§ MR. THORNE (West Ham, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade what powers the Board of Trade possess in preventing overcrowding taking place in the railway carriages upon the various railways, and whether the Board has any power in forcing the directors of London District Railway Company to run additional trains between East Ham and Aldgate East between the hours of 5 a.m., and 9 a.m., and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., so as to prevent the overcrowding that takes place every night and morning between the hours mentioned.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. LLOYD-GEORGE, Carnarvon Boroughs)The Board of Trade have no statutory powers with regard to the overcrowding of trains generally, but they can deal under the Cheap Trains Act, 1883, with the provision of sufficient trains for workmen between the hours of six in the evening and eight in the morning. Under this Act the Board have recently been in communication with the Metropolitan District and London Tilbury and Southend Railway Companies with regard to the train service between East Ham and stations on the Metropolitan District Railway, and since the electrical working of the line was commenced the number of workmen's trains has been largely augmented. The Metropolitan District Railway Company, to whom a copy of the hon. Member's Question has been communicated, have informed me that they are at present running thirty-six trains from East Ham to Aldgate East between 5 and 9 a.m., and twenty-eight from Aldgate East to East Ham between 5 and 8 p.m. They also state that they are carefully watching the traffic on this line, and have put on two additional trains from East Ham in the morning and two from Aldgate East in the evening since the beginning of the present month.