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Channel Tunnel Freight Services
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has made to the French Government concerning the reduction of channel tunnel freight services since 7 November. [22895]
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations have been made to the Government of France to remove SNCF's restrictions on the number of freight trains travelling from France to the United Kingdom through the channel tunnel; what reduction in freight traffic through the channel tunnel has taken place as a result of SNCF's decision; and what estimate he has made of the financial loss to UK operators. [23209]
Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 225W.
Merchant Ships
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many merchant ships are registered in the UK; and how many were registered in (a) 1991 and (b) 1996. [22901]
Mr. Jamieson: At the end of September 2001, 423 merchant trading vessels were registered in the UK. The equivalent figures for the end of September in 1991 and 1996 were 519 and 384, respectively.
Rail Track Access Charges
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations have been made by train operating companies to (a) him, (b) the SRA and (c) the Rail Regulator to secure reduced access charges as a result of under-performance of Railtrack since administration. [23153]
Mr. Jamieson: None. Train operating companies are compensated for poor Railtrack operational performance through their track access agreements, which are approved by the Rail Regulator. After approval, they are enforceable by the parties to them and not by the Regulator.
Heathrow
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will issue an interim report on the trial to establish the feasibility of extending the runway alternation at Heathrow to include the hour from 6.00 am to 7.00 am. [22942]
Mr. Jamieson: The then Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions, my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) explained on 23 November 1999, Official Report, column 64W, that the trial was expected to continue for up to two years. It commenced in August 2000 but has been subject to interruptions which make it difficult to draw any
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preliminary conclusions. During 2001 the trial was disrupted by resurfacing of the northern runway and replacement of the instrument landing systems (ILS); essential work which will continue next year when the southern runway is resurfaced and other ILS equipment is replaced. There are no plans to issue an interim report.
Traffic Calming (Buckingham)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much has been spent in the constituency of Buckingham on (a) installing road humps on established roads, (b) installing mini- roundabouts on established roads and (c) other traffic calming measures in each year since 1999; and what effect these measures have had on the number of road accidents. [23738]
Mr. Jamieson: Statistics on expenditure on road safety schemes are not held centrally but are a matter for each local authority.
Train Punctuality Statistics
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidance has been given to the Strategic Rail Authority with reference to the publication of monthly train punctuality statistics; if he will place copies of such guidance submitted by his Department to the Strategic Rail Authority in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [23524]
Mr. Jamieson: The directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority which are currently in force and the draft issued for consultation on 29 June require the authority to publish a regular bulletin describing the performance of franchise operators.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give details of the means through which (a) the Strategic Rail Authority, (b) Railtrack, (c) train operating companies and (d) other organisations and companies within the rail industry disseminate statistics on train punctuality to the travelling public; what steps his Department is taking to improve the dissemination of information on train punctuality to the travelling public; and if he will make a statement. [23523]
Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority publishes a regular bulletin describing the performance of franchise operators, which is available on its website www.sra.gov.uk. Train operating companies are required to publish Passenger's Charter statistics every four weeks at major stations. Details of the stations at which the figures are displayed can be obtained from the individual train operating company.
Railway Staff
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff were employed by (a) Railtrack plc and (b) Railtrack Group plc in each month since September, broken down by category of employee, including (i) senior management, (ii) electrical engineers, (iii) mechanical engineers, (iv) administration and (v) others. [23525]
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Mr. Jamieson: I understand from Railtrack that there has been no significant change in staff turnover since September in the categories listed.
Mark 1 Passenger Carriages
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the (a) collisions, (b) derailments and (c) SPADs involving mark 1 passenger carriages in the last four years, broken down by (i) vehicle stock and (ii) train operating company. [23528]
Mr. Jamieson: The Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate have advised that this information is not available in the form requested.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is the date by which all Mark 1 passenger carriages will be replaced, broken down by (a) vehicle stock and (b) train operating company. [23527]
Mr. Jamieson: All Mark 1 stock must be removed from the network by 1 January 2005.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many railway rolling stock leases involving mark 1 passenger carriages are in existence; and in respect of each lease, what is (a) the name of the rolling stock company owning the vehicles and (b) the name of the train operating company leasing them; and how many mark one vehicles are covered by that lease; and what is the date to which the train operating company is committed to leasing the vehicles. [23529]
Mr. Jamieson: The information is shown in the following table:
(62) EMU
(63) DEMU
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