The Secretary of State for Transport (Chris
Grayling): I accept that there have been some real
issues with the Transpennine Express on the route to Scarborough.
Those are things that need to be addressed. There are performance
issues that are not good enough. It is not a question of having a
tin ear. We are actively working to try to improve things on a
network that is delivering more services, rather than fewer, and
in which substantial investment is happening. One of the
frustrations is that the timetable problems in the north this
year were triggered by an investment programme that was delayed.
(Blackley and Broughton)
(Lab): The Secretary of State goes back to the timetable
changes, but currently one in four Northern trains are delayed or
cancelled and nearly one in three Transpennine trains are delayed
or cancelled. Is not it time that he took control and took these
franchises back, so that we can have a proper rail service in the
north of England?
: That is precisely
why I say that I am not satisfied with the current performance
issues. That is why we have appointed Richard George to
understand why the service is not performing adequately. It is of
course hampered by the fact that some of the performance issues
recently have been caused by the elderly Pacer trains, which are
being phased out, starting in the coming weeks. However, we need
to do everything we can and we will continue to do everything we
can, in partnership with Transport for the North, to identify the
ways of getting performance up. It is not simply a question of
changing ownership of the franchise or control of the franchise.
There is not a magic team down the corridor waiting to step in
and make this work better. We have got to make it work better.
Mr (Scarborough and Whitby)
(Con): As we have heard, Transpennine passengers to and
from Scarborough have had to endure a summer of delays. Indeed,
because of drivers’ hours, many trains have been terminated at
York, leaving passengers waiting an hour for the following
service, if it is not also delayed. Although there has been some
improvement, when are we likely to see a return to normality?
: I absolutely
sympathise with people in Scarborough. Of course, we are
introducing additional services to Scarborough in the coming
months, so that there will be a Northern service there as well.
The work that Richard George is doing to look at why these
performance issues are happening is similar to the work we did
with Chris Gibb on Southern, which has led to an improvement in
performance on that network, and I am absolutely clear that we
have to deal with the issues that he highlights.
