Agenda and minutes

Councillor Alan Clark –personal

Councillor Nick McDonald – personal

Councillor Corral Jenkins – personal

David Pick

The meeting was not quorate but proceeded on an informal basis.

None.

Of the meeting held on 9 December 2016 (for confirmation)

It is noted that with regard to minute 7, a letter supporting the electrification of Midland Mainline has been composed and signed by City Council Transport Portfolio Holder and is now with the County Council for signature before being sent to Central Government.

Presentation by David Young, working on behalf of East Midlands Councils.

David Young, of SCP Transport, working on behalf of East Midlands Councils, delivered a presentation and highlighted the following points:

(a)  East Midlands Councils have pooled resources to engage David Young as a consultant to liaise with the Department for Transport (DfT) regarding tender specifications, tender scoring and what aspects to recommend as ‘buy-in’ enhancements for the East Midlands Rail Franchise;

(b)  by engaging David Young, the East Midlands Councils were ensuring a co-ordinated approach by which the specific needs of the East Midlands Communities and regional stakeholders can be directly input into the tendering process. Unlike Rail for the North, there is no intention to take over the tendering process from Central Government;

(c)  forward planning is being taken into consideration to ensure that the new franchise can meet potential passenger growth. This will be achieved through train lengthening or if trains cannot be made longer due to restrictions on platform length, then frequency of services will need to be increased;

(d)  growth figures are based on a shared intelligence of projections which consider increased areas of housing and commercial developments with newly created jobs. It is also recognised that if access to stations, stations and the environment around stations are improved, this will assist growth. The priority will initially be on improving accessibility of stations and then reviewing station quality. There are existing issues, such as at the Newark Crossings where a line bottleneck appears, but it is hoped that this could be addressed with a fly-over. The limitations of the tracks between Leicester and Coventry also stifle growth so needs to be addressed;

(e)  consideration of the different services and branding of linked lines (including HS2) and local services has to take place to ensure full co-ordination. This also includes service timings and connectivity to ensure efficient and effective  passenger movement when switching between different services;

(f)  economic growth is the driver so speed is important, but this has to be balanced with connections which need to be carefully considered. For example, whilst an airport may request a station and a high speed train stop, the use of the airport at different times of day needs to be understood along with the profile of passengers and if they are travelling for business or pleasure. If airport passengers are not travelling for business, there may be less of an importance placed on promoting a high speed service. The broader impact of ‘extra stops’ has to be taken into consideration;

(g)  connectivity and integration between local and other regional lines is also important and mutually beneficial;

(h)  to date there are 3 potential bidders for East Midlands Rail Franchise. This includes  Stagecoach, a joint bid from FirstGroup and Trenitalia, and Arriva; 

(i)  to enable David Young to work with the DfT, he has had to sign a confidentiality agreement, so is unable to disclose DfT information, but is in a position to ensure that the what EMCs require is included within the tender, and challenge and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To note that the next meeting is proposed to be held on 9 June 2017, at 10am in Loxley House.

AGREED to note that the next meeting is proposed to be held on 9 June 2017 at 10am in Loxley House.

The Chair informed the Committee that she had attended a road safety meeting for pathfinders, with Lord Whitty, the Chair of the Road Safety Foundation, and Andrew James, Roads Minister in attendance. It was pleasing that Andrew James was aware, had visited and was impressed with the Nottingham Transport Hub.