Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 36 of the paper South East Rail Franchise Stakeholder Document, whether the new franchise operator will be required to carry out an assessment to include an option to reinstate trains to Victoria on the Bexleyheath Line; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bidders for the South Eastern franchise competition will be required to run Bexleyheath line services to London Bridge, Waterloo East, Charing Cross and Cannon Street by 2022, subject to a successful future public consultation on detailed timetable proposals. The Invitation to Tender is however the minimum specification. The small minority of passengers (around 1,100 in the peak) who currently travel directly to Victoria and Denmark Hill would change at Lewisham, where they would connect with more frequent services to Victoria. The specification for the new franchise doubles the frequency of the Lewisham to Victoria corridor to four trains an hour from the current two.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of peak hour trains delayed between Lewisham and London terminals in each of the last 10 years were due to (a) rolling stock failure, (b) lack of drivers, (c) congestion at crossover points, (d) points failure, (e) overrunning engineering work, (f) severe weather conditions and (g) power failure; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold the information requested broken down into the level of detail required and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of operating selective door opening on the Bexleyheath service to Victoria at stations without the capacity for 10 or 12 carriage trains; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not specify where selected door opening (SDO) is deployed as this is a decision for bidders. However, SDO is typically deployed to overcome individual instances of shorter platforms along a line of route. Three stations along the route to Victoria from Lewisham are a maximum of 8 car (Nunhead, Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill), and in such instances it might be deemed that the use of SDO along the line of route with 10 or 12-car operations may not be appropriate.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 36 of the paper South East Rail Franchise Stakeholder Briefing Document, how many additional carriages will be required to provide 10,000 extra places for passengers in the morning high peak hour on the Bexleyheath Line from (a) Woolwich Common and (b) Eltham; and if he will make a statement?
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The South Eastern Invitation to Tender (ITT) requires, by December 2022, a minimum of 230 carriages to arrive into London Termini (either Charing Cross or Cannon Street) between 0700-1000 on the Bexleyheath line (which includes Eltham station). This is an increase of 18 carriages compared to today. The ITT also includes a requirement for higher passenger density trains with 2+2 seating and greater amounts of standing space. These changes significantly increase the capacity for passengers over today’s fleet.
Woolwich Common is not a station and is in proximity to the North Kent Line.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 34, paragraph 17 of paper South East Rail Franchise Stakeholder Briefing Document: Shaping the Future, what proportion of South East trains were delayed as a result of congestion at crossover points, between (a) Lewisham and Victoria and (b) Lewisham and London Bridge in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold the information requested broken down into the level of detail required and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,which stations on the Bexleyheath Line to Victoria do not have the capacity to accommodate trains with (a) 12, (b) ten, (c) eight carriages; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All stations on the Bexleyheath line from Barnehurst to Blackheath & Lewisham can accommodate 12 car services. Nunhead, Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill (between Lewisham and Victoria) can accommodate a maximum of 8 car services. Victoria station can accommodate 12 car services.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will halt the proposals contained in the future of Southeastern Trains Franchise consultation to cut trains on the Bexleyheath line to Charing Cross and Victoria stations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
These proposals are part of a consultation; no final decisions have been made. We are currently consulting passengers for their views on future Southeastern train services. In the consultation we provided an example to demonstrate how a reduction of London termini could operate to deliver a more reliable service. As with any other consultation, if a large majority of consultees support or oppose one option over another, that will carry significant weight in deciding how to proceed, and in developing the specification for the next operator.
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2016 to Question 48758, what steps have been taken to measure the effect of noise caused by flights going to and from London City Airport in Eltham constituency; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
As stated in the Government’s 2013 Aviation Policy Framework, the Government expects airports to help local communities understand the noise impacts they are affected by, through monitoring and provision of information. It is the responsibility of the airport to determine what monitoring is appropriate and to carry out such monitoring.
London City currently operates four noise monitoring terminals around the perimeter of the airport. Further details can be found in the airport’s noise action plan at the link below:
https://www.londoncityairport.com/content/pdf/Noise_Action_Plan_2013_2018.pdf
Under the terms of a previous planning agreement, the airport is also required to produce annual noise contours as part of its annual performance report. Further details, including noise contours for 2015 and a summary of planning agreement requirements, can be found at the link below:
http://lcacc.org/meeting-papers-key-documents/airport-annual-performance-report/
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2016 to Question 48759, what measures are in place to minimise the noise footprint around London City Airport; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
In addition to the operating restrictions referred to in my answer of 19 October 2016 to Question 48759, London City Airport also has other measures to reduce its noise footprint including limits on the number of flights that are allowed to operate on specific days of the year, restrictions which prevent the noisiest aircraft from operating at the airport, and various operational procedures such as a minimum height at which an aircraft must join the airport’s instrument landing system (ILS). Aircraft also follow a steep descent of 5.5 degrees when approaching the airport, higher than 3 degree standard recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and used by other airports, which keeps aircraft higher for longer.
More details of the measures used to address noise at the airport can be found in its noise action plan at the web address below:
https://www.londoncityairport.com/aboutandcorporate/page/noiseandtrackkeepingsystem
Asked by: Clive Efford (Labour - Eltham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Southeastern railway on the leasing of the current Thameslink rolling stock immediately after new Thameslink trains become available; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is exploring the provision of additional rolling stock to Southeastern, in order to lengthen services and increase capacity for passengers. This requires extensive commercial negotiations with Southeastern. We are continuing to work with Southeastern to develop the business case, and an announcement will be made in due course.