Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, as operator of last resort, to instruct Northern Rail to maintain passenger services in accordance with the franchise agreement; and, in particular, whether they intend to require Northern Rail to maintain a full timetable of services on the Manchester Piccadilly to Rose Hill Marple line.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Following the Minister of State for Rail’s meeting with the operator on 4 September, and after reviewing its options, Northern is introducing two trains in the morning, Monday to Friday, for Rose Hill-Marple from 14 September, which will help school children and morning commuters. There will be an additional afternoon service, arriving at Rose Hill-Marple at 1514 and arriving Manchester Piccadilly half an hour later. From the 26 October schools’ half-term, Northern will provide a regular service every 90 minutes during the day between Manchester Piccadilly and Rose Hill Marple.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken since becoming operator of last resort of the Northern Rail franchise to increase the number of route-qualified drivers to enable a full timetable of passenger services to be delivered.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Northern Trains Ltd (NTL) had been rolling out a major driver training programme for its new trains prior to the Covid -19 lockdown, however in line with the rest of the rail industry, driver training was suspended due to the epidemic. The operator is trialling a process to ensure the safety of the driver and a trainer in a cab, and is using technology to support training outside of the cab including use of Virtual Reality simulations. NTL has also been working with health advisors to enable those previously classed as shielded or vulnerable to return to work where appropriate and it has put together a driver recruitment plan.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of (1) HS2 Ltd, and (2) Carillion, about the use of discrete project bank accounts in relation to Carillion's HS2 contract, with regards to the protection of SME sub-contractors from late payments.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I can advise that the Department for Transport has not had any discussions with either HS2 Ltd or Carillion regarding the use of discrete project bank accounts in relation to HS2 contracts.