§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) how many rails are listed as defective and in need of replacement; [50662]
(2) what the average time taken was to replace a rail once it has been identified as defective in the last 12 months; and in what way defective rails are prioritised for replacement; [50663]
(3) how many rails were identified as defective in each of the last five years; and how many of these (a) were replaced before they broke, (b) broke and (c) have yet to be replaced. [50661]
§ Mr. ByersThese are matters for Railtrack, the Office of the Rail Regulator and the Health and Safety Executive. My Department does not hold such information.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what investment has been made as part of the 10-year plan for improved detection techniques of broken rails. [50659]
§ Mr. ByersAs part of the Periodic Review, the Rail Regulator has provided for £150 million of expenditure over the current control period to fund Railtrack's target of reducing the number of broken rails.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what factors can lead to rails breaking. [50660]
§ Mr. ByersMany factors can cause rails to break. These are not only matters of the metallurgy, manufacture and maintenance of the rails themselves, but are also strongly influenced by the volumes of traffic, the design of the vehicles running over the track and the quality of maintenance of those vehicles. The industry's Wheel Rail Interface System Authority (WRISA) is investigating all aspects of this complex technical interaction.