§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he has any plans, in the interest of safety, to require a review of the designs for Channel tunnel rail shuttle vehicles; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if the railway inspectorate and the marine directorate have been asked to investigate the safety procedures for the operation of the Channel tunnel; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PortilloThe approval of the Secretary of State is required for any train operating through the tunnel, including shuttle trains, and he will of course be able to408W look to the railway inspectorate and the marine directorate if necessary for advice on relevant proposals from Eurotunnel.
More generally, Eurotunnel is required under the Channel fixed link concession agreement to submit to the United Kingdom-French intergovernmental commission the general characteristics of the design of the tunnel and the associated transport system including rolling stock, with particular emphasis on safety aspects, and also proposed safety arrangements including operating rules and emergency procedures. Eurotunnel has already submitted a number of design proposals, though so far for the rail shuttle vehicles only conceptual proposals, and it has yet to submit its operating rules and emergency procedures. The intergovernmental commission has the assistance of the United Kingdom-French safety authority, and the commission and the authority can look for assistance to bodies such as the railway inspectorate and the marine directorate. (The deputy chief inspecting officer of railways is in fact a member of the authority).