Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact Avanti West Coast’s non-tilting 110mph (a) Class 805 and (b) Class 807 trains on the capacity of the West Coast Main Line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The new Avanti trains of classes 805 and 807 will make a material improvement to journeys formerly made on the Voyager trains, and will not reduce the capacity of the West Coast main line.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential risks of the use of (a) illegal or (b) modified e-bikes being used by food delivery riders.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
E-bikes must fully comply the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 in order to be legally used on the roads. This is irrespective of whether they have been modified, or whether they are being ridden by a delivery rider or anyone else.
While enforcement is a matter for the police, I have written to the Chief Executives of food delivery companies, making clear that riders should be fully aware of the relevant legal requirements and that they should only be using safe and road legal e-bikes.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of importing biofuels for public transport from Saudi Arabia on the environment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK’s main scheme for supporting the use of low carbon fuels (LCF), such as biofuels, in surface transport is the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The RTFO delivers greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings by mandating the supply of renewable and LCF for use in UK transport, including relevant public transport modes such as buses and diesel trains.
The market for LCF is global and allows suppliers to meet their obligation with LCF from countries such as Saudi Arabia, providing it meets strict sustainability criteria. LCFs must deliver GHG savings relative to fossil fuels of at least 55 to 65%, depending on when the production installation started operating, to be eligible. Suppliers must provide independent third-party verification that the biofuel meets these criteria.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of shipping biofuel for use in bus fleets from Saudi Arabia on carbon emissions.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK’s main scheme for supporting the use of low carbon fuels (LCF), such as biofuels, in surface transport is the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The RTFO delivers greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings by mandating the supply of renewable and LCF for use in UK transport, including relevant public transport modes such as buses and diesel trains.
The market for LCF is global and allows suppliers to meet their obligation with LCF from countries such as Saudi Arabia, providing it meets strict sustainability criteria. LCFs must deliver GHG savings relative to fossil fuels of at least 55 to 65%, depending on when the production installation started operating, to be eligible. Suppliers must provide independent third-party verification that the biofuel meets these criteria.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to promote UK-sourced renewable fuels in public transport.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) supports the use of low carbon alternatives to petrol and diesel in surface transport and covers relevant public transport modes such as buses and diesel trains.
The market for renewable fuels is competitive and global. The RTFO scheme allows suppliers to fully embrace the global market by supporting renewable fuels produced from UK feedstocks and also those from outside the UK to minimise the costs passed on to end users of fuel.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the acceleration capability of trains powered by (a) batteries, (b) overhead catenary systems and (c) contact rail systems for operating speeds of up to 125 miles per hour.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has not made an assessment of the acceleration of different types of traction for operating at speeds up to 125mph. It is a matter for operators, when procuring rolling stock, to ensure that the characteristics of their fleet can meet their timetable requirements and best use of the infrastructure.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the whole-life costs of (a) full and (b) partial railway electrification taking into account (i) infrastructure and (ii) rolling stock including (A) fully electric (B) battery, (C) battery/electric, (D) bi-mode and (E) tri-mode trains.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department is working closely with Network Rail to develop updated plans for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway, that considers both track and train, as well as the recent development of battery technology on the railway. As part of this process, the Department is assessing whole-life costs of both full and partial electrification with regard toall rolling stock traction types in order to decarbonise in the most cost-effective way.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) discontinuous electrification and (b) battery locomotives on (i) the decarbonisation of rail freight and (ii) increasing the use of rail freight.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department will consider all options, including battery locomotives and discontinuous electrification, when deciding on the best solution for decarbonising freight. Currently, it is unclear what role batteries will play in freight in the short term due to range and weight considerations; however, the technology is constantly improving. The department will continue to monitor developments in battery technology, although it is expected that most decarbonisation in rail freight will come from full electrification and fuel changes. Discontinuous electrification could also play a role decarbonising freight on lines which have lower volumes of freight traffic. Additionally, electric traction has advantages of more pulling power and speed compared to diesel traction and therefore could aid rail freight growth as well as contributing to decarbonisation.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the reliability of battery (a) bi-mode, (b) tri-mode and (c) battery/electric hybrid trains and fully electric trains; and if she will publish the data underpinning this assessment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has not made an assessment of the merits of different types of traction as this is a matter for operators when procuring rolling stock to deliver passenger services. The Rail Delivery Group collects common reliability data from operators and a range of industry systems as part of their role in improving performance across the industry. This data is shared with operators and other industry partners to help with reliability improvements.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which railways are planned for (a) full and (b) partial electrification; whether these proposals are funded; what the target delivery dates are; and whether this information is published in tabular format.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The railway is already a green form of transport and the Department want to develop an integrated strategy that joins up infrastructure investment and rolling stock plans to decarbonise rail travel effectively and efficiently for as many people as possible, which is likely to include a combination of full and partial electrification, and use of new, more efficient, technologies such as battery trains. The Department is assessing all investment plans as part of the ongoing Spending Review and will continue to announce details of schemes as decisions are taken, as was done for the major investments in East West Rail and Transpennine Route Upgrade following the Budget.