Tag: Lord Bradshaw

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on total passenger capacity of the East Coast Main Line of the use of 280-seat trains on 17 per cent of the long distance train paths into and out of King’s Cross, as compared with the 530-seat trains used by the InterCity East Coast franchise.

Baroness Kramer

Decisions on the allocation of track capacity on the railway are matters for Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation. Clearly, where the number of available train paths on a route is constrained, as in the case of parts of the East Coast Main Line, the use of trains with fewer seats than the maximum operationally possible would reduce passenger capacity. However there are other factors influencing the allocation of train paths, including the need for services to cover a range of different routes and stopping patterns, and the availability of rolling stock. The Government would expect such considerations to be taken into account within the decision process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to expand the role of the British Transport Police in providing supervision around transport interchanges.

Baroness Kramer

The BTP currently polices transport interchanges through hub policing teams. These teams work closely with various partners including the Home Office forces, Network Rail, Transport for London and the train operators to provide a seamless policing model spanning the underground and mainline stations. The aim is to provide a coordinated and focused policing service to keep the general public safe and reduce crime and disorder. There are no plans to expand the role of the British Transport Police (BTP) in providing supervision around transport interchanges.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect that the review of level crossing legislation will result in a legislative proposal being put before Parliament.

Baroness Kramer

We want to bring forward legislation as soon as possible.

However, whilst we have accepted the majority of the recommendations made by the Law Commission, our response to its report noted that there were a number of areas where we believed that further consideration with stakeholders, including the Scottish and Welsh Governments, was necessary before reaching a conclusion.

The Department for Transport has produced a Level Crossing Reform Action Plan which explains how this work will be taken forward including an indicative timetable for bringing forward legislative proposals during 2016. Initial discussions with stakeholders are already underway.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the infrastructure of the East Coast Main Line has sufficient capacity to enable the Virgin/Stagecoach consortium to deliver both faster and more frequent trains under the InterCity East Coast franchise.

Baroness Kramer

The enhanced infrastructure, provided by Government’s Rail Investment Strategy for Control Period 5 (2014-2019) and as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP), and new trains, provided by IEP, will allow Virgin Trains East Coast to deliver improvements to the East Coast train service. In addition to this any decision on the allocation of further capacity made available by these enhancements will be taken by the Office of Rail Regulation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the impact on the taxpayer of the payment of the lower variable track access charge for the 17 per cent of long-distance train paths into and out of King’s Cross allocated to open access operators; and how much additional income would be generated for Network Rail if those operators paid the same level of access charge as franchised operators.

Baroness Kramer

The purpose of the charging regime for Control Period 5 (2014- 2019) is to be as cost reflective as possible, recognising that access charges must be set at a level which the market segment in question can bear. The Office of Rail Regulation as the independent regulator set out their proposals for access charges in their Final Determination following extensive consultation with industry stakeholders. It is not for the Department to determine how Open Access Operators should be charged for access to the network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why, in the light of the demand for track access exceeding the availability of train paths on the East Coast Main Line, open access operators are paying discounted variable track access charges.

Baroness Kramer

Existing Open Access Operators are charged the same Variable Track Access charges as franchised operators with the exception of the Capacity Charge. This is because implementing the full Control Period 5 (CP5) rates would equate to a real term average increase of 450% in the Capacity Charge from which Open Access Operators have no protection. In light of the Office of Rail Regulation’s statutory duties to promote the use of the railway network, protect the interests of users of railway services and to promote competition in the provision of railway services, they deemed it appropriate to hold Capacity Charge at CP4 rates for both existing services and any new entrant Open Access Operator in line with European law and their statutory duties. Any additional services introduced by existing Open Access Operators will be charged at CP5 rates.