§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Rail Summit. [74418]
§ Dr. ReidThe Rail Summit was an important step towards our goal of creating within 10 years one of the best railway systems in the world. The passenger train operators and Railtrack share that aim and want to work together—and with government—to realise it.
740WAt the Summit, the Government:
announced they were prepared to renegotiate existing franchises and specified the criteria against which applications would be judged;introduced Sir Alastair Morton as the new chairman of the British Railways Board and head of the shadow Strategic Rail Authority;launched the consultation exercise which will lead later in the year to the shadow SRA's strategic plan for the railway;announced the start of work on a National Passengers Survey and on ways of measuring more accurately train operators' performance;promised legislation to regulate the rolling stock leasing companies if they do not voluntarily restrict their market power.The passenger train operators jointly promised that:
on average, train services will be more punctual next year than they are now;by 2002, half the current rolling stock fleet will have been replaced or refurbished;by April next year, all stations in Great Britain will have passenger information systems;an additional £39m will be spent on measures to improve the security of passengers.The industry has given a commitment to work to deliver real improvements which are measurable year on year. There will be a second Summit in spring next year to review progress and maintain the momentum which was created on 25 February.