§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2003,Official Report, column 336W, to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow), how many times each rail franchise holder has asked to exceed the prescribed maximum journey times; how many times these requests have been (a) approved and (b) denied; and if he will list the approvals granted. [123470]
§ Dr. HowellsThe SRA may allow train operators to exceed the prescribed journey time in the Passenger Service Requirement (PSR) as part of the effective management of the network and for a variety of operational reasons including capacity constraints, maintenance and renewals work on the network, and amendments to service patterns to provide improved services. The answer given to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam on 19 June 2003,Official Report, column 336W, sets out the derogations for the current timetable on Thameslink. Information for previous timetables could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details for the current timetable of approved journey time derogations relating to all TOCs will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as practicable.