GWRUS - Passenger Focus help set the scene

I know I've been critical of Passenger Focus in the past (and may do so again in the future as my concerns remain), but I would like to congratulate them on setting up and hosting the series of three meetings for Rail User Groups to discuss the GWRUS^▸ that's currently in draft form, and to go through with us what the RUS^▸ - Route Utilisation Strategy is (and is not) about. Mike Greedy of Passenger Focus has promised to email me the slides, and tells me that they are in the public domain so that we can republish them here (no time scale given, but I hope next week!) as something of a lay guide to the RUS process and how inputs from groups such as "The Coffee Shop" can be effective.

The Route Utilisation Strategy looks for gaps in capacity on current service / infrastructure, and looks at what Network Rail needs to do to (help) plug that gap. To a very great extent, it's a shopping list of options - things to put forward to the DfT^» , saying to them "look - how about buying into this". From the perceived gaps, possible options to plug the gaps are developed, and the Benefit Cost ratios calculated ... with any scheme with a BCR^▸ of 1.5 or greater being considered viable.

Schemes are of varying types - ranging from a timetabling change (with very little cost) through to train lengthening, extra train provision, and up through minor infrastructure works to major such works. And the whole RUS work is made the more complex by the lack of clarity as to whether Crossrail will reach Reading, and until very recently the electrification scenario.

Mike presented the Passenger Focus perspective, and also the Network Rail perspective - it was a great pity that Network Rail handn't sent a representative along, and I understand that was because they expected - wrongly, as it turned out - that the groups in Reading, Exeter and Bristol would comprise largely the same audience that had attended their 'stakeholder' meetings a week or two earlier. It didn't - in fact there was no-one in common (probably because those of us who take an interest from the passenger's perspective have day jobs, can't just take a day off during the week, so are very grateful for the evening or weekend opportunity)

The group at the meeting split into two separate 'working groups' to give some initial throughts / reactions to the RUS and concerns about it, which were presented back at the end. It was striking how the two groups came up with a number of very similar points.

* It seems that low growth figures have been assumed for travel requirements by train, that don't take into account effects like increased road congestion, rising fuel prices and an increasing desire for people to use public transport. Both groups were worried that the rates used were conservative to the point of being well below the probable range.

* Concern was expressed about population growth outside the immediate catchment areas of SSTC^▸ (Strategically significant Town and City) stations - that population growth elsewhere (much of which is planned) may not have been considered, as might other traffic such as that generated by park and ride passengers, and by connecting bus services from places that are not within a station's current catchment.

* Questions were asked about whether any options to extend the electrification recently announced had been considered, as they were not evident in the RUSanalysis, and the group wondered if (for example) electrification to Weston-super-mare had been considered.

* Car parking, car parking capacity, and bus connectivity seemed to be outside the remit of the RUS, even though end to end journeys involve travel to and from the station and those elements can make a considerable difference.

* The basis of calculation of BCR was raised, but no-one present (from Passenger Focus as there was no Network Rail) was able to answer. It was wondered from the floor if the cost of a motorist's time was considered to be more valuable than a train passengers time, which in turn was more valuabkle than a a bus passenger's time, and whether the use of a litre of diesel in a road vehicle was considered more beneficial that the use of a litre in a rail vehicle, due to the tax income that road use would bring. Although the answer was not know, it was concluded that these scenarios were likely, as they are part of standard methodology used in the evaluation of transport schemes.

* The RUS stops at the Severn Tunnel, which seems peverse as there are many cross-border flows which should be factored in. It also seems to overlook / sidestep the quest / need for a seven day railway, with (?) minimal regard for engineering diversion works. There seem to be holes there - with no diversionary routes for electric trains when the severn tunnel is closed, it has been suggested that the diesel IEPs^▸ will be used to service south wales at the weekend. One member of the audience suggested that would mean that trains to devon and cornwall would be withdrawn ... all a long way from the RUS though.

A lot of these issues could so easily have been address - or at least started to be addressed - had there been someone there with the technical background to start to provide some answers.

* On a more positive note, discussion went on to overlaying faster services over connecting local ones - the fast Cardiff - Portsmouth passing the more local one at Westbury, for example ... cross platform interchange, etc.

Works being looked at in the RUS are making assumptions of works in the near future, and are looking ahead to the control periods for 2014 to 2019, and then to 2029. At this distance ahead, the work is important but it's very hard to motivate the passenger to look so far ahead. One of the Passenger Focus teams was talking about how we stood at a certain station a few months before the December 2006 cuts, telling passengers that they needed to make inputs ... but with limited response. But when the cuts actually came, the response was there - but too late to be too effective.

There's a whole new subject in "how to get people to look ahead" ... and I'm very conscious that I travelled to Bristol on trains crowded with people, but attended a meeting that had less than 20 attending.