Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245609 on Railways: Franchises, whether the recent bidders for the East Midlands Trains franchise were subject to different requirements from those of previous bidders in respect of their responsibilities for pension contributions (a) now and (b) at a later date.
Answered by Andrew Jones
No. Since privatisation, train operators have always been, and will continue to be, responsible for paying employer pension contributions required under the schedule of contributions applicable during their franchise term. There are no plans to change this arrangement.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2019 to Question 244025 on East Midlands Rail Franchise: Rolling Stock, what type of train will replace existing rolling stock; and which train routes those trains will be transferred from.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The procurement of the trains that replace the current rolling stock is matter for the new operator.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at what stage in the franchise process the decision was taken to exclude Stagecoach from bidding for the East Midlands franchise.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The decision was made shortly before Stagecoach was informed of the disqualification decision on 9 April 2019.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances Abellio have provided his Department in relation to the pensions of staff employed on the East Midlands line.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Railways Pension Scheme was established in 1994, replacing the previous British Rail scheme. Contributions in to the Railways Pension Scheme are split according to a shared cost arrangement, whereby employers (the Train Operating Companies) pay 60% and employees pay the remaining 40%. Since franchising arrangements were first introduced Train Operating Companies have been, and continue to be, responsible for paying employer pension contributions during a franchise term.
Under the East Midlands Franchise Agreement Abellio will participate in and become the Designated Employer for the East Midlands section of the Railways Pension Scheme. Abellio will be obliged by the Franchise Agreement to pay the employer contributions required under the schedule of contributions applicable during their franchise term. All of Abellio’s pensions related obligations are detailed in Schedule 16.1 to the Franchise Agreement which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Arriva have submitted a compliant bid for the East Midlands Trains franchise.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Abellio has been awarded the East Midlands Railway franchise as the company submitted the strongest bid for passengers and taxpayers. Arriva’s bid is a matter for them.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the new Abellio train franchise for the East Midlands will deliver improvements in (a) seat capacity, (b) fares and (c) connectivity north from Kettering.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The bid from Abellio included an increase in the frequency of services throughout the new Abellio East Midlands franchise, including an additional train per hour from Corby to London. There will be more trains operating throughout the week and services will start earlier in the morning and end later in the evening. The new franchise will deliver over 18,000 standard class seats in the peak for passengers at St Pancras, over 5,000 peak standard class seats at Lincoln – more than doubling capacity – and over 3,200 more peak standard class seats into and out of Nottingham.
There will be modern smart ticketing options for leisure and business journeys and for season tickets for commuters. Flexible ticket options will provide better value fares for regular passengers who travel less than five days a week and there will be enhanced Delay Repay compensation for passengers whose journeys are delayed by more than 15 minutes, compared to 30 minutes today. From December 2020, there will be more trains calling at Kettering going north compared to today and those train will have more seats
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that at the introduction of the new East Midlands Trains Franchise journey times on all services be as as least as good as they were before the timetable changes in May 2018.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Abellio will invest £600 million in trains and stations in the new franchise, while the Government continues with its £1.5 billion upgrade to the Midland Main Line, the biggest upgrade to the line since it was completed in 1870. This is part of the Government’s £48 billion investment to modernise our railways over the next five years. £200m was spent last year to provide new track, signalling and a new platform at Derby Station in preparation for the 2020 timetable change, which will help to reduce journey times between Nottingham and Sheffield and London.
The upgrade of the Midland Main Line means that, from the December 2020 timetable change, the new franchise operator will be able to introduce new fast services on the Corby-London route, on modern express trains, with more seats. Inter-city services will receive brand new trains and passengers will see faster journey times over long-distances, while regional services will receive modern diesel trains replacing the current aging rolling stock.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department will be take to make all rolling stock on the East Midlands Trains service compliant with disability discrimination legislation by 2020.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We take PRM compliance very seriously and will work with the Abellio in this regard. Abellio has committed to developing solutions with industry partners to deliver the most appropriate outcome for passengers.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on which parts of the East Midlands Trains franchise hydrogen powered trains will run; by what date such trains will run; where those trains will be manufactured; and where those trains will be refuelled.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In line with our specification for the new franchise, Abellio will be trialling hydrogen fuel cell trains.
Plans for the trains and their service trials are at a very early stage, so I am unable to provide any further details at this point. However, I am pleased that the next East Midlands franchise will be at the forefront of the government’s commitment to deliver a cleaner, greener rail network.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the current east midlands trains franchise was the first one to require bidders to cover pension costs.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Railways Pension Scheme was established in 1994, replacing the previous British Rail scheme. Contributions in to the Railways Pension Scheme are split according to a shared cost arrangement, whereby employers (the Train Operating Companies) pay 60% and employees pay the remaining 40%. Train Operating Companies are and continue to be responsible for paying employer pension contributions during a franchise term, and in the vast majority of franchises, have been on full risk for changes to those contributions during their franchise term since the Railways Pension Scheme was established.
In the new East Midlands franchise, the operator is exposed to no additional risks or demands when compared to current franchisees. Indeed, the new franchise includes a risk sharing mechanism with the government, which reduces the risk that the operator will be exposed to. In this, the operator retains the risks that it is able to manage, which are the contributions which cover employee’s pension rights arising from future service.