| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
5 Nov 2002 : Column 158W—continued
Inverness-Gatwick Link
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a decision on the proposed public service obligation on the Inverness to Gatwick route. [79090]
Mr. Jamieson : [holding answer 4 November 2002]: Officials in the Department for Transport are working closely with colleagues in the Scottish Executive on proposals for public service obligations and other options for safeguarding vital regional air services. The Government will publish their conclusion in due course.
Inverness/London Air Service
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what resources he will allocate to a public service obligation for a regional air service between Inverness and London. [78776]
Mr. Jamieson: The current air services between Inverness and London operate without subsidy.
London Buses
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much investment in London Buses there was in each of the last ten years for which figures are available. [77895]
5 Nov 2002 : Column 159W
Mr. Jamieson: Information on investment in London bus services by bus operators is not available centrally, although between July 2000 and June 2002, bus companies operating in London introduced some 2,600 new buses.
Other investment in London Buses is set out in London Transport's Annual Report documents, which incorporate their audited accounts—copies of the accounts are available in the Libraries of the House.
Mr Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what route mileage was served, and how many passengers were carried, on London Buses in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [77896]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of bus passenger journeys and vehicle kilometres in London over the last ten years have been compiled from the Department's annual survey of bus and coach operators and information received from Transport for London (TfL). The figures include journeys on a small number of routes not contracted to TfL.
| Year | Passenger journeys million | Vehicle kilometres million |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 to 1992 | 1,149 | 316 |
| 1992 to 1993 | 1,129 | 330 |
| 1993 to 1994 | 1,117 | 343 |
| 1994 to 1995 | 1,167 | 356 |
| 1995 to 1996 | 1,205 | 353 |
| 1996 to 1997 | 1,242 | 342 |
| 1997 to 1998 | 1,294 | 362 |
| 1998 to 1999 | 1,279 | 358 |
| 1999 to 2000 | 1,307 | 366 |
| 2000 to 2001 | 1,359 | 373 |
| 2001 to 2002 p | 1,434 | 380 |
p provisional figures.
Source: DfT and TfL
London Underground
Mr Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much investment there was in the London Underground, and how many passengers were carried, in each of the last ten years for which figures are available; [77894]
- (2) what proportion of total investment in London Underground has gone into building the Jubilee line in each of the last ten years. [77899]
Mr. Jamieson: The information requested on overall investment and passenger numbers is set out in London Transport's annual report documents, which incorporate their audited annual accounts.
The following table shows the proportion of overall investment that went into building the Jubilee Line Extension each year:
(1) London Transport's accounts for 1999–2000 included an estimated accrual for all Jubilee Line. Extension works to be paid in future years.
5 Nov 2002 : Column 160W
National Air Traffic Services
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the state of faults on the UK NATS website; and when the faults will be rectified;[R] [79443]
- (2) what representations he has received from UK pilots who have to log onto the Swedish air traffic service in order to obtain UK NOTAM for safety and time critical information owing to faults on the UK NATS website.[R] [79442]
Mr. Jamieson: National Air Traffic Services Ltd. introduced a new on-line information system in late August, replacing the former manual system. The change was made after extensive consultation with users. The new system is intended to provide much wider access to pre-flight information, thereby enhancing safety, but some general aviation users who are accustomed to the manual system have not found it easy to adapt.
The system is provided with back-up facilities and, while—as with most other similar websites—it may be necessary to suspend operation for very short periods, I am assured that the continuity of service will not be significantly compromised.
Rail Freight
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what trials have taken place under the auspices of (a) the Strategic Rail Authority and (b) his Department relating to rail freight since June; what assessment is being made of these trials; when the outcomes of these trials are expected to be published; and if he will place related documentation in the Library; [78815]
- (2) what the (a) agreed outputs, (b) type of scheme and (c) timetable for introduction are of the winning scheme under the Strategic Rail Authority's Logistics Competition by (i) Blue Circles Industries, (ii) Excel and (iii) Minimodal; what progress has been made; and what the timetable is for further implementation of the schemes as originally outlined; [78818]
(3) what the involvement of his Department was in the Strategic Rail Authority's Logistics Competition; and when trials of these schemes (a) were due to begin when the winners were announced and (b) will now begin; [78819]
(4) what representations have been received and what assessment has been made by his Department of the Strategic Rail Authority's cargo-sprinter train trials; what representations it has received; and what discussions the Department has held on the subject. [78816]
5 Nov 2002 : Column 161W
Mr. Jamieson: The SRA's press release, issued on 13 June 2000, provides a description of each scheme. The agreed outputs of the SRA's Logistics Competition are part of the contracts between the applicants and the SRA signed in January 2001 and are commercially confidential.
The wagons and inter-modal units for the Blue Circle Industries project were delivered this summer, with trials commencing in September. A prototype container was produced in spring 2002 for the Minimodal scheme, with trials taking place during the summer. The first trials of the Exel scheme were completed in July-August 2001 with the second trials completed in spring this year. This project has now been completed and Exel are due to provide a final report for publication by the end of the year. Once published this and the reports of the other two schemes will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
My Department has received a number of representations about the competition and is kept informed on its progress by the SRA, but it has not been involved in the assessment of any of the entries or subsequent trials. The SRA is not assessing the trials, as the aim of the competition was to fund companies to take forward their projects and undertake commercial trials in order to demonstrate the concept to the market.
Rail Services
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much investment there was in the London rail commuter services in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; how many passengers were carried; and how many accidents there were in each of those years. [77897]
Mr. Jamieson: Since many rail investment projects benefit more than one part of the country, it is not possible to provide an accurate regional breakdown of total rail investment. The table shows, for 1992–93 and 1993–94, the amount of public service obligation grant paid to British Rail in respect of its Network SouthEast (NSE) sector; and, for each of the six years from 1996–97 to 2001–02, Government support paid to London & South East (L&SE) train operating companies (TOCs):
| # million cash prices | |
|---|---|
| 1992 to 1993 | 525 |
| 1993 to 1994 | 372 |
| 1996 to 1997 | 573(2) |
| 1997 to 1998 | 464 |
| 1999 to 2000 | 271 |
| 2000 to 2001 | 175 |
| 2001 to 2002 | 90 |
Figures for Government support to L&SE TOCs in 1994–95 and 1995–96 are not readily available.
(2) Support for Passenger Rail Services paid by the Franchising Director to British Rail, and from the point of franchise to private sector franchisees, in respect of L&SE TOCs.
Details of passenger numbers on British Rail's NSE sector in 1992–93 and 1993–94 are not readily available. For details of passenger numbers on L&SE TOCs from 1994–95 onwards, I refer the hon. Member to the latest (September 2002) edition of the Strategic Rail Authority statistics bulletin XNational Rail Trends," copies of which are available in the House Library. Table Lib on
5 Nov 2002 : Column 162W
page 4 shows passenger kilometres, and Table 1.2b on page 7 shows passenger journeys, travelled on those TOCs.
The Health and Safety Executive, the rail safety regulator, produces accident data covering the national network and does not produce data on a regional level. Accident statistics for the national network covering the last ten years are in the annual reports of HSE's railways inspectorate, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents there have been on (a) the London Underground and (b) the London rail commuter services in each of the last ten years for which figures are available. [77898]
Mr. Jamieson: Statistics on accidents on the London Underground and the national rail networks are given in the annual report of HM Chief Inspector of Railways, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |