Daniel Goodwin
Chief Executive
St Albans City & District Council
District Council Offices
St Peter’s Street
St Albans
Herts AL1 3JE
20 January 2010
Dear Mr Goodwin
The purpose of this letter is to give you an update on First Capital Connect’s Thameslink route services following the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny (Public Services) Committee meeting last Wednesday, 13 January.
Firstly, I am pleased to confirm that the result of the ASLEF ballot was that around 70% of our drivers voted in favour of accepting the pay offer. We were therefore able to implement the normal timetable (effective 13 December 2009 to 22 May 2010) on the Thameslink route from Monday 18 January.
There will be some short formations (four carriage trains instead of eight) until 10 February, by when we plan that any Class 319 trains with faulty traction motors resulting from the recent severe weather will be repaired and back in service.
It is worth adding that, were it not for the late delivery from Bombardier of our 23 new Class 377 Electrostars, of which the final two were delivered to us only last Friday, the remedial modifications to the traction motors required following last February’s snowfall would by now have been completed. As it was we had far less opportunity to take these trains out of service as they were needed to deliver the timetable effective from March 2009 which required us to provide trains to SouthEastern Trains destinations.
We fully acknowledge that the recent service provided by First Capital Connect was not acceptable. Services have been affected by a combination of infrastructure issues and rolling stock being unavailable as a result breakdowns caused by the extreme weather conditions.
Our service was severely impacted by the exceptionally cold weather on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 January, and again on Tuesday 12 January when services were affected by multiple signal failures. One of the key benefits of the Thameslink route – the ability to travel across London without changing trains and stations in central London – can also be the reason for delays, as any disruption encountered either north or south of London will impact on the rest of the train’s journey.
On Thursday 7 and Friday 8 Network Rail restricted FCC services to the slow lines as the points on all junctions between Bedford and London were frozen. Icicles formed on the overhead power lines which often caused the tripping of these power lines. The build up of snow and ice caused the sliding doors to freeze on many trains. In addition the snow affected a number of traction motors, resulting in the trains having to be taken out of service.
Door icing
No Thameslink route trains were washed during the recent near freezing temperatures. In fact we received a number of complaints about the outside of the trains being very dirty. A liquid de-icing fluid is sprayed around the doors to try to prevent them freezing up. The correct application process was carried out.
When a train runs at speed it causes the snow lying on and around the track to swirl around. This snow tends to settle in the crevices around the sliding doors on the Class 319s and can then ice over. This is not a problem on the new Class 377 Electrostars on the Thameslink route or on the Class 365s on the GN route as these have doors which fit flush with the body shell.
Train maintenance
As you know, the Class 319s are some 20 years old and are mid-life Electric Multiple Units (EMUs). The moving annual average number of miles between any technical failure causing a delay of 5 minutes or more is currently in excess of 14,500 – this makes it 10th best out of a list of 31 mid-life EMUs, which could only be achieved if our maintenance regime is robust. Of course we would like to see these trains perform better and will ensure that any lessons in relation to winter preparedness are learned.
Refunds / Discount scheme Thameslink route customers
Many customers will have heard that plans for further refunds above and beyond Delay Repay were being finalised. This was going to take the form of five tickets equivalent to five return journeys with First Capital Connect.
However, following the ongoing severe disruption to Thameslink route services due to the extreme weather conditions, we have reviewed the planned customer compensation package and now propose a revised and increased refund / discount deal. Details of this will follow in due course and we will advise how this can be claimed via our website.
Driver availability
It is not a contractual commitment that drivers work rest days and overtime, but it is normal industry practice to resource some of the timetable in this way. However, we are recruiting more drivers and will increase the number of fully competent drivers on the Thameslink route from 289 (November 2009) to 303 by October 2010.
Communications
Immediate steps have been taken to improve the quality of live running information on our website including that on the “Live Departure Boards”. In the event of any future acute disruption to services they will be switched off, with an explanation as to why, rather than risk incorrect information being provided.
We have also agreed to make a £1.5 million investment in improved software to upgrade the quality of information on our Customer Information Screens to the level of accuracy that we want to provide and our passengers rightly expect. This will shortly be going out to tender and the subsequent installation is expected to be completed within this calendar year.
New Managing Director appointed
I am delighted to advise you that the appointment of Neal Lawson as First Capital Connect’s new Managing Director was announced last week by Mary Grant, Managing Director of First UK Rail.
Neal brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience established over the 25 years he has worked in the rail industry, having held many senior roles in rail organisations around the world.
Yours sincerely
Larry Heyman
Integration and Partnership Manager