Letter of support from MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited in respect of these applications
| Date | 28 April 2016 |
| Section | Transport for London appeal under regulation 29 and complaint under regulation 30 of the Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations |
mtr
crossrail
I 0
Howard Smith
Operations Director, Crossrail
Transport for London
Floor 30
25 Canada Square
London
E14 SLQ
Dear Howard
Page 1 of 2
Our ref: MTR Crossraii/29-04/236/SM/HS
28 April 2016
Application
by
Transport
for
London
("TfL")
to
the
ORR under Regulations 29 and 30
of
the Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 (the
"Regulation 29/30 Application")
Thank you for sharing your proposed Regulation 29/30 Application with us.
We
are writing
in
support of that application and are happy for you to share this letter with the Office of Rail and
Road (the "ORR").
As you will be aware, MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited ("MTR Crossrail") has a
concession agreement with Rail for London Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of TfL).
We
hold a valid train operating licence pursuant to section 8 of the Railways Act 1993 and currently
operate certain "TfL Rail" branded services on behalf of TfL as part of the Crossrail concession
agreement. Over the next few years, we will take on responsibility for more railway services
along the Crossrail route as the full service is introduced in a number of stages.
From May 2018, we are required under the concession agreement to provide rail passenger
services to Heathrow Airport utilising the Heathrow Rail Infrastructure (as defined in the
Regulation 29/30 Application). As such, we are directly concerned to ensure that we can
secure access to the Heathrow Rail Infrastructure on a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory
basis.
We are concerned to learn from TfL that their engagement with Heathrow Airport Limited
("HAL") in relation to the terms of the access arrangements has reached an impasse, with
HAL reported to be unwilling to consider the valid concerns of TfL and the DfT. This includes
in
particular the charging arrangements and the terms on which infrastructure capacity is
offered by
HAL-
as reflected
in
the key access documentation.
We
also note that there is a
great deal of uncertainty in the structure currently proposed by HAL due to essential missing
information that has not been provided
by
HAL.
Time is now pressing if MTR Crossrail is to run services to Heathrow Airport in May 2018. As
the ORR will be aware, the timetabling and other necessary processes required to gain access
MTR Corporation (
Crossrail)
Limited, 63
St
Mary Axe, London
enquiries@mtrcrossrail.co.uk I
mtrcrossrail.co.uk
I Registered in England No. 08754715
To continue reading
Request your trial