Trains

Summary

The requester asked for the condition of government-owned steam and diesel trains and expenditure data since January 2016. The Department of Infrastructure provided a status list for 24 engines but refused the expenditure request because the data is not held in a separated format and would require substantial compilation.

Key Facts

• The Department of Infrastructure owns steam locomotives and diesel trains for the Steam Railway.
• Status information was provided for engines numbered 1 through 25, ranging from 'In service' to 'Museum'.
• Expenditure data since January 2016 was refused as it is grouped with other vehicles and not specifically separated.
• The refusal cites Section 11(3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 regarding the duty not to create or compile information.
• The request was received on 11 March 2019 and closed on 4 April 2019.

Data Disclosed

• 2019-03-11
• 2019-04-04
• January 2016
• 760266
• Engine No 1
• Engine No 4
• Engine No 5
• Engine No 6
• Engine No 8
• Engine No 9
• Engine No 10
• Engine No 11
• Engine No 12
• Engine No 13
• Engine No 15
• Engine No 16
• Engine No 17
• Engine No 18
• Engine No 19
• Engine No 20
• Engine No 21
• Engine No 23
• Engine No 24 & 25

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3) practical refusal reason (b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 referencing s8(3)

Original Request

I seek the publication of all information regarding the state and conditioning of all steam locomotives and diesel trains owned by the government for the Steam Railway. This is their condition e.g. mothballed/awaiting repair/in operation. As a separate question, I would like the publication, if possible, of how much has been spent on each train since January 2016.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: Maggie Farmer Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 760266 4 April 2019

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 11 March 2019 and which states:

"1. I seek the publication of all information regarding the state and conditioning of all steam locomotives and diesel trains owned by the government for the Steam Railway. This is their condition e.g. mothballed/awaiting repair/in operation. 2. As a separate question, I would like the publication, if possible, of how much has been spent on each train since January 2016."

1. Condition of trains Engine No Status 1 Museum 4 Boiler under repair 5 Stored 6 Port Erin Museum 8 In service 9 Stored 10 Under overhaul 11 Under overhaul & new boiler awaited 12 In service 13 On maintenance 15 In service 16 Port Erin Museum 17 Stored 18 Shunting duties 19 Stored 20 Stored 21 Awaiting commissioning 23 Engineers’ use 24 & 25 Works locos and shunting

2. Expenditure While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested. This is because funding for locomotives service, maintenance and repairs comes from a number of budgets including revenue, minor capital and capital budgets. In the case of revenue expenditure this is grouped along with other vehicles such as coaches and wagons and is not specifically separated out. Therefore to provide this information would require extensive research and compilation. Under section 11(3) practical refusal reason (b) of the Act referencing s8(3), the Act states that “a public authority is not required to create or derive information from the information that it holds; undertake research into, or analysis of, information that it holds; or undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds”.

Please quote the reference number 760266 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely