Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to nationalise the East Coast mainline.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Secretary of State has been clear in his statement to Parliament that his decision on which option to take when establishing the next operator will be made in accordance with the following key principles:
The decision will be taken in a transparent way; the Department’s assessment of the option will be published and it will be properly validated.
The Department is developing plans to introduce the East Coast Partnership (ECP) - the first of the new generation of long term regional partnerships that will bring together the operation of track and train for the benefit of passengers. The ECP will be a partnership between the public sector and a private partner; the private partner will be procured through a competitive process in order to ensure the best outcomes for passengers and value for money for taxpayers. The ECP will build on the best of the public and private sectors, with private sector involvement bringing innovation, investment and competition.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of local bus services in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East, and (d) the UK since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The bus market in England outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding service provision are primarily a matter for bus operators, although local authorities do support socially necessary routes that are not commercially viable.
The Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools local authorities need to improve local bus services. We are working with local authorities to determine which of the powers provided are best able to support bus networks in their areas.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the procurement, delivery and rollout of the new fleet of trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Nexus are responsible for the management of the procurement, delivery and rollout of the new fleet of trains. Nexus provide the Department for Transport with regular updates on this procurement work as part of its regular reporting.
The Periodic Indicative Notice (PIN) for the procurement of the new fleet by Nexus was published on 25 January 2018.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of collisions on the A19 road in the North East.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The information requested is set out in the table below:
Section | 2016 |
A19 Seaton Burn to Tyne Tunnel |
|
Fatal | 1 |
Serious | 4 |
Slight | 62 |
Total | 67 |
A19 Tyne Tunnel to A181 |
|
Fatal | 0 |
Serious | 8 |
Slight | 94 |
Total | 102 |
A19: A181 to Tees Crossing |
|
Fatal | 0 |
Serious | 10 |
Slight | 31 |
Total | 41 |
A19: Tees Crossing down to A168 |
|
Fatal | 1 |
Serious | 7 |
Slight | 48 |
Total | 56 |
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) rail and (b) bus links in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) Tyne and Wear and (iv) the North East.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
My Department is committed to improving both rail and bus links across the whole North East, including in Jarrow, South Tyneside and Tyne and Wear.
The Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises will deliver brand-new and refurbished-as-new trains, including the replacement of all Pacer trains by 2020. From 2019, new hourly Transpennine Express services will run between Newcastle and Glasgow, and twice hourly high quality Northern Connect services will run between Middlesbrough and Carlisle via Newcastle.
In the Autumn Budget the Chancellor committed £337m towards the new rolling stock for the Tyne and Wear Metro from 2021. This is in addition to the £229 million the Department is contributing towards the operational cost of the Metro to 2019/20, and the £317 million contribution to the reinvigoration and asset renewal programme which ends in 2020/21. Over £1.9 million of asset renewal funding, along with £9.4 million of Local Growth Funding, is being used as a contribution to the £21 million development of a new bus and metro interchange in the centre of South Shields.
The Transforming Cities Fund announced in the Autumn Budget has provided £840million to the six mayoral combined authorities. The remainder will be allocated by competition to other English Cites and could provide further funding for public transport improvements in in the North East.
The Bus Services Act received Royal Assent in April 2017 and provides new powers for local authorities to improve bus services. Regulations and guidance are now being published to allow for stronger partnership working; bus franchising powers for metro mayors; and better information on fares and routes for bus passengers.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress is being made on the phasing out and replacement of Pacer trains on the UK rail network in the North East of England.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department recognises that Pacers fall short of passengers’ expectations and so required bidders for the Northern franchise to phase them out.
Arriva Rail North are investing £400 million in 281 brand new air-conditioned carriages, more than double the minimum required in the government’s invitation to tender, and remain on track to deliver the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019 at the latest.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2017 to Question 113229, what information his Department holds on the recent performance and punctuality of services on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Regular updates are provided to the North East Combined Authority, who are responsible for the operation of the Tyne and Wear Metro. The Department is provided with a range of metrics on a regular basis, which include punctuality and fleet availability.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have travelled to work using public transport in each year since 2010.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of people in the United Kingdom who usually travelled to work by public transport in each year 2010-2016 is given in the table below, based on the Labour Force Survey.
Year | Number of people |
2010 | 4,350,000 |
2011 | 4,566,000 |
2012 | 4,679,000 |
2013 | 4,922,000 |
2014 | 5,080,000 |
2015 | 5,198,000 |
2016 | 5,336,000 |
Public transport includes the following: bus, coach, national rail, underground, light railway systems and trams
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety on the A19 road in north-east England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The A19 is some 124 miles in length of which Highways England is responsible for the 67 mile section between Thirsk in North Yorkshire and Seaton Burn in Tyne and Wear with the remainder being the responsibility of local highways authorities.
Since 2011, Highways England have delivered safety improvements at ten locations on the A19, including improvements to traffic signals and road markings, provision of additional road capacity to reduce congestion, and improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
The Government provides the Integrated Transport Block funding for local highways authorities; this is aimed at small scale transport schemes and can be used for safety improvements. It is for each individual local highway authority to manage its network, based upon its local knowledge and circumstances.
Asked by: Stephen Hepburn (Independent - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of people who travel to work by (a) car, (b) bus and (c) rail in (i) the North East, (ii) Tyne and Wear, (iii) England and (iv) the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of people who usually travelled to work by car, bus and rail in Tyne & Wear, the North East, England, and the UK in 2016 are given in the table below (based on the Labour Force Survey).
| Car | Bus1 | Rail2 |
Tyne & Wear | 335,000 | 72,000 | 33,000 |
North East | 887,000 | 115,000 | 43,000 |
England | 17,974,000 | 1,888,000 | 2,934,000 |
UK | 21,675,000 | 2,230,000 | 3,106,000 |
1 Also includes coaches.
2 Includes national rail, underground, light railway systems and trams.