Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with Network Rail on the potential merits of a Devizes Parkway railway station.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Future rail infrastructure investment will be considered as part of the current Spending Review, which will conclude in June 2025.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the reliability of train services (a) in Wiltshire and (b) from Melksham station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with all operators to improve performance as it is the key focus for the Secretary of State. The Department is also working with Great Western Railway to provide a more robust service for Wiltshire and Melksham through improved rolling stock reliability and train crew availability. Performance in the last couple of periods has improved since carrying out significant improvement works around Westbury and driver related cancellations on Sundays have also reduced.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost of the proposed local Thames Crossing funded as a private finance initiative.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials and National Highways are exploring all funding options for the Lower Thames Crossing, including private finance. As with all capital projects, spending decisions will be subject to the upcoming spending review. The assured cost estimate in line with the 2023 baseline for publicly funding the project is £8.95bn, but it is important to recognise that there is a normal level of uncertainty at this early stage of the development of a project of the size and complexity of the Lower Thames Crossing.