§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many stations would require alteration works to enable Britain to comply fully with European interoperability directives. [30246]
§ Mr. JamiesonExisting stations are only required to comply with the interoperability directives when work is being undertaken on them. No assessment can be made of the alterations required, such as platform lengths and heights, until the technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) for the conventional rail network have been drafted. This process has only just begun and is not expected to be completed before 2004. The UK is62W involved in the TSI drafting process and will be seeking to ensure that they take account of the characteristics of the British network.