Bob's Transport update

Some good news to report. The initial growth of passenger journeys from the enhanced train service between Newark, Nottingham and Lincoln introduced in May has been assessed as 12% - well ahead of the requirements specified in the business plan.  Our assessment of the route's potential has been proved correct and  It confirms that 5 years of campaigning for enhancements was fully justified.

There was even more good news following a meeting on 12^th January with East Midlands Councils, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire County Councils and Travel Watch East Midlands. Andrew Pritchard from EMC advised that at a recent meeting with the Department for Transport they had welcomed a more active involvement with  stakeholders in developing the prospectus for the next franchising of rail services in the region, due to be completed by April 2018. It is also clear that we are not alone in looking to the Government to deliver the major enhancements to our train services that they have agreed for the North and West of England.

Members may be aware that the Business Club produced a draft specification for train services in the D2N2 and Lincolnshire areas to inform our meeting with EMC. In view of the uncertainty over devolution in the East Midlands, a second draft has been produced to cover the whole of the existing region. Members may be interested that the all-inclusive proposals do not include any additional benefits for Newark and that there may be dis-benefits as it will clearly be more difficult to agree a detailed plan with more Local Authorities involved.

The meeting with EMC agreed that:

• The all-inclusive draft prospectus prepared by Newark Business Club is a good starting point,
• Andrew Pritchard will prepare a paper for the next meeting of the EMC Executive on 18^th March setting out the issues and seeking their support to develop a prospectus for rail services in the region,
• The prospectus must be ambitious and look for major service enhancements (the draft does just that),
• The prospectus must be complimentary, and to a different time frame, to the East Midlands Connect project that is due to be completed by April 2017. For those not familiar with that project, it is effectively a high-level plan for transport across the East Midlands and includes other modes of transport in addition to rail,
• Further work would be done to improve the draft prospectus with a final document available for consultation no later than 29^th February,
• A workshop for stakeholders would be held as soon after the 18^th March meeting of the EMC executive as possible. The objective of the workshop is to give all stakeholders the opportunity to state their views and make sure that the prospectus is as inclusive as possible,
• It is necessary to get the region's MPs to buy into the prospectus so that businesses, local authorities and politicians in the East Midlands can present a unified case to the Government. We need to discuss with Robert Jenrick how that can best be done,
• The prospectus must  be with the Government no later than 30^th June.

• Additional rolling stock to address over crowding on key services – this is likely to require no more than six additional vehicles,
• Improvements to the Sunday service between Nottingham, Newark Castle and Lincoln. At present the first arrival in Nottingham from Lincoln and Newark is not until 16.09; the first arrival in Lincoln from Nottingham is not until 17.31. An enhanced service could almost certainly be provided without any additional rolling stock,
• Restoration of the two trains an hour service between Nottingham, Newark Castle and Lincoln by extending the Matlock to Newark Castle trains through to Lincoln – this is likely to require just one 2-car unit,
• An improvement to the abysmal service between Lincoln and London by providing an hourly service between Lincoln and Newark Northgate and improving the connections into/out of East Coast services at Newark. Again this is likely to require just one two-car unit.