Harborough rail users
Improving the quality of Market Harborough's rail service
The Department for Transport has today published the Invitation to Tender for the next franchise for the services currently run by East Midlands Trains. There is a lot of information, which can be found on the DfT website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/east-midlands-franchise-2018-invitation-to-tender A significant document is the Stakeholder Briefing Document. This summarises the responses to the public consultation: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714448/east-midlands-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document-and-consultation-response.pdf Market Harborough is named as one of the top five stations in terms of responses! There is even a picture of the Old Grammar School on p76! However, it is the detail that matters... HRU will be reviewing the documents in detail to see exactly what is proposed for our train service. A site visit at the station took place on 1st December between three members of the HRU Committee, Harborough MP Neil O’Brien and representatives of the DfT, Network Rail and East Midlands Trains. This arose from a meeting on 14th November between Neil O’Brien and Rail Minister Paul Maynard MP at the Houses of Parliament on 14th November; with the DfT also present along with HRU Chair Steve Jones.
The site visit was convened at the DfT's suggestion to explore two particular concerns we have about the station upgrade and track realignment: the lack of proper access for the disabled from the booking office to the platforms and the lack of toilets on the new southbound platform. We looked around the station site and considered the implications including the best location for a lift, the requirements for mains electrical, water and drainage services and the other improvements that are included in the plans for the station. The various parties listened to what we said and, while not disagreeing, it was clear that limited finance is the main constraint here. There are many competing demands for limited funds! We are grateful that the various parties took time out to visit Market Harborough and discuss the issues openly with us. However, we will continue to press for these enhancements to what is otherwise a significant improvement to the station. Harborough MP Neil O’Brien and HRU Chair Steve Jones met with Paul Maynard MP, the Under Secretary of State for Rail, Accessibility and HS2, on 14th November at the Houses of Parliament. The meeting had been requested by Neil O'Brien to press the case for proper disabled access to be provided at the rebuilt Market Harborough station plus toilets on the new southbound platform. The Department for Transport's Planning and Investment Manager for the Midland Main Line was also present.
Rather than go in with a long shopping list, running the risk of everything being lost in the detail, we focused on these two items. However, the meeting also considered various aspects of the scheme, including the need for sufficient shelter on the platforms, and was very constructive. Though he is the 'Rail Minister', Paul Maynard acknowledged that he has no powers to direct Network Rail as it is an arm's-length relationship. However, he did undertake to write to them at senior level, supporting the case for proper disabled access and for toilets on the southbound side. There is also the possibility that the specification for the next franchise may be a means of seeking additional enhancements to the station. Franchise bids are assessed much more on quality than used to be the case. A further meeting with the Department for Transport and Network Rail at the station is to be arranged. We hope that these enhancements to what is otherwise a great improvement at the station can be included. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring the station fully up to modern standards; let's not waste it! Watch this space! Harborough Rail Users has submitted its response to the Department for Transport's consultation on the next East Midlands rail franchise. At the last franchise change, Market Harborough was threatened with a severe reduction in its train service. We campaigned hard to retain two trains an hour - and we succeeded.
This time, the exact nature of the train service is not so clear. The main proposal is a split between electric 'London commuter' services to Corby and 'inter-city' bi-mode (electric plus probably diesel) trains for the rest of the route, with interchange between the two at Kettering. Clearly, this is partly a consequence of the decision not to electrify north from Kettering. Quite where this would leave Market Harborough is not made clear. However, there is much pressure to speed up the journeys between London and Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield. A risk is that this can only realistically be done by cutting out intermediate station stops. During the current East Midlands Trains franchise, Market Harborough has had a good train service of one fast and one stopping service to London each hour, with some additional trains at peak times. In essence, we want to retain a service of this kind. We would want to retain the hourly fast trains, which have attracted substantial growth in usage, plus the hourly semi-fast stopping trains that provide good connectivity to other stations along the line. Though London is the single most important destination, there is also a clear need for a direct service between Leicester, Market Harborough, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford and Luton Airport Parkway. In addition, there should be better connections at Kettering for the Corby service, especially northbound towards both Market Harborough and Leicester, for which the service is particularly poor at present. We have also called for some enhancements to the planned remodelling of Market Harborough station, especially in terms of disabled access and better waiting shelter and toilets on both new platforms. We now await the outcome of the consultation. This is due in April 2018 when the invitation to tender is due to be issued to shortlisted bidders. Thursday 20th July saw two major announcements by the Department for Transport with significant implications for Market Harborough's train service. The public consultation for the next franchise was launched and, with it, the planned electrification of the main line north of Kettering was formally abandoned.
What is now proposed for delivery by the next train operator is a split of services between 'London Commuter' and 'Intercity'. There would be an electric commuter service between St Pancras and main stations to Kettering and on to Corby and an intercity service using 'bi-mode' trains for the main line via Market Harborough to Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. 'Bi-mode' means trains that can run on either electric or diesel power, so these would be electric from St Pancras to Kettering and diesel thereafter. The DfT is selling this as a major improvement based on new technology as well as saving the major cost and disruption that electrification would have caused. The effect for us in Market Harborough is that our trains will continue to be diesel-operated through our station for the foreseeable future, though they will be electric between Kettering and London. No details of the actual rolling stock are yet given; this will be for the new operator to sort out with the DfT, though we are told that they will be 'modern, fast, efficient and comfortable'. Bi-mode trains are currently being built for the Great Western main line, where planned electrification has been similarly curtailed. The franchise consultation proposals make much of the split between electric commuter services to Corby and the bi-mode (diesel for us!) intercity trains on the non-electrified main line. Nothing is said about Market Harborough itself, though the consultation document seeks a speeding-up of intercity journey times from Nottingham and Sheffield to London 'by up to 20 minutes, by reducing the number of calls to pick up commuters, alongside the line speed improvements' (page 22 of the document). It would appear from the proposals that this means stations south of Kettering, as these will be served by the new electric service to Corby. The implication is that our trains would call at Kettering only, then run non-stop to London. Anyone travelling to, say, Bedford or Luton Airport, would change at Kettering. However, whether this would apply to all trains or only some of them is not yet known. The consultation makes clear that there are numerous and varied aspirations for the next franchise, such as a sufficient level of service for Luton Airport. The overall tone of the document is positive, seeking growth in business and improvements to services. The questions are about how best to achieve this and do so affordably. We in Harborough Rail Users will be preparing our full response to the consultation, which closes on 11th October. We will seek to ensure that we retain at least a level of frequency, quality and speed comparable with the service we have now. We also seek improvements to the timetable to give us later southbound weekday last trains and earlier first trains on Sundays. See the DfT website for:
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