Councillor Lawrence Williams, portfolio holder for Leisure, Tourism & Culture, said:
“The Council already has a well run land train service along the seafront and with the opening of the new Hengistbury Head visitor centre we see this is an ideal opportunity for us to provide a joint service. The long term aim is to link the whole of the coast up from Hengistbury Head to Alum Chine on one single land train service. There are absolutely no plans to consider Disney branding.
“The existing land train service at Hengistbury Head has served the area well for a number of years and I would like to thank Mrs Faris for her dedicated work during this time. With the current licence set to expire and after much consideration we feel that the time is right for the Council to take ownership of the service and provide the investment required for the longer term.”
What are the proposed improvements to the service?
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New traditionally-styled upgraded trains
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Increased capacity and shorter waiting times
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Fully trained staff with PSV (Public Service Vehicle) licenses
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Access for disabled people
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Lower fuel and emissions
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Longer-term integration with the current Seafront service, allowing people to travel between Hengistbury in the East and Alum Chine in the west.
Why change something that has worked for years?
Hengistbury Head has recently benefited from a major investment with the new visitor centre. Upgrading the land train service is the next step in improving services in the area. The current operator has on several occasions over the past few years been asked for proposals to invest in the service but nothing has come forward in response.
What will the new trains look like?
The trains will not be ‘Disney style’ as has been suggested. The Council is extremely sensitive to the special environment of Hengistbury Head so the trains will be upgraded in a traditional style. In order to meet current demand, the seating capacity of each train will be increased to 65 which is an improvement of at least 50 per cent on the current trains.
Are you planning to increase prices?
No, the fares for the 2015 season will be frozen. We would like to introduce some new ticketing options and incentives. These might include family tickets, short trip options and multiple tickets for beach hut users.
How will the trains be run?
The increased capacity will mean shorter waiting times during the busy period, which will mean a reduction in the number of journeys needed across the Head and therefore a reduction in the impact on this special environment.
How will the trains be staffed?
As with the seafront trains, each train will have a qualified Passenger Service Vehicle (PSV) driver and they will also have a guard, who will assist people using the service. The guard will collect the fares from passengers once they have boarded the train. The current operation only has a driver and they are not PSV qualified. We are talking to the current operator about the transfer of staff and the Council’s TUPE obligations.
What will happen to Disabled users?
The new trains will be wheelchair accessible.
Will the trains run to a timetable?
During the quieter months of the year it is proposed that the train will run to a set timetable to make it easier for passengers to plan their journeys. During busy times the trains will run on demand.
There are reports that the seafront trains are wider and so will cause more congestion on the path. Is this true?
The new trains are slightly wider than the current trains, however we are confident this can be operated without impacting negative on the environment.
What will happen to the Land Rover service for the beach hut tenants?
The Council will not run the separate 4×4 (Land Rover) service which was introduced to service the private beach huts and businesses on the Sandspit. However there has been an indication that another party may be interested in running this service in the future and we shall be encouraging them to bring their proposals forward.
There are reports the new trains will use more fuel than the existing service
This is incorrect. In fact with the reduction in the number of journeys across the Head the fuel and emissions will be lower than the current service. As part of the proposals two new trains will be purchased for the seafront, which will have Euro 4 or 5 rated engines with extremely low emissions.
What’s your response to the current contractor’s surprise to this change?
We met with Mrs Faris on the 6 February 2014 to discuss the future operation of the land train. We explained a straightforward renewal of her license would no longer be possible as we were keen to make significant improvements to the service. Our legal options were to either tender the whole operation or bring it in-house to ensure it was fit for purpose. Mrs Faris’s initial reaction was she had anticipated this news as she had been advised of this position previously. Mrs Faris has on several occasions over the past few years been asked for proposals to invest in the service but we have not received anything from her. She explained she felt it might be a good time to wind up her operation after this season. Based on that, we are planning to let the current service run for this summer season and it will be brought in-house after the October half-term.
