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TRANSPORT
FV Canadian Park
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the mayday recently issued by the FV Canadian Park was received by coastguard stations other than Clyde. [5650]
Mr. Bowis: I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from C. J. Harris to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 27 November 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the mayday issued by the fishing vessel CANADIAN PARK at 0027 on 22 October 1996 on 2182 kHz.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if containers or vehicles carrying nuclear materials are transported on freight trains within the channel tunnel. [5933]
Mr. Watts:
No materials for the nuclear fuel cycle, including reprocessed fuels, or materials for weapons production, are permitted through the channel tunnel.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all incidents requiring the attendance of either the Kent or French fire brigades since public services began in the channel tunnel. [5936]
Mr. Watts:
Eurotunnel's first line of response teams, which on the UK side include members of Kent fire brigade, routinely attend a wide range of incidents in the channel tunnel. Most of these are minor incidents of a type to be expected in any operational transport system. Until the fire of 18 November 1996, there has been only one significant incident requiring the attendance of externally based firefighters: the car fire of 9 December 1994, which occurred at the Folkestone terminal and was extinguished by a team from the Kent fire brigade.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures are in place for identifying car and coach passengers who will need special care in the event of an emergency in the channel tunnel; and what assistance is given to them. [5938]
Mr. Watts:
Disabled drivers or drivers carrying disabled passengers are asked to identify themselves at the toll booth. They are given a sticker which identifies them to Eurotunnel's shuttle allocation staff who then ensure that they are loaded at the front of the tourist shuttle rake. In this position, the train crew are aware of them and can ensure that they receive priority attention in the event of an emergency. Specially constructed chairs
27 Nov 1996 : Column: 265
are made available for passengers with physical disabilities and are stored in readily identifiable areas in the loading wagons to the front of the shuttle. Train crew have received training in the movement of disabled persons in an emergency.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the automatic de-coupling devices were last tested on the freight train involved in the recent fire in the channel tunnel. [5940]
Mr. Watts:
The Department of Transport has no information on when the automatic de-coupling devices were last tested on the HGV shuttle involved in the recent fire in the channel tunnel. However, Eurotunnel carries out "level 1" maintenance checks every 18 days on the correct functioning of these devices, with more detailed "level 2" and "level 3" checks every three months and six months respectively.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what inspections have been undertaken by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority to ensure that leakages between the tunnels are kept to a minimum. [5932]
Mr. Watts:
This issue was extensively addressed during construction and commissioning. The safety authority and the Maitre d'Oeuvre witnessed tests to establish that the ventilation operating principles which Eurotunnel produced were sufficient to ensure the positive pressure necessary to maintain the "safe haven" of the service tunnel through any cross-passage doors that may be opened for evacuation or rescue of people in an emergency.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated time delay between an incident occurring in mid-channel tunnel and the arrival of fire fighting teams from outside the tunnel. [5930]
Mr. Watts:
The time of arrival of firefighting teams will depend on their location when an alarm is received. Teams are frequently present in the tunnel during the day. If an alarm is received and teams are in the fire equipment management centres at either end of the tunnel, the maximum estimated attendance time is about 20 minutes.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the fire detection systems aboard freight trains operating in the channel tunnel were last inspected by (a) the French or Kent fire brigades or (b) the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority. [5934]
Mr. Watts:
There are no fire detection systems aboard freight trains. There are detectors in the tunnel structures. On HGV shuttles, fire detection systems are located in the loader wagons. Inspectors from Her Majesty's railway inspectorate and Kent fire brigade review Eurotunnel's maintenance records for these systems regularly.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of the correspondence between Eurotunnel and the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority relating to the design of semi-open wagons and the changes that were made to satisfy the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority that these wagons were safe for use. [5939]
Mr. Watts:
The annual reports of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority for 1992-93 and 1993-94 commented in depth on the discussions of the semi-open heavy goods
27 Nov 1996 : Column: 266
vehicle shuttle design, and set out the concerns of the safety authority, which Eurotunnel had asked to address. Copies of these reports were placed in the Library of the House on their publication.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if security guards patrolling the channel tunnel site have direct radio links with the railway control centre controlling trains entering or leaving the tunnel. [5931]
Mr. Watts:
On the UK side, the security guards patrolling the terminal site are all equipped with radios permitting direct communication with the railway control centre. On the French terminal, the security guards patrolling the site are also equipped with radios, but their usual means of communication is by direct radio link to security control, which in turn has direct telephone access to the railway control centre.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of incident reports received by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority relating to accidents or incidents occurring in the channel tunnel since public services began. [5935]
Mr. Watts:
Since public services in the channel tunnel began, Eurotunnel has provided a wide range of reports to the safety authority on incidents and accidents at work, many of which refer to minor incidents of a type to be expected in any operational transport system. Significant incidents are reported to the intergovernmental commission and included in the annual reports of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, which are placed in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the details of evacuation tests completed on the channel tunnel to date to demonstrate the likely escape times in the event of any emergency and the results for (a) passengers in private cars and (b) passengers in coaches. [5937]
Mr. Watts:
A large number of tests relating to the evacuation of trains in the channel tunnel have been carried out by the operator, Eurotunnel. The methodology and conclusions of these tests were examined and found acceptable by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority. Favourable advice was also received from the Maitre d'Oeuvre, the independent project manager. In addition, as part of routine staff training, Eurotunnel practises evacuation procedures on a regular basis. Publication of test results is a matter for the operator.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if reports have been made to the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority regarding problems experienced with automatic de-coupling devices fitted to channel tunnel trains. [5941]
Mr. Watts:
The safety authority has had no specific reports of difficulties with de-coupling devices fitted to channel tunnel trains.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in respect of problems induced by sleepiness in drivers. [6132]
27 Nov 1996 : Column: 267
Mr. Bowis:
The first phase of our research programme into driver sleepiness was reported in September 1995 and preliminary advice issued to drivers on how to combat sleepiness. Further research is in progress into the relative effectiveness of other possible measures to ensure that the best possible advice is available to drivers on how to minimise the risk of having a sleep-related accident. This phase of the research will report next year.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission research into the extent to which drivers who fall asleep at the wheel are aware of drowsiness prior to their falling asleep. [6136]
Mr. Bowis:
Our current research programme into driver sleepiness has shown that drivers are aware of feeling drowsy before falling asleep, although they may not be aware that their driving is seriously impaired.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his Department issues to police forces in respect of collating data on the causes of road accidents with particular reference to sleepiness in drivers; and if he will provide funding into research relating to the collation of such data. [6133]
Mr. Bowis:
Personal injury road accident data are collected by the police and reported nationally using the Stats19 accident report form. These data do not include subjective judgments on the causes of accidents.
No coastguard station other than Clyde received the distress message. Although the casualty was more than 2,400 miles away, and well outside the UK's Search & Rescue Region, it is suspected that anomalous propagation resulted in Clyde receiving the transmission. That is the nature of this particular radio medium: no reliance is placed on such long range reception--we regard the working range of 2182 kHz under normal conditions as 150 miles.
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