§ Sir Irvine PatnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken to monitor the level of services on the Midland MainLine; and if he will make a statement. [4747]
§ Mr. WattsThe franchise agreement places obligations on the franchise operator to provide, and gives the franchising director the right to request, information about services in order to monitor compliance with the franchise obligations. The franchise agreement requires the franchise operator to monitor customer satisfaction, and to publish its own passenger's charter with terms no less favourable than those offered by British Rail. The office for Passenger Rail Franchising recently published statistics for punctuality and reliability in comparison with franchisees' passengers charter standards. Since the franchise commenced in April, Midland MainLine's punctuality and reliability has exceeded its charter targets 417W of 90 per cent. and 99 per cent. respectively. In addition to the operational information provided by franchisees, Opraf has its own computer systems which make full use of data from Railtrack systems independently to monitor operating performance.
The franchisee for Midland MainLine plans broadly to maintain the pre-franchising number of services over the first three years of the franchise, with the introduction of additional services in 1999.