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Written Question
Active Travel
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Secretary of State for Levelling Up and Communities and (b) devolved Administrations on the potential impact of (i) tram and (ii) light rail projects on active travel infrastructure.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as well as with the devolved administrations. However, no specific discussions have taken place with these bodies regarding the impact of light rail projects on active travel infrastructure.

Local transport authorities are responsible for bringing forward mass transit projects, including developing proposals regarding technology choice, route selection and alignment. The Department encourages authorities to consider how mass transit schemes can provide effective integration with other modes, including active travel.


Written Question
Railways: Coal
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Heritage Railway Association on the (a) availability and (b) affordability of coal.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We acknowledge the difficult circumstances facing the heritage steam sector in light of the high cost of coal on international commodity markets due in part to the Russia/Ukraine conflict. The Heritage Minister, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, met the Chief Executive of the Heritage Railway Association along with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail in July 2023, to discuss a range of issues, including the availability and affordability of coal. In November 2023, Lord Parkinson attended the Heritage Railway Association Annual General Meeting in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where they discussed the matter further. The Department is continuing to keep an ongoing dialogue with the heritage steam sector to understand the opportunities and challenges it faces.


Written Question
Public Transport: Automation
Thursday 25th January 2024

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to provide funding for the (a) development and (b) implementation of driverless (i) underground trains, (ii) overground trains, (iii) metro systems and (iv) other public transport.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Whilst there are a number of automated light railway systems in the UK, such as the Docklands Light Railway in London, the implementation of such systems have not been deployed on the main line network due to their complexity.

The Department has no plans to provide specific funding for the development or implementation of driverless technology on existing light rail.


Written Question
Transport: Mid Bedfordshire
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of (a) car ownership, (b) bus usage (c) light rail usage, (d) train usage and (e) active travel in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A) Car ownership

According to the Department’s vehicle statistics, there were 77,060 registered cars as at end-June 2023 in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Data for b) bus usage, c) light rail usage, d) train usage and e) active travel is not available for Mid Bedfordshire constituency as it is not collected at this level.


Written Question
Rapid Transit Systems: Finance
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Bus Service Improvement Plan funding to be used for light rail systems in areas where funding has been awarded.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

BSIP and BSIP+ funding is intended to be used by LTAs to support the aims of the National Bus Strategy to make buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated and cheaper. It can also be used to support and protect existing bus services that would otherwise be at risk. It should not be used to support other modes, including light rail systems, where it is not clear that the primary benefits accrue to buses.


Written Question
Rapid Transit Systems: Warwickshire
Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the Very Light Rail prototype under development by Coventry City Council and the University of Warwick.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Very Light Rail in Coventry is an emerging technology being researched and developed by Coventry City Council (CCC) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Local proposals to develop this technology include building a demonstrator route in Coventry City Centre.

WMCA has included the development of Very Light Rail within its £1.05 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme agreed with Government. Investment decisions on the Very Light Rail programme are subject to approval by the Department for Transport.

The Department’s officials have reviewed the Strategic Outline Business Case for the VLRRP, which is now being progressed through bespoke governance as a Research and Development project to reflect the novel nature of the Very Light Rail prototype.


Written Question
West Coast Main Line
Wednesday 25th October 2023

Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 73 of his Department's Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, published in November 2021, CP 490, whether it remains his policy that (a) the West Coast Main Line is at capacity and (b) there are no viable choices for new lines and upgrades to the West Coast Main Line.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government remains committed to HS2 Phase 1 which will have a transformative effect on rail capacity: nearly doubling capacity up to 250,000 seats per day across the primary long-distance operator on the West Coast Main Line and Phase 1 - triple that of the operator’s current estimated average daily demand.

In line with normal practice, work to consider future service patterns and capacity in the light of Network North continues.


Written Question
Railways: Greater Manchester
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 62 of the Integrated Rail Plan, published in November 2021, whether it remains his Department's policy that improvement of journey times between Birmingham and Manchester is not possible without additional track capacity.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In line with normal practice, work to consider future service patterns and capacity in the light of Network North continues. The funding that has been redirected through our Network North plans will deliver multiple upgrades to the rail network across the North, the Midlands and the rest of the country – benefitting small towns alongside big cities, and including a major expansion to the Northern Powerhouse Rail core network with Bradford, Sheffield and Hull now incorporated.


Written Question
Trams: Midlands
Wednesday 27th September 2023

Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support new tram lines extensions or new tram lines in the East and West Midlands.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Responsibility for promoting new mass transit schemes, or extensions to existing networks, is devolved to local transport authorities (LTAs) in England. LTAs are best placed to bring forward new mass transit proposals, which could include light rail or tram technology, based on local transport challenges and opportunities.

Currently, the principal way LTAs can access Government funding for mass transit schemes which they wish to prioritise is through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities. West Midlands Combined Authority has been allocated a Settlement of £1.05 billion between 2022/23 and 2026/27.

In the East Midlands, Nottingham Express Transit is financed under a private finance initiative structure. The current contract, which was signed in 2011, expanded the tram network, doubling the previous size. The cost of this expansion will be met over the 23-year life of the contract, and the Department for Transport makes an annual contribution of £24.95 million per annum, alongside a contribution from Nottingham City Council to pay for this scheme.


Written Question
Railway Network: Cybersecurity
Thursday 7th September 2023

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to safeguard (a) digital signal systems and (b) other digital critical infrastructure on the rail network from (i) cyber attacks and (ii) failures which risk safety.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport takes transport security seriously. We work closely with industry to identify and mitigate security and safety risks. The Secretary of State for Transport has a regulatory role as competent authority under the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 and is therefore responsible for ensuring cyber security standards are met by Operators of Essential Services across the rail network in England, Wales and Scotland.

DfT encourages industry to follow guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre to ensure digital systems and infrastructure are resilient to cyber-attacks and safety failures.

Network Rail, Great Britain's mainline railway infrastructure manager, are charged with the management of signalling and other systems that are critical to the safe and efficient delivery of the rail service. Network Rail have a fully embedded security management system that provides the systems, processes, resources and policies to effectively counter cyber threats, focusing on prevention and protection of systems accompanied with a strong monitoring and response capability. In addition to compliance with the NIS regulations, Network Rail adopt best practice from international standards such as ISO27011 [information security management systems] and IEC 62443 [cyber security for industrial automation and control systems] and were part of the drafting group for the forthcoming IEC 63452 "Cyber Security for Railway Applications" standard, recognising their leading role in railway cyber security.

Digital critical infrastructure on the railway, including digital signalling systems (ETCS), are failsafe by design. Digital signalling offers many additional safety benefits over and above conventional coloured light signalling systems.