§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what responsibilities the shadow Strategic Rail Authority will have in respect of(a) train path allocation and (b) national timetables. [61895]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonRailtrack allocates train paths in accordance with access rights which the operators hold and with the operators' bids for paths. Railtrack is also responsible for the national timetable. Railtrack will retain these responsibilities when the shadow Strategic Rail Authority is established next Spring. However, we envisage that the new organisation will assess at a strategic level network capacity, future demand and the balance between passenger and freight operations.