§ 41 and 42. Sir DOUGLAS THOMSONasked the Postmaster-General (1) the average delay to the public in obtaining telephone connection from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. between London and Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, respectively;
(2) How many direct telephone lines are now available to the public between London and Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, respectively?
§ Major TRYONFrom 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. telephone calls between London and Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh are connected normally while the calling subscriber waits on the line. It is only occasionally necessary to resort for short periods to methods of delayed working on these routes; and recent experience has shown that the delay then seldom exceeds 20 minutes. There are 14 direct telephone lines between London and Aberdeen, 39 between London and Glasgow, and 24 between London and Edinburgh, making a total of 77 lines compared with 29 in October, 1934.
§ Major TRYONNo, Sir. There has been an enormous increase in Aberdeen, and I think they have been glad to avail themselves of these facilities.