Memorandum by Nottinghamshire County Council
(RR 31)
RURAL RAILWAYS
INTRODUCTION
Nottinghamshire County Council has a long history
of pursuing innovative rail development projects and playing a
pro-active role in the management of the rail network within the
County. The County was the Lead Authority in the development and
implementation of the "Robin Hood Line" Project involving
the restoration of heavy rail services in a 32 mile corridor between
Nottingham and Worksop; and the County is one of the Local Authority
Partners in the Nottingham Express Transit light rail scheme,
the first line of which opened to the public in March 2004.
The response to the Inquiry is structured as
follows. Firstly, a description of the local rail network within
the County will be given. Secondly, the role of heavy rail in
the County's Rural Transport Strategy as set out in the Local
Transport Plans for Nottinghamshire will be discussed and compared
to alternative bus provision. Thirdly, an outline of the measures
undertaken to promote use of the local rail network within the
County will be given. It is hoped that these points will cover
the issues which the Inquiry hopes to investigate.
It should be pointed out that because of the
short consultation deadline this response reflects the views of
Officers of Nottinghamshire County Council only.
1. The rail network in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is served by two main Inter-city
routes. The Midland Main Line links Nottingham with Leicester
and London, whereas the East Coast Main Line to the east of the
County links the market towns of Newark and Retford with London,
the North East and Scotland.
To the west of the County, the "Robin Hood"
Line links Nottingham with the former mining communities of West
Nottinghamshire and Worksop. The line was originally sponsored
and funded by the Robin Hood Line consortium of Local Authorities,
but has now been incorporated within the National franchised rail
network as an adjunct to the Central Trains Franchise.
Linking the settlements in the County on an
east-west axis are three lines which can be said to be "rural":
— The Nottingham to Newark line
serves many small communities in the Trent Valley, many of which
are served by services which stop on request. Train services on
this line are provided by Central Trains as part of a network
of services linking the East Midlands with the West Midlands and
South Wales;
— The Nottingham to Grantham Line
is used by cross country services linking the North West with
East Anglia and from Skegness to Crewe. Many of the latter services
stop at the stations on the line serving the local communities
in the Vale of Belvoir;
— The Worksop to Retford Line
links the towns of Worksop and Retford with Sheffield and Lincoln;
— Finally, in the far north of
the County, there is a line linking Doncaster with Gainsborough,
Lincoln, Sleaford and Peterborough, but there are no intermediate
stations within the County on this route.
2. The role of heavy rail in the County's
rural transport strategy, and a comparison with bus service provision
The objectives of the County's Rural Transport
Strategy as set out in the Local Transport Plan for North Nottinghamshire
for the period 2001/02-2005/06 are given below :
— To increase transport choice
and reduce isolation in the rural areas;
— To increase sustainable accessibility
to and within town and local centres in ways which will enhance
economic activity and encourage development in these centres;
— To restrict traffic growth and
encourage modal change away from the private car, particularly
for work journeys to town and local centres and other major transport
generators;
— To improve road safety for vulnerable
road users, and to relieve communities from the adverse effects
of through traffic;
— To promote recreational and
tourism opportunities in rural areas through sustainable forms
of transport, including walking and cycling.
Similar objectives apply to the rural parts
of Greater Nottingham, which is covered by a separate LTP. The
role of heavy rail in meeting these objectives will now be considered
below.
REDUCING ISOLATION
IN RURAL
AREAS
The number of rural communities served by rail
services in Nottinghamshire is small, and most rural communities
rely instead on bus transport to provide accessibility for those
without a private car. A survey in 2002 identified that 55.2%
of rural households were within approximately a 10 minute walk
of an hourly or better bus service (a Rural White Paper standard),
which is considerably higher than the national average. However
over recent years there has been a significant trend of commercial
bus operators withdrawing rural bus services. The County Council
has responded well to this, increasing local spending on supported
routes. However where they exist, rural rail services provide
a valuable lifeline for the communities concerned, which may be
increasingly important in the future.
ACCESSIBILITY, TRANSPORT
CHOICE AND
MODAL SHIFT
Heavy rail provides a fast and convenient means
of access to major centres of population for people living in
rural areas. In Nottinghamshire, traffic congestion in the morning
and evening peak on the approaches to Nottingham City Centre together
with difficulties in car parking mean that for people living in
rural areas at a distance from the conurbation, heavy rail can
offer a realistic alternative to the private car in accessing
the city. This has benefits of increasing transport choice, restricting
road traffic growth and encouraging modal shift.
Even with good bus priority measures, bus services
are often unable to offer the same attributes offered by a heavy
rail service in terms of speed and direct, segregated access to
major centres. Where they exist, rural railways can offer commuters
a more attractive public transport alternative to the private
car than bus, and therefore a better chance of achieving modal
shift. This has been evidenced by the success in the Robin Hood
Line, where 40% of passengers have been displaced from the car.
Furthermore, the existence of a fixed and segregated
heavy rail link offers a degree of "permanence" and
stability to the public transport network in an area, with individuals
taking long term decisions such as house or job relocation on
the basis that services will be provided into the future.
PROMOTION OF
RECREATIONAL AND
TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES
IN RURAL
AREAS
In Nottinghamshire, the rural rail routes pass
through areas of attractive countryside, and accessibility to
these rural areas is enhanced for recreational and leisure purposes
by the ability of rail services to carry bicycles—something
which buses are generally not able to do.
In the case of the Robin Hood Line in the County,
results of a recent passenger survey have shown that just over
10% of passengers use the line for travelling for leisure/social
purposes, and this has been actively promoted in the publicity
for the line. For instance, a separate guide listing possible
walks from the stations on the line has been published, and with
some limited exceptions, bicycles are usually carried free on
the line.
WIDER COMMUNITY
BENEFITS GENERATED
BY HEAVY
RAIL
Whilst the Robin Hood Line cannot be strictly
categorised as a "rural" railway, the project has shown
that investment in heavy rail can produce substantial community
benefits and can play a major role in helping to achieve the transportation
objectives of the Local Transport Plan. These include the achievement
of environmental, economic, accessibility and integration benefits.
A major passenger survey was carried out on
the line by NOP Market Research in November 2002, and the results
have confirmed that:
— the line is contributing to
reducing congestion and providing environmental benefits. More
than one third of passengers access the line by car, taking advantage
of the free car parking facilities provided at stations;
— the line has influenced journey
to work patterns. Of the passengers who had changed jobs since
the RHL started, two-thirds considered the line was a very or
fairly important factor in their choice;
— the line has increased accessibility
to employment sites. Of the passengers who had changed jobs since
the RHL started, the importance of the line in choice of workplace
was higher amongst those who were unable to make the journey by
other means, those without regular access to a car, and for young
people generally. It is these consumer groups for whom improved
employment opportunities via enhanced accessibility using public
transport, are likely to be most beneficial;
— the line has widened peoples'
travel horizons and broken down perceived barriers affecting access
to major centres. One in five of those who had not made the journey
before the RHL started said it was because there had been no other
suitable public transport available. This is particularly true
of shoppers for whom there may have been perceived barriers to
travel into Nottingham City Centre, such as parking problems or
traffic congestion. This relates to the point made above about
the ability of heavy rail to offer fast journey times to major
centres in part due to segregation from other traffic, and it
is this attribute which can enhance economic activity and encourage
development in these centres.
3. Measures undertaken to promote use of
the rail network within the County
The Robin Hood Line has shown that rail can
attract passengers through high quality facilities including comfortable
trains with regular departure times, attractive station environments,
CCTV surveillance of platforms and car parks, and live passenger
information.
More importantly, this patronage growth has
been achieved through innovative marketing, using attractively-designed
timetable leaflets delivered door-to-door to all households within
the corridor. It is felt that these measures can help achieve
the patronage growth required on rural railways.
The County is trying to increase the patronage
on rail services through the Rail Quality Partnerships programme.
The objective of such a partnership will be to make travel by
train more attractive by improving the quality of all aspects
of a journey of which rail forms a major part. Three categories
of improvement are highlighted :
— The service: for example, frequencies
and calling patterns, quality of rolling stock, provision of ramps
for easier access/egress on trains, effective customer care and
integration with bus services including inter-availability of
ticketing;
— The station environment: for
example, live passenger information on platforms, better security
and lighting, and raising substandard platforms for easier access
onto trains for people with mobility difficulties;
— Access to stations: for example,
improved bus interchange and park and ride facilities, provision
of cycling and walking routes, secure cycle storage and improved
highway signage to stations.
Over the past two years, the Council has carried
out the following improvements to some rural stations within the
County:
— major improvements at Newark
Castle station, including the installation of CCTV to cover the
station car park and platforms, the installation of a shelter
on one of the platforms, and the installation of a Passenger Information
Screen displaying train running information;
— improvements to other rural
stations including the resurfacing of car parks, the installation
of new information panels, and the installation of waiting shelters.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, it is felt that rural railways
in Nottinghamshire play a vital role in achieving the aims of
the County's Transport Strategy, and that the provision of heavy
rail services brings substantial benefits to the communities served.
Many of these benefits would not be fully realised should these
rail services be replaced by bus.
Jonathan Hall
Senior Transport Planning Officer
Environment Department
May 2004
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