Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the (a) Avanti and (b) South Western train contracts.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
For Avanti West Coast (AWC), no assessment has been made as the operator has a contract with a core term until 15 October 2026, after which the Department can terminate the contract at any point with three months' notice.
The National Rail Contract for South Western Railway ends in May 2025 having been extended by the maximum two-year period to a maximum term of four years. A Prior Information Notice was issued on 2 April 2024 setting out the Department’s intention to seek to obtain a Direct Award with SWR at the end of the current contract. The proposed Direct Award is expected to have a core term of three years and a potential maximum term of up to eight years.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with South Western Railway on its ticket office consultation.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The proposals to reform railway station ticket offices were industry led. I regularly hold meetings with stakeholders, including train operating companies.
Found: Performance of South Western Railway
Apr. 02 2024
Source Page: South Western rail passenger services: prior information noticeFound: South Western rail passenger services: prior information notice
Found: Main Line/ Elizabeth Lines services 10 Great Western Railway depot access 10 Additional journey
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to minimise disruption to South West rail passengers in the context of the construction of the new High Speed 2 station at Old Oak Common.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, Transport for London and train operating companies to minimise disruption to South West rail passengers. Diversions of services to other London terminals, such as Euston, is under active consideration. This could provide Great Western Railway passengers access to a central London terminal with numerous onward travel connections. Passengers could alternatively use Ealing Broadway station, as they did successfully during the December 2023 engineering works.
Mentions:
1: Richard Graham (Con - Gloucester) Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland) that Great Western Railway has decided to open the line from Swindon to - Speech Link
2: Stephen Morgan (Lab - Portsmouth South) stops at Great Western railway stations arrived on time. - Speech Link
3: Huw Merriman (Con - Bexhill and Battle) Friend the Member for Maidenhead and other members of the Great Western Railway stakeholder advisory - Speech Link
4: Huw Merriman (Con - Bexhill and Battle) Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), I gently point out that more than 1,200 miles of railway - Speech Link
Feb. 01 2024
Source Page: RAIB investigation reports, safety digests, and urgent safety advice 2024Found: route, part of the Wales and Western region which was established in 2019.
Feb. 01 2024
Source Page: Report 01/2024: Train striking debris at YarntonFound: route, part of the Wales and Western region which was established in 2019.
Feb. 01 2024
Source Page: Report 01/2024: Train striking debris at YarntonFound: route, part of the Wales and Western region which was established in 2019.