§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he received, following his White Paper on rail privatisation, from(a) the passenger transport executives and (b) British Rail about the restrictions on capacity and train paths which exist on the Rugby to Stafford via Birmingham section of track over which the west coast main InterCity route operates.
§ Mr. FreemanWe are aware from general discussions with BR that this is a very heavily used section of the network.
§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what advice he received following his White Paper on rail privatisation in respect of the reduction in train paths that would be a consequence of the required or planned renewal of track and infrastructure forming the InterCity west coast main line route;
(2) what advice he has received following his White Paper on rail privatisation on the scope for allocating adequate maintenance periods on that track and infrastructure vested in InterCity west coast main line between Crewe and Carlisle.
§ Mr. FreemanNone. Decisions on maintenance and train paths will primarily be a matter for Railtrack.