Railways in Parliament
Okehampton acceleration
WIMBLEDON MP Stephen Hammond asked for a progress report on the Department of Transport’s Acceleration Unit. Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson said: “Since commencing operation in October 2020, the Acceleration Unit has been involved in accelerating projects through the Northern Transport Acceleration Council, the Restoring Your Railways programme and the National Bus Strategy. “Among the projects the Acceleration Unit has successfully supported accelerating there is, notably, ensuring the delivery of the first Beeching reversal, the Dartmoor Line into Okehampton, which will open later this year. “Through the Northern Transport Acceleration Council, 112 projects have been identified with northern leaders, including the Tees Valley hydrogen hub, the Northumberland Line and
Hope Valley Line projects. The unit is engaged on progressing the Restoring Your Railway programme to delivery and is reviewing individual schemes for acceleration.
“It has also been commissioned to challenge the Cambridge South rail enhancement project.”
Wearside concerns
WASHINGTON and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson asked what economic benefits HS2 would bring to Wearside, and what funding has been allocated to Wearside. Mr Stephenson said: “HS2 presents a significant opportunity for businesses across the North East, with HS2 Ltd’s supply chain consisting of 400,000 contract opportunities. “Some 24 suppliers on critical contracts across the North East have won work on HS2, two of which are based in Wearside.
“The contracts for the suppliers in Wearside have been for services including, but not limited to, Land Surveying and Engineering services; £12 billion worth of supply chain contract opportunities are available to businesses across the UK in the coming years.
“The DfT is considering the Restore Your Railway Ideas Fund Round Three bid, co-sponsored by the Hon Member, for reinstatement of local passenger services on the Leamside line.
“We are also contributing, through the Transforming Cities Fund allocation for the North East, to the redevelopment of Sunderland station.
“Subject to the creation of appropriate governance arrangements, the North
East will have access to a share of the £4.2 billion intra-city transport fund over the five years from 2022-23”
Class 701 problems
SLOUGH MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi asked what discussions the DfT has had with the South Western Railway on the lengthy roll-out of Class 701 ‘Arterio’ units.
Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris replied: “The DfT has regular discussions with South Western Railway (SWR) which include all rolling stock related matters and has been kept updated on the position regarding the new ‘Arterio’ units.”
Stepping up access
THE Slough MP then asked what steps the DfT is taking to increase the number of English stations with step-free access. Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris replied: “The Government has committed to spend £350 million on providing stepfree access to more stations by 2024. “We will shortly commission audits of all main line stations to prioritise future investment in station accessibility. “Further measures will be included in the forthcoming rail reform White Paper.”