§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many railheads there are in the Greater London area. [49720]
§ Mr. ByersI refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Telford (David Wright) on 25 March 2002,Official Report, column 663W.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on Network Rail's plans for developing services on the West Coast mainline. [49272]
§ Mr. JamiesonThis is a matter for Network Rail.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans exist for(a) electrification of lines from Hurst Green to Uckfield, (b) electrification of lines from Hastings to Ashford, (c) station improvements on the South Central line, (d) increased depot capacity, (e) platform lengthening, (f) the refurbishment of all power-door rolling stock on the South Central line, (g) enhancements at Gatwick airport for performance and capacity gains, (h) infrastructure work on the Brighton main line, (i) infrastructure facilities to allow faster trains to overtake slower stopping services on the Coastway route, (j) upgrade of the Arun valley line and (k) upgrade of the Sutton route, on the South Central route; and what is the expected (i) start date and (ii) completion date for such work. [49724]
§ Mr. ByersThe Heads of Terms for a new 20-year South Central franchise, signed by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and Govia on 24 October 2000, include these commitments. I expect the SRA to be able to sign a new franchise agreement with Govia later this year.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received from(a) Govia, (b) the SRA, (c) Railtrack plc and its administrators and (d) Network Rail, with respect to the SPV being developed by Govia to upgrade infrastructure around London and the south coast. [49459]
1103W
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what funds are available as part of the SRA plan for the development of additional railheads in the Greater London area; [49722]
(2) what assessment has been made as to the number of additional railheads required in the Greater London area in order to meet the growth targets for rail freight in the SRA plan and the 10-year transport plan. [49721]
§ Mr. ByersThe Strategic Rail Authority's Freight Strategy, published last year, explains in detail the authority's funding strategy and its assessment of the future need for rail freight interchanges.
A copy of the SRA's Freight Strategy is available in the Libraries of the House.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the Second Railway package. [49815]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Commission published its second railway package on 23 January. It includes formal proposals to complete liberalisation of rail freight markets, on safety, interoperability, the creation of a European Rail Agency and Community accession to the COTIF convention (the convention concerning international carriage by rail).
The Communication also outlines the Commission's strategy for the next five years, including consideration of proposals on the quality of rail freight services; overcoming the barriers to entry to, and providing high-quality infrastructure for, European rail freight; improving the environmental performance of rail freight; extending liberalisation of international passenger services; and improving passenger rights.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions his Department had with Swiftrail between 7 October and 25 March. [49868]
§ Mr. JamiesonIt is not the normal practice of the Government to release details of meetings or discussions with private individuals or companies.
§ Mr. LazarowiczTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the terms of reference are of the study commissioned by the Strategic Rail Authority into a high speed rail link from London to the north. [48747]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe SRA are conducting a feasibility study to determine the need for, and viability of a new north-south high speed passenger line. The study, which will report by the end of the year, will consider and compare a wide range of rail capacity enhancement options which may be required to satisfy the long term growth in demand for north-south passenger movements.