Railways (Hansard, 24 May 2004)

§ Lawrie Quinn
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect upon costs in the rail industry of regulations prepared by the Health and Safety Commission concerning rail safety. [1748813]

§ Mr. Darling
In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance first issued in 1999, all the railway safety regulations prepared by the Health and Safety Commission since then have been accompanied by Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs). Copies of all the RIAs were laid in the Houses of Parliament Libraries with the regulations.

§ Mr. Paul Marsden
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Freight on Track campaign. [174999]

§ Mr. McNulty
The Government are committed to developing a competitive and efficient freight distribution system that supports economic growth while protecting the environment and recognise the economic importance and environmental benefits of rail freight to the UK.

§ Mr. Paul Marsden
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many containers and what tonnage of freight was carried by freight trains in each year since 1997. [175002]

§ Mr. McNulty
The tonnage for freight carried by freight trains on a yearly basis is contained in the Strategic Rail Authority's publication National Rail Trends, which has been placed in the Library of the House. The number of containers moved is not reported in the publication as that information is commercially sensitive.