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Written Question
Railways: Greater London
Thursday 20th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has been of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Poplar and Limehouse constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in London region.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, when proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours (including closures) operators are required, amongst other things, to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers. We would also expect operators to consider equality related needs of passengers and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.

Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes. Train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.


Written Question
Railways: Tickets
Wednesday 12th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the c2c contactless ticketing trial on (a) the number and (b) opening hours of ticket offices.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers. This includes ensuring that passengers can easily buy the right ticket for the journey they want to make, with consideration of the product range available at the station and what support is available to help with purchase.

Contactless payment is an additional way for passengers to pay for their travel. The Government has announced that an additional 53 stations across the south east will have contactless ticketing by the end of the year, including 15 c2c stations.


Written Question
DfT OLR Holdings: Concessions
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of OLR DfT Holding Ltd are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The renumeration packages between the organisation and Board members or Directors are a matter for the individual companies. They are all independent third parties.


Written Question
Transpennine Express: Concessions
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of Transpennine Express are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The renumeration packages between the organisation and Board members or Directors are a matter for the individual companies. They are all independent third parties.


Written Question
Northern Trains: Concessions
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of Northern Trains Ltd are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The renumeration packages between the organisation and Board members or Directors are a matter for the individual companies. They are all independent third parties.


Written Question
London North Eastern Railway: Concessions
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of LNER are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The renumeration packages between the organisation and Board members or Directors are a matter for the individual companies. They are all independent third parties.


Written Question
c2c: Tickets
Thursday 6th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any (a) products, (b) fares and (c) services available at c2c stations will not be available as a result of the contactless ticketing trial.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Contactless Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) allows passengers ‘tap in’ and ‘tap out’ using a contactless bank card and smart media device, removing the need to queue for a ticket or top-up a smart card before travelling. PAYG will be an additional way for passengers to pay for their travel, with smart card and paper tickets remaining available. We are making changes to simplify fares to ensure PAYG works for passengers and will announce further details in due course.


Written Question
c2c: Tickets
Thursday 6th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the trial of contactless ticketing at c2c to begin; and what the planned duration of that trial is.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State confirmed in February 2023 that we would extend contactless Pay-As-You-Go ticketing to 53 additional stations by the end of the year. This includes Chiltern, London Northwestern, and C2C services.


Written Question
Railways: Tickets
Tuesday 4th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Rail Delivery Group and (b) each of the train operating companies under contract with his Department on proposals for ticket office closures.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department holds meetings regularly with the Rail Delivery Group and industry about the need to reform and modernise rail.

Together with industry we want to modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to more visible and accessible roles around the station.

To propose any changes to the opening hours, or the closure of ticket offices, train operating companies must follow the process set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.


Written Question
Railways: Tickets
Tuesday 4th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will instruct train operating companies to produce proposals for public consultation on ticket office closures through the Schedule 17 major change process.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

If train operating companies propose to change their ticket office opening hours they must follow the industry process as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.