§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what categories of public sector rail operators, other than London Underground, is he considering exempting from the closure procedures proposed in the Railways Bill.
§ Mr. FreemanWe propose to exempt from the new closure procedure proposed in the railways Bill all railway operators, other than British Rail, whose enabling legislation make their services subject to the existing 91W closure procedure set out in the Transport Act 1962. Current operators within this category include, in addition to London Underground, the Tyne and Wear and Manchester metros.
I have tabled an amendment to the Bill which sets out an alternative closure procedure, closely modelled on the existing 1962 Act procedure, and which may be applied to designated exempt services. I propose to apply these alternative procedures to the above exempted services. As a result, these services will be subject to procedures which are very close to the existing ones.
We will also exempt, without applying the alternative procedures, services, such as those provided by preserved railways, which are not subject to the existing 1962 Act closure procedure.