§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the Project Prestige and on its applicability to rail services. [79599]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonUnder the Prestige contract, the Transys consortium will update and renew ticket issuing and revenue collection systems throughout the London Transport network, leading to the introduction of contactless smartcards from 2002. Preliminary work to install ticket gates throughout the Underground network, new electronic ticket machines on services procured by LT Buses, and electronic point of sale (EpoS) machines in Pass Agents Sales Service (PASS) outlets is underway.
Since the conception of the Prestige project in 1996, LT has planned for the 12 Train Operating Companies (TOCs) in the former Network SouthEast area to participate in the scheme. Discussions have taken place with the aim of developing technical solutions that would give the TOCs the full benefits of Prestige. At present, LT is committed to the installation of ticket gates at joint London Underground/TOC stations managed by the TOCs and to upgrade these later to accept smartcards, in line with plans for other London Underground stations.
At present there is no general commitment from the TOCs to adopt Prestige ticket technology, although certain operators have expressed an interest in joint smartcard and equipment trials. In the meantime, LT will continue to ensure that the technology employed under Prestige will extension of smartcard technology to TOC stations.