First Capital Connect Hertfordshire County Council Overview & Scrutiny Committee 20 May 2010

1. (D) (i) First Capital Connect Hertfordshire County Council Overview & Scrutiny Committee 20 May 2010 Larry Heyman Integration & Partnership Manager

2. Overcrowding: How is it defined? • There is no simple definition of overcrowding as there is no maximum number of passengers that can be carried on a train - the upper limit being defined by passengers’ willingness (and ability) to physically squeeze into a carriage. • Crowding for peak commuter services in the London and South East area is measured by counts known as Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) • PIXC is administered by the DfT and applies to weekday commuter trains arriving into London between 07.00 and 09.59 and those departing between 16.00 and 18.59. • The counts are carried out once a year, on a typical weekday during the autumn. • PIXC capacity is deemed to be: • The number of standard class seats on the train for journeys of more than 20 minutes; • For journeys of 20 minutes or less, an allowance for standing room is also made. • The allowance for standing varies with the type of rolling stock. • The PIXC measure is derived from the number of passengers travelling in excess of capacity divided by the total number of people travelling, expressed as a percentage.

3. Capacity on the GN route • Before May 2009 the GN route was one of the most overcrowded routes in the UK. Capacity and crowding was one of the biggest issues for our customers using the GN outer route. • The most severe overcrowding was on the AM peak Cambridge to London fast trains • The Thameslink Programme is addressing the capacity constraints on FCC’s TL route. • Capacity schemes focussed on the GN route are essential to accommodate existing patronage and growth.

4. More capacity on the GN route • Five 4-car Class 321 trains were transferred from London Midland to FCC for the May 2009 timetable change • These extra trains enabled FCC to introduce the first ever 12-carriage trains running from Cambridge to London King’s Cross • From 17 May 2009 there was a significant improvement to capacity on peak and off-peak services • 2,698 more seats were available in the morning peak from May 2009 (17,537) compared with May 2008 (14,839) • 3,156 more seats were available in the evening peak from May 2009 (17,182) compared with May 2008 (14,026). • The biggest change to the GN timetable for at least 15 years More to come in December this year through HLOS

5. What is HLOS? • HLOS stands for High Level Output Specification • The Railways Act 2005 places a statutory duty on the Government to set out every five years how much public expenditure it wishes to devote to rail and to specify what it wants the railway to deliver. • The formal statement, including the High Level Output Specification and Statement of funds available, is contained within the White Paper ‘Delivering a Sustainable Railway’ which was published in July 2007. • It covers a five year period known as Control Period 4 (1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014). • The White Paper looks at the potential future challenges for the railway over a 30-year horizon. It identifies three long-term agendas for Government and the rail industry working in partnership: increasing the capacity of the railway, delivering a quality service for passengers, and fulfilling rail's environmental potential. • The paper defined how much additional capacity that the DfT wish to add into Moorgate and King’s Cross in the AM peak (0700 to 0959) and AM high peak hour (0800 to 0859).

6. More seats on GN from December 2010 • HLOS – GN • 6500 extra peak seats each day from December timetable change • 11 extra trains (8 x 4-car 321s from London Midland and 3 x 3-car 313s from LOROL) • Additional services and longer trains • Three-year programme will see 12-carriage trains at a further six stations • Four extra morning services into London Moorgate from either Gordon Hill or Welwyn Garden City • Three additional evening services to either Gordon Hill or Hertford North from London Moorgate • The lengthening of a number of existing services serving London King’s Cross or London Moorgate • Power supply upgrades and the lengthening of platforms at six stations including: Royston, Letchworth Garden City, Finsbury Park, Arlesley, Biggleswade and Sandy

7. More seats on GN Moorgate trains Planned improvements from 2010 include: • Additional 06:57 to Moorgate service formed of 6 carriages • 3 additional Gordon Hill to Moorgate services at 07:33, 08:37 and 09:27 formed of 6 carriages • Strengthening of 07:06 Gordon Hill to Moorgate from 3 to 6 carriages • Additional 16:33 Moorgate to Hertford North service formed of 6 carriages • Two additional Moorgate to Gordon Hill services at 17:43 and 18:13 formed of 6 carriages • Strengthening the 16:53 and 17:08 Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City services from 3 to 6 carriages

8. More seats on GN King’s Cross Trains Planned morning peak improvements from 2010 include: • Strengthening the 07:20 Letchworth Garden City to King’s Cross from 6 carriages to 8 • Strengthening the 08:16 Peterborough to King’s Cross service from 4 carriages to 8 • Strengthening the 08:34 Royston to King’s Cross service from 4 carriages to 8 • Additional 06:40 Huntingdon to King’s Cross service formed of 8 carriages • Strengthening the 06:21 Peterborough to King’s Cross service from 8 carriages to 12 (Will call at Stevenage instead of Biggleswade as the platform length at Biggleswade currently allows a maximum of 8 carriages.)

9. More seats on GN King’s Cross Trains Planned evening peak improvements from 2010 include: • Strengthening the 17:22 King’s Cross to Cambridge service from 4 carriages to 8 • Strengthening the 17:57 King’s Cross to Welwyn Garden City service from 6 carriages to 8 • Strengthening the 18:52 King’s Cross to Cambridge service from 4 carriages to 8 • Strengthening the 18:57 King’s Cross to Welwyn Garden City service from 4 carriages to 6 • Strengthening the 17:10 King’s Cross to Peterborough service from 8 carriages to 12

10. Thameslink Programme Update • All 23 new Electrostars delivered • Another 2,400 peak seats in Dec 09 timetable • 5,000 more peak seats now year on year • Number of short 4-car peak trains halved

11. TLP Infrastructure Progress • Blackfriars: Over 400 people working on site; strengthening; riveting (37,000 replaced in all)! • Blackfriars: Rebuilding east side of bridge; closed 20 Nov-16 Jan with trains running through

12. Blackfriars – 50,000 man hours a week

13. TL North route • Farringdon – new roof; ticket hall started • New stations – West Hampstead; Bedford

14. City Thameslink • £4.5m upgrade • Platforms brought into use for 12-car • Brighter, more secure • More seats • Lifts improved • New ticket gate (Ludgate entrance)

15. Platform extensions to 12-car length • Completed Mill Hill Broadway and Luton Airport Parkway • Building now at Harpenden, St Albans, Leagrave, Luton, West Hampstead • Starting this summer at Elstree & Borehamwood • Radlett and Flitwick – starting mid 2011 • Bedford – part of station redesign

16. December 2011 – initial 12-car trains • Three four-carriage Electrostars will be allocated to FCC from Southern • Anticipate eight services per day (three southbound and one northbound in the morning and vice versa in the evening) • Approx 1,900 extra seats per day

17. From 2014 – new trains • Fixed length • Two designs • Lightweight • Walk-through • 2+2 seating • Different customer needs • Cutting-edge information systems

18. From December 2016 • New fleet complete; many more 12-cars • Up to 24 trains per hour in central London • Great Northern route linked to TL • New cross-London destinations • London Bridgerebuilt

19. Reliability on the Thameslink route • Service October 2009 to January 2010 simply not good enough – driver action, winter weather impact • Worked hard to improve services • Plus investment plans in key areas

20. £10 million investment Spread between: • Improvements to Customer Information Systems • Enhanced maintenance regime for class 319 trains e.g. door mechanisms, heating elements • Ticket barriers to be installed at Harpenden, Finsbury Park, Leagrave and West Hampstead – improved security, reduced fare evasion • Increased discount and refund scheme

21. Improved customer information More on all of this later • Upgrades to infrastructure and software behind Customer Information Screens – by end of year with priority to Thameslink route • New FCC website by end of July (involving key stakeholders in design) • 260 PDAs gives frontline staff real-time information

22. Increased fleet reliability • Class 377: • Full fleet finally available on 18 January (over 300 days late) • Poor reliability addressed through travelling fitters and reliability improvement programme for June 2010 • Deferred class 319 C6 / traction reliability improvements re-commenced Aug 2009 for completion on schedule (May 2010) • 319 door fault investment in new diagnostics equipment to aid early identification of train faults • Repaired snow damaged 319 traction motors • Initially 36 damaged motors, affecting 19 units • Repairs completed by 10 February

23. Investment in you and our people • Customer and stakeholder engagement • Regular Meet the Manager events • Passenger Panel (under consideration) • Honest communication • ‘Your Voice’ staff survey • Action plans by department to affect change • Do what we say we will do

24. Driver recruitment • Working to become much less reliant on rest day and overtime work • On TL 7 fresh recruits in training now and 8 more from Monday next week • On TL 34 more qualified drivers (10 in training now + 24 to follow)

25. Driver recruitment • GN route – 18 more trainees • Takes into account numbers expected to retire/leave/sickness • Plus: 15 more for Thameslink Programme 14 more for GN ‘More Seats for You’ - HLOS

26. Performance update

27. Performance – all FCC All FCC – full year to 31 March 2010 89.39% of trains arrived on time last financial year First period this year (month of April) 93.09% of trains arrived on time (target is 92.56%) • PPM for 09-10 full year was 89.39% against a target of 91.65%. • Fleet and Infrastructure and problems affected TL performance. • Infrastructure problems have affected GN performance.

28. Performance – TL route 86.54% of trains arrived on time last financial year. 92.00% were on time in final period of year Thameslink route – full year to 31 March 2010 First period this year (month of April) 92.15% of trains arrived on time (target is 90.59%) • PPM MAA was 86.54% against a target of 89.69%. • PPM MAA is 2.42% lower than at the same time last year.

29. Performance – GN route Great Northern route – full year to 31 March 2010 92.96% of trains of trains arrived on time last financial year First period this year (month of April) 94.29% of trains arrived on time in (target is 94.93%) • PPM for 09/10 year 92.96% compared to 93.62% last year. • GN PPM MAA was 92.96% against target of 93.62%. • PPM MAA was below target, and hampered by snow in periods 10 and 11.

30. Engineering performance TL Route GN Route

31. Fares – background to regulation • In June 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) published the conclusions of its year long rail fares review. This major review of fares regulation - the first since privatisation - was aimed at redressing the balance between taxpayers and fare payers. • The report said that there were are only two principal sources of funds for the railway – fare payers and taxpayers. Revenue from fares had increased by 26% from 1997-98 to 2001-022, while railway investment had grown by 164% in the same period. • The SRA said that there had been a period of consultation from July - October 2002. Local authorities, train operating companies, rail industry bodies, rail user groups, Rail Passenger Councils and Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) had been included in the consultation process. • Following the implementation of the review, the SRA said that approximately 45% of all fares would be regulated. The balance, as under the 1997 policy at the time of privatisation, would either be controlled by simplified fares “baskets” or would be open to market competition.

32. Fares – more background info • Until the SRA’s fares’ review in 2003, the regulated fares price cap for annual increases was RPI minus 1.0%, based on the previous July’s RPI • This changed to RPI plus 1.0% from January 2004, based on the July 2003 RPI • The mechanism for fares regulation would be that all regulated fares would regulated by means of a fares basket • Each fares basket was constructed using January 2003 fares, weighted by the revenue received by that operator from the sale of that fare in 2002/03 • Increases to individual fares within baskets was then to be limited to 5% above the basic policy (RPI plus 6.0%) in any given year. A copy of the Press Release issued by the SRA on 19 June 2003 is available with the handouts of these slides

33. Car park charges • They are not hidden; full details of the charges at each car park are available as a PDF on our website • Leaflets are available, showing the tariffs at all stations operated by FCC • Prices related to those in other, town centre car parks in same location • Major investment in high quality free cycle parking at all FCC stations and more on way

34. Customer service update

35. Customer Information Update • CIS replacement software tender progressing • Will create one system for all FCC • More accurate information • Fewer late notice platform alterations • Easier to manage during disruption • Driver announcements: good practices being developed and encouraged

36. Customer information update • Problem – how to get real-time information to our ticket inspectors, gate line and platform staff? • Solution – Blackberry smart phones with internet access. • 260 devices by June 2010. 133 already issued to most ticket inspectors as well as gate line staff • This week: Blackfriars, St Albans, Luton Airport Parkway, Elephant & Castle

37. Customer information update • Blackberry gives access to: • National Rail Enquiry staff services and other real-time information systems • Emails sent from control • Company information • www.firstcapitalconnect to be overhauled: • more user friendly • disruption updates clearer, more informative • will involve key stakeholders in design

38. Any Questions ?