§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the benchmarks are for(a) rail punctuality, (b) rail reliability and (c) rail use against which the PSA targets for transport contained in the 2002 Spending Review are set. [71621]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 19 July 2002]: The benchmark year is 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001, against which we will measure the PSA target to increase rail use, while at the same time securing improvements in rail punctuality and reliability.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of overcrowding on London trains; and if he will give the benchmark against which he will judge the target of reducing overcrowding to meet the SRA standards by 2010, as indicated in annex 2 of the 10-year plan. [71345]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 19 July 2002]: The Strategic Rail Authority publishes overcrowding statistics on an annual basis. The most recent information was published on 6 June 2002 in the Authority's "On Track" publication. Overcrowding in London is controlled by the Authority's "Passengers In Excess of Capacity" (PIXC) mechanism.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department will publish local competition benchmarks. [71617]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 19 July 2002]. I assume the hon. Member's question refers to local congestion benchmarks.
The Department plans to use the national transport model to provide congestion benchmark profiles for different areas and reflecting different needs. Publication will follow once we are satisfied this information will be helpful to local authorities in planning how to tackle local congestion.