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Main Line Trains
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the ability of main line trains to operate on the sub-surface lines in London. [41746]
Mr. Jamieson: Studies were undertaken by both Railtrack and London Underground Limited in 1999 when they were discussing Railtrack's proposals for the sub-surface infrastructure company under the PPP. It was concluded that: such a proposal would provide no additional net capacity; it would give rise to substantial costs in restructuring infrastructure and rewriting contracts; and, the interworking of mainline and existing tube rolling stock would give rise to technical and operational difficulties. Railtrack's proposals were subsequently abandoned.
Railway Electrification
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many miles of railway have been electrified in each of the past 15 years. [41764]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of electrified route kilometres open for traffic at the end of each year is as follows:
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Greater Manchester Upgrade
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions why the upgrade in Greater Manchester has been excluded from the SRA Strategic Plan. [41760]
Mr. Jamieson: Page 98 of the Plan states:
- "The SRA, in partnership with Railtrack, GMPTE, Manchester International Airport and the Highways Agency, has completed the Greater Manchester Strategic Rail Study, which sets out a strategy for the development of the rail network in Greater Manchester over the next 20 years. The first key building block, the creation of a TransPennine Express franchise, is currently underway. The partners in the study are now considering how best to take forward longer term options."
Railway Overcrowding
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how the Government's target for reducing overcrowding on the railways has changed since the publication of the 10-year plan. [41661]
Mr. Jamieson: The overcrowding target has not changed since the publication of the 10-year plan.
Crossrail
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason Crossrail was (a) included in the 10-year plan and (b) excluded from the SRA Strategic Plan. [41761]
Mr. Jamieson: A Crossrail link was included in the Government's 10-year plan given its potential for delivering increased peak capacity into London.
Crossrail is also identified in the SRA's Strategic Plan as one of the major rail projects which are currently under development. Options for taking Crossrail forward are being developed by the SRA/Transport for London joint venture Cross London Rail Links Ltd.
Public-Private Partnership
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in how many PPP agreements an accounting allowance for social cost benefit similar to that used by London Underground has been made. [41683]
Mr. Jamieson: The relevant guidance from the Office of Government Commerce and Her Majesty's Treasury explain that, where appropriate, the factors captured by this allowance should be allowed for when evaluating the value for money of PPP-type schemes.
National Air Traffic Services
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what
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the estimated level of capital investment by NATS is for (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and what the figures were in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) 1999–2000. [41296]
Mr. Spellar: The level of capital investment by NATS for 2001–02 is £72.8 million and is estimated at £90.7 million for 2002–03. The figures for 1996–97 and 1999–00 are £56.5 million and £52.0 million respectively.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of the anticipated investment by NATS over the next 10 years will come from the public sector. [41294]
Mr. Spellar: NATS' investment over the next decade will be in excess of £1 billion, all of which will be financed by the private sector. I also refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 25 February 2002, Official Report, column 807W.
Rail Freight
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to increase the gauge of railways to take the larger piggyback containers. [41342]
Mr. Jamieson: There are no current plans. The Strategic Rail Authority's preliminary studies suggest that the cost of enhancement of rail freight routes to permit the passage of lorry semi-trailers on flat railway wagons would not represent value for money.
Channel Tunnel Restrictions
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with the French Government regarding the SNCF Channel Tunnel restrictions. [42734]
Mr. Jamieson: Ministers across Government are in frequent contact with the French authorities to press for urgent action to tackle the disruption to Channel Tunnel rail freight.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what impact the SNCF Channel Tunnel restrictions are having on congestion on United Kingdom roads. [42735]
Mr. Jamieson: In the light of continued disruption to cross channel rail freight operations, more goods may have to be transported by road, so it is likely that road freight movements will marginally increase. There is no evidence to date that this is having any significant impact on congestion on UK roads.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what impact the SNCF Channel Tunnel restrictions are having on the United Kingdom economy. [42736]
Mr. Jamieson: The Government recognise that the disruption caused by would-be illegal immigrants is causing severe hardship to many businesses in this country who depend on reliable freight services through the Channel Tunnel.
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We are pressing the French Government at the highest levels to ensure that sufficient policing resources are applied to address the problem so that normal freight services can resume as soon as possible.
Motor Vehicles
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2002, ref. 40023, on motor vehicles, if data are available for the Drylaw, Inch and Mayfield wards. [42768]
Mr. Jamieson: Motor vehicle data for Drylaw, Inch and Mayfield wards are available under the pre-1996 definition of Scottish wards only. The number of motor vehicles registered to keepers with addresses in the wards is shown in the table. The totals include vehicles registered to companies and other entities as well as to individuals. The volume data are for December 2000.
| Electoral Ward | Number of Motor Vehicles |
|---|---|
| Drylaw | 2,732 |
| Inch | 2,467 |
| Mayfield | 3,067 |
Road Accidents (Fire Service)
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what is the average response time for the fire services to reach an accident on (a) a motorway and (b) an A-road, in each of the last three years; [42782]
- (2) what the average length of time was which it took the fire services to complete all their official duties at an accident site on (a) an A-road and (b) a motorway in each of the last three years. [42784]
Mr. Byers: The information requested is not available centrally.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what duties the fire services have to carry out before an accident site can be cleared from (a)an A-road and (b) a motorway. [42783]
Mr. Byers: Under section 1(1) of the Fire Services Act 1947, it is the duty of the fire authority to make provision for fire-fighting purposes and, in particular, to secure for its area the services of a fire brigade and equipment to meet efficiently all normal requirements. Fire-fighting purposes is defined in the Act as "the purposes of the extinction of fires and the protection of life and property in case of fire". Under section 3(1)(e) of the Act the authority also has the power to use its brigade and equipment for purposes other than fire-fighting (which are commonly known as "special services"). Brigades attend road traffic accidents primarily for firefighting and rescue purposes. Operational procedures for dealing with road accidents are matters for fire authorities to determine locally in consultation with the relevant police authority.
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