§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the numbers of private sidings financed using section 8 grants by British Rail, in each year since such grants began, giving the total annual expenditure on section 8 grants in each of these years in both constant and cash prices.
§ Mr. RidleySo far 166 grants have been awarded under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974, including 31 in Scotland and 21 in Wales. Most of them included provisions related either to the installation of new private
Investment Project Date Submitted Action Cost* £ million Construction of 3 HST sets for East Coast Main Line† 17 September 1979 Rejected 6.0 Freight Rolling Stock Rolling Programme 9 April 1980 Withdrawn 136.5 Harwich-Zeebrugge train ferry 24 April 1980 Withdrawn 39.5 Advanced Passenger Train for West Coast Main Line (including fixed works) 17 July 1980 Withdrawn 214.5 Advanced Passenger Train for West Coast main line (advance authority for long-lead items) 19 August 1980 Withdrawn 34.5 EMU Rolling Programme 15 December 1980 Withdrawn 114.0 120 Mk III coaches‡ 4 November 1982 Withdrawn 23.0 3 fast ferries for Portsmouth—Ryde service 29 March 1983 Rejected 7.5 Cambridge—Royston electrification║ 11 July 1983 Rejected 2.0 * Costs are at prices prevailing at the time of submission. † Part of a larger submission: 4 HST sets, worth £9.5 million, were approved. ‡ Part of a larger submission: 60 Mk III coaches, worth £11 million, were approved. ║ Part of a larger submission: Cambridge-Bishops Stortford electrification, worth £10 million, was approved.