§ Mr. GillTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to support a bid to give the Wolverhampton/Shrewsbury/Chester railway line a priority Trans-European Network status. [122739]
§ Mr. HillThe Commission, in discussion with member states, is currently reviewing the need for revisions to the TEN guidelines which were adopted in 1996. We agree with the emerging conclusions that no major alterations should be made to the guideline maps at this stage other than those necessary to ensure consistency with the transport network maps that have been developed for the countries seeking accession to the EU. There is also a consensus that no changes to the list of 14 Priority TEN projects adopted by the European Council at Essen in December 1994 should be made at this time. There will be another review of the guidelines in 2005 and that might be the appropriate moment to look afresh at the guideline maps and the list of priority projects.
Subject to parliamentary approval of the Transport Bill, future proposals for TEN status of railway lines in Great Britain will become the responsibility of the Strategic Rail Authority.