HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Passenger Growth Continues on London Commuter Services [July 2001]
The press release issued by the Strategic Rail Authority on 13 July 2001.
Last year the rail industry saw an additional 11,630 people travelling into London in each morning peak, an increase of 2.6% since Autumn 1999, according to figures released by the SRA today. Over five years, the number each weekday has grown by over 20%.
The total now travelling into London each morning is 466,920 – the highest level since the late 1980s. The figure represents an important step towards the Government’s target of 50% growth in passenger kilometres between 2000 and 2010.
The survey confirms that strong growth in passenger numbers continued throughout London and the South East despite the effects of flooding and Emergency Speed Restrictions (ESRs).
Growing demand and timetable disruption following Hatfield resulted in the capacity threshold being breached on five companies – Connex South Central, First Great Eastern, Silverlink, South West Trains and Thameslink – and the SRA has required them to produce action plans to reduce overcrowding, detailed below.
SRA Chief Executive Mike Grant said:
“The figures show the urgent need to increase capacity, which is why priority has been given to three London franchises in the replacement process. We are working with train operators to provide additional capacity on other routes in the short term.
“The figures also demonstrate that predictions of loss of passengers after Hatfield were simply wrong – there is a strong and continuing growth trend. Our concern is to press manufacturers to deliver more trains as soon as possible and get the TOCs and Railtrack to work together to run them reliably.”
The PIXC survey was carried out by train operating companies for the SRA in late 2000 and early 2001 and the results are as follows (Autumn 1999 figures in brackets). The threshold for acceptable crowding is 4.5% on one peak or 3.0% across both peaks.
| Train Operating Company | % of passengers in excess of capacity | ||
| AM | PM | Overall | |
| Threshold: | 4.5% | 4.5% | 3% |
| c2c | 1.6% (3.1%) | 1.0% (0.1%) | 1.3% (1.7%) |
| Chiltern | 2.5% (5.4%) | 0.3% (2.0%) | 1.6% (4.0%) |
| Connex South Central | 6.2% (5.2%) | 2.7% (2.2%) | 4.7% (3.9%) |
| Connex South Eastern | 3.7% (3.2%) | 1.9% (1.5%) | 2.9% (2.4%) |
| First Great Eastern | 6.4% (4.1%) | 1.4% (1.2%) | 4.1% (2.7%) |
| Silverlink * | 9.8% (3.0%) | 3.1% (2.0%) | 6.6% (2.5%) |
| South West Trains | 7.9% (4.7%) | 1.1% (1.7%) | 4.9% (3.9%) |
| Thames Trains | 1.9% (0.8%) | 1.9% (2.7%) | 1.9% (1.7%) |
| Thameslink | 4.4% (4.0%) | 2.7% (2.5%) | 3.6% (3.3%) |
| WAGN | 2.8% (2.4%) | 1.6% (1.0%) | 2.3% (1.8%) |
| * Figures based on emergency timetable with reduced number of trains. | |||
Improvements by individual train operating companies:
Connex South Central: The operation is shortly being taken over by GOVIA, and the replacement franchise provides for both additional rolling stock and more track capacity. New trains will provide relief and are to be delivered within the next three years.
First Great Eastern: New trains are to be introduced within two years, and short term improvements for next year are being worked out by the company with the SRA. The figures reflect disrupted commuter travel patterns due to Emergency Speed Restrictions imposed after Hatfield. With the lifting of ESRs, these patterns are now returning to normal.
Silverlink: The full timetable has now been restored on County services following post-Hatfield restrictions, with supply better matching demand. Overcrowding remains on the North London Line, and the SRA is currently discussing with the operator plans to lease additional coaches next year to increase capacity.
South West Trains: The replacement franchise will provide for longer trains by 2004, and 785 new coaches have been ordered by Stagecoach to fulfil this commitment, with some of these new units already introduced. Further commitments under the new franchise include increased service frequency at peak times and platform extensions to accommodate longer trains.
Thameslink: The SRA arranged for additional trains to be leased by franchisee GOVIA in 1999 and again in 2000. In the longer term the Thameslink 2000 project will provide huge additional capacity. In the short term, proposals are being developed with the company to see whether more trains can be run reliably on the existing infrastructure.
Other Train Operating Companies: Additional rolling stock has also been leased on Chiltern, and new trains have been introduced on Connex South East and c2c. In all, over 500 new coaches are to be brought into service over the next nine months on London commuter services.
