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24 Nov 2008 : Column 1101W—continued
(c) Subject to point (b) above, it is anticipated that the first IEP pre-series trains will begin operation in November 2013 with full deployment (across all optional routes) completed by October 2018.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the capital cost of train carriages announced in the (a) high level output specification and (b) intercity express programme will be funded from the public purse; [237799]
(2) whether the capital cost of train carriages announced in the high level output specification and the intercity express programme will be funded through the assumption of contingent liability. [237800]
Paul Clark: Discussions on the provision of additional carriages required to meet the high level output specification are currently being held with train operators. Contractual arrangements for the provision of all carriages have not been finalised.
Capital costs of the Intercity Express Programme are expected to be met by private sector financiers.
Contingent liabilities may sometimes arise as a result of undertakings made in relation to new stock, but no such liabilities have currently been assumed in relation to these carriages.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the 1,300 new carriages referred to in the 2007 Rail White Paper have been (a) ordered and (b) delivered; and of these, how many have been allocated to specific lines. [237815]
Paul Clark: A total of 423 new train carriages have so far been ordered to meet the requirements of the high level output specification. The breakdown of these carriages between franchises is as follows:
92 x Class 377 Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) carriages for Southern/First Capital Connect;
148 x Class 350 EMU carriages for London Midland;
106 x Class 390 EMU carriages for West Coast;
69 x Class 172 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) carriages for London Midland; and
8 x Class 172 DMU carriages for Chiltern.
Deliveries of these new carriages are yet to commence apart from the London Midland Class 350 carriages, 40 of which are planned to be in service in December 2008.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2008, Official Report, column 2007W, on rolling stock, which train operating companies (a) have and (b) have not ordered their share of the 1,300 new carriages referred to in the Rail White Paper; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure train operating companies procure these extra trains quickly and efficiently. [237834]
Paul Clark: The following train operating companies have already ordered new carriages:
Southern/First Capital Connect—92 carriages;
London Midland—217 carriages; and
Chiltern—eight carriages.
In addition, the Department for Transport has ordered 106 carriages for use on the West Coast franchise.
The Department is currently actively engaged with a number of train operating companies, with the aim of reaching agreement that additional rolling stock is procured quickly and efficiently for the benefit of passengers.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many carriages announced in the (a) high level output statement and (b) intercity express programme his Department expects to (i) have been ordered and (ii) be in service by (A) 2010 and (B) 2012. [237840]
Paul Clark [holding answer 20 November 2008]: As regards to the high level output specification, 423 new carriages have already been ordered. Assuming that discussions with the various train operating companies progress to successful conclusions, the Department would currently expect that all new carriages would be ordered by 2012. However, it is not possible to accurately predict how many of these would have been ordered by 2010.
All of the 423 new carriages that have already been ordered are currently planned to be in service by the end of 2010. It is not possible to accurately predict how many of the remaining new carriages will be in service before the end of 2012 as this depends on the outcome of discussions between the Department and train operating companies and also the progress of the various rolling stock procurement, manufacturing and delivery processes.
In terms of the Intercity Express Programme, we expect to award a contract for the first tranche of IEP routes during 2009 and for the later tranches of routes by 2012. The first inter-city express pre-series trains will begin operation in 2013.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the train carriages referred to in the high level output statement have been (a) tendered for and (b) ordered. [237842]
Paul Clark [holding answer 20 November 2008]: A total of 423 train carriages have been ordered to meet the requirements of the high level output specification. The tendering process for a further 120 carriages is in progress, with tendering for the remaining carriages expected to begin in the next few months.
Speed Limits: Cameras
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of public carriageways are currently being monitored by speed cameras. [238846]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held by the Department for Transport. Enforcement is a matter for individual road safety partnerships. They have flexibility to enforce in response to community concerns or at sites where there are speeding problems and a high risk that casualties will occur.
Tolls
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many of the eight road pricing demonstration schemes will include overlapping charge classes within one charge area as outlined in the Demonstration Scheme Template Guidance; [237816]
(2) how many of the eight road pricing demonstration schemes will include difference charges for (a) vehicle class, (b) user class and (c) time class as outlined in the Demonstration Scheme Template Guidance; and how these classes have been defined for each scheme; [237817]
(3) how many bids for road pricing demonstration projects proposed to track motorists to within five seconds accuracy as outlined in the Demonstration Scheme Template Guidance; [237822]
(4) how many of the eight demonstration schemes proposed to track motorists within five seconds accuracy have been outlined in the Demonstration Scheme Template Guidance; [237825]
(5) during what times of day each of the eight road pricing demonstration projects proposes to operate charges. [237829]
Paul Clark: The Demonstrations Project is now getting under way with two schemes, in each of which the same four contractors will run a demonstration. The Demonstration Scheme Template Guidance, published as part of the ITT in March 2008, set out the full range of capabilities that might need to be explored, but the actual requirements are specified in the first service contracts now agreed with the four appointed Road User Service Providers.
Neither of the two schemes includes overlapping charge classes within one charge area.
The following table defines the time classes for the two schemes that will be demonstrated by the contractors in the first service contract. The two schemes defined for the Demonstrations Project's first service contract have the same vehicle, user and time class parameters.
| Time class | Description | Time period | Days valid | Time class factor |
Vehicle classes are as follows:
| Demonstrations vehicle class | Vehicle description | Vehicle class factor |
The factors to be applied are purely for the purposes of the demonstrations.
The compliance standard outlined in the Demonstration Scheme Template Guidance is intended to reflect the level of performance that a future ‘scheme owner’ might
require in order to have trust in the service. To ensure any charging scheme is accurate and fair it is important that it can identify that a user has entered or exited a charging area at a precise time. The purpose of the timing capability (now revised to 10 seconds) is to ensure that the time class element within the demonstration can be fairly and accurately applied; the demonstration will therefore seek to establish if the contractors' solutions can meet this target standard.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the evidential basis is for his Department’s decision to select (a) Leeds, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Milton Keynes, (d) Buckinghamshire, (e) South West London, (f) Suffolk and (g) Essex areas for road pricing demonstration schemes. [237819]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport did not select the areas to be used for the demonstrations; they are being chosen by our contractors based on the likely whereabouts of their volunteer road users.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost is of each road pricing demonstration project; and what proportion of this cost is to be paid by his Department in each case. [237820]
Paul Clark: The estimated cost to the Department for Transport of the two schemes in the first Road User Service Provider demonstration, covering all four contractors, is £10.0 million. The cost of any subsequent demonstrations would only become clear once their scope has been defined.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated costs are of having the systems proposed in the Road Pricing Demonstration Project externally checked; and what proportion of this cost will be paid for by his Department. [237821]
Paul Clark: The procurement process for the independent contractor to undertake third party assurance of the demonstrations has not yet started. It is therefore too early to give an estimate as to the likely cost, which would be met in full by the Department for Transport.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road pricing demonstration projects have stipulated (a) a minimum, (b) a maximum and (c) an average charge; and what each of these charges are. [237826]
Paul Clark: The scheme rules for the first two schemes in the Demonstrations Project make no stipulation as to a minimum, maximum, or average charge.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effects of road pricing on different sections of society. [237827]
Paul Clark:
The impact of any scheme would depend upon its detailed design. The “Feasibility Study of Road Pricing in the UK” published in July 2004 included a preliminary examination of the issues involved. In June 2007 the Department for Transport published an
evidence assessment of the Social and Distributional Impacts of Road Pricing, picking up such evidence as is available from schemes around the world.
Transport for London publishes an annual impact assessment of the London Congestion Charge.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the successful bidders for the road pricing demonstration projects. [237828]
Paul Clark: On 15 September 2008 the Government confirmed the names of the companies who will run the Demonstrations Project on road pricing technology. Eight bids were received in response to the Invitation To Tender for the Road User Service Providers Framework, of which four were successful. They were Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (UK), Sanef Tolling Limited, T-Systems Ltd and Trafficmaster plc.
Each of these contractors has now been awarded a first service contract under this framework.
A further three companies—Kapsch TrafficCom Limited, Q-Free ASA and Serco—have been appointed to a separate framework for Compliance Contractors. They will explore how to develop the regime needed in order for both road users and the operators of a scheme to be confident that all the hypothetical charges are being correctly and fairly calculated.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2008, Official Report, columns 2248-9W, on roads: tolls, whether any of the road pricing demonstrations will not use satellite technology. [237833]
Paul Clark: All four solutions to be demonstrated by our contractors will use satellite technology.
Trains: ICT
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage train operating companies to make real time information relating to connecting train services available on trains; and if he will make a statement. [237710]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport is working with the industry to ensure consistent standards of passenger information. National Rail Inquiries have a lead role in providing comprehensive information including real-time train data on their website and direct to mobile phones.
We recognise the importance of the “end-to-end” journey and the need to have fast, accurate and helpful information before and during a journey. An industry-led working group set up at the Government's instigation has been meeting since July to take forward this initiative and to ensure straightforward and effective interchange.
A £1.5 billion project, due for completion in 2012, will improve rail driver to controller communications. Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM-R) will improve contact between drivers, signallers and control centres giving precise information of a train's location. This will allow passengers to receive more timely and accurate real-time information to assist with journey planning both prior to travel and on the train.
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