Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether XC Trains Limited were in default of their contract regarding any of their contractual performance indicators in (1) October 2024 (2) November 2024 and (3) December 2024; and, if so, whether they were given relief from such defaults through an extended remedial agreement.
Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, CBE): All operators are required to meet their contractual obligations as set out in their National Rail Contract, including contractual performance indicators. Failure to comply with those contractual obligations, once Force Majeure claims have been taken into account, leaves operators open to enforcement action.
The Department is currently assessing if XC Trains Limited exceeded the default threshold, for any of the relevant indicators in these periods, once Force Majeure claims have been taken into account.
The current Remedial Agreement with XC Trains Limited that was agreed in August 2024 runs until March 2025. There has been no amendment to the existing Remedial Agreement
Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend the current remedial agreement or agree a new remedial agreement with XC Trains Limited beyond March 2025.
Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, CBE): The current Remedial Agreement with XC Trains Limited that was agreed in August 2024 runs until March 2025. The Department is considering what further actions might be appropriate, if any.
Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect XC Trains Limited to meet its contractual commitments to deliver the May 2025 timetable uplift or whether they have requested any alterations to the CrossCountry timetable from May 2025; and, if so, whether any such requests have been agreed.
Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, CBE): All operators are required to meet their contractual obligations as set out in their National Rail Contract. Failure to comply with those contractual obligations leaves operators open to enforcement action.
It is public knowledge that CrossCountry is both reinstating services on some routes and amending the times of some services from May 2025. The Department has not agreed any alterations to the CrossCountry May 2025 timetable.
Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the remedial agreement letter between the Secretary of State and XC Trains Limited, whether they will release in full the redacted ‘Annex – 1: Remedial Commitments’ to ensure transparency as to what XC Trains is contracted to do and by when.
Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, CBE): The Remedial Agreement letter has been published on the .gov website. Redactions have been made using the exemptions permitted under both section 40(2) (personal information) and 43(2) (commercially prejudicial information) of the Freedom of Information Act. A public interest test was conducted as part of the consideration process. The Remedial Agreement runs until March 2025.
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