Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Avanti West Coast on possible alterations to planned services in (a) August and (b) September 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast weekday timetables for August and September 2023 are publicly available on the Avanti website. Department officials routinely engage with Avanti and its Owning Group, including on all significant timetabling and performance decisions. We are holding them to account for matters within their control and will continue to use all contractual levers to drive the best outcomes for passengers.
As previously advised to line-of-route MPs, to help maintain the progress it has made so far, Avanti has been taking steps to build in greater resilience in key periods. Given the continued disruption arising from a greatly increased annual leave burden, Avanti is temporarily suspending a limited number of targeted services between 24 July and 9 September 2023. These temporary reductions, spread across its routes and targeted at times of least impact, will help prevent short notice cancellations for passengers, giving them confidence that what they see in the timetable will run reliably. It’s important to note that, throughout this period, Avanti will continue running more services than last year.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on average, how many daily services does he expect Avanti West Coast to run in (a) August and (b) September.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast run a seven train per hour timetable which equates to 264 weekday services, 244 on Saturdays, and 202 on Sundays. However, from 24 July to 8 September, Avanti has removed 20 trains a day from its weekday timetable, to enable it to run a more reliable service for its customers, minimising unplanned, short-term cancellations. This is a temporary measure and from 9 September it will return to current levels. The base position is subject to change as Avanti agrees plans to mitigate the impact of strikes and Network Rail engineering works, particularly on weekends.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many daily services Avanti West Coast runs under its current timetable.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast run a seven train per hour timetable which equates to 264 weekday services, 244 on Saturdays, and 202 on Sundays. However, from 24 July to 8 September, Avanti has removed 20 trains a day from its weekday timetable, to enable it to run a more reliable service for its customers, minimising unplanned, short-term cancellations. This is a temporary measure and from 9 September it will return to current levels. The base position is subject to change as Avanti agrees plans to mitigate the impact of strikes and Network Rail engineering works, particularly on weekends.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Avanti West Coast on possible service reductions in (a) August and (b) September; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast weekday timetables for August and September 2023 are publicly available on the Avanti website. Department officials routinely engage with Avanti and its Owning Group, including on all significant timetabling and performance decisions. We are holding them to account for matters within their control and will continue to use all contractual levers to drive the best outcomes for passengers.
As previously advised to line-of-route MPs, to help maintain the progress it has made so far, Avanti has been taking steps to build in greater resilience in key periods. Given the continued disruption arising from a greatly increased annual leave burden, Avanti is temporarily suspending a limited number of targeted services between 24 July and 9 September 2023. These temporary reductions, spread across its routes and targeted at times of least impact, will help prevent short notice cancellations for passengers, giving them confidence that what they see in the timetable will run reliably. It’s important to note that, throughout this period, Avanti will continue running more services than last year.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Disability Strategy, what progress his Department has made with Network Rail in accelerating the upgrade of rail station platforms with tactile paving.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Network Rail has received an initial £10 million to install tactile paving at priority stations not already funded. I will make further announcements on future rounds of funding in due course.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to speed up the installation of tactile paving at Network Rail-run train stations.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I have asked Network Rail to develop a programme to aim to install platform edge tactile strips on every platform in Great Britain.
I will make a further announcement in due course.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the electrification of the Transpennine express line.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We are working with Network Rail and Transport for the North to determine the best way to achieve major improvements for passengers on the Transpennine Route and will make an announcement on the details of the first phase of work shortly.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the provision of bus services.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools local authorities need to improve local bus services. We are working with interested local authorities to determine which of the powers provided are best able to support bus networks in their areas.
In particular, new Enhanced Partnership and Advanced Quality Partnership powers provide the framework for authorities to work side by side with operators to set a shared vision for bus services in their area.
Bus Open Data powers will require bus operators in England to open up route and timetable, fares and tickets and real time information for passengers by 2020. These improvements aim to remove uncertainty in bus journeys, improve journey planning and help passengers secure best value tickets.
Accessible Information powers will require all operators of local bus services to provide audio and visual route and next stop announcements on board buses across Great Britain, helping to remove barriers to bus travel particularly for those with disabilities or accessibility needs.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his most recent estimate is of the number of reported (a) cancellations and (b) delays on Northern Rail lines.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In the last full four week period for which data is published (from 9th December 2018 to 5th January 2019):
The Cancellations and Significant Lateness (CASL) measure for Northern was 3.5% and since that date to 30th January was running at 1.9%.
The Public Performance Measure (PPM) of trains on time delayed by less than five minutes was 82.4% and since that to 30th January was running at 87.4%.
Whilst there is clearly much more to do, these represent marked improvements compared with the four weeks immediately preceding the timetable change on 9th December which were 4.9% CASL and 68.5% PPM.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been on refunding passengers as a result of the train delays and cancellations in 2018.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Under a special compensation scheme, paid for by the rail industry, following the disruption last summer, over 14,000 claims from season ticket holders and regular travellers on Northern and TransPennine Express services have now been submitted and over £1million paid out in compensation.
Northern introduced Delay Repay 15 (DR15) in December 2018. DR15 entitles passengers who have been delayed by 15-29 minutes to compensation worth 25% of the single fare. This is in addition to the existing Delay Repay 30 arrangements.
Data published by the Department in October 2018 show that, in the past two years the total amount of compensation paid to passengers increased by 80%, as Government encouraged train operators to better publicise passengers’ rights.