Passenger Transport Networks

The good and the odd - occasional notes on our railway

2012-04-07T16:03:07Z

For an exceptional picture of the railway performing what it's there to do see the Arriva Photo of the Year 2011 here.

And for Network Rail preparing for the day when Train Operating Companies [TOCs] work in different time-zones how about this (London King's Cross, February 2012) ? [photo by Quentin Tyler].

HS2 : strategic wisdom or grand folly ?

2012-04-07T15:42:52Z

PTN's position on HS2 has moved as the debate has developed (see other entries under the 'HS2' tag). This article in the April/May 2012 issue of Rail Technology Magazine explains the doubts.of a 'surprising sceptic' : RTM.pdf.

A fully-annotated version of the article is available here : RTM_with notes.doc.

A National Timetabling Authority

2012-04-07T14:53:40Z

Britain's railway is notoriously disconnected. But does it matter if each franchisee optimises its own services and resources and pays scant regard to what its neighbours are doing ? Would the country be better off with a network organised to afford Swiss standards of connectivity ?

PTN has long argued that these questions merit rigorous analysis - but as yet to no avail. A complex organisation and fragmented and legalistic timetabling processes have apparently sub-optimal outcomes for capacity, for operational efficiency and for passengers, but the industry claims countervailing benefits and rejects any idea of a new structure.

Ultimately the argument goes to the question: is the railway just another 'supermarket' business or is it an important part of the social fabric, there to secure accessibility for everyone in the community and to do so in a truly sustainable manner ?

Since the Government's Command Paper ignored these issues PTN wrote to the Secretary of State to put the case both for an independent study and for a National Timetabling Authority [NTA]. The aim would be to resolve present anomalies and conflicts and work toward the re-creation of a real sense of a national network. The NTA would work by consensus and devolve its tasks wherever appropriate.

The letter to Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for Transport is here :

Transport Secretary letter.doc.

We will report her reply when it is received, along with those of others to whom the letter was copied.

A draft note on some practical details and the envisaged structure is here, for discussion : NTA_1.doc.

Transport Select Committee reviews the capacity of HS2

2012-04-07T13:14:13Z

Capacity was one of the key issues for critics of HS2 when the Commons Transport Select Commitee [TSC] held hearings during the summer of 2011. The realistic capacity of the proposed high-speed railway connecting northern England, the West Midlands and London is critical to its operational credibility and hence to its business case. PTN was among those who worked to put the issue on TSC's agenda. The matter is still far from being resolved.

The nub of the problem is that expectations of what HS2 can do for connectivity have been so enthusiastically promoted that some 25 to 30 paths/hour could be 'needed'. HS2 Ltd believe that running 18 trains/hour is feasible, although that is several more than any other high-speed line has achieved. Given this gap, and the possibility of 16 trains/hour being the everyday maximum, some difficult choices will have to be made, and since they may affect major decisions such as the link to HS1 they need to be made soon.

The TSC's Report is at : http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmtran/1185/118502.htm#evidence.

See paragraphs 112 - 117 for the discussion of technical feasibility. For PTN's submissions see the Unprinted Written Evidence, HSR 138 and 138A and for the exchange relating to the latter see the transcript of oral evidence for 28 June, Question 126 (the links are at the foot of the page).

ECML - the saga reviewed, and a comparison with France

2012-04-06T16:12:51Z

In August 2010 the Office of Rail Regulation published a 'lessons learned' report on the ECML timetabling process. Jonathan Tyler reviewed this document in the November 2010 issue of Modern Railways. He noted that the preoccupation with process meant that larger issues were overlooked. Perhaps the way to end drawn out arguments and mediocre outcomes in timetable planning lies in a fundamental reappraisal of railway organisation.

The ORR report is at :

http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/ecml-lessons-learned-report-200810.pdf.

Accompanying the critique was a timely account of the decision by RFF, the French infrastructure manager, to initiate a comprehensive overhaul of its national timetable in order to create extra capacity, introduce greater regularity and enhance network-wide connectivity. RFF employed the Swiss integrated-timetabling consultancy SMA to undertake this task. If France can justify the approach (and do the work remarkably quickly) why cannot Britain at least mount a study of the potential benefits ?

The articles were "How not to write a timetable" and "France adopts integrated timetabling".

They can be found here : Lessons_learned_Commentary.doc.

The Rail Value for Money Study : profound insights or another denial of the obvious ?

2012-04-06T14:02:27Z

In February 2010 the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation jointly commissioned a study of the Value for Money of the railway and appointed Sir Roy McNulty to lead it. His group reported in May 2011, and the findings have influenced Government policy as expressed in the Command Paper published in March 2012

See http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/reforming-our-railways/reforming-our-railways.pdf.

The industry has accepted the main findings, including the setting up of a Rail Delivery Group composed of senior people from the principal companies and the move toward close working between the newly-devolved route administrations of Network Rail and the associated Train Operating Company/ies. However, many commentators have queried both the reliability and the interpretation of some of McNulty's conclusions and noted the absence of a recommendation to reunify the railway, despite the recognition that when a system is so fragmented it becomes inherently inefficient and costly.

A curious feature of the Study was that no public invitation to submit evidence and ideas was issued, while its method of working was opaque. Nonetheless PTN did make a submission (although it was never acknowledged !).

The reports can be accessed at http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/realising-the-potential-of-gb-rail.

PTN's submission is here : VFM.doc.

Timetabling for engineers

2012-04-06T13:32:11Z

Following a presentation at the National Railway Museum the editor of the Journal of the august Permanent Way Institution invited Jonathan to contribute an article on timetabling to its April 2010 issue. This considered the central role of the timetable in the planning, operating and marketing of railways, and hence its (not-always-recognised) status in railway policy. Deficiencies in the current process and the arguments in favour of an integrated approach were outlined.

The article's appeal to engineers who need to understand the context of their work designing and maintaining the track was confirmed by subsequent invitations to speak at two PWI technical meetings (Wessex in January and Croydon in October 2011).

The article is available here : PWI.pdf.

The ECML timetabling saga - descent into farce

2012-04-06T10:01:15Z

When East Coast finally recast its timetable in May 2011 the spin was that it had taken ten years to achieve and must, by implication, be a good timetable. It was, and remains, poor in many respects, and the long trek to create it was a sorry commentary on the industry processes (against which many individual specialists battled valiantly).

This article in the December 2008 issue of Modern Railways spotlighted an area of railway planning that raises many questions of policy but yet is largeley hidden behind an arcane system. In particular, it described the bizarre situations that are caused by the endemic problem of 'sequential franchising' - that is, the replanning of one route timetable, even one as important as ECML, being overly-constrained by prior agreements on paths for other franchises.

Read the article here : ModRlys_final.doc.

The evolution of doubt : perspectives on HS2

2012-04-04T16:24:24Z

Historians can be cussed people, insisting on careful reading of the evidence, requiring evaluation of motives, refusing to accept conventional viewpoints. I was lucky enough to be trained well in those disciplines. They have been hardened through a lifetime of reading between the lines of official papers. That is why I have not been impressed by the avalanche of HS2 material. Too much of it reads as 'policy-based evidence' rather than as dispassionate analysis. That saddens me. We need more thorough, more inclusive, more wide-ranging decision-making in Britain.

PTN has contributed to the debate. Some of this material can be accessed here.

For example,

* our submission to the Department for Transport's Consultation in 2011 : HS2_consultation.doc

* a presentation to a workshop at the Institute of Railway Studies (National Railway Museum / University of York) in June 2011 : Why Oh Y.ppt

* a paper at the Railfuture conference on HS2 in July 2011 : Railfuture.ppt

* an updated version of these presentations for the Cambridge University Railway Club in February 2012 : CURC-Feb12.ppt.

Timetabling HS2

2012-04-03T14:51:15Z

In September 2010 Greengauge 21 commissioned PTN to construct a timetable for the combined service of the proposed new high-speed railway [HS2] and the existing West Coast Main Line [WCML], as it might operate when phase 1 of HS2 opens in about 2026. Hitherto only rather vague statements had been made about how capacity released at the southern end of WCML following the transfer of services to HS2 might be used, and Greengauge believed that support for HS2 would be strengthened by demonstrating the benefits offered by new services, additional seats for commuters and extra paths for freight trains.

The general findings of the study were published by Greengauge in February 2011:

http://www.greengauge21.net/news/cities-and-shires-across-southern-england-will-benefit-from-hs2/#more-1235.

The detailed report was finalised in July 2011 and includes extensive documentation of the timetable ideas. This material can be found here :

* the report at WCML+HS2 report.doc

* the timetable graphs and 'netzgrafik' summaries of the proposals at WCML+HS2 graphs.doc

* a summary of the suggested public timetable at WCML+HS2 public timetable.xls

As far as PTN knows this is the only timetabling that has been conducted for HS2 services in any depth. We find this rather astonishing and will be commenting on the issue in other entries.

Open Access on a congested railway : the sceptical case

2012-04-02T16:15:16Z

In the autumn of 2011 the Office of Rail Regulation [ORR] ran a consultation on the potential for increased on-rail competition. The consultation document and the academic paper accompanying it were manifestly supportive of promoting more competition, ie. more open access. The responses however were more mixed: the only unequivocal support came from two organisations with a direct interest, while other passenger operators, local governments and the freight industry expressed considerable reservations. The Department for Transport made very clear its disquiet, thereby highlighting the absurdity of the overlapping functions (it estimates that open access increases the net cost of the railway by £30m/year).

PTN made a comprehensive submission, looking at on-rail competition from every aspect and drawing attention to some overlooked disadvantages of open access.

The ORR documents and the responses can be found at

http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/consultations/orr017.php.

PTN's submission: ORR_competition_consultation_PTN.doc .

A Taktfahrplan for the East Coast Main Line

2009-09-23T09:40:00Z

In October 2008 PTN submitted proposals for an integrated timetable for the East Coast Main Line [ECML] to the Office of Rail Regulation [ORR]. This built on earlier work sponsored by the Department for Transport [DfT] and formed part of a project for the Association of Train Operating Companies [ATOC].

The timetable is built around seven inter-city passenger trains per hour, including open-access services. With certain defined exceptions it complies with the Rules of the Plan. MOIRA, the standard railway tool for evaluating timetable changes, estimates that revenue would increase by about £15 million annually. A bold recast on the ECML could also initiate moves toward a more coherent national network, in line with the statutory duties of ORR and the objectives of DfT and Network Rail.

The proposals were ignored by both ORR and Network Rail.

The paper summarises PTN's methodology and judgments. A zip file contains the timetable graphs, netgraphs and analytical spreadsheets.

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ECML_ORR.pdf

ECML_Takt_2.zip

A franchise free-for-all ?

2009-09-23T09:05:00Z

In 2006 Jonathan Tyler was invited to contribute an article to The Guardian on the legal and political battle between franchise and open-access companies over paths in the timetable of a congested railway.

Read the article at The Guardian website

Perfect Timing

2009-09-22T15:25:00Z

This article appeared in Rail Professional in July 2008. It sets out the rationale and essential features of a Taktfahrplan for the East Coast Main Line.

Perfect Timing

Transport policy and railway timetabling

2009-09-22T09:15:00Z

Jonathan Tyler presented a paper at the European Transport Conference in The Netherlands in October 2009 entitled Transport policy and railway timetabling : taking the connection seriously. The paper brought together his research on timetabling philosophies and practice and presented the case for a National Timetabling Authority. It also discussed the role of the railway in a resource-constrained future and questioned the growing mania for high-speed lines.

European Transport Conference

Railway-timetabling.pdf

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