Mentions:
1: Lord Davies of Gower (Con - Life peer) The industry is currently close to finalising its response to the east coast main line major timetable - Speech Link
2: Lord Snape (Lab - Life peer) My Lords, does the Minister accept that the problems of the east coast main line, important though they - Speech Link
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of East Coast Main Line intercity passenger services are delivered by open access operators.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail have confirmed that within the current timetable, published in December 2023, 8.92% of East Coast Main Line intercity passenger services are delivered by Open Access operators.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the revised timetable for the East Coast Main Line will be delivered by December 2024.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are disappointed with the deferment of the East Coast Main Line timetable upgrade which cannot be delivered robustly in December 2024.
The industry steering group that oversees timetable introduction concluded that there are too many outstanding issues to have confidence in the upgrade being ready in 2024.
It is important that Network Rail continues to develop a process for delivering the upgraded timetable and realising the benefits of £4 billion investment in track and train.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 800 on East Coast Main Line: Weather, how many signalling failures there were on the East Coast Main Line in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022; and what assessment he has made of trends in the (i) number and (ii) frequency of signalling failures on the East Coast Main Line since 2010.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The average time between Service Affecting Failures on the ECML has become less frequent since 2010 and is trending downwards. I can confirm there were 312 signalling failures in 2021/22, and 247 in 2022/23.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the operational resilience of the East Coast Main Line to extreme weather events.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Climate change could increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather and Network Rail is planning now in order to provide a safe, reliable network in the future. Network Rail works closely with many governmental and specialist organisations to prepare our railway for the climate changes projected over the next few years, decades and beyond.
As part of its work in this area, Network Rail recently launched a taskforce led by independent experts to investigate and make recommendations on how the railway can develop its approach to resilience. East Coast route is working closely with the taskforce to take forward its recommendations to ensure the line is resilient to extreme weather.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the new rail capacity created by the East Coast Main Line upgrade works will be allocated to open access rail services.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not specify the allocation of increased capacity. However, open access operators may apply to utilise available capacity alongside operators contracted by Government. It will then be a matter for Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road to decide through the established systems and processes how capacity should ultimately be allocated.
Nov. 01 2023
Source Page: Letter dated 23/10/2023 from Baroness Vere of Norbiton to Lord Shipley regarding East Coast Main Line upgrades, as raised during a debate following a statement on transport. 1p.Found: Letter dated 23/10/2023 from Baroness Vere of Norbiton to Lord Shipley regarding East Coast Main Line
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any funds from the cancellation of Phase 2 of the HS2 project will be reallocated to help increase capacity on the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The up-to-£3.5bn upgrades for the ECML outlined in the Integrated Rail Plan remain unaffected by the Network North announcement. These upgrades will seek to upgrade and improve line speeds and capacity across the route.
The Department has provided Network Rail with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible. Several component schemes are at a more mature stage of delivery, including enhancements at Darlington Station – where construction work has now commenced – and upgrades at York Station.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many signalling failures there have been on the East Cost Main Line in the last six months; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of these signalling failures on passengers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Over the past six months, there have been 132 signalling-only failures across the whole of the East Coast Main Line.
We recognise that signal failures can be highly disruptive to passengers’ journeys. We are in regular contact with Network Rail, who are responsible for signalling infrastructure, and train operators to reduce the number of signal failures, the time that the infrastructure is out of action whilst repairs are undertaken and the overall impact on passengers.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the projected end date is of the East Coast Mainline Programme and when that date was last reviewed; what the forecast spend is for financial year 2022-23 and when that forecast was last reviewed; what the initial planned whole life costs were; what the projected whole life costs are and when that projection was last reviewed; and what the delivery confidence assessment is and when that was last reviewed.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) Enhancements Programme has a projected end date of 01 December 2024, with forecast spend on the Programme for this financial year of £56m. Initial planned whole life costs were £1230m, whilst projected whole life costs are now £1098m.
The Delivery Confidence Assessment for the Programme remains Amber as set out in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority 2023 Annual Report, as the majority of benefits will not be realised until a new ECML timetable is introduced which is anticipated in 2024, and some may remain outstanding beyond that (principally for Leeds). All of this detail is reviewed quarterly in line with requirements for the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.