Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the criteria are by which his Department measures the level of service provided by rail franchises operating.
Answered by Claire Perry
Depending on the franchise, we measure the level of services provided by the performance against the set benchmarks (capacity, cancellations and delay minutes), and/or the Public Performance Measure. Some franchises are also measured against the National Passenger Survey results.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is giving to encourage the use of hydrogen fuel cells in transport.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have the potential to play an important role in decarbonising road transport, alongside battery electric vehicles. Government began work with industry in 2012, in the “UK H2 Mobility” programme, to develop a roadmap on hydrogen for transport.
In March last year we announced £6.6m investment in 12 initial hydrogen refuelling stations. We are working with stakeholders on options to support the wider roll-out of hydrogen in transport.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) funds and (b) grants his Department makes available for the refurbishment or improvement of railway stations.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport currently operates a number of schemes that makes funds available to enhance facilities at stations.
The Access for All programme and the Small Schemes fund provide improvements in accessibility. The National Stations Improvement Programme and Stations Commercial Project Facility are designed to deliver enhancements to passenger facilities. The New Station Fund has been established to help fund the construction of new stations.
Asked by: John Pugh (Liberal Democrat - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of plans to continue the use of Pacer trains on the Northern franchise.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are committed to improving services for passengers across the North of England. Pacers fall short of passengers’ expectations. As the Prime Minister has said, we will be asking bidders for the Northern franchise to propose plans to phase these outdated trains out. All franchise competitions are evaluated for quality as well as cost.
In presenting his Autumn Statement to Parliament, the Chancellor said that in the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises Pacers would be replaced and that new and modern trains would be introduced.