Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

10. What steps he is taking to expand inter-city rail links between London and the nations and regions of the UK.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)]

The Department is levelling up rail links and growing the economy through near-term investment in additional inter-city services and longer-term investments such as High Speed 2 and the integrated rail plan.

[Jacob Young]

In December, we welcomed the first direct rail connection from Middlesbrough to King’s Cross for 31 years, helping to boost connectivity between Teesside and London. Will the Minister consider asking his officials to help us build a business case for extending the service through to Redcar Central, which would further unlock the potential across Teesside and connect the UK’s largest freeport with our capital city?

[Andrew Stephenson]

Redcar is a fantastic part of the country, and my hon. Friend is a valued, consistent and doughty champion of his constituency. I understand that Redcar station is to receive a £6 million refurbishment, thanks to his hard work. As his hard work continues to prevail and Redcar continues to thrive, I am sure that LNER will consider extending its service to this vital northern town, which, as he says, is home to the UK’s largest freeport.

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

11. What steps he has taken to support the launch of rockets and satellites from the UK.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

12. What assessment he has made of the (a) management and (b) specifications of the use of automatic route setting on railways.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)]

Automatic route setting is an existing system that Network Rail has used for more than 30 years to support the safe and efficient running of our railways. I am delighted to report that this week, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a £1 billion investment in digital signalling on the east coast main line, which will mean faster, safer and more regular trains for millions of people.

[Mary Kelly Foy]

My constituent Paul Day is a recently retired signaller for Network Rail. While in his role, he provided the Office of Rail and Road and Network Rail with nearly a decade’s-worth of information about the safety issues posed by poor data quality, data management and information security on the nation’s rail network. Despite the fact that he first raised his concerns in 2012, nothing has changed, with Network Rail’s 2018 report highlighting that the issues were the same as those identified in 2015. Does the Minister agree that the lack of accountability in the rush for further automation cannot be ignored any longer? Will he meet me and my constituent to look at the issues further?

[Andrew Stephenson]

We will never compromise on the safety of our railways and the UK railway network will remain one of the safest in Europe. It is important to emphasise, however, that ARS is not a safety system and would never be able to override one. Interlocking is a key safety part of the signalling system and would never permit ARS to set a train into a collision. The Department has invested in early design and testing work to enhance traffic management systems, and we will continue to invest record amounts to ensure that our railways remain some of the safest in Europe.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What steps he is taking to encourage a shift from the use of cars to active travel.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Many of the roads in north Buckinghamshire are in a perilous and dangerous state because of the thousands of heavy goods vehicle movements related to the construction of High Speed 2 and East West Rail. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as a point of principle, that which those companies break, they should fix without question?

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)]

My hon. Friend remains a doughty champion of his constituency and the state of its roads. I continue to work with him to ensure that any damage done by HS2 or East West Rail is put right. The company has committed to that, and I will continue to work with him and his local councillors to ensure that that happens.