§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many scheduled railway services were substituted by bus services during the week ended 18 January; for what reasons; and what penalty payments have been made by operators under their agreements with the franchising director. [15350]
§ Mr. WattsThe information is not available in the form requested. The Office of Passenger Rail Franchising monitors cancellations for franchised services. If an operator cancels more than a set threshold, that is a breach of the franchise agreement and enforcement action may follow. Some operators are also subject to a performance regime with Opraf and are penalised for each cancellation. Bus substitutions as a result of planned engineering work are not usually subject to penalty payments.