Memorandum from the St Germans Rail Users Group

 

 

Executive Summary

· St Germans Rail Users Group represents 3000 households in the Rame peninsula, and has carried out several surveys of transport use and needs (para.1)

· This is a rural area, many parts of which have poor public transport links (1)

· Road congestion and other environmental, social and economic factors create a strong argument for greatly improved public transport services (2, 3)

· The main priority for improved transport provision should be rail services and links, but bus and subsidised taxi link services are also important priorities (4, 5, 6)

· Equality issues include need for better physical infrastructure at St Germans station, and adequate access to buses (7)

· There is a need for more frequent, regular train and bus services, including early morning and late evening services, particularly into and out of Plymouth (8-11)

· The CrossCountry franchise has led to a deterioration in train services (12)

· In the recent past the region, especially at government level, has not been sufficiently serious in promoting environmentally friendly transport (13)

· Government (local and central) needs to provide certain key resources for public transport providers, as well as providing information for the public and a forum for stake-holder involvement in discussions (14, 15)

 

 

Evidence

 

1. Introduction

The St Germans Rail Users Group has been in existence since 2006, and has a membership of something over 100. It distributes its 6-monthly timetable leaflets to all households in St Germans, Deviock and Sheviock parishes, as well as making them available in local pubs and shops. The group was very successful in persuading First Great Western to review its original plan, at the start of the franchise, of cutting rail services by half at St Germans. Over the past three years there have been regular meetings between the Rail Users Group and First Great Western representatives, resulting in a gradual increase in trains over each new timetable. St Germans station serves some 1850 people in the village, and more than 3000 households in the whole area of villages and hamlets in the Rame peninsula. St Germans itself is in the worst 2% nationally for Barriers to Housing and Services; the proportion of rented housing is high (32%). The cost of a taxi from Plymouth to St Germans is £28, and from Liskeard £15. Bus services in this area are limited, and the Rail Users Group (RUG) is committed to encouraging people to use public transport services rather than private cars on the road. St Germans is 8 miles from the nearest towns (Saltash and Liskeard), and is 12 miles from Plymouth, where many people work, receive their education, shop and engage in leisure activities. The Rame peninsula has poor public transport links with the surrounding area. The RUG has carried out several surveys of rail use at the station, and has also gathered information about preferred patterns of use. The most recent surveys and interviews took place in March 2009.

 

2. Inadequate Transport Provision: Environmental/Economic Factors relating to the need for Improved Public Transport

· there is road congestion in the area, with heavy traffic on the A38 (the main road to Plymouth, and the main road westwards through southern Cornwall) and bottle-necks on the Tamar bridge and the Torpoint ferry (the links between Plymouth and south-east Cornwall);

· safety factors - there are frequent accidents on the A38 and A374 (the main road through the Rame peninsula);

· in order to limit the environmental effects of increased road use, including air pollution, there needs to be an increase in public transport - buses and trains;

· traffic in towns such as Plymouth and Truro has been increasing, and needs to be reduced by more use of train and bus;

· parking in Plymouth & Truro is becoming increasingly difficult & expensive;

· there has been an observable increase in people using the roads for long distance travel as well as shorter journeys: train services need to ensure it is easy to reach Bristol, Reading, Gatwick for air travel, and quick and easy to get to London, Torbay etc. for business and leisure use;

· there is considerable scope for the increase of tourism in the St Germans and Rame peninsula area, which would be greatly encouraged by good public transport links to and within the area: festivals and events in St Germans, as well as the countryside and sea coast are attractions.

 

3. Inadequate Transport Provision: Social Aspects relating to public transport needs

· the most disadvantaged (elderly, those with disabilities, young people etc) are affected most by poor or limited public transport provision;

· for non-car owners, trains and buses are essential for services such as - dentists (in Lostwithiel, St Austell, Liskeard, Saltash, Plymouth); the hospital (Liskeard, Bodmin, Plymouth); opticians (Saltash, Liskeard, Plymouth);

· the social life of non-car-owners, especially the young and the elderly, is affected by limited services, as many leisure activities, such as health clubs, swimming pools, sporting activities, theatre, cinema, restaurants etc. are available in towns but not the villages;

· good public transport is important to enable visitors to come to St Germans and the Rame peninsula (staying with relatives, friends or in guest-houses);

· public transport services are not good enough to enable many people to get to and from work; in these cases, one-car families become car-less if the car is used to drive to work.

 

4. Priorities for Improvement of Transport Provision should be for public transport networks and services rather than road building/ improvements. The journey time for commuters by rail into Plymouth is 18 minutes. By private car it is up to 40 minutes, and by bus it is 45 minutes. Similar comparisons can be made for road versus rail journeys between St Germans and Truro. Thus, improved rail links should be a high priority. Other priorities are better bus services and a subsidised taxi link service to and from the station.

 

5. Patterns of Rail Use at St Germans. In our last comprehensive passenger survey we found that one third of passengers travelled up to a mile to get to the station, 45% travelled 1-3 miles, and almost 20% came from 3-8 miles away. Approximately half of rail passengers used the train in order to get to work, about a quarter were school and college students, and about a quarter used it for leisure and/or shopping; 5% were using it for medical-related business. 14% were pensioners, 36% under 25 year-olds, and 50% 25-65 years old. Plymouth was the most popular destination, and considerable numbers were travelling to Truro, Saltash and London. Liskeard and Exeter were other popular destinations. Significant numbers of journeys were to Bristol, Bath and Birmingham. Over the past two years there have been increased footfalls: a 20% increase in footfall over the past year. Within this last year's increase there have been small increases in morning and evening commuter trips to/from Plymouth, and almost a doubling of journeys into and from Cornwall. Our evidence suggests that this level of growth could continue, given favourable factors. Reasons given, in the survey, for people not to use the train, or not to use it more, included services being too infrequent (60% of those asked), not sufficient services, and not being able to get to their destination. People particularly wanted regular services through the day, more trains (both daytime and evening), and more bus connections at stations.

 

6. Access to Station / Bus Routes. There needs to be a development in transport links between different parts of the Rame peninsula and St Germans station. Links might be improved by better bus services, or by a Council-supported taxi service scheme. Similarly there need to be better bus links between certain stations and the town centres: e.g. Liskeard and Bodmin.

 

7. Equality Issues. There needs to be local and central government support for improving access to public transport. Some examples of problems are: the lack of a car-park at St Germans station, a wide gap between the down-side platform and trains, which deters a number of potential passengers, a poor information system at the station, the local bus not being properly equipped to take wheel-chair passengers. Transport services need to be accessible and comfortable for all ages and abilities, and have staff who can help passengers where needed.

 

8. Flexible & Non-standard Work Patterns. Tourism Needs. Many people wishing to use the buses and trains for travel to and from work or educational institutions do not keep standard hours. There are large gaps in the middle of mornings and afternoons, and also in the evenings, when there is no public transport service. Services in these periods would also be a boost to tourism.

 

9. Hourly Train Service. There are strong arguments in this rural county for an hourly train service through Cornwall, stopping at all stations. It might be more economic to run more DMUs (two or three coach trains) to create such a service, rather than looking to more HST stops.

 

10. First and Last Trains. The new franchise as it came into operation with the December 2006 timetable entailed the withdrawal of the 0653 service from St Germans into Plymouth (0715 arrival). The earliest train now gets into Plymouth half an hour later than that, and does not stop at Plymouth suburban stations. This meant that considerable numbers of people from Menheniot, St Germans and Saltash were no longer able to use the train to get to work. The first bus from St Germans is at 0742, arriving in Plymouth at 0828. Thus, many of those workers who had travelled on the 0653 no longer use public transport, with a consequent pressure on the congested roads. There needs to be an early train into Plymouth. There also needs to be a late train leaving Plymouth at somewhere near 11 p.m., for people who have visited Plymouth for leisure or other purposes.

 

 

 

11. Evening Train / Bus links. Young people who do not drive are regularly using the trains to Saltash and Plymouth in the evenings. However, there is no evening bus service, and trains in the evenings are few and far between, which limits opportunities open to youngsters.

 

12. Cross Country deteriorating service. Since the new franchise, CrossCountry train services have deteriorated. There is no longer a through service up the west coast (north of Birmingham); there are worse connexions between services of different train operating companies, and the advance ticket at a cheaper price is practically non-existent on CrossCountry trains (compared to other routes with other train operating companies).

 

13. The Region has NOT been doing enough to promote Environmentally Friendly Transport. The main expenditure in recent years has been on road improvement schemes like the Dobwalls by-pass, rather than on public transport support. Another example is that when the Greater Western franchise was put out to tender, the DfT specifications for St Germans included a halving of the existing services. This specification had been drawn up after recommendations from Government Office South West. In the St Germans RUG campaign to maintain the existing number of trains per day, the GOSW attitude was that it would not support a case for that previous level of service. It was only through direct negotiation with the Train Operating Company (First Great Western) that the RUG was able to claw back the service to something approaching previous timetables, and FGW representatives have informed us that the current levels are justified.

 

14. Cornwall County Council has been quite effective in the past in supporting integrated transport policies and the provision of public transport. The new unitary Cornwall Council, it is hoped, will build on the previous strategies.

 

15. Examples of how Government can Improve on their addressing of Transport Issues in the South West. Government can influence private transport providers in a number of ways. There needs to be local and central government support for public transport providers in the form of subsidies and in regulations that encourage public transport use. Specifically, government should ensure that there is a better availability of rolling stock to train operating companies. One of the arguments used by FGW relating to levels and quality of service has been that rolling stock has not been available. Similarly, both local and central government need to ensure there is information for commuters, visitors and travellers which encourages and enables public transport use. An overview and forum needs to be developed so there are regular meetings with stake-holders, in order to discuss priorities, needs and concerns. This would provide valuable feedback both to stake-holders and public transport providers. Public transport should be seen as first choice for people travelling, rather than as second best after using one's own car, or only for those who can't afford their own car. For this to be the case, public transport services need to be attractive, frequent and available.

 

 

 

15 July 2009