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24 Nov 2005 : Column 2216W—continued
Motorways
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which environmental specialists he has consulted in relation to proposed limit values for environmental noise produced by motorways. [30640]
Dr. Ladyman: No environmental specialists have been consulted on the environmental noise limit values specifically related to motorway noise as work has not yet commenced.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what limit values for environmental noise produced by motorways have (a) been proposed and (b) are under consideration. [30641]
Dr. Ladyman: No environmental noise limit values specifically related to motorway noise have been considered or are currently proposed. Consultations on legislation to implement the Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC) are being undertaken by DEFRA. National guidance on intervention levels to be applied within the UK, for the purposes of prioritising actions under future noise action plans, as required by the Directive, is expected in July 2007.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of noise reduction on sections of motorways when (a) all lanes are resurfaced and (b) some lanes are resurfaced; and if he will make a statement. [30647]
Dr. Ladyman: Studies carried out on various parts of the strategic road network, including one motorway site, identified noise reductions in the range of 2–4dB(A) at properties in close proximity to the adjacent highway following the resurfacing of all carriageway lanes with quieter surfacing materials. No studies or assessments have been carried out at locations where only part of the carriageway has been resurfaced with such materials.
Network Rail
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Network Rail spent in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005; and how much it will spend in 2006 on testing new and existing trains in a test track setting. [30094]
Derek Twigg
[holding answer 21 November 2005]: In 2004 and 2005 Network Rail has not been involved in testing trains on a test track in any of the years in question. Trains are tested by the manufacturer (in the case of new trains) or by the train owner or operating company (in the case of modifications to existing trains).
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Network Rail is now actively investigating test track sites that will fulfil the needs of the railway in the coming years.
Project Funding
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has provided for transport projects in each constituency in England in each year since 2000. [31584]
Ms Buck: A breakdown of Department for Transport funding support for projects is not available at constituency level. The Department provides support for transport outside London to local authorities largely through block grants, and it is for the authorities to determine their priorities for spend. The Department's funding support for rail services through Network Rail and franchise agreements is also not available at constituency level.
Rail Franchises
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs have been incurred in respect of the tendering process of the (a) Integrated Kent Franchise and (b) Greater Western Franchise; and what the estimated final costs are. [24577]
Derek Twigg: Costs for the two year tendering process are shown in the table below. The replacement of these will deliver significant benefits including a fleet of high speed trains operating on CTRL for the Integrated Kent Franchise.
| To date | Estimated final cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Western | 2,000 | 2,668 |
| Integrated Kent | 3,990 | 4,290 |
Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to his Department has been of (a) the tendering process of the Integrated Kent Franchises and (b) franchise tendering since May 1997; and what the expected final costs are. [30613]
Derek Twigg: The cost to the Department for Transport (DfT) to date (and the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) prior to DfT taking over direct responsibility) for the Integrated Kent Franchises franchise replacement is £3,990,000. The final costs are estimated to be £4,290,000.
The letting of franchises since 1997 has been successively undertaken by the Office of Rail Franchising, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, SRA and since July 2005, DfT.
Franchise tendering costs were part of the general business costs of these organisations and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made by Network Rail of the impact on passenger safety of the proposal to reduce staff hours on stations covered by the Integrated Kent Franchise. [29443]
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Derek Twigg: Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, there is no obligation for Network Rail to assess the impact of such proposals on passenger safety.
Mrs. Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs have been incurred by the review of Northern Rail services; and what the expected final costs are. [25017]
Derek Twigg: Costs incurred for the review of the Northern rail franchise up to 21 October 2005 amount to £301,538. The expected final cost is £500,000.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has discussed increasing the number of passengers with the rail franchisees. [28054]
Derek Twigg: Ministers and officials at the Department have regular meetings with rail franchisees. Ways of improving performances and encouraging greater use of the network are among the subjects discussed.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many invitations to events have been received by his Department from each rail franchisee during the past (a) 12 months, (b) two years and (c) five years; how many were accepted; and where the events were held. [28059]
Derek Twigg: Ministers and departmental officials receive a great many invitations to events organised by or involving rail franchise holders. No central record is maintained of the number of invitations nor of how many are accepted.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs have been incurred in respect of the tendering process of the Greater Western Franchise; and what the expected final costs are. [28423]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 21 November 2005]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I have given him today (UIN 24577).
Railways
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much in subsidy was paid to London and Continental Railways Limited by the Government in each year between 1994 and 2004. [31176]
Derek Twigg: London and Continental Railways Limited (LCR) has not received any subsidies. LCR has a concession contract to design and build a new railway and to operate Eurostar services. Government has agreed to contribute to the construction cost of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link by way of grants in accordance with the 1996 Development Agreement. Between 1994 and 2004, these grants totalled £895 million—(£109 million in 2001, £444 million in 2002 and £342 million in 2003).
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department has spent on Crossrail in the past 12 months; and what percentage has been spent on (a) staff recruitment, (b) technical consultants and (c) other external services. [26540]
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Derek Twigg: Between 1 November 2004 and 31 October 2005, Cross London Rail Links Limited (CLRLL) was provided with funding of £38,387,000. 50 per cent. of this was provided by the Department and 50 per cent. by Transport for London. I understand from CLRLL that, of this, £281,402 was spent on staff recruitment; £21,811,558 on technical consultants; and £10,986,190 on a range of other external services. The remaining costs of £5,307,580 include staff salaries and day-to-day running costs.
In addition, between 1 November 2004 and 31 October 2005, the internal Department for Transport unit that deals with Crossrail sponsorship, which includes the Crossrail hybrid Bill team, had costs of £3,499,672. Of this, £2,504,679 was spent on consultants; and £25,657 on other external services, primarily publishing responses to the Environmental Statement. Spending on staff recruitment is not recorded separately. All relevant staff were already employees of the Department for Transport. The remaining costs, £969,336, include staff salaries and day-to-day running costs.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of theft have been reported to the British Transport Police on the rail network in the past (a) 12 months, (b) two years and (c) three years, broken down by rail franchisee. [28060]
Derek Twigg: The following table shows the number of thefts of passenger property offences recorded by the British Transport Police on the rail network (excluding London Underground), recorded by rail franchisees and Network Rail over the last three years.
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Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what targets the Department has set for implementing litter management strategies on the railways. [27938]
Derek Twigg: Responsibility for dealing with litter on the railways is shared between Network Rail and Train Operating Companies (TOCs).
In general, Network Rail is responsible for litter management on the network, for example tracks and embankments. NR has its own operational arrangements and policies relating to litter clearance, consistent with current legislation. TOCs are responsible for litter management on the trains they run and at the stations that they manage.
Franchise agreements require that TOCs keep their stations in a clean condition. Recently-let franchises include benchmarks relating to cleanliness and repair of trains and stations. TOCs are independently monitored and those that fail to meet benchmarks can be required to take remedial action and may be deemed to be in breach of their franchise agreement.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will break down planned investment into the railways during the period of the current spending review period by (a) region and (b) franchisee. [27939]
Derek Twigg: The Department does not hold information on Government spending and investment at a regional level. This is primarily because franchise areas often encompass two or more regions and Network Rail is structured on a route by route basis which also serves more than one region.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to Parliament on 10 February 2005 setting out Government spending plans for rail as a whole to 2008–09. The latest figures on Government payments to individual Train Operators (TOCs) are set out in appendix 5 of the SRA's annual report and accounts. Payments to individual TOCs in future years will depend on a number of factors including the outcome of negotiations in the franchise replacement process and the operational performance of Network Rail and the TOC in question.
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