Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to create additional capacity on peak weekday rail services on the South West Main Line between Woking and London Waterloo.
Answered by Claire Perry
In March 2015, I announced a £50 million investment to deliver improvements across the South Western franchise before the end of the current franchise in 2017. This package of improvements included an additional Monday to Thursday late night service from London to Woking, and new ticket machines at Woking and London Waterloo Stations.
An additional 108 carriages are being added to the South Western franchise which should all be in passenger service by March of this year, with a further 150 carriages on order and due to arrive in 2017. These additional carriages provide additional capacity across a number of the routes operated, including those serving Woking.
The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in 2017. The detailed franchise specification will be finalised following analysis of the responses to the public consultation, which closes on 9 February. It is expected that bidders will be asked to make proposals to provide capacity where it is needed most.
With regard to road links, Highways England is currently making improvements to the nearby M3 by constructing a smart motorway between junctions 2 and 4a (13.4 miles/21.6km). The aim of smart motorways is to help relieve congestion by using technology to control traffic flows, to assist in the management of incidents and provide information to road users. They deliver these benefits at a significantly lower cost than conventional motorway widening and with less impact on the environment during construction. This is achieved by converting the existing hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed towards the end of June 2017.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to improve transport links between Woking and London since 2010.
Answered by Claire Perry
In March 2015, I announced a £50 million investment to deliver improvements across the South Western franchise before the end of the current franchise in 2017. This package of improvements included an additional Monday to Thursday late night service from London to Woking, and new ticket machines at Woking and London Waterloo Stations.
An additional 108 carriages are being added to the South Western franchise which should all be in passenger service by March of this year, with a further 150 carriages on order and due to arrive in 2017. These additional carriages provide additional capacity across a number of the routes operated, including those serving Woking.
The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in 2017. The detailed franchise specification will be finalised following analysis of the responses to the public consultation, which closes on 9 February. It is expected that bidders will be asked to make proposals to provide capacity where it is needed most.
With regard to road links, Highways England is currently making improvements to the nearby M3 by constructing a smart motorway between junctions 2 and 4a (13.4 miles/21.6km). The aim of smart motorways is to help relieve congestion by using technology to control traffic flows, to assist in the management of incidents and provide information to road users. They deliver these benefits at a significantly lower cost than conventional motorway widening and with less impact on the environment during construction. This is achieved by converting the existing hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed towards the end of June 2017.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that season ticket holders are fairly compensated for delays in rail services.
Answered by Claire Perry
Delay/Repay is already one of the most generous compensation schemes in Europe and we are committed to improving compensation for delayed rail passengers even further. As the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement, we are committed to reducing the time threshold for which passengers can claim from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.
We have already changed the system to get compensation paid in cash, not travel vouchers, and we are putting new compensation obligations like automatic Delay/Repay into future franchise specifications.
We will negotiate hard with rail operators to get even better compensation arrangements for passengers but also focus on ensuring that the trains run on time.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of Surrey County Council's Surrey Rail Strategy: Crossrail 2 Assessment Final Report, relating to the extension of Crossrail 2 to Woking.
Answered by Claire Perry
No decisions on either further government investment in Crossrail 2 or the final route for Crossrail 2 have been made. The National Infrastructure Commission has been asked to provide advice to the government by Budget 2016 on the best approach to large-scale investment in London’s transport infrastructure and this will include consideration of Crossrail 2.
Their advice will help inform decisions on any next steps for the scheme and therefore, prior to their advice, the Secretary of State is not in a position to make an assessment on the potential merits of an extension of Crossrail 2 to Woking.
However, Transport for London and Network Rail analysis shows that Crossrail 2 would release capacity for additional services on the South West Main Line into Waterloo. This would mean that destinations across the region, including Woking and other towns and cities not on the proposed route, would benefit from more frequent and reliable services into London.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made with the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System.
Answered by Claire Perry
Network Rail is funded to deliver the national rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and they are working closely with cross-industry stakeholders to do so. The first routes where ERTMS will be used the core section of the Thameslink route in mid 2018 and the East Coast south (from Kings Cross to Peterborough) from 2018. In addition we will secure the train fit part of ERTMS as part of our new franchise program. Both the new Thameslink Southern Great Northern (TSGN) and East Coast franchisees are obligated to work with Network Rail to deliver train services under ERTMS control as the system gradually rolls out.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of likely passenger numbers on trains from Woking to London Waterloo in (a) 2019 to 2024 and (b) 2025 to 2043.
Answered by Claire Perry
We have not estimated likely passenger numbers on trains from Woking to London Waterloo during these periods. Recent studies (Wessex Route Study and the London & South East Market Study) have estimated a 40% growth in the number of rail passengers travelling to central London during peak hours between 2011 to 2043.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average daily number of passengers using morning peak weekday rail services from Woking to London Waterloo.
Answered by Claire Perry
I refer my Hon Friend to my previous answer of 27 October 2014 [UIN 211109].
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional seats he expects will be made available on trains from Woking to London Waterloo in non-peak hours in each of the years from 2015 to 2018.
Answered by Claire Perry
During 2015-2016 I expect nearly 2900 additional seats will be made available on trains from Woking to London Waterloo during peak hours. On top of this figure by the end of 2018 over 4200 additional seats will be provided.
The provision of additional capacity during Off Peak periods is not specifically contracted, however just over 2600 additional seats will be provided during 2015-16. Off-peak services beyond 2017 have not been contracted in detail but there is likely to be an increase during the off peak period as well.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional seats he expects will be made available on trains from Woking to London Waterloo during peak hours in each of the years from 2015 to 2018.
Answered by Claire Perry
During 2015-2016 I expect nearly 2900 additional seats will be made available on trains from Woking to London Waterloo during peak hours. On top of this figure by the end of 2018 over 4200 additional seats will be provided.
The provision of additional capacity during Off Peak periods is not specifically contracted, however just over 2600 additional seats will be provided during 2015-16. Off-peak services beyond 2017 have not been contracted in detail but there is likely to be an increase during the off peak period as well.