Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to remove graffiti from the rail network.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Graffiti removal on the rail network is an operational matter for Network Rail, but the company has advised me that it currently spends around £3.5 million a year for this purpose.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the health and safety implications of discarded pieces of rail and equipment alongside tracks across the rail network.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), is responsible for monitoring and enforcing health and safety matters in respect of Britain’s railway. It has confirmed that Network Rail has standards in place regarding the removal of material and equipment following the completion of works and that Network Rail provides adequate guidance to its staff on this issue in order to minimise health and safety risks. However, the ORR has noted some inconsistent application of these standards; its inspectors are therefore actively engaging with Network Rail to address this issue.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when litter was last removed from the southern end of the M11 in East London, how often such litter is removed, and by whom.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The last time that litter was removed from the southern end of the M11 in East London was 17 March 2016.
Highways England clears litter from the M11 on a daily basis, on the sections where it safe to do so, without using traffic lanes, such as the verges with hard shoulders. The M11 slip roads and verges with no hard shoulder are litter picked on a six weekly cycle with lanes closed to protect the work force.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of the rail network in England and Wales that has a reliable wireless internet signal.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our current assessment forecasts that between 68% and 85% of the UK rail network will have mobile network coverage by the end of 2017.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the effect on UK businesses, and (2) the cost to the UK economy, of inadequate internet connections on trains.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has not yet made an assessment of the effect on UK businesses and the cost to the UK economy of inadequate internet connections on trains but our policy of investing in fitting out trains with new Wi-Fi equipment and improving mobile phone signals has been evaluated based on existing evidence that there will be a net economic and social benefit to society from the investment.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the wireless internet signal on the train network, in particular between London and Sheffield.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Availability of mobile broadband services on trains can be an issue, partly due to physical barriers to radio signals reaching the railway track, include railway cuttings and tunnels and due to signal weakening, called attenuation, caused by train carriage walls and windows.
In June 2015, the Government launched a Call for Evidence to support delivery of improved coverage, with the intention to build on the work that has already happened across industry. On-train Wi-Fi addresses some of the issues, however we recognise that there is more to do that will require enhancements to trackside infrastructure. That’s why we are working with the rail and telecommunications industries to reach a shared understanding of the technical and commercial challenges, and seek out potential solutions for the rail network, including the London to Sheffield line.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the building developments in Stratford, the Olympic Park, and the Lower Lea Valley, what practical steps they are taking to ensure that Eurostar stops at Stratford International in future.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I recognise the international importance of the HS1 network in allowing high-speed rail services from London to reach Europe, whilst noting that no international services currently serve Stratford International station.
Eurostar, in which the government recently sold its 40% stake, accesses the HS1 network on an open access basis and is not subject to the terms of a franchise agreement or a contract let by government. Government has no power to direct or specify that Eurostar stops at Stratford International station. A decision made by Eurostar not to serve Stratford International would be as a result of commercial imperatives and priorities, for example, the potential revenue derived from customers using the station or the increased journey time which a further stop would involve. It would not be appropriate for government to interfere with that decision-making process.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the cost of creating an automated underground system in London; and what would be the net effect on the public purse of creating such a system.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Various levels of automation currently operate across the underground network. Automatically driven trains operate on the Central, Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines. On some lines, full automation may not be possible due to physical infrastructure limitations.
A decision to fully automate any Underground line, or the entire network, would not be made solely on the net effect on the public purse, but on the net effect of the costs and benefits. This would include consideration of financial costs, but also the constraints of existing Underground physical infrastructure, customer service and operational models.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which cities globally have an automated underground or metro transport system; and what research they have conducted on the effectiveness of those systems.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has not undertaken any research on the effectiveness of global automatic underground and metro transport systems.
London Underground is a founder member of CoMET, an international benchmarking group for the world’s largest metro systems, and a member of the International Association of Public Transport, and as a result has engaged extensively with many of the world’s most advanced automated systems. This has included: Paris Metro, to learn from the successful conversion of an existing line to full automation. Lille Metro, to learn from their programme to retrofit pre-assembled Platform Edge Door (PEDs) units, minimising closures and maximising value for money. Seoul Metro, to learn from their integrated use of gap fillers, PEDs and obstacle detection solutions at the Platform Train Interface. And Barcelona Metro, to learn from their staffing model for automation that has led to increased staff satisfaction and lower absenteeism.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of salary levels for employees working on the London Underground on the affordability of the use of the network by poor families.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To deliver a large programme of capital investment Transport for London (TfL) needs highly skilled, specialist and experienced staff and competes with the private sector for the best professional staff across a range of disciplines. Tube operators’ pay is comparable with the rest of the rail industry. TfL's salaries and total employment package are regularly benchmarked against the external market to ensure they are competitive.
Fares in real terms have been frozen for two years in a row. Pay-as-you-go daily caps have been cut to one fifth of the cost of a 7 Day Travelcard to Zone 1, providing fairer and more affordable travel for flexible and part-time workers. A wide range of customers can enjoy discounted and concessionary travel, including students, Londoners over 60, disabled travellers, apprentices, war veterans, and people who receive Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker's Allowance.