Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the double-track railway lines between Dinton and Tisbury stations will be re-instated to allow the operation of two trains per hour in both directions between Waterloo and Yeovil.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Network Rail’s Wessex Route Study concluded that the forecast levels of growth along the line did not justify the need for additional sections of double track between London Waterloo and Yeovil.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the ability to join and split trains at Yeovil Junction on the number of services that might be run between Salisbury and Exeter Central.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Network Rail’s Wessex Route Study concluded that the forecast levels of growth did not justify the need for additional infrastructure expenditure along this section of the West of England line, including any works associated with splitting and joining trains at Yeovil Junction.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of passenger demand for later evening trains between Waterloo and Yeovil on Mondays to Saturdays.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The franchisee (SWR) is expected to plan its train service to meet forecast demand in accordance with its obligations under its franchise agreement. The franchise agreement sets a minimum train service specification that is required to be met and forms the basis for the timetable. Timetable bids for later trains than currently operate would be assessed by Network Rail against factors such as the access that they require to undertake routine planned infrastructure maintenance activities, for example.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks posed by the Boeing 737 Max-8 airplane flying in UK airspace.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have been closely monitoring the potential safety risk posed by the Boeing 737 Max-8 aircraft flying in UK airspace following the recent tragic Ethiopian Airlines accident. As a precautionary measure, on 12 March the CAA, as the UK’s independent safety regulator, issued instructions to stop any Boeing 737 Max commercial passenger flights arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace until further notice.
Following the CAA’s Directive, the European Aviation Safety Agency published an Airworthiness Directive suspending all commercial operations of all Boeing 737MAX aircraft to, from and within Europe.
The CAA are in close contact with affected airlines to minimise any disruption to travelling public.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of upgrading all of the railway line between Waterloo and Exeter to double track.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Network Rail’s 2015 Wessex Route Study concluded that the forecast levels of growth between Salisbury and Exeter did not justify the need for additional sections of double track. Therefore, upgrading the single track sections of the line between London Waterloo and Exeter to double track is not a priority in the next Control Period (CP6). Further consideration may be given to this matter in Network Rail’s long term planning considerations for subsequent control periods.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the stretches of single track railway between Waterloo and Exeter on the movement of passengers and freight on that line.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Network Rail’s 2015 Wessex Route Study identified the single track sections on the route between Salisbury and Exeter and platform capacity at Salisbury as some of the factors constraining journey times, increasing the number of services and overall line resilience between Exeter and Waterloo.
However, the Route Study concluded that the forecast levels of growth between Salisbury and Exeter did not warrant inclusion of additional sections of double track as a priority in the next Control Period (CP6).
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 23 October (HL10503), what new flood resilience schemes are planned in (1) Somerset, (2) Devon, and (3) Cornwall, for each of the next five years.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Network Rail’s CP6 delivery plan, which will cover 2019-2024, is due to be published in March 2019, and will cover new flood resilience schemes.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 22 October (HL10506), why work to assess the contribution of the East West Rail programme to both regional and national economic growth has not yet been completed; and when it will be completed.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The newly created East West Railway Company is in the process of evaluating the economic benefits of the railway. We expect an economic assessment of the next phase of the project, between Bicester and Bedford, to be published in the coming months. Analysis on the Central Section, between Bedford and Cambridge, is also being progressed. East West Railway Company is planning to hold a public consultation on route options for the Central Section in the early part of next year.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 18 September (HL10000), whether the estimated £46.8 million national and regional economic benefit derived from the building of the new Cambridge South station represents an annual benefit or the total over a period of time.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The estimated national and regional benefits in the Strategic Outline Business Case are for the standard 60 year appraisal period used by the Department for infrastructure schemes.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to protect the railways in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall from flood water damage since 2012.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Network Rail have undertaken flood resilience work since 2012 at the following locations in Devon and Somerset: Cowley Bridge, Athelney, Hele & Bradninch, Flax Bourton, Whiteball and Axe & Broom. These were part of a programme of ten flood resilience schemes representing an investment of £31.3m by the Government.