Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Carden Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones (Croydon Central) (Lab)]

8. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of passenger rail usage.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

22. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of passenger rail usage.

--- Later in debate ---

[Joseph Johnson]

Passengers are switching away from using traditional season tickets to using pay-as-you-go travel. They are choosing more flexible ticket options to suit their lifestyle. Changing travel behaviour may mean that historical assumptions about the number of journeys taken per season ticket are no longer appropriate. Although the number of passenger journeys is reported to have decreased recently, it does not necessarily mean that fewer people are using the railway network.

[Dan Carden]

Violent attacks on trains have risen by 12.5% in the past year, and sexual offences on trains have doubled in the past five years. A Passenger Focus report in 2014 said that the most important factor identified by passengers is personal security on trains. Wales has guaranteed a guard on every train, and ScotRail has done likewise. When will this Secretary of State take responsibility for passenger safety on trains?

[Joseph Johnson]

The introduction of new trains across almost the entire network, many of which will have CCTV, will play a significant part in ensuring that passengers can continue to travel safely.