§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will require a reassessment of rail freight rates in light of the proposed track support grant; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if the track support grant is to be made available to the Cambrian coast railway; and if he will make a statement;
(3) when he expects to make an announcement regarding the level and distribution of track support grant; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanWe envisage that Railtrack will be able to accept on to the rail network any freight flow which can cover its avoidable costs. The track charge grant is aimed at assisting flows which cannot cover those costs. It follows that grant will be flow specific, not route specific. The public expenditure provision for the new grant will be determined in the course of the current public expenditure planning round.