Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of bringing South Western Railway into public ownership.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The costs associated with the transfer of a train operating company into public ownership cannot be determined until engagement with the train operator has commenced.
Each train operator will have their own circumstances that need to be addressed to enable a successful transfer. These are identified during the due diligence phase and then the costs for addressing them can be agreed.
As an example, previously, the Department has paid fees to South Western Railway of £8.2 million between September 2020 to March 2021. These can be found in the following link:
Overall, transferring service operations to the public sector will result in a saving of fixed and performance-based management fees currently paid to private sector train operators. This saving is estimated to be £110 million to £150 million per annum once all franchised contracts had expired, with a proportion of these savings achieved each year in the interim as individual services transfer. Please see the following link:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0133/en/240133en.pdf
Whilst all services will transfer as their existing contracts end, there are costs associated with the transfer from a private sector operator to a public sector company (mobilisation and due diligence costs) estimated at £1 million to £1.5 million per transaction. This is consistent with costs associated with transition following any competed franchise award as shown in the following link:
https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/56108/documents/5037.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the quality of the service provided to passengers on South Western Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State is committed to improving operational performance across the industry including at South Western Railway. The Government is also committed to bringing Operators into Public Ownership to deliver a better performing railway with South Western Railway announced as the first Operator into Public Ownership from 26th May 2025.
A significant development for South Western Railway will see the current rolling stock on all Suburban routes being replaced by brand new Class 701s which will help to improve the passenger experience.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve road safety for people (a) walking, (b) wheeling and (c) cycling.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government.
The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve road safety for cyclists and pedestrians, by strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and introducing the Hierarchy of Road Users, which places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision, at the top of the hierarchy.
The Highway Code makes it clear that those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they pose to others and highlights the need to take care and be particularly aware of young cyclists and pedestrians.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on levels of noise pollution on the London Underground.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Mayor of London specifically on levels of noise pollution on the London Underground. Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for the operation of London’s transport network.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to extend the HS2 terminus from Old Oak Common to London Euston.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is reviewing the position it has inherited on HS2 and will set out detailed plans in due course.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the timeframe within which the renationalisation of rail franchises will result in improvements to rail services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public ownership will end the failed franchising system, allowing operators to serve the interests of passengers, not shareholders. The failures of the past three decades cannot be fixed overnight, and bringing train operations into public ownership is only one part of this government’s extensive plans to improve the railways for passengers and taxpayers.