Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the compensation procedures for passengers experiencing delays on (a) Govia Thameslink and b) East Midlands train services since 20 May 2018.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Transport does not hold data on train cancellations and delays to this level of detail.
It is currently too early to make a detailed assessment of any cost implications of the delays and cancellations since the timetable change. What is clear is that passengers on GTR are facing totally unsatisfactory levels of service and it is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
We are assessing whether GTR met their contractual obligations in the planning and delivery of this timetable change, and whether these issues could have been reasonably foreseen and different action taken to prevent the high levels of disruption passengers are experiencing. If it is found that GTR are materially in breach of their contractual obligations, the Department will take the appropriate enforcement action against them.
On GTR services, passengers are encouraged to apply to their train operator for Delay Repay compensation for affected journeys. GTR passengers can claim delay repay for delays over 15 minutes.
Earlier this week, the Secretary of State announced a special compensation scheme for GTR passengers. It is to be funded by the rail industry and will ensure regular rail customers receive appropriate redress for the disruption they have experienced. The industry will set out more detail of the eligibility requirements and how season ticket holders can claim.
The Department for Transport cannot currently provide an assessment of the impact of the May 2018 timetable changes on overcrowding at Bedford station, as performance of the new timetable has been too unstable to allow for an accurate assessment to be made.
The service provided since the start of the new timetable has been unacceptable and it is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability on services at Bedford to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are cost implications for his Department as a result of the delays and cancellations on services provided Govia Thameslink since the introduction of the new rail timetable on 20 May 2018; and whether those delays and cancellations are in breach of the franchise agreement.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Transport does not hold data on train cancellations and delays to this level of detail.
It is currently too early to make a detailed assessment of any cost implications of the delays and cancellations since the timetable change. What is clear is that passengers on GTR are facing totally unsatisfactory levels of service and it is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
We are assessing whether GTR met their contractual obligations in the planning and delivery of this timetable change, and whether these issues could have been reasonably foreseen and different action taken to prevent the high levels of disruption passengers are experiencing. If it is found that GTR are materially in breach of their contractual obligations, the Department will take the appropriate enforcement action against them.
On GTR services, passengers are encouraged to apply to their train operator for Delay Repay compensation for affected journeys. GTR passengers can claim delay repay for delays over 15 minutes.
Earlier this week, the Secretary of State announced a special compensation scheme for GTR passengers. It is to be funded by the rail industry and will ensure regular rail customers receive appropriate redress for the disruption they have experienced. The industry will set out more detail of the eligibility requirements and how season ticket holders can claim.
The Department for Transport cannot currently provide an assessment of the impact of the May 2018 timetable changes on overcrowding at Bedford station, as performance of the new timetable has been too unstable to allow for an accurate assessment to be made.
The service provided since the start of the new timetable has been unacceptable and it is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability on services at Bedford to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains servicing Bedford have been (a) cancelled and (b) delayed since the introduction of the new rail timetable on 20 May 2018; and what the average time was for the trains that were delayed.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Transport does not hold data on train cancellations and delays to this level of detail.
It is currently too early to make a detailed assessment of any cost implications of the delays and cancellations since the timetable change. What is clear is that passengers on GTR are facing totally unsatisfactory levels of service and it is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
We are assessing whether GTR met their contractual obligations in the planning and delivery of this timetable change, and whether these issues could have been reasonably foreseen and different action taken to prevent the high levels of disruption passengers are experiencing. If it is found that GTR are materially in breach of their contractual obligations, the Department will take the appropriate enforcement action against them.
On GTR services, passengers are encouraged to apply to their train operator for Delay Repay compensation for affected journeys. GTR passengers can claim delay repay for delays over 15 minutes.
Earlier this week, the Secretary of State announced a special compensation scheme for GTR passengers. It is to be funded by the rail industry and will ensure regular rail customers receive appropriate redress for the disruption they have experienced. The industry will set out more detail of the eligibility requirements and how season ticket holders can claim.
The Department for Transport cannot currently provide an assessment of the impact of the May 2018 timetable changes on overcrowding at Bedford station, as performance of the new timetable has been too unstable to allow for an accurate assessment to be made.
The service provided since the start of the new timetable has been unacceptable and it is the Department’s number one priority to restore reliability on services at Bedford to an acceptable level as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the value of compensation payments to East Midlands Trains for the loss of revenue for trains stopping at Bedford.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department does not have this information. Negotiations about the impact on the revenue of East Midlands Trains (EMT) from not stopping at Bedford and the compensation that they would receive are yet to begin and in any case will be commercially confidential.
It should be noted that the revenue lost by EMT is expected in large part to be offset by a corresponding increase in revenue for Thameslink, which being part of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will be passed through to the Department under the terms of its Franchise Agreement.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the equalities impact assessment carried out for the East Midlands Rail Franchise; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I am currently not in a position to publish the equalities impact assessment. The equalities impact assessment will be considered alongside the development of the Invitation to Tender. As the public consultation closed on 11 October 2017, and the responses are being analysed, an equality impact assessment cannot be completed at this stage. I will be considering the equality impact assessment in due course once it has been prepared.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to modify overhead electrification equipment between Bedford and London.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are developing plans to adjust the Overhead Line Equipment between Bedford and London in order to enable the new trains coming into service on the Midland Main Line from 2022 to run at the improved line speeds.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to review the decision to cancel the electrification of the entire Midland Main Line.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The upgrade to the Midland Main Line, which includes electrification to Kettering and Corby, will enable increased passenger capacity and reduced journey times, as well as introducing a brand new fleet of bi-mode intercity trains from 2022. This will deliver improved journeys sooner and is part of delivering the biggest upgrade of the Midland Main Line since it opened in 1870. We will only electrify lines where it delivers a genuine benefit to passengers.