Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with train operating companies regarding the practice of conducting ticket checks at the footbridge of Sheffield railway station, which is a public right of way.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Deploying revenue protection staff to deter ticketless travel, and doing so in a reasonable and efficient manner, is a matter for train operating companies.
Revenue protection offers passengers an additional level of safety and security whilst travelling on the rail network.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 29 July (HL238), and further to the incident mentioned in that Answer, what assessment they have made of the general incidence of East Midlands Railways (EMR) operating carriages without air conditioning in recent hot weather resulting in passengers and staff having to endure high temperatures and the associated health risks; and whether they plan to take any action against EMR in response.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
While there has been no specific assessment into the functionality of air conditioning during the recent hot weather, a sample of EMR's trains are independently inspected each month to assess overall ambience, and this includes the temperature of the carriage.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take against East Midlands Railway for running trains with no working air conditioning during recent spells of hot weather, resulting in passengers and staff having to endure temperatures of up to 36.1 degrees Celsius, and the health risks associated with such high temperatures.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
EMR advises that, on the occasion in question, the air conditioning failed in one carriage. All other carriages on the train had functioning air conditioning and staff offered passengers the opportunity to move to a different carriage, as well as providing water. New trains are due to replace the current train fleet from 2025.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect a direct train service between Sheffield and Manchester Airport to be reinstated.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
I recognise the aspiration of the people of Sheffield to have a direct service with Manchester Airport. The Manchester Task Force — a cross-industry body including Network Rail, Transport for Greater Manchester, Transport for the North and train operators - is continuing its work to address the capacity constraints through Manchester with a view to enabling improved connectivity to the airport for rail passengers and businesses from Sheffield and other towns and cities across the North.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional steps they are planning to take to deal with (1) poor performance by TransPennine Express trains, and (2) any health and safety issues that arise due to overcrowding on the services that are operated.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department’s Rail North Partnership with Transport for the North continues to work with TransPennine Express on plans for how and when the operator will introduce originally-planned services that are reliable, punctual and predictable for passengers.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of overcrowding on TransPennine Express trains resulting from cancellations, what discussions they have had with TransPennine Express concerning health and safety on their trains.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department’s Rail North Partnership with Transport for the North monitors TransPennine Express’s current performance and service levels and has regular discussions about overcrowding and how to improve services to better meet the needs of passengers.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Manchester Recovery Task Force formally consulted (1) Sheffield City Council, (2) the Mayor of South Yorkshire, and (3) Doncaster Council, on the withdrawal of the direct Sheffield to Manchester Airport train service; and if so, (1) on what dates, and (2) what responses were received.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Manchester Taskforce received over 800 responses from stakeholders. These included the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield City Region Transport and Environment Board, which includes representatives from Doncaster Council, and which were received between 5 and 18 March 2021.
The full list of respondents can be found on page 27 under Annex A of the summary document produced after the consultation closed.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the decision by the Manchester Recovery Task Force to terminate the direct train service between Sheffield and Manchester Airport, when they expect that service to be reinstated.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Early in 2020 we set up the Manchester Recovery Task Force, a cross-industry group comprising both the train operators and Network Rail, to work collaboratively together for the first time to look at ways of solving the performance problems of Manchester’s complex railway network, in the short term through timetable changes and in the long term through developing a package of infrastructure enhancements.
Analysis by the task force showed that, pre-Covid, three services were particularly poor performers in central Manchester and had a significant impact on the transfer of delays across the network. One of the three was South Yorkshire to Manchester Airport services which reverse at Manchester Piccadilly, consuming two train paths in each direction. These trains impact on the Castlefield Corridor through the reversing moves they make.
As new infrastructure is realised and longer trains allow for a greater capacity with less congestion, we will look at services that could be reintroduced while maintaining a reliable timetable.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability and reliability of Wi-Fi connectivity on East Midlands Railway Services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
East Midlands Railway monitor the level of wi-fi connectivity on their Intercity services.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the possible impact of temporary agency staff replacing train drivers and signalling staff during rail strikes; when any such assessment was undertaken; and what the outcomes of any such assessment were.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The use of agency and temporary workers in the rail sector is not a new development. Where this happens, agency workers must of course be qualified and trained to safely and efficiently undertake the work in question. However, this development should mean agency workers can be used to support services during times of industrial action, which is good news for passengers and those who rely upon the railway.
The Government and rail industry, including Network Rail, have worked together and continue to work together to ensure plans are in place to minimise disruption allowing for freight and passenger services to remain operational where possible. The Civil Contingencies Secretariat is also convening ministers daily during the strike period to assess operational response and impact.