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Mr. Peter Bottomley : The package of measures agreed in December 1987 contains a commitment that the Council will take a second, more radical, step in June 1990, on the basis of commission proposals to be submitted by 1 November this year.
United Kingdom airlines and their passengers have benefited significantly from the December 1987 measures and we shall be seeking substantial further liberalisation in the next round.
British Rail (Inter-city Services)
30. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated change in the number of passengers using British Rail inter- city services between London and the north-east at peak times over the past five years ; and what has been the
passenger-seats ratio on those trains over the same period.
Mr. Portillo : My Department does not maintain this information : my hon. Friend should approach British Rail.
Heathrow-Paddington Rail Link
31. Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the proposed Heathrow-Paddington rail link to be in operation.
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Mr. Portillo : In 1993, subject to parliamentary approval for the construction works needed.
Motorways (North-West)
32. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to extend the motorway network in he north-west.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Construction of the five mile M63-M66 extension from Portwood to Denton is approaching completion. There are three new motorway stretches in the current forward programme :
|Miles
------------------------------------------------------------
M66 Denton to Middleton (completing the
Manchester outer ring road) |11
A6(M) Stockport North/South bypass |5"
M65 extension to M6 (Blackburn southern bypass) |12
We are considering the case for further schemes as part of the current review of the programme nationally.
Motorways
33. Mr. Wood : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to build new motorways to a higher standard.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Standards for the construction of all truck roads are kept under continual review. Improvements are introduced wherever justified on grounds of safety or value for money. The new requirements for the structural design of road pavements published in December 1987 and several of the measures announced on 7 April 1988, following the motorway safety review, will improve the standard of new motorways.
41. Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his plans to improve traffic movements on the motorway system.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We are continuing to improve and develop the motorway and trunk road network. Our road programme includes 36 improvement schemes designed to improve the flow of traffic on motorways. The majority of these are junction improvements and widening schemes on existing motorways.
Motorway schemes in programme : at 1 December 1988 Under construction :
NWRO
M62 Eastbound, climbing lane, junctions 21-22
M63 Stretford-Eccles, stages 1 and 2 (Barton Bridge opened 20 December 1988)
M63 Stretford-Eccles, stage 4
M63/66 Poortwood-Denton
SERO
M25 Widening junctions 11-13
WMRO
M5 Lobshill-Lydiate Arch and M42 north turn
M40 Bonsbury BP
M40 Warwick section
YHRO
M62 Westbound climbing lane, west of junction 25
In preparation :
ERO
M1 Climbing lane, junction 5
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M11 North facing slip road, junction 5M40 Widening junctions 4-5
LRO
M4 Junction 4 improvement and M1 junction 1
NWRO
M6 Widening junctions 20-21a
M6 Widening junctions 30-31
M6 Improvement junctions 31-32
M62 Widening junctions 12-18
M66 Denton-Middleton
M65-M6 Blackburn Southern BP
A74 Carlisle-Scottish Border
A6(M) Stockport N/S By-pass
SERO
M2 Widening junctions 1-3
M3 Bar End-Compton
M3 Compton-Bassett widening
M3 Widening junctions 2-3
M4 Widening junctions 8/9--M25
M4 Free flow links at junctions 8/9
M20 Maidstone-Ashford
M20 Maidstone BP widening
M40 Waterstock-Wendlebury
WMRO
M5 Widening junctions 6-8
M40 Gaydon section
A446(M) Birmingham northern relief road
YHRO
M1 Junction 34 Roundabout improvement
M18 Junction with B6094 Cockhill Lane
Air Traffic Control
34. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now expects the new air traffic control systems to be operating in the south-east sector in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Civil Aviation Authority has advised that the major reorganisation of the airspace over south-east England--known as the central control function--will be implemented in stages by the national air traffic services between 1990 and 1995, with some gains in capacity beginning to accrue from 1992.
Trains (Overcrowding)
35. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning overcrowding on British Rail and London Underground.
93. Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about overcrowding on British Rail ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : In the last three months I have received 30 representations from Members of Parliament about British Rail and four representations about London Underground, together with 173 letters from members of the public which make some reference to overcrowding.
Autoguide Systems
36. Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what involvement he expects local highway authorities will have in selecting road networks for use by autoguide systems.
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Mr. Peter Bottomley : We are discussing with police
representatives and the local authority associations how the police and highway authorities might be involved in the proposed pilot autoguide system in London.
Traffic Congestion
37. Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what new technology is being introduced to alleviate traffic congestion.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : A wide variety of new technology is improving road safety and alleviating congestion.
Motorway signalling, junction control techniques, variable message signs and traffic signal co-ordination systems for urban areas are available and incorporate the latest developments in
micro-electronics and information technology.
The Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information) Bill will facilitate the introduction of new driver information systems.
Train Accidents
38. Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many significant train accidents per million train miles there were in 1986 and 1987 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : A significant train accident is one that is actually or potentially most dangerous to passengers.
In 1986 the significant accident rate was 0.69 per million train miles and in 1987 it was 0.71 per million train miles.
Roads (London)
39. Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the capacity of the London road system to carry increased numbers of road vehicles.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Many main roads in London are already at or near capacity. Many minor roads are used as rat runs. Forecasts suggest that to the year 2001 road traffic could increase by the order of 1 per cent. to 2 per cent. per annum in outer and inner London, and by less than 1 per cent. per annum in the central area. The approach to accommodating this growth is based on improving trunk roads to take traffic around London, supporting borough road schemes, promoting new technology to improve traffic management, encouraging better parking controls and promoting efficient and attractive public transport.
These steps are being supplemented by a series of major studies including the London assessment studies, which are looking at four areas with particularly severe transport problems.
The alterations associated with low cost, high return casualty reduction measures affect capacity on roads and at junctions. Over 170 such sites have been identified trunk roads in London, including ex. GLC roads.
West Coast Main Line
40. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the need for investment on the west coast main line by British Rail.
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Mr. Portillo : It is for British Rail, which manages the railway, to assess what investment is needed and put forward proposals. Deliveries are already under way of new class 90 locomotives and driving van trailers which will help to improve the reliability of services on the west coast main line.
Rail Safety
43. Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will next meet the chief inspecting officer of railways to discuss safety on British Rail.
Mr. Portillo : The Secretary of State meets the chief inspecting officer of railways regularly to discuss railway safety.
Ports (Congestion)
44. Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding congestion at the ports.
Mr. Portillo : I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave to his question on 28 November 1988, Official Report , columns 154-55 .
Road Deaths
45. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road deaths there were in 1987.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : There were 5,125 people killed in road accidents in Great Britain during 1987. While welcoming the fact that this is a fall of 5 per cent. on the 1986 figures, it still represents too many road deaths during the year.
Accidents
46. Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been (a) killed and (b) injured in major transport disasters in (i) 1986, (ii) 1987, and (iii) 1988.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : There is no clear definition of what constitutes a major transport disaster. To attempt to classify a transport accident as a disaster by the number of deaths involved is an invidious exercise : each fatality is a disaster in its own right. The following accidents are those which have either occurred within Great Britain, or have happened to United Kingdom registered aircraft or United Kingdom registered ships. They are accidents which have attracted particular attention by their severity.
1986
9 killed, 35 injured in a rail crash on a level crossing at Lockington.
45 killed when Chinook helicopter went down in the north sea. 1 killed, 15 injured in crash of twin Otter aircraft in Scotland. 1987
189 killed, 340 injured when the roll-on roll-off ferry Herald of Free Enterprise' overturned off Zeebrugge.
4 killed when a train ran off the rails after a bridge was washed away at Glanrhyd in Wales.
31 killed, 29 injured in a fire at Kings' Cross underground station.
1988
34 killed in a railway accident at Clapham junction.
270 killed in Pan-Am air crash at Lockerbie. Of these, 244 were passengers, 15 were crew, and 11 were on the ground.
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