Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of there being only one railway line between Salisbury and Yeovil on (1) the travelling public and (2) the carriage of goods.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are aware of the issues between Salisbury and Yeovil and the lack of resilience due to the nature of this single line. Department officials continue to work with the South Western Railway and Network Rail in providing as much resilience as possible, including by increasing the Operator management resource tasked specifically to look at West of England line issues.
The Government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and is fully committed to supporting its growth. Under our plans to deliver the biggest overhaul of the railways in a generation, Great British Railways will have a duty and targets to grow the use of rail freight. Currently freight only operates between Salisbury and Worting Junction (Basingstoke).
There is no freight operation between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction. Network Rail is working with stakeholders and industry partners to understand the capacity and performance issues on the West of England Line and identify how these can be mitigated.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of reported crime on the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing the rail network across England, Wales and Scotland. They recorded the following number of incidents at stations on the Salisbury and Yeovil railway line: 2020/21 58, 2021/22 55, 2022/23 87 and 2023/24 83. The increase from 2021/22 is in line with increasing passenger numbers on the rail network following the easing of travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Along with data from the rest of the railway, the BTP will continually review crime trends and patterns from the Salisbury and Yeovil line, and gather intelligence to inform their daily operational deployments, including both uniform and plain clothes officers.
If passengers see or experience crime on the rail network, they should report this to BTP using the 61016 text service, via the Railway Guardian app or online. In an emergency, they should always call 999.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company to continue its role as sole strategic provider of seaborn passenger traffic between the islands and mainland in the case of any sale.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Department for Transport strongly supports the reliable and accessible provision of lifeline transport services to the Isles of Scilly, as we acknowledge their importance to the Isles’ communities.
It would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on private commercial issues concerning the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their progress in completing the project to create a dual carriage way on the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The A303 Sparkford to Ilchester Dualling scheme started construction in September 2021. National Highways is now planning to Open for Traffic in Winter 2024/2025.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the condition of road infrastructure in England and how many potholes they have (1) identified and (2) filled to completion on (a) roads and (b) pedestrian pavements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.
The Department annually collects and publishes information on GOV.UK regarding the condition of roads in England, covering surface condition, skidding resistance, and highway maintenance treatments and expenditure. This information comes from surveys which identify a series of road surface defects, although some of these defects may be related to potholes, the number of potholes cannot be recorded. The most recent release can be read on GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold information on the condition of footpaths, this information will be held by local authorities for their own asset management needs.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they define the term ‘pothole’.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
There is no nationally agreed definition of a pothole. It is up to local authorities to decide which surface defects on the highway to treat, following a risk-based approach. This is set out in the best practice document “Well Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice”, which is available online.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the results of the public consultations on proposals to close manned ticket offices at railway stations in England; and if not, why they do not plan to publish.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
This is an industry led process where Train Operating Companies put forward proposals to close or change the opening hours of station ticket offices and launch passenger consultations. The independent passenger bodies, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, are currently considering the consultation responses and will publish their response to each train operator’s proposals once the process has completed.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 27 June (HL8446), what plans they have to discuss with South Western Railways that company's failure to provide water for passengers during hot weather, unlike the other operators cited.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Ensuring the welfare of passengers and rail staff is a top priority for train operating companies, including during particularly hot weather. The advice remains for passengers to carry a bottle of water on all train journeys in hot weather, so that they can keep hydrated. Most modern trains also have air conditioning installed to maintain cool temperatures, but, where air conditioning is not available, operators ventilate trains as best as they can by opening windows throughout journeys and train doors at stations, where possible.
For hot weather, an ill passenger or an air conditioning failure, South Western Railways stocks water on most trains, and will provide to passengers in those circumstances. South Western Railway also maintains water supplies at key stations so that they can be added to trains during periods of extreme hot weather, particularly at key stations on their longer distance lines.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the health and safety issues, if any, that may occur on train services lasting more than three hours where refreshments, including water, are not made available to customers in hot weather.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Ensuring the welfare of passengers and rail staff remains a top priority for the Government, particularly during hot weather, which can increase the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion or fainting. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for safety oversight of the railway in Great Britain and works with train operators to encourage all passengers to follow the latest public health and travel advice.
While no study has been undertaken specifically on the health and safety issues of water not being provided on services lasting more than three hours, the advice to passengers is to carry a bottle of water on all train journeys in hot weather so that they can keep hydrated. Most modern trains also have air conditioning installed to maintain cool temperatures, but where air conditioning is not available, operators ventilate trains as best as they can by opening windows throughout journeys and train doors at stations, where possible. Many operators also offer free water in hot weather and when services are delayed.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether a shortage of diesel fuel was the reason for South Western Railways ceasing to provide a full West of England service from Exeter into London Waterloo in the week ending 28 April; what discussions have they had with (1) the train company, and (2) the rail regulator; and what assessment they have made of the cost to the regional economy of three days without trains.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Department Officials worked closely and extensively with South Western Railway (SWR) to understand the root cause, solution and timelines for returning to the full timetable. It was determined that the cause was contaminated bio fuel in the storage tanks at Salisbury Depot. SWR has hired an independent investigator to find out how and why this occurred which will take a few weeks to conclude.
SWR returned to its normal timetable from Friday 28 April, which included direct services between Exeter and London Waterloo. Some Exeter to Waterloo services and services between Salisbury and Southampton returned earlier. The cost to the regional economy was minimised as passengers had the option to travel via Salisbury and Basingstoke or to change tickets to another operator on a similar route.