§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2002,Official Report, column 323W, on train drivers, whether the plan, including the part relating to the recruitment and training of 800 new drivers, was agreed with the industry in November 1998; what the timetable is for recruitment and training of the new drivers in this plan; and what progress has been made towards this.[37582]
817W
§ Mr. JamiesonThere was no fixed timetable for the new driver training and recruitment announced in 1998. As at 5 January 2002, 2,433 new drivers have been recruited since November 1998 of whom 1,168 are currently being trained.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 11 February 2002,Official Report, column 25W, on train drivers, if he will list the enforcement action taken by the strategic rail authority against (a) South West Trains in 1997 and (b) on Arriva Trains Northern at the end of 2001; and what timetable for increasing driver numbers was agreed between the Strategic Rail Authority and GNER. [37578]
§ Mr. JamiesonIn 1997, South West Trains were threatened with enforcement action and a £1 million penalty. However, as performance improved the penalty was not enforced.
In October 2001 the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) consulted on a £2 million penalty and final order against Arriva Trains Northern. The SRA are currently considering and evaluating the responses received from the consultation exercise and will be making a further announcement in due course.
The SRA and GNER have discussed GNER's need for increased driver numbers, but the SRA has not sought to agree any particular timescale for recruitment.