Dear Therese
Felixstowe line services - correspondence
Thank you for your letter attaching correspondence from (name blanked) about Felixstowe services. I'm pleased to answer the points raised.
Let me first reiterate that we are very sorry that the performance on the route has not always been as consistent as customers would rightly expect and we intend to deliver, although, I'm pleased to report that we are now starting to see some improvements again, with punctuality up to 86% now.
As we have discussed, the problems were predominantly due to the impact of infrastructure or freight train issues on the passenger services (including on some occasions congestion or other incidents in the Port of Felixstowe itself). We have taken these issues up with the directors' team at Network Rail Anglia, as part of our alliance partnership and a more punctual and reliable service is now being delivered more consistently.
As you know, the single line nature of the infrastructure, which is not suitable for the volume and type of rail traffic it currently carries, is a constraint, which we are all trying to address by seeking investment to increase capacity.
The issues are frustrating, problematic and inconvenient, but very real and, as they are mainly linked to infrastructure and freight trains, not ones which can be solved overnight or by the passenger train operator alone. In fact, we have lobbied (?) hard to Network Rail and others with your help to secure infrastructure upgrades.
Turning to the fleet availability challenges we suffered during February and March, I'm pleased to report that these have now been overcome and we have not suffered similar problems over the last month.
On the other points raised by (name blanked) we do not supply alternative transport if the next train is within an hour, because that will incur greater delay to passengers than catching the next train. It is about minimising disruption for people. It is not a cost issue.
On the question of train crew deployment, I should explain that the schedules are neither inefficient, nor lacking resilience and this factor has minimal impact on cancellations and service problems. In fact there has been hardly any disruption or problems due to this reason (4 train cancellations in 12 months).
Continued...
Turning to the question of the trains themselves, the services are scheduled to be operated by a single carriage class 153 train. For most services, a single carriage is sufficient, though certain services would be better with a two carriage train. However, unfortunately, there are currently no suitable spare diesel trains available on the UK rail network at the moment. In the longer term we would hope that can be addressed, but it is unlikely to be possible until we are into the long Greater Anglia franchise from October 2016 onwards.
Nevertheless, to support train availability across our local routes we have invested in using a short locomotive hauled train set to provide cover on some services - a very expensive option, but the only one around and one that demonstrates our real commitment to providing the best service. We won't cover that investment from any angle, either in fares or any regulatory compensation. It's a true commitment on our part to providing the best possible service for the customers and communities we serve and apart from a brief period in February and March (when a mix of weather-related damage and fatalities caused extra problems with unit availability) has worked well in protecting service reliability.
Turning to the mainline to London, in actual fact there hasn't been a significant increase in delays due to the performance of the trains. They continue to be generally very reliable and the heavy maintenance and refresh programme they are undergoing should maintain that position for the next 5 years. Decisions on the long term rolling stock to be used on the intercity services will be taken as part of the Greater Anglia long franchise process which will see a new long franchise start in October 2016.
The work of the Norwich in Ninety Taskforce is looking at the best ways of improving journey times and line speeds along the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML), but what is crucial is that their recommendations are followed by the necessary investment commitments in terms of both rolling stock through the franchising process and infrastructure through government and Network Rail.
As we have discussed, we are keen to see infrastructure upgrades for both the GEML and Felixstowe - Nuneaton route, as they would benefit both passengers and freight operations. We are therefore doing all we can, in partnership with stakeholders, to try and secure the decisions and investment by Network Rail that would enable these schemes to be progressed as soon as possible.
If you have any other questions on the issue or any other rail matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Jonathan Denby
Head of Corporate Affairs
