Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of bank holiday weekend closures of Euston Station on passengers; and what steps she is taking to ensure the accessibility of major rail hubs during periods of high demand.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail advises that London Euston will be closed over the early May Bank Holiday over Sunday 4 and Monday 5 May and with a reduced service on Saturday 3 May whilst work takes place to upgrade track and drainage and carry out maintenance work to help improve performance for passengers and freight for future journeys. Bank Holidays are chosen to carry out work as it allows more time for work to take place whilst fewer passengers are travelling.
Trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes where bus replacement services will run to and from Bedford for onward travel to London St Pancras.
Passengers are being encouraged to check before they travel at National Rail Enquiries. An advertising campaign has taken place across ticket booking sites, a press release has been issued, stakeholders have been updated and there have been frequent social media posts to ensure passengers had awareness of the changes to journeys.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of Avanti West Coast trains from stations in north Wales.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State is clear that the performance of Avanti West Coast (AWC) on its North Wales route is not good enough with passengers facing too many cancellations and delays. Poor Network Rail (NR) infrastructure reliability has also contributed significantly to the disruption felt by passengers.
The Secretary of State met with the Managing Director of AWC and the NR West Coast South Route Director to challenge them on poor performance and demand immediate action to deliver urgent improvements. Officials continue to meet regularly with AWC and NR as part of a relentless focus on improving rail performance, bringing together track and train, and holding both sides accountable.