Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average age of rolling stock serving the (a) Tees Valley Line and (b) Esk Valley Line is.

Stephen Hammond

The rolling stock operated on these two lines is a mixture of Class 142 and Class 156 units which were constructed between 1985 and 1989.

However, the age of rolling stock is a crude measure of quality – as a properly planned refurbishment of an older train can result in a very pleasant travelling environment and a "new train feel" but at a fraction of the cost of a new unit.

Information on the average age of rolling stock is available from the Office of Rail Regulation’s website, by following this link:

http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/53dcc4e1-3223-48f9-9e9c-10d51359cdd7

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