Written question asked by Philip Hollobone (Conservative) on Tuesday, 11 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 14 October 2005. It was answered by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Friday, 14 October 2005 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Train Services

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of seats occupied by passengers on peak time Midland mainline train services to and from London (a) at the latest date for which figures are available and (b) at the end of the current franchise.

Answer: As the train operator, Midland Mainline monitors the passenger usage of its services and predicts future levels of demand. Current usage levels, as measured between 1 September 2005 and 6 October 2005, on peak services (defined as any train departing for London before 9 am and all trains leaving London between 4 pm and 7 pm) are 64 per cent. on southbound services and 61 per cent. on Northbound services.The current Midland Mainline franchise is due to end in April 2008.The closest estimate to the end of the franchise for peak usage figures is at September 2007 and the estimate is 71 per cent. for southbound services and 68 percent. for Northbound services.

Secondary information