Freight Market Study RUS Planner Network Rail Kings Place 90 York Way London N19AG. Dear Sir or Madam,

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1 Freight Market Study RUS Planner Network Rail Kings Place 90 York Way London N19AG City Services and Development Martin Yardley Director City Services and Development Floor 8 Civic Centre 4 Much Park Street Coventry CV12PY Please contact Mike Waters 25 July 2013 Dear Sir or Madam, Long Term Planning Process Freight Market Study Consultation Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Long Term Planning Process: Freight Market Study Draft for Consultation. The City Council welcomes the opportunity to work with Network Rail on this important strategic study. Attached below are the City Council s detailed comments on this consultation which I trust will be duly considered as part of the consultation process. If you have any questions or require clarification on any of the points made please do not hesitate to contact me. Please note that in previous correspondence on the LTPP Long Distance Mark Study, the City Council made reference to figures provided by ATOC which indicated that between 2008 and 2012 Coventry had seen the biggest overall passenger growth of any UK city with journeys up 30% in five years. It has recently come to our attention that this figure is incorrect and passenger growth at Coventry has in fact grown by 80% over this five year period. I would be grateful if you could take this amendment into account accordingly during you consideration of our consultation response to the Long Distance Market Study. Yours sincerely Mike Waters Transportation Manager

2 Coventry City Council Response to Long Term Planning Process: Freight Market Study Draft for Consultation 1. Strategic Rail Planning Process Overview Historically Coventry s rail market has been planned for and assessed under the guidance of three different Route Utilisation Strategies (RUS s) The West Coast Main Line (WCML) RUS, The East Midlands RUS; and, The West Midlands and Chilterns RUS. The freight Market Study (FMS) is predicting annual freight growth (total tonne km) of 2.2% up to 2033 and 2.1% up to Parts of the WCML will be at capacity by 2043 (DfT/HS2). This is a main contributory factor which is constraining North-South crossover movements on the Nuneaton-Leamington line. The resulting effect of this planning structure is that Coventry s rail market has not been captured and assessed in any significant detail, and consequently, its specific rail requirements have been diluted and lost across the three RUS s. Coventry s profile within the rail industry has diminished below what would be expected for a city of its size. As an example, Coventry is not included in the HLSO capacity metric. Whilst the City Council is supportive of the use of rail freight, it is clear that a careful balance must be struck between the demands of freight and passengers services. The availability of capacity on the rail network is diminishing in parallel with the continued growth of rail services and it is clear that competition for paths between passenger and freight will only increase as a result.

3 2. Coventry Station HLOS places Coventry at the heart of the 4 most capable freight routes in the UK, capable of accommodating the largest W10 gauge deep sea containers. All four arms of Coventry s rail network form part of Network Rail s Core Trunk Route network for freight to at least W10 gauge. This presents the City with both opportunities in terms of rail freight connectivity, but equally may present risks in terms on reduced passenger capacity. The current draft of the Freight Market Study (FMS) concentrates on future demand for various freight markets. The draft does not yet include freight routeing assumptions which will not be available until the final draft of the FMS. The City Council would be keen to have access to this information when it becomes available in order to determine where changes to rail freight movements may impact on rail capacity issues. The City Council s responses to both the Long Distance and Regional Urban Market studies demonstrate the demand for improved regional and long distance passenger services from Coventry. However, limited rail capacity at Coventry Station is a significant barrier to achieving some of these outputs. Capacity constraints at Coventry are already constraining growth. For example, the demand for additional passenger services between North and South Warwickshire via Coventry cannot be met as available paths are severely limited by the need to cross the WCML at Coventry. As an example, sections of the WCML are predicted to be at capacity by The Friargate major redevelopment scheme around Coventry Station is now underway and will create 14,500 new jobs over the next 15 years. This, along with the redevelopment of the City Centre and the Coventry is connected to the following freight routes. Southampton - Nuneaton Southampton - West Coast Main Line via East-West route West Coast Main Line - London-Scotland Felixstowe - Nuneaton CP5 recognises constraints at Coventry but specifically excludes them from CP5. Census 2001 shows that Coventry's strongest commuter flow relationship is with North and South Warwickshire and the East Midlands which demonstrates the need to support for N-S corridor movements. The WCML will be at capacity by 2043 (DfT/HS2) and this is the main contributory factor which is constraining N-S crossover movements on the Nuneaton Leamington line. Between 2008 and 2012 Coventry has seen the biggest overall passenger growth of any UK city with journeys up 80% in five years (ORR). Business journeys have jumped 48%. (ATOC). The station was used by 5.4 million passengers in 2012, just over 17,000 on each working day. The CP5 Route Plan makes no comment or proposal for enhancement of capacity or facilities at Coventry Station other than as included in NUCKLE 1. Based on NR/DfT growth scenarios, Coventry Station passenger is growth expected to increase by 30%-38% from 5.4 million trips in 2012, to 7.5 million by 2023 and 10.8 million by 2043 (Coventry Rail Story Markets for travel Study, 2013)

4 wider City and the Electric Spine, will all add additional pressure on Coventry station which already has capacity constraints following significant growth over the past 5 years. The City Council wishes to develop a Coventry Station Infrastructure Capacity Plan for in partnership with Network Rail, the DfT, Centro and operators to address both rail and passenger capacity constraints.

5 3. Electric Spine The Electric Spine, included in HLOS, will see the electrification of the line between Southampton and Nuneaton through Coventry. This project is in the early stages of development and it is uncertain how the Electric Spine will be utilised in the context of the wider rail network. Logically it seems reasonable to assume that at least an element of the extra capacity will be used to enable additional rail freight services. Regardless of the outputs the Spine may bring forward, unless North/South capacity issues at Coventry Station (outlined above) are addressed, the scale of benefits would appear to be severely limited. The Electric Spine will also see the electrification of the Coventry- Leamington line and this will provide opportunities for enhanced freight and passenger services. The line is currently single tracked from Gibbet Hill southwards which significantly limits the opportunities to capitalise on this project. It is strongly recommended that the need for double tracking is included within the LTPP. It is understood that the delivery of HS2, under its current design, may prejudice, or even prevent double tracking at Gibbet Hill. The City Council urges Network Rail to work with HS2 to address this issue. The delivery of HS2 may help to enable more freight services by freeing up capacity on the WCML. The extent of this is currently unclear, however it is recommended that this should not be at the expense of reductions to passenger services.