Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are planning to re-open the Leamside railway line between Sunderland, Washington and Durham; if so, what steps they are taking to achieve this; how much progress has been made; and when they expect that line to re-open.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is working with local authorities and other partners to identify the best new rail projects that can unlock new housing and economic growth, ease overcrowding, meet future demand and offer good value for money.
No immediate decisions have been made to reopen the Leamside line.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Her Majesty's Government when they will announce their decision on the funding of the new Tyne and Wear Metro fleet; what options they have considered in making that decision; and what assessment they have made of the long-term financial consequences for local authorities of each of those options.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Transport and HM Treasury officials continue to work with Nexus regarding their proposals for new rolling stock on the Metro. No decision has been reached as to which funding model is the most appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the new InterCity train sets allocated to the East Coast franchise will be (1) hybrid trains and (2) electric trains.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Based on the assumption that ‘Hybrid’ relates to the Bi-mode trains (i.e. those using both diesel and electric traction power), we can confirm that of the 65 sets allocated to East Coast, the proportions will be 23 Bi-modes and 42 Electric sets.