Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage the growth of rail freight.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government is committed to transporting more goods by rail. The Government published a Rail Freight Strategy to provide a stable policy framework to enable rail freight to grow and achieve its potential. The Government is committed to working with the rail freight industry to support its continued success. The Strategy can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552492/rail-freight-strategy.pdf
To support future growth of the rail freight industry the Secretary of State also confirmed that Government intends to continue investment in improving the rail freight network in Control Period 6 (2019-2024) as part of the regulatory funding settlement.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of increased freight travel by rail on climate change.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Government recognises the environmental benefits of rail freight and we are committed to supporting the long-term growth of the rail freight industry. Government’s Rail Freight Strategy, published in September 2016, sets out a shared vision for how rail freight can increase its share of the freight market, and encourage modal shift from road to rail. As part of this strategy, Arup were commissioned to assess the potential to reduce carbon emissions through greater modal shift from road to rail.
In response to the Government’s ambition to improve the carbon performance of the railway, the Rail and Safety Standards Board is undertaking a research project examining the options for decarbonising rail freight. The result of this research will inform future policy decisions in this area. Government is also working with industry to produce up-to-date emissions data from freight locomotives, so that we can better understand the environmental impact of rail freight.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the reasons for higher rail operating costs in the UK than in Europe.
Answered by Lord Grayling
The Government has recently announced a comprehensive Rail Review to be independently chaired by Keith Williams. The Review will recommend how the UK Rail sector can deliver better services for passengers, whilst improving its financial sustainability. A definitive, comparable measure demonstrating higher rail operating costs between the UK and Europe is not available. But we do need to ensure that the investment going into the UK’s railways is efficiently used, and costs controlled.
Alongside this, the Government is continuing to use the current periodic review process, which sets Network Rail’s funding and outputs for 2019-24, to robustly challenge Network Rail’s efficiency, including by supporting the strong efficiency challenge on infrastructure costs by the independent Office of Rail and Road.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled from East Grinstead to London from 00.01 on 18 June to 00.01 on 23rd June 2018.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Referring to my previous answer UIN 157006 which I answered on the 28 June:
The Department does not collect cancellation information to this level of detail. I have asked Govia Thameslink Railway to provide you with this information.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has made to the Train Operating Companies on the use of short-formed trains on (a) the London to Haywards Heath line and (b) the London to East Grinstead line.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
I have been clear that the current disruption is unacceptable and that the operator must take action to ensure as many services as possible are operating. The Department expects the operator to use suitable rolling stock that cater for the demands of the route.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled from Haywards Heath to London from 00.01 on 18 June to 00.01 on 23 June 2018.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department does not collect cancellation information to this level of detail. I have asked Govia Thameslink Railway to provide my Hon Friend with this information.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effects of the May 2018 timetable changes on rail services (a) on the Brighton line, (b) at Haywards Heath Station and (c) at East Grinstead Station.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The service provided on Thameslink services since the start of the new timetable has been unacceptable. It is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability on these routes. This includes the routes mentioned, from the Brighton main line and East Grinstead to London Bridge and Blackfriars.
Once the timetable has stabilised, passengers from Mid Sussex will begin to see the benefits brought by this change. This includes new direct peak-time services from East Grinstead through the Thameslink Core and additional capacity from Haywards Heath into London Victoria and the Thameslink Core.