The Esk Valley Railway Development Company:
An Opportunity for Local Management?
The Esk Valley Railway Development Company (EVRDC) is now legally established as a company limited by guarantee, with four directors. Its meeting on March 15th 2002 was attended by representatives of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, Arriva Trains Northern, Association of Community Rail Partnerships, Whitby Town Council, Whitby Market Town Initiative, and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. This short paper came out of discussions at the meeting on ‘the way forward’ for the company and the Esk Valley Railway in the light of progress towards the Northern franchise, which is expected to be let in 2004. There is a growing likelihood that the Esk Valley Line, between Whitby and Middlesbrough, will become the pilot for micromanagement in the UK. This paper outlines the development company’s current proposals which have been circulated to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and potential bidders for the Northern franchise.
We want to develop the Esk Valley Railway as a national pilot project which will embody the key principles of the ‘sustainable branch line’ and bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits to Whitby and the Esk Valley, as well as providing improved travel opportunities for Tees Valley residents who do not have access to a car for visits to the East Coast.
The project will:
· Provide much-improved transport services to Whitby and the Esk Valley
· Help promote integrated transport in Whitby and the Esk Valley
· Support existing and create new businesses in Whitby and the Esk Valley
· Create new transport-based employment
· Create new transport-based training in Whitby
· Help reduce traffic in Whitby and the North Yorkshire Moors ‘hot spots’
· Reduce social exclusion and promote access to employment and training
· Provide access to the National Park and Whitby for people without access to a car
· Investigate the longer term possibility of taking freight off the roads
· Protect the heritage of this historic railway and ensure any development respects this heritage
· Provide the basis for similar developments in other parts of the UK
EVRDC continues to work closely with three sectors. These are:
· The Strategic Rail Authority and Network Rail
· Local authorities, Yorkshire Forward, One North-East, Government Offices for the North-East and Yorkshire & The Humber, Countryside Agency, Rural Transport Partnership, Rail Passengers Committee N E England
· Franchise Bidders
We are developing a clear strategy for the new franchise which will allow a locally-based community railway to develop along the Esk Valley. The following represents our initial thinking on the way forward over the next five years.
The most immediate need is to have a full-time Development Officer in place (appointed July 2003) to take this innovative project forward – as a national pilot for the development of rural railways in the UK. Funding has now been secured from a number of sources including:
¨ Arriva Trains Northern
¨ North Yorkshire County Council
¨ North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority
¨ Tees Valley local authorities
¨ The Countryside Agency
¨ Whitby Market Towns Initiative
We are now beginning the recruiting process and are working closely with the SRA for support to develop the pilot project (from May 2003). The total budget estimated for each year of the two year period is estimated at £60,000. The outputs from this budget are shown below.
The franchise specification for the Esk Valley
We do not believe that the current Passenger Service Requirement (PSR) meets the needs of either residents or visitors to Whitby, the Esk Valley and the North York Moors. A timetable with increased frequencies based on two-train operation would provide the local community, and its large number of visitors, with a service which is more attuned to meeting their needs. Four trains a day in each direction is not an acceptable level of service in today’s world, and needs to be substantially enhanced. EVRDC has prepared a draft timetable based on two train operation and has already made this available to the SRA and franchise bidders.
We would like the SRA to require all potential franchisees to fully consult with the Development Company as they prepare their initial bids. We want to see all bidders for the Northern Franchise committing themselves to working with EVRDC to develop the Esk Valley Line as a pilot for what can be achieved in decentralised operations of rural railways, with the aim of substantially increasing ridership, and service improvement. We want to discuss our proposals with each bidder separately, to be followed by a seminar (by invitation only) involving all the bidders, SRA, local authorities and other stakeholders.
When a preferred bidder is announced, we would wish to establish a more formal relationship with the company, with the aim of working out detailed proposals for the Esk Valley Line to form part of the Northern franchise. Once the franchise is awarded, the company would be invited to become a member of EVRDC.
The following represent an outline development strategy which we would want the franchisee to actively support. We want to see substantial improvements in ridership over the next five years, using the current ridership as the base line, and building from that. Our two main indicators will be a) increase in ridership and b) increase in rail-related employment in Whitby and the Esk Valley, with subsidiary indicators for number of charter trains into Whitby (bringing large-scale spending power!), and yearly passenger satisfaction surveys.
Year 1 (from May 2003)
· Appointment of Development Officer for EVRDC, to build the company’s capacity and range of activities, provide a link with parent TOC, develop a range of social enterprises along the line, which add value to rail service (e.g. visitor packages, bike hire, accommodation)
· EVRDC to have a shop in Whitby Travel Centre with appropriate staffing, using former NYMR space, selling a range of railway and tourist-oriented materials.
· Development of integrated transport services along line, from key stations (community bus, train taxi, etc.) in co-operation with local authorities.
· Stations and trains to be branded in Esk Valley Railway livery
· Range of community-based initiatives including station adoption schemes, schools projects etc, building on previous work of Esk Valley Rail Partnership
· Development of detailed business plan for line over next 10 years
· Provision of catering trolley service during summer months
· Promotion of steam-hauled charter train to Whitby in August
· Develop proposals to encourage more charter trains to have Whitby as destination (for implementation in Year 2)
· Develop proposal for additional track in Whitby station (for implementation in 2005- see below)
· Joint marketing with special events (e.g. Folk Festival, Regatta, etc.)
· Special promotions on train, (e.g. Friday evening Folk Train)
· Dissemination of line guides around North of England (already produced by Arriva Trains), together with improved general awareness of the line nationally.
Year 2 (May 2004 – April 2005)
· Implementation of improved service based on stabling of trains overnight at Whitby
· Creation of ‘Whitby Link’ of conductors within new franchise
· EVRDC to have ‘marketing franchise’ for line, from parent TOC
· EVRDC to take over station cleaning and maintenance from Day 1 of new franchise
· Prepare funding bid for improved facilities at Whitby station, including additional track into current disused platform
· Encourage at least six charter trains to Whitby
Year 3 (May 2005 – April 2006)
· Refurbished trains (class 15x?) dedicated for use on line (with cover from parent TOC during maintenance)
· Re-lay track to redundant platform with appropriate signalling, re-open platform for stabling purposes and also for charter train use.
· Further development of businesses (private and socially-owned) along rail corridor (on-going)
· Freight feasibility study
· Encourage at least 10 charter trains into Whitby
Year 4 (May 2006 – April 2007):
· ‘Whitby Link’ conductors to transfer employment to EVRDC
· Additional services during the day, based on one additional unit dedicated to the line
· Improved train maintenance facilities at Whitby
· Infrastructure maintenance to become responsibility of EVRDC, with existing gang transferring to EVRDC employment (ie EVRDC becomes infrastructure controller).
· Regular charter train operations into and out of Whitby
· Infrastructure improvements, including feasibility of Battersby Curve
· Further enhancement to services, including reductions in end-to-end timings
· Freight development
· Test-bed for new design of rural rolling stock
· Possible re-opening of Malton – Pickering with potential for through running to Whitby
It’s clear that several of the above elements of a development plan require the active involvement of the parent TOC, including (in first three years):
· Allocation of marketing budget to EVRDC, (supplemented from other sources)
· Co-operation in establishing the Whitby operational base
· Agreement to separate Esk Valley Line out of overall contract for station cleaning and maintenance, and award to EVRDC
· General co-operation and support – including day to day liaison
As we engage in dialogue with the bidders, we should see what they think they can contribute themselves: there may well be other ideas we haven’t thought of!
4. What Would We Want From Network Rail?
We see Railtrack’s successor, Network Rail, as an important partner in this project, and recognise the investment the company has already put into the line recently. The process of separating track maintenance functions from the existing network contract will be complex and require strong support from the infrastructure company. The transfer of ‘infrastructure controller’ status from Network Rail to EVRDC will also present major challenges. It should be stressed that for the foreseeable future, infrastructure ownership will remain with Network Rail.
This is a visionary pilot project which deserves sufficient funding to ensure success. The proposals include a growing element of self-generated income from commercial activities but in the first three years it will require substantial funding from a range of sources.
We would like to see the SRA ensure that within the franchise agreement for the North of England there is a sum allocated through the parent TOC for the development of this pilot project, in addition to the initial development costs we have requested directly from the SRA (in preparation). This could include sums for transfer of operations to Whitby, and a contribution towards costs of employing the manager and operations manager. This sum should be matched with contributions from local stakeholders and the two regional development agencies (RDAs) and the Countryside Agency.
ACoRP sees the Esk Valley project as one of its most important priorities in the forthcoming years, and will devote a substantial amount of its staff resources to ensuring its success. As a national pilot, the lessons from the project will be very relevant to the development of similar initiatives in other parts of the UK, and we hope to invite interested bodies from all parts of the country to look at developments in Whitby at first hand. We will give particular support to the Development Officer once appointed, and will provide management support where appropriate.
EVRDC (the Esk Valley Railway Development Company) works closely with the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP).
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To find out more about the Esk Valley Railway Development Company and its work and its aims and objectives, please contact us by telephone, by e-mail or by letter:
Telephone (+44) 01947 811800
Postal address 12 Lowdale Lane, Sleights, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 5BU, England
E-mail Development Manager: Tony Smare
Click on the logo to return to EVRDC home page
1st August 2003