Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
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 providing funding for an awareness campaign to help tackle negative perceptions over the long-term (a) viability and (b) reliability of second-hand electric vehicles.
Answered by Anthony Browne
Alongside government, industry plays an important role in communicating factual information on EVs and charging infrastructure to consumers. That is why in the Plan for Drivers, the Government committed to working with industry to address common misconceptions around electric vehicles (EVs) and communicate the many benefits of transitioning to EVs, both new and used.
In February, the Government published information on EVs, including used vehicles, and EV charging infrastructure. The Government is also taking proactive action to counter inaccurate information presented by the media on the subject of EVs, when this arises.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many boreholes along the HS2 Phase 2 route have (a) been filled and (b) had land restored since the decision to cancel Phase 2; and when he expects the work of removing boreholes and compounds along the Phase 2 route be completed.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Work continues to develop the closedown, remediation, and demobilisation plan for Phase 2. A further update will be provided in the next HS2 parliamentary report.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the value engineering report for the design of the proposed Handsacre Junction of HS2 from 2018.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Department does not hold and is not aware of a value engineering report of the proposed HS2 Handsacre Junction from 2018.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the value engineering report for the design of the proposed Handsacre Junction of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman
There have been no value engineering reports on Handsacre junction since Network North. Previous decisions to change the design of Handsacre junction were made to reduce costs and disruption for passengers on the West Coast Main Line during construction, which was value for money given the previous plan to deliver Phase 2a on an accelerated timeframe would have resulted in the use of the junction for more than 1 train per hour in each direction only for a very short period.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on (a) whether any issues were identified during the testing of new Hitachi AT300 rolling stock to replace Voyager on Avanti West Coast services, (b) whether an assessment has been made of the potential effect of the lack of tilt mechanism for those trains on (i) maintaining safe operation around bends at speed, (ii) journey times and (iii) rail timetables and (c) for what reason the tender for the rolling stock replacement for Voyager on Avanti West Coast services did not specify the inclusion of a tilt mechanism.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The procurement, safety risk assessment, and safe operation of the Hitachi AT300 rolling stock is the responsibility of the operator. When running rolling stock procurements, operators take account of factors such as what products are available to the market, reliability, operating cost, passenger capacity, comfort and environmental performance. Network Rail is currently upgrading infrastructure on parts of the West Coast Main Line to allow higher speed running with non-tilting trains. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for ensuring the new trains meet rail safety regulatory requirements before they can operate on the mainline.
The Department is looking forward to the introduction of Avanti West Coast's brand new Hitachi rolling stock later this year which will replace its current diesel fleet in line with the Department's goal to run a more sustainable railway, resulting in a 61 per cent cut in carbon emissions, as well as offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made a provision for a break clause in the HS2 Phase 2a Design and Delivery Partner contract; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Invitation to Tender for the HS2 Phase 2a Design and Delivery Partner was published on 13 January 2022. This set out the structure of the contract including the segmenting of the work into Service Delivery Plans.
Following the fiscal settlement for Phase 2a for the next two financial years as agreed in the Spring budget, HS2 Ltd are advancing the DDP procurement and a tender addendum was issued to the parties on 31 May 2023. The plan is to award the contract in November 2023 commencing with Service Delivery Plan 1. Decisions on contracting subsequent Service Delivery Plans will be taken at the relevant point in the delivery of project.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the joint Network Rail-HS2 On Network Works handbook; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman
We have no plans to publish the On Network Works handbook as it is an internal document.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason it is not his policy to replace Crosscountry train rollingstock with bi-mode multiple units for use with overhead electric wires.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Most trains in the CrossCountry fleet are around 20 years old; far from their operating life expectancy. CrossCountry are working with rolling stock owners to reduce the carbon footprint of its train fleet.
Our Transport Decarbonisation Plan commits to delivering a Net Zero rail network by 2050, with sustained carbon reductions in rail along the way. Our ambition is to remove all diesel-only trains from the network by 2040.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to upgrade train rolling stock on Crosscountry services to (a) address overcrowding and poor accessibility and (b) meet 2050 net zero targets.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The rolling stock requirements for the next CrossCountry contract are yet to be decided. Most of its fleet is around 20 years old, far short of the trains’ life expectancy, and is all fully accessible. The Department will consider value for money proposals offering an increase in capacity and wider passenger benefits.
CrossCountry is working with the rolling stock owners on options to reduce the carbon footprint of the CrossCountry train fleet.
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to (a) address overcrowding on and (b) improve connectivity of rail services between Manchester and Birmingham via Stoke-on-Trent.
Answered by Huw Merriman
I welcome that passengers are returning to the railway. The CrossCountry franchise runs to October 2023 and a new contract is being developed. This will consider options for affordable opportunities to increase capacity on CrossCountry services in future years.
CrossCountry is working to increase the frequency of services connecting Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent with Birmingham, Bristol and Bournemouth during 2023, and their plans will be made public soon.