ETCS signalling, clever traffic management systems,

The request was partially successful.

Dear Department for Transport,

I note the interview with Mr Simon Kirby, Chief Executive at HS2 Ltd published in Rail Engineer at this link in 2016:

https://www.railengineer.uk/2016/04/29/t...

Mr Kirby is reported as saying that “ETCS signalling, clever traffic management systems, trains which report their own faults to the depots in advance. These are the building blocks of the railway and they will have to be robust. So HS2 doesn’t intend to be the first deployment for any of this technology. Although cutting edge, it must all have been used successfully somewhere else first to reduce risk.”

Please provide the specification(s) for the proposed ETCS signalling and the traffic management system for HS2.

Please provide information held by DfT about the successful use of those systems elsewhere.

Please particularly provide the information held by DfT about any rail layout arrangement elsewhere in the world where very high speed trains converge from three lines onto one in close proximity to a through station. Please provide the information held by DfT about the signalling and traffic management systems for those layouts.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Paul Thornton

Department for Transport

Dear Dr Thornton,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request for information which
has been allocated reference number P0015994.

A response will be issued to you in due course.

Regards,

Ivan Pocock
Department for Transport
FOI Advice Team
Digital Service
Zone D/04
Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North
St Leonards on Sea
East Sussex
TN37 7GA

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highspeedrail, Department for Transport

1 Attachment

Dear Dr Thornton

 

Please find attached a notification of an extension of time for the
response to your request for information. This is to allow time for a
public interest test to be carried out in relation to your request for
information.

 

The new deadline for responding to your request will be 15 June 2018.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Christopher Curson

High Speed Rail and Major Projects Group

 

Christopher Curson  | Correspondence and Briefing, High Speed and Major
Rail Projects,

Department for Transport

 

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For the attention of :
Mr David Coles
Deputy Director, Technical Strategy, High Speed & Major Rail Projects Group – Department for Transport

Dear Mr Coles,
Thankyou for your letter by email just received that was forwarded by your colleague, Christopher Curson
of the High Speed Rail and Major Projects Group.

It is disappointing that DfT continues to claim that requested information relating to the HS2 proposals might fall outwith the terms of the Environmental Information Regulations. I would be grateful if you would clarify your grounds for the claim that FOIA exemptions are engaged for some of the information in this request?

Further, I recognise there may be documents in the course of completion, such as the HS2 Rolling Stock Invitation to Tender, that are intended to contain some of the requested information for which EIR12(4)(d) might be engaged.

However, the source information that I am requesting will have been provided to, or obtained by, DfT from third party sources , documentation and references. As such that source component of the information requested must already be held in wholly completed material. Particularly such completed source information components will fall under the terms of the following parts of my enquiry

"Please provide information held by DfT about the successful use of those systems elsewhere. "

and

"Please particularly provide the information held by DfT about any rail layout arrangement elsewhere in the world where very high speed trains converge from three lines onto one in close proximity to a through station. Please provide the information held by DfT about the signalling and traffic management systems for those layouts."

That information cannot fall under EIR Section 12(4)(d). Under the provisions of the EIR, that component of the requested information should be provided without further delay while you otherwise give further consideration to the other parts of the information you are with holding.

Please regard this as a request for review of your decision to with hold that component of the information requested to which EIR12(4)(d) cannot be engaged.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Paul Thornton

highspeedrail, Department for Transport

Thank you for your e-mail about high speed rail.  We welcome your feedback
and our target is to answer correspondence in 20 working days.

Information on HS2 is available online at: 
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/d...

 

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For the attention of :
Mr David Coles
Deputy Director, Technical Strategy, High Speed & Major Rail Projects Group – Department for Transport
Dear Mr Coles,
Your ref. F0015994
I regret that I do not appear to have received a substantive response to my email of the 24th May 2018.
While noting that you have claimed grounds to withhold the requested information for protracted consideration of the public interest, in the absence of explanation to the contrary, I persist in the view that EIR exemptions cannot be engaged for substantial components of the information requested and therefore the publication of those components is required by the EIRs with no further delay.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Paul Thornton

FOI-ADVICE-TEAM-DFT, Department for Transport

Dear Dr Thornton,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your email dated 1st June 2018 which has been forwarded to the relevant officials.

Regards,

Ivan Pocock
FOI Advice Team, Digital Service, Group Assurance and Digital Directorate

Department for Transport
D/04, Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North,
St Leonards on Sea, TN37 7GA

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highspeedrail, Department for Transport

1 Attachment

Dear Dr Thornton

 

Please find attached a letter from David Coles, our Deputy Director in
charge of Technical Strategy with reard to your enquiry under the Freedom
of Information Act.

 

Respectful Regards

 

Christopher Curson

 

Christopher Curson  | Correspondence and Briefing, High Speed and Major
Rail Projects,

Department for Transport
3/11-15, Great Minster House |  020 7944 6650 | 

 

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highspeedrail, Department for Transport

5 Attachments

 

Dear Dr Thornton,

 

Please see attached the following five documents as our main response to
your FOI Request F0015994.

 

o Main response letter including annex to the Public Interest Test and
the FOI exemptions and EIR exceptions which applied – noting some
changes.
o Crewe HS2 DR Proposals slides.
o HSL Zuid – extract from publically available book.
o Emails from trawl of DfT system.
o Capacity Technical Note from Systra – rereleased.

 

 

Thank you again for your patience.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Christopher Curson

 

Christopher Curson  | Correspondence and Briefing, High Speed and Major
Rail Projects,

Department for Transport
3/11-15, Great Minster House |  020 7944 6650 | 

 

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Mr David Coles,
Deputy Director
Technical Strategy
Highspeed Rail and Major Rail Projects Group
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
Dear Mr Coles,

Thank you for your letter by email of the 13 June 2018, your ref F0015994.

Thank you for the information that you have provided which I am digesting.

I note the decision to with hold two specific documents.

1. Train Technical Specification (TTS)revision P05-HS2-HS2-RR-SPE-000-000007 referred to as “TTS Doc 1”
2. Technical Specification Parameters Part 2, Operations, Noise and Vibration HS2-HS2-RR-PPR-000-00028 P01 7 November 2016. Referred to as “Parameters Doc 2”

In the absence of any argument to the contrary, but in recognition of arguments previously applied by the Commisioner and the Tribunal in respect of information related to HS2 Ltd, I continue to perceive this information as falling under the terms of the Environmental Information Regulations.

I note your recognition that as they are completed documents, EIR 12(4)(d) cannot be engaged.

Since it would be entirely possible for HS2 Ltd to publish the information concurrently with it being released to me I cannot see how prospective contractors may be disadvantaged in comparison to their competitors. Similarly, it would be possible, concurrent with publication, to advise that some of the information provided might possibly be liable to change. I struggle therefore with the notion that the public interest is served by delayed publication, even if EIR12(5)(e) could be engaged.

But overridingly, “Parameters 2 Doc” clearly relates to noise and vibration. It seems likely that this is also true in respect of “TTS Doc 1”. Because of such noise and vibration emissions, EIR 12(9) is clearly engaged. As such, the claimed engagement of EIR12(5)(e) must be set aside.

I would be grateful if you would arrange a further internal review of the decision to withhold this information.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Paul Thornton

highspeedrail, Department for Transport

Thank you for your e-mail about high speed rail.  We welcome your feedback
and our target is to answer correspondence in 20 working days.

Information on HS2 is available online at: 
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/d...

 

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FOI-ADVICE-TEAM-DFT, Department for Transport

Dear Dr Thornton,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request for an internal review of FOI decision F0015994. We aim to respond to you on or before the 10th September 2018.

Regards,

Ivan Pocock
FOI Advice Team, Digital Service, Group Assurance and Digital Directorate

Department for Transport
D/04, Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North,
St Leonards on Sea, TN37 7GA

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highspeedrail, Department for Transport

4 Attachments

Dear Dr Thornton

 

Please find attached a response to your recent request for a review of the
response of 13 June to your original request under the freedom of
Information Act of 1 May 2018.

 

Please also find attached copies of documents which it has been decided to
release. The letter explains the decision to release these documents
following the review.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Christopher Curson

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1][IMG]          Christopher Curson 
Correspondence and Briefing, High Speed and Major Rail
Projects Group 

3/11-15, Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR  
[2]Follow us on twitter @transportgovuk 

 

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