Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of the disruption on the South Western Railway network on 11 June 2021 as a result of multiple signal failures in the Surbiton area.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The cost to the public purse is estimated to be £200,000 due to both loss in revenue and delay repay costs for South Western Railway (SWR). Network Rail will also have incurred further costs. The Department has asked Network Rail to provide details of its incident learning review and has asked SWR to provide details of its customer response and communications.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Government decided to continue the operation by FirstGroup of (a) South Western Railway and (b) TransPennine Express under the new National Rail Contract.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department has awarded the new National Rail Contracts to the incumbent operators to replace the temporary Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements, which were introduced September 2020, this will ensure that continuity of service will be maintained in line with the Railways Act 1993.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2021 to Questions 7247 and 7248 on South Western Main Line: Rolling Stock, for what reasons the class 442 fleet were reintroduced and refurbished when they were not DDA compliant for people with reduced mobility.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Class 442s were originally conceived to be the best solution in increasing capacity at the beginning of the South Western Railway (SWR) franchise. The units where exempt from the rules on Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) compliance until August 2024. They were removed from service following COVID-19 in March 2020 and they have not been reintroduced since. SWR decided to withdraw the fleet and cease the programme of modifications that were underway to avoid incurring further costs.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are plans for an investigation to be undertaken into the multiple signal failure in the Surbiton area on Friday 11 June 2021.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Following the disruption to train services at Surbiton on 11 June, Network Rail has undertaken a review to understand the cause of the signal failure and limit the impacts of a similar future event. South Western Railway are reviewing their communications plan to ensure that passengers are kept well informed in the event of any future disruption. The Department has asked to be kept fully informed about the implementation of these reviews.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what settlement figure his Department agreed after the termination of the rail franchise agreements for (a) Greater Anglia, (b) TransPennine, (c) West Midland Trains, (d) South Western Railway and (e) c2c; what assessment he has made of the value for money of the settlement figures agreed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The following termination sums were agreed with Train Operators (rounded to the nearest 100,000) – (a) Greater Anglia - £30,500,000, (b) TransPennine - £0, (c) West Midland Trains - £90,500,000, (d) South Western Railway - £68,800,000 and (e) c2c - £7,900,000.
In addition to the termination sums, there are further sums due from certain operators as part of their termination obligations. These are to be finalised and a further update will be provided on these amounts in due course.
The Termination Sums were arrived at following a stringent process which took into account value for money as well as a range of other factors.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on the (a) rollout of class 701 Arterio units and (b) withdrawal of Class 455, 456, 458 and 707.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
South Western Railway (SWR) is responsible for oversight for entry into passenger service of ninety Class 701 units which are being built and tested by train manufacturer Alstom. Once SWR and Alstom have completed the testing programme, the Class 701 units will be phased into service allowing for the withdrawal or cascade of other units as appropriate.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who is liable for the financial costs of the withdrawal from service of South Western Railway's Class 442 Wessex Electric units.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The impact of Covid-19 on passenger numbers travelling on South Western Railway services has been significant, and is not expected to return to previous levels when restrictions are lifted for some time. The Class 442 fleet is no longer needed to deliver SWR’s planned timetable.
SWR has decided to withdraw the fleet with immediate effect and cease the programme of modifications that were underway to avoid incurring further costs to the taxpayer to reintroduce and operate these trains. The aborted cost of the 442 project is £32m and the withdrawal of the fleet is expected to save circa £8m per year.
The Class 442s would have been withdrawn in August 2024 in any event as the trains are not compliant with requirements for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM). This decision brings this forward and removes a fleet that is not fully accessible from the Rail Network sooner than originally planned.
Under the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement, revenue and cost risk are borne by the DfT.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse (a) was of the Class 442 Wessex Electric renovation programme and (b) is planned to be of the refurbishment of the Class 458 Juniper stock by South Western Railway.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The impact of Covid-19 on passenger numbers travelling on South Western Railway services has been significant, and is not expected to return to previous levels when restrictions are lifted for some time. The Class 442 fleet is no longer needed to deliver SWR’s planned timetable.
SWR has decided to withdraw the fleet with immediate effect and cease the programme of modifications that were underway to avoid incurring further costs to the taxpayer to reintroduce and operate these trains. The aborted cost of the 442 project is £32m and the withdrawal of the fleet is expected to save circa £8m per year.
The Class 442s would have been withdrawn in August 2024 in any event as the trains are not compliant with requirements for Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM). This decision brings this forward and removes a fleet that is not fully accessible from the Rail Network sooner than originally planned.
Under the current Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement, revenue and cost risk are borne by the DfT.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the cascading of South Western Railway's Class 455, 456 and 707 fleet.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since the sale of Bombardier to Alstom, the Alstom team has been reviewing the production programme of the 701s in discussion with South Western Railway (SWR). This will establish when the first 701s will enter passenger service on SWR suburban lines, and at what rate the full fleet will be delivered. The new depot at Feltham is now operational in readiness for the arrival of the fleet.
Six class 707 units have been cascaded to Southeastern; the remaining are planned to be cascaded in line with the sub-lease dates (July to October 2021), while the Class 455 and 456 units are all still on lease to SWR.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the delivery and rollout of the Class 701 train on the South Western Railway network.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since the sale of Bombardier to Alstom, the Alstom team has been reviewing the production programme of the 701s in discussion with South Western Railway (SWR). This will establish when the first 701s will enter passenger service on SWR suburban lines, and at what rate the full fleet will be delivered. The new depot at Feltham is now operational in readiness for the arrival of the fleet.
Six class 707 units have been cascaded to Southeastern; the remaining are planned to be cascaded in line with the sub-lease dates (July to October 2021), while the Class 455 and 456 units are all still on lease to SWR.