I have received the following letter from the Transport Secretary about improvements now planned for Great Western train services, summarising the arrangements for the new train franchise following consultation and negotiation;
23rd March 2015
we are grateful to all those who took part. A summary of the responses
received, and how they have been incorporated into the new Franchise, is
now available on the Department’s website at Gov.UK.
The franchise overall will see an increase in capacity of around 25 percent,
or 3 million seats per year as well as significant increases in service
frequency and journey time savings. This will include a 2 trains per hour
service to the South West of England, an earlier arrival into Plymouth, and
double the number of trains to Cornwall. My Department will also work with
FGW to improve the performance and quality of the rolling stock serving
the south west of England, particularly for intercity services, during this
Direct Award; to complement the introduction of the IEP trains.
Other benefits secured by the Direct Award include investment of £30m to
create 2,000 more car park spaces, additional customer information
systems, CCTV, ticket gatelines, and fund of £2.5m for station access
improvements a £3.5m station development match fund, as well as
extension of Station Travel Plans at a further 20 main interchange stations.
The operator will also support the government’s commitment to get more
people into work by providing an annual fund and training opportunities for
young and unemployed people, as well as providing 85 modern
apprenticeships by the franchise end.
New passenger satisfaction, punctuality and cleanliness targets will be
introduced on the franchise. We expect FGW to continue to provide
improving standards for its 99 million annual passengers including the
provision of free Wi-Fi on all train fleets. In addition the company will
deepen its engagement with communities and stakeholders so that all the
users of the franchise can continue to have a real influence over how
services can be improved. This includes a £2.2m Customer and
Communities Improvement Fund to help areas of real social need.
I thought it would be useful to highlight some specific benefits from this
award that may affect you and your constituents more directly. The busy
commuting routes into London will see a significant increase in capacity
and better journey times from Thames Valley stations into London
Paddington with seats for over 29,500 passengers arriving into Paddington
across the morning peak in December 2018, operated by a fleet of modern
Class 387 electric trains, supplemented by a fleet of Class 365 trains. The
number of services along the North Downs route from Reading will increase
from 2 trains per hour to 3, with through trains to Gatwick increased to 2
per hour, providing much needed additional capacity and improved
frequency on the line. There will also be additional trains from Oxford to
London and fast trains will operate to and from Didcot during the morning
and evening peak hours from December 2018. From December 2017 there
will be electrified services operating on the Windsor branch and Henley
branch. Improvements on routes in the region will see the line speed
increase to 110mph from December 2018, when 12 car trains will provide
further capacity and faster journeys to Oxford, Newbury, Swindon and
Didcot.
In addition to these service and rolling stock enhancements, a number of
stations in the Thames Valley region will benefit from improvements. A new
multi-story car park is planned at Didcot for delivery in 2016/17 and FGW
are working with partners on further improvements to the station. Goring &
Streatley will also benefit from improvements to the car park from 2016 and
CCTV will be installed at Windsor and Eton station. Stations on the Marlow
line will see a package of improvements that FGW plan to deliver in
partnership with Buckinghamshire and Thames Valley Local Enterprise
Partnership and will also see new Ticket Vending Machines installed at
Cookham and Marlow stations. The new franchise will also provide
improved passenger information and retail/ ticketing systems. I’m very
pleased too that FGW will work in partnership with Network Rail and
Reading Borough Council to see the aim of a new station at Reading Green
Park realised by December 2018. FGW has committed to working closely
with TfL and the new Crossrail train operator to ensure seamless transfer
of stations and introduction of the new train services.
Reaching this agreement with FGW marks a new chapter for the Great
Western railway and a step change in capacity, frequency, and the quality
of service.
March 24, 2015
Good news indeed however, it is sad that the new trains will not be built in this country.
March 25, 2015
It all sounds like a vast improvement, let us hope that the enlarged car park spaces will also prove to be available at a sensible cost.
Let us also hope that being able to purchase the lowest cost ticket will be rather less complicated, than in years past.