§ Ms Rosie WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what amendments he proposes to make to exemption orders for the new Class 168/1 trains introduced into service by Chiltern Railways Ltd. and for the new Class 170/3 trains introduced into service by South West Trains Ltd. in respect of the provisions of the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998; and if he will make a statement. [142156]
§ Mr. HillWe have received further applications from both Chiltern Railways in respect of their Class 168/1 trains and South West Trains in respect of their Class 170/3 trains. These seek to amend the original Orders by extending existing exemptions. The exemptions have been discussed with our statutory advisers the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. Exemption Orders relating to the exemption of these trains has been laid in Parliament.
The exemptions will not prevent disabled people from using the new trains. Indeed, we believe that their introduction will make a significant contribution to improving mobility opportunities for disabled people.
§ Ms Rosie WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what amendments he plans to make to the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 1998. [142157]
§ Mr. HillI have laid before Parliament the Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Amendment) Regulations 2000, which will come into force on 31 December 2000.
The amendment Regulations remedy some small but significant anomalies in the RVAR and make provision for rail based public transport systems which are currently excluded (ie systems which are track-based with side guidance) to be covered.
A full review to assess the effectiveness of the RVAR will begin in the course of next year. We expect that review to identify any major changes that might be required to RVAR.