Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the projected transport budget per capita in Greater Manchester after the devolution agreement comes into effect.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Government committed to provide Greater Manchester with a devolved, multi-year transport funding settlement in their Devolution Deal which was agreed in November 2014. The transport funding to be devolved to Greater Manchester will be agreed as part of the Spending Review to be announced later this month.
Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to deal with overcrowding on Bolton's commuter trains.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Northern Rail is required to use all of its train fleet (allowing for maintenance) at peak times and best match capacity to passenger demand across the franchise. It is for Northern to allocate rolling stock to best fit expected passenger numbers on a day-to-day basis. As you may be aware, we have increased Northern’s train fleet this year, including the introduction of 20 refreshed four coach electric trains in the year to December 2015.
In the longer term, unlike the last Northern franchise let under the previous Labour administration in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, the next Northern Franchise will see the removal of the existing Pacer trains, the ordering at least 120 new-build carriages, the modernising of every train operating on the Northern franchise, more frequent services on many routes on the Northern franchise, and will be providing more services for commuters, during off-peak times and on Sundays. The electrification of Manchester to Preston via Bolton route, for which preparatory work began this year, will also provide the opportunity for greater capacity electric powered trains to provide services for Bolton commuters. By the end of 2019, services into central Manchester will have seen a 49% increase in passenger-carrying capacity during the morning peak compared to five years earlier, and this will help ease the crowding affecting your constituents.
Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the per capita spending was on transport projects in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) London in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
a) Data on spend per head on transport projects is not available at the level of Greater Manchester.
However, Greater Manchester has benefitted from significant transport investment over the last five years, for example, £140.8 million of Integrated Transport Block funding, £143.2 million for Highways Maintenance (2010-11 to 2014-15), £32.5 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for the ‘Let’s Get to Work’ scheme, £32.49 million for the Manchester Cross City Bus Package (due for completion in November 2016) and £44m announced in July 2014 as part of the Local Growth Fund for 12 new light rail vehicles on Metrolink.
(b) Spend per head on transport in London for the last five available years was as follows:
Identifiable expenditure on transport in London 2009-10 to 2013-14
Type of expenditure | 2009-10 outturn | 2010-11 outturn | 2011-12 outturn | 2012-13 outturn | 2013-14 outturn |
Total expenditure | |||||
Per head (£) | 747 | 660 | 597 | 479 | 511 |
Capital expenditure | |||||
Per head (£) | 448 | 413 | 362 | 301 | 332 |
Current expenditure | |||||
Per head (£) | 300 | 247 | 235 | 178 | 180 |
Source: HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis, 2014
Spending on London’s transport networks benefits not just London residents but commuters and others travelling into London. London is the biggest city in the UK and a global capital. 850,000 commuters come into London per working day, and there are about 4 billion passenger journeys every year.
The figures in recent years can be skewed by capital projects with uneven patterns of expenditure such as Crossrail and Thameslink (which also create jobs elsewhere).
Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all services re-directed away from Bolton during the electrification of the Preston to Manchester line will return as soon as the electrification work is completed.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The current works at Farnworth for the electrification of the line between Manchester and Preston are planned to run until 5th October. Upon completion of these works, all the contractual train services between Manchester and Preston via Bolton will be reinstated. In the longer term, electrification of the Manchester-Preston line will enable future operators to use longer electric trains to provide additional capacity between Bolton and Manchester.
Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all Pacer trains used on Northern services will be replaced by 2020.
Answered by Andrew Jones
All Pacer trains used on Northern services will be replaced by 2020.
Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that Northern Rail and First Transpennine Express revise the timetable for Bolton to Manchester trains as a result of the Farnworth Tunnel engineering works.
Answered by Claire Perry
The reconstruction of Farnworth Tunnel is an important stepping stone in the ongoing electrification of key rail lines in the North West, which itself is part of this Government’s commitment to over 850 miles of railways electrification by 2019.
It is the responsibility of Network Rail and the operators to work together to ensure that a revised timetable is put in place to ensure that passenger services suffer from minimal disruption, balancing capacity and performance, during such essential works. Officials are liaising with operators to ensure that this is happening and are confident that steps are being taken to provide the best level of service for passengers during these essential works.
As you may be aware, the temporary timetable has now been released and can be seen on the National Rail Enquiries website.
Asked by: David Crausby (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that overcrowding on trains is (a) regulated and (b) effectively monitored.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
Capacity provided by franchised rail operators is monitored by the Department through regular passenger counts. The results enable the Department to liaise with operators where capacity problems are identified, and to ensure that potential solutions are investigated.
It is for the rail industry to plan to fully deploy available rolling stock to best meet passenger demand, and take all reasonable steps to minimise any crowding.