§ Mr. FormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to franchise rail services serving the constituency of Carshalton and Wallington in the current Parliament; and what guarantees he can give about the safety, frequency and reliability of the services. [15270]
§ Mr. WattsThe Franchising Director proposes to issue invitations to tender for the Network SouthCentral franchise later this year. He aims to let the franchise by April 1996. The passenger service requirement for the franchise will specify, among other things, the frequency of trains to be operated and maximum journey times. The Franchising Director will monitor operators' performance regularly and he will be able to impose penalties if the passenger service requirement is not delivered. The Rail Regulator requires train operators to have a validated safety case before he will issue a licence to operate.