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 8 March 2019 to Question 227145 on Parking: pedestrian areas, by what date his Department plans to (a) publish the findings of the review into pavement parking which began in summer 2018 and (b) bring forward legislative proposals as a result of that review.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport is currently considering the findings of its internal review on the issue of pavement parking, and will be announcing a decision in the coming months.
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 stakeholder organisations on pavement parking.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Over the last year, the Department for Transport has discussed the issue of pavement parking with a range of stakeholder organisations, including Guide Dogs, Living Streets, RNIB, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the Local Government Association, the British Parking Association, PATROL, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Councils, Transport Scotland, the AA, the RAC, the RAC Foundation, local authority parking managers, disabled people, independent experts on parking and traffic policy, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will carry out an economic assessment of the value of the East Coast Main Line to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In 2017 Network Rail published their document “East Coast Main Line Route Study – Railway Investment Choices”. In respect of an economic assessment of the East Coast Main Line as a fast, high yield route connecting London with the North and Scotland, it was stated that a third of the UK population lives within 20 minutes of an ECML station; and together they produce 41% of the UK’s GDP (Source: Office of National Statistics Gross Value Added).
A link to the Network Rail publication can be found here
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/East-Coast-Main-Line-Route-Study.pdf
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 he is taking to improve infrastructure on the East Coast Main Line in preparation for the arrival of High Speed Two rolling stock; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
HS2 Ltd is currently identifying the works that may be required to accommodate HS2 services on the Conventional Rail Network from 2033. The initial assessment of areas where HS2 Ltd may need to undertake work is set out in the WDES, and work is ongoing to confirm which works will be needed. The works required will be detailed in the Phase 2b hybrid Bill, alongside the environmental assessment in the formal Environmental Statement, when the Phase 2b scheme is deposited in Parliament next year.
The Volume 4 of the WDES is available 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 he plans to take to ensure that the whole of the East Coast Main Line is ready for the delivery of High Speed Two by 2033.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
HS2 Ltd is currently identifying the works that may be required to accommodate HS2 services on the Conventional Rail Network from 2033. The initial assessment of areas where HS2 Ltd may need to undertake work is set out in the WDES, and work is ongoing to confirm which works will be needed. The works required will be detailed in the Phase 2b hybrid Bill, alongside the environmental assessment in the formal Environmental Statement, when the Phase 2b scheme is deposited in Parliament next year.
The Volume 4 of the WDES is available here:
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which of the rail improvement projects proposed by Network Rail’s East Coast Main Line Route Study will be prioritised for investment; and how those projects will be funded.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We have already announced that we will invest up to £780m to deliver upgrades to the East Coast Main Line by the early 2020s. This is on top of the £400m invested since 2014 in power upgrades between London and Doncaster and infrastructure improvements elsewhere across the route. 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 recent assessment he has made of the (a) performance and (b) passenger satisfaction figures for the East Coast Main Line; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Performance and passenger satisfaction for each train operator are continually assessed under the terms of their separate Agreements with the Secretary of State for Passenger Services on the East Coast Main Line.
That said, for information, the latest overall passenger satisfaction figures for franchised operators who operate on the ECML are below (taken from the Autumn 2018 National Rail Passenger Survey published by Transport Focus):
CrossCountry 81%
Great Northern 68%
London North Eastern Railway 87%
Northern 72%
ScotRail (managed by Transport Scotland) 79%
Thameslink 77%
Transpennine Express 73%
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons Network Rail accounted for 60 per cent of delays to East Coast Main Line services in the year to February 2019.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We do not hold the information on reasons for Network Rail accounted delays to East Coast Main Line services.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the new Azuma trains will not be operational on the East Coast Main Line other than between London and Leeds from May 2019.
Answered by Andrew Jones
As part of the Intercity Express Programme, the rollout of the new Azuma trains will be introduced along the whole of the East Coast Main Line in phases to reflect the 15 month train delivery schedule. The first phase of which will be in service between London – Leeds and London – Hull. LNER will announce dates for further service rollouts throughout the year.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide an update on (a) the work of (b) decisions taken by and (c) the membership of the East Coast Partnership; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government’s Strategic Vision for Rail, published on 29 November 2017, set out the Government’s intention to introduce the East Coast Partnership (ECP) on the East Coast Main Line. In May 2018 the Secretary of State announced the establishment of a Partnership Board to develop proposals for the East Coast Partnership, bringing together the operation of track and train under a single leader.
The Partnership Board is chaired by Tony Poulter, a non-executive Director at the Department for Transport, and has members from Network Rail the intercity operator team, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), the Department for Transport and independent members to ensure the interests of other operators on the route are considered. The board has been developing the options for delivering the East Coast Partnership, which will be aligned with Williams Rail Review.