Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 September 2024 (HL568), under which movement classification the movement notification to National Highways about the tram movement from the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley to the Metro Maintenance Centre in Wednesbury on 15 February 2024 was made.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The actual movement notification for the tram movements was submitted under ‘STGO AIL Cat 3’ on ref: RFS/3062 on the 25th January 2024.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 September 2024 (HL568), whether any special order other than that referenced in Special Order P35/2024 dated 29 January 2024 was granted under section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for the movement of a tram from the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley to the Metro Maintenance Centre in Wednesbury on 15 February 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Yes. In addition to the above referenced Special Order P35/2024, a second application was also cleared on 29th January 2024 for tram movements between the same two sites, with a Special Order number of P37/2024.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 September 2024 (HL568), what was the (1) start, and (2) end, date and time included in the notification to National Highways of the movement of a tram from the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley to the Metro Maintenance Centre in Wednesbury on 15 February 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The start date of the notification was 02 February 2024 at 0000. The end date of the notification was 01 March 2024 at 2359.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 September 2024 (HL568), what was the date and time of the notification to National Highways about the tram movement from the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre in Dudley to the Metro Maintenance Centre in Wednesbury on 15 February 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The notification was sent at 25/01/2024 at 18:10.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that passenger (a) fare data and (b) service performance from operators outside the Office of Rail and Road’s are independently verified.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the official source of most rail fare data and service performance statistics. ORR does not publish statistics in respect of light rail/tramways, heritage railways, London Underground and Eurostar (although ORR receives some performance data from Eurostar as part of its regulation of London St. Pancras Highspeed and these are published in ORR’s Annual Report).
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the mixed use railways team at Network Rail is being dissolved; and if so, what assessment they have made on the impact of that dissolution on the ability of light rail vehicles to operate on parts of the main line rail network.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail’s regional teams lead on the development of projects, including light rail proposals. Network Rail has light rail expertise centrally that supports the regions in the operation, design and implementation of light rail projects. The required resource level of this team will be reviewed as the project pipeline develops.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with Chiltern Railways on the refurbishment of Haddenham & Thame Parkway car park.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Officials have been in regular contact with Chiltern Railways regarding the refurbishment of Haddenham & Thame Parkway car park, particularly in light of the closure of the upper deck and the resulting capacity challenges.
The Department will continue to engage with Chiltern Railways to ensure that car park improvements deliver meaningful benefits for rail users and the wider local community.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will list the allocation of responsibilities of Ministers in the Department for Transport.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The responsibilities of Ministers in the Department for Transport can be found below:
The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for all Department for Transport business, including:
The Minister for Rail is responsible for:
The Minister for Roads and Buses is responsible for:
The Minister for Local Transport is responsible for:
The Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation is responsible for:
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to support the roll out of automated train operation technology on (a) rail, (b) light rail, (c) Tube and (d) metro lines.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are already a number of automated systems currently in use on various networks, the most notable being the Docklands Light Railway. Semi-automated systems are also operational on parts of Thameslink, the Elizabeth line and several London Underground lines. Further roll out would be subject to a full assessment of regulatory, technical and operational factors.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure that new tramway schemes use domestically produced tramway rails.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The responsibility for light rail and tramways is devolved, where each local authority owns and is responsible for the development and delivery of their own system. Therefore, it would be for local authorities to specify criteria for any future tram scheme, or tram extension, ensuring to adhere to the relevant procurement regulations when running their procurement competitions.
In addition, under the Government’s Social Value policy, public contracting authorities, such as local authorities, can set rigorous environmental and social standards, and other criteria that play to the strengths of local supply chains who can meet those standards. This is also subject to the requirement not to discriminate directly or indirectly against tenderers on grounds of nationality.