§ 60. Mr. Tinkerasked the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of War Transport if he will give instructions to the railway officials to pay attention to train connections as in many instances passengers on trains a few minutes late find their connections have gone and this means a long wait for the next one.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport (Mr. Noel-Baker)I fully appreciate the inconvenience caused to passengers when they miss their connections, and I can assure my hon. Friend that the railways make it a rule to bold connecting trains as long as they reasonably can. But he will understand that the locomotives and rolling-stock of these trains are very often scheduled for further service after their arrival at their destination, and that, if they were too much behind their time, the planned working of the system would be seriously upset. I am writing to my hon. Friend about the special cases to which he has drawn my attention.
§ Mr. TinkerWill my hon. Friend communicate with the railway authorities and ask them to pay a little more attention to it, and not to forget that passengers are kept waiting?
§ Mr. Noel-BakerI think the railway companies do their best. They must get the best results they can with their limited locomotive and line capacity.