Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the holders of the South Western Railway franchise regarding the operation of the London to Portsmouth line; and when they expect that timetable to return to pre-pandemic regularity.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
South Western Railway will introduce a new timetable from Monday 21st February, which will reinstate services to pre-Omicron levels including the London to Portsmouth line. This follows reducing numbers of Omicron-related staff shortages and growing numbers of passengers returning to the railway.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects on (1) the economy, and (2) connectivity, of South West England of South Western Railway's decision to cease providing through services from Exeter to London Waterloo, with trains splitting at Salisbury.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
South Western Railway advises that its temporary timetable, which commenced on Monday 17 January 2022, comfortably retains enough capacity to meet demand whilst ensuring that many services for key workers and schools have been retained.
The impact of the latest COVID variant has led to a sharp increase in staff absenteeism and a drop in passenger demand. Consequently, as part of the overall reductions in service, direct services between Exeter to London Waterloo will not be available during the temporary timetable period, as was the case in the same period last year.
South Western Railway has assured the Department that the timetable will be kept under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of notice given by South Western Railway on 12 January of substantial timetable changes coming into effect on 17 January.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
South Western Railway has responded to the Omicron variant which has seen a sharp increase in staff absenteeism and a sharp drop in passenger demand.
Rather than make weekly changes to the timetable, South Western Railway initiated a temporary timetable which commenced on Monday 17 January 2022. This will give customers greater notice of the planned timetable over the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that South West Trains provide passengers with the ability to buy all types of train tickets from Ryde Pierhead station.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ryde Pierhead station is not subject to Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Services Agreement and ticketing provision remains a matter for South Western Railway. Rail ticketing for Ryde Pierhead station is currently carried out by South Western Railway through their partnership with WightLink, with a range of tickets available to passengers. My officials are working closely with South Western Railway to ensure that passengers travelling from stations on the Isle of Wight have access to a range of fare types.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of train services on the Salisbury to Exeter line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Department officials are challenging South Western Railway (SWR) over the performance of the West of England Line where performance has fallen below the standards required recently. The South Western Railway National Rail Contract contains provisions to incentivise the operator to ensure services are run to the agreed timetable and where this is not the case, actions be taken to rectify any causation factors.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide details of any proposed reductions in headcount at South Western Railway as a result of the proposed December 2022 timetable changes.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
South Western Railway (SWR), Network Rail (NR) and the Department are currently analysing the feedback from the consultation with the aim of NR and SWR publishing a report together with details on next steps by the end of the calendar year.
I recently spoke about the estimated cost savings as a result of the proposed timetable changes on SWR at an adjournment debate and followed this with a letter which is available in the Libraires of the House.
The Department has already published correspondence between the Department and senior SWR representatives which is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-foi-disclosure-log-2021.
The Department has not carried out any assessments into the carbon impact of SWR running a reduced timetable compared to pre-pandemic service levels, and there are no proposed reductions in headcount as a result of the December 2022 timetable proposals.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish any assessments his Department has undertaken on the carbon impact of reducing South Western Railway services from the level they were at prior to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
South Western Railway (SWR), Network Rail (NR) and the Department are currently analysing the feedback from the consultation with the aim of NR and SWR publishing a report together with details on next steps by the end of the calendar year.
I recently spoke about the estimated cost savings as a result of the proposed timetable changes on SWR at an adjournment debate and followed this with a letter which is available in the Libraires of the House.
The Department has already published correspondence between the Department and senior SWR representatives which is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-foi-disclosure-log-2021.
The Department has not carried out any assessments into the carbon impact of SWR running a reduced timetable compared to pre-pandemic service levels, and there are no proposed reductions in headcount as a result of the December 2022 timetable proposals.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the correspondence between his Department and senior representatives of South Western Railway since the launch of the South Western Railway and Network Rail stakeholder consultation in July 2021.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
South Western Railway (SWR), Network Rail (NR) and the Department are currently analysing the feedback from the consultation with the aim of NR and SWR publishing a report together with details on next steps by the end of the calendar year.
I recently spoke about the estimated cost savings as a result of the proposed timetable changes on SWR at an adjournment debate and followed this with a letter which is available in the Libraires of the House.
The Department has already published correspondence between the Department and senior SWR representatives which is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-foi-disclosure-log-2021.
The Department has not carried out any assessments into the carbon impact of SWR running a reduced timetable compared to pre-pandemic service levels, and there are no proposed reductions in headcount as a result of the December 2022 timetable proposals.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the estimated cost savings as a result of the proposed timetable changes on South Western Railway.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
South Western Railway (SWR), Network Rail (NR) and the Department are currently analysing the feedback from the consultation with the aim of NR and SWR publishing a report together with details on next steps by the end of the calendar year.
I recently spoke about the estimated cost savings as a result of the proposed timetable changes on SWR at an adjournment debate and followed this with a letter which is available in the Libraires of the House.
The Department has already published correspondence between the Department and senior SWR representatives which is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-foi-disclosure-log-2021.
The Department has not carried out any assessments into the carbon impact of SWR running a reduced timetable compared to pre-pandemic service levels, and there are no proposed reductions in headcount as a result of the December 2022 timetable proposals.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish (a) a detailed breakdown of the stakeholder responses to the South Western Railway and Network Rail stakeholder consultation and (b) the full responses to that consultation.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
South Western Railway (SWR), Network Rail (NR) and the Department are currently analysing the feedback from the consultation with the aim of NR and SWR publishing a report together with details on next steps by the end of the calendar year.
I recently spoke about the estimated cost savings as a result of the proposed timetable changes on SWR at an adjournment debate and followed this with a letter which is available in the Libraires of the House.
The Department has already published correspondence between the Department and senior SWR representatives which is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-foi-disclosure-log-2021.
The Department has not carried out any assessments into the carbon impact of SWR running a reduced timetable compared to pre-pandemic service levels, and there are no proposed reductions in headcount as a result of the December 2022 timetable proposals.