Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when life-expired railway infrastructure is being replaced, present appraisal methodology provides for the replacement infrastructure to reflect the current speeds and braking characteristics of modern trains.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The need to replace railway infrastructure is determined by regular inspections and reviews of the current state of the network. These test that the infrastructure is sufficient to safely and reliably support the type and speed of trains that it is intended to allow the operation of.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2024 to Question 11134 on Railways: Wales, if he will publish the initial prioritised list of rail improvements and investments.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Wales Rail Board’s prioritised view of rail infrastructure improvements and investments has been provided for consideration by the UK and Welsh Governments. There are no plans to publish the list at this time.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to (a) improve the speed and (b) reduce the cost of delivering rail infrastructure projects.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We work closely with Network Rail to improve the speed and cost of delivering rail infrastructure projects. Network Rail set up Rail SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient Enhancement Delivery) as a mechanism to identify ways to increase the efficiency of rail infrastructure delivery.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce instances of signalling equipment failures.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail, in their capacity as the infrastructure manager for Britain’s railways, are undertaking a number of actions to reduce instances of signalling equipment failures on the network. This includes replacing old and obsolete equipment as part of their renewals work, undertaking reliability analysis to identify assets that are failing prematurely to enable targeted remedial action, applying predictive technology to identify the risk of failures, monitoring trends to identify underperforming assets so these can be replaced, and reviewing staff training to ensure staff are in the best position to manage and mitigate signalling failures. Moving to digital signalling, such as on the East Coast Digital Programme, will also lead to increased infrastructure reliability.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total rate of Network Rail's non-compliance with structural examinations was in (a) May 2021 and (b) March 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
a) 27,848 non-compliant examinations in May 2021
b) 20,940 non-compliant examinations in March 2023
Network Rail undertakes examinations of its structures (bridges, retaining walls, culverts) to record their condition. Each examination type involves two key stages:
Non-compliance occurs when either of the above examination stages take longer than the permitted tolerances within Network Rail’s standard.
To contextualise the levels of non-compliance provided, Network Rail’s structures portfolio has approximately 150,000 examination regimes ongoing. Each non-compliant examination is risk assessed so that mitigating measures can be put in place if considered necessary. Network Rail has been engaging with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) around the issue of non-compliance and, at the end of August 2023, submitted its recovery plans setting out how it will recover and sustain examination compliance. Network Rail is now focusing on its delivery of these plans.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many structural examinations are currently non-compliant on the Network Rail network as of 11 September 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As of 11 September 2023, there were 14,952 non-compliant examinations.
Network Rail undertakes examinations of its structures (bridges, retaining walls, culverts) to record their condition. Each examination type involves two key stages:
Non-compliance occurs when either of the above examination stages take longer than the permitted tolerances within Network Rail’s standard.
To contextualise the levels of non-compliance provided, Network Rail’s structures portfolio has approximately 150,000 examination regimes ongoing. Each non-compliant examination is risk assessed so that mitigating measures can be put in place if considered necessary. Network Rail has been engaging with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) around the issue of non-compliance and, at the end of August 2023, submitted its recovery plans setting out how it will recover and sustain examination compliance. Network Rail is now focusing on its delivery of these plans.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) support and (b) protect heritage railways.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The United Kingdom is a true pioneer in the history of railway development, benefiting from the talents of Brunel and Stephenson among many others.
Heritage railways are major contributors to the UK’s visitor economy, attracting around 13 million visitors and bringing an estimated £250 million to the economy each year. More than 3,000 people are employed on heritage railways, with a further 22,000 volunteers generously committing their time and expertise.
The unprecedented Cultural Recovery Fund provided approximately £18 million to heritage railway-related organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them to reopen safely and continue to welcome visitors. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is also currently undertaking the Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation process which will benefit heritage railways by ensuring that local tourist boards work together to boost the visitor economy across the country.
HM Government is engaged in positive discussions with Network Rail and the Heritage Rail Association to discuss their plans for the Rail 200 bicentenary celebrations, to ensure that the historic birth of the UK’s first passenger railway can be properly celebrated. DCMS’s arms-length bodies Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund are also investing in projects that will support the bicentenary.
Specific elements of heritage railway infrastructure are protected through the designation process. For example, signal boxes, stations, bridges can all be listed, and specific embankments, cuttings and so on can be scheduled under heritage protection legislation. In general, entire railways are not designated.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held discussions with Network Rail on the steps they are taking to ensure the resilience of the rail network during (a) summer heatwaves, (b) heavy rainfall and (c) flooding.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Summer heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding are likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change. Network Rail and other transport infrastructure operators have been in discussions with DfT officials and Ministers regarding the importance of adapting to climate change, the action they are taking, and the Department’s plans for a transport adaptation strategy, including through the Weather Risk Task Force Steering Group.
The publication of the third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) in July 2023 marks a step-change in the UK government’s approach to climate adaptation. In the NAP3, Network Rail committed to, amongst other actions, design regional adaptation pathway strategies by 2029.
In 2022 the Department for Transport published the High-Level Output Specification (HLOS) which outlines the Secretary of State’s objectives for Network Rail’s operation, maintenance and renewal of railway infrastructure between 2024 and 2029—tied to a record £44.1 billion funding settlement. The HLOS is clear that the rail network must be as resilient as reasonably possible to the effects of climate change and extreme weather.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of WiFi on passenger trains.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department previously commissioned Transport Focus' 'Keeping connected: passengers’ experience of internet connectivity on Great Britain’s railways' report, published on 24 July 2020, assessing on-train wifi and mobile operator connectivity.
Today the on-train wifi equipment, and hence the passenger experience, depends on the availability of adequate mobile signals.
We are working with Network Rail, to repeat the measurements of mobile operator signals across the rail network, previously published by Ofcom in 2019.The Department aims to publish this data in late 2024.
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology in their Wireless Infrastructure Strategy has also asked Ofcom to increase their reporting of coverage on the rail network with an objective of reporting this annually and presenting this "in a way that provides meaningful information to consumers."
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the closure of the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure, how they plan to ensure that sufficient engineers and other specialists required to maintain the UK’s railways and transport infrastructure will be trained in the future; and what financial support they are offering to support such training.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working with the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) to safeguard the interests of learners and ensure they have the opportunity to complete or continue their studies. Dependent on their location, 24 learners on study programmes have transferred to either DN Colleges Group or to South & City College Birmingham, 25 higher education learners will complete their programme in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, and 38 apprentices will complete their programme with NCATI before 31 July 2023. With the support of their employers, a further 81 apprentices with an end date beyond 31 July 2023 have been transferred to other good quality providers.
The department is also working with the NCATI and the University of Birmingham to secure a sustainable educational use for the buildings that protects the public investment made.
In February 2022, the Department for Transport set up the industry-led skills and employment Taskforce, TEST. This is made up of leading transport industry figures who are best placed to reflect the sector’s concerns on skills and the transport labour market.
TEST’s overarching aims are to raise the profile of transport careers, promote access to training and employment opportunities, identify what specific future skills the transport sector needs, and identify innovative ways of encouraging people from underrepresented communities to work and stay in the industry.
The government is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. That includes approximately £300 million to establish 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across the country. IoTs will provide access to industry standard facilities and focus on the technical training needs of employers, including the rail industry, and learners in their local areas.