Stakeholder News Issue 11 September 2015 Welcome from MD, Jamie Burles Welcome to the latest edition of Stakeholder News. It contains updates on key developments and progress over the last couple of months, including an additional 4 million investment in customer service and performance upgrades; the announcement of a full refurbishment of ten Class 321 electric multiple units (used on services to Southend, Chelmsford, Witham, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich); more station improvements across the network; the ongoing roll out of refurbished intercity carriages and Class 317/6 units; integrated transport upgrades and independent recognition in industry award events (for a number of positive partnership projects). Despite being in the last 15 months of a short franchise, we are continuing to invest in significant service improvements. With the additional 4 million programme of initiatives we announced at the end of July, we have now added over 15.5 million worth of upgrades on top of the 20 million agreed as part of our current short franchise. Full details of the enhancements are provided in the article below, but they focus primarily on a mix of train reliability schemes, on-train environment improvements and more station facility upgrades. We are working hard to secure better performance as, whilst recent punctuality has been reasonable, it has not been as consistent as it should be - mainly due to infrastructure (track, signalling and overhead line) issues. We are applying constructive pressure on Network Rail to deliver higher standards of reliability and in the latter half of August we have seen some positive signs with some very good performance - although the key challenge is to maintain that trend over the weeks and months to come. I'd also like to highlight the further benefits of partnership working. Many of the station improvements we deliver are as a direct result of partnerships with industry partners, local authorities, community rail partnerships, station adopters and other stakeholders. Other innovative projects (linked to rolling stock and minimising engineering work disruption), for which we have been nationally recognised, also succeeded through joint working and teamwork. We are grateful for the support of all our partners. It's clear that this proactive partnership approach is very effective in bringing forward improvements. Finally, I must reiterate the importance of continuing to maintain the pressure on Ministers and the Department for Transport (DfT) for the service investment and improvements you wish to see in the next long East Anglia franchise, as well as pressing Network Rail, Ministers and DfT for the infrastructure upgrades we should be seeing in both the current Control Period (CP5) to 2019 and the subsequent one to 2024. We need to make sure that the franchise deal that is agreed and the revised infrastructure enhancements programme include the major, transformative enhancements that our customers and communities rightly deserve and justify and that they are not postponed either. In the short term that means securing a high quality franchise specification (with ambitious rolling stock and customer service plans) and ensuring Network Rail delivers the first phase of Great Eastern Main Line line speed improvements before 2019, as well as the three tracking project for part of the southern end of the West Anglia route. I hope you find this update useful. Please email any feedback you may have to Jonathan Denby, our Head of Corporate Affairs at jonathan.denby@abelliogreateranglia.co.uk Jamie Burles Managing Director Abellio Greater Anglia // 4m service improvements As part of our ongoing commitment to invest in customer-focused improvements across our network we recently announced that we would be investing a further 4m in key upgrades. The upgrades include: A refresh for 40 of the Class 321 electric trains used on services to Southend, Chelmsford, Witham, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich, with new seat covers, better lighting and an enhanced deep cleaning programme; An extended programme of specific reliability modifications for the Class 317 trains used on West Anglia services to Hertford East, Harlow, Bishops Stortford and Cambridge and the Class 321 trains used on services to Southend, Chelmsford, Witham, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich; A more frequent heavy clean programme for all trains; New platform seating at mainline stations including Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford and Shenfield, as well as Cambridge on the West Anglia route; Upgraded waiting rooms at Diss, Stowmarket and Manningtree; New Customer Information screens at 35 stations: Audley End, Battlesbridge, Billericay, Bures, Burnham-on-Crouch, Chappel and Wakes Colne, Cheshunt, Cromer, Dovercourt, Great Bentley, Great Chesterford, Great Yarmouth, Haddiscoe, Halesworth, Harwich Town, Hatfield Peverel, Hoveton and Wroxham, Kelvedon, Lowestoft, Needham Market, Newmarket, Oulton Broad North, Reedham, Saxmundham, Shenfield, Sheringham, Stowmarket, St Margarets, Sudbury, Thetford, Thorpe Le Soken, Thurston, Ware, Wickford and Witham; Refurbishment of the waiting rooms at stations between Southend and Shenfield; Improvements to waiting facilities, platform seating and information screens at Lea Valley stations (including Enfield Lock, Brimsdown, Ponders End and Northumberland Park) on the West Anglia route; Improved accessibility arrangements at Ely station (with an accessible ticket window and improved access to the waiting room and toilets on platforms 2 and 3); and Upgrades at Newmarket station (including new customer information screens, better waiting facilities and a ticket vending machine). These enhancements, which will be implemented over the next four months, now bring our total level of investment to more than 35.5 million since our short franchise commenced in July 2014. This investment is significantly above and beyond the commitments we agreed with the Department for Transport. We are constantly seeking to provide a better service for our customers and we will keep on investing and working to raise service standards throughout the remainder of our current franchise - as well as making the case to Ministers and the DfT for investment in major upgrades in the next franchise.
2 //Refurbishment for Class 321 trains Last month we were very pleased to announce that ten of our 321 trains are to be fully refurbished in a major upgrade programme delivered in partnership with Eversholt Rail. The electric trains, which operate on services to Southend, Chelmsford, Witham, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich, will benefit from a wide range of customer-focused improvements, including: New, more comfortable seating throughout; Air-conditioning fitted throughout; New heating systems; Larger vestibules for improved boarding and alighting; Wi-fi facilities enabled throughout; Power sockets installed throughout; New, energy efficient lighting; Improved space allocation for buggies, bicycles and luggage; New flooring, ceiling panels and windows; Upgraded equipment monitoring systems to improve train reliability. The first refurbished train is due to be completed early in the New Year, with work carried out by Wabtec Rail at a dedicated production facility in Doncaster, with state of the art systems and processes. This refurbishment fulfils a commitment we made at the start of the current short franchise to try and agree a full refurbishment deal for a small number of Class 321s. This also follows on from the recent announcement of a more minor refresh for 40 Class 321s (with new seat covers and better lighting) and, with the 17 Class 321s which benefitted from a refresh after they arrived in East Anglia from London Midland 4 years ago, it means 67 of the 94 Class 321s will have received recent customer-focused improvements. We are pleased to have worked in partnership with Eversholt Rail and Wabtec Rail to agree this significant upgrade programme, which along with the major refresh already underway for the intercity trains, plus other refresh projects for the Class 360 trains and some of the other Class 321s, means that passengers on the Great Eastern Main Line are seeing some substantial improvements to trains on this key route connecting London and East Anglia. These positive developments should be the start of an ongoing rolling stock upgrade programme which stretches into the new long franchise. //Class 317/6 refresh update We have now completed the interior refresh and upgrade on eight of our fleet of 24 Class 317/6 electric trains that operate on the Cambridge to Liverpool Street and Cheshunt / Hertford East to Liverpool Street services. The 1 million investment programme is intended to improve passenger comfort and the on-train travelling environment and will see 96 carriages in total improved with new Standard seat covers and vinyl flooring, new First Class seat covers and trim and carpets, with interiors re-sprayed and new signage applied throughout the train. The work to improve the Class 317/6 trains is being undertaken by our fleet maintenance team at the Clacton-on-Sea Depot, with completion of the project expected early in 2016. We have already received some great feedback from customers and stakeholders who have used the refreshed trains. We will keep you updated as the programme moves forward. //Intercity refresh update Our intercity MkIII fleet refresh is making great progress with 25 vehicles now complete. This means that we now have two train sets completed. The refresh of our MkIII fleet started in December 2014 at our Norwich Crown Point depot. The scheme sees improvements throughout for both First Class and Standard carriages including, plug points; new LED lighting; new carpets; new tables; new seat covers; upgraded environmentally-friendly controlled emission toilets with new floors and new taps; re-painting of the carriage interior saloon and vestibule panels, walls and ceilings. Exterior painting of all carriages is also being undertaken as part of a separate programme already underway. The work is being carried out by our partner for the project Vossloh Kiepe and the full programme is due to be completed by the end of our current short franchise in October 2016. As part of the wider MkIII upgrade programme, a number of carriages are also being modified to enable more Standard seats to be provided - over 2,500 a day or over 600,000 a year. The improvements are receiving a lot of positive feedback from customers and stakeholders, with particular praise for the plug points and better lighting.
3 CyclePark PLUS was opened at Colchester. Left to right: John Mannion, Area Customer Service Manager for Abellio Greater Anglia, Andrew Goffin Customer Panel Chairman, Ray Howard of Essex County Council, councillor Jo Hayes and Sue Lissmore. //CyclePark PLUS at Colchester & Ely One of our commitments when taking on this rail franchise was to improve the provision for cycle use at our stations. We are therefore pleased to confirm that two new secure cycle compounds are now complete and open to the public at Colchester and Ely stations. Each facility provides space for 144 bikes and can only be accessed by users with a registered key fob, which can be obtained from the station ticket offices for a 25 deposit. Both facilities upgrades have also included the installation of CCTV and motion sensor lighting. Both stations have also received an upgrade in regular cycle parking facilities with a new parking area on the London-bound platform at Colchester, comprising of 96 spaces, and 182 two tier spaces at Ely. Since the start of our first short franchise in February 2012, we have implemented a wide variety of cycle-focused enhancements, including upgrades to existing facilities; creating a new cycle strategy; launching a new Cycle Forum; increasing the number of cycle parking spaces across the network (including the innovative Cycle Point scheme at Chelmsford); making arrangements for special cycling events and the introduction of our pioneering cycle hire scheme, Bike & Go. //Success at Rail Innovation Awards We were delighted to win the Small Scale Project award and the Cross Industry Partnership award at this year s Rail Industry Innovation Awards. The winning initiative for the Small Scale Project award involved Network Rail and ourselves working together successfully to find an innovative solution to the challenge of minimising the impact of overhead power line upgrades on the four track railway between Shenfield and London. On a route (the Great Eastern Main Line) where for many years there had been frequent and disruptive engineering work, the aim was to identify a method of working that removed the need for all four lines to be shut and still enabled trains to run. The answer was to plan for trains to/from certain destinations, to coast through a section where the track was open but the overhead power lines were not energised. After an effective trial in 2013, the approach was formally adopted in 2014, enabling the work to be undertaken without disruption to our customers. The successful project for the Cross Industry Partnership award involved the modification of a Class 379 electric train (normally used on Stansted Express and Cambridge services from London Liverpool Street) to be fitted with special batteries, to be trialled initially on a test track, but was then used passenger service in Essex on the Manningtree to Harwich line, earlier this year. The tests were successful, with the train exceeding the distances expected under battery power and the performance of the train in terms of safety, speed, acceleration and reliability exceeded expectations. The data and experience gained is now being used along with further research and other component testing and development, to assess the opportunities for bringing this technology into regular service. Another part of the partnership working was the way in which Bombardier which built and maintains the Class 379 trains increased availability of trains during the trial to ensure no adverse effects on the day-to-day Stansted Express service. The train involved in the trial has now been modified back to its original condition and is back in service on the London to Stansted Airport and Cambridge routes. We were also pleased to be commended in the Small Scale Project category for our ongoing programme of development for the East Suffolk line between Ipswich and Lowestoft, in partnership with Suffolk County Council and the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership. This key regional rail route has seen its passenger figures boosted following the introduction of an hourly train service, a sustained set of improvements to station facilities and the on-train environment, integrated transport links and community initiatives and two extra train services on Sundays. We would like to thank our partners in Suffolk County Council and the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership for helping us to achieve these results. //New ticket machine for Hythe Customers using Hythe station are now able to purchase rail tickets ahead of boarding their train following the installation of a new ticket vending machine (TVM). The 44k investment includes the new cash and card Scheidt & Bachmann TVM and also new CCTV cameras, which will enhance safety and security at the station. The TVM will allow customers to purchase walk up and go tickets and collect pre-paid tickets and tickets which have been bought online. The machine also allows customers to purchase peak tickets for the following day from 12:00. When purchasing a ticket, the screen will also display relevant information concerning any travel restrictions that may apply to a particular ticket type, helping to ensure that customers are easily able to purchase the correct and most appropriate ticket for their intended journey.
4 //Passenger lift opens at Billericay Basildon & Billericay MP John Baron visited Billericay station on Friday 17 July to officially open the new passenger lift which has recently been installed at the station. The new lift is situated on the Southend-bound platform of the station and means that passenger lifts are now provided on both platforms, improving accessibility for rail passengers using Billericay. We worked with John Baron MP to secure the necessary funding for the installation of the lift through the Access for All programme, which aims to improve accessibility of the railway with specifically targeted projects to enable more disabled people to access the network. We are very grateful to John Baron for assistance in making this investment happen. MP John Baron opened the new lift at Billericay. //Ticket office work begins at Cambridge As part of the Cambridge station redevelopment and CB1 project, works started in August to construct a new, improved ticket office and booking hall. To allow the works to start without inconveniencing our customers a temporary ticket office was opened on Tuesday 25 August. The temporary office features seven ticket windows, which is one more than the existing ticket office. This automatic ticket vending machines (TVMs) were moved in early September to the hoarding line in the booking hall and supplemented by three additional machines, to provide an increased number of seven TVMs. By using a temporary ticket office, the major building works associated with the construction of the new ticket office can be completed more quickly and queues at peak times can also be reduced in the booking hall, which will help improve passenger movement through the station entrance. The work is expected to take around six months to complete. Access to the station platforms will be unchanged during this time, and additional staff will be on hand in the booking hall and station forecourt to help customers and assist in the sale of tickets from mobile ticket machines. On completion, the remodelled booking hall will provide a larger circulation space for customers, with the area for ticket purchase separated from the main walking route through to the platforms. This, along with a wider gateline, will mean that there is more space during busy periods, removing congestion between customers walking through the booking hall and those purchasing tickets. Additional TVMs will also be installed, bringing the total number to 10, as well as more ticket windows to speed up ticket sales. Access doors from the forecourt will be increased from two to four, and the doors to the platforms will be increased from two to five. We will be doing all we can to minimise any inconvenience to our customers and station visitors during the period of the improvement works. We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding whilst we continue with these improvements to help provide better journeys and customer service at Cambridge. //Volunteers help at Great Bentley We would like to thank patients at an Essex residential care home for helping to brighten up a local rail station by planting flowers and shrubs to welcome visitors. Two residents from The Orchards, a care home in Thorrington (between Colchester and Clacton), for adults with learning disabilities, have been working to improve the gardens at Great Bentley station on the Sunshine Coast Line. We are very grateful for the support of our station adopters. Great Bentley is looking bright and inviting and we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at The Orchards for their continued hard work. //Community Rail Awards shortlist We are pleased to have been shortlisted for four categories at this year s Community Rail Awards. The awards, which are organised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), aim to promote the best of the work undertaken by Community Rail Partnerships in the UK. It also provides groups with inspirational ideas and best practice information for improving station environments, enhancing community involvement, and increasing patronage. The categories in which we have been shortlisted are: Small Project Harwich station transformation Best Station Garden Bures station Outstanding Teamwork AGA and The Bittern Line CRP Passengers Matter AGA and The Bittern Line CRP The awards will be held in Torquay on Thursday 1 October and we will report back on the outcome of each shortlisted category. In the meantime we would like to congratulate all of those involved in the above schemes. Without all of your hard work these entries would not have been possible and you should all be proud of what you achieve in helping to improve your railway.
5 Councillors and local people visit an improved Needham Market station. //Works complete at Needham Market //Ruth and Robin dig in at Weeley //Improving the Lea Valley line A 700K project to overhaul the platforms, subway and stairs at Needham Market railway station is now complete. Representatives from mid-suffolk district council, led by Cllr Wendy Marchant, visited the station on Monday 27th July to view the improvements carried out by our asset management team. The platform improvement works have included: Removal of the old life-expired concrete deck on the London-bound platform, which involved lifting out old sections with a crane and replacing them with new ones; resurfacing of the Norwich-bound platform; lining of the subway with special cladding to improve its appearance and make it easier to clean and maintain; installation of a new staircase to the subway; the application of new anti-slip coatings to steps; alterations to the arched entry to the platforms to make them compliant with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. The largest section of the works took place over a 48-hour period between 11th April and 13th April, taking the opportunity to carry out the work while the station was temporarily closed due to engineering works being carried out by Network Rail. This significant upgrade to Needham Market station has created an improved ambience and pleasant station environment for our customers and we would like to thank our local stakeholders for their continued support throughout the project. We are very pleased to report that due to the fantastic efforts of two station adopters the garden at Weeley station has been returned to its former glory. Ruth and Robin Whitworth have replanted the garden following vandalism and a period when it was inaccessible whilst we carried out the installation of a new footbridge. As the station s adopters, Ruth and Robin, with the help of a working party coordinated by the Department for Transport and the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, set about clearing the weeds and making the area look attractive with chipped bark and a range of stunning new plants. On behalf of everyone at Abellio Greater Anglia we would like to thank everyone involved, and in particular Ruth and Robin, for their hard work which has created a very pleasant atmosphere for passengers using the station. We recently announced that we would be investing 200k in station improvements at locations across the Lea Valley Line on our West Anglia network. The investments will be focused on Tottenham Hale, Northumberland Park, Angel Road, Ponders End, Brimsdown, Enfield Lock, Waltham Cross and Cheshunt stations. We have already replaced all the signs at every station along the line to help create a smarter appearance and improve wayfinding. The next steps will see the tidying up and removal of weeds along the platforms and sidings at Ponders End, Brimsdown and Waltham Cross. In addition, the platforms and waiting rooms at Tottenham Hale and Cheshunt will benefit from new, more comfortable wooden-style seating, which replace the older style metal seating. The new seating will improve the appearance of the platforms and is compliant with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure ease of use for those with mobility issues. Brimsdown, Ponders End, Northumberland Park and Enfield Lock will each benefit from two new Customer Information Screens which will display train running information in a clear, easy to read format. The project will see the old customer information screens replaced with the latest LED technology. This will mean a real improvement in the provision of information for customers at the stations with brighter, clearer screens. Investing in upgrades to stations across the network is extremely important to us, demonstrating our commitment to providing excellent facilities and service to our customers.
6 //Refurbishment at Prittlewell Passengers using Prittlewell station will soon benefit from a more welcoming and attractive station environment as we recently commenced a complete refurbishment project. Work is underway to refurbish the station, which was built in 1889 and serves over 80,000 passengers every year. The scope of the projects includes carrying out repairs to the station canopy and platforms, a complete repaint, lighting improvements, the construction of a new, improved waiting room and the installation of a new ticket vending machine (TVM). The new waiting room will see the dividing wall between the existing booking hall and waiting room removed to create a larger, brighter space. The new waiting room will benefit from DDA compliant push button automatic doors, a train departure summary screen and energy-efficient heating, as well as new flooring and seating and redecoration in Abellio Greater Anglia colours. It will also offer passengers the opportunity to charge laptops and mobile phones and work while they wait with a specially-made wall-mounted work top with plug sockets and three bar stools. The waiting room and platforms are also benefiting from new wooden style benches which replace the older style metal benches. A new ticket vending machine will be installed at the station, which means that passengers will be able to purchase their train tickets before they travel and collect tickets which they have bought online. The station entrance will be repainted along with the footbridge and all timber, steel work and lighting columns around the station. The existing lighting in the station will also be upgraded where required. This significant project for the station will deliver a much-improved, more comfortable waiting environment for our passengers and will restore the station to its former glory. We will update you as this station upgrade progresses. //Oyster extended to Hertford East line We recently announced plans to extend the benefits of Oyster Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) tickets to rail passengers using the Hertford East line before the end of the year. The use of Oyster tickets will be extended to Rye House, St. Margarets, Ware and Hertford East stations along the Hertford East line, following the previous extension of Oyster to Broxbourne in 2013. Rail passengers will be able to tap-in / tapout at the validators to be provided on the platforms and use Oyster for journeys to London and back, providing more flexibility, cheaper fares and convenience. Contactless payment via debit / credit cards will also be available. We are introducing the Oyster ticket compatability to the Hertford East line as an additional benefit for rail passengers over and above our agreed commitments within the current short franchise contract to October 2016. It also reflects feedback from our customers who share our aspirations to extend Oyster to Hertford East. //Waiting room refurbishments As part of our ongoing commitment to improve customer facilities at our stations, we commenced works in mid- July to improve the waiting rooms and toilet facilities at Manningtree, Stowmarket and Diss. The new waiting rooms will benefit from DDA compliant push button automatic doors, a train departure summary screen and energy-efficient heating, as well as new flooring and seating and redecoration in Abellio Greater Anglia colours. They will also offer passengers the opportunity to charge laptops and mobile phones and work while they wait with a specially made wall mounted work top with plug sockets and three bar stools. The platforms at Diss and Stowmarket will also benefit from new wooden style benches which replace the older style metal benches. The new seating, supplied by Macemain and Amstad, will improve the appearance of the platforms and is compliant with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure ease of use by those with mobility issues. The works are expected to be completed during the Autumn. // Fixing the link at Colchester A community exhibition was held in Colchester in July as part of a consultation to promote an integrated transport project that we are undertaking in partnership with Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council. The project, entitled Fixing the Link, seeks to improve and promote the walking route between Colchester station and the town centre by improving signage and the walking environment between the two locations. By doing so it is anticipated that more people will visit the town centre by rail and aid the local economy. Planned improvements include a light sculpture created at The Albert roundabout, an elephant sculpture telling the story of Colchester Zoo s Jumbo the elephant (who later became the namesake for the town s iconic water tower), a seated area outside the North Station Road shops and a light beacon in the spire of St Peter s Church, at the top of North Hill. This project is the first of its kind in the UK and we are very pleased to be the first rail company in the country to help deliver it. //CIS screens for the Bittern Line Prittlewell station has been repainted. Following an investment of 21K by the Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership four new information screens have recently been installed at stations in north Norfolk. The screens, which were installed at Cromer, Sheringham, and Hoveton & Wroxham, replace the old style television screens and are 80% more energy efficient. They also feature LED lighting technology, which means information is able to be displayed brighter and clearer. We would very much like to thank the Bittern Line CRP for their kind investment. The installation of the screens was officially marked on Friday 4 September with representatives from the CRP, local authorities and Abellio Greater Anglia.
7 //Clacton s new mosaic artwork A new mosaic with a local flavour is gracing the walls at Clacton-on-Sea railway station. Mosaic artist Paula Rosalind spent three months and nearly two hundred working hours to create the intricate, circular mural. Depicting the local coastal area, the artwork incorporates the native flora and fauna of the Essex Coastline including, Sandwich Terns and Avocets along with plants such as Sea Hogs Fennel, Sea Lavender and Shrubby Sea Blite. The mural was commissioned and funded by Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership as part of the Railway Art Project. Made almost entirely from stained, mirrored and fused glass, the mosaic incorporates various finishes, including iridescent tiles. Most tiles were hand cut to an exact size to create the intricate design. The Sunshine Coast Line mosaic mural pays homage to the local wildlife and is coated in a kaleidoscope of colour which reflects the light. The artwork is a warm way to welcome those visiting the town and we have already received many positive comments. We are very grateful to Paula for her hard work. //Artwork at North Fambridge New artwork by an Essex based artist, who creates all of his work using spray paint, is now adorning North Fambridge Station on the Crouch Valley Line. The work by Scott Irving, which depicts river scenes, countryside and wildlife, was completed on June 16. It is part of a project organised by Essex Community Rail Partnership and was co-ordinated by artist Max Dolding. Scott arranged a workshop with youngsters from Essex Boys and Girls Club and members of DA Latchingdon youth club, who carried out research at Blue House Farm, a wildlife nature reserve. The artwork is a trial for a larger project coordinated by the community rail partnership, which would involve artwork along all the Crouch Valley Line stations. We have received positive feedback from passengers and staff who use the station and would like to thank everyone who was involved in the project. Keep in touch... We hope you have found this newsletter interesting and informative. If you would like to discuss anything you have read further, please get in touch with Jonathan Denby, our Head of Corporate Affairs, by emailing jonathan.denby@abelliogreateranglia.co.uk or call us on 01206 363955.