§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the net present cost of the Luton Airport Parkway project under the private finance initiative; what the value is of the public sector comparators in(a) pre-risk and (b) risk-adjusted terms; what risks are identified as having been transferred; and if he will make a statement. [131937]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe Luton Airport Parkway Station project was carried out by Railtrack, who took all the design, construction and operational risks. The final cost of the scheme was £23 million and a fixed £2.8 million contribution to the scheme was made through our local transport allocations for the Luton/Dunstable area.
The Station was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in November last year and has been very successful. 23 per cent. of passengers at the rapidly expanding airport are now using public transport, with 16 per cent. using the new station. Railtrack worked very hard to complete the complicated scheme which they took over from the previous promoters. In addition to an intensive service operated by Thameslink, Midland Mainline services started calling at the station in May.