§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of Railtrack's compliance with condition no. 7 of its operations licence in relation to the number of broken rails in each year since 1994. [143556]
§ Mr. HillThe Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) is responsible for ensuring that Railtrack meets its network licence obligations. The Regulator has informed Railtrack that he regarded the excessive level of broken rails in 1998–99 and 1999–2000 as prima facie evidence of a breach of licence condition 7; and that the ORR and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were commissioning an independent report from Transportation Technology Centre Inc. (TTCI). The TTCI report was published on 9 November.
I understand that the ORR and HSE have asked Railtrack to respond to the TTCI report and for a statement of how it proposes to take the necessary action.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will discuss with Railtrack the implementation of arrangements whereby future maintenance contracts for maintenance contractors will exclude the right of Railtrack to override recommendations for maintenance and renewal made by maintenance and repair contractors and include the right of maintenance contractors to vary repair and maintenance contracts with the approval of regulatory bodies. [143550]
§ Mr. HillRailtrack has prime responsibility for the safety and security of the railway it controls and for the health and safety of those who are affected by its activities.
Railtrack's contracts for infrastructure maintenance require contractors to be compliant with specified standards designed to ensure safe and secure operation. The maintenance contractors are also obliged by the contracts to recommend renewals and other specified repair works to Railtrack.
In order to continue to discharge its statutory safety obligations under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, Railtrack must accept responsibility for all decisions that relate to infrastructure maintenance, repair and renewal works.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions Railtrack has been served with enforcement orders relating to its operations since 1994. [143554]
§ Mr. HillThe Health and Safety Executive's (HSEs) Railway Inspectorate has served Railtrack with 79 enforcement notices since 1994.
300W
Notices issued against railtrack 1 April 1994 to 6 December 2000 Improvement notice Prohibition notice 1994–95 7 0 1995–96 12 1 1996–97 9 0 1997–98 6 1 1998–99 8 0 1999–2000 15 3 2000–01 17 0