Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 17 January to Question 122183 on Railways: Midlands and North of England, how many stops would need to be reduced in order to achieve savings of (a) 25 minutes to Newcastle and Edinburgh, (b) 15 minutes to Darlington and (c) 20 minutes to Leeds.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In line with normal project development, detailed timetabling work for the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) will be conducted later. Once developed, an updated East Coast Main Line (ECML) timetable specification would be expected to be subject to public consultation.
As set out in the published Mott Macdonald report upon which the IRP ECML journey times are based, the fastest journey times between London and Leeds and London and Edinburgh assume two stops and one stop, respectively, whilst the fastest journey time from London to Newcastle assumes no intermediate stops. Not every train would adopt these patterns, with intermediate stations served by separate services.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what change in numbers of (a) non-stop and (b) stopping trains per hour along the East Coast Mainline is needed to support journey time savings of 25 minutes to the North East.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In line with normal project development, detailed timetabling work for the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) will be conducted later. Once developed, an updated East Coast Main Line (ECML) timetable specification would be expected to be subject to public consultation.
As set out in the published Mott Macdonald report upon which the IRP ECML journey times are based, the fastest journey times between London and Leeds and London and Edinburgh assume two stops and one stop, respectively, whilst the fastest journey time from London to Newcastle assumes no intermediate stops. Not every train would adopt these patterns, with intermediate stations served by separate services.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Written Answer of the 28 October 2022 to Question 67099 on Department of Health and Social Care: Public Expenditure, what the expected annual expenditure will be on the Major Projects Portfolio projects for the (a) Rapid Charging Fund, (b) Midlands Rail Hub, (c) East Coast Mainline Programme, (d) East Coast Digital Programme, (e) A417 Air Balloon, (f) Lower Thames Crossing, (g) HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg, (h) A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down, (i) Further Electrification of Midland Main Line, (j) East West Rail Configuration State 1, (k) A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet, (l) HS2 Phase 2a, (m) A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening, (n) Transpennine Route Upgrade, (o) A66 Northern Trans-Pennine, (p) HS2 Phase 1, (q) Rail Passenger Services, (r) Crossrail Programme, (s) East West Rail Connection Stage 2 and 3, (t) Midland Main Line Programme, (u) 2nd Generation UK Search and Rescue Aviation and (v) Rail Transformation Programme; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The annual expenditures of these 22 major projects for 2021-22 were published on 20 July 2022 with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Annual Report 2021-2022. This data can be found in the accompanying ‘GMPP Government Major Projects Portfolio AR Data March 2022’ document as ‘Financial Year Forecast (£m) (including Non-Government Costs)'. As set out in PQ 68561 it is not currently possible to provide the expected annual expenditures for 2022-23 but these will be published at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes to the East Coast Main Line timetable he is planning for May 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is continuing to develop an East Coast Mainline timetable that meets stakeholder needs, delivers the benefits of the East Coast Upgrade and is affordable in the context of the industry’s financial position.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what benefits his changes to the East Coast timetable will deliver.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is continuing to develop an East Coast Mainline timetable that meets stakeholder needs, delivers the benefits of the East Coast Upgrade and is affordable in the context of the industry’s financial position.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 14 of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands published on 18 November 2021, what estimate his Department has made of the length of track in kilometres that is feasible to upgrade to 140mph.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Initial analysis conducted by Mott MacDonald on behalf of the Department suggests that it would be feasible to upgrade up to 135 miles (217km) of the East Coast Main Line to support 140mph operation.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Integrated Rail Plan p15, whether the assumptions of twenty five minute time savings are based on reducing intermediate stops along the East Coast Mainline.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) sets out ambitious plans for the upgrade of the East Coast Main Line (ECML). The fastest ECML journey times quoted in the IRP may be achieved through a combination of increasing maximum speeds from 125mph to 140mph on some sections of the route, and by some services making fewer intermediate stops. Intermediate stations along the route would be served by separate services and the detailed timetable specification will be developed when the IRP is progressed.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the results of the Single Leg Pricing fares trial in operation for certain journeys on the East Coast Main Line since January 2020.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department has conducted a review of the Single Leg Pricing fares trial on London North Eastern Railway (LNER). The report is being finalised and we intend to publish the findings in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for extending the Single Leg Pricing fares trial to all other East Coast Main Line Long Distance High Speed rail journeys.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department has conducted a review of the Single Leg Pricing fares trial on LNER. The report is being finalised and we intend to publish the findings in due course. We will then consider the next steps as part of our commitments to reform fares.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with officials on the implementation of the East Coast Main Line timetable change.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
My two predecessors had various discussions with officials on the implementation of the ECML timetable change, following the timetable consultation in 2021. To ensure stakeholder needs are fully met and performance on the network is fully understood prior to operation, introduction is targeted for 2023 or later.