Transport for Wales Board Meeting Minutes - 17 November 2022

17 November 2022

09:30 - 17:00

Venue - St Patricks House and online

 

Scott Waddington (Chair), Alun Bowen, Heather Clash, Nicola Kemmery, Vernon Everitt, Sarah Howells, Alison NoonJones and James Price.

In attendance: Jeremy Morgan; Leyton Powell (item 2); and Natalie Feely (items 1 to 3).

 

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

1a. Apologies for Absence

None.

 

1b. Notice of Quorum

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

 

1c. Declarations of Interest

None.

 

1d. Minutes and Actions of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the TfW Board meeting 20 October 2022 were approved as a true and accurate record. The actions log was noted.

 

1e. Safety Moment

The Board discussed facilities required for employee welfare as well as those for customers. These need to be built into the design rather than being an afterthought.

 

1f. Customer moment 

The importance of implementing customer service processes was discussed following a recent experience with a removal company.

 

2. Safety performance

Leyton Powell joined the meeting.

The mental health survey and audit has now closed with the next step comprising a gap analysis against NICE guidelines.

Further collaboration with the RSSB has resulted in several outcomes building on existing work. A collaboration workshop with the RSSB Directorship and TfW took place earlier this week.

The Board were updated on the latest performance indicators:

• Rail safety performance had a combined Fatality Weighted Index (FWI) score of 0.29 which was higher than the predicted score of 0.17. Workforce FWI remains consistent this period at 0.02 with the moving annual average of 0.05 remaining lower than the predicted figure of 0.07. There was a decrease in the number of workforce events with 17 reported, lower than predicted figures of 20.15. 
• There was an increase in non-workforce injuries this period with 28 reported. This was above the predicted figure of 16.16. Route cause data does not reveal any patterns or trends. 
• Physical assaults increased this period, with 11 reported. The Workforce Physical Assaults moving annual average was 8.62 which was above the predicted figure of 7. 
• There were no reported SPADs.

The Board welcomed Pullman Rail successfully achieving ISO 45001 certification for its safety management system.

The rise in physical assaults was raised as being a potential impediment to customers coming back to use services. It was agreed to speak to Transport for Greater Manchester to share learning [Action Leyton Powell].

Leyton Powell left the meeting.

 

3. Strategic update

3a. CEO report

The Board were informed that although the rail strike was called off on the day of the Wales v New Zealand rugby international (5 November), it was too late to recover and run a service. The Board discussed the need to redress the balance between warning people not to use the rail service and encouraging people to use it. The Board noted and welcomed the effort to provide and communicate alternate services. The Board also welcomed operational teams working closely with Network Rail over the weekend period to reinstate services by Monday 7 November.

There have been several useful dialogue sessions with the Welsh Government and Ministers of late which have led to some positive outcomes including a first meeting with Welsh Government Legal Services to explore more effective joint working, several conversations around CVL fibre exploitation, and several challenge sessions with Ministers where both TfW team and Welsh Government officials have been present.

The Board were informed that there were no outstanding pay negotiations for financial year 2021-2022. 

Discussions with Network Rail have continued around exploring ways to reduce the cost of running the railway and increasing patronage by removing duplication and complexity across the interface of both companies. This work will conclude its first stage by December with a report to be tabled at the Board in the new year.

Work continues to step-up the quality and quantity of active travel provision across Wales working with the Welsh Government, local authorities and Sustrans, but concerns remain around the level of Active Travel Fund spend and the potential for slippage. This will be evolved in future Boards with the approach developed further to allow more effective delivery.

The Board were informed that work continues to plan and understanding how bus franchising might be best achieved as part of a multi modal system and using the benefits of the new TfW operating model to drive efficiencies at an overhead level. The Board noted the emerging key issues around the speed of change to a new network and the interaction with zero tail pipe emissions and vehicle provision alongside the need to have a clear view of future budget scenarios.

Rail Performance for period 7 (18 September to 15 October) saw an overall good picture for PTL across both the CVL and Wales and Borders. The Board were advised that this is largely linked to a better position on staffing (drivers and guards) and a reasonably robust fleet. However, for the current period, performance has dipped on the Wales and Borders network, partly caused by a longer autumn period than planned but also as a result of fleet availability linked to the significant amount of current depot work. A plan to address this is in development.

The Board requested updates on the Ebbw Vale scheme [Action Dan Tipper], Cardiff Central [Action Alexia Course] and Pay-As-You-Go [Action Heather Clash]. 

 

3b. Finance and governance

The Board were updated on key finance and governance activity over the last month:

REDACTED

The Board were updated on the development of a combined Delegation of Authority matrix bringing together Group and Rail delegations. There were no significant changes to Board delegations with the focus mainly on delegating decisions from the Executive to Steering Boards and other committees.

Natalie Feeley left the meeting.

 

Marie Daly, Dan Tipper and Geoff Ogden joined the meeting.

 

4. CVL Transformation update

The Board noted an update on the CVL Transformation project. Updates were provided on entry-into-service, design performance which remains on plan, the signalling and OLE programmes which remain on target, progress with the Taffs Well depot, and Canton Depot Energisation. The Board were also updated on emerging risks and challenges around resources, and increased procurement durations and costs from materials supply chains across all packages.

 

5. CVL transformation six-month lookahead

Noted.

Dan Tipper left the meeting

 

6. Active Travel Fund

REDACTED

 

7. Cardiff Bus Interchange

Rhian Prosser and Alexia Course joined the meeting seeking approval for TfW taking a leasehold interest in respect of the Cardiff Bus Interchange development. REDACTED

 

8. Risk register

Leyton Powell joined the meeting.

The Risk Register was noted.

 

9. Mode shift targets

Mark Barry, Paul Chase, Andy Holder and Lee Robinson joined the meeting.

The Board noted and discussed a paper highlighting the mode shift targets set out in Llwybr Newydd / Net Zero Wales and setting out the scale of challenge in meeting these targets, The Board recognised the paper as representing the start of a process of engagement with the TfW Board on the implications of the national mode share targets.

 

10. Board sub-committees

The Chair of the Major Projects Committee updated the Board on the recent meeting. The Committee received updates on Ebbw Vale, bus, GCRE, Cardiff Interchange, Cardiff Central Enhancements and CVL Transformation.

The Chair of the Customer and Communications Committee stated that yesterday’s meeting provided a good level of transparency on activities and performance including station improvements and turning insights into action.

 

11. Subsidiary Boards

The Board were updated on the recent meeting of the TfW Rail Board which focussed on performance, line of route analysis, the TfW app and commercial approaches, Rhymney Line capacity, and Vivarail maintenance approval.

 

12. Steering Board

The Chair updated the Board on recent the TfW Steering Board meeting. The meeting covered strategic partnerships, future fares, rail performance, CVL, active travel, behaviour change, trunk roads, TfW’s funding gap, rail strikes and coaches, KPIs, finances, articles of association and legal services.

 

13. Advisory panel

The recent Advisory Panel included a visit to the Cardiff Interchange site, and included discussions on rail performance, NTDP, Sustrans, and innovation labs.

 

The Chair brought meeting to an end and thanked everyone for their contributions.