§ Mr. Stuart Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to the present volume of interchange at London coach terminals for passengers in transit to other locations outside London.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe consultants carrying out LRT's coach terminal study have found that nearly a quarter of the total number of coach passengers arriving at Victoria coach station are "interlining" between coaches.
§ Mr. Stuart Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is his Department's role in the consideration of prospective sites for London coach terminals;
(2) who will be the developer of the proposed new London coach terminal at Vauxhall bridge;
(3) if it is intended that the proposed new London coach terminal should be privately owned and operated;
(4) what is the role of London Regional Transport in the development consortium for the proposed new London coach terminal at Vauxhall bridge;
(5) if London Regional Transport is financially involved in the proposed development of a new London coach terminal at Vauxhall bridge; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David MitchellIn June last year, my right hon. Friend's predecessor asked LRT to undertake a study of current and future terminal requirements for long distance coaches in London. LRT is now consulting interested 39W parties on its findings, and will submit its final report to us once that process has finished. We will then make decisions on the best way forward.
§ Mr. Stuart Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to which private coach operators have expressed a financial interest in the development of a new London coach terminal at Vauxhall bridge.
§ Mr. David MitchellWe are not aware of any expressions of interest by coach operators in developing, as opposed to using, a new terminal at Vauxhall.
§ Mr. Stuart Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what additional roadworks will be required to accommodate the proposed new London coach terminal at Vauxhall (a) on the immediate vicinity of the site and (b) elsewhere in London;
(2) what estimates have been made of the result of additional traffic generated by the location of a new London coach terminus at Vauxhall Bridge on the rate of traffic flows, noise and congestion in the area of Vauxhall Cross, with particular reference to Vauxhall bridge foot, Kennington lane, Nine Elms lane, South Lambeth road, Wandsworth road and the Albert embankment;
(3) what estimates have now been made of the combined net effect on traffic flows for the road systems and bridges between Blackfriars bridge and Chelsea bridge of the location of: (a) a Channel fixed link international terminal at Waterloo Station and (b) the proposed London coach terminal at Vauxhall bridge.
§ Mr. David MitchellA new London coach terminal is currently the subject of a consultation exercise by LRT on alternative sites. LRT's consultants' estimates are set down in their interim report, in particular in chapter 6. A copy has been placed in the Library.
As regards the Channel tunnel terminal, British Rail has commissioned from Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners a report on the impact of the generated road traffic in the Waterloo area. Copies of this report have been sent to the local authorities concerned, and I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Stuart Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Transport what will be the approximate costs of developing the proposed new London coach terminal at Vauxhall including (a) private investment costs and (b) public investment in roads and infrastructure.
§ Mr. David MitchellAn approximate figure of £48 million for the capital costs of developing a new London coach terminal at Vauxhall was given in the interim report by LRT's consultants for the coach terminal study, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. I understand that the consultants are presently undertaking further work on cost estimates.