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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