§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out in theOfficial Report details of the major British Rail projects which are receiving funds from his Department.
§ Mr. PortilloBritish Rail will invest £3.8 billion over the next five years. Within that total all investment in British Rail's Network South East and provincial sectors is funded by the Government through the public service obligation grant, either directly as a charge on the revenue account or through depreciation charges.
Twenty-five major investment projects have been approved by Ministers since Government objectives were first set in October 1983, worth some £1,390 million in all (1988–89 prices). Within that total projects which have received funds from this Department include:
- Tonbridge-Hastings electrification
- 149 EMU vehicles (43 sets) for London commuter services Bishops Stortford-Cambridge electrification
- 150 lightweight DMU vehicles (75 sets)
- 100 mediumweight DMU vehicles (50 sets)
- Waterloo resignalling
- 240 mediumweight DMU vehicles (120 sets)
- "Windsor" rail link, Manchester
- Snow Hill Tunnel Link, London—including 240 EMU vehicles
- 138 lightweight DMU vehicles (69 sets)
- 228 mediumweight "Sprinter" DMU vehicles (114 sets)
- Bournemouth-Weymouth electrification including 120 EMU vehicles
- Rail Link to Stansted Airport including 20 EMU vehicles
- Royston-Cambridge electrification
- 184 EMU vehicles (46 sets) for Great Eastern Lines
- 204 Class 158 "Express Sprinter" DMU vehicles
- 48 Class 456 EMU vehicles (24 sets)
- Portsmouth-Southampton electrification
- 200 Class 319–321 EMU vehicles (50 sets)
In addition to these projects British Rail continues investment in the electrification of the east coast main line and is funding improvements connected with the Channel tunnel which do not receive PSO grant.