Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans Northern Powerhouse Rail has to upgrade the Fiddlers Ferry line; and how much budget has been allocated to that line.
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 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 between the parish of Millington and Rostherne and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred route is expected to take place in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the service provided by Great Western Railway.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Network Rail and Great Western Railway to discuss performance. With NR related delays reaching 71 per cent in December 2023, I have made it clear to the CEO of NR that they must address infrastructure issues that contribute to a high proportion of disruption. NR launched its £140 million Thames Valley Recovery Plan, focusing on improving infrastructure reliability over the next 18 months. I met with NR and GWR in Swindon last week to review progress and whilst we are seeing small improvements, there is a lot more work to be done.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated timescale is for the (a) completion and (b) opening of the (i) Northern Powerhouse Rail core route between Manchester and Liverpool and (ii) eastern tunnel section between Manchester and Marsden.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will transform rail connectivity by providing faster and more frequent services between the North of England’s key economic centres. The government aims to complete Northern Powerhouse Rail by the mid-2040s.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional work his Department plans to carry out within (a) the Edge Hill Cutting, (b) the station throat and (c) to the platform arrangements to accommodate extra services to the southern approach to Liverpool Lime Street as proposed by Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2; and how much budget has been allocated to this element of Northern Powerhouse Rail at Q3 2019 prices.
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 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 between the parish of Millington and Rostherne and Manchester. A formal consultation on the remainder of the preferred 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 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.