08 October 2012

TAIWAN: Bids are due by November 8 for a turnkey contract to construct and equip the first stage of Kaohsiung’s long-planned circular light rail line, which is now to be built as a catenary-free project. Authorised by the national government last year, the line was to be implemented as a BOT concession, but the city government’s Mass Transit Bureau subsequently decided to manage the work directly. With a total length of 22·1 km and 36 stops, the circular route will largely follow the alignment of an existing Taiwan Railway Administration freight branch, serving redevelopment areas around the city centre, including the city library, the exhibition and convention centre and a new cruise terminal which is due to be completed in 2014. Interchange will be provided with TRA’s local rail services at three stations, and there will be three connections with the city’s Red and Orange metro lines. CECI Engineering Consultants was selected in January to assist with basic design and the preparation of tender documents, leading to pre-tendering meetings with potential bidders in June and public consultation in July. The turnkey tender covers detailed design, civil works, track, power supplies and vehicles. The city government has already pushed ahead with land acquisition and hopes to start preliminary work before the end of this year. Phase I covers 8·7 km of double track on the southern and western sides of the circular route, following TRA’s Lin Gang East and West freight lines, plus the depot on a former freight yard site southeast of the city centre. This stage is now expected to be completed in 2015. Phase II will be co-ordinated with the Kaohsiung Railway Underground project to put the TRA cross-city line and main station in tunnel, and will therefore not be ready until December 2019. The 1 435 mm gauge line will largely run at grade on a segregated alignment, worked by 100% low-floor cars of either 2 400 mm or 2 650 mm width, offering level boarding at stops with a platform height not exceeding 400 mm. Powered at 750 V DC using catenary-free technology, the LRVs must have a top speed of at least 70 km/h. Operating between 06.00 and 23.00 each day, the line will initially have a minimum service interval of 15 min, with headways falling to 7½ min at peak times, and 6 min following the completion of Phase II. Ridership is predicted to reach 87 000 passengers per day in 2021. Current cost of the Circle Line project is put at NT$16·5bn. Of this the central government will contribute NT$6·5bn and the city will fund the rest.

Read more about Kaohsiung's light rail plans in the June 2011 issue of Metro Report International, available to subscribers in our digital archive.

• DfT plans interim West Coast franchise

15 October 2012

UK: The Department for Transport announced on October 15 that it intended to launch a competition for an interim franchise to operate the Inter-City West Coast franchise, following Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s decision on October 3 to cancel the previous refranchising round due to ‘significant technical flaws’. Open to ‘all bidders’, the interim franchise would provide more time for the government to reconsider its franchising strategy before another competition is held for a ‘new long term West Coast franchise’. In the meantime, DfT confirmed that it would negotiate with Virgin Rail Group for it to continue operating ICWC for ‘between nine and 13 months’, until the interim franchise could be awarded. The government believed that retaining Virgin was ‘the best way to ensure services are maintained and that there is no impact on passengers.' With the existing franchise due to expire on December 9, DfT had been looking at options to ensure continuity of service. Although its operating subsidiary Directly Operated Railways had begun to form a West Coast unit, there have been suggestions that insufficient time was available to mobilise a new management team and obtain the necessary regulatory and safety authorisation before the deadline. McLoughlin said ‘the cancellation of the InterCity West Coast franchise is deeply regrettable and I apologise to the bidders involved and the taxpayer who have a right to expect better. My priority now is to fix the problem, and the first step is to take urgent action to ensure that on December 9 services continue to run to the same standard and passengers are not affected. I believe Virgin remaining as operator for a short period of time is the best way to do this and my officials and I will be working flat-out to make this happen.’ Following cancellation of the ICWC franchise award on October 3, DfT paused its whole refranchising programme, ‘including live competitions on Essex Thameside, Great Western and Thameslink’, and set up two independent reviews. One is examining what went wrong with the ICWC competition. The other, being led by Eurostar Chairman Richard Brown, is to look more widely at the whole franchising programme.

Engineering work from the passenger perspective

UK: The results of research published by Passenger Focus last month include the finding that 55% of respondents claimed that they would not make a journey by rail if part of it was by replacement bus. However, if the train were to be diverted around engineering work, 75% of respondents would tolerate an additional journey time of 30 min to 1 h. For a 15 min extension the acceptance rate was 94%. When bus replacement and train diversion were compared, most passengers would prefer to stay on the train unless the bus was at least 40 min faster. Respondents complained about lack of information regarding bus replacements or diversions when buying tickets. Within the sample, 42% of passengers buying tickets online for a journey affected by engineering works said that they did not see a warning that the journey would involve a bus or a diverted train with a significantly extended journey time. Poor customer service when transferring between train and replacement bus was another complaint. Lack of information included poor signage to the buses and lack of clarity about destinations. Inadequate assistance with luggage was another complaint, even more important in the case of passengers with disabilities. Passenger Focus reports that 85% of respondents felt that use of a replacement bus warranted a discount on the normal fare. Others suggested complimentary tea or coffee as a goodwill gesture. Respondents were also asked about the timing of planned engineering work. The consensus was that such activity should take place overnight. If this were not possible, extending works over successive weekends and bank holidays was preferable to a ‘big bang’ closure for a short period. According to Passenger Focus, this is because all types of passengers prioritise commuters’ interests over those of weekend travellers. On the time of year when work should take place, the preference appears to be for school summer holidays and half terms. The respondents suggested that Easter and Christmas, two traditional periods for major infrastructure schemes, should be avoided. Passenger Focus cautions that while this indication of passengers’ preferences is ‘interesting’, further research may be required ‘to fully test this before drawing firm conclusions’.