Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will (a) make an assessment of and (b) discuss with the Office of Rail Regulation the punctuality record of the (i) 07:14, 07:29 and 07:44 Brighton to London Victoria and (ii) 17:32, 17:44 and 18:02 London Victoria to Brighton rail services in 2014.

Claire Perry

The performance of a franchise is measured across its entirety; we do not measure individual lines, routes or journey. Therefore, any penalties imposed are in respect of the performance of the entire franchise.

Any penalty on Network Rail’s performance is a matter for the independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), which is an independent statutory body, with powers vested by Parliament in their board.

As an independent regulator, the ORR operates within the framework set by UK and EU legislation and is accountable through Parliament and the courts.

Performance across parts of the Southern and Thameslink franchises has not been up to the standards that passengers rightly expect.

Department officials and the ORR recently chaired a performance meeting with regard to the Brighton Main Line. The industry is working together to develop an action plan to improve train performance and this will be presented to the Rail Minister and local MPs on 2nd February in the House.