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Rail Regulation
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he plans to take to strengthen the regulatory framework for the railways. [1151]
Ms Glenda Jackson: We have made it clear that the regulation of the rail industry, and the sanctions available to the regulators, need to be strengthened. We have started a thorough review of rail regulation to identify exactly what improvements need to be made.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to amend the general authority given to the Rail regulator. [1134]
Ms Jackson: At present I have no plans to amend the general authority. We are currently conducting a thorough review of rail regulation to identify exactly what improvements need to be made.
British Flagged Vessels
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the number and tonnage of British flagged vessels in (a) 1978 and (b) 1996. [1130]
Ms Jackson: The number and tonnage of British flagged vessels (trading vessels of 500gt and over registered in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies) in 1978 and 1996 is as follows:
| Number of vessels | Gross tonnage (in thousands) | Deadweight tonnage (in thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 1,421 | 28,078 | 46,327 |
| 1996 | 377 | 6,057 | 7,835 |
Transport Pricing
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on Commissioner Kinnock's White Paper on fair transport pricing. [1126]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The Government welcome the broad principles outlined in the European Commission Green Paper, which seeks to encourage more environmentally friendly, fairer and more efficient use of transport. The Government also support the need for further study and debate on the issues raised, including those of subsidiarity.
Driving Instruction
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations his Department has received in the last 12 months on motorway driving instruction and examination for (a) car drivers and (b) other divers; what
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plans he has to make training and instruction on motorway driving compulsory for all drivers; and if he will make a statement. [1081]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Department has received eight representations in respect of car drivers, including one from my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley. There have been none in respect of drivers of other categories of vehicle, though in any case drivers who hold a full car licence and are learning to drive larger vehicles may practice in them on motorways. We have no plans to make motorway training compulsory for any class of learner driver.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the amounts of public funds which will be spent on the modernisation of the west coast main line. [1136]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Railtrack is committed to spend £l.5 billion on the modernisation and upgrade of the West Coast Main Line funded by access charges paid by the train operators using the route. The upgrade to provide tilting trains and faster line speeds is being paid for by Virgin, the InterCity West Coast franchisee. Virgin is receiving £76.8 million subsidy in its first full financial year, reversing to a premium payment of £220.3 million to OPRAF in 2011/2012.
We have made it clear that we expect higher levels of investment in the network and are considering whether the regulatory regime in place is sufficient to ensure the delivery of that level of investment.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to issue new objectives, instructions and guidance to the Franchising Director. [1152]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
We are currently conducting a thorough review of rail regulation, in line with the Government's commitment to introduce tougher regulation of the privatised rail industry. A key element in this review will be to determine how the objectives, instructions and guidance we issue to the Franchising Director should be revised to reflect the Government's policy priorities.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out his Department's investment plans for the London underground system for the next five years. [1072]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
London Transport's planned levels of investment in the Underground, based on the expenditure plans inherited from the previous Government, are set out in the table below. The Government is carrying out a comprehensive spending review. We are also giving urgent consideration to the options for increasing the level of investment in the Underground through Public/Private Partnerships.
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| Year | Investment (17)(18) (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 312.6 |
| 1998-99 | 215.3 |
| 1999-00 | 369.5 |
| 2000-01 | 422.9 |
| 2001-02 | 447.3 |
| 2002-03 | 456.6 |
Notes:
(17) 1997-98 price.
(18) Does not include investment in the Jubilee Line Extension, investment in the core network which is part of the JLE project and privately financed investment.
Speed Limiters
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to introduce legislation requiring new vehicles to be fitted with on-board variable speed limiters; and if he will make a statement. [1076]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The Department's research programme includes looking at the variable technology but we have no plans at present to introduce legislation.
London Buses
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if it is the Government's policy to ensure that buses in the capital are predominantly London red in colour; [1708]
- (2) if it is the Government's policy to ensure that when existing tenders to run London bus routes expire, the new tender requires the operator to use a fleet of buses bearing the red London livery. [1709]
Ms Glenda Jackson: This is a matter for London Transport Buses. Their current policy is to require operators submitting bids for routes which operate within Central London to use predominantly red livery. The only exception to the above policy is for incumbent operators who are re-bidding for central London routes where the vehicles used are not currently red.
Outside the central area operators may adopt their own livery subject to approval by London Transport Buses.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many passengers per annum use London bus routes (a) not bearing and (b) bearing the London red livery. [1712]
Ms Jackson:
In the financial year 1996-97 London Transport estimate that just over 80 per cent. of the 1,234 million journeys made on London Transport bus services were on vehicles with a predominantly red London livery.
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which London bus route tenders (a) expired in the last six months and (b) are due to expire in the next six months. [1710]
Ms Jackson:
London bus service contracts which expired between 1 December 1996 and 31 May 1997 are as follows:
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20, 35, 40, 42, 54, 75, 91, 108, 167, 184, 190, 204, 206, 298, 310, 311, 345, 362, 391, 462, 617, 624, 629, 638, 661, 851, 931, E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8, E9, H40, N91, W13D.
London bus service contracts which are due to expire between 1 June 1997 and 30 November 1997 are as follows:
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which London bus routes are not serviced by buses bearing the London red livery. [1711]
14, 16, 21, 24, 32, 34, 38, 39, 57, 63, 64, 65, 71, 74, 83, 85, 86, 90, 102, 127, 128, 129, 130, 150, 156, 170, 192, 197, 213, 221, 265, 281, 289, 312, 314, 364, 369, 371, 406, 465, 479, 499, 632, 650, 16A, 64A, 112D, 371D, N14, N21, N24, N38, W2, X30.
Ms Jackson: The following London Transport bus routes are operated with vehicles which do not carry the London red livery:
13, 19, 20, 22A, 22B, 24, 55, 57, 65, 66, 67, 78, 85, 90, 92, 96, 97, 97A, 103, 105, 108, 114, 117, 123, 125, 126, 127, 132, 138, 141, 142, 146, 153, 158, 161, 162, 165, 167, 168, 173, 176, 179, 181, 188, 190, 191, 193, 203, 210, 212, 214, 215, 225, 227, 233, 236, 248, 252, 256, 257, 258, 260, 261, 269, 272, 275, 284, 285, 286, 289, 296, 299, 315, 318, 320, 340, 346, 362, 365, 367, 379, 389, 396, 398, 399, 400, 402, 403, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 422, 428, 444, 462, 465, 479, 492, 511, 606, 613, 616, 627, 645, 646, 650, 651, 661, 670, 673, 678, 693, 726, B11, B15, C4, D5, D6, D8, E2, E8, ELS, ELT, ELX, H10, H11, H13, H17, H26, H27, H28, H29, K5, K6, R2, R5, R6, R7, R8, R61, R62, S3, W6, W9, W10, W11, W12, W13, W14, W15, W16, X72, 307 (school journeys only), 371 (school journeys only).
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