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.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of job losses, station closures and cost savings that will result if the proposals in his consultation document on Transpennine and Northern Rail franchises are implemented without change.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises and concludes 18th August.
No estimates of the potential impacts on station staffing, or cost savings have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. The consultation states that the Department is not considering station closures for either the Northern or TransPennine Express franchises as part of the specification. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many responses he has had to date to the consultation on Transpennine and Northern Rail franchises; and in what area each respondent to that consultation is resident.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. To date we have received 131 formal responses to the consultation from various people and organisations across the North of England. This number does not include responses to our online survey (which will be collected at the end of the consultation). These responses have not yet been fully analysed as the consultation is ongoing but they cover a wide range of themes. We will publish a stakeholder briefing document setting out a summary of responses to the consultation and how they were taken account of when we publish the Invitations to Tender (ITTs) for the franchises, expected in December 2014.
The consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises and concludes 18th August. No decisions have yet been taken.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to replace the Class 170 units transferred to Chiltern Railways from the Transpennine Manchester to Cleethorpes service.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport continue to work with industry partners to develop a solution that will see more electric trains going into the North of England, in addition to the 14 already planned. We envisage that these electric trains will release diesel trains to be used on parts of the network in the North of England that are not yet electrified. The exact detail of this is subject to commercial negotiations and I will update the House as soon as these are concluded.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to whom and by what mechanism is Rail North accountable.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Rail North consortium has been formed by 30 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) in the North of England to help deliver a vision for a strengthened role for rail in supporting economic growth in the region. The LTAs are currently formalising Rail North’s governance. This will comprise:
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what modifications Rail North made to the proposals recently put to his Department for the Transpennine and Northern Rail franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department worked with Rail North in the development of the consultation document and their views were represented in the options set out and the consultation as a whole. The consultation can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises and concludes 18th August. No decisions have yet been taken.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential financial savings that would be incurred in his consultation document on TransPennine and Northern Rail franchises were implemented without change.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises and concludes 18th August.
No estimates of the potential financial savings have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which councillors represented on Rail North agreed to the consultation paper issued by his Department on the Transpennine and Northern Rail franchises; and what council each such councillor represented.
Answered by Claire Perry
Rail North’s decision making process is a matter for them. The Department worked with Rail North representatives on the development of the consultation paper. The consultation itself seeks the views of individual councillors, councils, passengers, and all other interested parties to inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises and concludes 18th August.
Asked by: Austin Mitchell (Labour - Great Grimsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the journey time from Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport on the service proposed in his Department's consultation document on the Transpennine franchise published in June 2014.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:
and concludes 18th August. No estimates of the possible journey time have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.