Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of passenger rail performance in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Performance across the South Western Railway network, including in the Surrey Heath constituency, has been below the standard that passengers deserve. Under public ownership and with new leadership, South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex are working together to address the issues inherited from the previous operator.
On the Ascot to Ash Vale line which serves the Surrey Heath constituents, the top recent cause for cancellations is the availability of traincrew. To address this, South Western Railway has accelerated its driver recruitment. By the end of December 2025, South Western Railway will have recruited 124 trainee drivers in the calendar year, up from 67 the year before.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve passenger rail performance in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Performance across the South Western Railway network, including in the Surrey Heath constituency, has been below the standard that passengers deserve. Under public ownership and with new leadership, South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex are working together to address the issues inherited from the previous operator.
On the Ascot to Ash Vale line which serves the Surrey Heath constituents, the top recent cause for cancellations is the availability of traincrew. To address this, South Western Railway has accelerated its driver recruitment. By the end of December 2025, South Western Railway will have recruited 124 trainee drivers in the calendar year, up from 67 the year before.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the difference between regulated commuter fares and unregulated intercity fares on passengers; and whether she plans to review that distinction.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In general, commuter fares such as season tickets and shorter-distance peak returns are regulated, alongside intercity off-peak returns. These are the fares that DfT currently controls, as part of an overly complex system that was designed 30 years ago and which currently does not make sense.
We are already taking important steps to address some of these challenges. Through the LNER trial on some of the long-distance network, we are moving away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some “peak” trains run nearly empty whilst some “off-peak” trains are crowded. We aim to make more flexible products available to passengers, and making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding.
LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate they are meeting their commitment to ensure more affordable tickets are available to passengers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether vehicle rentals at airports are in scope of the definition of airport operations for the purposes of Government targets to achieve net zero for UK airport operations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is supporting the transition to greener aviation, including work on sustainable aviation fuels, airspace modernisation, and low-emission technologies. We are considering the role an airport operations emissions target could play as part of our broader approach to decarbonising aviation. Vehicle rentals are not typically included in the definition of airport operations; however, this would be subject to the scoping of any potential future target. We will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress Network Rail has made in carrying out rail infrastructure safety assessments required by the Office of Rail and Road.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department looks to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent rail safety regulator, to ensure that Network Rail is held to account for safety-related matters. ORR has assessed Network Rail’s progress in carrying out structural assessments and is assured that it is on target to complete most of the first phase by the deadline agreed with ORR. A small number of these assessments are not expected to be completed by the deadline and will be monitored on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways Retail will be required to comply with the statutory Code of Practice on retail market conduct managed by the Office of Rail and Road.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). GBR’s licence will require it to comply, with the ORR able to demand corrective action if it considers that GBR has not done so.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department has allocated to improving the resilience of passenger rail services on the North Devon branch line in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail has spent £2.9 million between 2017/18 and 2024/25 on scour protection works on bridges and retaining walls along the North Devon line. In addition, an average of £18,000 per year has been spent over the past ten years carrying out maintenance works to structure inverts, scour protection and removing tree debris trapped against bridges following a flood.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the cost of a standard-class annual rail season ticket from (a) Lostwithiel, (b) Bodmin Parkway, (c) Liskeard and (d) Saltash to London Paddington in 2010.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cost of an annual season ticket in 2010 between London Paddington and b) Bodmin Parkway was £15,036, c) Liskeard was £15,036. There was no season ticket between London Paddington and a&d) Lostwithiel and Saltash in 2010, these season tickets were introduced in 2016.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the cost of a standard-class annual rail season ticket from (a) Coseley, (b) Bescot, (c) Tipton, and (d) Dudley Port stations to Birmingham New Street in 2010.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold information on the cost of these annual season tickets directly. Transport for West Midlands should be able to provide this.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that intercity rail fares remain affordable for passengers in the context of unregulated peak-time pricing on long-distance services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are taking important steps to reform long distance fares, as demonstrated through the LNER trial on some of their long-distance network. This includes moving away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some “peak” trains run nearly empty whilst some “off-peak” trains are crowded. At the heart of this trial is making more flexible products available to passengers, and making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding
LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate they are meeting their commitment to ensure more affordable tickets are available to passengers.