§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the terms of the Hartwell agreement in relation to the west coast main line project; whether members of his Department were involved in that agreement; and what financial guarantees his Department gave to the companies involved with that agreement. [20088]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Hartwell agreement was the result of negotiations between Railtrack and Virgin Trains. Neither the Government nor the Strategic Rail Authority were involved in the negotiations or party to them.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when Part 1 of the passenger upgrade agreement for the west coast main line was to be completed; and what plans the Government have for completing Part 2: what stage the Government's discussions with the SRA have reached regarding engineering access from the Virgin cross country franchise to the west coast main line; and whether completion of Part 2 is dependent on price. [20089]
§ Mr. JamiesonFinalisation of phase 1 is likely to be in May 2003. Options for completing phase 2 are still under discussion with the Strategic Rail Authority, Railtrack, Virgin, other users and stakeholders. Value for money is one of the considerations in these discussions.