§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to ensure that(a) the Rail Regulator and (b) Railtrack take into account the potential growth in rail freight traffic when considering the allocation of access paths. [37986]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Rail Regulator is under a statutory duty to promote both passenger and freight traffic. He must therefore take this into account when considering proposed access agreements. Railtrack have set out their latest plans for rail freight in the Network Management Statement, published on 25 March. Encouraging more freight by rail will be an important element of our integrated transport policy on which we will be publishing a White Paper shortly.