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Mr. Freeman : This is essentially a matter for the operators and the passenger transport authority and executive. The Government are at present making resources available for two major projects to improve public transport in Manchester, Metrolink and the airport rail link.
M1 (Junction 21)
25. Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement regarding traffic congestion at junction 21 of the M1 motorway.
Mr. Parkinson : Works commenced on an interim scheme to reduce congestion at junction 21 of the M1 motorway on 18 June. The scheme will be completed later this year. It will provide relief to the junction until the mid-1990s.
A longer-term improvement at this junction is being investigated as part of the motorway widening and junction improvement scheme announced in the 1989 White Paper "Roads for Prosperity".
Roads, London
26. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a further announcement on the public transport proposals of the London assessment studies.
Mr. Parkinson : We asked British Rail and London Transport in March to give further consideration to public transport proposals recommended by the London assessment studies which were not already under active examination. Announcements will be made after this work has been completed.
British Rail (Land Sales)
28. Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total income received by British Rail from the sale of surplus land in (a) 1974, (b) 1979, (c) 1989.
Mr. Freeman : Gross income received by British Rail from the sale of surplus land for each of the years, at constant 1990-91 prices, was as follows :
1974 |1979 |<1>1988-89 £ million |£ million |£ million -------------------------------------------- 63 |29 |299 <1> British Rail changed the basis for recording this information from calendar to financial years with effect from 1984-85.
Roads (Environmental Impact)
29. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has made an assessment of the environmental implications of his Department's road building programme ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Parkinson : The environmental benefits and disadvantages of all schemes are considered carefully. Protecting and enhancing the environment will continue to be a major priority in our plans.
Inner City Transport
30. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are being taken to improve transport in the inner cities.
Mr. Parkinson : National road schemes worth £3 billion are under construction or planned to assist the inner cities including major schemes on the A13 to aid revival of London's docklands, the M66 Denton to Middleton scheme and the A69 Newcastle western bypass. Over 100 major local road schemes to assist inner city areas, costing nearly £1 billion, are supported by 50 per cent. transport supplementary grant ; examples are the Birmingham heartlands spine road, the Leeds inner ring road and the Haringey north-south route. We provide grant under the Industrial Development Act 1982 to help build access roads to development sites, such as the Meadowhall development in Sheffield and improvement of Aldwarke lane in Rotherham. In February I announced approval for the electrification of the Birmingham cross-city railway line. We are providing grant under section 56 of the Transport Act 1968 for the Manchester Metrolink. The Docklands Light Railway has contributed greatly to the regeneration of London's docklands. It is now being extended westwards to Bank and eastwards to Beckton and we are consolidating the revitalisation of the area with the Jubilee line extension.
Marchioness
31. Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding the publication of the final report into the sinking of the Marchioness.
Mr. McLoughlin : Solicitors representing next-of-kin and survivors, and others, have written to my right hon. Friend urging publication as soon as possible. My right hon. Friend also saw a deputation of representatives of the Marchioness disaster group on 16 May.
Roads, Yorkshire
32. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects new trunk road provision to serve east-west transportation and movement in South Yorkshire.
Mr. Atkins : There are no proposals at present for a new east-west trunk road in South Yorkshire. Barnsley metropolitan district council has included a proposal for a link between the M1 and the A1, the "Dearne towns link road", in its forward plans. I understand that it hopes to complete the route by the mid-1990s.
Buses (Official Journeys)
33. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions in the last 12 months when he made an official journey by bus in London.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend and I have travelled by bus, underground and rail in London on a number of occasions in the last 12 months.
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Air Traffic Control, Wales
34. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about air traffic control over Wales.
Mr. McLoughlin : The control of air traffic in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the national air traffic services, which is a joint organisation of the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Air traffic over Wales is controlled in precisely the same manner as air traffic over the rest of the United Kingdom. The controlling centre for en route traffic over Wales and much of England is the London air traffic control centre.
M40
35. Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on the construction of the M40.
Mr. Atkins : Construction work is progressing quickly and we are now working towards a full opening of the route in the spring of 1991.
Buses (Passenger Seat Belts)
36. Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has given the bus and coach industry concerning passenger seat belts ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State promised the House on 5 June, he met representatives of the Bus and Coach Council on 8 June to discuss the fitting of seat belts in coaches.
The Government believe that operators should provide good quality, easy-to- use retractable seat belts on all seats. Belts are offered for sale by manufacturers, but most operators do not buy them. At the meeting on 8 June, the Bus, and Coach Council undertook to recommend to its members that all new vehicles purchased should in future be equipped with appropriate seat belts on all seats. Officials are meeting the BCC today to explore further how existing vehicles might best be equipped with seat belts.
Bus Miles
37. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of bus miles operated in the United Kingdom in 1974, 1979 and 1989.
Mr. Freeman : The table shows the number of vehicle kilometres (in millions) operated by buses and coaches in Great Britain.
|1974 |1979 |1988-89
-------------------------------------------------------
Local (stage) Services |2,360 |2,238 |2,416
Other Services |1,102 |1,099 |1,365
All Services |3,462 |3,338 |3,781
Data for 1989-90 will not be available until later in the year.
Light Rapid Transit Schemes
38. Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to light rapid transit, metro and tramway schemes under construction or proposed.
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Mr. Freeman : The docklands light railway is being extended to Bank and Beckton, the Tyne and Wear Metro is being extended to Newcastle airport and work has begun on the Manchester Metrolink, for which the Government are providing grant. Some 40 other light rapid transit schemes have been proposed or are being considered. These include light rail schemes in South Yorkshire, west midlands, and Avon.
Jubilee Line
39. Mr. Maples : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on proposals for private finance for the construction of the Jubilee line extension.
Mr. Freeman : Olympia and York, Regalian and British Gas have agreed to make contributions towards the costs of construction of the Jubilee line extension.
British Rail (Rental Income)
40. Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rental income was received by British Rail in respect of commercial lettings to private companies in (a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c) 1989.
Mr. Freeman : Gross rental income received by British Rail from commercial lettings to private companies for each of the years, at constant 1990-91 prices, was as follows :
|£ million
-------------------------------
1974 |85
1979 |91
<1>1988-89 |114
<1>British Rail changed the
basis for recording this
information from calendar to
financial years with effect
from 1984-85.
Road Accidents
41. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of people killed on Britain's roads in (a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c) 1989.
64. Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of people killed on Britain's roads in (a) 1974, (b) 1979 and (c) 1989.
Mr. Atkins : The information requested is as follows :
1974 |6,876
1979 |6,352
1989 |<1>5,282
<1>Latest provisional estimate.
This 23 per cent. fall in fatalities has been achieved despite an increase of 68 per cent. in total traffic.
Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of (a) fatal accidents, (b) serious accidents and (c) other accidents on the A36 between Wylye and Plaitford in each of the past five years.
Mr. Atkins : The personal injury accidents recorded over the last five years are as follows :
(a) fatal accidents |2 |2 |2 |1 |5
(b) serious accidents |18 |10 |16 |14 |25
(c) slight accidents |89 |54 |53 |55 |74
Unleaded Fuel
42. Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of vehicles used unleaded fuel in 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Atkins : The percentage market share enjoyed by unleaded fuel in December of each of the years mentioned was as follows.
1987 | 0.13
1988 | 3.14
1989 |28.34
We do not have figures relating these percentages to numbers of vehicles.
Disabled People
43. Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the petition recently presented to him concerning disabled people's access to public transport ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : We fully support the principle of moving towards more accessible vehicles. However, in view of the operational and technical difficulties to be resolved, we believe that the target date of 1992 is unrealistic.
We are currently working on the development of a new generation of low floor buses that can accommodate wheelchair users on regular services. We are concerned that for the benefit of both the operators and the potential passengers such vehicles should be able to provide effective and sustainable services. We have some way to go in the development of these vehicles before we can be sure that those concerns have been met. We hope to start trials on what is likely to be the first in a series of low floor accessible demonstration vehicles later this year.
We are also working with coach manufacturers on design requirements for lifts to be fitted to high floor coaches. For both buses and coaches the most effective way forward is likely to be through Europe-wide legislation.
Bypasses
44. Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bypasses will be started or completed this year.
Mr. Atkins : Some 30 bypass schemes with a works cost of over £500 million are programmed to start or be completed this year, totalling over 110 miles of new road.
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Whether classified as bypasses or not, nearly all new road schemes bring relief to local communities from intrusive through traffic.Vehicle Emissions
46. Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made to reduce vehicle emissions.
Mr. Atkins : I have recently laid before the House regulations which will introduce the strict limits on vehicle emissions which have been agreed by the European Community.
The regulations include for the first time a requirement for the motorist to keep his vehicle in good emissions tune. This has paved the way for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's recent announcement that we propose to include a check on emissions in the MOT test.
Negotiations are now taking place on a further directive to limit emissions from cars. In addition to setting stricter limits for medium cars, the new directive will include provisions on evaporative emissions, durability of emission control equipment and a longer test cycle which includes a new high speed element. I hope the negotiations can be concluded quickly. The timetable is short if the new requirements are to take effect by the end of 1992.
When these new requirements are agreed, it will mean that from 1992 virtually all new petrol-engined cars will have to be equipped with three- way catalysts.
The Commission has also announced recently proposals for tighter limits on gaseous emissions from heavy diesel-engined vehicles and for the introduction of limits on particulate emissions from these vehicles. From what we have seen, the proposals may not go far enough. We are looking for standards similar to the United States 1994 limits by the mid-1990s. These are the strictest standards for heavy diesels being considered anywhere in the world.
British Rail (Quality of Service)
47. Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures the Government are taking to improve the quality of service on British Rail.
Mr. Freeman : The Government have agreed quality of service objectives with the board which cover, among other things, train reliability and punctuality and, for most subsidised passenger services, passenger loading standards. The details are set out in my right hon. Friend's letter of 19 November to the chairman ( Official Report, 19 December 1989, column 227-31 ).
British Rail has plans to invest £3.7 billion over the next three years, much of which is for new rolling stock and infrastructure works to improve quality of service and cater for growth in demand. I shall be discussing progress with British Rail very shortly.
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Rural Transport
48. Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met representatives of local authorities to discuss transport in rural areas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Ministers frequently meet representatives of local authorities to discuss a wide range of issues. The provision of rural transport is a matter for the operators and the local authorities concerned. In addition, the Department of Transport provides £1 million a year for the rural transport development fund to support innovative public transport schemes in rural areas.
A40 Western Avenue
49. Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received concerning the cost of the A40 Western avenue improvement at the junction with Long lane, Hillingdon ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Since the beginning of May the hon. Member has himself forwarded two letters on behalf of three constituents concerning the estimated cost of the scheme, and the National Farmers Union wrote in support of one of the constituents.
Trolleybuses
50. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any proposals to introduce trolleybus routes.
Mr. Freeman : The West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire passenger transport executives have both obtained powers to introduce trolleybus routes in their areas. The West Yorkshire PTE has put worked up proposals to the Department for an experimental route in Bradford, and I recently agreed to provide credit approvals for the costs of the infrastructure.
Women Travellers
51. Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Rail to discuss new plans to improve the safety of women.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend has frequently discussed passenger safety with the chairman and his predecessor and expects to do so in further meetings. Much has already been done to improve passenger security including better lighting at stations and station car parks. Closed circuit television has been installed where appropriate. The British Transport Police have increased patrols at likely trouble spots and BR is working on a standard specification for customer security in co-operation with the police.
56. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make public transport more attractive to women.
Mr. Freeman : Such matters are primarily for the transport operators. The Government welcome any efforts to make public transport more attractive to all types of users, and potential users.
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A13
52. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to commence on the A13 trunk road improvement between the M25 and Dagenham.
Mr. Atkins : In spring 1992, subject to the satisfactory completion of the remaining statutory procedures.
Transport Investment
53. Mr. Dickens : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of investment approved by Government in all types of transport for the next three years.
Mr. Atkins : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Southport (Mr. Fearn) on 23 April this year.
Rail Links, Europe
54. Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the impact of rail links into Europe on all regions of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Freeman : The opening of the channel tunnel will be a great opportunity for the railways to compete more effectively in the international passenger and freight markets and to bring extra choice of services to all parts of the United Kingdom.
British Rail (Discussions)
55. Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the chairman of British Rail ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend met the chairman of British Rail on 27 June for one of their regular discussions.
59. Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Rail ; and what matters will be discussed.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend has regular meetings with the chairman of British Rail.
Central Line
57. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total amount of planned investment in new stock on the Central line by London Underground Ltd.
Mr. Freeman : About £350 million. This is the biggest rolling stock order ever placed by London Underground, and is part of the £700 million modernisation of the Central line which the Government approved in 1988. The 85 new trains, along with the rest of the programme, will substantially increase peak capacity, improve regularity of services, and reduce journey time.
Transport Supplementary Grant
58. Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the increase in real terms in transport supplementary grant for local authorities in 1990-91.
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Mr. Atkins : The provision for transport supplementary grant in class VII, vote 5 for 1990-91 is £233,125,000, an increase of 7.3 per cent. in real terms on the corresponding provision for 1989-90.Street Works
60. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further representations he has received concerning his proposals to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the Horne committee.
Mr. Atkins : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 11 June 1990 at column 20.
British Rail (Investment)
62. Mr. David Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of investment in British Rail over the next three years.
Mr. Freeman : BR plans to invest some £3.7 billion over the three financial years 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Rail Services
65. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage further private sector participation in the provision of rail services.
Mr. Freeman : In December 1989 the Government set the British Railways Board the objective of increasing further the contribution of the private sector where this enabled more cost-effective and competitive services to be provided. For the longer term we are continuing to consider the privatisation of British Rail.
Rail Electrification
67. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway line have now been electrified ; and what estimate he has as to the amount of electrification due to take place over the next five years.
Mr. Freeman : At 31 March 1990, BR had 2,830 route miles electrified. BR's 1989 plan proposed electrification of a further 560 route miles by 1993-94, three quarters of which have already been authorised. Major electrification projects are expected to include Cambridge to King's Lynn, the Birmingham cross-city link and the final stages of the east coast main line electrification.
Channel Tunnel
68. Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with the chairman of British Rail the sites for channel tunnel depots in the regions.
Mr. Freeman : This is a commercial matter for British Rail.
69. Mr. Gow : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he expects the first train to travel through the channel tunnel.
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