Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made on the adequacy of of passenger facilities at Crewe railway station as a connection point for service between the North West and (a) the West Midlands and (b) the South East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast and Network Rail are working together to address issues with the lifts and canopies at Crewe. Options to improve passenger facilities are also under consideration as part of the renewal works expected to complete by 2029.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made on the number of points failures on the rail network in the last 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Between the start of this financial year and 9 November, there have been 1,772 points failures compared with 1,715 points failures in the same period last year.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of rail operators over weekend periods in the last six months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is aware that short notice weekend changes have been occurring, with a shortage of traincrew causing a high proportion of these short notice changes. The Department is working with train operators urgently on this issue, as the level of service in some parts of the country on weekends is unacceptable.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of Northern Rail.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has made clear to Northern’s management that its current performance is unacceptable. That is why we issued the company with a breach of contract notice and required it to develop a recovery plan. Ministers and officials regularly meet Northern's management to drive performance improvements across its network.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of short notice changes to the timetable on the rail network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department is aware that short notice changes have been occurring due to factors such as incidences of infrastructure issues and traincrew shortages – with a shortage of traincrew causing a high proportion of these short notice changes. The department is working with train operators and Network Rail to address these issues.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of overcrowding on Transport for Wales trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The specification, management and performance of Transport for Wales train services are devolved matters for Welsh Ministers.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of London Northwestern Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department constantly scrutinise performance and challenge West Midlands Trains, who manage the performance of London Northwestern Railway. The Rail Minister has met with WMT to reiterate that improving performance is a key priority for DfT and we hold WMT to account for delivering it.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing rail discounts for schools purchasing tickets for excursions.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All Department for Transport contracted operators offer some form of group discount, with some offering substantial savings for groups of 10 or more people. In addition, many train operators participate in the GroupSave offer which offers 1/3 off Off-Peak tickets for a group of three to nine people travelling together. More detail can be found on the National Rail and local train operator websites.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with Network Rail on (a) congestion in major railway stations and (b) dangerous passenger transitions towards platforms in busy periods.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail is responsible for the safe operation and management of twenty major railway stations and is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. Ministers and officials routinely engage with Network Rail to hold it to account for matters within its control and drive improvements for passengers.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department collects data on driving theory test pass rates for those with (a) ADHD and (b) other neurodiverse conditions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
If candidates with ADHD or neurodiverse conditions (or any condition that requires the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to make special accommodations at the test centre) ask for support with taking a theory test, they need to provide evidence of the condition they have at the time of booking the test. But DVSA does not record or retain this evidence, so does not collect data on the pass rates of those who have such conditions.