Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to issue the invitation to tender for the South Western rail franchise; and whether the delay to date in issuing it will affect the scheduled dates for the award and start of the franchise agreement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The invitation to tender (ITT) for the South Western franchise was issued to bidders on 9 June. I expect to make the contract award in February 2017, and for the new franchise to commence in June 2017, as scheduled. I expect to publish the ITT at the start of July.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons section 80 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 has not been brought into force.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Section 80 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 contains a duty on persons carrying out works in the carriageway. As the question indicates, this has never been brought into force. It concerns occasions where a person undertaking works in the street finds apparatus belonging to an undertaker that does not appear or differs from the underground asset records provided. In such cases, the person would be required to take steps to inform the owner, or keep a record of its location and inform the relevant local authority of the nature of what they have found and its location.
The associated section 79 (Records of location of apparatus) of the Act was brought into force in 2003. This section provides that those with apparatus under the street must maintain records of that apparatus, and provide it to those requesting it with a legitimate interest.
Some years ago, the industry considered how the requirements in section 80 might operate in practice if they were brought into force. I am aware that at the time, those undertaking street works felt that there would be challenges in identifying the asset owner and conveying the information in a way that would provide an accurate and reliable record for the future. This process could delay completion of the works, causing additional congestion to traffic and adding cost to the job. These consequences conflict with the aims of minimising disruption and cost in carrying out street works. The range of methods used to maintain records, and inconsistency in how the information could be conveyed raised concerns about the feasibility of doing this, and future liability issues.
No further consideration has been given to this matter recently.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on how many passenger injuries have been recorded by South West Trains on their mainline rail service from Waterloo in each of the last five years.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department does not hold this information; this may be available from South West Trains.
Asked by: Maria Miller (Conservative - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of train overcrowding on passenger safety.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Office of Rail and Road, in its role as the independent railway safety regulator, monitors and enforces compliance with health and safety legislation on Britain’s rail network.
It has concluded that the current control measures in place are proportionate to the risks posed by overcrowding.