Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 12 February (HL1979), when the train service specification for the TransPennine route was last revised and passed to Network Rail.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A number of train service specifications were developed as part of the Business Case development process for TransPennine Route Upgrade. This was last provided to Network Rail in 2023 as part of a review of the integration between other major infrastructure programmes. The final train service specification has yet to be finalised and approved.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reinstate direct access from Northolt Junction to Paddington.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I can confirm there are no plans to reinstate direct access services from Northolt Junction to Paddington.

Chiltern Railway used to run a twice daily service from Northolt Junction (i.e. South Ruislip Station) to London Paddington. In December 2018, this route was cancelled with the closure of the Acton-Northolt line to enable High Speed 2 works.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the performance of train operators to reduce the amount of money being paid under the Delay Repay scheme.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department monitors performance on the rail network closely and holds industry to account, reviewing performance on a weekly basis and holding regular high-level meetings with both Network Rail and representatives from the train operators.

The Department has been clear that industry needs to make significant improvements to deliver the punctual, reliable services that passengers deserve and in doing so, reduce the need for passengers to claim under the Delay Repay scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 6 March (HL2701), whether they have received any representations from Chiltern Railways about ending the direct access services between Northolt Junction and Paddington.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There are no plans to reinstate direct access services from Northolt Junction to Paddington.

Chiltern Railways used to run a twice-daily service from Northolt Junction (i.e. South Ruislip Station) to London Paddington. In December 2018, this route was cancelled with the closure of the Acton to Northolt line to enable High Speed 2 works. Chiltern Railways made representations to alternatively run to West Ealing via the Greenford branch line, however this was not possible due to Crossrail capacity constraints.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 6 March (HL2700), when they expect the train service specification for the TransPennine route to be finalised and approved.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail will be using standard industry processes to progressively formalise train service changes as the programme progresses, in line with the TransPennine Route Upgrade’s (TRU’s) key delivery milestones. The last stage of the fully approved timetables will be in place in the early 2030s when the full service uplift, which TRU enables, is able to come on line.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 6 March (HL2702), whether any proportion of the costs of the Delay Repay scheme have resulted in a direct cost to public funds; and if so, how much.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when revenues dropped very significantly, the Government introduced emergency agreements that transferred day-to-day revenue and cost risks to the Department. These agreements protected services that key workers depended on. Under the agreements, the Government effectively receives the revenue and pays an operator’s reasonable costs, subject to the revenue incentive mechanism introduced recently to encourage operators to grow patronage and revenues.

Operators are compensated by the Government for all reasonable costs incurred that are accumulated in accordance with the terms of the contract, including those in relation to Delay Repay.

Payments made to rail passengers for Delay Repay as well as discretionary compensation are published annually, and for 2022-23 totalled £101 million.