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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 13 September 2004
TRANSPORT
A3
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the date of completion of the A3 safety measures at Thursley. [188241]
Mr. Jamieson: The A3 Junction Improvement is expected to be completed and open to traffic at the end of December 2004, six months ahead of the original target date of June 2005.
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the Inspector's report following the public inquiry on the A3 Hindhead tunnel proposal. [188242]
Mr. Jamieson: It is too soon to say when the Inspector's report might be received, as this is dependent on when the inquiry actually finishes and the complexity of the evidence the Inspector needs to consider before concluding his report.
Ambulances
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many ambulances have been involved in road traffic accidents in the last two years in England; and if he will make a statement. [188375]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of ambulances involved in road traffic accidents in England in the last two years available is shown below. Information for 2003 is not yet available.
| Year | Number Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 307 |
| 2002 | 295 |
(1) Vehicles with body type "ambulance". Body type is only known for 70–80 per cent. of the vehicle records in the Road Accidents Database.
Bicycles (Railways)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the advice offered to rail companies on the facility for cyclists to take their bicycles on the train. [188417]
Mr. McNulty: The franchise agreements by which passenger rail services are procured require franchised train operators to:
"so far as reasonably practicable and subject to the availability of appropriate space on its rolling stock, ensure that facilities for the transport of bicycles on trains are made available, at reasonable charges (if any), to passengers using or intending to use the Passenger Service."
The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) encourages all train operating companies to tailor their provisions for the carriage of cycles on trains to the demand on particular routes while recognising that cycle provision cannot be considered in isolation but must have regard to the needs of all other rail users. The SRA has recently carried out a consultation of cycle policy and will be publishing a detailed cycle policy in due course. Copies of their Cycle Policy Consultation Document are available in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many train companies place restrictions on cyclists taking bicycles on trains. [188418]
Mr. McNulty: Of the 25 franchised train operators, three carry bicycles on all services without requiring prior reservation, six carry bicycles on all their services but do require prior reservation, one does not require prior reservation but restricts bicycles to off-peak times only and the remaining 15 require both prior reservation and restrict bicycles to off-peak times only. All franchised train operators have a maximum number of cycles which can be carried on any particular train.
c2c LTS
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent research he has conducted on the number of passengers on the c2c LTS route who do not get a seat; and if he will make a statement; [188435]
(2) what representations he has had on the recent Rail Passenger's Committee Eastern England research findings on the number of passengers who do not get a seat on the c2c LTS route. [188437]
Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) collects annual Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PiXC) census data every autumn for all London Commuter Train Operating Companies. Last year's figures for c2c indicate an overall PiXC figure of 1 per cent. (morning plus evening combined) against the threshold of 4.5 per cent.. This was the lowest of the 10 London Commuter TOCs, for which the total was 2.7 per cent.
I have received no representations on the Rail Passenger's Committee Eastern England research.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that a refund is given to passengers with season tickets when standing reaches a predetermined level; and if he will make a statement. [188436]
Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is reviewing its crowding policy. The SRA plans to consider whether there is a case for Train Operating Companies to face additional incentives to manage overcrowding.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with c2c on the redeployment of four 4-Coach Class 357 trains; and if he will make a statement. [188438]
Mr. McNulty:
None. The redeployment of rolling stock was agreed by the Strategic Rail Authority to cover a potential shortfall in rolling stock which was identified elsewhere on the network as a result of the West Coast Route Modernisation programme. The
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redeployment is not permanent and it is envisaged that the rolling stock will return to c2c once new trains have entered service on the West Coast Main Line.
Car Noise
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on maximum noise levels from straight-through car exhausts on customised cars. [187389]
Mr. Jamieson: Only new cars are subject to maximum noise limits. However, Regulation 54 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 does set minimum requirements for the maintenance of exhaust systems and silencers for cars, and other vehicles, in use. This requires that they be fitted with a silencer, that the silencer is maintained in good and efficient working order and has not been altered so as to increase noise. The Regulations also make it an offence to use a car in such a manner as to cause excessive noise that could have been avoided by the exercise of reasonable care on the part of the driver. It is likely that a straight-through exhaust, whether used on a customised car or any other vehicle, would be in breach of this requirement. Enforcement, however, is a matter for the police.
Crossrail
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on consultation by the Crossrail development programme to date. [186733]
Mr. McNulty: Cross London Rail Links Ltd (CLRL), a joint venture company currently owned by Transport for London and the Strategic Rail Authority, was set up to develop and promote the Crossrail project.
Total expenditure to date on consultation by CLRL is £3,466,500. £2,170,500 was spent on the first round of consultation (September 2003 to January 2004) that I asked CLRL to undertake to explain to the public in more detail their proposed scheme, and to canvass views on their route proposals. The remaining £1,296,000 is the cost to date of the second round of consultation, on CLRL's preferred route, which began in August 2004, following my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State's Statement to the House on 20 July announcing the decision to introduce a hybrid Bill for Crossrail at the earliest opportunity. The costs include salary costs of CLRL staff.
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been allocated in his departmental budget for the Crossrail project for (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2006–07. [188083]
Mr. McNulty:
In May 2001, Cross London Rail Links (CLRL) was provided with ring-fenced funding of £154 million for the purposes of developing Crossrail. CLRL has spent £62.5 million to the end of financial year 2003–04, with a further £42.5 million budgeted for the current year. This would leave £49 million of the original £154 million available for developing the scheme after March 2005.
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