Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2015 to Question 2544, what progress is being made on reviewing the Mersey Tunnel tolls.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Review of the Mersey Tunnel Tolls is being undertaken by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. It is currently underway and will inform the Authority’s toll setting decisions for 2016-17, which will be taken next month. Officials at the Department are engaging with the Authority on the Review, which is expected to continue during 2016-17 to inform a longer term tolling position.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2015 to Question 21125, what estimate he has made of the remaining track that will be electrified in connection with the programmes and projects that will go ahead for delivery by 2019 and were referred to in that Answer.
Answered by Claire Perry
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21125, the Department for Transport remains fully committed to our modernisation programme of over 850 miles of electrification. Over 50 miles have already been completed since 2010 compared to just 10 miles electrified in the 13 years of Labour Government from 1997.
Some schemes are more immature in their development and, whilst schemes in this category will have significant delivery within Control Period 5, these schemes will span more than one control period.
It will be for Network Rail to determine the exact mileage to be electrified in Control Period 5 once the development of all the projects and programmes to be delivered by 2019 has reached a sufficient level of maturity.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review Merseyside tunnel tolls and set out the (a) scope, (b) participants, (c) timetable and (d) completion date of such a review.
Answered by Andrew Jones
I have asked officials at the Department to engage with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority regarding a review of tolls on the Mersey Tunnels. Discussions on the scope, timing or duration of such a review remain ongoing.