HC Deb 26 November 2001 vol 375 cc624-6W
Mr. Djanogly

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many times the West Anglian Great Northern railway service between Huntingdon and King's Cross and King's Cross and Huntingdon has been late in each of the past six months, as a percentage of the total number of journeys; and what the reasons were for the delays. [17106]

Mr. Jamieson

The information is not available in the form requested. The latest performance figures for the West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) franchise as a whole are indicated in the table. Services are deemed to be late if they arrived at their destination beyond five minutes of timetable.

Period Percentage late
1 April 2001 to 29 April 2001 21.1
30 April 2001 to 27 May 2001 20.5
28 May 2001 to 24 June 2001 20.3
25 June 2001 to 22 July 2001 21.6
23 July 2001 to 19 August 2001 22.8
20 August 2001 to 16 September 2001 20.4
17 September 2001 to 14 October 2001 23.1

WAGN are still subject to 30 Emergency Speed Restrictions. These, coupled with a shortage of drivers, are the principal reasons for disruption. To remedy the driver shortage, WAGN has twice the number of drivers in training for which it currently has vacancies.

Mr. Djanogly

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what revision there has been of the timetable for planned track improvements between Huntingdon and King's Cross since January; [17110]

(2) what improvements are planned for the railway track between Huntingdon and King's Cross. [17108]

Mr. Jamieson

Railtrack's 2001 Network Management Statement, published in May, identifies the projects on which the company is working as well as expected completion dates. The Administrator has taken over Railtrack's contractual commitments. For the future, the East Coast Main Line upgrade proposals will feature improvements in this area. Further announcements will be made in due course. Emergency Speed Restrictions still apply across much of West Anglia Great Northern's network, while Rai1track carry out tracks maintenance and renewal of track following the Hatfield derailment last year.

Mr. Djanogly

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what improvements are planned to Huntingdon and St. Neots railway stations; [17104]

(2) what revision has been made to the timetable for planned improvements to Huntingdon and St. Neots railway stations. [17105]

Mr. Jamieson

Both stations are included in the Strategic Rail Authority's Incremental Outputs Statements scheme (IOS), a programme to deliver modern facilities at stations. The specific items to be provided and the timetable will be dependent on the programme's site surveys which are currently on-going. I understand that WAGN are also considering the possibility of extending the car park at St. Neots and for a bus interchange at Huntingdon.

Mr. Djanogly

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many passengers travelled on the Huntingdon to King's Cross and King's Cross to Huntingdon services in each of the past 36 months. [17107]

Mr. Jamieson

The information is not available in the form requested. Across all West Anglia Great Northern services an estimated 62.5 million passenger journeys were made in 2000–2001, 61.2 million in 1999–2000, and 55.7 million in 1998–1999. West Anglia Great Northern's Passengers In Excess of Capacity (PIXC) figures for each of the last three years were 2.3 per cent. in 2000, 1.8 per cent. in 1999 and 1.2 per cent. in 1998. Train operators are required to keep PIXC to 3 per cent. or below.

Mr. Djanogly

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to introduce a high-speed rail link between Huntingdon and King's Cross. [17109]

Mr. Jamieson

I am not aware of any plans for a high-speed link. The development of such plans would be a matter for the industry to pursue in response to demand for a high speed service.