Clause 22
Crossrail Bill
2:30 pm
Tom Harris (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Glasgow South, Labour)
I hope I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that there is no need for the amendment.
Clause 22 deals with the period between part of the Crossrail network becoming usable and its opening to fare-paying passengers. During that period, the newly created network may be operated for construction trains, and test trains will be run. The clause removes the need to obtain licences from the ORR to use the network and to run trains in that period. The licensing provisions of the 1993 Act are appropriate to the commercial operation of this, as any other railway, but add no value to developmental stages of a new railway.
The amendment would require the licensing of services carrying construction materials on newly constructed parts of the Crossrail network that have yet to be brought into commercial operation. However, if the hon. Gentleman is concerned about trains being used in the construction of Crossrail and also running on the existing national rail network without a licence, I can reassure him that the clause does not remove the requirement for a licence to be obtained in the usual manner in relation to that network.
The only construction trains that will be exempt from licensing for their entire journey are those contained within the newly constructed parts of the Crossrail network. There is no possible value in trying to apply a licensing regime designed for commercial operations to the running of construction trains within a construction site. I hope that that is enough information to reassure the hon. Gentleman and persuade him to withdraw the amendment.