argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Level Crossing Safety (Bassetlaw) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): The tragic accident that resulted in the loss of life of Emma Lifsey happened in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. Anyone who has read about it will know that it was a dreadful tragedy. After that incident, the rail accident investigation branch made four recommendations that meant that such an accident could never happen again. I have been told they have been implemented across the network, but I want to follow up on that and make sure The hon. Gentleman refers to the plan to close the 73 crossings on the east coast mainline. That work has been progressed, but we cannot just shut off communities that rely on some of those contacts.
Level Crossing Safety (Bassetlaw) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Claire Louise Perry (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman shakes his head. He should do my job and listen to people campaigning to keep level crossings open. The work will happen. It is absolutely right to focus on it and we will continue to fund it. There is no shortage of money for it—£109 million will be spent on making level crossings safer.
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for the time he and his officials have spent with me recently to discuss the Golborne link. The initial justification for the link was a proposed depot in Wigan, but that depot will now not be located in Wigan. The only justification that remains is the 10 minutes saved by train journeys north of Wigan. Will the Minister confirm that if that standalone link north of Manchester goes ahead, it will be subject to a separate business case so that we can examine its business case review?
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): We are certainly considering all the recommendations made by Sir David Higgins in his report, "Rebalancing Britain". Sir David believes that the link to the west coast mainline is needed sooner rather than later. The alternative, which would mean linking to the west coast mainline at Crewe, would mean upgrading the west coast mainline to take on the additional services. That could be costly and disruptive. Indeed, it would incur those dreadful words "Replacement bus services" for many weeks.
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): That is not what Lord Adonis was saying when he was Secretary of State for Transport. I am very pleased that Lord Adonis is engaging with this Government in delivering massive infrastructure improvements. The question the hon. Gentleman needs to ask himself is: what is the cost of not progressing HS2? It is about the capacity and the great cities of the north, which are crying out for that additional capacity and the wealth it will bring to the north.
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, HS2 should have started in the north. On phase 2, may I also appeal for sanity from the Government? Will they review the hybrid Bill process and the cruel and unfair compensation scheme? The hybrid Bill process for phase 1 has been convoluted, impenetrable, protracted and painful, not just for the MPs on the Committee, but, more importantly, for the people affected by the project. It is ironic that we are using such a snail-like process for something that is supposed to be high speed. The hybrid Bill process is not fit for purpose. We should modernise it and bring it into the 21st century.
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to those Members who have doggedly sat on the hybrid Bill Committee and listened to petitions in such an admirable way. Many of the petitions did not reach the Committee, because we managed to reach agreement beforehand. On the question of building HS2 from the north first, it will still end up in London, whichever end it starts at. It is between Birmingham and London that the capacity is needed as a matter of urgency.
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my hon. Friend meet me and a delegation from Erewash Borough Council to discuss its proposals to mitigate the impact of the route for phase 2 of HS2 on local residents and businesses, especially in and around Long Eaton?
High Speed 2 — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): We have not finalised the route, so it might be premature to have that meeting. As I have said, we will update the House before the end of the year. At that point, it will be very appropriate to meet a number of communities up and down the line of route.
Public Transport Accessibility (Disabled Passengers) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): We have made significant progress on increasing access. By the end of the year, we expect around 75% of rail journeys to start or end at a step-free station. That is an increase from around 50% when the Access for All programme started. That programme will deliver 151 step-free routes at stations this year. On the buses, only 57% met accessibility regulations in 2009-10. That number is now nearly 90% and rising.
Public Transport Accessibility (Disabled Passengers) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I am aware of the installation of the new footbridge at Chirk station, which will vastly improve the facilities there, but I do not recognise what the hon. Lady says. The Access for All programme has been a great success. We are building on the success of the programme that was launched by the previous Government. So far, £386 million has been spent and about 1,200 stations have benefited from smaller-scale improvements. To build on the success, a further £160 million of funding has been allocated in the last year, which will extend the scheme to a further 68 stations.
Public Transport Accessibility (Disabled Passengers) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course she has to get there and I will look into the case of Eaglescliffe station The point remains that the Department for Transport is committed to ensuring that disabled people have the same access to transport services and opportunities as other members of society. That is why we are fully backing the Access for All programme and rolling out more disability access to buses. That is a measure of its success. The programme has generated a positive response. Research at stations that have benefited from the programme has found that passengers with mobility impairment have a better travelling experience as a result, and that goes up among those who have wheelchair issues.
Public Transport Accessibility (Disabled Passengers) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. I am acutely aware of how important buses are for disabled people, as well as for other communities. That is why I have been a great champion of the bus industry. Of course, the implications for all bus users are considered when budgets are planned.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): Since 2010 my Department has overseen the successful delivery of 50 miles of electrified track. In the constituency of the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) construction is under way between Ealing Broadway and Acton mainline stations, to remove slow-moving freight trains off the line and enable high-frequency electric Crossrail trains to service her constituents from 2018. From Paddington and through her constituency to Bristol and on to Cardiff, Network Rail has installed around a quarter of the 14,000 piles needed to turn the centuries-old Great Western line into an electric railway fit for the 21st century.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman because I, too, am a football supporter—I support Derby County and any team that plays Manchester United—and his team has done incredibly well. He makes a fair point, and Network Rail uses a huge amount of steel, which helps his constituency. I will look into his point and write to him once I get the results of Peter Hendy’s re-plan.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): It means that I will take no lessons from someone who, between 1997 and 2010, supported a Labour Government who managed to achieve the great amount of electrification of 10 miles—13 years, 10 miles. We will certainly look at electrification as that is the way forward for the railways, and I will consider that along with other plans for control period 6.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): As I witnessed again last Monday, passengers travelling between Bolton and Manchester are frequently squashed like sardines on that line. Will the Secretary of State update the House on how engineering works on the line are coming on, and particularly the reboring of the tunnel at Farnworth?
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right about what we need to do. Farnworth tunnel has had problems but it has now been completed, and that will help to increase capacity on the line. The changes and increased capacity that my hon. Friend rightly wants for his area will take place, and I pay tribute to all those who have worked tirelessly on the Farnworth tunnel, which is now running on time.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Nigel John Mills (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the unpausing of work on electrifying the Midland mainline. As most of that work will slip into the next control period, will the Secretary of State ensure that the line through Langley Mill and Atherton is also electrified? That project has a robust business case and will improve the resilience of the whole line and services to my constituency.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, my hon. Friend heard evidence a few weeks ago from the chief executive of Network Rail. His point about looking at all the lines as a total is important, and I will bear his comments in mind.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Jason McCartney (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much welcome the news that the electrification of the trans-Pennine route is now fully back on track. Will the Secretary of State say what new improved benefits the new scheme will bring to commuters in west Yorkshire?
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): We are looking at substantial improvements in linking up the main cities in the north—between Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. What we are planning will bring more seats and capacity. It is absolutely essential that that is got on with.
Rail Electrification — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Questions: In response to an earlier question, the Transport Secretary rightly pointed out that other line improvements are required in addition to electrification on the midland main line. Will he therefore update the House on progress in finalising the funding for all those improvements, including those at Market Harborough, to which the Government are committed?
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his position. He talks about privatised railways leading to this kind of disaster. This is a great example of somebody who has not held ministerial office, or who has just been in opposition, being able to forget everything that happened in the past. I remember, however, what the Labour candidate for Mayor of London, the right hon. Member for Tooting (Sadiq Khan), said: "one reason we are able to invest record sums in our railway service is the revenues that the franchises bring in and the premiums that they pay".—[Official Report, 1 July 2009; Vol. 495, c. 430.] We are seeing record investment in our railway because of how we are running it. At the time it was fully nationalised we saw a declining railway, a useless railway, a railway that was not fit for purpose—something the Labour party wants to go back to.
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I meet regularly with senior officials of Network Rail to discuss a wide range of key issues facing the company. Recent meetings have majored on Sir Peter Hendy’s review of the control period 5 enhancement programme.
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Secretary of State reiterate the Government’s commitment to the recommendations of the Great Eastern main line taskforce, which brings benefits to all counties on its route? Will he ensure that Network Rail delivers the necessary improvements to track in East Anglia in CP5 and CP6?
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. I am very glad to say that we have been able to issue the invitation to tender in relation to the East Anglia franchise, something on which my hon. Friend has been very persistent. Services to Norwich in 90 minutes and services to Ipswich in 60 minutes form part of that tender. She is right about the other improvements we need to look at as well. She can take my assurance that I will raise them with Sir Peter Hendy when I meet him later today.
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I need a bit more direction on what the actual question is. There has been electrification of the line between Liverpool and Manchester, which is very welcome. We now have electric trains running on that line and there will soon be more. If the hon. Gentleman has a more specific point, perhaps he would like to write to me.
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Scott Leslie Mann (Conservative, Centre-right): During the great storms in the west country in early 2014, we found our main line route to Cornwall floating in the sea. The peninsular rail task force put together three proposals, including the Okehampton link. Have any conclusions been reached? It would add huge benefits to our economic potential in North Cornwall.
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): I well remember the situation at Dawlish. I also remember the valiant way Network Rail worked to restore that link. It did an exceptional job in very difficult circumstances, so even at this stage I would again like to add my thanks to all the people who worked on that scheme to restore the link. My hon. Friend is quite right about the taskforce that the peninsula group has brought forward. We are looking at its report and will have further comments to make once the re-planning of CP5 is undertaken by Sir Peter Hendy.
Network Rail — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Patrick McLoughlin (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about the academy at Northampton, which I visited a few months ago and which my hon. Friend the rail Minister opened just a few weeks ago. It will play an important role in upskilling, but it is not just about upskilling the state; it is about upskilling the whole industry and bringing it together. That is one reason I asked Sir Terry Morgan, the chairman of Crossrail, to co-ordinate an apprenticeships programme right across the transport sector.
Skills Development (Infrastructure Programmes) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): On 21 August, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport announced the appointment of Terry Morgan, the chair of Crossrail, to develop a transport and infrastructure skills strategy. The strategy will help ensure that the transport industry has the right people with the right skills at the right time to deliver the Government’s unprecedented programme of transport infrastructure investment.
Skills Development (Infrastructure Programmes) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Education
Stephen James Metcalfe (Conservative, Centre-right): I was recently fortunate enough to visit Prospects college of advanced technology in Basildon, which has created a unique partnership between engineering and construction companies to train the next generation of skilled technicians. May I invite my hon. Friend to look closely at its model and perhaps even to visit PROCAT, with a view to widening that range of opportunities across the whole country to give our young people the skills they will need to deliver our plans?
Skills Development (Infrastructure Programmes) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Education
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I will certainly look at the approach taken by PROCAT, and I would like to visit, because it is vital that colleges and universities work in partnership with employers to ensure that young people get the skills the industry needs. Skills are particularly crucial within the transport sector, as more and more skilled people are required. I will also highlight the work of PROCAT to Sir Terry Morgan as he develops our skills strategy.
Skills Development (Infrastructure Programmes) — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Labor
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The industry has a responsibility to bring new people in, but I am aware of the recruitment challenges it faces. There is also a retention issue. I have met with the industry several times and will continue to do so. It is most important that this critical industry brings people into it. Without our logistics industry performing at a high level, our country would grind to a halt in a couple of days.
Plymouth Airport — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chancellor announced in the March 2015 Budget report that "the government will commission a new study into the possibility of reopening Plymouth Airport." I am keen to determine the final form and scope of the study, and how best to take it forward.
Plymouth Airport — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): Well, that new colony certainly worked out well My hon. Friend is right that investment in infrastructure is vital to the economic development of the south-west, which is why we have committed £31 million to improving the resilience of the Great Western route. We have already heard about the £40 million used to fix Dawlish and the long-overdue investment in the A30 and the A303, which have long been the scourge of tourists and business people travelling to the south-west.
Cross-channel Transport Links — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): Recent improvements to security measures include fencing, additional security guards, dogs, and improved CCTV and thermal imaging cameras. In addition to these measures, the French Government have committed very significant police resources to the Calais area.
Cross-channel Transport Links — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Foreign Trade
Karen Lumley (Conservative, Centre-right): On my summer business tour, I met lots of exporters in Redditch having terrible trouble getting their goods into Europe. Can my hon. Friend assure me and Redditch businesses that his Department is doing everything possible to ensure that my businesses prosper in the future?
Cross-channel Transport Links — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): The channel link is certainly vital to the whole UK economy, and particularly to the haulage industry. I was recently at Folkestone and saw some of the problems at first hand. In particular, there were issues with regard to just-in-time delivery of parts for the motor industry, steel rails produced in Scunthorpe that are exported to the continent, and lobsters produced in my constituency that travel in trucks across to customers in France and Spain.
Cross-channel Transport Links — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): This summer the M20 through my constituency was closed for 32 days. I am grateful for the attention that the ministerial team is giving to solving the problem. Will the Secretary of State update me on the progress being made to avoid a repeat of this summer’s closure next summer?
Cross-channel Transport Links — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): The key to preventing any recurrence of the problems we have had this summer is sorting out the issues in France. I am pleased to say that the MyFerryLink industrial dispute has been resolved, so we do not have that additional problem. The Government put in place a contingency plan at Manston, which would have relieved the problem further. It is certainly important to look at how to improve the situation when, for whatever reason, we have disruption on the channel.
Airports Commission Report — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): I have to say that the representations I have received from Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland underline the importance of having good connectivity to international routes, which may be brought about through additional runway capacity in the south-east. Indeed, we have already provided some help to the Dundee service to allow passengers to reach the capital, albeit not to a hub, in that way.
Airports Commission Report — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): I have always made clear the importance with which I view local airports and regional international airports and how big a part they play in the economic development of areas, particularly in Scotland. We need to look at aviation as a whole. Certainly the representations I receive stress the importance of connectivity—whether it be through Amsterdam, Schiphol, Paris, Frankfurt or indeed to slots that may become available in the south-east.
Airports Commission Report — House of Commons, 2015-10-29
Topic: Transportation
Questions: How many of the 47 recommendations ignored by the Airports Commission would have benefited Scotland, and would those recommendations have increased the number of domestic flights, unlike the Heathrow option, which would decrease it?
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the concerns that I have picked up around the country, outside the south-east, is that owing to the pressure for slots at both Heathrow and Gatwick at peak times, connecting flights coming in from other parts of the country are always an issue, and we are well aware of the acute need for that issue to be addressed.