Dear Chris

							             BEDFORD COMMUTERS ASSOCIATION

                            BCA COMMITTEE MEETING
                             Tuesday 14th September 2010

Present:                Arthur Taylor           Jim Allwood
                        John MacLeod            Andrew Long

Apologies:              Ben Foley               Mark Spurgeon             John Henderson

1.      Minutes of Last Meeting

The minutes of the committee meeting held on July 6th 2010 were agreed.

2.      Actions

AT provided JA with contact details of the local media
AL has arranged a meeting with local MPs on October 12th. AT/AL to attend
AT arranged printing of membership renewal forms and passed invoice to JA.

3.      Correspondence

Latest Passenger survey results received from Passenger Focus

4.      Treasurers Report

JA reported cash in bank at £186.76 surplus. Although income was down this was offset by
a drop in expenditure. JA was now in the process of producing the financial statement for the
last financial year which ended on 31st August.

5.      Communications

September Newsletter sent out. Next newsletter to be sent out in December. Any material for
this to be sent to AL. AT interviewed on local radio regarding plans for the January fares
increase.

6.      Performance

FCC – No major incidents to report, however there have been occasions when four car trains
have run instead of eight. JA reported his concerns about the poor riding quality of the 377s
EMT – Generally ok.

7.      Timetable
FCC
December timetable – no changes north of the river.
EMT
AT has sent EMT details of changes we would like to see in December (copy in the recent
newsletter). No feedback as yet.
8.      FCC

The situation regarding the cessation of London Thameslink tickets to Moorgate and
Barbican from 22nd March was discussed.
CSI software change to be completed by end of September at Bedford and 17th September at
Flitwick.
AT/AL will attend a meeting with FCC ON 30TH September to discuss any issues we may
have and to update us on the Thameslink Programme and initiatives undertaken as a result of
the industrial action at the beginning of the year. AT will email all issues to Larry prior to the
meeting.

9.      East Midlands Trains

AT has had feedback on the 17.30 from St Pancras. According to EMT there has been no
changes to passenger numbers on the 18.00 and it remains popular and overcrowded. The
17.30 is now full most nights with an estimate of 340 – 400 Bedford customers,
The EMT newsletter Impact has been received and sent to all committee members.
There will be an EMT Stakeholders Event on Thursday 21st October at the British Library.
AT/AL to attend.

10.     Thameslink Programme

FCC informed us that a new replacement temporary walkway opened on Monday at
Blackfriars from the main station concourse to the platforms. This will allow NR to proceed
with replacing deck plates beneath another section of the bridge. During off-peak only it will
be closed for brief periods while a crane moves materials overhead. This will never take
longer than a minute.
AT sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Transport (copied to local MPs) outlining our
concerns for the October Spending Review and its possible affect on the Thameslink
Programme.

11.     Website

The meeting agreed a request from BABUS for us to create a link from our website to theirs.
AT would contact MS and BABUS.

12.     EWRL

AL has left some leaflets at Flitwick and will leave some at Bedford next week.

13.     Membership Renewal

Bedford – Tuesday 21st September – AT/AL - AM     MS/JA - PM
         - Wednesday 22 September – JM/JH - PM
                         nd

Flitwick – Thursday 23rd September – AT/AL - AM &PM

14.     Bedford Matters


Bedford Station –Passenger Focus has formally objected to NR plans for the old Loco Shed.
2 new bus routes have started to serve the station, Route 10 and the P&R. We have concerns
about the timetables and have passed these to BABUS. We will also raise these concerns at
the next Station Travel Plan meeting.
Bedford Travel Plan - Launch delayed until October at earliest. Some changes have been
asked for by the Portfolio Holder on BBC..

Bedford Station Quarter –AL to attend a meeting on 15TH September.

15.     Flitwick Matters

Town Centre Regeneration – no further news
Station to be redecorated (not footbridge) and new signage installed by 3/12
New canopies and waiting shelters on hold until match funding available.

16.     AOB

AT/AL attended the Central Beds LTP3 Stakeholder event on 8th September. It was obvious
that they are not interested in rail matters, indeed they indicated that they would not be
holding any regular meetings to discuss rail issues with the BCA, TOCs, and bus operators as
suggested by the BCA. AT said he cannot understand their non engagement as we can see
what can be done with engagement in Hertfordshire. The travelling public will be the ones to
suffer. AT will raise the BCA concerns about this non engagement at the meeting with
the local MPs on October 12th.
On the same day AT/AL attended a meeting with the local Passenger Focus Passenger Link
Managers. A very useful meeting with AT outlining the current issues at Bedford and
Flitwick. PF said they had objected to NR plans for the Loco Shed site at Bedford and were
also to meet DfT soon to discuss the Thameslink Programme and Spending Review.

17.     Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting is Monday 15th November 2010 at John’s house commencing at
19.15.