TfW Rail Limited Board Minutes - 4 March 2022

4 March 2022

09:00 - 1400

Venue: Llys Cadwyn

James Price (Chair); Jan Chaudhry; Heather Clash; Alexia Course; Marie Daly; and Peter Strachan.

In attendance: David O’Leary and Jeremy Morgan. Tristan Guyard, Rob Hale and Andrew Gainsbury joined for item 6. Stephanie Raymond joined for item 8. Stuart Elliot and Dave Williams joined for item 9. Colin Lea joined for item 12.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

None

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

None declared.

RAIB recently released its interim report following a collision of passenger trains at Salisbury Tunnel Junction on 31 October 2021. Findings focussed on issues relating to the railhead condition, train driving, signalling and management of low adhesion. Internal teams have reviewed the report to identify measures in place that mitigate train slide/slip risks. In collaboration with Network Rail and AIW, a series of checks have been carried out to ensure the on-going delivery of autumn mitigations.

The first Value Chain Process Mapping session on Customer Information took place on 3 February, involving officebased and front-line colleagues from current operations, operational planning, stations, customer experience and conductors. The session focussed on customer information. The Board will be updated on the outputs and outcome of the sessions over the coming months.

The minutes of the TfW Rail Board meeting 4 February 2022 were approved as a true and accurate record.

The Actions log was noted with several items closed.

Performance in the period was much improved largely as a result of matching the supply of traincrew with the reduced level of train service and the level of passenger demand across the network. A multi-step increase in timetabled mileage is now underway which reflects the gradual bounce-back in demand, improvements in absence levels and the passing out of drivers and conductors from ongoing training programmes. The step-ups continue throughout February and March with the full December 2021 timetable to be restored on 27 March.

The Board were informed that the rest day working agreement for drivers was not renewed at the end of January and that for two weeks no agreement was in place. Despite this, service levels were maintained for the Wales versus Scotland Six Nations rugby match on 12 February and the event passed without incident. A new rest day working agreement is now in place but was only sanctioned until August 2022.

Class 769 availability and reliability has been steadily improving. However, the MkIV sets proved to be less reliable again during the period.

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Conductor presence in the saloons is a priority for the conductor management team. Ticket scan rates have increased to 167,000, which is 27.4%. REDACTED gateline coverage against current rosters stood at 91.8% and continues to improve. The Board agreed that the scan rates need to improve.

Most safety indicators were within target, but there is continued focus on train dispatch irregularities REDACTED. There were two instances in the period. There was one Cat A SPAD in the period which was rated as a low-risk event. An investigation is underway.

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Access rights for a two trains per hour timetable on Wrexham - Bidston from May-22 have still not been granted. During February, the ORR issued a range of questions to both parties, which have now been answered, and the ORR are considering their next steps. The Board were informed that it looks increasingly unlikely that the issue will be settled in time for the May-22 timetable change. Class 230 unit availability continues to be problematic resulting in sporadic driver and conductor training.

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The Board discussed ticketless travel and were informed that the strategy will be revisited based on good practice and which will be shared at a future meeting.

The Board noted the Safety Assurance Report.

Tristan Guyard, Rob Hale and Andrew Gainsbury joined the meeting to present the current interim and new fleet strategy covering CAF EiS, CVL EiS, Class 150s, MKIVs and Class 769, 150 and 153 lease extensions.

The Board noted the update noting the complex interdependencies with Network Rail’s role, responsibilities, engagement and resources; the need to factor in political ramifications; and on-going strategic partnership discussions with Stadler.

The Board agreed to discuss at a future meeting potential solutions for Rhymney line capacity issues [Action Alexia Course].

The Board also agreed to escalate discussions with DfT around Class 150s and Class 175s [Action James Price and Alexia Course].

The Board were also updated on MKIVs. At the last meeting, additional funding was sought for an extra MKIV rake which was not approved but a series of actions were taken away. The Board noted an update on progress against those actions. The Board requested a revised business case including a worst-case scenario [Action Alexia Course and Andrew Gainsbury] which approval to be sought out of committee.

The Board were presented with the commercial update for period 11 and were informed that the situation across several metrics has improved in the intervening period since the report was written. The Board noted that Revenue/demand returned to recovery in 2022/P11, having fallen significantly in 2022/P10 following the Omicron outbreak. There has been an improvement to gateline coverage and on train scanning was delivered in 2022/P11, with REDACTED. However, this may not give an entirely accurate picture as this was based on sampling on the Marches line only. The Board agreed that the measure needs re-baselining.

The Board noted the priorities for the short term around delivering the Network Growth plan for 2022/23 and launching marketing activity in support of the Payzone pilot.

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The Board discussed the procurement of a Wheel Lathe for the Holyhead depot. The Board:

• agreed that appropriate governance has been followed for the procurement of the wheel lathe and design stage;
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• approved the accelerated capital spend for a Hegensheidt lathe, level of spend to be established during the negotiation process; and
• approved the Rolling Stock project team to sign-up to the SCAPE Framework Agreement and appoint Balfour Beatty to deliver GRIP 4 to GRIP 8 for Wheel Lathe Facility Holyhead.

The Board discussed and noted issues around MKIV availability and reliability.

Colin Lea joined the meeting to set out considerations around the potential impacts of rest day working on resource availability and timetable deliverability for both conductors and drivers. The Board noted analysis on establishment figures on a depot-by-depot basis; diagram requirements for various timetable scenarios; annual leave/ sickness rates; crew rostered on rest days; and historic rest day working figures. The Board noted the analysis.

The Board agreed to commit to carrying out an internal board effectiveness review to align with the principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code. It was agreed to bring a draft methodology to the next meeting [Action Jeremy Morgan]

AOB

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The Board discussed TfW's engagement in the development of GB Rail. It was agreed to escalate issues of concern. The Board agreed to provide free travel to Ukrainian refugees.