Railway Fares and Charges (Hansard, 4 July 1956)

§ 40. Mr. Ernest Davies
asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what action he proposes to take concerning railway fares and charges following the consultations he has had with the British Transport Commission concerning its financial position.

§ 52. Mr. G. R. Strauss
asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will now make a statement about the progress of the re-assessment by the British Transport Commission of its financial position, made as a result of the Government's intervention in March this year.

§ The Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (Mr. Harold Watkinson)
The right hon. and hon. Members will have noted the undertaking given by the Chairman of the Commission on Wednesday last that during 1956 there will be no general increase in passenger fares by British Railways or London Transport and, subject to the reservation made by the Chairman, no increase in freight charges on British Railways. Meanwhile my consultations with the Commission about plans to improve its financial position are making good progress, and I will acquaint the House with the results as soon as possible.

§ Mr. Davies
Does the Minister realise the urgency of this, in view of the Report and Accounts just published by the Commission, showing a deficit of some £70 million? Does he appreciate that the deficit is likely to rise to over £100 million by the end of the year? Would he not agree that it is incumbent upon the Government to take some action in the matter and declare their policy, as the difficulties of the Commission are, at least in considerable part, due to the Government's policy?

§ Mr. Watkinson
No, Sir; that is not so at all. The Commission and I have three objectives. The first is to give a lead in stabilising costs and prices. I think the country should be grateful to the Commission for being the first nationalised industry to do this. The second objective is to avoid the kind of general increase in charges which will drive still more business off the railways on to the roads at a time when the railways want to carry more and not less. The third objective is to show that the railways can quite well pay their way as the modernisation plans speed up. Those are the three objectives. They are of great importance to the Commission. As I have just said, we are making good progress with them, and I will acquaint the House of the final details as soon as I have them ready.

§ Mr. Strauss
As half the six-month period of reassessment has now passed, is the right hon. Gentleman still hopeful that at the end of a further three months there will emerge some remarkable new way of running the railways at substantially lower costs? Also, as it is an undoubted fact that a substantial part of the increase in the deficit will be due to direct Government policy—I am not arguing whether it is good or bad—does the right hon. Gentleman realise that he should be able to announce some plan or proposal for dealing with the deficit as it develops?

§ Mr. Watkinson
Yes, Sir; I quite agree. I am very hopeful that by applying the ordinary principles of enlightened private enterprise to the railways we shall show how they will make a profit.

§ Mr. Usborne
When discussing with the Chairman of the Commission ways and means of raising revenue, will the right hon. Gentleman tell the Chairman that a silly way to do it is to charge people 6d. for leaving their bicycles and 1s. for leaving their cars while they are buying tickets to travel on the railways?

§ Mr. Davies
Will the Minister give an undertaking that before we adjourn for the long Summer Recess he will make a statement about Government policy in the matter? It would be unfair to the House if he came out with a statement that a subsidy was necessary while we were in Recess and had no opportunity to debate the matter.

§ Mr. Watkinson
No, Sir. The undertaking that I gave was that a six-month period would be devoted to a radical, far-reaching and detailed review of the Commission's future operations and economic prospects. I ought to express my appreciation of the great co-operation I am receiving from the Chairman of the Commission and his colleagues in a most difficult and complex task. The six-month period will not be up until the end of September. As soon as it is up, as I have said, no doubt our plans will be ready. If it is the wish of the hon. Gentleman to delay matters still further until the House returns, I will consider it.

Mr. G. Wilson
Is my right hon. Friend aware that most hon. Members on this side of the House, and certainly many members of the public, are grateful to him and the Commission for making a real effort to stabilise prices and improve transport services?