Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether feasibility work has been undertaken for the proposed tunnel to Marsden; and how much budget has been allocated to that tunnel.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work on the NPR scheme between Manchester Piccadilly and West Yorkshire is currently at strategic scheme development stage. A formal consultation on the route is expected to take place in due course.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Ashley Satellite Infrastructure Maintenance Base – Rail is required for the Northern Powerhouse core route; and how much funding has been allocated for its construction.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.
As set out in the Network North Command paper, £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disaggregated further.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, where will the new Warrington Bank Quay station be located; how many platforms that station will have; and what the Northern Powerhouse Rail budget is for that station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with the favoured calling points set out in the WMS of 25 March, to include new platforms at Warrington Bank Quay. We are keen to understand Warrington Borough Council’s priorities and to ensure views on the priorities and any alternatives are understood.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the junction between Phase 2b of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail will be removed from the adapted Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme; and how much funding has been allocated to the construction of that junction.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.
As set out in the Network North Command paper, up to £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and Millington, and Manchester Piccadilly and West Yorkshire is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with WMS of 25 March, which set out that Northern Powerhouse Rail will develop a route that is in favour of serving Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Airport and will use the previously proposed route Millington and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred route is expected to take place following this work.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of Government funding has been allocated to the construction of the Manchester Tunnel between Manchester Piccadilly station and the proposed HS2 Manchester Airport; and whether he plans to amend the specification to allow Northern Powerhouse Rail trains to operate.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.
As set out in the Network North Command paper, up to £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disaggregated further.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Director General of the Road Transport Group in his Department is responsible for co-ordinating Network North.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Directors General across the Department are responsible for looking at transport in an integrated way and from the perspective of the places and public they serve, with each Director General having cross-cutting responsibilities. The unit that provides a central co-ordinating function across the many projects and policy areas included within Network North reports to the Director General of the Road Transport Group.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of cargo is transported by train in the UK.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In 2022, 7% of total freight moved in the UK was by rail - 81% was by road and 12% by water.
Source: Transport Statistics Great Britain, table TSGB0401 Freight (TSGB04) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the outcome of Northwich Station’s Access for All funding bid.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As part of our recent Network North announcement, the Government confirmed £350m will be made available to improve the accessibility of our train stations. We are assessing over 300 nominations for the next round of Access for All funding, including a nomination for Northwich railway station. If successful, the funding will create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. Successful nominations will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will (a) develop and (b) implement an updated net zero shipping strategy.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is actively preparing to release a refreshed Clean Maritime Plan in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Independent - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of installing ticket barriers at Hayes railway station in the context of trends in fare evasion on the Mid-Kent line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Southeastern is assessing the viability of installing ticket barriers at several of its stations including Hayes. Network Rail's Industry Revenue Generating Investment Fund allows the train operating companies to apply for funding for schemes that are financially positive and reduce the cost of rail to the public purse. Installing ticket barriers at Hayes is one of several potential schemes Southeastern is considering for an application to the fund later in the year. Applications will be assessed as part of a competitive process, therefore submitting a bid for a scheme is no guarantee of funding.