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Written question asked by Alasdair Morgan (Scottish National Party) on Thursday, 15 March 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 23 March 2001. It was answered by Keith Hill (Labour) on Friday, 23 March 2001 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 list the temporary speed restrictions in force on railways within Scotland on 13th March, indicating (a) their location, (b) normal line speed, (c) temporary line speed, (d) length of track affected, (e) date of imposition and (f) planned date of lifting. - Including list.
Answer

Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the temporary speed restrictions in force on railways within Scotland on 13 March, indicating (a) their location, (b) normal line speed, (c) temporary line speed, (d) length of track affected, (e) date of imposition and (f) planned date of lifting. [154558] Mr. Hill: As of 13 March, 38 temporary speed restrictions as identified in the National Recovery Plan were in place on five of the eight strategic route groupings of Railtrack's network in Scotland. These were: the West Coast Mainline; the East Coast Mainline; Edinburgh to Glasgow, Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Inverness; South West Scotland; and Strathclyde. These 38 speed restrictions had a total length of 6.14 miles. Of these eight (1.05 miles) had a speed restriction of 20mph, a further 15 (2.55 miles) were up to 40mph and a further 15 (2.54 miles) up to 60mph. Normal line speeds on these routes are typically between 35mph and 105mph. The speed restrictions were all imposed since the Hatfield accident and are scheduled for removal at various dates over the coming weeks. Railtrack is in regular dialogue with ScotRail and other train operating companies to ensure this work is completed with minimum disruption to passengers and freight customers. In addition, as with other parts of the network, routes in Scotland will continue to be affected by other speed restrictions needed to maintain safe operation in adverse operating conditions and to enable normal maintenance activities to be completed. Some of these additional restrictions are imposed because of gauge corner cracking.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
154558; 365 c393W
Session
2000-01
Subjects
Accidents Railways Railtrack Scotland Safety Repairs and maintenance Speed limits Train operating companies Hatfield (Hertfordshire)
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk