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28 Mar 2006 : Column 855W—continued
Homeland Security
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rehearsals have taken place to prepare for a terrorist attack on (a) the Merseyrail in Liverpool and (b) the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle. [60530]
Derek Twigg: Merseytravel, with its partners at Merseyrail Electrics, the local police and other emergency services undertake exercises to ensure preparedness for a terrorist attack. They are working with the Department to implement the lessons learnt from the last exercise in January 2006.
The Tyne and Wear Metro took part in a series of desk top exercises in 2005 involving emergency evacuation in restricted access locations. The exercises were co-ordinated by the Tyne and Wear Emergency Planning Unit and involved Network Rail and all five local authorities in Tyne and Wear.
Local Transport Plans
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what circumstances Government funding may be (a) withheld and (b) reduced when a local authority has failed to consult properly on the introduction of a local transport plan. [61605]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 27 March 2006]: The effectiveness of consultation and involvement of stakeholders is one of the criteria against which the quality of local transport plans will be assessed. The overall assessment of the Plan will influence integrated transport allocations for the years 2007–08 to 2010–11.
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation a local authority is required to carry out before introducing a local transport plan. [61606]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 27 March 2006]: Advice to local authorities on consultation was included in the Full Guidance on Local Transport Plans" issued in December 2004, available on the DfT website: www.dft.gov.uk
Office of the Rail Regulator
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms are in place to ensure the independence of the Office of the Rail Regulator from (a) Government and (b) private companies. [61181]
Derek Twigg: The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is the independent regulator of the rail industry in Great Britain.
The ORR is required to make its decisions on the basis of a range of public interest duties set out in UK and European Union legislation. Any party who believes ORR has not acted in accordance with its statutory duties can seek a review by the courts.
A further safeguard of ORR's independence is that it is a statutory board appointed by the Secretary of State in consultation with the chairman. Members must be appointed or removed in accordance with statutory criteria. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I have given to the hon. Member for Stroud today (UIN 60600).
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Railways
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many penalty fare schemes on trains have been suspended under Rule 13 of the Penalty Fares Rules; and what the reason was for each suspension. [61205]
Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport has not had to suspend a penalty fares scheme under Rule 13.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list railway stations which do not have (a) waiting rooms, (b) toilets and (c) disabled access, broken down by train operating company. [61739]
Derek Twigg: Information on the facilities available at individual stations is available at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on capacity on the East Coast Main Line. [60840]
Derek Twigg: A large number of representations have been received from organisations and individuals, both within the railway industry and outside, about the allocation of capacity on the East Coast Main Line.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with GNER on the East Coast main line franchise. [60985]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 27 March 2006]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 March 2006, Official Report, column 2403W.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the East Coast main line franchise. [61157]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 27 March 2006]: The Secretary of State has had no recent meetings with theScottish Executive on the East Coast Main Line franchise.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likelyimpact of EU Directive 2004/49/EC on heritage railways; and if he will make a statement. [61152]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 27 March 2006]: I laid before Parliament on 17 March 2006 the proposed Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS) which implement the safety management aspects of EU Directive 2004/49/EC. An explanatory memorandum, transposition note and regulatory impact assessment for all sectors of the railway, including heritage railways, accompany the proposed regulations. A copy has been placed in theHouse Library.
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how regularly inspections are made by HM Railway Inspectorate of fencing along the Swansea Relief line in Morriston; and whether recent recommendations have been made for action by Network Rail as a result of such inspections. [60805]
Derek Twigg:
The Health and Safety Executive's HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) has no programme for the regular inspection of fencing in the Morriston area of Swansea and has made no recommendations to
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Network Rail about fencing in this area. However, HMRI would expect Network Rail's risk assessment to consider the maintenance of fencing as a means of reducing the risks associated with trespass.
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which rail operators are required under their franchise to pay a premium to Government on profits above a threshold; how many payments have been paid to the Government under these requirements; and by which operators such payments were made. [59871]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 20 March 2006]: The Department for Transport currently manages 21 franchise agreements. The following 13 operators are required to pay a premium on profits above a threshold: Arriva Trains Wales, Central Trains, Chiltern Railways, First Great Western Link, Island Line, Midland Mainline, Silverlink, South West Trains, Southern, Thameslink, Transpennine Express, WAGN and Wessex Trains.
Such premiums have been received from seven operators: Central Trains, Island Line, Silverlink, South West Trains, Thameslink, WAGN and Wessex Trains.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what terms and conditions apply to curtailment of the contract for the rail regulator. [60600]
Derek Twigg: Under the terms of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, a regulatory board superseded the post of rail regulator on 5 July 2004. The Office of Rail Regulation consists of a chairman and at least four other members appointed by the Secretary of State.
The chairman or another member may not be appointed for a term of more than five years (but may be reappointed), may resign by notice in writing to the Secretary of State and shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of his appointment.
The Secretary of State may dismiss a member of the office by notice in writing on the grounds that the member:
(a) has been absent from meetings of the office without permission of the office during a period of more than three months,
(b) has a financial or other personal interest which is likely to influence the performance of his functions as a member,
(d) has had his estate sequestrated in Scotland or, under Scots law, has made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his creditors,
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much subsidy his Department has paid to (a) the St. Ives Bay Line, (b) the Tamar Valley Line, (c) the St. Albans Abbey Branch, (d) the Grantham-Skegness Line, (e) the Penistone Line, and (f) the Esk Valley Line in each of the last five years. [61213]
Derek Twigg:
Where services are subsidised as part of a franchise, the subsidy is not broken down on a line-by-line basis. The information is therefore not available in the form requested.
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Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on marketing strategies by his Department to promote increased passenger volume on (a) the St. Ives Bay Line, (b) the Looe Valley Line, (c) the Tamar Valley Line (Plymouth-Gunnislake), (d) the St. Albans Abbey Branch, (e) the Grantham-Skegness Line, (f) the Penistone Line and (g) the Esk Valley Line in each of the last five years. [61217]
Derek Twigg: The marketing of railway services is the responsibility of train operating companies. The Department does not therefore hold information on spending in this area.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce rail journey times between Polegate and Lewes and London. [61254]
Derek Twigg: The Brighton Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy, recently published, proposed that rail journey times from East Sussex to London would be improved by means of eliminating the practice of splitting and joining trains at Haywards Heath. A programme for implementation of the RUS recommendations is now being prepared.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rules apply to the provision of air conditioning on new railway rolling stock. [61243]
Derek Twigg: There is no requirement to fit air conditioning on trains. The general requirements for ventilation of passenger areas and cabs on trains are covered in part 2f, sections 192 to 197 of the Railway Safety Principles and Guidelines published by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate.
If air conditioning equipment is fitted, there are standards which ensure that, in an emergency, adequate ventilation is provided and, should a fire occur, there is the opportunity to evacuate the vehicle safely. These are set out in the Association of Train Operating Companies' Good Practice Guides 003 and 004 and in standards GM RT 2120 (a Railway Group Standard) and AV/ST 9002 (an Association of Train Operating Companies standard).
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce electricity consumption of new railway rolling stock. [61259]
Derek Twigg: The Department is taking forward a range of initiatives to reduce electricity consumption—and energy consumption more generally—from new rolling stock. These include enabling the wider use of regenerative braking on electric trains, which can offer electricity consumption savings of around 20 per cent., and working with the manufacturers and operators to trial hybrid train technology. The Department is also working with the rail industry to identify measures to reduce the weight of new trains which has a key impact on energy consumption.
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