§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the programme developed by the ORR for Railtrack to create an asset register; and what stage(a) they had reached by 5 October 2001 and (b) they have reached. [62298]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 17 June 2002]Railtrack is required to establish and maintain a register of the condition, capability and capacity of its assets, and to demonstrate that it is taking all necessary steps to do so by the earliest practicable date. Railtrack submits plans for the Rail Regulator's review every six months.
By 5 October 2001, Railtrack had completed its assessment of the state of asset information within the company; finalised its strategy for managing asset information; defined the work that it needed to do to implement that strategy; and completed all data collection for the asset register.
The Rail Regulator is currently reviewing Railtrack's latest plans, submitted in April 2002, taking into account the views of key stakeholders. He will then consider in consultation with Railtrack what should be published and when.