Railways in Parliament

LNER trial success

LORD Bradshaw wanted to know whether the Government planned a pilot scheme to abolish peak time fares similar to that introduced by ScotRail with funding from the Scottish Government.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton replied: “There are no current plans to introduce a pilot scheme to abolish peak time fares in England.

“Peak and off-peak fares are an important tool to manage demand and alleviate crowding on peak time services by encouraging those who can travel off peak to do so. In recent years, we have introduced several initiatives to support passengers and improve affordability of rail. We have successfully launched flexible season tickets to support commuters’ return to the rail following the pandemic.

“We have also saved a generation of passengers a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 Railcards and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a Veterans Railcard.

“We are now rolling out single leg pricing to most of London North Eastern Railway’s network following a successful trial. We will carefully consider the impacts of expanding single leg pricing to most of LNER’s network before taking decisions on any wider extension.”

Passenger assistance

LIFE peer Baroness Thomas of Winchester asked whether the Government’s plans to make using the Passenger Assistance service easier for disabled people are compatible with plans for closing booking offices (plans that were subsequently cancelled, see Headline News).

Baroness Vere said: “Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles.

“Safety and accessibility remain a top priority. The Passenger Assist service will continue to help disabled passengers to use the network with confidence and in safety.

“Since April 2022, passengers have been able to prebook their assistance up to two hours in advance of their journey, at any time of the day.”

Accruing WMT benefits

PORTSMOUTH South MP Stephen Morgan asked what steps the DfT is taking to improve services via Crewe.

Transport Minister Hugh Merriman said: “The DfT continues to work closely with TOCs to review options to improve performance and increase services to and from Crewe.

“Together we are working to develop a resilient timetable that is appropriate to passenger demand and delivers good value for the taxpayer. West Midlands Trains is improving its Birmingham-Crewe-Liverpool services to half hourly at peak times and most of Saturdays. “WMT is also trialling 12-car operation on selected Sunday services on its Crewe to Euston route due to rising demand.”

Govia service review

LEWISHAM & Deptford MP Vicky Foxcroft asked whether the DfT has had discussions with Govia Thameslink Railway on the reduction of its Southern London Bridge to East Croydon services.

Transport Minister Richard Holden said: “The DfT has regular discussions with TOCs to assess the level of service provision and ensure that the timetable meets passenger demand. The timetable will remain under regular review.

“However, there are no significant changes currently planned to services between East Croydon and London Bridge.”

Network Rail careers

EASINGTON MP Grahame Morris requested the intake dates for new Network Rail apprentices.

Mr Merriman said the latest intake of Railway Engineering Technician Apprentices in October saw 189 recruits start. He added: “The next intake will be October 2024. Network Rail will have one large intake a year for this scheme moving forward.”

Speeding up projects.

FOLLOWING up his earlier question, Mr Morgan asked what steps the DfT is taking to speed up and reduce the costs of delivering infrastructure projects.

Mr Merriman replied: “We work closely with Network Rail to improve the speed and cost of delivering infrastructure projects.

“Network Rail has set up

Rail SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient Enhancement Delivery)... to identify ways to increase the efficiency of infrastructure delivery.”