Great Western Railway GWR’s Rail Vision and Community Rail September 2016 Dan Okey

Summary The Vision for rail From vision to reality Community Rail

Our vision is for a renaissance in rail Our purpose is to revalue rail in the hearts and minds of the travelling public

The GWR rebrand The GWR brand connects with our desire to return to a more evocative and enjoyable rail experience, where high standards and a re-focus on passengers creates more enjoyable rail journeys once more. Three simple letters symbolise and crystallise our unprecedented journey back to great…

From vision to reality… The DfT announced in July that they had decided to proceed with new High Speed trains for the West of England. In our franchise submission we had given the DfT two options; either that we would continue to operated upgraded HSTs or that we could order new trains. We had run a procurement process and selected the Hitachi AT 300s and had secured private finance for the deal which was dependent on the DfT’s commitment that the trains would be operated on the route beyond the life of our franchise. The AT 300 are similar to the AT800/801s but with bigger fuel tanks and larger engines and are bi-mode diesel electric trains. So the AT300s will arrive in 2018. AT300s will provide greater on-board capacity, faster journey times and a future proof capability that supports further benefits to be captured if electrification is extended to the South West. New Intercity Super Express Trains, A £350m investment

Better connectivity between London and the South West A new timetable from 2018 Consistently fast services to the West 2 trains an hour on the mainline through Cornwall Journey time study looking at how to build on the investment

Improving local services Refurbished, longer local trains with WiFi Persons of Restricted Mobility improvements More trains to support key local aspirations New timetable from 2018

More capacity for local lines Example: Barnstaple to Exeter – August 2016 capacity and demand 2,100 seats / day currently Vs 3,468 in 2018 (+65%) Peak hour capacity from Barnstaple to Exeter will be doubled in 2018

Investing in supporting infrastructure Expanded depot at Exeter St Davids for West fleet Existing site Proposed expansion Plans are progressing for the new depot at Exeter, which will support the enhanced local train fleet and secure jobs

Investment in stations £50million investment in franchise period including investment from local authorities Improved access to stations, better interchange and facilities for customers will be key outcomes Projects include: St Erth Interchange, Penzance and Truro sleeper lounges, wifi at every station in Cornwall, Exmouth Station building, Tiverton Parkway car park, Newton Abbot gateline, Marsh Barton, Edginswell, Plymouth Station Masterplan, Exeter St Davids Masterplan

Investing in our people Staff training and development New uniforms More Customer Ambassadors

New ways to buy and promote tickets Upgrading websites and journey planner Torbay Council investment in mobile ticketing Exmouth – Paignton (Autumn) New gatelines to include barcode readers Lots of Community Rail activity in this area!

Investment in Community Rail In this franchise we will invest £791,000 in Community Rail £2.2million Customer and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF) to deliver projects that will benefit communities in areas of need

Challenges for Community Rail Understanding the market, reasons for growth, future potential Identifying train service needs and gaps Identifying facilities needed at stations Integrating stations into the community – linking up places Identifying funding and bringing opportunities forward Contributing to the long term strategy

Project example 1 Avocet Line Behaviour Change Study

Project example 1 Avocet Line Behaviour Change Study Avocet Line RUG promoting 7 day railway Extra Sunday services funded by Devon County Council over successive years Aim: year round self supporting service Behavioural analysis funded by DCRDF and GWR User and non user analysis Results informed the marketing approach Making it fun, easy and popular!

Strategy Working Group (NR & GWR) Project example 2 North Devon Line Promotion Group Strategy Working Group (NR & GWR) Devon County Council Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership Tarka Rail Association North Devon District Council Heart of the South West LEP Universities and Colleges Developers Local businesses Understanding the market for the line and its role in the context of the long term economic and planning prospects for the area

Project example 2 Aims of work: Market study Economic potential North Devon 92,000 population 40,000 jobs £2.8bn GVA £36k GVA per job 17k new homes + 30% pop. Aims of work: Market study Economic potential Define train service requirement Optimise 2018 investment Long term plan Exeter Growth Hub 118,000 population 85,000 jobs £6.5bn GVA £31k GVA per job 20k new homes + 30% pop. 12/11/2018

Conclusion We are part of a renaissance in rail GWRs vision is to revalue rail in the hearts and minds of the travelling public There is a lot of investment and opportunity Community Rail is fundamental to achieving lasting change The challenges for Community Rail are: Understanding the market Identifying needs and working with communities Creating opportunities for investment

Thank you