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19 Jun 2008 : Column 1063W—continued
Slough Borough Council (including SBC communications team);
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (including RBWM communications team);
Royal Berkshire Ambulance Trust;
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services;
Metropolitan Police Service;
East Regional Control Centre; and
South East Regional Control Centre.
Network Rail
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the role of the Office of Rail Regulation is in respect of network enhancements proposed by Network Rail; and if she will make a statement; [211081]
(2) for what reasons the Office of Rail Regulation rejected the scheme proposed by Network Rail to redouble track between Swindon and Kemble. [211080]
Mr. Tom Harris: Following the Secretary of State's publication of the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), specifying what she wants the railways to deliver over the five years from 2009 to 2014, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) asked Network Rail to publish a plan on behalf of the industry setting out how the Government's requirements could be delivered. Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan included enhancement schemes that it considered were needed to deliver the specified outputs.
In its draft determinations, ORR set out which enhancement projects it proposes to provide funding for. Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan included redoubling the track between Swindon and Kemble, but ORR concluded that this was not necessary to deliver the performance improvements specified in the HLOS.
Olympic Games 2012: Manpower
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of her Department have been seconded to work on transport issues for the 2012 Olympic Games; which organisations they have been seconded to; and when their secondments will (a) commence and (b) finish. [211413]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There have been no Department for Transport officials seconded to work on transport issues for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Parking
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of her Department have access to car parking facilities at each Department and agency building. [209051]
Jim Fitzpatrick: General staff car parking facilities are not available at the Department's London headquarters buildings. Elsewhere, car parking facilities are allocated according to site specific local policy. Information on arrangements at each building has been placed in the Library of the House.
A listing by building for the regional sites operated by the Driving Standards Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Railways
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the maximum average load factor is at each station identified in Table A4 and A5 of her Department’s 2007 White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, in the last year for which figures are available; [211420]
(2) what the (a) forecast passenger demand and (b) train capacity was at each station identified in Table A4 and A5 of her Department’s 2007 White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, in the last year for which figures are available; [211421]
(3) who in her Department has responsibility for policy on train capacity; and whether a national study on train capacity is planned. [211422]
Mr. Tom Harris: The average maximum load factor for each London termini is shown on table figure 5.4 on page 53 of the 2007, White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, published in July 2007 and available on the departmental website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/whitepapers/white papercm7176/.
These are the most recent data available.
The load factor data for the regional cities shown on table figure 5.5 on page 55 of the White Paper are also the most recent data available for these cities.
The Forecast Passenger Demand and Train Capacity data contained in the White Paper are the most recent available data.
A national study on train capacity was conducted to inform the proposals contained in the White Paper.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has introduced to ensure that train companies providing long-distance travel allow standard class passengers to sit in first class when there are no seats available in standard class. [212246]
Mr. Tom Harris: Train companies guarantee the provision of seats where reservations have been made. Seat reservations are automatically included with many tickets, such as quota controlled 'Advance' fares.
In other circumstances, on-train staff may give permission for holders of Standard Class tickets to travel in First Class accommodation without extra charge. Alternatively they may declassify First Class carriages. However, this is a matter for the train companies and their staff and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Railways: Electrification
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in her Department are working on plans to upgrade or increase railway electrification. [208315]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Government committed in last year’s rail White Paper, “Delivering a Sustainable Railway”, to keep the case for further rail electrification under review. The improving business case suggests great potential for a rolling programme of electrification, and the Department continues to work with the rail industry to explore how the cost of electrification can be reduced, and to prioritise schemes. A number of officials are at times engaged with this work, and as a result, it is not possible to provide a simple figure. Upgrades of existing electrification infrastructure are a matter for Network Rail.
Railways: Finance
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on (a) railways and (b) roads, including Highways Agency allocations for each year of the Department’s existence; and what the projected figures are for 2008-09. [206173]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 16 May 2008]: The information requested is as follows:
| £ million | |||||||
| Outturn | Estimated outturn | Plans | |||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
The Department also provides funding to local authorities via the Department’s Integrated Transport Block and for Local Authority Major Schemes, as follows:
| £ million | |||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Local authorities spend this funding both on road-related schemes and public transport projects. It is not possible to disaggregate the data between the different types of project.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what schemes her Department plans to allocate funding from the Designated Community Rail Fund. [211747]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Designated Community Rail Development Fund is a new initiative intended to assist with locally based schemes such as small scale station improvements (signage, seating, landscaping, artwork), promotions (web-sites, leaflets, posters, special events) and community engagement (work with schools, youth clubs, groups who are from socially excluded groups).
The mix of schemes that will be funded will depend on what applications are made by Community Rail Partnerships on designated routes.
Railways: Overcrowding
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the evidential basis is for her Department’s calculation that each rail passenger requires 0.45 square metres of space as stated on page 153 of her Department's 2007 White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway. [211417]
Mr. Tom Harris: As the White Paper states, the 0.45 square metres figure is one that has been in general use within the industry. It has been used for some time, in conjunction with other measures which are also described in the White Paper, as a rule of thumb when calculating train capacity. It was determined by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), based on earlier work by the British Railways Board.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate she has made of the margins for error in her Department’s figures on train capacity; [211423]
(2) what methods are used by her Department and its agencies to calculate train capacity. [211424]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Department for Transport’s calculation of train capacity is based on a consistently applied calculation, which uses the size of the interior of each passenger railway vehicle, divided by a space of 0.45 m(2) which is an industry-standard calculation of the space occupied by each passenger.
Any structures, such as luggage racks are included in the calculation, and the total size of the vehicle interior is reduced accordingly to reflect where these structures exist. These calculations are updated when modifications are made to the interior of any fleet of passenger rail vehicles.
Railways: Rolling Stock
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the supporting evidence is for her Department’s calculation, for rolling stock with no information on furnishable space available, that train capacity is 1.4 times the number of seats, and 1.2 times the number of seats on inter-city rolling stock. [211418]
Mr. Tom Harris: This calculation was undertaken to support the rail High Level Output Specification, published in July 2007. For the small numbers of rolling stock where detailed information was not readily available at the time, the train capacity was based on the approximate mid-point of the range of similar trains where full data were available. While commuter and regional rolling stock types have similar seat and standing densities, inter-city rolling stock tends to have a lower seating density.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) locomotives, (b) multiple units, (c) freight wagons and (d) carriages were in use on the rail network in the most recent period for which figures are available, broken down by (i) train operating company and (ii) class. [211419]
Mr. Tom Harris: This information is not held by the Department for Transport, but is widely available in the specialist press.
Railways: Scotland
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008, Official Report, column 1895W, on railways: Scotland, what work she has asked Network Rail to undertake on new lines and high speed rail lines between England and Scotland. [210600]
Mr. Tom Harris: Network Rail accepted an invitation from the Secretary of State to develop longer term options for the railway network. This will include consideration of new and high-speed lines.
Rolling Stock: Procurement
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains she plans to order in the first phase of the (a) Thameslink and (b) Intercity Express Programme Order in the summer of 2009. [211405]
Mr. Tom Harris: The information is as follows:
The Thameslink Rolling Stock project intends to order an entire new fleet to operate the enhanced Thameslink service from December 2015. The fleet size will be between 900 and 1,300 vehicles depending on detailed service planning. It is intended to award a single contract for the whole fleet in summer 2009 at which time the delivery schedule for the vehicles will be agreed.
(b) Inter-city Express Programme
In the case of the Inter-city Express Programme (IEP) the number of trains will be determined by the train service provider based on the performance regime they have contracted to meet and the number of trains required to operate the timetable for the chosen routes. While the Secretary of State for Transport will provide a commitment to use the trains over a 20 year period there will not be an order for a specific number of trains. Consequently, until IEP bids have been received and evaluated a broad estimate of between 600 and 1,200 vehicles can be assumed.
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