SRA Community Rail Strategy - FAQs
Why do you need a Community Rail Strategy?
The Community Rail Strategy is intended to help put rural and local railways
on a more sustainable financial footing. Railways as a whole consume a
large amount of public funding and it is essential to demonstrate value
for money. We believe that we can double the number of passengers using
these lines, and cut the subsidy by a third.
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What is the Strategy?
The Strategy can be seen as a set of ideas to increase the value of the
railway to the community it serves and reduce the gap between fares revenue
and central government support. These ideas fall into three areas:
Increasing revenue - increasing both ridership and revenue
through raising awareness amongst potential traveller, better marketing,
adjusting fares (both up and down), introducing cost effective service
enhancements.
Reducing costs - ensuring that all work on these railways
is done efficiently and to the right standard avoiding over specification.
Increasing community involvement - allowing the community
to improve the railway through locally funded investment, voluntary effort.
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What is the point of separately designating these lines?
There are three purposes in designation. To provide the flexibility to
adopt a different (and appropriate) approach on standards and ticketing
without implications for the rest of the rail network, to ensure that
the specific needs of local railways are addressed, rather than following
as a consequence of policy decisions on the main lines, and to take them
out of scope for EU interoperability (in order allow use of equipment
cascaded from the main line).
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What are "designated lines"?
As part of the Strategy we are proposing to "designate" 56
lines in England and Wales - separate designation is to encourage the
application of appropriate standards and enable exemption from some EU
legislation which is inappropriate for lines that are local in nature.
Many of aspects of the Strategy will be possible on non designated lines.
The lines proposed for designation cover 1154 miles (10.5% of the franchised
network) and 390 stations (15.5%). The characteristics of these lines
vary, but are all relatively low speed, often have low frequency services
and are not heavily trafficked. Examples include rural branch lines (St
Ives Bay in Cornwall, Bishop Auckland in County Durham), longer routes
through rural areas (e.g. Heart of Wales Line from Swansea to Shrewsbury)
and quieter commuter routes (Watford - St Albans and the Stourbridge Town
branch).
A local consultation is planned for each line before designation is confirmed.
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What happens next?
With a Strategy with so many elements, it is possible to start work on
some aspects almost immediately. There are already partnerships established
in many parts of the country to link communities with their railways and
we will continue to work with them to improve the amenity and viability
of their lines.
The SRA will concentrate initially on the 7 pilot projects, chosen to
demonstrate different aspects of the strategy, and we will lead the work
on designation of routes. Working with others including train operators,
Network Rail and the Office for Rail Regulation, we will also seek to
improve understanding and management of costs.
The SRA has led the development of the Community Rail Strategy. With
the abolition of the Authority expected in 2005, further development will
be taken forward by the Department for Transport.
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What is the timescale for Community Rail Development?
Many aspects of the Community Rail Development strategy can be implemented
right away by local communities, Community Rail Partnerships, and the
rail industry. The SRA will concentrate on the pilot projects initially
and quickly move to designating the other routes. There is an urgent need
to show results from Community Rail Development and our aim is to double
the fares income on these lines in five years.
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Where are the pilot projects?
We have chosen 7 routes for the pilot projects:
South West
- St Ives-St Erth
- Looe-Liskeard (Looe Valley)
- Plymouth-Gunnislake (Tamar Valley)
East
- Watford Junction-St Albans Abbey (Abbey Line)
- Grantham-Skegness (Jolly Fisherman Line)
North East/Yorkshire
- Middlesbrough-Whitby (Esk Valley)
- Huddersfield-Barnsley (Penistone Line)
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What will the pilot projects demonstrate?
The 7 pilot projects have been chosen to demonstrate different aspects
of the strategy. The detailed proposals for each line will be confirmed
following local consultation and discussion with the Community Rail Partnerships
or Railway Development Company, local authorities and Rail Passengers'
Committee. Some aspects can be implemented quickly, others may take some
months.
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What will be the measure of success of the strategy?
Putting the lines on a sustainable footing for the future. A reduction
in the difference between the amount of subsidy going into these lines
measured in terms of £s per passenger journey.
But the benefits will be seen in associated objectives of social inclusion,
environment and economic development. As well as the government and local
authority shared objectives of increasing air quality; increasing road
safety; reducing congestion; and ensuring health/jobs/education/food shopping
accessible.
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Does the strategy cover independent and heritage railways?
The strategy focuses on local and rural railways which form part of the
franchised national network, but at the margins it gives independent and
heritage railways the option to apply for designation as Community Rail
lines to provide a consistent approach on standards.
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Will freight be allowed on Community Rail lines?
The aim is to provide for existing freight flows in the specification
of Community Railways, as well as for prospective flows that are value
for money. On lines that have no prospect of future freight traffic, it
is important to reflect this in the specification so that unnecessary
infrastructure costs are avoided.
We hope that the strategy will generate some innovative ideas about increasing
the freight on local and rural railways, such as those developed in the
Scottish Highlands.
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What can be done to make sure fares are collected?
Revenue Protection can be improved by a variety of measures. For example,
making it easier to buy tickets, ensuring that the conductor has time
to check the tickets by replicating door controls by each passenger door
so that he/she does not have to return to the rear cab of the train to
dispatch the train.
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What about stations that are not on Community Rail lines?
No change is proposed to the safety requirements governing access to
these stations but the strategy recognises that many such stations could
benefit from ideas contained in the strategy, such as station adoption
and support of a 'friends' group.
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What is a Community Rail Partnership?
Community Rail Partnerships are an essential strand of the Community
Rail Development strategy. They exist independently of the strategy, but
each Community Rail line will need to have the support of a Community
Rail Partnership.
Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) are a means by which stakeholders
along a rail corridor can play an active role in the development of their
local rail service and they bring together train operators, Network Rail,
local authorities, local employers, development and tourism agencies,
community groups and other, locally based groups. They are established
by mutual agreement and are typically staffed by a paid officer supported
by a committee of stakeholders.
There are now [50] CRPs across the UK, ranging from Devon & Cornwall,
through East Anglia and Wales to the North of England and Scotland as
well as many more under development. The Association of Community Rail
Partnerships (ACoRP) is their representative body.
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Is there additional funding to support the Community Rail Development
work?
Community Rail Development seeks to get better value for money from the
subsidy which the government is already putting into local and rural routes.
The Community Rail Development approach looks to a variety of sources
to fund improvements to the service provided with the subsidy from the
SRA. and the strategy contains some guidance about funding.
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Is this an opportunity to re-open closed railway lines?
Re-openings fall outside the scope of the proposed strategy. Even where
extensions represent value for money in economic terms they invariably
require additional subsidy, which is currently unaffordable. The Community
Rail Development approach looks at making better use of the existing franchised
network.
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What is the scope for microfranchising?
The creation of a full-scale microfranchise is a long rather than short
term consideration and will not be suitable for more than a handful of
Community Rail routes, primarily those where the operation is self-contained.
In the vast majority of instances Community Rail lines will benefit from
the economies of scale that large organisations can provide, especially
when working together with local stakeholders. They will also be able
to benefit from the other initiatives outlined in the consultation paper.
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What will the role of volunteers be on Community Railways?
Volunteer support must complement, rather than replace, the work of professional
staff employed by the station facility owner or operator. Volunteer enthusiasm
would best be channelled into non 'safety critical' roles, supporting
the Community Railway, such as station adoption.
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Why do the proposals exclude Trans European Network (TEN) routes from
designation as Community Railways?
The European Commission designated TEN routes, after consultation with
local authorities, in the 1990s. The aim of the network is to contribute
to the implementation and development of the Internal Market and reflect
the European Union's free movement of goods, persons and services in a
modern and efficient infrastructure linking up the Member States. TEN
routes are outside the scope of Community Railways (and hence the consultation)
because of the obligations associated with them. For a map of TEN rail
routes within the United Kingdom follow this link: http://europa.eu.int/comm/ten/transport/revision/maps/rail-3-15-uk.pdf
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How can we learn from other European Railways?
In designating Community Rail lines we are using an idea developed and
used successfully around Europe. In preparing the strategy we looked at
ideas from across Europe.
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Will buses replace trains on Community Rail routes?
A policy of permanent bus substitution for rail services is not one we
intend to pursue.
However, where buses can provide feeder services, or supplement an infrequent
rail service, there may be an opportunity for integration.
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Will designation of Community Rail routes result in additional changes
of trains for passengers?
No! The routes proposed for designation are described using the station
or railway junction where they start and end. This is for the purposes
of infrastructure specification and associated standards. The description
is in no way intended to inhibit the provision of through services and
it will not lead to trains all stopping, and all passengers having to
change.
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When did the consultation close?
The Community Rail Development consultation closed on 28th May 2004.
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Who replied to the consultation?
There were over 300 well-informed and thoughtful responses from a wide
range of stakeholders. For further information about the responses, including
a list of respondents, please see the Summary of Responses to the consultation,
which was published on 30th June 2004 and which forms Appendix C to the
Community Rail Development strategy.
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Where can I ask further questions?
Please write to the Community Rail Development team with any further
comments or questions at:
Community Rail Development
Strategic Rail Authority
55 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
Email: communityrail@sra.gov.uk
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