Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which rail vehicle accessibility regulations apply to (a) existing rolling stock on Northern Rail and (b) new rolling stock to be delivered for Northern Rail.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Accessibility standards for existing rolling stock operated on the mainline are set out in either the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998 or the Persons of Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability (PRM-TSI) (under the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011).
Newly built rolling stock which will enter in to service for Northern Rail must be built to the PRM-TSI standard.
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 merits of introducing Driver Only Operation on the Northern Rail and Transpennine Express Franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are working closely with Rail North on all aspects of the specifications for the Northern and TransPennine franchises; this includes considering the option of specifying that, where appropriate, drivers take on increased responsibility including the job of opening and closing the train doors, as has been the norm on many other parts of the railway for 30 years.
Making such changes, where applicable, could enhance efficiency and improve service to passengers by allowing other on-train staff to be focussed on passenger needs and revenue protection. It can also help reduce the time trains spend at the stations, by improving train despatch. Putting Driver Only Operation in operation removes the frustration of trains being delayed or cancelled as a result of no conductor being available, for example because through no fault of their own they have been delayed on another service.
The specifications for the franchise are in the process of being finalised and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has paid to consultants in preparation for reletting the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises; and what the name of each consultant so paid was.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport has paid in preparation for the Northern and TransPennine Express (TPE) Franchise Competitions the following consultants up to December 2014.
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This is consistent with the Department’s acceptance of the recommendations in the Brown and Laidlaw reports that external advisers be appointed for each competition.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on whether Rail North support proposals for the introduction of driver-only operating on the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are working closely with Rail North on all aspects of the specifications for the Northern and TransPennine franchises; this includes considering the option of specifying that, where appropriate, drivers take on increased responsibility including the job of opening and closing the train doors, as has been the norm on many other parts of the railway for 30 years.
In considering such an option we would not be requiring the removal of on-board staff. We recognise the importance that passengers place on the presence of on-train staff and want to make sure that where appropriate all of our operators provide these benefits through an effective staff presence that meets passengers’ needs.
The specifications for the franchise are in the process of being finalised and will be published in due course.
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 effect on job numbers of the introduction of driver-only operating on the Northern Rail and Transpennine Express franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
In developing the specification to be included in the Invitation to Tender for the Northern and Transpennine Express franchises the Department has to consider the possible effect of a number of difference scenarios and approaches in a wide range of specification areas. One of these is the possibility of drivers taking increased responsibilities, including for opening and closing the doors. This has already been the norm on parts of the railways for thirty years.
In considering whether to specify such an option we would not be requiring the removal of on-board staff. We recognise the importance that passenger place on the presence of on-train staff and want to make sure that where appropriate all of our operators provide these benefits through an effective staff presence that meets passengers’ needs.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what organisations responded to the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchise consultation; and whether those responses are publicly available.
Answered by Claire Perry
We received over 20,000 responses to the Northern and TransPennine Express consultation; this included responses from Local Authorities, Rail User Groups, Community Rail Partnerships, local businesses, trade unions and other organisations, as well as responses from individual members of the public. Of those 20,000 responses, 9,315 were identical postcards from RMT members that highlighted concerns about a variety of franchise-related areas. Summaries of the responses we received and a breakdown of response numbers will be provided in the Stakeholder Briefing Document that will be published alongside the Invitations to Tender in this quarter.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many responses have been received to the consultation on the future of the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
We received over 20,000 responses to the Northern and TransPennine Express consultation; this included responses from Local Authorities, Rail User Groups, Community Rail Partnerships, local businesses, trade unions and other organisations, as well as responses from individual members of the public. Of those 20,000 responses, 9,315 were identical postcards from RMT members that highlighted concerns about a variety of franchise-related areas. Summaries of the responses we received and a breakdown of response numbers will be provided in the Stakeholder Briefing Document that will be published alongside the Invitations to Tender in this quarter.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the invitations to tender will be issued for the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Invitations to Tender for the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises will be published this quarter. The date will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many responses to the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchise consultation (a) supported and (b) opposed driver-only operation.
Answered by Claire Perry
We did not ask specific questions about Driver Only Operation (DOO) in the Northern and TransPennine Express consultation, so analysis of responses relating to DOO has not been carried out in this way. A range of views on DOO were expressed by those who responded to the consultation. We also received 9,315 identical postcards from RMT members that highlighted concerns about a variety of franchise-related areas, including DOO.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of changes to revenue protection and collection on the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchises in the last five years.
Answered by Claire Perry
It is for operators to manage revenue protection as part of their day to day business.
We require reports from some of the train operators which contain information on the level of ticketless travel and their revenue protection activities. However this information is commercially confidential.
Northern Rail has increased the number of revenue protection staff at stations since April 2014 to further reduce ticketless travel. Ticket gates are being installed as part of the significant project to upgrade Manchester Victoria station.