Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions there has been significant disruption to the East Coast Main Line as a result of points failures in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In the 12 month period up to 20 July 2019 there were 5 occasions on which points failures on the East Coast Main Line caused more than 500 minutes of delay; 3 of these incidents caused more than 1,000 minutes of delay.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the key constraints on each section of the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In June 2018, Network Rail published their document “East Coast Main Line Route Study – Railway Investment Choices” which identifies the capacity constraints on each section of the East Coast Main Line. Network Rail is undertaking a detailed capacity assessment of the Church Fenton to Newcastle section of the route which is due to be completed by mid 2020.
A link to the Network Rail publication can be found here.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to increase capacity for (a) rail freight and (b) passenger services on the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The government is investing up to £780m in Control Period 6 in the East Coast Main Line. This will fund power supply upgrades between Doncaster and Edinburgh, a new rail junction near Peterborough, a new platform at Stevenage Station and improvements to the track layout at King’s Cross Station. The upgrade at Peterborough will increase freight capacity between East Anglia and the north via the Great Northern and Great Eastern line. Passengers will benefit from two additional trains per hour between London and Doncaster and one additional train per hour between Doncaster and Newcastle.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions there was significant disruption to East Coast Main Line services as a result of damage to overhead wires in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In the 12 month period up to 20 July 2019 there were 17 occasions on which damage to the overhead wires on the East Coast Main Line caused more than 500 minutes of delay; 8 of these incidents caused more than 1,000 minutes of delay.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has held with Network Rail on future priorities for investment in the East Coast Main Line for Control Period 7 (CP7) 2024–2029.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government has announced Control Period 6 investment of up to £780m in the East Coast Main Line (ECML), which demonstrates Government’s commitment to the ECML. The Department is working with stakeholders, including Transport for the North, to identify and assess further potential enhancements for the East Coast Main Line. We will take staged decisions to progress further enhancements through the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline process.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what enhancement projects on the East Coast Main Line have been identified to progress through the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline process.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to transparent policy making and intends to make clear public statements as we take investment decisions on enhancements.
In due course we will be publishing details of schemes which have received a strategic outline business case. Additionally, Network Rail will continue to provide updates on the progress of enhancements, through the quarterly publication of its Enhancements Delivery Plan. This can be found at https://cdn.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CP6-Enhancements-Delivery-Plan_June-2019.pdf
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to confirm the level of funding available to Network Rail for control periods (a) 7 from 2024 to 2029 and (b) 8 from 2029 to 2034.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Under the terms of the Railway Act 2005, the Statement of Funds Available for Control Periods 7 and 8 would most likely be published in 2022 and 2027 respectively, although the length of Control Periods is for the independent Office of Rail and Road to determine. The ongoing Williams Rail Review is also considering broader structural issues around the rail industry.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the merits of confirming Network Rail budgets (a) earlier and (b) over a longer period of time; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer meet from time to time to discuss a range of relevant issues. The budget for Control Period 6 starting in April 2019 was set in 2017. In respect of future Network Rail budgets, the Department for Transport is routinely in discussions with Office for Rail and Road and industry partners including the supply chain on how best to build the evidence base needed to take future funding decisions. The ongoing Williams Rail Review is also considering broader structural issues around the rail industry.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2019 to Question 243444 on East Coast Railway Line, what progress his Department has made in identifying and assessing further potential enhancements for the east coast main line; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department is working with High Speed 2 Limited to assess the enhancements that could be delivered on the East Coast Main Line to secure the maximum benefit from the introduction of HS2 services between York and Newcastle. The Department is also working with Transport for the North to assess the proposals contained within the Northern Powerhouse Rail Strategic Outline Business Case to increase capacity and improve journey times on the route.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on improving (a) journey times, (b) capacity and (c) reliability on the east coast main line between England and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Secretary of State recognises the importance of the East Coast Main Line for communities and businesses and holds regular discussions with the Scottish Government. The Department is investing £780m in Control Period 6 to upgrade the East Coast Main Line. In conjunction with the introduction of new trains for London North Eastern Railway (LNER), additional LNER services to Edinburgh from Autumn 2019, and Transpennine Express plans to extend its Liverpool to Newcastle service to Edinburgh from December 2019, together this will improve journey times, reliability and capacity between England and Scotland. Network Rail’s Strategic Business Plan for 2019 to 2024 for the London North Eastern and East Midlands Route explains how this investment from the Statement of Funds Available will be used to improve the resilience of the East Coast Main Line.