Mr Gavin Bostock
External Relations
CrossCountry Mobilisation Team
5th Floor
43 Temple Row
Birmingham
B2 5LS
Response to Consultation on Proposed CrossCountry Trains Timetable from 2009
1. Introduction
1.1 I am writing in response to the current consultation on the proposed new timetable for CrossCountry trains from 2009 onwards (December 2008 timetable change). Our comments – based on the draft timetables emailed to me by Frank Gordon on 17th October 2007 – are restricted to timetable routes 1-4 and are mainly concerned with service patterns at Morpeth Station. A summary of the existing and proposed service patterns for CrossCountry trains at Morpeth is given at Annex 1.
1.2 First let me say a few words about SENRUG. We are the South East Northumberland Rail User Group and were established in 2004 to promote rail travel in the area and represent the interests of both existing and potential rail users. The principle inter-city station in the region we represent is Morpeth, though it is worth noting a considerable number of travellers to the area start and finish the rail element of their journey at Newcastle. This is due to a combination of (i) lack of through services from Morpeth, (ii) lack of adequate connecting services between Morpeth (and other local stations) and Newcastle, and (iii) lack of knowledge of the direct services that do exist.
1.3 Since our inception, we have sought to work constructively with train operators and other rail industry partners to promote increased rail travel. Our policy has been to present achievable, realistic suggestions which will help train operators increase patronage and revenue as well as developing rail as a viable alternative for travel to, from and within the area.
1.4 We have already seen success in a number of areas and note with some satisfaction that rail travel at Morpeth has been steadily increasing since we commenced our activities. The station car park, once only half full, is now at capacity every weekday – and following lobbying from SENRUG we understand Northumberland County Council have drawn up plans to extend the car park and provide level access to the northbound platform. Following a successful trial in 2006 Northern Rail are now progressing a business case to extend the opening hours of the station ticket office (which also gives access to the toilets and waiting room) to include the afternoons. Northern are also introducing a new evening service (see further comments at para 4.4) and at SENRUG’s request ran a local service on Sundays for Christmas shoppers last December and will do so again in 2007.
1.5 But by far the most significant achievement to date however has been our request to the previous operator of CrossCountry (Virgin Trains) to introduce some stops on their inter-city services that pass through Morpeth. This commenced in Winter 2005 initially with 2 trains in each direction per weekday, and was increased to 4 trains in each direction per weekday last year. We understand these services proved successful in terms of additional farebox revenue for Virgin (hence the doubling of frequency in 2006) and that Morpeth to York has been the strongest flow. Although SENRUG has been active in promoting these services with our own posters in libraries and community centres and SENRUG initiated press coverage, we recognise that as a relatively new service, knowledge of these trains and the journey opportunities they represent is still not that widespread, and we believe patronage of these services at Morpeth is not yet at its full potential.
1.6 It is therefore with extreme disappointment that we note CrossCountry propose that rather than increase the number of services at Morpeth, to reduce them from 4 each way per weekday to 3. We urge this decision be re-considered, and present below both commercial and technical arguments for as a minimum retaining 4 services each way as well as increasing the number of trains yet further. We further present some comments on the overall timetable integration of the trains that CrossCountry propose will stop at Morpeth and how these fit with services provided by other operators.
2. Commercial Issues
2.1 Morpeth is a key commercial and population centre: Morpeth is the County Town of Northumberland and an important centre for commerce and industry. It lies within the more densely populated south eastern section of Northumberland. The population of the wider Castle Morpeth district is 49,000 compared to 31,000 for Alnwick district (roughly the area served by Alnmouth station) and 26,000 for Berwick district. Morpeth station is within a few miles of the towns of Ashington and Bedlington which lie in the neighbouring Wansbeck District which has a population of 59,000 (figures from 2001 census). It can be seen therefore that Morpeth station potentially serves a considerable community and should not be overlooked in comparison to other towns where the inter-city rail services are for historical reasons more firmly established.
2.2 (i) Morpeth as a rail-head still not fully established: It is only 2 years since CrossCountry services were introduced at Morpeth, and just 12 months since the service frequency was doubled to 4 trains each way per weekday. The service is not yet fully established; many people either do not yet know the service exists or have not yet been persuaded to try it. It takes some time for word to get round and for both business and leisure travellers to convince friends and colleagues of the advantages of train following a successful trip. To reduce the service at this stage, whilst passenger numbers are still growing and flows being established, does seem rather foolhardy.
2.2 (ii) Indeed, we believe that if CrossCountry, working in conjunction with National Express (shortly to take over the East Coast Main Line franchise), could achieve a service pattern of one inter-city train every 2 hours (approx) in each direction on weekdays, the market at Morpeth would grow even further for the benefit of all the train operators serving the station. It is particularly frustrating therefore that CrossCountry plan to cut some of the off-peak services and concentrate their stops into the peaks very close to those of other operators and this point is addressed more fully in section 4.
2.3 Key investment planned for Morpeth station: Infrastructure facilities at Morpeth are poor with no level access to the northbound platform, no passenger information system of any kind and no access to the waiting room and toilets once the ticket office closes at 12.20. However, plans are in hand to address the level access and ticket office / waiting room issue as stated in the introduction. A lease has recently been taken out on redundant and uninviting station buildings by a restaurant business and this will improve the ambience of the station yet further. There is currently no bus / rail integration at the station, but given Arriva’s commitment to this and noting Arriva is also the dominant bus operator we are hopeful this can be achieved in the near future. Indeed, we understand Northumberland County Council has plans to improve the junction at the station access road which will facilitate the bus companies serving the station and making use of the bus turning circle outside the station entrance. SENRUG will also lobby strongly for a customer information system to be provided now that 2 of the 3 train operators are changing. All of these improvements – themselves generated by the increased use of the station – will together improve the attractiveness of rail and increase patronage of train services yet further. It does seem to be a very strange decision therefore to choose this moment to decrease services, just as the station and associated train usage there is seeing something of a revival.
2.4 Morpeth has better car-parking and scope for further expansion than Newcastle: We are aware that some inter-city operators encourage passengers to drive to city centre stations such as Newcastle and park there in order to catch inter-city services. However, Newcastle has very restricted car-parking and the charge (set by GNER) of £12 per day is in many cases more expensive than the rail ticket – especially for people making overnight longer distance journeys who must then pay for 2 or more days parking. Our view is that many passengers, if they have to drive 10 miles to Newcastle and face city centre congestion to reach the car park, will simply elect to drive all the way to their destination and the business is lost to rail altogether. The city centre location of Newcastle means there is no scope within the station infrastructure to improve parking provision. By contrast there is scope to increase the amount of parking at Morpeth and once again we understand Northumberland County Council has plans to do this. This is likely to further increase the patronage of CrossCountry trains given that it was the advent of these services 2 years ago that has now caused the car park to be full each day. However, for this strategy of increased car parking to be effective, there needs to be a good range of inter-city services available at Morpeth throughout the day.
2.5 (i) Existing passenger data for Morpeth likely to be understated: We suspect data on passenger usage at Morpeth to be understated. SENRUG committee members have never seen a passenger count being done on any inter-city train between Morpeth and Newcastle; counts always seem to be done south of Newcastle or north of Alnmouth. Data from ticket sales is likely to be inaccurate since a various ticket price anomalies make it cheaper to re-book from Newcastle. It is difficult to demonstrate pricing anomalies given the range of advance purchase tickets now available; however using the case of what we understand to be the most popular journey from Morpeth on CrossCountry trains (to York); and using the case of a walk-on off-peak fare, it can be seen significant savings are made if the ticket is booked in 2 sections.
Table 1: Morpeth to York. Walk-on fare (off-peak)
| Price | Ticket type (cheapest available | |
| Morpeth to York | £36.50 | Saver Return |
| Morpeth to Newcastle | £4.60 | Cheap day return |
| Newcastle to York | £20.50 | Cheap day return |
| Total if booked as 2 tickets | £25.10 | |
| Saving if booked as 2 tickets | £11.40 |
2.5 (ii) Thus it can be seen that savvy passengers will re-book at Newcastle. This means that any data on usage at Morpeth based on ticket sales is understating the true usage of Morpeth and leading operators to believe that Morpeth passengers are only making local journeys to Newcastle.
2.5 (iii) NB: SENRUG has campaigned to correct some of the more bizarre ticket price anomalies and indeed progress has been made particularly on the cheaper advance purchase tickets. With regard to the above example, we know that people even travelling on the direct CrossCountry services from Morpeth to York have purchased 2 separate tickets. Following an attempt by Northern Rail Ticket Office staff at Morpeth to refuse to sell 2 tickets for a single through journey, we established the ruling that this is permitted provided the passenger leaves their seat at Newcastle, steps on to the platform and then gets back on to the same train. The passenger must apparently pay the additional £11=40 to have a single ticket if they wish to remain in their seat at Newcastle station. It is worth noting that for Morpeth to York the fare is set by GNER, the direct off-peak trains are provided by CrossCountry and walk-on tickets are sold by Northern Rail (who operate the ticket office at Morpeth).
2.6 Fare anomalies, as and when corrected, will increase Morpeth patronage yet further: We demonstrated in the paragraph above that savvy passengers re-book to get cheaper fares which distorts data taken from ticket sales. Conversely the infrequent traveller is unaware of methods to achieve cheaper fares and the bewildering array of advance purchase options. They only see the headline – needlessly expensive – fare and are likely to be put off rail altogether. But as these anomalies are increasingly rectified – and we note CrossCountry’s commitment to introducing simpler ticketing options – we can expect patronage at Morpeth to increase yet further as the first fare to be quoted becomes more attractive.
2.7 Growth of Morpeth to Edinburgh Market: Personal observation on both CrossCountry and East Coast Main Line services is that they are lightly loaded between Newcastle and Edinburgh, with passenger numbers picking up again north of Edinburgh on those trains that proceed further. It must therefore be in the train operators’ interest to increase usage between Newcastle and Edinburgh. We point out that Morpeth to Edinburgh has the potential to be a popular flow capable of growth amongst both leisure and business travellers. A day out in Edinburgh by train from Morpeth only really became available when the CrossCountry services at Morpeth doubled to 4 trains each way last year. However, if off-peak services are cut it will limit the potential for further growth on this route. Few people find the prospect of travelling south to Newcastle in order to pick up a northbound train which then passes through Morpeth without stopping appealing. Even business commuting using peak hour trains is less likely to grow if there is an insufficient selection of direct off-peak trains as commuters are aware of the need to be able to get home during the day in the event of an unexpected emergency.
2.8 Branch Line Re-opening: SENRUG has been campaigning for the re-opening of the Ashington Blyth and Tyne Line to passenger traffic. Our plans have been taking forward by the North East Assembly, Northumberland County Council and other funding partners and there is now a high level of interest in the scheme. Earlier this year I was invited to join a delegation led by Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy to discuss the scheme with Rail Minister Tom Harris at Westminster. One possibility, that has been the subject of a full feasibility study carried out in conjunction with Network Rail, is that the section from Morpeth to Bedlington via Choppington will re-open as phase 1 of the scheme. As the line is a fully working freight line there is little infrastructure work necessary and if the funding partners agree it could be re-opened as early as 2009. This would increase the catchment area served by Morpeth due to the establishment of rail connections from additional stations.
3. Technical Issues
3.1 The existing stops on CrossCountry services were introduced without any lengthening of the overall journey times between Newcastle and Edinburgh. The services that currently call at Morpeth were specifically selected by Virgin for this reason. It seems there is sufficient gap between the available departure slots at Morpeth and arrival slots at Edinburgh offered by Network Rail (and vice versa for southbound) for the stops to be made without any cost to overall journey time.
3.2 The SENRUG representative attending the CrossCountry consultation event in Edinburgh on 1st October travelled on the 11.47 departure from Morpeth (as this is a lightly used train with cheaper fares available). This is one of the services where CrossCountry propose to withdraw the Morpeth stop. Yet this train, even after making the Morpeth stop, arrived at Edinburgh early and was held outside the station for several minutes awaiting its scheduled arrival time. What is the point of withdrawing the stops and refusing extra fare revenue if the train is simply going to be held at signals elsewhere?
3.3 Whilst we acknowledge CrossCountry are no doubt taking advantage of a full timetable recasting delivered by Network Rail for the 2009 timetable, a cursory examination of the proposed CrossCountry timetable for 2009 indicates the same issue will occur. The trains on which the Morpeth stops are proposed for withdrawal by CrossCountry (indicated by yellow highlight) do not deliver any improvement in overall journey times or replacement stops elsewhere.
Table 2: Proposed CrossCountry Timetable for 2009:
Newcastle to Edinburgh extract, Mon-Fri northbound
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Key to station codes: ABN = Aberdeen BMH = Birmingham New Street; BRI = Bristol; DUN = Dundee; EDB = Edinburgh Waverley; EXD = Exeter; GLA = Glasgow; NEW = Newcastle; PLY = Plymouth; PNZ = Penzance; RDG = Reading
3.4 It can be seen from table 2 that most trains making 2 stops between Newcastle and Edinburgh take 93 minutes. The trains from which the Morpeth stop is proposed for withdrawal still take 93 minutes but make only 1 stop en route.
3.5 A similar pattern is repeated on the southbound journeys. The trains from which Morpeth stops have been eliminated (again highlighted yellow) do not achieve any faster journey times between Edinburgh and Newcastle and have fewer stops than other trains making the same run in the same time.
Table 3: Proposed CrossCountry Timetable for 2009
Edinburgh to Newcastle extract, Mon-Fri southbound
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Station codes as for table 2
3.6 We therefore believe CrossCountry are surrendering the commercial advantages of the fare revenue and overall growth to the rail market achieved by the Morpeth stops, without achieving any technical benefits.
3.7 Finally, it is worth pointing out Morpeth station lies on a sharp curve with a 50 miles per hour speed restriction in force. As trains must slow down for the speed restriction, the time lost due to de-acceleration and re-acceleration of a train that calls at Morpeth is less than that at other stations.
4. Timetable Integration Issues
4.1 Whilst all services offered by CrossCountry are welcome, in some cases the proximity of the proposed revised times of CrossCountry services at Morpeth is so close to existing trains provided by other operators that we feel few new journey opportunities will be offered and there will simply be extraction from one operator to another. We would remind you of the Arriva plc board commitment to integrated public transport that was communicated so strongly at your stakeholder presentation during the franchising exercise. In making these points we realise that whilst we have the proposed CrossCountry timetable for 2009, we do not as yet have the other operators proposals so we are comparing 2009 times for CrossCountry with current times for GNER (to become National Express) and Northern Rail.
4.2 In the southbound direction, the new morning CrossCountry service that calls at Alnmouth at 07.51 and Morpeth at 08.05 is extremely close to the current Northern Rail service that departs a couple of minutes earlier from both stations (see table 4). It is inevitable this train will be used by commuters travelling into Newcastle – something we understood CrossCountry to be keen to avoid – since the CrossCountry train overtakes the Northern service en route. Whilst we do not deny the CrossCountry train will be of benefit to passengers travelling further south than Newcastle who find the 07.20 GNER departure from Morpeth slightly too early, it would be better to have trains more evenly spaced throughout the day.
Table 4: Morning southbound trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle (Mon – Fri)
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Station codes as for table 2 plus CHA = Chathill. ? = continued in later column. ? = continued from earlier column
Operator codes: NX = National Express; CC = CrossCountry; NR = Northern Rail
4.3 There is a particular case for the 07.33 from Dundee calling at Morpeth at approx 10.14 since there is currently a 1 hour 20 minute gap for southbound trains from Morpeth between 09.32 and 10.50, and this train would be more helpful in promoting an overall reasonable frequency of services throughout the day, which would grow the market for all operators.
4.4 Similarly for northbound services, CrossCountry propose to withdraw the Morpeth stop on its last northbound train of the day (22.00 hours at Morpeth) and replace it with a stop on the earlier service at 21.11. Yet this will be only 28 minutes after the preceding GNER service and 8 minutes before a new service Northern Rail are introducing from next month (see table 5). Additionally, passengers travelling from York to Morpeth will find the CrossCountry service is only 20 minutes later than the GNER service. We believe there is a case for retaining the Morpeth stop on the last train of the day. This would offer a later service to Morpeth for passengers not just from Newcastle but also from Birmingham and York and (by changing at York or Newcastle) from London. The current CrossCountry service makes it possible to leave London at 18.20 and reach Morpeth at 22.00. It would also offer a service to Morpeth from Wakefield and Leeds, the 21.11 train routing via Doncaster which as mentioned is served by the GNER just 20 minutes earlier.
Table 5: Evening northbound trains between York, Newcastle and Edinburgh (Mon – Fri)
Station and Operator codes as for tables 2 and 4. Yellow highlight indicates train that currently stops at Morpeth
5. Sunday Service
We welcome the improved Sunday service the proposed timetable offers for Morpeth. We believe there is scope to improve this yet further given that on Sundays there is less of a need to achieve the fastest possible journey times between Newcastle and Edinburgh and there is less congestion on the network. It should be noted that passengers wishing to travel on inter-city services on Sundays can not use a local train and change at Newcastle since no local service operates on Sundays (except in December).
6. Conclusion
6.1 We trust CrossCountry will take note of the arguments both commercial and technical presented above, and retain the Morpeth stops on the CrossCountry trains that currently serve the station. For Mondays to Saturdays northbound this is at (approx) 11.47 (the 06.15 from Bristol) and 22.00 (the 14.25 from Plymouth). For Mondays to Saturdays southbound this is at 13.21 and 15.21 (12.05 and 14.05 from Edinburgh respectively).
6.2 Moreover, we hope CrossCountry, in recognition of the strong arguments presented, will consider the case for additional trains stopping at Morpeth. For Mondays to Saturdays northbound a stop at approx 13.50 (the 06.25 from Plymouth) and 17.50 (08.30 from Penzance) would be welcome as would southbound stops at 10.14 (07.33 from Dundee) and 19.21 (18.05 from Edinburgh).
6.3 We would be happy to provide further clarification on any of the points made in this letter and hope you will agree we have presented a strong case in favour of the development of Morpeth as a CrossCountry station. We have confined this letter to timetable issues, but we look forward to developing a constructive relationship with CrossCountry and to discussing a range of other issues, some of which were touched on this letter, at the appropriate opportunity. We wish you well as you now take over the franchise.
Kindest regards
Dennis Fancett
Chair, SENRUG: The South East Northumberland Rail User Group
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ANNEX 1
SUMMARY OF NEW CROSSCOUNTRY TIMETABLE PROPOSALS
FOR MORPETH
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