Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the viability of tram-train services in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department continues to engage with Transport for Greater Manchester on Tram Train development including sharing the lessons from the Tram Train pilot in Sheffield. We await more detail on their proposals.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials of his Department has had with representatives of TransPennine Express on the future of that franchise following the proposed changes to the Northern franchise.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department is in the process of developing plans to replace the current Northern franchise with either a new short-term management contract with Arriva Rail North, or the Operator of Last Resort (OLR) and a decision will be made by the end of January. In the meantime we continue to challenge TPE on making improvements for rail passengers. We have been clear with the operator that it must take urgent steps to address its poor performance problems and indeed only last week my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State called in executives from TPE and other industry bodies to reinforce this point. If appropriate, we will take action under the terms set out in the Franchise Agreement.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on (a) the electrification of, (b) the introduction of new rolling stock to and (c) other improvements to TransPennine services on the Huddersfield rail line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The TransPennine Route Upgrade programme is expected to be the Government’s biggest single investment in our country’s existing railway in the next five years. We expect to make a decision later this year to progress the programme to the next phase of design and construction, during which we will confirm our approach to electrification and other improvement activity.
As part of its £500m investment in trains, TransPennine Express (TPE) is currently introducing three state-of-the-art fleets made up of 44 new trains into passenger service, which will provide 13 million extra seats a year once they are all in service in 2020. Passengers along the Huddersfield line will benefit from these high quality trains and their extra capacity - equivalent to a rise of more than 80 per cent on a seven day a week timetable across the TPE network.
The above demonstrates that this Government is committed to levelling up all parts of this country.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available to Transport for Greater Manchester for the expansion of the Metrolink network.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government is committed to investing in infrastructure and levelling up across the county and has developed the Transforming Cities Fund to improve public transport with a focus on trains, trams and buses. Greater Manchester will receive a total of £312.5 million in Mayoral Transforming Cities Fund allocations. Of this, £83 million has been allocated to provide additional tram capacity on the Metrolink network through the procurement of 27 additional Metrolink trams and associated supporting infrastructure. In addition, a further £4.2 billion of funding is planned for improving transport infrastructure in major cities. More detail on future funding levels for cities will be announced later this year
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timescale is for receiving an application from Highways England for a Development Consent Order for the Mottram Bypass element of the Transpennine upgrade programme.
Answered by George Freeman
The Development Consent Order for Mottram Bypass will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate this calendar year to support a proposed start of works for the scheme in 2021/2022.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the latest timetable and scope of improvements being planned to TransPennine Services on the Huddersfield Rail line; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Transport for the North, the Department for Transport and the rail industry monitor timetable changes and agreed actions for the December 2018 timetable which gave passengers a more resilient service on the Huddersfield line. These measures have continued into 2019 and the planned introduction of new longer trains and timetable improvements for this December means further stability, faster services and increased capacity.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many days (a) Northern and (b) Transpennine Express have achieved their performance targets since the start of its franchise in April 2016.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The performance benchmarks for both Northern and TransPennine Express are calculated on a 4-weekly period based on a moving annual average rather than assessed against individual days.
There is a re-benchmarking process currently underway to assess the impact on the franchisees’ performance regimes of late the delivery of infrastructure against that assumed in their bids. Once this exercise has been completed, the Department will be able to assess how Northern and TransPennine Express have performed against their targets.