§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on(a) train, (b) signal and (c) track failures in each year since 1994–95, for all the lines on London Underground. [67904]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonLondon Transport works hard to minimise the incidence of equipment failure and its consequent impact on passenger service. I understand from London Transport that the figures from 1994–95 are as follows:
Summary of numbers London Underground Ltd. train delays: track, signal/points and rolling stock only by incident
group and financial year (1994–95/1998–99)
Signal points Other track Rolling stock Delays in 1994–95 2,349 659 16,123 Delays in 1995–96 2,494 959 15,102 Delays in 1996–97 2,323 1,007 14,873 Delays in 1997–98 2,725 881 17,801 Delays in 1998–99 (36 weeks only) 1,941 589 14,011 Full 1998–99 statistics are not yet available as London Underground Ltd.'s data collection year covers 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999. Therefore the 1998–99 figures represents 36 weeks only
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the causes of disruption and delays on London Underground in(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98 and (d) 1998–99. [67903]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonLondon Transport monitors the causes of disruption and delay to London Underground under eleven categories. Its figures, for the years in question, are as follows:
161WFull 1998–99 statistics are not yet available as London Underground Ltd's data collection year covers 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999. Therefore the 1998–99 figures represent 36 weeks only.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on Government plans for the funding of London Underground's investment for 1998 to 2003 and past spending from 1992 to 1997. [67905]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonLondon Transport currently funds investment from a mix of Government grant, operating surplus, and private finance, through which investment in the Underground over the next two years (1998–99 and 1999–00) will be around £1 billion. Under our plans for a public/private partnership for London Underground, our aim is to secure high and stable investment in modernising and maintaining the system, managed and financed by the private sector, under-contracts through which they will be remunerated in accordance with the delivery of required performance levels:
Over the period 1992–1997, Underground investment ran at an historically high level, in large part reflecting spending on the Jubilee Line Extension. But planned investment in the core network was scaled back dramatically in the light of the cuts imposed in the then Government's November 1996 budget. We have made available an extra £365 million grant for 1998–99 and 99–00 to help redress the shortfall in planned investment caused by this cut, and to cover preparation for implementing our public private partnership policy.
§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made on establishing liability in the case of a serious infrastructure failure on London Underground after concessions have been awarded to private companies. [67906]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Public/Private Partnership contracts that London Underground are currently developing will specify the respective rights and responsibilities of the London Underground operating company and the infrastructure contractors. There will be a simple and robust procedure for allocating responsibility for asset failures that will form part of the day-to-day process for managing the contacts.
Work is still continuing to develop the details, but, if a serious infrastructure failure results in damage to the operating company's property or injuries to its employees or members of the public, the general principle will be that the party responsibility for the failure will bear the financial consequences. An appropriate liability regime and insurance requirements will be put into place.