| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Bus Working Group
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the membership of the bus working group; who attended its last meeting; and which organisations they represent. [17139]
Mr. Norris: Under my chairmanship, the bus working group comprises representatives form the Confederation of Passenger Transport, the Joint Local Authority Associations and the National Federation of Bus Users. Officials from the Department of Transport and the Scottish and Welsh Offices also attend. In addition to me and officials, the following attended the most recent meeting of the group, held on 20 November:
Local authority representatives
Councillor M. Dowd--Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Councillor M. Ingram--Public Transport Consortium of Non Metropolitan Counties
Councillor M. Nash--Association of County Councils
Councillor B. White--Association of District Councils
Mr. B. Dobbs--Association of County Councils
Mr. J. Carr--Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Mr. G. Ball--Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Mr. R. Bristow--Association of County Councils
Mr. V. Christie--Association of District Councils
Mr. W. Tyson--Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Mr. S. Lockley--Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Mr. A. Elmer--Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Confederation of Passenger Transport
Mrs. V. Palmer
Mr. E Hesketh
28 Feb 1996 : Column: 562
- Mr. T. Smallwood
Mr. D. Flower
National Federation of Bus Users
Dr. C. Cahm
Mr. J. Cartledge
Jubilee Line Extension
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what penalties will be exacted from contractors building the Jubilee line extension by London Underground Ltd. in the case of late completion. [17741]
Mr. Norris: The details of any such penalties are a matter for London Underground Ltd. In assessing such penalties, LUL will take into account any mitigating factors.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is London Underground's current estimate of the delay in completing the Jubilee line extension. [17742]
Mr. Norris: London Underground is still aiming for the extension to be completed in early 1998, as planned.
Central Railway
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 February, Official Report, column 128, what matters were discussed with Central Railway when he met it on 17 January. [17167]
Mr. Watts: The meeting discussed applications by Central Railway plc for directions by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under rule 12 of the Transport and Works (Applications and Objections Procedure) Rules 1992 granting absolute, partial or conditional waivers from compliance with certain rules. The company subsequently decided to withdraw these applications and to re-submit them in a modified form. We have given no assurance that any rule 12 directions will be given in respect of any fresh waiver applications.
Royal Train
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed on a (a) full-time and (b) part-time basis to run, clean, maintain and service the royal train. [17791]
Mr. Watts: Eleven full-time and four part-time staff are employed to run, clean, maintain and service the royal train. Other staff employed by Rail Express Systems Ltd., Railtrack plc and other companies, undertake work related to the royal train as part of their normal duties, as and when needed. For example, certain administrative staff plan individual journeys and train crews are allocated on a train-by-train basis.
Rail Passenger Fare Revenue
Mr. Wilson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was at constant prices the declared revenue from passenger fares of the train operating companies already franchised and currently offered for franchising in (a) 1993-94 and (b) 1994-95. [17168]
28 Feb 1996 : Column: 563
Mr. Watts:
The information requested is contained in following the table:
| Train operating company | Passenger revenue (at 1995 prices) year ended: | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 1994 | 31 March 1995 | |
| Anglia Railways Train Services Ltd. | 32.0 | 34.0 |
| Cardiff Railway Company Ltd. | 6.7 | 5.7 |
| Gatwick Express Ltd. | 28.0 | 27.0 |
| Great Western Trains Company Ltd. | 160.0 | 151.0 |
| InterCity East Coast Ltd. | 223.0 | 206.0 |
| LTS Rail Ltd. | 54.0 | 51.0 |
| Midland Main Line Ltd. | 60.0 | 59.0 |
| Network SouthCentral Ltd. | 162.0 | 157.0 |
| ScotRail | 92.0 | 86.0 |
| South Wales and West Railway Ltd. | 40.0 | 40.0 |
| South West Trains Ltd. | 227.0 | 230.0 |
| Thames Trains | 40.0 | 46.0 |
| The Chiltern Railway Company Ltd. | 15.0 | 22.0 |
| The South Eastern Train Ltd. | 211.0 | 215.0 |
Borga Incident
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the report of the marine accident investigation branch into the grounding of the Borga off St. Anne's head in October 1995; and if he will make a statement. [17807]
Mr. Norris: A report will be published by the marine accident investigation branch.
Sea Empress Incident
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the reports he received from (a) the port authorities, (b) his inspectors and (c) Her Majesty's Coastguard about the Sea Empress vessel; and if he will make a statement. [17662]
Mr. Norris: No reports have been received from port authorities. MAIB inspectors have made three informal reports to Ministers on general matters related to their investigation. The Coastguard Agency has made numerous reports to Ministers on the incident, in writing, orally and via a video conferencing facility.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the total payments made to date by his Department to the channel tunnel rail link project team. [17249]
Mr. Watts [holding answer 27 February 1996]: Union Railways is the Government-owned company which has developed the channel tunnel rail link project. Union Railways has spent £471 million on the project to date.
Ms Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) consultants and (b) other employees are currently employed by the channel tunnel rail link project teams. [17248]
28 Feb 1996 : Column: 564
Mr. Watts
[holding answer 27 February 1996]: As at 9 February 1996, Union Railways retained 166 individual consultants and 470 other employees.
Ms Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the total payments made to date by his Department to (a) consultants, (b) outside organisations and (c) individuals for work on the channel tunnel rail link scheme indicating the name of the body involved and the services provided. [17247]
Mr. Watts
[holding answer 27 February 1996]: The information relates to work on the route announced by the then Secretary of State in October 1991. My Department has made use of the consultants listed in table 1. The total expenditure on these consultants amounts to approximately £8.75 million excluding VAT but including expenses. Some expenditure has been incurred in addition to this for legal advice on the implications of the project for railway privatisation, but this is ascribed to the privatisation programme and not to the rail link. Details of payments to individual firms are commercially confidential. No payments have been made by the Department to organisations or individuals not listed in the table except for Union Railways, expenditure by whom is the subject of a separate answer given today to the hon. Member.
| Consultant | Services |
|---|---|
| Samuel Montagu(7) | Financial advice |
| WS Atkins(7) | Technical advice |
| Grandfields(7) | Conferencing services |
| Hill Samuel | Financial advice |
| Touche Ross | Accountancy services |
| McKenna and Co | Legal advice |
| G Maunsell and Partners | Technical advice |
| Tony Ham Insurance Brokers | Insurance advice |
| Richard Ellis | Property advice |
| Sherwoods | Parliamentary agent Parliamentary (includes Parliamentary Counsel) |
| Mr. J. Hawkshaw | Negotiating services |
(7) Denotes consultants no longer retained.
Tug Provision
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on emergency tug provision in the western approaches. [17861]
Mr. Norris: The emergency towing study carried out for the Coastguard Agency last year stated that there are tugs at a number of ports in the south-west and in south and west Wales, including Falmouth, Fowey, Milford Haven, Port Talbot and Avonmouth. The Coastguard Agency continues to keep the supply of emergency tugs under review. In deciding future deployment, we will take into account experience of the Government-funded provision of tugs at Dover and Stornoway this winter and of liaison arrangements with tug operation. Any relevant findings of the investigations into the Sea Empress incident will also be taken into account.
Ms Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department will respond to the report on tug provision around the UK coast which it received in June 1995. [17860]
28 Feb 1996 : Column: 565
Mr. Norris:
Having taken account of the report and other available information, the Coastguard Agency announced on 25 October 1995 that emergency tugs would be stationed at Dover and at Stornoway for six months from 1 November 1995.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |