§ 20. Mr. CROOKSasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will again make representations to the Railway Executive Committee with regard to the extent to which present first-class accommodation on trains is unused; and whether he will draw the Committee's particular attention to the train leaving Sevenoaks for New Cross on the South-Eastern main line at 7.27 a.m., in which the third-class compartments are overcrowded while the first-class compartments rarely have more than one or two occupants?
The VICE-CHAMBERLAIN of the HOUSEHOLD (Mr. Dudley Ward)The right hon. Gentleman will realise that it is often impracticable to alter the make-up of trains in accordance with the variations which may occur in the relative number of first and third-class passengers travelling at different periods of the day. I have no reason to think that railway companies provide more first-class accommodation than is necessary to meet general requirements, but I have called the attention of the Railway Executive Committee to the matter. As regards the particular train referred to, I understand that the overcrowding of the third-class compartments occurred on Monday mornings, and that this inconvenience has been remedied by the provision of additional accommodation.