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TRANSPORT

UK Airports

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has made of the number of people using UK airports over the next 20 years. [60431]

Mr. Darling: I have been asked to reply.

In the Department's last set of air traffic forecasts published in 2000, it is estimated that on central assumptions 401 million terminal passengers will be using UK airports in 2020. This corresponds to an average annual increase of 4.2 per cent. between 2000 and 2020. To reflect the uncertainties inherent in producing such long term forecasts, high and low scenarios were also produced showing projected passenger numbers in 2020 of 461 million and 349 million respectively.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the average carbon dioxide emissions per passenger for a flight to (a) Miami, (b) Paris, (c) Tokyo, (d) Manchester, (e) New York and (f) Majorca, from a London airport, in each of the last six years. [60426]

Mr. Darling: I have been asked to reply.

Detailed estimates of the kind envisaged are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and would depend on the aircraft used.

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Street Works

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what incentives are (a) in place and (b) planned to ensure that local authorities and highway agencies are incentivised to complete street works as efficiently as possible. [62630]

Mr. Spellar: A Best Value performance indicator, BV 100, measures delays due to highway maintenance works on traffic sensitive streets. All highway authorities are required to produce this indicator, and it is published annually. The public can readily compare the performances of the various authorities.

No further incentives are planned at present.

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that the powers contained in section 74A of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 will not be made available to all local authorities until a full assessment has been made of the pilot schemes when they are completed in May 2004. [62631]

Mr. Spellar: Pilot schemes to test the powers under section 74A of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 began in Camden and Middlesbrough on 4 March 2002. Under these schemes the authorities can charge utility companies "lane rental" whenever the latter dig up highways to install or maintain their apparatus.

We appointed consultants (Halcrow) to study the effect of these schemes upon disruption caused by utility works and the costs which it imposes on those utilities. Any decision to extend the use of these powers to all local authorities will be based on a proper consideration of Halcrow's findings. We will also want to consult widely with highway authorities, utilities, regulators and other relevant parties before reaching a final decision.

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fines have been levied on telecommunication companies under section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 in each year since the introduction of the scheme. [62629]

Mr. Spellar: Powers under section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 were activated in April 2001. These allow highway authorities to charge utilities up to £2,000 a day for each of the latter's works which overrun an agreed deadline. We have appointed consultants (Halcrow) to monitor the effectiveness of the new powers and they will be reporting to us later in the summer on the first year of operation of the powers, including details of the charges paid by utilities.

Ministerial Visits (Wales)

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) date, (b) location and (c) purpose was of visits by Ministers in his Department to Wales since 1997; and when he next intends to visit Wales. [62077]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 17 June 2002]: My Department was formed on 29 May 2002.

Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. This Government have also published on an annual basis the

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cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Information in respect of UK travel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Railway Track

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the lifetime is of the different types of track used on the rail network; [62282]

(2) what types of track are used on the Railtrack network, including their technical specifications, with the associated manufacturer; and if he will make a statement; [62280]

(3) what technical standards the types of track used on the rail network have to adhere to; and who enforces these standards. [62281]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 17 June 2002]: These are operational matters for Railtrack.

Traffic Lights

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will publish the (a) guidance and (b) regulations he has given on the construction/erection of new traffic lights (i) at junctions and (ii) for pedestrian crossings; and if he will make a statement; [62875]

(2) if he will publish (a) the guidance and (b) regulations he has given to the bodies responsible for the (i) maintenance and (ii) control of traffic lights; and if he will make a statement. [62874]

Mr. Spellar: There is a wide range of guidance on the construction (including assessment, design and installation), maintenance and control of traffic lights contained in the Highways Agency's Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and in Local Transport Notes and Traffic Advisory Leaflets issued directly from my Department. This covers traffic signals at both junctions and pedestrian crossings. In addition, there is much material on this subject contained in primary and secondary legislation, and also in equipment specifications issued by the Highways Agency. A list of the relevant documents has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

The regulations covering traffic signals junctions and pedestrian crossings are "The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994" and "The Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions 1997", respectively.

Pedestrian Crossings

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the average cost of constructing (a) pelican, (b) puffin and (c) zebra crossings. [62877]

Mr. Spellar: Site circumstances can affect the cost of constructing crossings by a substantial amount. However, for the simplest pelican, puffin or zebra crossing the costs

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would be in the region of £24,000, £27,000 and £7,500 respectively. This would include necessary design, equipment and civil engineering costs for a crossing on a typical 30 mph urban road. It would also include high skid resistance surfacing. For higher speed roads the zebra crossing would not be suitable and an additional cost of £10,000, for additional equipment and works, should be added to the pelican and puffin costs.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the average cost of upgrading a pelican crossing to a puffin crossing. [62876]

Mr. Spellar: The cost of upgrading a pelican to a puffin crossing will vary from site to site, depending on the number of pedestrian signals to be changed and the number of special pedestrian detectors required. Depending on the age of the installation there may also be a need to change the controller, cabling, posts, etc. However, the simplest conversion would be in the region of £4,000 to £5,000.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the average reduction in traffic speeds resulting from the construction of (a) pelican, (b) puffin and (c) zebra crossings; and if he will make a statement. [62879]

Mr. Spellar: The impact of pedestrian crossings on traffic speeds will depend on where the crossings are in the network. It is for local highway authorities to assess effects on the local road network.

Because many crossings will be located at sites which do not lead to significant interruptions to traffic flow, the impact on overall journey times from such crossings will be minimal.

Rail Track Access Charges

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the increase was in access charges granted to Railtrack as part of the last periodic review carried out by the ORR. [62295]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 17 June 2002]: Paragraph 8.22 of the Regulator's Periodic Review outlines that the base level of track access charges paid by franchised train operators in 2001–02 would fall by 11.2 per cent. in real terms in comparison to the 2000–01 level, then increase in real terms by an average of 4.7 per cent. per annum from 2002–03 to 2005–06.

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