Written Evidence Apr. 16 2024
Committee: Transport Committee (Department: Department for Transport)Found: RRB0035 - Scrutiny of the draft Rail Reform Bill National Skills Academy for Rail Written Evidence
Asked by: McCall, Roz (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Mid Scotland and Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the funding issue for the St Andrews rail link being resolved, when it anticipates that this project will be completed.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Minister for Transport
The Scottish Government is providing £220,000 of support to the St Andrews Rail Link (StARLink) project through the Local Rail Development Fund (LRDF).
Responsibility for the management and delivery of the project sits with the StARLink Campaign which is required to provide a detailed options appraisal, to the Scottish Government, by the end of March 2024.
To inform the next stages of the project, this appraisal will then be considered against the Scottish Government’s investment priorities for the strategic transport network, a robust business case, affordability and other competing proposals.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Heritage Railway Association on the (a) availability and (b) affordability of coal.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We acknowledge the difficult circumstances facing the heritage steam sector in light of the high cost of coal on international commodity markets due in part to the Russia/Ukraine conflict. The Heritage Minister, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, met the Chief Executive of the Heritage Railway Association along with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail in July 2023, to discuss a range of issues, including the availability and affordability of coal. In November 2023, Lord Parkinson attended the Heritage Railway Association Annual General Meeting in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where they discussed the matter further. The Department is continuing to keep an ongoing dialogue with the heritage steam sector to understand the opportunities and challenges it faces.
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework: joint statement, 25 April 2024Found: institutions in February 2024, and welcomed the significant investment into cross-border intercity rail
Asked by: Rowley, Alex (Scottish Labour - Mid Scotland and Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of antisocial behaviour remaining "stubbornly high", what its position is on whether current levels of antisocial behaviour on trains exceed any thresholds set by ScotRail's safety committee, and whether it will provide an update on its plans to tackle antisocial behaviour on trains.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Minister for Transport
The British Transport Police advises that its operations in partnership with ScotRail, have seen a reduction in antisocial behaviour on Scotland’s rail network.
BTP continues to work in collaboration with ScotRail’s Travel Safe Team to reduce this number even further, and tackle any incidents of antisocial behaviour on Scotland’s Railways.
Nov. 08 2023
Source Page: Passenger rail: minimum service levelsFound: Passenger rail: minimum service levels
Asked by: Sweeney, Paul (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what the revised projected journey time will be between Glasgow Central Station and London Euston Station, in light of the UK Government's decision to cancel High Speed 2 Phase Two, and what impact it anticipates this decision will have on modal shift from domestic air travel between Glasgow Airport and London airports, in light of its aim to encourage modal shift to more sustainable travel.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Minister for Transport
We do not hold information on the revised projected passenger journey times between Glasgow Central Station and London Euston Station following the UK Government’s recent decisions on High Speed Two.
The UK Government has yet to advise us what its plans for Glasgow to London rail services will be in the light of this recent cancellation.
The Scottish Government is of the view that this decision will not assist modal shift from air travel.
Found: Scotland) Ian Budd (Friends of the Far North Line) David Burke (Harland & Wolff) Stephen Caldicott (Light
Mentions:
1: Lord Davies of Gower (Con - Life peer) the effective and efficient provision of transport services to customers, particularly in relation to rail - Speech Link
2: None As the Minister knows as well as I do, if not better, rail and bus services and their management are - Speech Link
3: Lord Davies of Gower (Con - Life peer) partners, franchising authorities and bus and light rail stakeholders. - Speech Link
Correspondence Jan. 17 2024
Committee: Transport Committee (Department: Department for Transport)Found: This includes: On rail, we established a Rail Ombudsman to investigate and rule on unresolved customer