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Crime (Public Transport)

12. Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to combat crime on public transport. [42354]

 
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Derek Twigg: The Department continues to support the work of the police, local authorities and transport operators to tackle crime on public transport. We are developing, evaluating and disseminating good practice on reducing crime and the fear of crime wherever it occurs in the transport system. We have also introduced the Secure Stations Scheme and launched the Safer Travel on Buses and Coaches Panel. As Sponsor Department for the British Transport police we have encouraged and assisted the force, through implementation of legislation and increased funding, to fulfil its responsibilities for policing the railways.

Urban Traffic

13. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the typical proportion of urban traffic between 8.00 am and 9.30 am during term time which is related to journeys to and from school. [42355]

Ms Buck: Data from the National Travel Survey suggest that in 2004 on weekdays in term time around 15 per cent. of car trips in progress between 8 am and 9.30 am were for the purpose of taking children to school.

Railways

14. Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of passengers who will be using the UK's railways by 2014.

Derek Twigg: The Department's estimates for rail use in future years are for passenger kilometres rather than numbers of passengers. Our latest published projections show rail passenger kilometres increasing by 33 per cent. between 2000 and 2010 and by 1.3 per cent. a year from 2010 to 2025.

19. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State forTransport what plans there are for replacing the highspeed train fleet serving the Greater Western franchise. [42361]

Derek Twigg: The Department is leading a project to procure a high-quality, modern replacement for the very successful existing high speed train fleet. We anticipate the first replacement trains entering into service during the lifetime of the new Greater Western franchise.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what total costs have been incurred by (a) the Government and Government agencies and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority in the franchising and tendering of passenger rail services since 1997. [33408]

Derek Twigg: The letting of franchises since 1997 has been undertaken by a number of successive agencies, namely the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, the Strategic Rail Authority and since July 2005, the Department for Transport. Franchise tendering costs were part of the general business costs of such agencies and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Information is more readily available from April 2004 and costs incurred are £16.9 million. This represents 0.06 per cent. of the value of the five franchises let.
 
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Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the rate of growth of use in (a) the regional rail network, (b) rail networks serving the passenger transport executive areas, (c) the London and South East heavy rail network and (d) Intercity rail services was over the last (i) 12 months, (ii) three years and (iii) five years. [38695]

Derek Twigg: With regard to Intercity rail services, in 2004–05, 85 million journeys were undertaken on long distance train services compared with 70 million journeys in 2000–01. Further information is held by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). I have asked the ORR to reply to the hon. Member directly.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new passenger vehicles have been introduced on the (a) London and south east heavy rail network, (b) local regional rail network and (c) Northern Trains franchise area in each of the last 10 years; and how many are expected to be introduced in each area in each of the next three years. [38721]

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally for years before 1996. Details for subsequent years are set out in the following table. New trains for the integrated Kent franchise are not due to be introduced until 2009 and are therefore not shown in the table.

Information relating to Northern Trains (and the former Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western franchises) is included in column entitled regional network, as well as separately in the final column.

	L&SE Network(1)	Regional Network(2)	Northern Trains area(3)
1996	0	0	0
1997	0	0	0
1998	20	0	0
1999	60	59	0
2000	71	149	28
2001	268	191	90
2002	261	62	8
2003	375	11	8
2004	974	66	0
2005	631	21	0
2006	6	0	0
2007	0	0	0
2008	0	0	0

⁽¹⁾ L&SE comprises the routes served by the following operators South Eastern Trains, South West Trains, Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern, C2C, Silverlink, Chiltern, First Great Western Link and London Eastern Railway (One).
⁽²⁾ Regional comprises the routes served by Wales and Borders, Wessex, Central Trains, Gatwick Express, Island Line, Merseyrail, Northern Trains and Scotrail.
⁽³⁾ Formerly Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western.

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 895W, on railways, how much his Department (a) was legally entitled to recover and (b) recovered from the Connex South Eastern franchise in 2003 when it discharged its duty under section 30 of the Railways Act 1993. [39380]

Derek Twigg: A performance bond had been put in place to cover losses, liabilities, costs or expenses that the SRA, DfT or successor operator had suffered or was
 
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likely to incur as a result of the termination of the franchise agreement. The bond had a value of £19.5 million.

The NAO report into the South Eastern Passenger Rail Franchise published 2 December 2005 provides details of the amount recovered from Connex South Eastern of £2.6 million. It also states that additional recoverable costs of £3.8 million were incurred by the SRA but that it was decided not to recover these costs from Connex South Eastern.

In order for Connex to exit from the franchise earlier than the contract required them to, a negotiated solution had to be put in place that was outside the strict terms of the contract. The concession for Connex exiting the franchise (which the SRA considered of overriding importance) was relaxation of the amount that could have been claimed had the franchise run its full term and the claim made in accordance with the strict terms of the performance bond.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the borrowings of Network Rail represent a contingent liability of his Department; what the level of this contingent liability is; and whether he acts as guarantor of these borrowings. [40862]

Derek Twigg: The credit support arrangements for Network Rail's borrowing provided by the Secretary of State are shown as contingent liabilities in the Department for Transport's resource accounts. Minutes describing the contingent liabilities were laid before Parliament when the various arrangements were first entered into, in June 2002, February 2004 and September 2004. As of 30 September 2005, £16.8 billion of Network Rail's borrowing is supported by these arrangements.

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2005, Official Report, column 1150W, on train operating companies, what assessment he has made of the value for money of each re-letting of a franchise to a train operating company since 1997. [39375]

Derek Twigg: Each franchise re-letting undertaken since 1997 has, prior to award, been subject to a value for money analysis conducted by DfT economists and approval by HM Treasury in respect of affordability constraints.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost has been of (a) West Coast Main Line and (b) East Coast Main Line modernisation since 2000; what the cost overruns were against original estimates; and what the expected increase in capacity is for each line. [40854]

Derek Twigg: Network Rail are responsible for the maintenance and infrastructure of the rail network and I have asked them to write to the hon. Member directly. For the West Coast Main Line there is a targeted 80 per cent. Increase in passenger service capacity. No equivalent figure is available for the East Coast Main Line.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of trains ran to timetable in the last period for which figures are available; and what the equivalent figure was in 2000. [40861]

 
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Derek Twigg: Train punctuality is reported using the Rail Industry's 'Public Performance Measure' which records the percentage of trains arriving within 5 minutes (10 minutes for long distance trains) of their timetabled arrival time.

In the year to December 2005, 85.6 per cent. of trains achieved this standard. The corresponding figure in December 2000 was 83.1 per cent.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the operation of sections (a) 1 and (b) 2 of the Railways Act 2005. [41007]

Derek Twigg: Section 1 of the Railways Act 2005 provides for the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority and for the reallocation of its functions, where they are not discontinued. Subsections (1)-(9) were brought into force in June and July 2005, and most of the SRA's functions and the related property, rights and liabilities have now been transferred. Section 1(10), which enables the Secretary of State to make an order abolishing the SRA, will be brought into force in due course.

Section 2 transfers safety functions from the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety executive to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). We have consulted on draft regulations on where ORR will enforce the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. We expect to make the regulations and to transfer safety responsibilities to ORR shortly.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects each section of the Railways Act 2005 to come into force; and if he will make a statement. [41008]

Derek Twigg: Many of the provisions of the Railways Act 2005 have already been brought into force by the Railways Act 2005 (Commencement Nos 1–4) Orders 2005. The remaining provisions will be brought into effect in due course.

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he has made to manage the transition of South East Trains to Govia; and if he will make a statement. [42238]

Derek Twigg: Work to ensure a smooth transition of South Eastern trains to the new IKF Franchisee commenced on 1 December. A plan to manage the transition has been agreed and officials from the Department regularly meet representatives of Govia and South Eastern trains to ensure that all regulatory and contractual requirements will be met to enable the new franchise to commence on 1 April 2006.

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