Half a million fewer passengers used Fylde trains - report

The true impact of shutting Fylde coast train lines last winter is revealed in new figures showing a drop in passenger numbers of more than 500,000.
500,000 fewer passengers used rail services500,000 fewer passengers used rail services
500,000 fewer passengers used rail services

Blackpool North, which was served only by rail replacement buses for 22 weeks between November and April, was one of the worst-hit by the disruption.

In the 12 months up to the end of March, passenger numbers were down 281,198 to 1.6m – a fall of more than 15 per cent.

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The work, which was timed to avoid the tourist season but overran past the Easter bank holiday weekend, was part of Network Rail’s major upgrade to services in the area.

500,000 fewer passengers used rail services500,000 fewer passengers used rail services
500,000 fewer passengers used rail services

However, more than a year on since the routes to Blackpool North and South stations were shut to allow the work to take place, the promised service improvements have yet to fully materialise.

Despite the newly electrified lines opening in April, passengers were provided a drastically reduced timetable before the introduction of a new timetable in May led to chaos as hundreds of services across the North West were severely delayed or cancelled.

Ongoing work to electrify part of the track between Manchester and Preston means new electric trains earmarked for routes in the North West will not be rolled out until the new year.

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Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden said: “These figures are not surprising but they are very disappointing.”

He said they should be viewed in the context of the ongoing problems with rail services that have seen “very little improvement and continual shambolic management”.

Paul Nettleton, from the Blackpool and Fylde Rail Users Association, said: “Blackpool Council had complained recently that we were something like 400,000 visitors down.

“These figures are not a surprise given all that has happened and show quite a fall. They also show just how many visitors come to Blackpool on the trains. It is significant.

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“The situation is still bad now. We have got the RMT strikes every Saturday which are doing the town no favours. We need to have that situation resolved as soon as possible. They managed it in Scotland and other areas, why not here?”

Andrew Morgan, senior sponsor for Network Rail said: “ORR figures showing a fall in passenger numbers at Blackpool stations coincides with the 22-week, multi-million-pound electrification of the line between Blackpool and Preston earlier this year. The vital upgrade, part of the Great North Rail Project, meant electric trains were able to serve Blackpool for the first time.

“We recognise that the project caused frustration for passengers and local businesses but we are confident that the greener, quieter and more spacious electric trains which now serve Blackpool will mean more passengers than ever can travel in the area by train, bringing a significant boost to the local economy in future.”

And rail bosses are now saying passengers may have to endure months more misery.

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Northern Rail has conceded there are still going to be delays, short trains and potential overcrowding right up until the next timetable change in May next year.

This follows on from the summer’s emergency schedule with reduced services brought in after the May timetable change this year led to widespread complaints over sub-par services.

At the same time, fares are due to rise by 3.2 per cent in January.

Northern has blamed Network Rail’s over-running work to electrify the lines in the region, but weekends continue to see massively reduced services, compounded by the ongoing RMT dispute with the operator over guards on trains.

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A statement on Northern’s website reads: “This December, there will only be small changes to our timetable – 95 per cent will not change. This is in line with the announcement made by the rail industry back in July 2018 that there will be fewer timetable changes in December to ensure our customers get a more stable and reliable service.”

David Brown, managing director of Northern said: “We have taken the opportunity, where possible, to make small improvements to the robustness of the timetable.”

But Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP Paul Maynard has warned them that things must improve.

Mr Maynard said: “I met Northern last month to discuss the ongoing issues and make clear to the operator my constituents continue to experience a rail service which on too many occasions does not meet their expectations. This still isn’t good enough.

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“I was reassured the December timetable change would deliver improved reliability. It is therefore concerning that a number of services were cancelled on the first day of the new timetable and that short formed trains will continue to be an issue for passengers in the North West.

“I hope the completion of work on the Manchester to Preston route will allow Northern to introduce electric trains before May next year, allowing other services to be strengthened.”

Stephen Brookes the Blackpool-based rail sector champion said the situation was a farce.

He said: “This was supposed to bring a more stable timetable but will mean continued overcrowding. The farce is no longer excusable in any way shape or form.

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“Effectively in the North we have a sort of five-day timetable.”

He said passengers could “forget weekends” and he feared the impact on Blackpool would be “devastating”.

Passengers’ frustrations are further compounded by fresh engineering work in the new year that will see the North and South lines shut for seven consecutive Sundays from January 6.

The essential drainage work is part of the same Great North Rail Project that forced the lines to shut last year.

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Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “Thanks to the work carried out by Network Rail earlier this year, we are now able to run electric services to Blackpool from across the region, and we will continue to work closely with Network Rail to keep disruption to a minimum.

“I’m sure our customers will be frustrated with more engineering work, but I’d like to thank them for their continued patience.”

Northern has previously said it is “deeply sorry” for the disruption faced by passengers following the introduction of the May timetable.

Coun Gillian Campbell, deputy leader of Blackpool Council, said: “In normal circumstances,Blackpool gets somewhere close to two million rail passengers a year. Despite bus replacement services being in operation, the closure of Blackpool North during the electrification work did have an impact on the number of inbound rail passengers.

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“Given the amount of investment in the rail network and Blackpool’s attractions we would expect those passenger figures to return and grow.”

Unfair rises

Plans to increase rail fares by an average of 3.1 per cent in January sparked anger among passengers fed up after months of disruption.

In a letter to the Rail Delivery Group following its announcement, seen by The Gazette, Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden said: “These rises are a complete disgrace and unjustifiable in the current climate.”

He criticised suggestions the increases were needed because of upgrades on the railway, saying journey times have increased over the last 50 years.

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Referring to services linking Blackpool and Manchester, he added: “A journey that used to be an hour by steam trains in the 1960s is now regularly 20-30 minutes longer under your operators.”

A summer of disruption

Blackpool Council last month pointed to the “significant impact” recent rail chaos had on visitor numbers this summer.

Tourism chiefs said months of disruption to train services - including the botched introduction of a new timetable in May and a series of ill-timed strikes - had contributed to a disappointing summer.

Coun Gillian Campbell, deputy leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Blackpool and its tourism industry bore the brunt of the cancellations and delays after the new Northern timetables came into effect in May.

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“It is hard not to conclude this has had a significant negative impact on the resort’s day tripper marker.”

Figures from the Omnibus survey, a national household survey with a sample size of more than 4,000 respondents, show the total number of adult visits between May and August fell from 3.2m in 2017 to 2.8m in 2018.