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Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill

moved Amendment No. 9: 9: After Clause 5, insert the following new Clause— ““Access agreements (1) The Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3049) are amended as follows. (2) The following are revoked— (a) regulation 18(12), (b) regulation 28(4), (c) regulation 29(8), and (d) regulation 29(9).”” The noble Lord said: I am grateful to the Committee for its forbearance. I am not going to spend too long on this one. Framework agreements for access rights would be particularly applicable to Eurostar. I think the latest EU regulations say that formal access rights can only last for a year or something, but you can have framework agreements for rather longer. Another arm of the Department for Transport has been seeking a framework agreement for Crossrail trains of 50 years, and the regulator is suggesting that 30 years is all right for that one. Does my noble friend have any views on how long it would allow Eurostar to have a framework agreement for using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link? I think that he said they would not have a take-or-pay contract, but if I am wrong he could correct me. What kind of a framework agreement would be planned for Eurostar? The standard on the rest of the railway is not more than 10 years. I beg to move.