§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the levels of train overcrowding on(a) the Liverpool to London route, Transpennine routes and (c) the Liverpool to Manchester route; and if he will make a statement. [156797]
§ Mr. McNulty[holding answer 27 February 2004]: None. All train operating companies are required by their franchise agreements to ensure that adequate capacity is provided to address excessive crowding. This applies to all services, although in commuter routes to London a specific capacity requirement has been made. The SRA has also announced its intention to review its policy on dealing with crowding. It plans to publish a consultation document later this year.
§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many seats for(a) standard class and (b) first class passengers (i) are available in Pendolino trains running between London and Liverpool and (ii) were available in the trains which operated previously. [156798]
§ Mr. McNulty[holding answer 27 February 2004]: Seat numbers on trains running between London and Liverpool vary from service to service. Currently Virgin generally operate eight car Pendolino trains providing 217 Standard Class and 140 First Class seats. Later this year Virgin propose to operate nine-car Pendolino trains with between 263 and 293 Standard Class, depending on the nature of the ninth carriage, and 140 First Class seats. The other trains which operate on this route are: Mark 3 stock operating with nine carriages providing 392 Standard Class and 132 First Class seats; Mark 2 stock operating with nine carriages providing 332 Standard Class and 120 First Class seats: and West Coast High Speed Trains operating with eight carriages providing 249 Standard Class and 105 First Class seats.