§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many speed restrictions were in place on the rail network at the end of each month since October 2000; and how many are anticipated at the end of March and April 2001. [152358]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 5 March 2001]: Railtrack report the number of temporary speed restrictions at the end of each month as:
Number October 2000 346 November 2000 852 December 2000 456 January 2001 422 February 2001 307 March 20011 177 April 20011 61 1Plan This covers temporary speed restrictions imposed since Hatfield because of gauge corner cracking and adverse weather, and addressed in the company's National Recovery Plan of 18 January 2001. It excludes speed restrictions in force at any one time for other reasons (including some gauge corner restrictions imposed since 18 January 2001).
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if all the speed restrictions on the London to Norwich railway line will be lifted by Easter. [152361]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 5 March 2001]: Railtrack is removing the remaining speed restrictions on the London-Norwich line in accordance with its National Recovery Plan, but some of the less severe restrictions will remain in place into the summer. Additionally, as with other parts of the network, the London—Norwich line will continue to be affected by speed restrictions imposed for other reasons.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate his Department has made of the effect of speed restrictions on journey times on the London to Norwich railway line. [152360]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 5 March 2001]: The Association of Train Operators reports that current average journey times for London to Norwich are between two hours 10 minutes and two hours 15 minutes. The normal timetable time is one hour 47 minutes.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what 255W representations he has made to Railtrack about the continued enforcement of speed restrictions; and when he estimates that the final restrictions will be lifted. [152355]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 5 March 2001]: The Rail Recovery Action Group, chaired by my noble Friend the Minister for Transport, is pressing and helping Railtrack to ensure that temporary speed restrictions imposed in the light of the Hatfield accident are removed as soon as possible, consistent with high safety standards. Many other speed restrictions imposed for other reasons will remain, and so the group has not estimated when all restrictions might be lifted.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many speed restrictions are still in force on the rail network; and on which lines. [152349]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 5 March 2001]: As of 5 March, 287 temporary speed restrictions imposed in the light of the Hatfield accident remain in force at various points on the rail network, including on 32 of the 45 strategic routes identified in Railtrack's Network Management Statement:
- West Coast Mainline
- East Coast Mainline
- Great Western Mainline
- Reading and Bristol to Penzance
- Midland Mainline
- Channel Tunnel Routes
- Derby to Bristol and Didcot
- North Transpennine
- Birmingham and Coventry to Peterborough
- Crewe to Newport
- Wolverhampton to Chester and Aberystwyth
- Manchester and Crewe to North Wales
- Manchester to Sheffield and North Lincolnshire
- Edinburgh to Glasgow, Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Inverness
- West Anglia Mainline
- Great Eastern Mainline
- Chatham Mainline and North Kent
- Brighton Mainline and South London Network
- South Coastal Route Portsmouth to Ashford
- London to Portsmouth
- Wessex Routes
- Chiltern lines
- North London Line
- Cardiff Valleys
- West Midlands local routes
- East Midlands local routes
- Yorkshire
- North East England
- South West Scotland
- Strathclyde
- Freight-only routes North England
- Freight-only routes Scotland.
In addition, at any one time there is always a larger number of speed restrictions in force on the network, needed to maintain safe operation in adverse operating conditions and to enable normal maintenance activities to be completed.
256W
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what speed restrictions have been placed on the London to Norwich railway line in each of the last six months; how many of these restrictions remain; what monitoring of the situation he is undertaking; and what representations he has made to Railtrack about the disruption these restrictions have caused to journey times. [152359]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 5 March 2001]: Railtrack is responsible for the management of speed restrictions, and reports to the Rail Recovery Action Group on the total in force nationally in the light of the Hatfield accident. The detailed figures for individual lines are a matter for Railtrack.
In the light of its concern about extended journey times on London-Norwich and other services, the group, chaired by the Minister for Transport, is urging Railtrack to remove temporary speed restrictions as soon as possible, consistent with high safety standards.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many speed restrictions were in place on the London to Norwich railway line in each month since the end of October 2000; and how many are anticipated at the end of March and April this year. [152362]