Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Network Rail Limited’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020, page 1, to what extent (a) station retail sales and (b) income to reinvest have grown (i) nationally, (ii) in each of the five Network Rail Regions, and (iii) at Stoke-on-Trent station; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
In 2019/20, income from Network Rail’s managed stations, all of which is reinvested in the railway, grew by £8m / 4%.
A full break down of this information by region is provided in the table attached.
Stoke-On-Trent Station is owned by Network Rail and leased to the Train Operating Company, Avanti. We do not hold information on income for this station.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the regulations governing rail fares and ticketing were last reviewed.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Coalition Government conducted a review of fares and ticketing and its Rail Fares and Ticketing: Next Steps document was published in October 2013. In 2016, the Department, Rail Delivery Group, Which?, and Transport Focus worked together to identify actions to improve fares and ticketing for passengers, culminating in the publication of the Action Plan for information on Rail Fares and Ticketing. This resulted in more than 200,000 instances of confusing language and abbreviations being removed from tickets.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to review the regulations governing rail fares and ticketing.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Williams Review is considering how to enable a railway that is able to offer good value fares for passengers, while keeping costs down for taxpayers. The Rail Delivery Group recently published its Easier Fares for All proposals which are a welcome contribution to the Review. The Department is committed to work with the industry to consider how to refresh and update regulations to reflect changing travel patterns, and to understand how their proposals might work and be tested in the real world.