HC Deb 08 March 1967 vol 742 cc1505-6
9. Mr. Ronald Atkins

asked the Minister of Transport what are the annual costs to British Railways of keeping level crossings and of maintaining road bridges.

Mr. John Morris

The British Railways Board tells me that the latest available figures, which are for 1965, show that the total annual cost to the Board of operating and maintaining public road level crossings was about £1,500,000, and the total annual costs of maintaining the structures of public road overline bridges, and their surfaces, was about £1,850,000.

Mr. Atkins

Is my hon. Friend aware of the social costs of operating manual level crossings both as regards congestion —for it takes four times longer to operate such a crossing than an automatic one—and as regards labour? Will he take urgent measures to replace these 19th century appliances with 20th century equipment and so help the Prime Minister in his shake-out of unproductive labour?

Mr. Morris

My hon. Friend is quite right. There are at present about 130 automatic half-barrier crossings. The Railways Board plans to install them at the rate of about 150 a year.