 | 09

10/01/2024 16:17

NEWS ROUND-UP

Wales sustains bus and rail funding for 2024/25 Bus operators welcome decision to maintain investment FUNDING

The Welsh Government has brought relief to bus passengers and operators by allocating the same amount of “bus support” funding for 2024/25 as it did for this year. Rail funding will continue at its recently elevated level. The government’s Bus Transition Fund will end in March, and there were concerns of a further major contraction of services in 2024/25. The new budget, published before Christmas, enables local authorities to tender many of the services which were previously commercial, but now depend on the BTF for viability. The budget appears at first sight to double this year’s “bus support” of £61m to £123m for next year. However, this budget line includes £60m for the concessionary fares scheme and £2m for the youth discounted travel scheme, both

ARE OPERATORS READY FOR FAIR WORK FIRST? Change to Scotland’s Network Support Grant FUNDING

There are fears that some bus operators in Scotland may be caught out by a mandatory change to the terms and conditions for all public sector grant payments in relation to Fair Work First, which will include Network Support Grant. The NSG is a discretionary grant available to both commercial and 10 | 12 January 2024 PT304p10-11.indd 10

“We’re either paying more for a better railway, or we’re paying more for a worse railway. Those are the two options”

which had been severely disrupted during and after the pandemic. The railway cost around £550m a year and the farebox was around £200m to £250m. “The difference is what we have to give them, and that difference can vary considerably.” She also said: “We really need to make sure that, on the investment that we put in place, we basically hold our nerve, so we keep the investment going in order to get that farebox up. Because if we don’t do that, we will, absolutely and inexorably, end up paying more for a worse railway. So paying more is inevitable. “We’re either paying more for a better railway, or we’re paying more for a worse railway. Those are the two options. There isn’t an option of ‘don’t pay more’, unless we shut the whole railway down, which quite clearly isn’t an option.” She said the government would take the revenue risk on buses after franchising, and there was a need to construct something that would allow patronage to increase and subsidy to reduce, as on the railways. She added: “But it’s a transitionary process, isn’t it? You’re not going to go from where we are now to that.”

community bus operators to support Scotland’s bus network and keep fares more affordable than would otherwise be the case. It replaced the Bus Service Operators’ Grant, COVID-19 Support Grant and COVID-19 Support Grant - Restart. In general, from April 1, a grant recipient must demonstrate it is paying at least the real Living Wage before it can access a grant. This applies to all directly employed staff aged 16 and over, including apprentices. In addition, all workers who are directly engaged in delivering the grant funded activity, even those not directly employed by

The next session is planned for January 30 and details are in the December issue of Transport Scotland’s Bus Operator Newsletter. CPT Scotland director Paul White told Passenger Transport: “Our fear is that not enough operators who currently receive NSG are aware of the changes, or have properly considered the steps they need to take to comply or seek a time-limited exemption. The last information session was poorly attended and while we’ll keep pushing out details to members there are many bus operators not in CPT who might be caught out by this.”

of which were listed separately last year and are not regarded by operators as bus subsidy. CPT Cymru director Aaron Hill said: “We are pleased to see that Welsh Government has been able to maintain investment levels and provide much-needed certainty for bus services in Wales. In recent months, operators have seen strong growth on many services, but without additional investment from Welsh Government the reality is many services would have ceased from April. “It will be challenging to protect all services in the context of increasing costs, but operators will now work closely with local authorities and Welsh Government to safeguard the best possible network for local passengers.”

An industry source said local authorities had already put out many tender invitations for contracts beginning in 2024. “Now they’ve got the budget, I imagine we will see a flurry of tenders.” The budget maintains funding for Transport for Wales Rail services at approximately the increased level of this financial year following the injection of an additional £125m of in-year funding. The original draft budget for 2024/25 allocated TfW £256m, but revisions to the indicative allocations now result in TfW being earmarked a further £111m. Shortly before the budget was revealed, climate change minister Julie James told a Senedd committee that the government’s rail plans were much based on pre-pandemic passenger numbers,

the grant recipient such as subcontractors and agency staff, must also be paid at least the real Living Wage. This applies to workers aged 16 and over, including apprentices, who are based anywhere in the UK, not just those who work in Scotland. Bus operators will be asked to provide evidence relating to these areas in order to receive any future grant payments and ensure they are meeting the Fair Work First condition. Transport Scotland has already held a number of operator engagement sessions for bus operators to ask any questions about Fair Work First and provide feedback.

www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 16:19

“We endorse consideration of further north-south coach services”

Coach services seen as North Wales solution North Wales Transport Commission calls for improved links STRATEGY

The North Wales Transport Commission has recommended enhancing TrawsCymru bus services and introducing coaches to help grow public transport patronage. An express coach between Bangor, Aberystwyth and Carmarthen has already been explored, but TfW said this week that it is unlikely to come to fruition. Last February, the Welsh Government accepted that most North Wales road schemes should be cancelled or re-evaluated in multi-modal corridor studies, following the advice of an independent roads review panel. It asked Lord Burns to chair a commission which would recommend improvements to the region’s transport. Burns previously led the South East Wales Transport Commission, which recommended alternatives to the cancelled M4 Relief Road at Newport. The North Wales Transport Commission’s final report, published before Christmas, notes that bus and rail services in the region are too infrequent, and operating hours too short, to provide attractive alternatives for many car owners. However, it acknowledges the success of the Sherpa’r Wyddfa network in Snowdonia national park since improvements were made in 2022 by Transport for Wales and partners. It also says passenger numbers on the TrawsCymru T8, launched a www.passengertransport.co.uk

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year ago between Corwen and Chester via Mold, have grown by 80% compared with predecessor services on the corridor. Further TrawsCymru development should be prioritised, due to the services’ deliverability in the short term, says the report. “Existing TrawsCymru services operate mainly from 6am or 7am to 7pm or 8pm. We suggest the service hours are extended and, where there is demand, service frequencies are increased. We also support additional routes where there is demand. In many cases, the TrawsCymru services work similar routes to the proposed regional rural bus network and the service patterns need to be coordinated.” The recommended regional bus network consists of high frequency routes along the north coast and hourly services on key rural corridors. Referring to the possibility of scheduled coaches between Bangor and Carmarthen, the report says: “Planning work

is based on the concept of a ‘TrawsCymru Express’ coach service, estimated to take four hours and 20 minutes compared with the current five hours and 50 minutes that the TrawsCymru T1 and T2 bus services take. “This one-and-a-half-hour journey time reduction is significant. The coach service will need to be supported by enabling infrastructure at interchanges along the route. Patronage estimates suggest that the service will be able to operate with virtually no revenue support. “As a result of the patronage estimate for the Bangor to Carmarthen coach, we endorse consideration of further north-south coach services. These could include extending the Carmarthen service to Swansea, and the introduction of direct services from Cardiff to destinations in North Wales. “Coach services should be developed in ways that ensure integration with the bus and rail networks to maximise

New trains now operate on the Wrexham to Bidston line, where the commission recommends major service enhancements

interchange opportunities.” More cross-border coaches are also recommended. Currently the region has one National Express coach a day, between Llandudno and Manchester. The report says the Bus Transformation Network, which TfW is developing, should accommodate cross-border bus services, either prior to franchising legislation or under new franchising arrangements. “The Liverpool City Region and Cheshire will benefit from Welsh bus proposals if there are bus services that serve destinations in those areas.” The report also recommends phased improvements on existing rail routes, including five trains per hour along the North Wales Main Line. Four trains per hour are recommended on the Wrexham Central to Bidston line, with Merseyrail Class 777 battery/electric trains extending the service into Liverpool. Last month the line’s service frequency increased from hourly to every 45 minutes, with most services operated with new Class 197 trains. TfW still aims for two trains per hour on the line, which it previously committed to introduce in December 2021. The commission recommends doubling the remaining section of single track north of Wrexham General to enable the ChesterShrewsbury line to accommodate, effectively and reliably, two passenger trains per hour and freights. Next month will see the long-delayed launch of the T22 TrawsCymru service between Caernarfon, Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Rather than introduce the service using interim diesel buses, TfW has waited until a new depot with EV charging facilities is available for the four electric buses ordered for the T22 in 2020. 12 January 2024 | 11

10/01/2024 16:19

NET ZERO

Haigh to focus Zemo on net zero transport Partnership’s vice-chair takes over from Andy Eastlake LEADERSHIP

Claire Haigh is to take the helm of Zemo Partnership (formerly Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership/ LowCVP), the organisation that has been working with government and the widest range of stakeholders for over 20 years to deliver key policies and initiatives to accelerate the decarbonisation of UK road transport. Andy Eastlake is stepping down after more than a decade leading the Partnership. He leaves a legacy of sustained progress in transport decarbonisation, with the end of transport’s ‘fossil era’ in sight. Claire Haigh, the founder and CEO of Greener Vision (formerly Greener Transport Solutions) and executive director of the Transport Knowledge Hub is to take on the leadership role at Zemo from January 2024. She was previously

CEO of Greener Journeys, an evidence-based campaign organisation funded by the major public transport companies which was established to highlight the environmental and associated benefits of bus travel. Haigh also currently chairs the Delivery and Impacts Independent Review Panel for the Joint Air Quality Unit (Defra/DfT). Haigh has worked closely with Zemo/LowCVP for many years. As the partnership’s vice-chair, in early 2023 she carried out a wide-ranging survey of the views

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Go-Ahead London hosted a celebration at its Camberwell depot last month to mark the 10th anniversary of the operation of London’s first modern day emission-free bus, which was trialled on December 18, 2013. The operator operates 520 zero emission buses for Transport for London. 12 | 12 January 2024 PT304p12-13.indd 12

of (approaching 100) senior stakeholders on the past role and future opportunities for Zemo, providing input to a strategic review commissioned for the partnership’s 20th anniversary year. The key conclusion of the review was that the priority now for net zero is the delivery of targets. This will be the partnership’s primary focus under Haigh’s leadership and a Zero Emission Mobility Taskforce has been established to support this purpose. Zemo’s work on bus decarbonisation is widely

“The UK has some world-leading targets, but what is now needed is a laser-like focus on delivery” Claire Haigh

recognised. The UK is now outperforming Europe on zero emission bus (ZEB) uptake with registrations accounting for close to half of all registrations in the UK in the last two years. There are now nearly 3,000 ZEBs in service in the UK, representing around 7% of the UK’s total fleet. By 2025/26, Zemo expects this figure to reach 15%. Claire Haigh said: “I am delighted to be taking the helm of Zemo Partnership at this crucial juncture for the net zero agenda. “Climate change is our greatest predicament and decarbonising transport is one of the toughest challenges of all. The UK has some world-leading targets, but what is now needed is a laser-like focus on delivery. Crucially, we need the right policies and incentives to enable the investment and support the supply chain transition. “There is a massive amount to do, but there has also been significant progress. Under Andy’s exemplary leadership, Zemo has been there as the honest broker every step of the way - working with government, industry and academia to find solutions for net zero road transport.”

BEDFORD BOOST Work has begun on installing one of Bedford’s biggest solar arrays - on the roof of Govia Thameslink Railway’s train depot. 932 photovoltaic panels will generate 322 MWh of electricity a year - enough to power 120 homes every year, saving more than 66 tonnes of CO2e. www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 15:55

“I understand people’s frustrations about the current system”Steve Rotheram

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

£10m to be invested in Merseyside tap-and-go

TRAPEZE WINS NTA CONTRACT

Same card or ticket whether travelling on buses, trains or ferries TICKETING

Almost £10m will be invested in revolutionising public transport ticketing across the Liverpool City Region with the development of a new tap-and-go system, contactless payments and fare capping. The £9.86m investment, approved at a meeting of the region’s combined authority, will deliver on the mayor’s ambition to build an integrated London-style transport network with a simplified, cheaper ticketing system. Under the planned improvements, people will be able to use the same card or ticket whether travelling on buses, trains or ferries. This further investment will help push forward several projects in the smart ticketing programme, including:

SOUTHEASTERN S-TICKET LAUNCH A new and secure way to buy season tickets TICKETING

Train operator Southeastern has introduced digital season tickets - known as sTickets - allowing customers to quickly buy a season ticket and store it on their smartphone. sTickets are available to buy through the Southeastern website and app, providing a secure, convenient and queue-free way of buying a season ticket for travel in south-east London, Kent and East www.passengertransport.co.uk

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continued development towards a tap-and-go ticketing system future ability to introduce fare capping - ensuring that passengers always pay the cheapest possible fare; ability to pay by contactless bank card or mobile payment through services such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet; an app for buying and using tickets; and increased range of products across the MetroSmart Portal and additional tickets added to the MetroCard. Tap and go ticketing

Sussex. Their introduction is part of the DOHL-run operator’s goal of providing a better, more reliable and sustainable railway and, in turn, attracting more people to travel by train. In fact, Southeastern recently saw its busiest day since 2019 (prepandemic) with 394,000 entries and exits at its London terminals. sTickets are available to buy from the latest version of the Southeastern app and the Southeastern website. They are sent straight to a passenger’s phone and stored in the Southeastern app and are ready to use immediately after purchase.

Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Travelling on public transport should be simple, especially when it comes to how people pay for their journey. Yet, the reality is that our current ticketing system is no longer equipped to meet the demands of a growing 21st century city region like ours. I understand people’s frustrations about the current system and that’s why we’ve been working towards introducing a more simplified ticketing structure, but increasing public demand has meant that we’re now accelerating our plans. “By upgrading our current paper ticketing with a new and improved smart system, we can make it easier and quicker for people to get from A to B. The tap-and-go, contactless ticketing system I want to introduce will unlock so many benefits for our region ... and ensure that no one spends more than they need to get around our region.”

Southeastern commercial director Alicia Andrews commented: “sTickets are a fantastic new product and will help many of our regular customers to save time and make it even easier to buy their season ticket and keep it safe and secure on their smartphone.” In addition, Southeastern has recently upgraded all 292 ticket vending machines across the network to allow customers to purchase tickets between any two stations in England, Scotland and Wales. Previously, customers could only purchase tickets for journeys which started from the location of the vending machine.

National AVL and ITS system for Ireland’s buses AVL

Public transport solution provider Trapeze ITS has been awarded a major contract to implement a next-generation Cloud-based Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) solution with National Transport Authority in Ireland. The project will connect all of Ireland’s 2,300 buses, enhancing the quality of services and fostering growth for bus operators. The new solution is designed to deliver operational savings by unifying all bus services under a single system, while enhancing the passenger experience through greater accuracy and consistency of passenger information, and reduced waiting and overall journey times. Innovations within the solution include enhanced Artificial Intelligence prediction algorithms, AI-powered monitoring of bus lane blockages to minimise delays, and Automatic Passenger Counting. As well as promoting a reliable, punctual, and attractive public transport experience, Ireland’s new model will enable existing and new bus operators to bid for services. Enhanced reporting will also inform the NTA of the success of the bus network whilst optimising cost. Steve Jukes, general manager at Trapeze ITS, said: “We are thrilled to win this contract and excited to begin working with the NTA team, bus operators, and other stakeholders, to deliver this step change in public transport for the people of Ireland... This win cements Trapeze’s position as the proven leading supplier of technology for franchised bus services. The innovative new Cloudbased technology implemented here will drive the industry forward, improving the quality and reliability of bus services in towns and cities in Europe and beyond.” 12 January 2024 | 13

10/01/2024 15:56

COMMENT

NORMAN BAKER

Five brakes on rail’s growth potential

The latest ORR figures on rail usage are surprisingly good because the railway suffers from brakes on progress. Here are five of them

Industry, politicians, and civil servants will doubtless be taking some quiet satisfaction from the upward trend in rail usage reported by the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road. In the latest quarter where we have figures, for July to September 2023, a total of 397 million rail passenger journeys were recorded in Great Britain. This is a 14% increase on the 350 million journeys in the same quarter in the previous year. There were 1,496 million journeys in the year to September 30, 2023 - a 21% increase on the 1,238 million journeys made in the previous 12-month period. And as Passenger Transport reported last month, the latest ORR report shows fares income for 2022/23 surging from £6.4bn to £8.6bn. Quiet satisfaction is perhaps too modest a reaction. For reasons I set out below, the increases are in fact surprisingly good and the conclusion I draw from the figures is that there is huge potential, not simply to recover to the pre-Covid position but to sail past that. Indeed, LNER for example has already achieved this. 4.2 million journeys in 2020/21 became 23.4 million in 2022/23, the highest figure ever and that is without adding in the numbers using the East Coast open access operators. Surprisingly good because the railway suffers from a number of brakes on progress that can only serve to deter passengers. If government and industry can only release these brakes, the potential for vibrant growth can be set free. So what are these brakes? I have identified five. 14 | 12 January 2024 PT304p14-15.indd 14

Industrial action

Industrial action, and the consequent cancellation of services, and disrupted and overcrowded journeys when trains do run. There were 29 days last year when industrial action took place, around one in every 12 days. While the RMT disputes seem to be close to resolution, there has been a hardening of attitude within ASLEF, and of course, while

“Avanti, CrossCountry, and Northern cancelled more trains in 2023 than during the pandemic in 2019”

management can cover some RMT roles on strike days, when ASLEF withdraw their labour, no trains run. Sadly, I see no prospect of the ASLEF dispute being settled this side of a general election. It may be that the union believes it can hold out and get a better deal from an incoming Labour government. That is far from certain. The present government has in fact worsened industrial relations by forcing on to the statute book minimum service levels which they paint as a method to ensure an adequate timetable can operate on strike days, but is really intended to make strike action ineffective. Preventing a worker from withdrawing his or her labour is a pretty drastic step in a democracy, but leaving aside the ethics of this, it is doubtful if it will work. Can you really force someone at metaphorical gunpoint to turn up for work, and get them to work normally? The reality is that the railway, like many industries, operates on goodwill. That is in short supply at the moment. It was noticeable that some operators like Thameslink and Northern had to severely cut their New Year’s Eve services as their employees simply decided they did not want to work overtime, and wanted the evening off instead. The fact that over the years many train operators have relied on overtime from their employees as a cheaper way of running services rather than training new staff makes the industry particularly vulnerable now. Avanti, CrossCountry, and Northern cancelled more trains in 2023 than during the pandemic in 2020, despite running fewer services overall.

works 2 Engineering These have to be undertaken, of course,

Rail usage is up 14% year-on-year

but when is the industry going to adjust to the new patterns of travel on the network which have seen leisure travel increase and commuter traffic decrease? It is commercially inept on many lines to still be undertaking works on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday times. It is a disgrace that King’s Cross, Euston and Paddington were all closed on Christmas Eve. The industry has a massive opportunity to attract passengers on such occasions, but instead shuts stations. Given that there is now a great deal of home working, it would in most cases make sense to carry out works on Mondays or www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 15:58

“It is a disgrace that King’s Cross, Euston and Paddington were all closed on Christmas Eve” Tuesdays, and in January and February rather than over the holiday period. I know that both Network Rail and GBRTT have been giving consideration to this issue for some time, but where are the results? Moreover, engineering works seem to be increasing in frequency and duration. On the Tube network in particular, there seems barely a weekend when some line or part of line is not closed, a situation that was not the case 10 years ago. Can we be convinced that the industry is using the best up-to-date equipment and best techniques to minimise the time taken for such works? Since a very unfortunate overrun of works one New Year about 10 years ago which badly affected services into Liverpool Street for some days after services were due to resume, the industry has been risk averse, building in extra time for possessions so not to overrun. But that means that there are many more hours when trains could run but do not. Would it not be better all round to accept that, say, 2 or 3% of possessions will overrun if this means shorter and fewer possessions overall, more trains and fewer rail replacement buses? The situation is also not helped by train operators running buses when the railway line is actually available. I have identified a number of occasions when Southern has run rail replacement buses from Brighton and Lewes to Three Bridges when the line was actually available from the roughly midway point of Haywards Heath either south or north of the station. Rail operators should understand their passengers want to be on trains, not buses, and alternative arrangements should operate for the convenience of passengers, not for rail planners. On New Year’s Eve, a flood in a tunnel near Ebbsfleet meant no Eurostar services ran out of or into England, at huge inconvenience to thousands of people. Why could trains not have run to and from the mothballed Ashford from where the line into France was available? I accept that that would have been logistically challenging but did anyone even assess that, or was Eurostar’s attitude one of c’est la vie?

and ticketing 3 Fares We are supposed to be grateful that rail fares are to rise in March “only” by 4.9%, and that after a whopping rise last March of 5.9%. Yes, it could have been worse, but contrast that www.passengertransport.co.uk

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increase with the freeze on fuel duty that has been in place since 2011. Indeed, motorists are currently benefiting from a “temporary” cut to even that frozen figure. Moreover, given the prime minister’s well-known dislike of trains and his enthusiasm for cars (and of course private jets and helicopters) as witnessed in his highly regressive so-called Plan for Drivers, it is a brave person who will bet against a further “temporary” reduction in fuel duty in this year’s election budget on March 6. Beyond that, when are we going to see rapid action to reform the fares and ticketing system that everyone accepts is sub-optimal, and which the recent detailed report from Campaign for Better Transport laid bare? It is very clear that extending pay-as-you-go, rolling out single pricing, and integrating rail, bus and tram ticketing can bring substantial benefits, not least an uplift in passenger numbers. Oyster when first introduced in London brought about an immediate 4% increase in numbers. There are plenty of people beavering away on this - in the Department for Transport and GBRTT in particular - so why has progress been so slow and so incremental? Virtually everyone agrees on the direction of travel so can we can get on with it please?

structure 4 Legislative Here is another case where there is broad unanimity on the direction of travel, except perhaps in the PM’s train-hating No 10. How else to explain the bewildering failure to introduce the very short Bill to get GBR up and running properly? The industry needs some certainty on the architecture of the railway and is not getting it. Rather than reach a consensus across the political parties on the way forward, as in this case is perfectly possible, the government is instead leaving a blank piece of paper for the incoming government, and who knows what will be written on that? In the meantime, the industry treads water. When I asked the ORR about engagement with GBR, I was told the ORR had a railway to run and little time to spend on theoreticals. And while Network Rail has made some progress in rationalising costs and improving delivery, there is still a long way to go. Project Speed is not yet up to speed. Even the totemic and much vaunted Northumberland line between Newcastle and Ashington is not yet

open, and is now unlikely to be open before the general election. Does it really have to take so many years to convert an existing freight line to passenger service? Then of course there is the calamity that is HS2, the cancellation of the vast bulk of what was planned paints a picture of railway planning that is a national embarrassment. No amount of redirecting HS2 money to mend potholes in north London can make up for that. Network North London.

5 Information It is exasperating when the operators cannot sometimes get even the basics right. My daughter had the misfortune to try to travel by train from London to Inverness in the week after Christmas when Storm Gerrit struck. It is entirely understandable that train services were severely disrupted but why, when she alighted in Edinburgh, was she told, both by National Rail Enquiries and by Scotrail staff, that she should take a train to Stirling where she could catch a connecting service to Inverness? It must already have been very clear that no trains would be able to run north of Stirling that day. The diligent Roger French, in a recent blog, drew attention to the fact that on December 10, the departure board at St Pancras bore the message that “there are currently no Thameslink departures”. There were indeed none from the normal A and B platforms due to engineering works between there and London Bridge, but services north were running from the East Midlands platforms 1 to 4. This sort of thing is simply inexcusable. Meanwhile, there is of course no shortage of pointless announcements about inspecting safety cards, not using e-scooters (four times in eight minutes at Victoria while I waited for a circle line train), and the incessant and moronic “see it, say it, sorted”. Brakes on progress indeed. It is great that passenger numbers and farebox income are up. Just think what could be achieved if the brakes were released.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Norman Baker served as transport minister from May 2010 until October 2013. He was Lib Dem MP for Lewes between 1997 and 2015.

12 January 2024 | 15

10/01/2024 15:58

COMMENT

ALEX WARNER

stuff to do by public transport and has a team of customer service experts ready to help operators improve the experience they provide for customers and get bums on seats. Shameless plug, I know, but I pray that 2024 is a big, booming summer for transport companies. It’s the boost everyone needs right now.

Fears around personal security

My hopes and fears for the New Year Happy New Year to you all. To ring in the new dawn, here are some of the things I hope to see or fear we will see in 2024 Bring back NRPS! Remember the National Rail Passenger Satisfaction Survey (NRPS)? It was a very simple, quarterly customer survey with a decent sample size. It asked logical questions and was so easy to digest that it drove not only healthy competition across the railway but broke data and verbatim feedback down so compellingly that any decent manager would be able to create an action plan around it. Along with an obsession, in some parts, with a more complicated survey called Wavelength, Covid was the dagger blow to NRPS and although we’ve been promised that an equivalent will materialise, owned by GBRTT or the Department for Transport, don’t hold your breath. We need it badly, not least to hold errant operators to account. Maybe sometime this year, someone with conviction will reintroduce something that resembles NRPS.

It’s all gone quiet over there! When GBRTT was originally created, albeit in a shadow sort of format, I didn’t have much sympathy for the way in which it was grandstanding and audacious about the future and its role at the epicentre. Social media was awash with bright-eyed industry professionals, as well as those who’d been round the block a few times, almost bragging about joining GBRTT and folk left behind, mainly in TOCland, felt like losers. Almost three years on, it has seemed as though the GBRTT team have been pretending or convincing themselves that 16 | 12 January 2024 PT304p16-17.indd 16

GBR is actually going to happen, and they are now a bit more circumspect. Even if GBR does eventually materialise - which, in my opinion it should, sorry ‘must’ happen - you have to feel for those on its books. They’ve been waiting a long time, some have invested the prime of their careers to this bright future and they deserve to be rewarded for their patience.

Value your marketing departments The £2 bus fares initiative has been a great fillip for the industry. All good things come to an end, and this scheme may do so during 2024. My fear is that the bus industry both on a panorganisational level and within the individual operators does not have the marketing resource and nous to ensure that those customers who have been converted to bus, remain as believers when the fares go up. There needs to be real urgency and rigour towards marketing in the run up to the end of the £2 scheme. Hell and fury should be foisted on those companies that don’t prioritise the commercial departments and don’t invest in campaigns to ‘create reasons to travel’ and promote the excellent propositions on offer. I know a great website - www.greatscenicjourneys.co.uk - which showcases fab journeys and places to visit and

“We need it badly, not least to hold errant operators to account”

Across all walks of life, post-Covid, there has been an increase in anti-social behaviour, to which public transport has not been immune. This has been reflected in everything from staff assaults to trespass incidences on the railway and much more serious crime. Fear of crime is also a real barrier to travel for many and I hear this when I do my vox-pop surveys of customers. I’ll be honest, but even as someone who lives and breathes travelling by bus, there are some parts of the London network where I wouldn’t sit on the upper deck, such has been my susceptibility to perhaps over-exaggerating the frequency of stories I hear about drugs, gun and knife crime in parts of the capital. How long will it be before getting on-board at all is no longer palatable? The situation feels like it is getting worse as we move into 2024.

Groundhog day The last three months of 2023 were instructive in so far that we learnt that, despite all the technology and years of accumulated experience, the ability of the railway to manage service disruption hasn’t really progressed much. There are times when it feels no better than when I started my career nearly 31 years ago. The floods in September, followed by those last week and with the overhead wires debacle in west London in early December, saw the industry behave like a rabbit in headlights. Hugely respected industry figureheads Andrew Haines and Mark Hopwood were in the thick of two of the incidents and took to LinkedIn to express their thoughts - compellingly so. That they did so was a measure of both the scale at which the industry was still struggling to cope, but also the priority being given to searching for better solutions when disruption ensues. Let’s hope that it is now fashionable to put a PIDD (‘Passenger Information During Disruption) plan at the heart of every organisation’s priorities and there is real conviction, once and for all, to crack it. I’m not holding my breath. www.passengertransport.co.uk

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“Why would they traduce those who know so much about the sector?” Opening the floodgates FirstGroup’s announcement last week of its intention to run services from King Cross to Sheffield was one of those ‘yeah, that’s a great idea’ moments, as we realised the art of the possible of running a fast alternative to the Midland Main Line, whilst also connecting hitherto poorly served locations such as Worksop and Woodhouse. Open access is all the rage right now and it feels like a riposte from the more entrepreneurial folk in the industry. They are refusing to be nullified by the stultifying regime that has inflicted UK rail in recent times. It would be good that the clamour for open access continues, though it needs a decent success rate in terms of applications passed and a level playing field for those that are up and running so they don’t find that franchised TOCs get preferential treatment.

Respect bus industry professionals I was very encouraged just before Christmas to hear a HR director at one of the municipal bus operators lament the lack of respect given to industry experience across the sector, thankfully not at his company. I wasn’t surprised as I’d heard a week earlier of a HR director at one of the big owning groups apparently saying “the last thing we need is another bus industry professional” at a meeting and setting targets around recruiting non-bus folk. I find it mind-boggling how any company would not be delighted to have those with a wealth of specialist experience and passion for the bus industry at the heart of their organisation. Why would they traduce those who know so much about the sector and for whom buses course through their veins? These are the people who have kept the show on the road during adversity these last few decades, through a period of great societal change. Well pal, they will be around picking up the pieces long after those who think it’s unfashionable to employ them have moved on, chuntering on at job interviews about how they transformed the sector despite being surrounded by dinosaurs.

The forgotten frontline Regular readers will know that I am not a fan of the shameless self-promotion by managers on LinkedIn. It really is the club for ‘management’ - but what about the swathes of frontline staff on the outside, who either don’t have the confidence or experience that www.passengertransport.co.uk

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makes them feel they can showcase their background and aspirations. Whilst everyone else is fawning over each other on social media, who is identifying talented frontline folk and investing in their future? Senior management are only concerned about their own profile. They’ll walk past gateline staff, make some glib, patronising comment, get on their train, and not give two hoots about those they’ve left behind standing in the cold, in many cases feeling that their potential has not been unlocked. If there’s not enough dosh to go round, how about a pause in management training schemes and money being reinvested into equivalent programmes for frontline folk?

37.5% cheaper than an adult bus fare In 2023, I caught the Transport Benevolent Fund (TBF) bug, stumbling belatedly across this great organisation that offers for only £1.25 per week, well-being, and hardship support to anyone of any level in the sector. Some companies fund membership for their employees themselves, recognising the benefits in terms of staff retention, morale and reducing sickness through the treatments that the fund provides. In many respects, the Transport Benevolent Fund offers an equivalent of private healthcare but affordably so, for frontline employees. For those at the helm of transport companies, I would implore you to open the gates of your depots and induction courses and encourage the TBF membership organisers to come and talk to your teams!

An interminable silence Will this finally be the year when there is clarity around the Passenger Service Contracts (PSC)? Over two years have now elapsed since the first ‘market engagement day’ and followup workshops organised by the DfT regarding these simple and ‘no brainer’ concession-style contracts to gradually replace the current franchises. Then there was silence. I know of at least three hugely successful transport businesses keen to break into UK rail and all are mystified and not exactly encouraged by the current hiatus. Why can’t we just get on with it? It would be fashionable to blame the DfT for this inaction but in the opaqueness surrounding decision making and future strategy in the rail industry, I suspect the buck probably doesn’t sit with them. Your guess is as good as mine.

An unhealthy lack of competition A recent ORR report claims that there is an unhealthy lack of competition on railway stations in terms of catering providers. At last, the penny has dropped - the scran at stations has for too long been same old, same old and you must go to smaller locations to find any variety. Unfortunately, it comes back to the usual problem of a rail industry which, across all fronts, has had innovation, pro-activity, and a desire to inspire customers sapped out of it. How often does your station manager trawl the local High Street to tap up independent coffee shops and restauranteurs to also ply their trade on his or her platforms. Never, I suspect.

Simple pleasures Talking of variety, one of my memories of a halcyon era for the rail industry in the early 1990s was commuting from Orpington to University College London, and disembarking the train at Victoria where pop music would be played over the tannoy. It was the reason, I chose Victoria over Charing Cross or Cannon Street - a little touch that filled me with a few minutes joy when getting off the back carriage and walking all the way to the entrance to the Tube. The control room upstairs (I’m assuming they played the role of DJ) seemed fixated with playing Kylie Minogue’s Step Back In Time whenever my train pulled in, which summed up the under-invested state of the network back then. What I’d give to step back in time and for simple innovations such as this to reappear. Bureaucracy and multi-agency corporate governance wouldn’t let this get past first base, but the dullard, fun police industry bigwigs and moribund policy-makers who have stifled creativity these past few years can’t take away our ability to dream. And dream we will for 2024 - bring it on!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alex Warner has over 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, having held senior roles on a multi-modal basis across the sector. He is co-founder of recruitment business Lost Group and transport consultancy AJW Experience Group (which includes Great Scenic Journeys). He is also chair of West Midlands Grand Rail Collaboration and chair of Surrey FA.

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COMMENT

NICK RICHARDSON

Can we make the rail network resilient? Despite recent improvements, the UK railway faces persistent challenges from weather incidents to causing severe disruption Network Rail has been undertaking improvements to the network for years, involving evermore ambitious responses to recurrent problems. Cuttings are reshaped to prevent excessive run-off and flooding, culverts are widened, vegetation is cut back severely, junctions are remodelled to be more versatile and stations are repaired and renewed. However, weather events continue to be a challenge by creating unforeseen problems on a major scale.

Planned and unplanned incidents Weekend engineering deletes certain journey options. However, one weekend showed how a problem can spread, this time affecting South Western Railway. The unavailability of a main line - in this case London to Southampton would be a problem under any circumstances but this was compounded by a further problem on the alternative route to which all main line trains had been diverted. For those unfamiliar with the area, when the main route through Basingstoke is unavailable, all trains for Southampton and Bournemouth are diverted via the Portsmouth Direct line via Guildford which takes longer but does provide a reasonable if curvaceous and undulating alternative. The problem was that a broken rail occurred at Guildford so all trains were cancelled, including those that were diverted. In the absence of any other routes, this meant that much of Hampshire and Dorset including the major centres of Portsmouth, Southampton 18 | 12 January 2024 PT304p18-19.indd 18

and Bournemouth and everything in between had no train service to London Waterloo for most of the day. For anyone with some knowledge of the railway and access to someone with a car to convey them east to a Southern station heading towards London Victoria, the only possibility was to start from somewhere else entirely. In other words, a combination of events meant that a large tract of southern England was unable to reach London. The option of tickets being valid next day was rather unhelpful, not least because of the calamitous events that followed. Inevitably there are locations which are not as robust as they should be. The Victorians who built the railways did so on a grand scale, often with monumental engineering that The South West Main Line was severely damaged after the track bed was washed away

would last way into their future. However, that future is our present and many structures have reached or exceeded the end of their natural lives. Renewal and replacement is now needed, but despite a comprehensive programme of upgrades and new works, the railway is vulnerable. Recently, the South West Main Line from London Waterloo was severely damaged after the track bed was washed away following a prolonged spell of heavy rain. This undermined the track which was left suspended. The concern is that this sort of event could happen anywhere at any time and there are many lengths of track that are susceptible to damage as a result of excessive heat, a dry spell, too much rain or any other extreme event. In this instance, the damage wiped out half of the four track main line at Hook near Basingstoke, thereby disrupting major routes including those to Exeter via Salisbury and Southampton/Bournemouth/ Weymouth. Both the remaining usable lines were signalled for up trains only so rearranging train paths was not easy even with fewer trains. This single incident took at least a week to resolve and disrupted thousands of passengers daily. The remedy was to pile and fill at least the 44-metre length of the washout, a task requiring huge quantities of material imported from somewhere. Having mended one section of the route, more was to follow. Concurrently, embankment failure reduced the South West Main Line near Woking from four tracks to two (again) and the foundations of a footbridge in the same area had crumbled, compounded by a broken rail at Brockenhurst further along the line. Meanwhile a land slip near Crewkerne Tunnel blocked the Salisbury to Exeter line for weeks. With a selection of problems, it neuters the network and makes it difficult to get anywhere. Other main lines have taken a hit with power failures disabling the Elizabeth Line, invoking criticism of the way the incident was handled with passengers being stranded in the dark; surely we can do better. With nearly 200 years’ experience of railways, it should be possible to rescue a stranded train or enable passengers to disembark before all the lights go out and certainly within five hours on a major route. This incident was handled very badly, possibly because procedures outweighed any consideration of the users, and a major www.passengertransport.co.uk

10/01/2024 16:05

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re-think should be undertaken to avoid any repetition.

The monumental reconstruction of the sea wall at Dawlish on the Great Western Main Line has made a difference

Under the wires Various sections of damaged overhead power lines occurred such as that at Grantham which blocked the East Coast Main Line. It seems that a big scale game of whack-a-mole is underway with problems being overcome then others popping up elsewhere, a continuous process of patching up before larger scale remediation. Despite air surveillance and detection equipment on the ground at known trouble spots, problems continue to surface. While engineering teams are dealing with these around the clock, they are not addressing the long list of predicted repairs and upgrades. Huge progress has been made to get the network into a useable state but it seems that the wind blows and rain falls at a rate faster than the infrastructure can cope with. In some instances, this is catastrophic and sometimes with fatal consequences. The Stonehaven derailment in August 2020 involved a train returning to Aberdeen due to a landslip following severe rainfall. Three people were killed and six injured with Network Rail being fined £6.7m. This seemed to stem from drainage work that had been undertaken by a contractor but not as specified. While there is a lesson about contractor supervision and checking, the number of remedial works and incidents may be overwhelming. The Office of Rail and Road noted a spike in lineside landslips in its 2019/20 Annual Safety Report and the vulnerability of the network. Drawing attention to a problem and doing something about it are two different things though and unless the scale of works and budgets is increased, then reassurance is dampened somewhat. The East Coast Main Line in particular experiences overhead power line problems more often than would be expected. The electrification scheme was widely regarded as being done at the lowest cost possible with less thought about resilience than would be the case today. Repairing it and upgrading it at the same time simply passes the problem down the line where any weaknesses are vulnerable to strong winds. Similar problems occur elsewhere where structures were built at the same time and consequently require intervention or replacement at the www.passengertransport.co.uk

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trains could not be operated to somewhere “Network Rail’s job is down the line such as Ebbsfleet (where trains used to stop) or Ashford near-impossible if multiple Eurostar International instead of London St Pancras failures are likely to occur” International. same time. For example, the monumental reconstruction of the sea wall at Dawlish on the Great Western Main Line has made a difference but leaves other sections exposed. With a vast number of structures and earthworks to maintain, Network Rail’s job is near-impossible if multiple failures are likely to occur. It doesn’t help that much as previous eras’ maintenance was minimal due to restricted funding and we are now facing the consequences. Priorities need to be established which is not straightforward if there is a massive list.

A litany of problems The latest disruption affecting thousands of Eurostar passengers due to flooding of a tunnel under the Thames showed how people’s plans can go out of the window at short notice; some 30,000 were left where they didn’t want to be for their seasonal break. It does seem odd that

With an extensive network, much of which is vulnerable, multiple incidents require multiple responses, spreading resources across a wide area. Presumably when not remediating problems, these resources would be doing something else so the problems multiply in terms of budget, materials and staff. To increase the number of rail users, people need to be confident that trains will run as intended or if incidents arise, that a back-up will be made available. The evidence shows that doubts will remain.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nick Richardson is technical director at transport consultancy WSP and chair of CILT’s Bus and Coach Policy Group and is a former chair of the Transport Planning Society. In addition, he has held a PCV licence for over 36 years.

12 January 2024 | 19

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CAREERS

‘Neurodivergent staff should be supported’ 58% of transport and logistics project managers consider themselves to be neurodivergent, Association for Project Management research reveals DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

More than half of project management professionals working in the transport and logistics sector consider themselves to be neurodivergent, according to a new survey by the Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered membership organisation for the project profession. APM surveyed over 1,000 project professionals working in various sectors across the UK including transport and logistics in the poll carried out by national research company Censuswide. Over half (58%) of transport and logistics respondents said they considered themselves to be neurodivergent, which includes conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia. This was the second-highest ranking sector of the 17 polled and well above the survey’s average (31%). Of these, when asked if their employer was aware of their neurodiversity, 7% answered no. In contrast, the survey’s average was 15%. Another 90% said yes and 3% preferred not to say. Barriers facing project professionals from disclosing their condition across all sectors included ‘I’ve chosen not to tell them because I don’t feel comfortable (40% agreed) and ‘I don’t see the point in doing so’ (23%). One in four (25%) intended to do so, and 12% did not have an official diagnosis. However, 100% of the www.passengertransport.co.uk

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transport and logistics respondents said that, once notified, their employer had made changes to the workplace or their ways of working to accommodate their neurodivergence. The survey’s average was 81%. Professor Adam Boddison, chief executive of APM, said: “Employers in transport and logistics which embrace neurodivergence not only foster a culture of inclusivity and send out a powerful message that people with neurological differences are valued, but also benefit from unique strengths and perspectives that contribute to creativity, problemsolving and increased productivity.

It can also unlock valuable insights into customers and stakeholders, leading to improved services and outcomes. Diversity in all its guises adds value to organisations. “Overall, the importance of encouraging a neurodivergent workforce cannot be overstated. Individuals must feel empowered and supported to do their best work, and once employers have created optimal conditions, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated, leading to higher levels of job satisfaction, retention rates and overall success across the transport sector.” The survey also found that 81% of transport and logistics

“Overall, the importance of encouraging a neurodivergent workforce cannot be overstated” Professor Adam Boddison, APM

Professor Adam Boddison

respondents agreed with the view that the project profession is one that is welcoming and supportive of people who are neurodivergent - higher than the survey’s average (64%). Another 17% neither agreed or disagreed, and 2% disagreed. When asked what employers can do to make the project profession more welcoming for neurodivergent individuals in transport and logistics, improvements to working environments (60% agreed) and ensuring the business is more aware of benefits that neurodiverse individuals can bring to the workplace (also 60%) scored the highest. This was followed by more internal training for staff on neurodivergence (33%) and changes to working models (23%). Jenny McLaughlin, a project manager at Heathrow Airport, who has ADHD and dyslexia, described the survey’s findings as a helpful snapshot of neurodiversity for the project profession to help shape workplace considerations and attitudes, and to ensure equity within project management. “Many neurodivergent individuals have experienced barriers and discrimination in some form. But as a project professional, you can provide the mandate to create a more systematic inclusive world – it is a challenge to relish,” she said. McLaughlin, who leads on systematic inclusion for Heathrow’s solutions function, said neurodiversity represents “the fact that all of our brains are wired differently, as unique as a fingerprint”. She added: “There is no one right way to be wired, but society has been constructed to favour the majority, or neurotypical, which creates barriers to those of us who think differently.” 12 January 2024 | 21

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CAREERS

Transport figures are recognised in honours John Trayner, the former Go-Ahead London manager director, receives an OBE for services to transport, skills and education in New Year’s list A number of figures in the transport industry have been recognised in the 2024 New Year Honours list. John Trayner, the former managing director of bus operator Go-Ahead London, has been awarded an OBE for services to transport, skills and education. Trayner, was at the helm of the business from 2006 to 2022 before taking up the post of managing director, regulated bus, at parent company Go-Ahead. He stepped down from that role last month but remains a senior advisor.

Trayner, who began his career in the industry as an apprentice engineer at London Transport, has been a champion of Londoners from diverse backgrounds and for training and development. GoAhead Londooperates the largest apprenticeship academy in the transport industry. Also receiving an OBE is Ruth Busby, people and transformation director (regional) for GWR and Network Rail Wales & Western. Her honour recognises her for services to diversity in the rail industry.

Rizwan Javed, an Elizabeth Line station assistant at Ealing Broadway station has received an MBE for stopping 29 individuals at risk of taking their own lives. Also receiving an MBE is Keith Walton, founder of the Severnside Community Rail Partnership. Mubarak Mahmed, wellbeing and engagement coordinator at First North and West Yorkshire, was awarded a BEM for services to mental health. Also receiving a BEM is Richard Isaac, community and sustainability manager at Northern Trains.

APPOINTMENTS INDEPENDENT RAIL RETAILERS The Independent Rail Retailers has announced the appointment of former Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith as chair. Established in 2017, the IRR is the membership and lobbying group representing Britain’s independent ticket retailers. For the past seven years, the chair role has been held by Alistair Lees, managing director of Assertis. CAMPAIGN FOR BETTER TRANSPORT Norman Baker stepped down as director of external affairs at the Campaign for Better Transport this month in order to concentrate on his freelance activities. However, Baker has agreed to continue supporting CBT in the new role of charity ambassador.

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12 January 2024 | 23

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DIVERSIONS

Bus stop has new role as community hub

finance cuts for local authorities and books are so important,” she added. The revamped shelter not only accommodates book lovers but also features a village map detailing crucial numbers and information,

time away from booze and meat and dairy-based diets. This year train operator LNER has jumped on the Veganuary bandwagon by revealing new research that has found four cities - which by sheer co-incidence are ones it serves - are among the top 10 most vegan-friendly in the UK. The research analysed Google search data, the number of vegan restaurants per city and the number of vegan takeaway options in the 20 biggest cities in the UK. Each city was then given a score out of 100.

Topping the chart was Brighton with the highest number of vegan restaurants (7.9) and vegan takeaways (8.3) per 100,000 people. Destinations along the LNER route, including London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and York also feature heavily in the top 10. Edinburgh was home to the highest number of web searches for vegan restauraunts. But what about vegan options on the move? Good news! LNER is going all out for Veganuary by introducing a variety of vegan dishes across their four menus!

Longhope shelter is now at the heart of the village The people of Longhope in the Forest of Dean have banded together to turn a bus shelter into a bustling community hub. Now known as Longhope’s Latchen Central, the transformed bus stop boasts a book swap and a village noticeboard. Ann Newbury, one of the masterminds behind the project, said she hoped villagers would utilise the space as a library. “Libraries have taken a big hit in

A feast fit for Veganuary

DRY JAN OR IS IT VEGANUARY? After the excesses of the Christmas period, many people use January to take time out witness the rise of ‘Dry January’ and ‘Veganuary’ for those taking

Ice breaker

including the locations of the village’s defibrillators. Tina Coull shared that the idea to revamp the bus stop struck her when she proposed hanging baskets to the parish council. “I put two hanging baskets up, and they were absolutely stunning, and that’s what really started it – right, what else can we do,” she said. Tina rallied support from the community, seeking volunteers for the build and design process. Reflecting on the transformation, Ann described the large bus shelter before as dull and a wasted space. “It really feels like we’ve achieved something positive in the village,” she chirped.

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A clarinet player who performs at Penrith station is hoping to bring some joy to people this winter and help tackle feelings of loneliness through music. Philip Lowe is welcomed every week at Penrith station to perform songs of all genres for people travelling to and from the station. The clarinettist cares for his wife who suffers from Alzheimer’s and he has been playing music on the platforms for 10 years to enjoy some company. “Sometimes I get a bit lonely, so I come to the station to play my clarinet,” explained Philip. “I love having a laugh... My instrument helps to break the ice.”

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