Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of introducing Driver-Only Operation on delays and train dispatch times on the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department is considering the option of specifying that, where appropriate, drivers take on the job of opening and closing the train doors on the Northern Rail and Transpenine Express franchises, as happens on many other parts of the railway, but no decision has yet been taken. This would have the potential to reduce delays by shortening dwell time at platforms and mitigate the risk of delay or cancellation due to conductor unavailability.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many stations at which Northern Rail services stop are currently (a) staffed and (b) unstaffed.
Answered by Claire Perry
Northern serve 527 stations, of which they operate 467. Of those 527 stations, 196 are staffed, 331 are unstaffed.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to include in his Department's contract with the successful bidder for Northern Rail and Transpennine Express franchises a requirement that there is a second person on board the train in addition to the driver in the event of the introduction of driver-only operation.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department does not specify the numbers of staff or how they should be deployed as this is something that the operators are much better placed to manage and understand. The Department is considering the option of specifying that, where appropriate, drivers take on the job of opening and closing the train doors on the Northern Rail and Transpenine Express franchises, as happens on many other parts of the railway. Our approach is to assess the bids we receive to ensure they adequately provide for passengers to be able to purchase tickets, have access to appropriate service information and feel safe and secure on trains.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether UK domestic rail policy is being considered as part of the Government's negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Answered by John Hayes
The UK has a fully liberalised rail market and we welcome interest from suitably qualified participants in the market from around the world, including the United States. Domestic rail policy has therefore not been a significant consideration in the negotiations.
However, successful negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will enable UK-based members of the rail supply chain to compete more successfully in the US market. We would like to see relaxation in the ‘Buy America’ policy which inhibits the opportunities for rail exports.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions and with whom his Department has had on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Answered by Claire Perry
There are a number of transport related areas we want to see agreed as part of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The top priority is the harmonisation of global vehicle construction regulations. We would like to see enhanced market access in the aviation and maritime sectors and the relaxation in the ‘Buy America’ policy which inhibits the opportunities for rail exports. Officials have been actively involved in discussions with EU and US counterparts, particularly in relation to taking forward our top priority.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on UK rail policy.
Answered by John Hayes
Successful negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will enable UK-based members of the rail supply chain to compete more successfully in the US market. We would like to see relaxation in the ‘Buy America’ policy which inhibits the opportunities for rail exports. My officials have been actively involved in discussions with EU and US counterparts.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the local transport authorities which form Rail North and are jointly responsible for the (a) TransPennine Express and (b) Northern Rail franchises will have the freedom to specify (i) staffing levels, (ii) ticket office hours and (iii) driver-only specification of new rolling stock in the new franchise bids for each line.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises; no decisions have yet been taken. While the Secretary of State will make the final decisions on the franchise specifications, Rail North authorities are very involved in this process, including having representatives working within the Department for Transport teams. We expect, however, that for both franchises: (i) staffing levels will be left for bidders to propose; (ii) under the current policy bidders are free to propose changes to ticket office hours, but any change could only take place following further public consultation; and (iii) Specification of Driver Only Operation is being considered for the Northern franchise but we expect to leave this free for bidders to propose on the TransPennine Express franchise.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what change there will be in the daily number of new standard class passenger seats on West Coast Main Line passenger services during the term of the franchise directly awarded to West Coast Trains Ltd on 19 June 2014.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
An additional 5,500 standard class seats will be provided each day.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many operators' licence applications for new services on the West Coast Main Line have been submitted to the Office for Rail Regulation since May 2010 to date; and which services the applicants wished to operate in each case.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has received 6 new applications for passenger and freight train operator licences since May 2010. Train operator licences allow a train operator to run services throughout Great Britain or, if a European licence has been issued, Europe. Operator licences are not route specific.
ORR also approves rights for specific train services which are held in track access agreements between Network Rail and train operators. Information about previous applications at route level is not readily available, however ORR advises it has one current track access application for new services using the West Coast Main Line (WCML). This is from Alliance Rail Holdings for new services between: London Euston and Leeds via Crewe, Stalybridge and Dewsbury; Bradford Interchange via Newton-le-Willows and Rochdale; Blackpool North via Preston; and Carlisle via Barrow-in-Furness and the Cumbrian Coast. ORR is able to provide further information about previous track access applications on the WCML should the hon Member wish to contact the office at One Kemble Street, London, W2CB 4AN.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which services on the West Coast Main Line will receive extra standard class seating as part of the new franchise agreement with West Coast Trains Ltd.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The additional standard class seats will be offered on the routes currently served by the Pendolino trains. These include services between London and Wolverhampton, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.