§ 42. Mr. GOLDIE (forasked the Minister of Transport whether he is satisfied that the railways of Great Britain are giving adequate attention to research and experiment in the development of high-speed railway transport; and to what extent the average speed of express railway trains in Great Britain at the present time exceeds the speeds of similar trains 25 years ago?
§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAThe railway companies have assured me that they are keeping in close touch with all the developments which are taking place in connection with high speed transport. There has been a marked increase during recent years in the number of express trains run at speeds of 50 to 60 miles per hour or over, but I am not in a position to give comparative figures of average speeds.