Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the competitiveness of rail services in the Midlands of Abellio operating services in the West Midlands and throughout the East Midlands.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Issues relating to market competition arising from any franchise award are a matter for the winning bidder and the Competition and Markets Authority.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when new trains will be provided for the Sheffield to London Service; by what date all such new trains will be running and how those trains will be powered.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Brand-new trains, capable of operating under electric or diesel power, will be introduced into service by April 2022 with the full fleet required to be in service by the end of 2022. As an interim measure, from May 2020, modern diesel trains will begin to replace the current fleet on Midland Main Line intercity services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to increase funding for rural train line services.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Recent franchise specifications have often included mandated increased levels of service on rural train lines (for example the East Midlands services in Lincolnshire currently out to tender).
Increased financial contributions to Community Rail Partnerships have also been a feature of recent franchise awards.
This increased level of funding for rural services is therefore expected continue into the years ahead.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they anticipate that additional rolling stock will be available by the time the new East Midlands rail franchise is let in August.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The East Midlands Franchise Competition is still a live competition and the bids are currently being evaluated. The rolling stock requirements for the future franchise were set out in the Invitation to Tender, bidders will have developed proposals to meet or exceed those requirements.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on performance of the number of new trains planned to be introduced across the rail network between 2019 and 2021.
Answered by Andrew Jones
New rolling stock will transform the passenger experience across the country. For example, on Northern and Transpennine Express, by 2020 all the trains will be brand new or completely refurbished, and all the Pacer trains will be gone. The East Anglia franchise will deliver over 1,000 new carriages, the West Midlands franchise will see over 400 new carriages, and South Western railways will deliver 750 new carriages. In their planning, operators consider the impact of new rolling stock and the growth in reliability as trains are first introduced. Work is underway in the industry to learn and share lessons on the introduction of new rolling stock.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which rail franchises are required to provide train services on Boxing Day, and what those requirements are for each franchise.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Franchise Agreement train service specification (typically Train Service Requirements) are published on the .GOV website and the General Provisions include the specified service requirements for Bank Holidays and Boxing Day, the table below lists the requirements per franchised operator.
The Christmas and New Year period is historically a time for major engineering works around the rail network as fewer people are travelling, therefore the ability to schedule the specified Boxing Day train services may be adversely affected.
All operators publish changes to their train services for Christmas and New Year, such advice is available through the National Rail website under “Holidays and events.”
Boxing Day (26 December 2018) service requirements:
Franchise (TOC) | Franchise Agreement requirement and Boxing Day services |
Chiltern (Chiltern Railways) | No services are required |
Cross-Country (ArrivaXC) | No services are required |
East Anglia (GreaterAnglia) | On Boxing Day, train services shall be provided between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, calling at Tottenham Hale (or Seven Sisters), Harlow Town and Bishop’s Stortford. The First Service shall arrive at Stansted Airport no later than 0715 and the Last Service shall depart London no earlier than 2315 such that a minimum of 35 services are provided between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. The First Service from Stansted Airport shall arrive at London no later than 0720 and the Last Service shall depart Stansted Airport no earlier than 0030 such that a minimum of 37 services are provided between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street. [This year a half-hourly Stansted Express train service to/from Tottenham Hale]. |
East Midlands (EMTrains) | No services are required |
Essex Thameside (c2c) | No services are required |
Great Western (GWR) | No services are required |
Integrated Kent Franchise (Southeastern Railway) | No services are required. [This year a High Speed (HS1) service will run between London St Pancras International and Ashford International]. |
LNER | No services are required |
Inter-City West Coast (Virgin Trains) | No services are required |
Northern (Arriva Rail North) | For the duration of Train Service Requirement(s) 2 and 3, on Boxing Day the Franchisee shall operate a minimum of sixty (60) Passenger Services, on such Routes as the Franchisee may determine. [Northern have requested that this not be delivered for this coming Boxing Day, this is a matter for Rail North who is currently considering this request]. |
South Western (SWR) | No services are required |
Thameslink Southern & Great Northern (GTR) | Train services between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport at half-hourly intervals, to operate from approximately 0500 until approximately 2300; From approximately 0830 until approximately 2100; (i) train services between London Victoria and Three Bridges at half-hourly intervals, calling intermediately at Clapham Junction, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport. Alternate services shall be extended to call at Haywards Heath and Brighton to provide an hourly service between those stations and London Victoria. The requirements for these services may be combined with those between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport; and (ii) stopping train services at half-hourly intervals between: (A) London Victoria and Sutton via Selhurst; and (B) London Victoria and East Croydon via Crystal Palace. [These services will run from London Bridge this year due to infrastructure works preventing services from serving London Victoria. Ticket acceptance is in place and passengers are able to use their ticket on London Underground services between London Victoria and London Bridge]. |
Trans-Pennine Express (First TPE) | No services are required |
West Midlands (West Midland Trains) | No services are required |
Asked by: Andrew Griffiths (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing additional signalling staff to enable the earlier running of Sunday services between Derby and Crewe.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The cost of providing additional signalling staff to enable earlier services to operate on Sundays between Derby and Crewe in the next East Midlands franchise is estimated to cost approximately £53,000 per annum. This cost was supplied by Network Rail prior to the ITT for the franchise being issued.
Delivering earlier services on this route on Sundays was a clear stakeholder aspiration raised during the public consultation for the franchise. Delivering this commitment will create wider economic benefits through enhanced rail services allowing greater access to jobs, leisure activities and shopping in the region.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
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 the franchise competitions for (a) Southeastern, (b) East Midlands Trains and (c) West Cost trains.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The spend to date from the inception of each franchising project, plus forecast future spend, is shown in the table below. These figures are primarily adviser costs (financial, technical and legal) plus contingent labour. Franchises are complex transactions and the expenditure helps deliver a robust commercial position, passenger benefits and taxpayer value over the franchise life. The recently announced Rail Review being led by Keith Williams will consider all parts of the rail industry, from the current franchising system and industry structures, to accountability and value for money for passengers and taxpayers.
Competition |
| Spend to date | Forecast to March 19 | Estimated cost to the public purse |
a) South Eastern |
| 5,558,025.52 | 926,620.00 | 6,484,645.52 |
b) East Midlands |
| 3,686,461.89 | 2,476,040.00 | 6,162,501.89 |
c) West Coast |
| 12,444,887.71 | 2,922,110.00 | 15,366,997.71 |
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Total |
| 21,689,375.12 | 6,324,770.00 | 28,014,145.12 |
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Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Rail Review announced on 11 October 2018 on the timing of the East Midlands franchise process; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
When the Rail Review was announced on 20 September 2018 the Government made clear in its statement that, with the exception of the Cross Country franchise, all other ongoing franchise competitions (including the East Midlands franchise) and other live rail projects are continuing as planned.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all bids received for the East Midlands rail franchise have been compliant with the specifications of the tendering process set out by his Department.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department is currently evaluating bids for the South Eastern and East Midlands competitions. We are unable to confirm the extent to which bids are compliant until the evaluation process has been completed and will make respective announcements on contract award in due course. We are unable to comment further at this stage given the commercially sensitive nature of the procurement process.