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1 Feb 2006 : Column 558W—continued

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were employed by the Strategic Rail Authority; and how many were employed in a (a) technical or advisory capacity and (b) administrative posts. [41711]

Derek Twigg: As at 1 April 2005 the number of people employed by the Strategic Rail Authority was 409. A breakdown of this number is not available in the form requested.

As at 1 February 2006 the total number of people employed by the Strategic Rail Authority is 24. These remaining staff will be employed on issues affecting South East Trains and in carrying out work to enable the authority to be wound down later this year.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the change in the number of passenger kilometres travelled on the railways between London and Shrewsbury in each of the last five years. [45354]

Derek Twigg: Passenger miles travelled between London and Shrewsbury in the last five years, and the annual percentage change, are as follows:
Passenger miles (millions)Percentage change on previous year
2001–029.4
2002–039.1-3.78
2003–048.9-1.32
2004–058.6-3.21
2005–069.1+4.82



Note:
For 2005–06, figures are available only for the period from April to January. To allow a proper comparison to be made, figures for other years also relate to the April to January period.



 
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Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been caught travelling on the railway without a ticket in each year since 1997; how many were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted; and if he will make a statement. [45990]

Derek Twigg: The Department does not hold this information as revenue protection is a matter for train operators.

Road Gritting

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding the Government have provided to local authorities for the gritting of roads in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [46326]

Ms Buck: Funding for routine highway and street lighting maintenance, including gritting, is provided to local authorities through the Revenue Support Grant, which is not ring-fenced to specific services.

Stonehenge

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if Ministers or officials in his Department have discussed with the National Trust proposals from consultants for a new northern corridor route for the proposed A303 Stonehenge road improvement. [47004]

Dr. Ladyman: The National Trust wrote to the Department on 22 December 2005 setting out their views on the A303 Stonehenge improvement scheme review, including a suggestion for a specific northern route option. Officials will be meeting the National Trust to discuss this and other issues.

Road Maintenance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of outstanding maintenance on roads for which his Department is responsible. [43614]

Dr. Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given him today [UIN 40579].

Safe and Efficient Drivers Scheme

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research and consultation his Department undertook before the launch of the Safe and Efficient Drivers Scheme. [47495]

Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 31 January 2006]: The Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) Scheme has been highly successful in the truck sector. The Department undertook research in 2005 to study the van sector, to adapt and develop the existing scheme to be appropriate for vans and to pilot the training course to determine how effective it would be. The results were
 
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published on our website on 25 January 2006. A key stakeholder advisory group was formed to advise and steer this pilot project.

There was no formal public consultation on the scheme, though the stakeholder advisory group were key to developing the scheme and views on the concept were sought from the Road Haulage Forum. While the Government routinely consults on regulatory proposals, it should be stressed that this is not new regulation. There is no requirement on van drivers to undertake this training.

Safety/Speed Cameras

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the composition of the executive or boards of safety camera partnerships is determined. [47897]

Dr. Ladyman: Governance arrangements for safety camera partnerships are set out in the Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the National Safety Camera Programme for England and Wales, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. All safety camera partnerships are required to have a steering group made up of senior representatives from each of the partners.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) locations and (b) roads concerned where fixed cameras are (i) in place and (ii) will be in place by 31 December for the purpose of monitoring vehicles for offences other than speeding. [46676]

Dr. Ladyman: The Department holds this information only in respect of red light cameras within the national safety camera programme. This is contained in a table that has been placed in the Library of the House. The information is correct as at 31 December 2005.

Strategic Road Network

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there is a backlog of maintenance to be undertaken on the strategic road network. [40579]

Dr. Ladyman: The strategic road network of trunk roads and motorways in England is maintained in a safe and serviceable condition on a whole life cost principle, identifying the appropriate maintenance treatment at the optimum intervention time. This ensures the best use of available resources and minimizes the impact on road users. There is currently no backlog of carriageway maintenance on the strategic network and consequently no estimate for outstanding works.

Sussex-London Rail Service

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the prospects for a fast rail service between the Sussex coast and London. [44809]

Derek Twigg: Rail services between the Sussex coast and London are the responsibility of Southern as the incumbent franchisee. Changes to services can be proposed by the franchisee subject to the requirements of the Franchise Agreement and Network Rail approval.
 
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Some changes to services between London and the Sussex coast are proposed in the Brighton Mainline Route Utilisation Strategy (BML RUS). A decision and announcement about publication of the BML RUS is likely to be made shortly.

Traffic (Hammersmith and Fulham)

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his projections are for traffic growth in Hammersmith and Fulham for each of the next 10 years. [45267]

Ms Buck: The Mayor has overall responsibility for transport in the capital (with the exception of trains). The Mayor is also responsible for providing a transport strategy which sets out proposals for improving transport in London and sets targets for traffic levels in
 
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London. The target for Hammersmith and Fulham is for traffic in 2011 to fall by 2 per cent. (relative to 2001 levels).

Further information on the Mayor's Transport Strategy can be found at http://www.london.gov.uk/approot/mayor/strategies/transport/index.jsp.

Train Operating Companies

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2913W, on C2C/One Rail, if he will provide the same breakdown for all train operating companies. [42734]

Derek Twigg: The following table shows the number of cancellations, and the reasons for them, for the 20 additional Train Operating Companies with which the Department has franchise agreements.
2005 train cancellations

Train operating company
CausationSummaryATWCentralChilternFGWFGW Link
Depot-relatedShunting incident, train preparation364532
OperationPlanning error, service recovery plan, traded services specifically44254116
Train crewLack of driver/Train manager2,1392,66813833439
FleetTechnical faults4,5936,109542295537
StationRetail related650133164
ExternalWeather, fatality40647825619
MiscellaneousTOC-on-Self
TOC-on-TOCEffect of other operators4129258816266
InfrastructurePoints Failures38210
InfrastructurePoor Condition of Track/Broken Rail1974
InfrastructureMiscellaneous1,171120
InfrastructureOverhead Power Supply/Line9
InfrastructureLevel Crossing Failure
InfrastructureSignal Failure10612
InfrastructureAnimals on line
ProductionNetwork Rail5
ProductionTrain Planning1
EngineeringTrack Engineering Possessions88
OperationsNetwork Rail-856
OperationsFatalities9458
OperationsLine Side Fires41
Act of GodWeather2272
InfrastructureNetwork Rail515,56039846727
LULSharing of track with London Underground109
Miscellaneous7/7 Bombings
Total10,89816,3512,3366432,590


Train operating company
CausationSummaryGatwickGNERIsland LineMMLNorthern
Depot-relatedShunting incident, train preparation541404
OperationPlanning error, service recovery plan, traded services specifically414743
Train crewLack of driver/Train manager126336484
FleetTechnical faults165225182054,353
StationRetail related12205
ExternalWeather, fatality18720659390
MiscellaneousTOC-on-Self
TOC-on-TOCEffect of other operators471569788
InfrastructurePoints Failures37628
InfrastructurePoor Condition of Track/Broken Rail34939
InfrastructureMiscellaneous10211479
InfrastructureOverhead Power Supply/Line68337
InfrastructureLevel Crossing Failure
InfrastructureSignal Failure4912275
InfrastructureAnimals on line
ProductionNetwork Rail43717239
ProductionTrain Planning21
EngineeringTrack Engineering Possessions2,5525244
OperationsNetwork Rail-32
OperationsFatalities34330
OperationsLine Side Fires5414
Act of GodWeather31172,179
InfrastructureNetwork Rail773
LULSharing of track with London Underground
Miscellaneous7/7 Bombings86
Total3,155621631,19912,884

 
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Train operating company
CausationSummarySETSilverlinkSouthernSWTThameslink
Depot-relatedShunting incident, train preparation7018234155
OperationPlanning error, service recovery plan, traded services specifically6228729163
Train crewLack of driver/Train manager2,243753459808311
FleetTechnical faults8641,9062,6293782,549
StationRetail related44212101
ExternalWeather, fatality6143834391,321
MiscellaneousTOC-on-Self3,186102491
TOC-on-TOCEffect of other operators3548866148
InfrastructurePoints Failures108101
InfrastructurePoor Condition of Track/Broken Rail73166
InfrastructureMiscellaneous228786
InfrastructureOverhead Power Supply/Line95
InfrastructureLevel Crossing Failure
InfrastructureSignal Failure9829
InfrastructureAnimals on line
ProductionNetwork Rail220401,049
ProductionTrain Planning14791
EngineeringTrack Engineering Possessions8470249
OperationsNetwork Rail-
OperationsFatalities2957
OperationsLine Side Fires214
Act of GodWeather242
InfrastructureNetwork Rail822,5153594101,726
LULSharing of track with London Underground
Miscellaneous7/7 Bombings
Total6,3756,3186,0554,6477,772


Train operating company
CausationSummaryTPEVWGVXC(8)WAGNWessex
Depot-relatedShunting incident, train preparation29112014142
OperationPlanning error, service recovery plan, traded services specifically27091221656
Train crewLack of driver/Train manager5593375113192
FleetTechnical faults8259671,0705571,464
StationRetail related37311414
ExternalWeather, fatality1575448165
MiscellaneousTOC-on-Self
TOC-on-TOCEffect of other operators517162112257
InfrastructurePoints Failures1474437115
InfrastructurePoor Condition of Track/Broken Rail187214326594
InfrastructureMiscellaneous25414178263
InfrastructureOverhead Power Supply/Line5132347
InfrastructureLevel Crossing Failure13
InfrastructureSignal Failure2576929443
InfrastructureAnimals on line1610
ProductionNetwork Rail210122242
ProductionTrain Planning24133343
EngineeringTrack Engineering Possessions18442558
OperationsNetwork Rail-236
OperationsFatalities7612860358
OperationsLine Side Fires81823
Act of GodWeather1695011444
InfrastructureNetwork Rail425370518221
LULSharing of track with London Underground
Miscellaneous7/7 Bombings
Total3,9882,2691,7922,8133,307


(8) Data for Virgin Cross Country is from 1 April to 11 December.
Note:
Data collated by individual TOCs against no set format.



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