Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study, published on 2 March 2017, what further work his Department has agreed should be undertaken in relation to Network Rail's plans to upgrade the Brighton Main Line through its proposals in the Croydon area; and what estimate he has made of the time that will be taken to carry out that work.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department is working closely with Network Rail on the next phase of development of the Brighton Mainline upgrade programme. This involves undertaking further detailed engineering design and planning work, and preparation of an Outline Business Case. Subject to available funding, and confirmation of an agreed programme of activity, we expect this will take around two years.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish details of the monthly monitoring reports provided to him by the working group created to implement the Action Plan for Information on Rail Fares and Ticketing, published on 13 December 2016.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Action Plan for Information on Rail Fares and Ticketing launched on 13 December 2016 is a set of stretching actions to drive real improvement for passengers in the next 12 months.
We are working with the Rail Delivery Group, the consumer group Which?, Transport Focus and the Rail Regulator. These organisations form a working group who meet to review progress against the actions on a monthly basis working towards two key reports as set out in the Action Plan.
The Regulator will publish an interim progress report on delivery against this plan in the ORR’s Annual Consumer Report in July 2017, and a final report will be published at the end of the year.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that independent alternative dispute resolution is provided in the rail sector that adequately supports passenger complaints.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under existing arrangements, if a rail passenger is not happy with a train operator’s response to a complaint they can contact either Transport Focus (TF) or London TravelWatch (LTW) who work to resolve the issue with the train operator on their behalf. We are considering how to strengthen and build upon these arrangements, working closely with TF, LTW, the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Delivery Group. We expect to have concluded discussions on this issue by early spring.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to work with the rail regulator to ensure that each train operating company is complying with its obligations under the Consumer Rights Act 2016.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Department for Transport officials meet with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regularly to discuss consumer issues, including train operators’ compliance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA). As a designated enforcer of consumer law, the ORR has the power to take action in relation to breaches of a range of consumer protection laws that apply to train operators and rail passengers, including the CRA.
It is the responsibility of train operators to ensure they are compliant with their legal obligations. The ORR has also been working with the Rail Delivery Group and individual train operators over the last year to raise their awareness of the CRA and their obligations under it.
The ORR is currently reviewing train operators’ compliance with the rules around how refunds must be paid under the CRA.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 59594, how many trains ran with fewer than the scheduled number of carriages during peak-time hours across the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in December 2016.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) reported to us that 396 peak-time services operated with fewer than the scheduled number of carriages during railway period 1709 (13th November 2016 to 10th December 2016). The figures for period 1710 (11th December 2016 to 7th January 2017) have not been reported to the Department as yet.
The services included within this total include a substantial number which GTR have incorporated in their ongoing force majeure claim, where the disruption caused by the unjustified union actions have resulted in rolling stock being out of position.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46666, when he plans to publish the findings of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government will publish the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study, and its response to the recommendations, in due course.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Southern Rail services ran with fewer than their scheduled number of carriages in December 2016.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not hold this information. The contractual requirement is to measure the amount of trains that run with fewer than the scheduled number of carriages during peak-time hours, not the whole day. And we do not disaggregate the figure to the constituent business groups (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink), but measure performance across the entire franchise.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the final report of the independent project board into Southern Rail, chaired by Chris Gibb.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Chris Gibbs’ final report will be presented to the Secretary of State by the end of the year. No decision has yet been made as to the publication of this report.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the £1.1 billion announced for English transport networks in the 2016 Budget he plans will be spent on rail projects in the South East.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At Autumn Statement 2016, the Chancellor announced £1.1bn for local roads in England. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has today set out further details of this funding. The Chancellor also announced £110m for East West Rail in order to improve connections between some of the fastest growing economies of the South East. Finally, £450m was announced for investment in railway digital signalling and £80m to accelerate the rollout of smart ticketing, across the country with further details to be announced in due course.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the comments by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport to the Transport Select Committee on 7 November 2016, Question 347, that he was looking at making in-franchise charges to existing rail franchises, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing DelayRepay on all rail franchises via in-franchise changes rather than waiting for the commencement of the next round of the franchises.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Best value for the taxpayer in the introduction of compensation for delays from 15 minutes is likely to be achieved through franchise competitions as bidders will have incentives to deliver this at a competitive price. This is why the Department will be introducing the new policy through competition, where a competition is underway or is planned.
The Department will work with the franchise operators to agree how and when these improvements will be implemented, where this does not apply, ensuring the best possible deal for passengers and taxpayers. The full roll out in these cases will be dependent on the Department reaching a commercial agreement with the existing franchise operators.