Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many passengers on the Dartmoor Line used the re-opened Exeter to Okehampton railway in each month for the past year.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Below is a table that shows how many passengers on the Dartmoor Line used the re-opened Exeter to Okehampton railway in each rail period from April 2022 onwards.
Rail Period (four weekly) | Okehampton journeys |
2301 – starts 1 April 2022 | 10,406 |
2302 – starts 1 May 2022 | 12,090 |
2303 – starts 29 May 2022 | 18,441 |
2304 – starts 26 June 2022 | 18,305 |
2305 – starts 24 July 2022 | 18,068 |
2306 – starts 21 August 2022 | 23,519 |
2307 – starts 18 September 2022 | 18,772 |
2308 – starts 16 October 2022 | 22,411 |
2309 – starts 13 November 2022 | 24,952 |
2310 – starts 11 December 2022 | 12,757 |
2311 – starts 8 January 2023 | 21,418 |
2312 – starts 5 February 2023 | 25,548 |
2313 – starts 5 March 2023 | 22,867 |
2022/2023 total | 249,554 |
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans under the ‘Restoring your Railway’ initiative to open other railway stations on the Dartmoor Line in addition to the second station planned in Okehampton Parkway.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
West Devon District Council was awarded up to £13.455m Levelling Up Funding in January this year to develop the West Devon Transport Hub, including Okehampton Parkway station. There are no plans to open any other stations on the Dartmoor Line.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to re-opening the railway line from Exeter to Holsworthy and Bude.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The proposed project was assessed as part of the Restoring Your Railway programme after a bid was made under the third round of the programme’s Ideas Fund. The assessment concluded that the project was not appropriate for funding through the Restoring Your Railway programme. Feedback was provided to the sponsoring MPs and promoter in October 2021.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of the 2021 Marine Accident Investigation Branch Annual Report, published on 9 June; in particular, the finding that 10 commercial fishermen lost their lives in 2021, the highest figure in a decade; and what steps they are taking in response to improve maritime safety and reduce fatalities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) Annual Report reflects that fishing remains the most dangerous industry in the UK. Owners and Skippers are ultimately responsible for the safety of their vessels and crew.
Following the MAIB recommendations to improve maritime safety and reduce fatalities, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) introduced the Small Fishing Vessel Code of Practice in September 2021, which sets minimum standards for vessel construction, machinery, water freeing, freeboard, and stability. Vessels are now inspected both in and out of the water and the MCA have introduced inspections to take place at random, outside of the routine inspection cycle.
In addition, Seafish and the MCA have developed the Home and Dry website and have run three safety campaigns covering: risk assessment; man overboard and vessel stability. Since 2008, the MCA has provided £3 million to enable Seafish to obtain match funding to provide free safety training. The MCA have also supported the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Seafish in the delivery of Man Overboard Awareness events. The MCA are also developing new training and certification requirements which will extend certification for skippers of vessels from 16.5m to 7m.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the 2021 Marine Accident Investigation Branch Annual Report on 9 June, what steps they are taking to reduce the numbers of unsafe pilot ladders.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is engaging with UK pilot safety stakeholders, under the UK Safety of Navigation Committee (UKSON), to look to reduce the numbers of unsafe pilot ladders. This includes discussions on pilot transfer safety.
Pilot ladder reports are logged and local Marine Surveyors must investigate and take appropriate action. They are required to look at pilot ladders during their surveys on board UK flagged vessels and during Port State Control inspections on foreign vessels, in accordance with the Paris Memorandum of Understanding.
The MCA is also liaising with, among others, the International Maritime Organization, UK maritime industry, International Association of Classification Societies and International Standards Organization to foster international collaboration and influence suitable changes and amendments to relevant conventions, regulations and standards on pilot ladder safety.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the successful re-opening of the railway line between Exeter and Okehampton, what plans they have to reinstate the remaining section of the line between Okehampton and Calstock to secure an alternative route to Plymouth and Cornwall; what is the timetable for any such plans; and what assessment they have made of the risk of the Great Western Railway line to (1) coastal erosion, and (2) high seas.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
My Department has invested over £120m to ensure the resilience of the Great Western line between Exeter and Plymouth. My Department is not proposing to extend the recently re-opened line between Exeter and Okehampton, to provide an alternative route to Plymouth. However, we recently announced funding to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case for a Restoring Your Railway scheme from Tavistock to Bere Alston.