Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of installing ticket barriers at Hayes railway station in the context of trends in fare evasion on the Mid-Kent line.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Southeastern is assessing the viability of installing ticket barriers at several of its stations including Hayes. Network Rail's Industry Revenue Generating Investment Fund allows the train operating companies to apply for funding for schemes that are financially positive and reduce the cost of rail to the public purse. Installing ticket barriers at Hayes is one of several potential schemes Southeastern is considering for an application to the fund later in the year. Applications will be assessed as part of a competitive process, therefore submitting a bid for a scheme is no guarantee of funding.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the funding provided to each London borough by Transport for London for the maintenance of the principal road network in (a) the 2023-24 financial year and (b) the last five financial years.
Answered by Richard Holden
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has supported TfL with over £6bn in grant funding. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, so decisions on money spent on road maintenance in London is for the Mayor and TfL to make. Therefore, the Department does not hold information on the money provided to each London borough via TfL.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided to Transport for London for the repair of potholes on (a) roads, (b) the principle road network and (c) London borough roads in the (i) 2023-24 financial year and (ii) previous five financial years.
Answered by Richard Holden
Government has supported TfL throughout the pandemic as a result of a fall in passenger demand. This includes just under £1.2bn of funding in the latest settlement and takes government’s total funding to over £6bn since the start of the pandemic. However, as transport is devolved in London to the Mayor and TfL, it is for them to decide how much of it is used to maintain London’s roads.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to urge Network Rail to reopen the footbridge at Beckenham Junction station without delay.
Answered by Huw Merriman
I have been informed that the footbridge is due to be reopened in April.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with Southeastern on the potential merits of reinstating Cannon Street services on the mid-Kent (Hayes) line in the context of recent levels of congestion at London Bridge station.
Answered by Huw Merriman
To reduce congestion at busy junctions and give better punctuality and fewer cancellations for Southeastern customers overall, all trains on the Hayes line now go to London Charing Cross.
This means that customers looking to travel to Cannon Street need to change on to frequent connecting services at London Bridge or Lewisham. As the train operator, Southeastern are responsible for the detailed planning of their timetable and in doing so have to weigh up a range of factors such as passenger demand, operational impacts, customer feedback and financial constraints.
Department officials hold regular discussions with the Southeastern covering all aspects of their service including timetable development. Recent scenes of crowding at London Bridge, which attracted media attention, were unrelated to the timetable.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with Network Rail on restoring the passenger footbridge at Beckenham Junction station.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The footbridge at Beckenham junction is closed whilst Network Rail carry out a full refurbishment of it. My officials have been informed that the line possessions required to complete them are planned for the Christmas period, allowing the bridge to reopen in January 2023.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of Highway England's performance in fulfilling its legal duty to keep its land clean and free from litter.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Litter collection by Highways England is one of many important road safety duties that they carry out on the motorways and the small number of A-roads they are responsible for.
Highways England’s Litter Strategy sets out how they will work effectively with Local Authorities to remove litter and deliver a cleaner and safer network.
Measures have been put in place to target the 25 worst spots for littering on the network. Since March 2017 Highways England have removed 6,684 sacks of litter from these 25 hotspots. Their work to date has seen a significant reduction in complaints about roadside litter.
However, there is more to do and the Department is working closely with Highways England to remove litter from the roads they manage and support the first ever Government National Litter Strategy for England, which was published in April.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the introduction of Thameslink Class 700 trains into Kent.
Answered by Paul Maynard
New Class 700 trains started operating some Thameslink services between Sevenoaks and London Blackfriars via Bromley South and Catford in November 2016. GoVia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will be introducing more of these trains over the coming months.
GTR’s consultation on proposals for the 2018 Timetable included options for Thameslink services to operate on new routes in Kent and enhanced frequencies on other routes, including those via Catford. Detailed timetable development work is currently ongoing. The next phase of public consultation on the detailed timetable is planned for summer 2017.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the potential merits of reforming the rail franchising system by reinstating sole ownership and maintenance of infrastructure and trains.
Answered by Paul Maynard
We have high passenger satisfaction and one of the safest railways for passengers of any major network in Europe. At the heart of this success lies a diverse range of commercial passenger and freight operators working in partnership with Government and industry suppliers.
With passenger numbers having more than doubled since privatisation, we want to deliver further improvements including a more joined-up approach to running the trains and tracks, and to make things work better for the public.
Asked by: Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to provide for easier access to London by train from stations in Beckenham.
Answered by Claire Perry
Beckenham Junction and Beckenham Hill stations already have step free access to each platform, as do nearby West Wickham and Hayes. No other nearby stations have been nominated for our Access for All programme by the industry.