David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to limit the effect that engineering works on rail lines have on travel over long bank holidays.

Claire Perry

An independent review of how the rail industry plans and schedules major improvement work was carried out last year. The review concluded that Christmas, Easter and bank holidays were the best times to carry out upgrades requiring major line closures, particularly in and around London where the network is busiest and access for engineers is most difficult.

Network Rail always looks to minimise the overall impact of these vital projects on passengers. As such, Network Rail and train operators are conscious that many people want to use the railway over holiday periods to reunite with their friends and families, so where possible they try to ensure the vast majority of services are kept running, as well as delivering passenger improvements on time. Network Rail will ensure around 96% of the network will be available during the next May bank holiday.