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Rail Privatisation
11. Sir Alan Haselhurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received about the performance of the train operating companies since privatisation.[13355]
Mr. Watts: My Department and the franchising director have received 241 letters about the performance of franchised services since franchised operations started, which for some services is now over a year ago.
Sir Alan Haselhurst: Will my hon. Friend contrast the reaction following privatisation with the doom and gloom that we heard before privatisation? Are we not starting to see a steady stream of investment and improvement in the railways? All the services are being maintained at least at the level that existed before privatisation and we have the prospect of improvements in track investment--not only the investment that Railtrack has just announced for the West Anglia line serving my constituency, but investment all around the compass.
Mr. Watts: My hon. Friend is entirely right and, to put those 241 letters into context, those same franchise services will have carried 510 million passengers over the last year. He is right to draw attention to the substantial improvements in services that are being delivered, such as West Anglia Great Northern, which serves his own constituency, and the commitment to introduce a third Stansted skytrain service per hour when necessary to accommodate rising demand. It is a story of new rolling stock, more services for passengers and services being maintained at least at their level before privatisation--and all at substantially lower cost to the taxpayer. It is a double win for passengers and taxpayers.
Mr. Bradley: How many of the representations that the Minister has received from the public relate to the chaos
in customer information? Does he accept the view expressed by the Rail Regulator in his recent report that he expects the new customer information system to
Mr. Watts:
The last time I was asked a question regarding complaints about passenger information, the answer was 12 complaints from genuine members of the public. Unlike organisations that make bogus complaints, most passengers wishing, for example, to travel to the west country would not go to King's Cross to obtain information on services. On Tuesday 4 February, the first anniversary of the Great Western franchise, I opened the new telephone inquiry bureau in Cardiff, which has expanded capacity and new high-tech equipment and which is fully equipped to give impartial information--a licence condition for all rail operators.
"Do much better than it is doing today in providing information about railway services"?
Is the Minister satisfied with the fulfilment of obligations imposed on private rail operators to provide passengers with details of the cheapest fares and the most rapid journey times available, including those on fares and times relating to competing companies?
Road Embankments (Landscaping)
12. Mr. Robert Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to improve the landscaping of motorway and dual carriageway road embankments.[13356]
Mr. Watts: Existing guidance on the landscape treatment of new schemes is set out in the "Good Roads Guide" and is kept under constant review. New guidance on the landscape management of roadside planting is in preparation. Landscape treatments were addressed recently in the Highways Agency's environmental strategy document, "Living with Roads".
Mr. Banks: I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. Does he agree that even more should be done to improve the landscaping of embankments along our motorways and dual carriageways, and that we can learn a great deal from schemes that have been completed in other countries? Specifically, will he ensure that the embankments along the new motorway sections of the A1 are imaginatively landscaped with trees, shrubs and features? Moreover, will he instigate a competition among architects, landscape designers and sculptors to redesign the approach road from Heathrow into the capital city so that we can at least impress our visitors? It would be a stimulus for sculptors to put some of their work on public display.
Mr. Watts: My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that tree and shrub planting along the A1(M) Walshford-Dishforth improvement section has started this planting season. The remaining tree and shrub planting will take place as soon as possible following completion of the remaining engineering works. We take special care to choose native species of trees and shrubs to enhance the landscape through which our roads are built.
Regarding the approaches to London, my hon. Friend will have noticed significant work on the A4 corridor between Chiswick and Hammersmith, and I invite him to accompany me or my hon. Friend the Minister for Transport in London to inspect those works.
Rail Freight (Yorkshire)
13. Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage the transportation of freight in Yorkshire by rail rather than road; and if he will make a statement.[13357]
Mr. Watts: The key to the revival of rail freight is privatisation. [Laughter.] Hon. Members may scoff, but it is a fact that the amount of freight carried by rail declined steadily throughout the years of state ownership, but that it has recently started to increase. The new private sector freight companies are attracting new traffic to the railway. Meanwhile, we will continue to make available grants to encourage the shift of freight from road to rail. [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker: Order. The question is about Yorkshire.
Mr. O'Brien: Is the Minister aware that the rail freight terminal serving Yorkshire and the northern region is in my constituency? It is a key terminal, linking the Yorkshire region with towns in the European Community. The mode of travel for freight is now such that we can introduce a speedy, efficient, door-to-door container service from Wakefield to towns in Europe.
Is the Minister aware of the differences between the piggyback consortium and Railtrack concerning the rail gauge enhancement and of the difficulties that those differences are causing? What will he do to knock heads together so that we can get that system into operation? If the Euro-terminal in my constituency is to succeed, the service must be operating efficiently. Will he ensure that the enhancement of the rail gauge is not put on the back burner or delayed, creating difficulties in getting the terminal operating from my constituency?
Mr. Watts:
I am well aware of that excellent new facility, because I took a close interest in the provision of assistance for it from Government funds.
We have appointed consultants to monitor the work undertaken by Railtrack on the piggyback enhancement proposals so that we shall be ready to make a rapid decision should it apply for a freight facilities grant to contribute towards the enhancement. The hon. Gentleman may be interested to know that some piggyback services can already start to operate commercially because of the development of the spine wagon, which I launched at Rosyth at the end of last year. He will also have noted that English, Welsh and Scottish railways has been in discussions with Milk Marque about the resumption of milk trains using piggyback wagons to carry the tanker trailers.
14. Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the level of services provided on the LTS line to Southend and Shoeburyness since privatisation.[13358]
Sir George Young:
The services provided on the LTS line have improved significantly since the franchise, which is operated by Prism Rail plc, commenced operation on 26 May last year. More trains are being run, and reliability and punctuality have improved.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
Is the Secretary of State aware that, under the previous management, the service to Southend, where I live with my family, was so deplorable and appalling that it was widely known as the "misery line"? Is he also aware that the job applications of many people in Southend, some of whom I know, to work in London were refused because those people depended on the LTS line to travel to London? In those circumstances, would he be willing to offer his sincere congratulations to the new management? Will he, in all sincerity, seek an assurance from all the parties in the House that, irrespective of who wins the election, there will be no going back to the bad old days?
Sir George Young:
My hon. Friend speaks for his constituents when he recognises that, following our introducing the passengers charter in 1992, train service performance is at an all-time high. That is good news for his constituents, and good news for all who use that railway.
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