Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Avanti West Coast train executive in relation to their performance in maintaining scheduled direct passenger services between (1) London and Holyhead, and (2) London and Wrexham.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
Avanti West Coast (AWC) has made significant progress in recovering from recent poor reliability and punctuality, but we are clear that performance is still not good enough and there is more to do. Officials continue to closely monitor and review AWC’s progress to a sustained recovery, restoring services reliably on the West Coast Main Line and delivering good value for the taxpayer. Officials regularly meet with AWC senior management to review performance and we will always hold AWC to account for matters within its control.
Over the next few months AWC is working to introduce a brand-new fleet of bi-mode Hitachi trains offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers along the North Wales mainline.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of road in England have speed limits of (1) 20, and (2) 30, miles per hour.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
This information is not centrally held.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the train cancellations announced by Avanti West Coast for the summer do not negatively impact tourist-related businesses in the coastal resorts of north Wales.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
Avanti West Coast (AWC) plans to maintain current service levels between London and North Wales throughout summer 2024. Network Rail engineering works over six weekend days between May and August 2024 will, however, close parts of the North Wales Coast Line to all operators, with temporary changes required to accommodate these.
The Department recognises the inconvenience that these works will cause, however, this investment in renewing and upgrading rail infrastructure is critical to meeting current and future needs of communities in North Wales. Alongside these crucial infrastructure works, AWC is working to introduce a brand-new fleet of bi-mode Hitachi trains offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers along the North Wales mainline.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect work on electrifying the rail line between Crewe and Holyhead to start; what estimate they have made of the cost of this work; and when they expect the project to be completed.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop and deliver on the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. We are in the early stages of planning the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the anticipated timetable for the electrification of the mainline railway connection between Crewe and Holyhead.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop and deliver on the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line, bringing parts of North Wales within an hour of Manchester. We are in the early stages of planning the next steps for this scheme and will share further information when that work is complete. Our investment is intended to enable the operation of electric trains over the full North Wales Coast line between Holyhead and Crewe.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people died as result of road accidents in England in the most recent period of five years for which complete figures are available; of these, (1) how many deaths occurred on roads where there was a speed limit in effect of 40 miles per hour or below, and (2) how many where no such speed restriction was in force.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
The overall number of reported road fatalities in England in the last 5 years, those occurring on roads of which the permanent speed limit was 40 miles per hour or under, and those occurring on roads of which the permanent speed limit was above 40 miles per hour are shown in the table.
Year | Fatalities | Fatalities where the speed limit was 40 miles per hour (mph) or under | Fatalities where the speed limit was above 40 miles per hour (mph) |
2018 | 1,521 | 731 | 790 |
2019 | 1,489 | 725 | 764 |
2020 | 1,246 | 598 | 648 |
2021 | 1,329 | 644 | 685 |
2022 | 1,443 | 684 | 759 |
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Avanti North West concerning the withdrawal of direct trains between London and the North Wales coast between 15 and 23 July; and what estimate they have made, if any, of the effect that this may have on tourist destinations in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of Network Rail engineering works. Avanti West Coast has kept the Department sighted on plans to mitigate the impact of the Network Rail works taking place between Rugby and Stafford (via Nuneaton) between 15 July and 23 July, which affect direct services between London and North Wales.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards re-establishing the frequency of through-trains between Holyhead and London, that existed prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The frequency of through trains between Holyhead and London was reduced due to the impact of COVID-19 on passenger demand. Avanti West Coast will be increasing its service provision from 15 May 2022 from the two direct trains per day from London Euston to Holyhead currently provided, to three direct trains and four from Holyhead to London Euston during the week as well as an increase to three direct trains per day in both directions at weekends.
The Department continues to work closely with operators in their development of attractive timetables that are reliable, deliver excellent performance for passengers, and offer good value for money. All timetables remain under review as demand returns.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with train service providers regarding the reduction in the number of through trains from London Euston to Holyhead from seven per day prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to one per day at present; and when they expect to re-establish a full through-train service on this line.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Avanti West Coast currently serves Holyhead with two trains per day from London Euston which is set to increase to four trains per day in May 2022. We continue to work closely with operators in their development of attractive timetables that are reliable, deliver excellent performance for passengers, and offer good value for money. All timetables remain under review as demand returns.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of Brexit on the port of Holyhead.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Freight flows through Holyhead have increased substantially over this year. Transport patterns and freight pressures have seen unprecedented changes throughout the pandemic due to restrictions, variations to travel plans, and fluctuations in freight demand.