§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the outcome of his meeting with train operating companies. [61938]
§ Dr. ReidThe Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Transport in London and I met representatives from the rail franchisees and Railtrack on November 26. The meeting was frank and constructive. It represented a significant first step aimed at delivering improvements to passengers.
The Government believe, and the industry accepts, that the target must be progressive, year-on-year improvement in performance. Measures identified to improve service in the short term included the recruitment and training of 800 drivers and the introduction over the next year of 500 new vehicles, of which about half will be additional to the current fleet. There will be a wider-ranging National Railways Summit next February to build on measures and actions identified at this first meeting.