Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of when the North Wales Coast Railway will be electrified.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop and deliver on the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line, bringing parts of North Wales within an hour of Manchester. We are in the early stages of planning the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme and will share further information when that work is complete. Our investment is intended to enable the operation of electric trains over the full North Wales Coast line between Holyhead and Crewe.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the projected electrification of the main North Wales coast rail line will extend to Holyhead.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop and deliver on the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line, bringing parts of North Wales within an hour of Manchester. We are in the early stages of planning the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme and will share further information when that work is complete. Our investment is intended to enable the operation of electric trains over the full North Wales Coast line between Holyhead and Crewe.
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timeline is for the electrification of the north Wales coast line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the rail industry to develop and deliver on the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement. We are in the early stages of planning the next steps, including delivery timelines, for the North Wales electrification scheme and will share further information when that work is complete.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with the Office of Rail and Road on the (a) cost and (b) availability of off-peak fares on the rail route between Lydney and Gloucester.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The fares between Lydney and Gloucester are set by Transport for Wales (TfW). As with any other train operator, the availability of off-peak fares on this route is a matter for TfW. Although their operations in England are governed by a set of Devolution Agreements with DfT, this does not stipulate which fares products must be available between certain stations.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle flooding on the railway network following Storm Babet.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Government expects Network Rail to prepare for a range of severe weather events, drawing on previous experience. However, during some particularly severe weather events, it will not be possible, or safe, to run services. We have monitored the situation and engaged with affected operators to understand the impact on passengers following Storm Babet.
Network Rail’s resilience taskforce was established in 2022 and is being led by independent experts. Their recommendations to improve weather resilience on the network are already being put into effect, including renewed investment in Network Rail’s capability and use of weather data and technology, upskilling of its workforce, and improving inspections and examinations of drainage assets.
Flooding is likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change. In 2022 the Department for Transport published the High-Level Output Specification (HLOS) which outlines the Secretary of State’s objectives for Network Rail’s operation, maintenance and renewal of railway infrastructure in England and Wales between 2024 and 2029—tied to a £44.1 billion funding settlement. The HLOS is clear that the rail network must be as resilient as reasonably possible to the effects of climate change and extreme weather, including flooding. Scotland has a further £4.2bn available, with the Scottish Government responsible for determining priorities for the Scottish network.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps with Network Rail to (a) put additional resources in place and (b) deploy specialist teams to deal with drainage issues across the railway network as part of Network Rail’s Modernising Maintenance project, in the context of the derailment at Carmont near Stonehaven in August 2020.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Maintaining world leading levels of rail safety remains our top priority in rail. My department has committed £44.1 billion to Network Rail to spend on operations, maintenance, and renewal work on the network in England and Wales during Control Period 7. A further £4.2 billion has been made available to Network Rail Scotland for similar purposes to drive improvements in safety and reliability. Network Rail is responsible for mitigating risks associated with drainage issues within this funding settlement and in accordance with rail safety legislation.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on (a) allocating additional resources, (b) deploying specialist drainage teams and (c) recruiting and retaining qualified maintenance staff to (i) pre-empt and (ii) mitigate the impact of (A) flooding and (B) landslips on railway network infrastructure.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Maintaining world leading levels of rail safety remains our top priority in rail. My department has committed £44.1 billion to Network Rail to spend on operations, maintenance, and renewal work on the network in England and Wales during Control Period 7. A further £4.2 billion has been made available to Network Rail Scotland for similar purposes to drive improvements in safety and reliability. Network Rail is responsible for mitigating risks associated with drainage issues within this funding settlement and in accordance with rail safety legislation.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to help provide additional resources to tackle flooding on the railway network following Storm Babet.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail’s resilience taskforce was established in 2022 and is being led by independent experts. Their recommendations to improve weather resilience on the network are already being put into effect, including renewed investment in Network Rail’s capability and use of weather data and technology, upskilling of its workforce, and improving inspections and examinations of drainage assets.
Flooding is likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change. In 2022 the Department for Transport published the High-Level Output Specification (HLOS) which outlines the Secretary of State’s objectives for Network Rail’s operation, maintenance and renewal of railway infrastructure in England and Wales between 2024 and 2029—tied to a £44.1 billion funding settlement. The HLOS is clear that the rail network must be as resilient as reasonably possible to the effects of climate change and extreme weather, including flooding. Scotland has a further £4.2bn available, with the Scottish Government responsible for determining priorities for the Scottish network.
The Department for Transport is developing a transport adaptation strategy, taking a holistic approach to addressing the transport-related risks in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to deliver major rail infrastructure improvements in the north of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to delivering major rail infrastructure improvements in England and Wales including the north of England. We are committed to investing in the transport that really matters to people. Network Rail are developing options to improve the capacity and resilience of Sheffield station, that can be delivered in the shorter term within the existing constraints of the station footprint, including platform extensions and track upgrades. This work will underpin the future improvements set out in Network North including electrification of the Hope Valley Line, delivering increased capacity and journey time savings.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish submissions made by the Wales Rail Board to his Department.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The aim of the Wales Rail Board is to facilitate open and honest collaboration between the Welsh and UK Governments, and routine submissions to ministers are not in the public domain.
Future formal outputs from the Board may be published by agreement between the UK and Welsh Government.