Written question asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 24 October 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 October 2000. It was answered by Keith Hill (Labour) on Monday, 30 October 2000 on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will instruct Railtrack to make the necessary infrastructure provision in order to establish a 30-minute service between Harrogate and York.

Answer: Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will instruct Railtrack to make the necessary infrastructure provision in order to establish a 30-minute service between Harrogate and York. [135073] Mr. Hill: No. The Secretary of State has no powers to instruct Railtrack. The provision of such infrastructure is a matter in the first instance for Railtrack and the train operating company, Northern Spirit. Condition seven of Railtrack's network licence requires it to maintain, renew, replace, improve, enhance and develop the network to meet the reasonable requirements of train operators and funders. The licence is enforced by the Rail Regulator. Subsidy may be provided to the train operator through the franchise, and, subject to the Transport Bill currently before Parliament, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) may procure schemes from Railtrack. To qualify for support a scheme would have to meet the SRA's Planning Criteria.

Secondary information