Select Committee on Transport Written Evidence


APPENDIX 39

Memorandum submitted by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER)

INTRODUCTION

  1.  The successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a huge honour for London, the UK and the London2012 bid team. This sense of pride needs to be met by a co-ordinated effort to deliver the transport infrastructure necessary to host the Games, not just in London and the South East, but also throughout the UK.

  2.  Therefore, we welcome the decision by the Select Committee to investigate the transport aspects of the Games, including direct support for the events and the regeneration legacy in East London. In particular, we believe the Committee should consider:

    —  The role of private sector operators in delivering the transport infrastructure for the Games, on time and within budget;

    —  How the planned transport gain from infrastructure investment can best be used to benefit other regions of the UK, as well as London;

    —  The transport requirements of disabled passengers and travel needs for the Paralympics.

  3.  This evidence highlights the experience of the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) in relation to the transport plans for the Games. As the UK's leading high-speed rail operator, we run 122 services every weekday on the flagship InterCity East Coast (ICEC) line, a busy route between London and Scotland. We have also been short-listed for the Integrated Kent Franchise (IKF) and fully understand issues relating to the rail network in the South East.

COMMITMENT TO THE GAMES

  4.  GNER is totally committed to assisting the Government, Mayor of London and Olympic organising committee in delivering world-beating Games. As we stated in the Executive Summary of our submission for the IKF:

    "There have been only a few occasions when the reputation of the UK has rested upon the capability of its railways…The absolute determination of the London2012 organisers to remove the private car from the Olympic and Paralympics Games means that the reliability of Britain's railways will be exposed to international gaze as never before."

  5.  As a major part of the regional infrastructure along the East Coast, and as a regionally based company, GNER are proud to be supporters of the Olympics and Paralympic Games. The determination expressed in the bid for 100% of spectators to access the Games by public transport means that the reliability of Britain's railways will be exposed to unprecedented public attention. It is the role of transport providers to rise to this challenge.

  6.  GNER has already put in place a mechanism for dealing with those parts of our service that interact with preparations for the Olympics, and prepared more detailed plans as part of our franchise submission for the IKF. We demonstrated our overall commitment to the Games by naming a train in honour of London 2012 and we worked with regional bodies to highlight the accessibility of Northern regions to London and the speed and comfort of long-distance services. We also fully support the Paralympic Games and a commitment from private sector partners fully to embrace the concept of accessible rail options.

  7.  The challenge of getting the transport infrastructure in place by 2012 is captured in the commitment of the London2012 team for 10 railway lines carrying 240,000 people every hour to the Olympic Park, including the Olympic Javelin shuttle service. A significant part of this commitment will fall to the operators of the IKF franchise and the transfer of domestic rail services to the "Channel Tunnel Rail Link" (CTRL). Great South Eastern Railway (GSER), the IKF franchise partnership between GNER and the MTR Corporation, owners and operators of the Hong Kong metro, is well equipped to achieve this goal.

EXTENDING THE BENEFITS OF THE OLYMPICS TO OTHER REGIONS

  8.  We believe there is a great opportunity for other regions to benefit from the Olympics by spectators extending their visit and travelling to other destinations in the UK. On the East Coast Main Line, GNER serves major tourism and commercial centres between England and Scotland, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Leeds, Doncaster and Peterborough. In 2004, GNER achieved 16.8 million passenger journeys, approximately 70% of which began or finished at London Kings Cross station. On current travel patterns, 17.2 million people live within the catchment areas of GNER- served stations.

  9.  GNER will work with tourist authorities, other network operators and the Olympic Transport Authority to ensure an attractive, seamless package of fares for visitors wishing to visit destinations on the ICEC.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM PRIVATE TRANSPORT OPERATORS

  10.  London has one of the most extensive and comprehensive public transport networks in the world. Despite these benefits, transport plans for the Games will require both significant new investment and innovative management of the existing infrastructure.

  11.  GNER is rare amongst UK train operating companies. We have combined an increasing net contribution of funds to the government with consistently high levels of passenger satisfaction. This success is based on investment in our staff, an enlightened approach to industrial relations and an understanding of effective management structures. We believe elements of this approach can be applied to the Olympics model, in particular on customer service.

  12.  Our experience informs us that the best approach to major public planning and infrastructure projects is where private sector operators are willing partners to public sector providers. We have assigned a dedicated senior manager for liaison with the proposed Olympic Transport Authority, and prepared specific plans for the IKF franchise within our submission to the Strategic Rail Authority.

DELIVERING ON TRANSPORT OBJECTIVES

  13.  We welcome the partnership approach between Government, the Mayor of London, Transport for London (TfL) and other transport providers. To be successful, we believe that the Olympic Transport Authority must have sufficient executive jurisdiction to deliver on projects, including the ability to compel agencies to work together. We also believe that successful investment in rail links should benefit the wider rail network as well as the London/Olympics region:

14.   Adding Regional Capacity

  In the next decade, ICEC will become even more important to the UK, as the regeneration of Yorkshire, the renewed vigour of Scotland, the development of the York Central site (the biggest urban regeneration programme in Europe), the Northern Way initiative, the growth of the Peterborough-Stansted corridor, and the population expansion of London place ever-greater demands on the service. Improvements in these services will deliver greater capacity and, with better integration with other modes of transport, add value during the Olympics and beyond. GNER will be the main operator providing rail access to Olympic football matches at St. James' Park in Newcastle. Although the ICEC does not serve any other venues directly it will add significant complementary rail capacity making the Games more accessible to the cities and regions served by GNER.

15.   Trusted Partner for CTRL and the Olympic Javelin

  Central to the successful rail network for the Olympics will be the completion of the CTRL in 2007 and the Olympic Javelin service between St. Pancras, the principal Olympic site at Stratford, and the Eurostar interchange at Ebbsfleet. This will be the UK's first purpose-built high-speed passenger rail service and as such the project is unique in railway history. The successful bidder for the IKF franchise will take over the delivery of CTRL from 2006 despite having had no say in the design or contractual framework. In awarding the contract for IKF, therefore, the Government must be able to place its complete trust in its chosen private sector partner.

16.   Managing the Kings Cross-St.Pancras Interchange

  Kings Cross-St Pancras is already an important rail gateway to the capital with GNER providing longer distance services from along the East Coast and from West Yorkshire, Midland Mainline providing similar services from South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, Great Northern providing shorter-distance services and London Underground lines acting as distributors across London. By 2012, CTRL Phase 2 will be complete and Eurostar and IKF services together with the Olympic Javelin service will also be operating from the station. GNER will work closely with other train operators and with TfL to make interchange at Kings Cross-St Pancras as straightforward and seamless as possible.

17.   Successful Management of Major Public Events

  Even though the Olympics will be staged at the end of July 2012, in a month where commuter transport dips due to summer leave, there will be significant extra demand on the network, and associated issues of crowd management. GNER is an experienced manager of major public events and is willing to make available key managerial and front-line staff to the Olympic Transport Authority, or other agencies, to share best practice and understanding of dealing with such situations. Only this year, GNER successfully managed the temporary transfer of Royal Ascot to York, and the high volume of passengers to the "Make Poverty History" and G8 events in Edinburgh.

18.   Commuter Volumes without Commuter Knowledge

  Getting people to and from the Olympic venues will not just be a question of volume. London Underground and London's commuter train operators are very good at coping with very large numbers of people. However, ordinarily, the bulk of passengers are commuters who understand their journey, know where they are going and are familiar with London's public transport. But outside London, far fewer people are regular rail or public transport users.

  19.  There will also be many visitors from outside the UK who will be unfamiliar with London's geography and for whom English will not be a first language. High quality information will be essential for helping people reach their destination and for keeping people moving through the busy interchange points on the transport network. These are characteristics that InterCity operators, with many occasional users, and London Underground, used by many tourists, are far more used to than are predominantly commuter rail operators.

20.   Building Support For The Olympics And Paralympics

  Using our innovative marketing approach we would seek to build support for the Olympics and tourism opportunities elsewhere in the UK through special ticketing deals, advertising and on-board marketing. GNER's record in delivering improved performance and service, backed up by industry-leading marketing activity, has helped achieve a 34% growth in passenger numbers since we took over the franchise nine years ago. GNER is well placed to work with the relevant tourism boards in the regions of the ICEC to encourage spectators to use their visit to London to explore other parts of the UK as well.

21.   Ticketing Information

  An integral part of the transport section of the London 2012 bid was the proposal for effective ticketing systems and marketing of fares. GNER will work closely with TfL and the Olympic Transport Authority to integrate ticketing systems and fares for spectators travelling the ICEC route to Olympic venues. Wherever possible GNER will endeavour to integrate the ticketing technology described in the London 2012 bid within our existing ticketing and sales systems.

22.   Accessibility

  GNER will work hard to ensure that both the London Olympics and Paralympics are accessible to everyone travelling from the North, including people with special needs, and to athletes with disabilities who may be based North of London or participating in events North of London. Stations have been and are being modernised, including the installation of new and extra lifts. Frontline staff and managers have received special needs training, and GNER operates an advance booking service for passengers who may require particular assistance on-train or at-station. Other recent initiatives have included an extra wheelchair space in GNER's new-look electric Mallard trains and the inclusion of a wheelchair-accessible toilet in its diesel HST fleet.

  23.  GNER is also committed to further steps to improve transport integration and access to stations, whether people arrive by car, taxi, bike, bus or on foot.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

  24.  The 2012 Olympics are often talked about as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. Certainly, in terms of the select committee's remit, it has the potential to provide a great stimulus to public transport and rail investment in the UK and, to a large extent, transport will be one of the major factors by which the success of the Games will be measured.

  25.  GNER believes such success is readily achievable. As well as giving a lasting legacy in regeneration to parts of the capital, the success of the Olympics and Paralympics stand to make a massive contribution to the whole of the country—including the regions served by GNER—through tourism, from both domestic and foreign visitors.

  26.  However, to achieve this success, all private and public transport operators must work together in partnership, sharing not only technical knowledge, but also best practice on a wide range of issues, from integrated ticketing to training customer-facing staff. Meeting these challenges will require a resolve resonant of the pioneering spirit that created the world's first rail network, including the original Great North Eastern Railway. GNER today is ready to play its part.

September 2005



 
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