Written questions by Taylor.

What steps she is taking through her policy of public ownership of the railways to (a) tackle last-minute train cancellations and (b) improve service reliability.

Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. Bringing train operations into public ownership is the first step in the Government’s plan to improve the railways for passengers and taxpayers. Great British Railways, when established, will take a whole rail system view, ensuring that all parts of the sector are working together, to deliver against Ministers’ priorities and improve reliability for passengers.

Whether her Department plans to re-instate late night services at Worcester Park station.

When adding or reinstating services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations. There are currently no plans to reinstate a later train between Sunday and Thursday. However, a later Friday and Saturday service was reinstated from December 2020 departing from Waterloo at twenty-five minutes past midnight.

What steps she is taking to improve road safety for people (a) walking, (b) wheeling and (c) cycling.

The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve road safety for cyclists and pedestrians, by strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and introducing the Hierarchy of Road Users, which places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision, at the top of the hierarchy. The Highway Code makes it clear that those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they pose to others and highlights the need to take care and be particularly aware of young cyclists and pedestrians.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of bringing South Western Railway into public ownership.

The costs associated with the transfer of a train operating company into public ownership cannot be determined until engagement with the train operator has commenced. Each train operator will have their own circumstances that need to be addressed to enable a successful transfer. These are identified during the due diligence phase and then the costs for addressing them can be agreed. As an example, previously, the Department has paid fees to South Western Railway of £8.2 million between September 2020 to March 2021. These can be found in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-payments-to-passenger-rail-operators-under-emergency-agreements#full-publication-update-history Overall, transferring service operations to the public sector will result in a saving of fixed and performance-based management fees currently paid to private sector train operators. This saving is estimated to be £110 million to £150 million per annum once all franchised contracts had expired, with a proportion of these savings achieved each year in the interim as individual services transfer. Please see the following link: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0133/en/240133en.pdf Whilst all services will transfer as their existing contracts end, there are costs associated with the transfer from a private sector operator to a public sector company (mobilisation and due diligence costs) estimated at £1 million to £1.5 million per transaction. This is consistent with costs associated with transition following any competed franchise award as shown in the following link: https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/56108/documents/5037.

Whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on levels of noise pollution on the London Underground.

The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Mayor of London specifically on levels of noise pollution on the London Underground. Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for the operation of London’s transport network.

Whether she plans to extend the HS2 terminus from Old Oak Common to London Euston.

The government is reviewing the position it has inherited on HS2 and will set out detailed plans in due course.

What estimate she has made of the timeframe within which the renationalisation of rail franchises will result in improvements to rail services.

Public ownership will end the failed franchising system, allowing operators to serve the interests of passengers, not shareholders. The failures of the past three decades cannot be fixed overnight, and bringing train operations into public ownership is only one part of this government’s extensive plans to improve the railways for passengers and taxpayers.