§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he had with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds prior to his determination of future statutory limits on noise from railway trains; and if he will tabulate their limits in theOfficial Report stating whether they apply to machinery or to cumulative levels of noise over a given period of time and whether they are based on existing or projected line speeds.
§ Mr. PortilloI refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) of 10 April 1989 at column409. What the Government intend to establish is a standard for the purposes of noise insulation of properties affected by new railway lines, equivalent to that which already exists for new roads. The Government's conclusion will be published. There is no intention to establish an absolute statutory limit on noise from trains. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has not been consulted.