Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 5623 on Elizabeth Line and Southeastern: Repairs and Maintenance, what progress the cross Whitehall task force has made on (a) mitigations against redundancies and (b) bringing forward (i) existing refurbishment and (ii) new contracts for (A) Southeastern Rail and (B) Elizabeth Line trains.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials have held intensive discussions over several months with rolling stock manufacturers to explore options to help them find viable and sustainable long-term solutions around their rolling stock capabilities. In January of this year, I published a pipeline of opportunities which I would expect all manufacturers to bid for; however, there is no guarantee on who will win these.
In March 2024, Alstom was successfully awarded a contract for the refurbishment of the CrossCountry Voyager fleet that will support UK suppliers and skilled jobs across the country.
Officials in collaboration with the operator continue to work at pace on publishing the Invitation to Negotiate for the Southeastern procurement.
The Secretary of State has met with Alstom to discuss a potential way forward regarding the Elizabeth Line fleet and a statement will be made at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Hitachi on its rail plant in Newton Aycliffe.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
My Department has met Hitachi Rail’s UK management team several times in recent months to discuss workload at the company’s Newton Aycliffe site. We remain keen to discuss options with Hitachi for ensuring a sustainable future for their site.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 18584 on High Speed 2 Line, when he plans to publish the phase one updated business case.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is continuing on an updated Business Case for the HS2 programme. This update will be completed as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 18584 on High Speed 2 Line, what train services were included in the business case.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The indicative train service specification will be published as part of the updated Business Case for the HS2 programme.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Create Streets and Sustrans study entitled Stepping off the Road to Nowhere, published on 10 March 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is aware of the report produced by Create Streets and Sustrans and will review its findings in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Great British Railways transition team has spent on staffing.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
£49.18m – over the period from October 2021 to 1 March 2024. As well as the work the Great British Railways Transition Team has led with the industry to prepare for a new industry guiding mind, it continues to play a valuable role across a broad range of areas. This includes developing tools to support better decision making across track and train to drive efficiencies, supporting the expansion of PAYG to make it easier for people to travel by train, advising the department on setting the new rail freight growth target, playing a key role in initiatives to drive revenue recovery and helping develop the National Rail Accessibility Strategy.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take steps to mark the anniversary of 200 years of passenger train travel in 2025.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Railway 200 has been developed by a cross industry partnership for a year-long nationwide partnership-led campaign to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway and inspire a new generation of young people to choose a career in rail. Starting in January 2025, a wide variety of activities and events are being planned to celebrate rail’s remarkable past, its role today, and its importance to a sustainable future. The partnership-led approach will provide a framework to support local activity across the whole of the UK which, along with a small number of centrally delivered initiatives, will result in an exciting and diverse campaign delivering a real legacy beyond 2025. Railway 200 has the Department for Transport’s full support and Ministerial endorsement
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure passenger (a) safety levels and (b) confidence on the rail network (i) during strike action and (ii) when minimum service levels are used.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We expect train and station operators to comply with their health and safety responsibilities to protect passengers from risks on crowded trains and at stations, so far as is reasonably practicable. During periods of strike action, rail operators deploy measures such as implementing amended timetables to ensure services can be delivered reliably and safely. To minimise impacts and keep passengers informed during periods of strike action, the rail industry uses widespread passenger messaging to publicise disruption and the latest travel information in stations, through websites, and on social media channels.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Great British Railways transition team has spent with recruitment agencies.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
No money has been spent by the Great British Railways Transition Team with recruitment agencies.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to increase capacity at St Pancras International following the introduction of the EU’s Entry Exit System.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the importance of smooth passenger flows at St Pancras International and it is the Government’s priority to support, where possible, pragmatic solutions to address the potential impact of the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES) at locations in the UK with juxtaposed controls, including St Pancras.
My Department will continue to engage closely with St Pancras partners on preparations ahead of EES implementation later this year.