Railways in Parliament
IET fleet hitches
LORD Bradshaw asked what steps the Government is taking to address inadequate accommodation on services between Cardiff and London, and whether that shortage is the responsibility of the train operator or the rolling stock provider.
Transport Minister and fellow life peer Lord Davies of Gower answered: “The majority of GWR services are operated by its Hitachi Intercity Express Train (IET) fleet. Under the terms of its National Rail Contract, GWR must use its rolling stock to deliver a consistent, efficient service. GWR reviews loading and capacity data to try to ensure appropriate formations.
“Recently however, GWR has experienced challenges with both the reliability of its network infrastructure and fleet availability. A number of IETs have been out of use due to significant damage, including long-term crack repairs, engine issues and water ingress.
“The Department for Transport (DfT) is engaged with GWR and Network Rail to seek improvements and secure a level of service which passengers deserve.”
Combatting strikes
THE Bishop of St Albans wanted to know what steps the Government is taking to minimise disruption from strikes by drivers.
Lord Davies said: “The
ASLEF union has mandates for industrial action ending between February and April for all 14 train operating companies.
“Parliament has approved regulations to implement minimum service levels… designed to reduce disproportionate disruption caused by strikes. The regulations came into force on December 8.
“Whilst it is hoped that these regulations need not be used, and strike action can be avoided, they provide employers with an additional tool to support passengers by enabling a minimum level of service to be delivered during any strike action.”
Class 730 depots
EASINGTON’s Labour MP Grahame Morris asked how much funding the Department for Transport plans to provide through the West Midlands Trains (WMT) National Rail Contract for depot and stabling facilities for the Class 730 fleet.
Transport Minister Huw Merriman said: “The DfT continues to work closely with WMT on new and additional depot and stabling facilities for the Class 730 fleet.
“As these projects are live and the size of the final programme is still being determined, the costs are not yet known.”
Revealing restorations
NORTH Durham Labour MP Kevan James asked if the DfT will publish the latest round of successful bids to the Restoring Your Railway Fund (RYR).
Mr Merriman said:
“Under the Network North announcement, the DfT confirmed that a further 11 RYR-originated schemes will progress to delivery, subject to successful business cases.
“We are in the early stages of planning next steps, including timelines, for these schemes and are working closely with Network Rail and other partners to develop and deliver on these Government priorities.”
Castle Line upgrade
LORD Bradshaw asked what discussions the DfT is having with East Midlands Railways (EMR) about restoring the pre-pandemic levels of service between Nottingham and Lincoln.
Lord Davies replied: “The
DfT is working closely with EMR to reintroduce services which were removed in June 2021. Last May, six weekday services and eight Saturday services between Leicester and Lincoln via Nottingham were reinstated.”
XC fleet expanding
LORD Bradshaw then asked what discussions the DfT is having with operator CrossCountry to address the shortage of accommodation on services between the Thames Valley and the north, making more of the stock currently in store available.
Lord Davies added: “Officials meet regularly with train operators. Under the new National Rail Contract which commenced in October, extra carriages are due to be added to the CrossCountry fleet in the next few years, as they become available in the rolling stock market.”