Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will support the introduction of a railcard equivalent with a discount of a third for off-peak rail travel for people (a) living and (b) working in the north of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are a range of existing railcards that offer one third off most rail fares that are available to people living and working in the north of England; these include the Senior Railcard, the 26-30 Railcard and the Disabled Persons Railcard.
Any new discounts or concessions made to rail fares must consider the effect on a certain individual or group and be balanced against the financial impact on fare payers in general and the public purse.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the (a) planning and (b) programming for the electrification of the Midland Main Line to Nottingham.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is already underway to electrify the Midland Main Line (MML) with progress being made to install overhead line equipment between Kettering and Wigston, as well as upgrades south of Bedford to be completed in 2025. During 2024 Network Rail are continuing currently funded design and pre-construction between Wigston Junction north towards Trent Junction, a further 28.4 miles (45.7 route kilometres) of electrification on the MML. Recent plans from Network Rail indicate that electrification of the Midlands Main Line route to Sheffield and Nottingham could be completed in the early 2030s.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a timetable for the development of the (a) strategic outline case, (b) outline business case and (c) full business case for the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. We are in the early stages of establishing the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to use funds saved by the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2f to tackle problems on rail links between Birmingham and Manchester.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As announced in the Network North command paper, every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
Network North provided £500m to improve rail capacity North of Birmingham and work is ongoing to develop value for money interventions using these funds. This includes upgrades around Handsacre, where the HS2 line joins the West Coast Mainline, and other potential enhancements on the network.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to (a) allow multiple train operating companies to operate on each rail line and (b) take other steps to help increase competition on regional lines.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We recognise that competition can be beneficial for passengers as it can drive innovation and improvements to services. We have been clear that, in the right circumstances, open access operators can play a role in increasing this competition and have supported recent applications such as Wrexham, Shropshire & Midland Railway’s application to operate services for customers in North Wales, the West Midlands and on the West Coast Mainline.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what budget is available for the Restoring Your Railway scheme, announced in January 2020.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the Network North announcement, many more Restoring Your Railway projects can now be fully funded and delivered. The Department for Transport is in the early stages of planning next steps, including delivery timelines, for individual schemes and is working closely with Network Rail and other delivery partners to develop and deliver on Government priorities. Costs for delivering individual projects within the RYR programme will vary.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to introduce step-free access at Heaton Chapel Station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The platforms at Heaton Chapel are accessible by ramp. There is not currently a lift, but Rail North Partnership (RNP) works closely with Northern Trains, Network Rail, Transport for the North and its members, including Transport for Greater Manchester, to identify opportunities to improve access to stations for every passenger in the North as part of the operator’s Annual Business Planning process.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the annual reporting on the Railway Enhancements Network Pipeline committed to in 2019 is to commence in 2024.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst the Government remains committed to investing in rail, as demonstrated by the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement which detailed an unprecedented number of commitments, significant changes to travel patterns after the pandemic and the challenging fiscal environment rightly require reconsideration of the rail infrastructure portfolio.
We understand the interests of stakeholders - industry and local representatives - in the visibility of our forward programme of work. Moving forward we intend to review, with involvement from the supply chain, how best to provide updates on the rail enhancements portfolio.
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the status of the planning and scoping process is for electrification of the North Wales mainline as of 27 February 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. We are in the early stages of establishing the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the decision by Avanti West Coast to withdraw the daily direct service between Shrewsbury and London after June 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
While Avanti will be withdrawing this service due to the very low number of passengers who use it, West Midlands Trains has plans to ramp up the number of trains between Shropshire towns and Birmingham, while Avanti is looking to increase fast services between Birmingham and London. This will bring greater benefits to more passengers in the West Midlands. Furthermore, the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company has applied to operate services between Wrexham General and London Euston, which would include calling at Shrewsbury and other stations in North Wales and the West Midlands. While it is ultimately a decision for the Office of Rail and Road whether to approve this application, the Rail Minister has set out his support.