HC Deb 11 December 2001 vol 376 cc799-800W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the prospects for a greater regionalisation of the railways. [21735]

Mr. Jamieson

[holding answer 10 December 2001]: This is an issue we keep under review.

Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with European Transport Ministers on greater co-operation between the different national railways; and what form such co-operation will take [21713]

Mr. Spellar

[holding answer 10 December 2001]: The form of co-operation between different companies in the European railway industry is essentially a matter for those companies, subject to the provisions of domestic and European law. The only recent specific discussions my Department has had on this issue have been in the context of an official-level Commission Committee established under Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity. These discussions have concerned the implementation of the particular requirements in that Directive for co-operation between infrastructure managers to achieve the efficient operation of train services across more than one network.

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