§ Mr. SnapeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what financial criteria he instructed the British Railways Board to employ when evaluating a high speed rail link from the Channel tunnel to London; and how these criteria differ from those applied to tunnel-linked road schemes in Kent.
§ Mr. PortilloThe Government's criteria for approving investment by British Rail were discussed in the Government's observations on the third report of the House of Commons Transport Committee, Session. 1986–87, which were published in the first special report of the Committee for the 1987–88 Session (HC420). These observations also addressed the question of comparability with the investment criteria used for new road schemes, and whether the difference in the methods used results in any significant distortion between the modes. Rail and road investments in connection with the Channel tunnel will be appraised using the normal criteria employed for rail and road investments.