Railways: Train Timetables

Lord Clark of Windermere Excerpts

Wednesday 11th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, with the delivery of the new timetable, we have had to cancel services, and services in Hertfordshire have been particularly badly affected, with consistently poor performance. Once all the services are in place, passengers from Hitchin and Welwyn will be able to take direct services through the Thameslink core to several London stations. I appreciate that that is little comfort for the coming weeks, but from Sunday the interim timetable will improve reliability, prioritise peak-time services and aim to reduce the long gaps in services.

[Lord Clark of Windermere (Lab)]

My Lords, the Northern rail service and the Lakes line is only 50% of the previous service. Does the Minister realise that those trains run only because crews have been transferred from the other Cumbrian line to Barrow and west Cumbria? What is she going to do to ensure that Northern has enough train drivers to run the timetable that it says it is going to? Why does not she take the franchise away from it?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, I am aware of the 50% service, which was also only just recently reintroduced. It is supplemented by buses, but I am aware that that is not acceptable. By the end of July, we will see the restoration of services that were temporarily withdrawn to restore stability, but we are working closely with Northern to ensure that it is able to deliver the provision that it has promised.