§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has undertaken to assess the economic cost to the nation of congested traffic flows on both road and rail.
§ Mr. PortilloThe Department does not calculate the costs of congestion on roads and rail in total because of the difficulty of defining the base case against which congestion would be compared. However, it is our policy to reduce the economic costs of traffic congestion by cost-effective rail and road schemes in which the relief of traffic congestion on roads and the reduction in overcrowding on the railways are taken into account in the assessment of benefits. Planned spending on new 497W construction and improvement of motorway and trunk roads over the next three years amounts to some £2.6 billion (excluding VAT), an increase of 40 per cent. on the three years ending 1988–89. British Rail investment is at its highest level since the 1960s, with over £3.5 billion planned for the next five years, including investment in additional rolling stock to relieve overcrowding. We have also undertaken the central London rail study, which has identified options for relieving congestion.