HL Deb 16 March 2004 vol 659 cc30-1WA
Lord Stoddart of Swindon

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 24 February (WA 52), whether the role of Eurotunnel in the allocation of train paths through the Channel Tunnel complies with Article 14 of the European Union Directive 2001/14, which states that where an infrastructure manager is not independent of any licensed railway undertaking, the allocation of infrastructure capacity shall be undertaken by a body independent from any railway undertaking; and if not, who this independent body will be. [HL1857]

Lord Davies of Oldham

Binational regulations for the Channel Tunnel are being prepared that reflect the requirements of Article 14 of Directive 2001/14. Eurotunnel will need to have compliant capacity allocation arrangements and any challenge to this would be a matter for the courts.