The Head of Highways introduced the report to members explaining that recent changes had occurred to the C2C timetable. The Communication and stakeholder manager and group area station manager was invited to the Committee to speak in doing so the following points were made;

·         The Timetable had been changed due to a 15% increase in passengers in last 5 years, which had resulted in shifting carriages around to match the demand, and also to improve links to and within London with 20-25% more trains stopping at TFL interchanges.

·         C2C informed the Committee that they had already doubled the length of key trains in AM and PM peaks, and reduced the number of trains that called at West Ham; also season ticket holders had been offered a cash back equivalent to two days’ travel as an apology for disrupted journeys.

·         In the near future C2C would be identifying additional rolling stock for extra seats and had an agreement in principle in place with another train operator for some additional carriages which would be targeted at the busiest peak trains.

·         There would be a focus on maintaining position as most punctual train operator in UK, introducing flexible season tickets to provide better value for money, and also stating a three year £33m station investment programme.

·         C2C’s franchise ends in 2029.

Councillor Halden proposed the following question ‘There has been much concern regarding the C2C timetable change, however the suggestion of changes have been mooted. Can C2C explain how they are judging complaints and how that is informing possible changes?’ C2C explained that C2C had an accurate load weigh data on each train that produced an accurate number of people on each train at each stop. It was added that C2C employees and network rail regularly carried out spot checks.

Councillor Halden asked a supplementary question ‘how are C2C interrupting the data for the areas that are not as vocal on C2C’s radar so that these are not forgotten about?’ C2C explained that all passengers from Stations with long commutes deserved a seat, it was added that all passengers mattered to the organisation and areas certain areas would not be forgotten. The Committee was informed that more seats would be added to trains.

Councillor Liddiard highlighted that there had been many complaints from passengers in Tilbury, C2C were informed that there was big growth and regeneration taking place in Tilbury and that the service would need to cater for these changes.

Councillor Ray questioned when the C2C service would reach its maximum capacity. C2C explained that the capacity had already been met, but added that trains would be extended and more frequent due to a GPS breaking system that could be introduced in the future.

Councillor Gledhill queried what changes had already been made and how these would be communicated to passengers. The Committee was informed that many changes had taken place during the evening peak times which had resulted in success, it was added that the load weight data would be available on the website in the future to inform passenger what trains were less compacted.

Councillor Gledhill questioned if C2C had approached TFL to see if they had experienced a decrease in passengers and if TFL would fund C2C as passengers were using C2C instead of TFL services. C2C explained that this was something they were exploring.

The Chair of the Committee questioned C2C’s target for next week regarding seat availability, it was explained that PM peak trains would be improving with the changes that had been made. It was also questioned how many additional carriages C2C were looking to purchase, the Committee was informed that there could possibly be 16/20 carriages purchased.

The Chair of Committee also felt that there was not an accurate comparison of passengers when looking comparing results between autumn 2015 and January 2016 it was question if this was a true reflection. C2C explained that this was not an accurate reflection but explained that there were more issues with the timetables other than seasonal use.

The Committee was informed that C2C were undergoing a survey carried out by national passenger service within the next seven months.

The Committee requested an update report in March.

RESOLVED

1.    The Committee receives a presentation from C2C on the recent timetable changes.

2.    The Committee commented on the timetable changes to inform C2C’s ongoing timetable development and C2C response plans to stakeholders.