Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for open access train services on the East Coast Main Line are before his Department.
Answered by Claire Perry
There are no applications for open access services before the Department. The decision on all access applications is solely the responsibility of the Office of Rail Regulation as the independent regulator. The Department responds to consultations on access applications as appropriate.
There are currently two open access applications before the ORR for open access applications on the East Coast Mainline. The ORR’s decisions on current and historical track access applications can be found on their website (http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/access-consultations/track-access-decisions) alongside current applications being considered (http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/access-consultations/current-track-access-applications).
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many open access train services have been agreed by (a) his Department and (b) Network Rail in each year since 2010; how many such applications have been rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation; and how many such services are now running.
Answered by Claire Perry
It is not the role of the Department or Network Rail to approve or reject any access applications. The decision on all access applications is solely the responsibility of the Office of Rail Regulation as the independent regulator. The Department responds to consultations on access applications as appropriate.
The ORR’s past decisions on track access applications can be found on their website (http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/access-consultations/track-access-decisions) alongside current applications being considered (http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/access-consultations/current-track-access-applications). There are currently two open access operators operating on the East Coast Mainline who were approved by the ORR. These are Grand Central and First Hull Trains.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of constructing the High Speed 2 line to (a) Birmingham, (b) Manchester and (c) Leeds.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Spending Round 2013 set out a long-term funding envelope for HS2 Phase 1 (London to Birmingham) of £21.4bn (in 2011 prices). For Phase 2 (Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds) the envelope is £21.2bn (in 2011 prices), with a further £7.5bn (in 2011 prices) for rolling stock. This provides long-term certainty to the project.
In the Development Agreement signed between DfT and HS2 Ltd on the 8th December 2014 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389368/HS2_development_agreement__December_2014_.pdf), HS2 Ltd has been set a Target Price for delivering Phase 1 of £19.34bn, including £3bn for rolling stock.
There is no equivalent Target Price for Phase Two yet.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the potential cost of constructing a High Speed 3 line between Leeds and Manchester.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department is working with Transport for the North, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd to consider improving transport connectivity between cities and regions in the North of England; and new rail links between Manchester and Leeds forms part of this work. I would expect to be able to comment on the scope and the scale of possible investments within the next few months. However, candidate schemes in supporting the future growth and wellbeing of Northern economies must be both affordable and offer acceptable value for money.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many contracts signed by his Department with suppliers of services or consultants include a clause providing that if the contract is abrogated by the Government, the provider or consultant will be compensated for lost income since 2010.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport and its agencies have no contracts that have been signed since 2010 that include this clause.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the figures for overcrowding are on the First Transpennine Express routes between (a) Manchester Airport and Sheffield, (b) Sheffield and Doncaster and (c) Scunthorpe and Doncaster.
Answered by Claire Perry
On a typical weekday in autumn 2013, there were 4% of passengers in excess of capacity (PiXC) on First TransPennine Express services at Sheffield during the morning peak and 8% in the evening peak. This includes the routes to Sheffield from both Manchester and from Doncaster. Further information about these statistics can be found in the publication Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales: 2013, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House and is available online at
These statistics are based on passenger counts carried out by train operators that the Department for Transport (DfT) holds on a commercially confidential basis, so more disaggregate data than that published cannot be released. DfT does not hold information on overcrowding between Scunthorpe and Doncaster.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information and estimates his Department gave to Rail North in respect of (a) passenger numbers on existing services, (b) the spending envelope for the new franchise, (c) changes in staff numbers required and (d) stations closures or transfer of control of those stations to local authorities.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department and Rail North are working collaboratively in accordance with the “Partnership Principles,” which includes “full and open disclosure between parties subject to any confidentiality obligations which apply.” As such Rail North was provided with all of the information necessary for the creation of the consultation document. This included known passenger numbers on existing services and financial information from the Department’s Long Term Forecast for both franchises. As stated in the consultation, the Department is not considering line or station closures for these competitions. Staffing levels are a matter for the train operators and estimates have not been made regarding them.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which councillors from North East Lincolnshire and Northern Lincolnshire councils were represented in the preparation of Rail North's consultation paper on the TransPennine and Northern Rail franchises; and whether such councils were consulted by Rail North before it issued the document.
Answered by Claire Perry
Rail North’s represents 30 local transport authorities in the north of England. Its constitution, including the specific make up of its membership, and decision making process are a matter for them. The Department worked with the Rail North group on the development of the consultation paper and the views of individual councillors were not presented or sought as part of this process.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many representatives of each local authority are in Rail North; and what the name is of each such representative.
Answered by Claire Perry
Rail North’s represents 30 local transport authorities in the north of England. Its constitution, including the specific make up of its membership, and decision making process are a matter for them. The Department worked with the Rail North group on the development of the consultation paper and the views of individual councillors were not presented or sought as part of this process.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the passenger figures are for each of the last five years for the Transpennine Cleethorpes to Manchester service; and what information is held on the number of people who (a) alight and (b) board in (i) Doncaster and (ii) Sheffield.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport holds this information on a commercially confidential basis. However, as I stated in the debate of 16 July, Official Report, column 984, I am happy to consider whether the Department can release such information and I will meet with the Hon. Member and other Hon. Members for the local area shortly.