Eastleigh Borough Council supports better connectivity to the airport to meet anticipated future growth in demand.

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1 EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION & ENGINEERING SERVICES APPENDIX NOTE London & SE Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) Consultation Draft published by Network Rail (NR) Response of Eastleigh Borough Council February 2011 Enquiries to Ed Vokes (8234) This note forms the formal response of Eastleigh Borough Council to Network Rail on the matter of the Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for London and the South East, currently published in draft for consultation. KEY RESPONSES Eastleigh Borough Council supports better connectivity to the airport to meet anticipated future growth in demand. The Borough Council supports the proposal for a fourth platform to be constructed on the eastern side of Eastleigh station, with associated pedestrian and cycle access improvements from both easterly and westerly directions. The proposal to increase capacity on the Botley line through selected redoubling is also supported, since any potential new development along the corridor will increase demand for services from Hedge End and/or Botley station. The Borough Council supports the aspiration for increased service frequency on the Netley line, and is interested in Network Rail s views on the proposal put forward by the South Hampshire Rail Users Group to reverse the current London to Poole service at Southampton to serve Netley line stations to Portsmouth instead. INTRODUCTION Eastleigh Borough Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the RUS, despite being omitted from the list of relevant planning authorities at Paragraph of the document! The Borough Council notes that the only current infrastructure scheme impacting upon the Eastleigh area is the gauge enhancement works to the South West Main line to accommodate the largest deep sea containers carried to and from the Southampton ports. The Council supports this ongoing work, which hopefully will divert such traffic away from the road network in the Borough.

2 The recent service change increasing the number of Cross Country trains serving Southampton Airport is also welcomed, albeit at the expense of new connections from the east operated by Southern trains. The Council urges Network Rail to identify a satisfactory means of meeting this outstanding commitment, and offers any reasonable assistance required to achieving this. No additional rail improvements between now and 2014 can be accommodated by Network Rail unless they are either funded by a third party (including train operators and private developers) or allocated from NR s Discretionary Fund. The RUS The RUS contains extensive narrative about the operation of railways within the Solent area, including infrastructure, passenger and freight statistics. Reference is made to current uncertainties surrounding land-use planning, with the assumption made that South East Plan workstreams are being continued until the way forward becomes clearer (Para ). This is accepted as a pragmatic approach. The Council is willing to discuss and advise on development issues in the Borough at any time. The main focus of the RUS is identifying solutions to a number of self-defined gaps, where current or forecast demands do not meet the existing capacity or configuration of the network. NR forecast that total passenger demand in the area will increase by 3% between , and by up to 8% at Southampton Airport Parkway aligned to growth in air traffic. Locally relevant gaps include: Direct connectivity and frequency of services to Southampton stations (Central and Airport Parkway) Freight growth Car park provision Southampton Airport Parkway A number of options are examined to improve overall connectivity to the airport, with particular reference to the east. The only option that appears likely to be implementable within the parameters of the RUS is the diversion of a Brighton Southampton service away from Netley to serve Eastleigh and the airport in one direction only (as described). The Council considers this to be an interim measure until such time as a satisfactory solution is identified and implemented, i.e. a service in both directions. It is noted that a service in both directions has a potential BCR of 9:1, which suggests a strong case for proceeding. The conclusion drawn within the RUS is less committal, recommending only that further timetabling work be undertaken. Eastleigh Borough Council supports proposals that provide connectivity to the airport from the east without compromising existing service Connectivity must be provided in both directions in order to maximise modal shift and provide relief for the M27. An alternative option considered by the RUS is to provide a new service between Portsmouth and Southampton via Eastleigh. The RUS suggests that the optimal way to achieve this would be to redoubling the approach to the

3 station from the Botley line (plus further possible redoubling towards Fareham) and the creation of a new Platform 4 on the eastern side of the existing station. This is costed at approximately 10m with a BCR of 0.7:1. The creation of a new platform for additional services at Eastleigh station is extremely desirable on a number of levels. Firstly it would increase the footfall within the established town centre, complementing work that is underway to extend and redevelop parts of the existing retail footprint. It would also enable better connections between Borough stations (Eastleigh, Southampton Airport Parkway and to a lesser extent Hedge End and Botley) and locations east of Fareham and west of Southampton. Finally, it is consistent with the Council s aspirations to redevelop the Eastleigh River Side sites and in particular create new connectivity between the town centre and Barton Park, preferably via a landmark pedestrian / cycle crossing. The Council therefore fully supports the proposal to build a new platform at Eastleigh station and is willing to provide appropriate assistance to Network Rail in developing this proposal. The proposal to increase capacity on the Botley line through selected redoubling is also supported, since any potential new development along the corridor will increase demand for services from Hedge End and/or Botley station. The Borough Council notes the proposal to extend the Eastleigh Romsey service to Salisbury and the possible redoubling of the Chandlers Ford line, which would improve connectivity to the airport from those locations. The Borough Council awaits the outcome of further work to assess financial and operational viability of these proposals with interest. Southampton Central (Netley line issues) Eastleigh Borough Council supports investigation of ways to accelerate end to end journey times by train between Southampton and Portsmouth, in order to present a more attractive alternative to using the M27. Alongside this, the Borough Council also wishes to see an increased frequency of service along the Netley line. With this in mind, the Borough Council is aware of the proposal presented by the South Hampshire Rail Users Group in their Newsletter #129 dated September December 2010, and annexed to this response. This sets out a revised service whereby an existing service from London to Poole, currently including two lengthy layovers, be reversed at Southampton Station to serve stations to Portsmouth along the Netley line instead, with alternative arrangements between Southampton and Poole. The Borough Council would be interested to gauge Network Rail s views on these proposals. Freight growth The Council notes the aspiration to increase freight paths on the South West Main Line with minimal impact upon passenger services, and awaits further work on the viability of this with interest.

4 Car park provision Borough Council officers will continue to work closely with rail partners on car parking proposals at stations, with the provision that current and future access to stations by sustainable means is not undermined. EMV February 2011 U:\...\Transport\Rail\RUS response.doc

5 South Hampshire Rail Users Group Timetable Proposal ANNEX PH C1 C2 B F6 London Waterloo Clapham Junction Woking Farnborough Fleet 19 Basingstoke Micheldever 10 Winchester Shawford 54 Eastleigh arr dep Southampton Airpt Swaythling 28 St Denys 31 Southampton arr dep St Denys 25 Woolston 30 Netley 35 Hamble 37 Bursledon 40 Swanwick 44 Fareham 51 Portchester 56 Cosham 01 Fratton 11 Portsmouth 14 Millbrook 40 Redbridge 44 Totton Ashurst 09 Beaulieu Road 13 Brockenhurst arr dep Sway 24 New Milton Hinton Admiral 33 Christchurch Pokesdown Bournemouth arr dep Branksome Parkstone Poole Hamworthy Holton Heath 23 Wareham Wool Moreton 41 Dorchester Upwey 55 Weymouth 13 00

6 B PH F6 C2 C1 Weymouth Upwey 24 Dorchester Moreton 39 Wool Wareham Holton Heath 56 Hamworthy Poole Parkstone Branksome Bournemouth arr Bournemouth dep Pokesdown Christchurch Hinton Admiral 18 New Milton Sway 27 Brockenhurst arr dep Beaulieu Road 38 Ashurst 42 Totton Redbridge 28 Millbrook 31 Portsmouth 59 Fratton 03 Cosham 11 Portchester 15 Fareham 21 Swanwick 27 Bursledon 31 Hamble 34 Netley 36 Woolston 41 St Denys 46 Southampton arr Southampton dep St Denys 40 Swaythling 43 Southampton Airpt Eastleigh arr Eastleigh dep Shawford 19 Winchester Micheldever 05 Basingstoke Fleet 54 Farnborough Woking Clapham Junction London Waterloo

7 Notes B: Southern service to or from Brighton. Amendments to accommodate the Monday- Friday peak service, west of Southampton, are discussed above. Suggested schedules allow for Hedge End stops between Eastleigh and Fareham. C1: Cross Country service every hour. C2: Cross Country service every 2 hours. PH: To or from Portsmouth Harbour via Hedge End. F6: Figure of 6 service between Romsey and Salisbury.