Railways in Parliament
Call to suspend HS2
LORD Willoughby asked the Government what plans it has to suspend the construction of HS2, and use any money saved as a result to support communities and businesses affected by Covid-19.
Baroness Vere said: “The Government will do whatever is necessary to deal with Covid-19 now and will also continue to invest in the country’s future infrastructure.”
Open access support
LORD Berkeley asked the Government what steps they are taking to ensure the continued operation of open-access passenger operators following the reduction in the number of rail passengers as a result of Covid-19; whether such steps include financial support to such operators; and if so, how much funding they intend to provide.
Transport Minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton replied: “The Government fully understands that open-access passenger operators are suffering from significant financial pressures as a result in the decline of passenger numbers in recent weeks.
“The Government has already made available a wide range of substantial measures to support businesses across the economy.
“The Government is continuing to actively engage with open-access passenger operators on the specifics of their situations.”
Switch from air to rail?
LORD Greaves asked the Government what consideration it is giving to the improvement of rail services between South West England, the Midlands, and the North of England and Scotland, including significant enhancements of rail infrastructure, so as to reduce any need for passenger air services between those areas.
Baroness Vere said: “Following investment at Derby and Ambergate, CrossCountry has reduced the journey time of some services from Birmingham to Newcastle by 30 minutes and is looking at accelerating more services in future timetables.
“Additional capacity is due to be provided on the CrossCountry services between Scotland and the South West via Birmingham during 2020 and 2021.
“The Department for Transport is looking at options to increase capacity and improve journey times on the East Coast Main Line, while Network Rail is delivering improvements in the Bristol area and an £80million project to upgrade the sea wall at Dawlish for the future to deliver more reliable rail services to Devon and Cornwall.”
Blyth spirited start
LORD Bradshaw asked the Government what plans it has to reopen any of the routes closed in the Beeching cuts, as pledged in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto; and if it has any such plans, when they intend to do so.
Baroness Vere replied: “We have pledged £500million to reopening lines and stations. We invited MPs to come forward with proposals. The deadline for these proposals was March 16.
“A panel comprising ministers and rail and community experts are looking at these, and we will be writing to applicants on next steps. A second round is planned for June.
“Some projects, such as the Ashington to Blyth line, have been accelerated and are already in development.”
Season ticket refunds
CANTERBURY MP Rosie Duffield asked what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of instructing train operating companies to automatically refund season ticket holders to encourage social distancing during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Transport Minister Chris Heaton Harris said:”The Department for Transport has no plans to automatically refund season tickets as key workers on the front line of the Covid-19 response continue to rely on their season tickets to get to work by train.
“Season ticket holders are entitled to claim a refund, if they no longer need their ticket and should contact their retailer for details.”