HC Deb 19 December 2001 vol 377 cc535-6W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give details of the measure of overcrowding being used by the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will make a statement. [23504]

Mr. Jamieson

The Passenger in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) standard states thatin respect of all trains operated by the Franchise Operator on the specified routes and services, (i) the PIXC in the morning peak shall not exceed 4.5 per cent., (ii) the PIXC in the evening peak shall not exceed 4.5 per cent., (iii) the PIXC on the morning and the evening peak shall not exceed 3 per cent, and (iv) the PIXC shall not be unduly concentrated on any particular route or service".

PIXC is applied to the 10 train operators running services in and out of London as well as Scotrail's services across the Fife Bridge.

Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment has been made by(a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority of the levels of overcrowding (i) for each train operating company, (ii) temporally and (iii) geographically; and if he will make a statement. [23503]

Mr. Jamieson

There is a strong commercial incentive on train operators to supply sufficient levels of comfort for passengers on the services they provide. The SRA measures commuter overcrowding using the "Passengers in Excess of Capacity" mechanism, for which the results are published annually.

Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has(a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon on the measure of overcrowding levels of rail passenger services as used by the Strategic Rail Authority; if he will place copies of reports published as a result of such research conducted in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [23506]

Mr. Jamieson

The SRA expect commuter Train Operating Companies to undertake impartial passenger counts up to twice per annum for peak commuter services. Where PTEs specify limits for peak overcrowding they use a similar approach.

Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps(a) have been and (b) are planned to be taken by (i) his Department and (ii) the Strategic Rail Authority to improve the measure of overcrowding used by the Strategic Rail Authority to take account of variations (A) between train operating companies, (B) temporally and (C) geographically; and if he will make a statement. [23502]

Mr. Jamieson

The Strategic Rail Authority is developing a new process for a consistent method of calculating overcrowding in commuter areas across the network. It will be based upon the existing Passengers In Excess of Capacity (PIXC) mechanism used for London commuter operators and for services from Fife into Edinburgh.

Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made by(a) his Department and (b)the Strategic Rail Authority in reducing levels of overcrowding on the rail network; and if he will make a statement. [23501]

Mr. Jamieson

A number of measures have been introduced to reduce overcrowding including: the introduction of new trains that are designed to accommodate high loading levels; additional rolling stock to increase the number of vehicles available; and franchise commitments to improve services.

Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of the measure of overcrowding levels of rail passenger services outlined(a) in "A New Deal for Transport", (b) in "Transport 2010: The Ten Year Plan", (c) within his Department's direction and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority of September 1999 and (d) within his Department's direction and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority of July 2001; and if he will make a statement. [23507]

Mr. Jamieson

There is a requirement in the draft Directions and Guidance provided by the Secretary of State in July to reduce overcrowding to meet Strategic Rail Authority standards—no passengers standing for journeys of more than 20 minutes, no more than 30 per cent, standing for shorter journeys—by 2010.