Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many signalling failures there have been on the East Cost Main Line in the last six months; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of these signalling failures on passengers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Over the past six months, there have been 132 signalling-only failures across the whole of the East Coast Main Line.
We recognise that signal failures can be highly disruptive to passengers’ journeys. We are in regular contact with Network Rail, who are responsible for signalling infrastructure, and train operators to reduce the number of signal failures, the time that the infrastructure is out of action whilst repairs are undertaken and the overall impact on passengers.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the operational resilience of the East Coast Main Line to extreme weather events.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Climate change could increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather and Network Rail is planning now in order to provide a safe, reliable network in the future. Network Rail works closely with many governmental and specialist organisations to prepare our railway for the climate changes projected over the next few years, decades and beyond.
As part of its work in this area, Network Rail recently launched a taskforce led by independent experts to investigate and make recommendations on how the railway can develop its approach to resilience. East Coast route is working closely with the taskforce to take forward its recommendations to ensure the line is resilient to extreme weather.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2023 to Question 203238 on High Speed 2 Line: West Coast Main Line, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of HS2 using the West Coast Mainline on (a) local rail services in south-east Greater Manchester and (b) the viability of new local rail services in south-east Greater Manchester before any decision is made on HS2 services diverting onto the West Coast Mainline through Stockport.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Decisions on the train service that will run when HS2 opens will consider impacts on other rail services and up-to-date information on passenger demand, including those at Stockport Station.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) are for the (i) East Coast Mainline Programme and (ii) Electrification of the Midland Mainline Programme; when those SROs started in post; on how many occasions the SROs have had to escalate project issues to his Department's board; on which dates those SROs last met Ministers; and when those SROs are next due to meet Ministers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the East Coast Main Line is Nick Bisson who was appointed as SRO on 31 March 2022. The SRO for the Electrification of the Midland Mainline programme is Cavendish Elithorn who was appointed on 01 June 2019. Appointment letters can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-major-projects-appointment-letters-for-senior-responsible-owners. In line with their responsibilities as SROs regular updates on both schemes are provided to departmental Boards and Ministers with meetings as necessary.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the projected end date is of the East Coast Mainline Programme and when that date was last reviewed; what the forecast spend is for financial year 2022-23 and when that forecast was last reviewed; what the initial planned whole life costs were; what the projected whole life costs are and when that projection was last reviewed; and what the delivery confidence assessment is and when that was last reviewed.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) Enhancements Programme has a projected end date of 01 December 2024, with forecast spend on the Programme for this financial year of £56m. Initial planned whole life costs were £1230m, whilst projected whole life costs are now £1098m.
The Delivery Confidence Assessment for the Programme remains Amber as set out in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority 2023 Annual Report, as the majority of benefits will not be realised until a new ECML timetable is introduced which is anticipated in 2024, and some may remain outstanding beyond that (principally for Leeds). All of this detail is reviewed quarterly in line with requirements for the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) projected end date, (b) projected financial costs, (c) initial planned whole-life costs, (d) the projected whole-life costs and (e) delivery confidence assessment are for the East Coast Digital Programme; and when each of those areas listed was last reviewed by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) received an AMBER rating from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) in September 2022 as part of its annual formal Gateway 0 Review. As standard for a Gateway 0, this included a check that provision for financial and other resources have been made for the programme. This was the last formal review of the programme by the IPA with the next review planned for September 2023. The AMBER delivery confidence rating matches the SRO’s assessment as per the programmes latest GMPP report for FY 2023/24 Q1.
a) Projected end date – October 2030
b) Projected financial costs – £1,877m (up to 2031 and includes RNEP funding and funding from the Control Period 7 Statement of Funds Available, which is subject to ORR advice)
c) Initial planned whole life costs – £3,476.66m (over a 60-year period and includes renewals)
d) The projected whole-life costs – £3,476.66 (m)
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to invest in rail infrastructure in Lincolnshire
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Investment will see us continue to support ambitious and transformative growth plans for our railways, particularly in the North and Midlands. The way people use the railway is changing and we are investing to make sure it supports passengers, freight and the economy for the future.
The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) commits to upgrading and improving line speeds and capacity on the East Coast Main Line, which will have benefits to services to Lincoln. We have provided Network Rail with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious route-wide plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible.
This IRP activity will build upon the £1.2 billion East Coast Enhancements Programme – a collection of infrastructure upgrades across the route, helping to deliver journey time, reliability and capacity improvements.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to steps he is taking to help improve (a) speed and (b) capacity on the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Integrated Rail Plan commits to upgrading and improving line speeds and capacity on the East Coast Main Line. We have provided Network Rail with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious route-wide plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible.
This IRP activity will build upon the £1.2 billion East Coast Enhancements Programme – a collection of infrastructure upgrades across the route, helping to deliver journey time, reliability and capacity improvements.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions it has had with the Scottish Government on improvements to the (a) East Coast Main Line and (b) A1.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Officials in the Department for Transport meet regularly with their counterparts in Transport Scotland about rail improvements, including to the East Coast Main Line. Conversations are ongoing and officials will continue to engage as work progresses.
There have been no recent discussions specifically about the A1 between the Department and Transport Scotland. However, the UK Government remains committed to working collaboratively with the Scottish Government to improve transport connectivity.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) lost revenue and (b) compensation following the broken rail on the East Coast Mainline on Sunday 21 May.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The industry performance regime allows that all the costs arising from an individual incident can typically only be calculated some time – which can be weeks – after the incident. The performance payments between train operators and Network Rail (accounting for lost revenue and compensation) are made every four weeks and are aggregated, based on average lateness for the previous four-week period. The way the performance regime works means that Network Rail do not calculate payments for individual incidents.