§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are being taken to make British Rail tracks suitable to accommodate continental Berne standard rolling stock.
§ Mr. FreemanBritish Rail will be able to carry the great majority of containers—up to 9 ft high—and standard European swap bodies between the channel tunnel and its regional freight terminals using low platform wagons, without substantially changing the existing structure gauge. Converting existing lines to continental structure gauge would be extremely costly and disruptive. Apart from the need to alter tunnels and bridges, station platforms would have to be realigned and passenger rolling stock adapted to the new platform dimensions. BR has no plans to do this and does not believe the costs would be commercially justified. However, it is envisaged that the new high speed rail link would be built to continental gauge.
Queue 1 Queue 2 Queue 3 Queue 4 Total Bombay 0 238 494 197 929 New Delhi 0 331 333 113 777 Dhaka 347 1,247 157 516 2,267 Islamabad 15 1,211 198 449 1,873 Karachi 16 120 36 8 180 There are no queues in Calcutta, Nairobi or Dar-es-Salaam.
Queue 1 Queue 2 Queue 3 Queue 4 Bombay 0 4 9 12 New Delhi 0 3 7 10 Dhaka 3 5 6 12 Islamabad 3 3 6 9 Karachi 2 3 3 6 Settlement queues are organised as follows:
- Queue 1—Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependant relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.
- Queue 2—All spouses, and all children under 18 years.
- Queue 3—Finance(e)s and others applying for the first time for settlement.
- Queue 4—Re-applicants.
During periods of seasonal high demand applicants for visit visas in Islamabad requiring a full interview can expect to wait up to five days. Elsewhere they are dealt with on day of application.