§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what criteria were used by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising to assess the impact on existing or potential rail services of the coach links which OPRAF approved as part of the Virgin/Stagecoach deal for the InterCity West Coast Main Line and Cross Country Franchises. [73089]
§ Dr. ReidThe Criterion for securing the bus links was the integration of public transport in line with our recent White Paper, ANew Deal for Transport. The primary aim was to transport passengers to rail heads by bus from areas not currently served by rail services and thus to encourage greater use of train services from these rail heads.