Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when life-expired railway infrastructure is being replaced, present appraisal methodology provides for the replacement infrastructure to reflect the current speeds and braking characteristics of modern trains.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The need to replace railway infrastructure is determined by regular inspections and reviews of the current state of the network. These test that the infrastructure is sufficient to safely and reliably support the type and speed of trains that it is intended to allow the operation of.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to (a) improve the speed and (b) reduce the cost of delivering rail infrastructure projects.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

We work closely with Network Rail to improve the speed and cost of delivering rail infrastructure projects. Network Rail set up Rail SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient Enhancement Delivery) as a mechanism to identify ways to increase the efficiency of rail infrastructure delivery.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total rate of Network Rail's non-compliance with structural examinations was in (a) May 2021 and (b) March 2023.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

a) 27,848 non-compliant examinations in May 2021

b) 20,940 non-compliant examinations in March 2023

Network Rail undertakes examinations of its structures (bridges, retaining walls, culverts) to record their condition. Each examination type involves two key stages:

1. Site examination – an examiner visits the structure to collect condition information.
2. Report submission and Network Rail acceptance – an independent engineer reviews the information from site and makes recommendations, then a Network Rail engineer reviews the examination report and determines the need for interventions to the structure.

Non-compliance occurs when either of the above examination stages take longer than the permitted tolerances within Network Rail’s standard.

To contextualise the levels of non-compliance provided, Network Rail’s structures portfolio has approximately 150,000 examination regimes ongoing. Each non-compliant examination is risk assessed so that mitigating measures can be put in place if considered necessary. Network Rail has been engaging with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) around the issue of non-compliance and, at the end of August 2023, submitted its recovery plans setting out how it will recover and sustain examination compliance. Network Rail is now focusing on its delivery of these plans.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many structural examinations are currently non-compliant on the Network Rail network as of 11 September 2023.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

As of 11 September 2023, there were 14,952 non-compliant examinations.

Network Rail undertakes examinations of its structures (bridges, retaining walls, culverts) to record their condition. Each examination type involves two key stages:

1. Site examination – an examiner visits the structure to collect condition information.
2. Report submission and Network Rail acceptance – an independent engineer reviews the information from site and makes recommendations, then a Network Rail engineer reviews the examination report and determines the need for interventions to the structure.

Non-compliance occurs when either of the above examination stages take longer than the permitted tolerances within Network Rail’s standard.

To contextualise the levels of non-compliance provided, Network Rail’s structures portfolio has approximately 150,000 examination regimes ongoing. Each non-compliant examination is risk assessed so that mitigating measures can be put in place if considered necessary. Network Rail has been engaging with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) around the issue of non-compliance and, at the end of August 2023, submitted its recovery plans setting out how it will recover and sustain examination compliance. Network Rail is now focusing on its delivery of these plans.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on heavy rail infrastructure in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last five years up to and including the 2022-23 financial year.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Between 2018-19 and 2021-22, £46.7bn was invested on High Speed Two infrastructure; Network Rail Operations, Maintenance and Renewals; and the Rail Network Enhancements Portfolio. Figures are sourced from DfT and NR published accounts and Network Rail reporting is consolidated for England and Wales. By its nature, expenditure on the railway in any one particular part of the country is likely to also benefit passengers from outside that immediate area who use that railway.

An annual breakdown is included in the table below:

*Figures are in £billions, in nominal prices

** Rail Network Enhancements Portfolio figures do not include 3rd party-funded delivery

*** 2022-23 outturn data is provisional and excluded

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of inflation on the delivery of rail infrastructure projects.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

We are ensuring record funding is invested in the country’s transport network, sustainably driving growth across the country while managing the pressures of inflation. We intend to publish the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline shortly which will confirm the latest position on all Network Rail schemes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what requirement there is on railway companies to provide alternative transport in the event of infrastructure failure; and if he will require South Western Railway to provide a timetable of rail replacement buses for passengers seeking to get to school, college and work until the landslide near Hook on the South Western mainline is fully repaired.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In the event of an emergency event of infrastructure failure, such as the landslide near Hook, the Department expects train operators to provide rail replacement services as soon as practically possible. The Department’s understanding is that there are significant issues in sourcing bus replacement services at short notice which is an issue across the industry.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of the £3.6 million allocated to rail infrastructure has been spent; and when he plans to spend the remaining proportion of that funding.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Since 2017, the DfT and Innovate UK have run six First of a Kind (FOAK) competitions. So far, we have awarded over £38m to 125 projects led by a range of organisations to support innovations that help to address priorities for the railway identified by both government and industry. This includes projects funded under FOAK 2022, announced in November.

You have clarified that your question relates to the first FOAK competition, which launched in October 2017 and offered £3.5m to bids focusing specifically on implementing innovative technology on railway vehicles, rather than rail infrastructure. Through a scoring process by independent experts, 10 winning projects were selected, to a total value of £3.375m.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the impact of the red weather warning for extreme heat on our rail infrastructure.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Extreme heat can cause disruption on the railway due to issues such as overhead powerlines sagging in the heat, the increased likelihood of lineside fires, and rail buckling (when rails expand and curve).

The Department continues to support the rail industry as they work to ensure mitigations, such as emergency speed restrictions, are implemented to protect infrastructure and ensure both passenger and staff welfare.

Found: Industry Association, Be SURE: Show Us the Rail Enhancements [Accessed 4 May 2023] 15 PQ 181113 [Railways

Found: Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk) 2 The Railways Infrastructure

Found: Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk) 2 The Railways Infrastructure

Found: Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk) 2 The Railways Infrastructure

Found: and ensure safe and effective use of, the Great British Railways network ; to manage Great British Railways