“The biggest rail fare price hike in five years has been announced”

Posted on December 5, 2017 by admin

The biggest rail fare price hike in five years has been announced – this is how it affects Greater Manchester commuters

“Why are we paying so much for overcrowded trains in the north?” ask campaigners

[from the Manchester Evening News, 5 December 2017]

Train fares will rise by an average 3.4pc from January 2 – adding nearly £100 to some Greater Manchester season tickets.

The increase, the biggest in five years, affects season tickets on most commuter routes and some off-peak return tickets on long-distance journeys.

Train operating companies set the prices of other tickets but are bound by competition rules.

And the price hike comes on top of a number of operator-led increases in recent months.

In May this year, for example, Northern Rail increased some of its unregulated fares by nearly ten per cent – for the third time in nine months.

It’s been met with outrage by unions and rail groups.

Described as a ‘kick in the teeth’ by the RMT union, the Rail Delivery Group has issued a reminder that 97pc of fare income is ploughed back into the railway.

John Moorhouse, secretary for TravelWatch NorthWest – a Manchester-based watchdog – added:

“We’re not happy. It just very frequently seem to be greater than the cost of living.

“I don’t think many of our rail travellers in the north west are getting good value for money, mainly because we’ve not seen the improvements we were promised. There are still overcrowding problems.

“Just at this moment in time, it’s difficult to justify such a large increase and it’s regrettable to see this.”

Mick Cash of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said:

“For public sector workers and many others in our communities who have had their pay and benefits capped or frozen by this government, these fare increases are another twist of the economic knife.

“The private train companies are laughing all the way to the bank.”

The rise in regulated fares had already been capped at July’s Retail Prices Index inflation rate of 3.6pc.

One in nine trains (12pc) have arrived late at their destinations in the past 12 months.

Last year, a 2.3pc rise was implemented – leading to a protest at Manchester Piccadilly by campaign group Action for Rail.

According to the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, around 97p in every pound paid by passengers goes back into running and improving services.

What will happen to season tickets in Greater Manchester?

The following are prices into Manchester city centre

Altrincham £1,008 up to £1,044 (£36 increase)

Stockport £868 up to £899 (£31 increase)

Glossop £1,116 up to £1,156 (£40 increase)

East Didsbury £864 up to £895 (£31 increase)

Macclesfield £2,484 up to £2,573 (£89 increase)

Wilmslow £1,428 up to £1,479 (£51 increase)

Knutsford £1,724 up to £1,786 (£62 increase)

Bolton £988 up to £1,024 (£36 increase)

Ashton Under Lyne £868 up to £899 (£31 increase)

Rochdale £1,116 up to £1,156 (£40 increase)

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rail-fares-increase-how-much-13995534

Also, some annual season ticket prices of more relevance to us (extracted from www.nationalrail.co.uk season ticket calculator)

Slaithwaite to Manchester £1,984 up to £2,032 (£48, 2.4% increase)

Marsden to Manchester £1,828 up to £1,872 (£44, 1.3% increase)

Greenfield to Manchester £1,116 up to £1,156 (£40, 3.6% increase)

Slaithwaite to Huddersfield £376 up to £388 (£12, 3.2% increase)

Marsden to Huddersfield £644 up to £664 (£20, 3.1% increase)

Slaithwaite to Leeds £1,408 up to £1,456 (£48, 3.4% increase)

Marsden to Leeds £1,408 up to £1,456 (£48, 3.4% increase)

Posted in fares, Marsden, Slaithwaite | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Connecting People – A Strategic Vision For Rail”

Posted on December 4, 2017 by admin

Railway lines closed in the 1960s could be reopened if they boost the economy, the government has said.

The plan forms part of a wider rail strategy under which the government will consider splitting up two of the biggest train operators.

The move would affect Great Western and GTR, which comprises Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern.

The government also plans to devolve running the track and train services to local companies.

At the moment Network Rail, which is state-owned, looks after the track and other infrastructure while train services are operated by private companies.

The first public-private partnerships introduced would be on the East Coast mainline from 2020, which connects London, the North East and Scotland.

Mr Grayling described Network Rail as “one big central blob”, saying the network could be better run locally.

“It means when things go wrong, there’s one team to sort it out,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Tracks revived

Some 4,000 miles of rail routes were closed in the 1960s, mainly in rural areas, known as the Beeching cuts.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the new rail lines could unlock jobs, encourage house building and ease overcrowding.

“The system is creaking – it’s bursting at the seams,” he said.

Mr Grayling said the new routes would “provide better services for commuters but also unlock housing potential”.

Work on the Oxford to Cambridge route starts next summer, and plans to re-open routes around Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter and the North East are being considered.

The government will also consult on splitting up the Great Western franchise between London, the South West and Wales.

That could result in one company running long-distance lines between London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall – while another runs local services across the South West.

Train and track together?

By BBC Transport Correspondent Richard Westcott:

I have never met anyone in the rail industry – either pro- or anti-privatisation – who thinks it was a good idea to split up who runs the trains and who runs the track and signals.

But that is what we have got.

Since the 1990s, there have been plenty of stories about Network Rail teams arguing with train company teams about who should fix a problem and who should pay – causing plenty of unnecessary delays.

Now, the government has said it will change things to create joint teams – with one boss, public and private working together, to solve problems on the line.

The biggest experiment will be on the East Coast mainline, where Virgin-Stagecoach is struggling to make money and has become frustrated with the physical state of the line.

A new public-private partnership is being set up to run the train and tracks together.

But we have no idea yet how it will work, who will pay for things, or when passengers might feel the benefit.

But Labour has called the ideas “un-funded proposals”, with shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald describing the plans as “unambitious”.

“The Tories’ record is of delayed, downgraded and cancelled investment, huge disparities in regional transport spending and soaring fares that are pricing passengers off the railway,” he said.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said it was a “scandal” that the plans did not consider publicly-owned railways.

He said: “The planned breaking up of Great Western and GTR is a massive admission of failure by the government but still they rule out the highly popular option of public ownership.”

Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, said the union would be “pleased to see the lines cut by Beeching restored”.

However, he said Mr Grayling’s new plans would not boost jobs and housing, asking:

“Where is the bold strategic vision for rail – and integrated transport links – in this country?”

Councils and business have also been asked to submit proposals for new lines.

However, the government has no plans to make new money available to fund any such suggestions, the BBC’s transport correspondent Richard Westcott said.

Who was Dr Beeching?

Richard Beeching’s brief as chairman of the British Transport Commission was simple: “Make the railways pay.”

British Rail was losing £140m a year when Dr Beeching took over the commission. His solution, announced on 27 March 1963, was equally straightforward – massive cuts.

The Conservative government welcomed the report, but thousands of people – many in remote rural areas – were horrified they would lose their local branch lines.

Opposition from the pressure groups failed and during the 1960s “Beeching’s Axe” fell on 2,128 stations and more than 67,000 British Rail jobs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42157853

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/663124/rail-vision-web.pdf

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Notes from Public meeting on November 22nd 2017 at Slaithwaite Civic Hall

Posted on December 4, 2017 by admin

SMART – Slaithwaite and Marsden Action on Rail Transport

Public meeting on November 22nd 2017 at Slaithwaite Civic Hall

 

Present

Over 80 members of the public attended

The meeting was chaired by Cllr. Rob Walker.

 

Speakers:

Pete Myers                            Northern Railway  (NR)

Graham Meiklejohn             Transpennine Express  (TPE)

Michael Sasse                      West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA)

Joe Cookson                        Network Rail

Gary Godolphin                    SMART

 

Apologies

Chas Ball from Marsden Jazz Festival, Cllr Nicola Turner.

 

Welome

Cllr Rob Walker welcomed everyone and explained that the meeting would enable people to find out about changes from May 2018. He emphasised the importance of the railway – local people rely on the services for many reasons including commuting to work, attending school, college and university, leisure and local businesses also benefit from good transport links.

 

SHRUG (Stalybridge to Huddersfield group) and SMART

Gary Godolphin, SMART secretary, explained the main issues.

From May 2018, TPE will deliver most of the services. The changes will affect peak time services and local station stops.

Skip Stop services will be introduced. There will be an hourly service at Slaithwaite (SWT) and at Marsden (MSN). One of the trains will stop at SWT, the other will stop at MSN. [In an attempt to clear up any confusion, one train per hour at SWT, one train per hour at MSN, but not the same train so no direct service between the two.]

Trains stopping at our two stations will be running between Hull and Manchester Piccadilly, and between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly and both will stop at Huddersfield.

These trains will run to Piccadilly rather than Victoria. This will affect the many people who work in the Deansgate, Spinningfields and Salford areas.

 

Transpennine Express

Graham talked about Rail North’s aspirations and TPE’s franchise.

The emphasis is to create more capacity and services between Leeds and Manchester.

From May 2018 the trains that will stop at SWT and MSN will be the skip stopping services:

One is a new service – Leeds to Piccadilly starting in May, and the other stopper will run between Hull and Piccadilly.

The present signalling means that running additional of trains is not possible, hence skip stop.

TPE has issued a consultation document – rail groups have given feedback.

Network Rail is currently looking at the suggestions and developing the new timetable and the final details are still to be worked out.

Graham said that the current draft proposals have been improved since 2014 and that TPE is working on what they have been asked to deliver by DfT and Rail North.

 

Questions and comments from the floor

There was agreement that people don’t know about these coming changes. Suggestions that questionnaires could have been distributed at stations.

Michael Sasse said that some research by TfgM (Transport for Greater Manchester) has been done.  This was particularly around the use of Piccadilly rather than Victoria. Analysis demonstrated most commuters travelled to areas better served by Victoria.

Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester) has expressed interest in this campaign and has agreed to meet rail users’ groups to discuss the changes.

There was concern about capacity and that there are already severe problems with overcrowding. Would people be able to get on trains during peak periods from May 2018?

Graham agreed that the peak periods will need more scrutiny and said that there is no spare rolling stock at the moment. There should be new trains from summer 2018.

 

Pete Myers – Northern Railway (NR)

Pete gave some background information and explained that in 2014 an extra TPE service per hour was introduced and this had squeezed the Northern stoppers. With the extra one coming in 2018 the stopping trains will be unable to run as they do now and stop at every station.

Improvements: there will be new trains as NR will get other trains from areas that electrify. Platforms will be extended. New shelters, more ticket machines will start being introduced next year.

The NR draft timetable will probably be available for the public in Jan/Feb 2018.

 

Mick Sasse – WYCA

Mick’s job is rail technical advisor for WYCA, which was formerly West Yorkshire Metro. A lot of concerns expressed by the public are shared by WYCA and are already being voiced. WYCA has limited power in the rail system, but they exert influence across the transport industry and are a member of Rail North.

They are unhappy with the proposed skip stopping and see it as a short term measure until the Trans Pennine route is upgraded. They are continuing to work on improving the peak services.

They would like to see flexibility within the hourly timetable to get more stopping trains.

Any future upgrading must put back proper local services and skip stop mustn’t become permanent.

Electrification –  this would enable lighter and faster trains which would enable WYCAs aspiration to have two stopping trains per hour.

 

Joe Cookson Network Rail (NR)

NR manages the infrastructure – track, signalling, major interventions at stations.

The coming changes in 2018 are massive and there are currently large numbers of staff working in the North to prepare a report for the Secretary of State on options for upgrading the Trans Pennine route

 

Questions and comments

Complaint about the current evening peak service from Vic with only 2 carriages.

Pete Myers apologised and explained that NR is currently short of trains – some are being currently being refurbished, so many trains are out of service.

Also leaf fall is a serious issue this year because the fall has happened sooner than expected. This has caused problems eg higher numbers of ‘wheel flats’ and so trains are being taken out of service to be repaired.

There was a comment about the bigger picture – the South has much better transport funding – North/South divide.

Infrastructure – in the South trains have more lines to run on so faster trains can overtake. The North needs better infrastructure.

DfT and the Treasury need to respond and political pressure is needed.

Platforms – SWT has a big gap between the doors and the platform and creates access difficulties for older people and people with disabilities.

Response from Graham that the TPE trains will have two staff on trains and sometimes three.

Stalybridge to Victoria – from May there will be two trains an hour with one of those going on to Salford.

Cllr. Donna Bellamy asked if there would be CCTV cameras and better access at Marsden as part of the station improvement programme.

Response – CCTV will be installed at SWT and MSN, but disability access improvement at Marsden will not be included.

Access problems are a massive issue across the whole country. If electrification happens, bridges will be altered and access could be improved then

Question about the ‘tunnel tax’ – the high fare between Marsden and Greenfield. Mick from WYCA explained that Rail North now has a mandate to look at fare anomalies. They recognise this issue as a problem.

Comment about the importance of local connectivity being important for health and wellbeing reasons.

Could the disused Standedge tunnel be re-opened?

Some proposed timings from the draft timetable can be seen on the Facebook page of Stalybridge & Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds.

Pete Myers will share the draft timetable when they receive a copy.

There will be lots of general publicity about the new timetables, about 12 weeks before May 2018 will see a lot of publicity.

Question about NRs trains to Manchester not stopping at MSN and SWT in the morning peak period. Pete will check on this.

Question about most westbound trains using the centre platform at MSN. No response given on this.

Agreement that ‘flexing’ the fast service could help.

 

Summing Up

Cllr. Rob Walker summed up:

Need for further consultation and that there will be a public meeting when the draft timetable is made available.

Rob encouraged everyone to use political pressure to influence Rail North – to write as individuals, members of organisations and community groups and via their local councillors, MPs.

 

Rob thanked everyone for coming.

Posted in Campaigning, Marsden, METRO/WYCA, Northern Rail, services, Slaithwaite, timetable changes, Transpennine Express | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Big turnout at meeting over fears for trains between Marsden and Slaithwaite”

Posted on December 4, 2017 by admin

[From the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 23 November 2017]

 

Around 100 people from the Colne Valley turned out for a public meeting over fears peak-time rail services for Slaithwaite and Marsden residents will be slashed next year.

Before the meeting at Slaithwaite Civic Hall on Wednesday, Gary Godolphin, secretary of, Slaithwaite and Marsden Action on Rail Transport (SMART), said the changes likely to happen from May 2018 included:

* A reduction in morning and evening peak time services towards Manchester – a major worry for daily commuters;

* ‘Skip stopping’ resulting in making travel between local stations (such as between Marsden and Slaithwaite) more difficult;

* Services terminating at Piccadilly rather than Victoria in Manchester making journeys to Spinningfields and Salford Quays longer;

* Busier services longer distances, potentially resulting in overcrowding.

The meeting was attended by senior members of train operators TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, Network Rail, the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the rail network in England and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority which provides guidance to operators about what it thinks should happen to rail services.

Afterwards, Mr Godolphin said:

“At the moment at peak times in the morning and evening we have half hourly services in both directions between Huddersfield and Manchester.

“But under the new proposals, certainly regarding Manchester, that will be reduced to a peak time hourly service both morning and evening.

“This is a serious concern for commuters some of whom fear about being able to get to their jobs on time. There are also worries about already overcrowded trains becoming even more so.”

Colne Valley Tory councillor Donna Bellamy said:

“The meeting was very well attended with many users from Slaithwaite, Marsden as well as Mossley and Saddleworth turning up.

“A lot of the issues around the timetable changes are that you would no longer be able to commute by train from Marsden to Slaithwaite or vice versa without firstly going into Huddersfield and then getting the next train out to the destination.

“This I do see as an issue and could indeed cause some social isolation, in teenagers and the elderly, many of whom use the trains in an evening and on a weekend to visit friends in the neighbouring villages, as the cost of this service is less expensive and is generally more reliable than buses, especially in the winter.

“This was discussed with TransPennine Express who did say that this would be the case and they would need to look at ticketing as not to cause a penalty charge.”

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/big-turnout-meeting-over-fears-13943257

Posted in Campaigning, Marsden, Northern Rail, Slaithwaite, timetable changes, Transpennine Express | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment