House of Commons - Transport

Select Committee on Transport Fifth Report

3 Importance of the railway to local communities

15. The rationale for supporting local railways is complex. The SRA strategy identifies reducing congestion; supporting local economies; providing a community transport service; environmental benefits; and allowing rural populations access to the facilities in towns and cities.[20] In our call for evidence we asked about the importance of the local railway to local communities. The evidence we received demonstrated the value of the railway.

16. The Tyne Valley Users' Group summed up the range of journeys which many local railways, in this case the Tyne Valley line between Newcastle and Carlisle, can provide:

The Tyne Valley line, which runs between Newcastle and Carlisle, is 55 miles long, and runs through urban, commuter and rural areas. It is used for commuter, leisure and shopping journeys, as well as for connections with long distance services at Newcastle and Carlisle. The line has considerable potential to serve an expanding tourist industry centred on Hadrian's Wall, a World Heritage Site. According to Arriva Trains Northern, the number of journeys made in 2003 exceeded 1.1 million.[21]

17. The view is supported by research from the Institute of Chartered Accountants, which showed that three-quarters of their members thought that their local railway was important to the business economy of their region, while two thirds said that they were reliant on their local rail service - the same weight as they put on intercity links.[22] The SRA community rail strategy also recognises the increasing importance of tourism to the rural economy.

Social exclusion

18. The railway network has been seen as providing subsidised services to the affluent social groups who are most likely to use it. In rural areas this is not so. The Local Government Association (LGA) drew our attention to the findings of the 2003 report into transport and social exclusion by the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU):

Whilst aggregated national statistics may show that rail appears to be used predominantly by relatively well off business commuters, in rural areas this has never been the case. There, year round services are vital lifelines for local residents who do not have access to cars but who need opportunities to access employment and essential health and educational services.[23]

The SEU report found that people in social classes other than A and B make 60 per cent of journeys on the regional network (that is not inter-city or commuter routes into London) and 65% of all visits to friends and relatives.[24] The Countryside Agency cited the findings of the National Travel Survey; that the use of rail by those on lower incomes is more important proportionately in rural areas than it is in urban areas: "For these people, the value of the journeys made is likely to be high and, so, it is likely that social exclusion issues will be in part lessened by the presence of rail."[25] Four per cent of rural residents use rail in any week (compared with 7% in larger urban areas). Considering the lack of stations this use is relatively high.[26]

Commuting

19. Although commuting is generally seen as an urban phenomenon, it is clear that local railways are used to travel to work in all regions of England and Wales. Several of our witnesses outlined the importance of the railway for commuting in their areas. Even the most rural lines can provide for commuter travel: Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs, One Railway, said that the Bittern Line from Sheringham to Norwich was used for commuting and leisure and there had been a significant increase in commuting:

"The majority of the growth has been in leisure but, at the same time, we have seen a significant increase in commuting as well. Business traffic will be the smallest part of the patronage."[27]

At the public meeting in Shrewsbury there were complaints that alterations to the timetable had affected commuting possibilities for local residents, preventing easy commuting from Shrewsbury and its surroundings to Birmingham and hindering commuting into Shrewsbury itself.[28] In a debate on community railways in Westminster Hall, MPs from the north-east explained how the reopening of the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne line would enable residents of former mining villages to access new jobs in the Tyneside area.[29]

20. It is possible to support the use of the railway for commuting as a matter of policy. Mr Ingemar Lundin, Director of Jönköping Länstrafik in Sweden, told us how his county's rail policy had enabled people in the rural towns and villages to travel to work and education in the large towns by increasing services and opening stations so that 60% of the population lived within two kilometres walking distance of a station.[30]

Local transport network

21. Devon County Council told us that the permanence of the local railway could form the centre of a local transport network:

"The importance of rural railways to the communities which they serve should not be underestimated. The existence of a rail line (and a franchise to underpin services on that line) gives a certainty of continuity which cannot be matched by the bus industry. It is all too widely appreciated that bus services can be here one year and removed the next. Rural rail services provide the hubs around which other links such as connecting bus services, community transport, and taxis can be built."[31]

22. Tyne Valley Users Group took the Committee to task for not asking about the value of railways that are properly integrated with other modes of transport:

One question that the committee does not ask relates to the value of railways that are properly integrated with other modes of transport. At present, bus and train often compete.

There is enormous scope for integration between bus and train. This scope is recognised by Northumberland County Council, which has recently been awarded a large Rural Bus Challenge Grant under the heading "Bus meets Train".

The Tyne Valley railway line should be the backbone of any integrated public transport system. The route is fixed, and extra stations are unlikely, but frequency of services and stopping patterns could be enhanced.[32]

23. The Penistone Line Partnership not only runs a community bus service linking Holmfirth with the railway, it also manages a rural car club.[33] Nor should it be forgotten that station car parking plays an important part in an integrated transport network in rural areas. We heard how passenger numbers increased immediately at Gobowen station on the Chester to Shrewsbury line when the station was transformed by the building of a 100 space car park and cycle, bus and taxi interchange.[34]

Tourism and the local economy

24. Research sponsored by Somerset County Council on the West Somerset Railway which is a steam-operated heritage line, not even linked to the national network, indicated a multiplier effect that benefits the local economy. It found that for every pound taken in fare income £1.90 flowed into the local economy from associated spending by the visitor; purchase of goods and services by the railway and from local employment by the railway.[35] The operators of the Wensleydale Railway found that in their first year of operation local businesses in Leyburn, the main market town in Wensleydale, reported an increase of between 10 and 30 per cent in the number of customers.[36] We agree with the SRA that more work should be done to identify the multiplier effect of individual Community Railways on the local economy. This would be an important lever for additional external funding.

20 Ibid para 1.7 Back

21 RR 06 Back

22 SRA strategy document para 1.4, p 4 Back

23 RR 15 Back

24 Social Exclusion Unit, Making the Connections: Final Report on Transport and Social Exclusion, February 2003 Back

25 RR 17 Back

26 ibid Back

27 Q 154 Back

28 RR 10, RR 12 Back

29 HC Deb 11 January 2005 cols1-24WH Back