TfW Rail Limited Board Minutes - 13 October 2023

13 October 2023

09:00 - 14:00

Venue: Llys Cadwyn and online

James Price (Chair), Heather Clash, Jan Chaudhry Van der Velde, Marie Daly, Alexia Course and Peter Strachan.

Julian Edwards (Associate NED) and Jeremy Morgan.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

None.

A quorum being present, the Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and declared it open.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Board were updated on Evotix, the safety database system which has been rolled out across TfW since the end of July. The system reports on accidents, incidents, inspections and audits and provides the opportunity for advanced analysis and insights.

The Board noted progress against a commitment to improving gateline coverage across the network through a threemonth trial. The Board noted the overall increased gateline coverage and the net benefit resulting in more comprehensive revenue protection. The Board welcomed the results of the trial to date and agreed the need for a more pointed communications plan which links to penalty fares [Action Marie Daly].

The minutes from the meeting 15 September 2023 were approved and the latest Actions Log was noted. The Board requested a discussion with DfT regarding receiving no compensation for industrial action in England which affects the network [Action Alexia Course].

Board received and noted an overview of the Chief Operations Officer's report (Rail Period 06 (23/24) contained in the pack. The highlights included:

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• Generally, performance continues on an improving trajectory but customer satisfaction suffered a downturn. The Board welcomed CVL performance being 'green' for several months.
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• Train crew issues remain under control but rolling stock issues remain. REDACTED. However, issues should ease with the imminent route clearance to Carmarthen.
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Board noted the report.

Board noted that there were four fatalities in Rail Period 06 (23/24) on the network. No trends in terms of location of the incidents have been identified and all are differing circumstances and demographics. Work is on-going with Network Rail (NR), Amey Infrastructure Wales (AIW), British Transport Police (BTP) and the Samaritans to identify any opportunities to mitigate. The Board noted that at its next meeting the TfW Board's Health, Safety and Well-being Committee will be undertaking a deep dive on suicide prevention.

Board noted the dashboard. It was noted that several risks require review. It was agreed to look in more depth at the next meeting.

Stephanie Raymond and Lewis Brencher joined the meeting.

The Board noted the marketing update and that year-to-date figures show £2.13m revenue growth has been attributed to marketing and that for the first period this year, this growth trend is below forecast by -£0.03m. The Board were updated on a campaign directed at motivating customers to TAM services; performance measures; and plans for First Class services. The Board agreed that the strategic approach to marketing should be less passive.

The Board agreed to explore the merits of disruptive marketing and for further discussion at the next Revenue Steering Group meeting [Action Marie Daly/Lewis Brencher].

The Board noted the First Class proposition and agreed that this would be included in the on-going MKIV review [Action Julian Edwards]. The Board agreed to switch on revenue management from Wednesday 18 October for MKIV services.

The Board noted the commercial report for the previous period and discussed the need for pace, certainty and innovation to achieve better performance. The Board encouraged well-managed risk and live reviews of initiatives. It was agreed that data should be presented by line of route [Action Alexia Course]. The Board endorsed the use of manual pricing. 

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A discussion took place on options for reducing ticketless travel through a more aggressive approach that can be implemented at pace. It was agreed to discuss in detail at the next Revenue Steering Group meeting.

Lewis Brencher left the meeting. 

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Stephanie Raymond left the meeting.

Dan Tipper and Rob Hale joined the meeting.

The Board were updated on Cl. 756 driver training. The Board were keen to ensure provision for the 2024 Eisteddfod and agreed that a specific plan should be developed [Action Jan Chaudhry Van-der-Velde].

Dan Tipper and Rob Hale left the meeting.

There being no other business, the Chair thanked everyone for their contributions and closed the meeting.