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Railways: Franchises
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Following their invitation on 17 December for expressions of interest in the Greater Western and Thameslink franchises which stated that past performance would be taken into account when letting new rail franchises, whether they have instructed the Strategic Rail Authority to apply the same criterion in evaluating bids for the new Great North Eastern franchise. [HL570]
Lord Davies of Oldham: In future, greater weight will be given to past performance at the pre-qualification stage. The InterCity East Coast (ICEC) competition was launched in advance of this decision. The ICEC franchise bids will be evaluated using the standard Stratetic Rail Authority (SRA) method, a full copy of which is available on the SRA website at www.sra.gov.uk. This weights the various factors
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important for delivering a successful franchise. Performance (punctuality and reliability) of the train services and the robustness of the bidders' plans to deliver it are highly weighted in the evaluation.
Crossrail: Funding
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the proposed sources of funding for Crossrail; and how much is expected to come from the private sector. [HL571]
Lord Davies of Oldham: I refer the noble Lord to the Written Statement on Crossrail that the Secretary of State for Transport made on 20 July 2004, (Official Report cols. 23–26 WS).
Crossrail: Alternative Schemes
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Following the launch of "Superlink", the proposed new East/West railway across London, whether the Government will undertake an early evaluation of this scheme in comparison with Crossrail, given that phase 1 of the scheme claims a public sector contribution which is £1.7 million less than Crossrail for similar capital costs. [HL572]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Crossrail hybrid Bill will be supported by an Environmental Statement
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which will contain an assessment of the main alternatives to Crossrail. We are confident that Crossrail represents the best way to deliver our objectives for improving transport in and around London.
Limehouse Link
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to discourage or prevent motor vehicles using the Limehouse Link tunnels as a route between the West End or the City of London and the M25. [HL589]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Limehouse Link forms part of the Greater London Authority Road Network—now known as the Transport for London Road Network—and is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London. Therefore, any works, including traffic management measures, on that stretch of road are a matter for them. Further information about the Limehouse Link should be obtained from:
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