Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) driver controlled operation and (b) stations which are unstaffed or staffed part-time on accessibility for disabled people who wish to travel without pre-booking on Southern Railways.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) have both confirmed that the driver operating the doors is a safe method of working. It is vital that train operators have policies in place so that passengers with disabilities are able to travel with confidence. ORR is the organisation which is responsible for the approval and monitoring of operators’ Disabled People’s Protection Policies (DPPP). Following the introduction of driver-controlled operation on Southern, ORR carried out a period of enhanced monitoring to ensure that policies were in place on Southern so that disabled passengers, regardless of whether they had pre-booked assistance or chose to travel spontaneously, and regardless of whether they were travelling to a staffed or unstaffed station, were able to complete their journey. ORR concluded that GTR had provided assurance that it has the systems and processes in place for this purpose. ORR continues to monitor operators’ compliance with their DPPP, and the Department supports it in doing so.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on driver controlled operation on Southern Rail services.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The operation of services is a matter for the operator and they are generally best placed to respond to queries regarding practices like driver-controlled operation.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British Transport Police officers worked on the Southern Rail network in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The British Transport Police does not allocate officers exclusively to specific parts of the network. Train Operating Companies each contribute a share of the overall costs of policing the railway network through a Police Service Agreement (PSA) with BTP. The PSA does not specify or allocate officers to a particular PSA holder or area and it is the responsibility of the Chief Constable of BTP to determine the level of policing across the rail network as a whole.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 271562, if he will publish the value for money assessment for his Department’s on-train wi-fi policy for the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern, South Eastern, Chiltern and Wales and Border rail franchises.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department does not normally publish detailed economic assessments that inform rail policy decisions. In developing the business case different policy options would have been considered and appraised as per the guidelines in the Green Book. The economic assessment to evaluate the value for money would have utilised the Department’s modelling and appraisal guidance (WebTAG). The latest information on this can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transport-analysis-guidance-webtag
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s decision to set a 50MB limit on the data allowance for wi-fi on trains agreed with train operators in 2016; and what proportion of rail passengers have reached that maximum data allowance in each year since that limit was introduce.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department agreed a specific amount of funding for data when making changes to existing franchise agreements; Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN), South Eastern, Chiltern and Wales and Border (operated by Arriva Trains Wales at the time). Decisions on how this funding is managed, including any data limits, is for the Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The proportion of passengers that reached the maximum data allowance for their journey ranges from 5% to 25%. This varies across TOCs and is highly dependent on the length of journey and passenger usage preferences.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has he made of average wi-fi speeds on (a) Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern, (b) Southeastern and (c) Chiltern trains in (i) 2017 and (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the average Wi-fi speeds on these routes. Ofcom are currently surveying the mobile signal strength to the train across the rail network. We expect the first publication to be later this year.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the value for money of the £47.8 million funding allocated by his Department to the (a) Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern, (b) Southeastern and (c) Chiltern and Arriva Trains Wales rail operators to improve wi-fi on trains since 2016.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In 2014, the Department stated that the Network Rail fine of £47.8 million would be used to fund on-train wifi services including Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN), South Eastern, Chiltern and Wales and Border (operated by Arriva Trains Wales at the time) rail franchises. A value for money assessment was undertaken for the On-train Wifi policy, which included these franchises, and it had a high value for money.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 29 May (HL15705), whether any privately funded rail scheme developed under the Market Soundings Finding Report that relies on a guarantee of franchised train operation usage complies with its funding criteria and, if not, whether the only schemes that can comply will be those on which only privately operated open access services run; how many of such schemes on which only open access operators will operate have been submitted; and whether this condition was clearly set out in the invitation to companies to submit schemes.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The market sounding exercise undertaken last year did not seek specific schemes to be submitted. The exercise sought to gauge market appetite for the taking of risk in relation to the design, construction, financing and funding of a new southern rail scheme to Heathrow Airport. The briefing document published as part of the market sounding did make clear that for schemes to be considered true market led proposals, full risk would have to be borne by the private sector. This includes the acceptance of revenue risk without requiring undertakings or guarantees by government including of future train usage.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 15 March (HL14180), what type, or types, of Government support have been considered to support the Southern Rail Link to Heathrow; and whether the criteria for assessing proposals to deliver the project include a requirement to operate trains on the line.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following the publication of the Market Sounding Findings Report, published in December 2018, which showed that none of the schemes put forward were able to advance without Government support, whether that be direct financial support, or by providing indirect support such as guarantees of future usage, my Department has been working to further develop and clarify the outcomes we want to be delivered from this project and is considering appropriate criteria for assessing commercial and procurement models, including minimum requirements required.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to increase spending on transport infrastructure in the West Midlands.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government is investing heavily in better transport infrastructure for the West Midlands.
We have committed around £115 million to two ‘large local major’ schemes, which are now under construction – the A4440 Worcester Southern Relief Road (Carrington Bridge) and the Birmingham Centenary Square tram extension - with more than £400m committed to a further nine road and public transport schemes in the West Midlands.
HS2 is already playing a huge part of the Midlands’ success story, with work well under way at over 60 sites including major development at Curzon Street and Washwood Heath. It will put Birmingham at the heart of Britain’s new high speed network, including two stations within the Birmingham area.
We have allocated £321.5m from the Transforming Cities Fund to West Midlands Combined Authority who are using it to build the Brierley Hill tram extension.
On the strategic road network, Highways England has just started construction on widening the A500 Etruria Valley, a £17.5m investment.
In Rail Control Period 5, we funded a number of schemes in the West Midlands, including the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street, upgrade and electrification of the Chase Line, and extension of the Cross City Line from Longbridge to Bromsgrove.
We also provided £5m to Midlands Connect to develop a strategic outline business case for the Midlands Rail Hub programme. We expect this to be submitted to the Department in June 2019.
In November 2018, the Infrastructure and Pipeline Authority published their Analysis of the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline. The regional analysis of the pipeline shows that over the period of 2018/19 - 2020/21, the West Midlands will receive £255 per person on average each year of planned central government transport investment, which is the 4th highest of the 9 regions and ahead of London.