HC Deb 20 November 2003 vol 413 c1454W
John Thurso

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway line there are in(a) the UK and (b) Scotland which are defined as (i) primary route, (ii) London and South East commuter route, for the UK, (iii) main secondary route, (iv) other secondary route, (v) rural route and (vi) freight route. [137489]

Mr. McNulty

The Strategic Rail Authority's Strategy 'Specification of Network Outputs' classifies heavy rail routes in Great Britain into six broad categories. The route lengths under each category for(a) Great Britain and (b) Scotland are as follows: (i) primary routes (a) 8,859 km (b) 527 km; (ii) London and South East commuter routes (a) 3,722 km (b) not applicable; (iii) main secondary routes (a) 4,487 km (b) 1,367; (iv) other secondary routes (a) 7,214 km (b) 1,205 km; (v) rural routes (a) 3,533 km (b) 715 km; (vi) other freight only routes (a) 2,565 km (b) 247 km. The SRA Strategy provides for the acceleration of maintenance and renewal activity on the busiest parts of the network. These carry 80 per cent. of all passenger traffic and 70 per cent. of freight traffic. Maintenance and renewal costs on other routes will be at an appropriate level to reflect their actual usage. It will not compromise safety. This approach makes common sense.

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains departed from London King's Cross Station without advertised(a) first class accommodation and (b) refreshment facilities, in the first week of each month in 2003; and what percentage of trains leaving London King's Cross this represented. [137317]

Mr. McNulty

This information is not collected by the Government or the Strategic Rail Authority.