HC Deb 05 April 1978 vol 947 cc415-7
5. Mr. Forman

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to meet the Chairman of the British Railways Board.

Mr. William Rodgers

The week after next.

Mr. Forman

When the Secretary of State meets the Chairman of British Rail, will he encourage him to redouble his efforts to increase British Rail's productivity and to stick to the target of 40,000 manning reductions by 1981, so that my hard-pressed constituents and many others throughout the country will have some prospect of alleviation on fares?

Mr. Rodgers

I think that the chairman is quite clear in his mind that the strong view of the House is that we want a cost-effective railway. Progress has been made in that direction in a very satisfactory manner. Obviously, this involves manpower questions, but, as the hon. Gentleman and the House know, there has been considerable progress on the railways towards higher productivity. I am sure that that momentum will be maintained.

Mr. Stoddart

May I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the good return on the investment in the high-speed train on the Western Region? Does he agree that it is in the interests of railway transport and the economy to invest in high technology on the railways? Does he realise that we have every facility and the skills and staff in Swindon to do that?

Mr. Rodgers

My hon. Friend makes an important point. The high-speed train has been a great success. I think that there will be a general welcome for its introduction on the line from London through Newcastle to Edinburgh on 8th May.

Mr. Geraint Howells

I am sure that the Minister is aware that one cannot travel from North to South Wales on British Rail because all the lines have been closed. Will he give an assurance to the people of Wales that the main line in Mid-Wales between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth will not be closed? If this line is closed, it will be very difficult to entice industrialists to West Wales.

Mr. Rodgers

I am glad to say that no proposals of that kind are in front of me.

Mr. Groeott

Will my right hon. Friend raise with the chairman the BR costs proposals to upgrade freight lines for passenger transport? Will he encourage him to discuss with Staffordshire County Council proposals to upgrade the Rugeley-Walsall railway line and also the Lichfield-Walsall railway line?

Mr. Rodgers

The question of railway costing and how we attribute cost is familiar to the House and is being pursued in Committee on the Transport Bill at present. I am glad to know that in many cases there is close co-operation between British Railways and the metropolitan counties. There is a future in reviving some of the lines which have not carried much, if any, passenger traffic in recent years.

Mr. Norman Fowler

Is the Secretary of State aware that the Price Commission's report found that British Rail had discriminated unfairly against commuters travelling into London by charging them above-average fare increases?

Will he tell the chairman that commuters from the South-East should not be regarded as a captive market and that further discrimination in fares policy could not be justified?

Mr. Rodgers

I am sure that the chairman is aware of the general concern in the House and elsewhere about commuter fares in the London area. His problem is to balance an improvement in those services and the need to keep increases in fares down against the necessity which the House imposes upon him to keep within his budget. He has noted what the Price Commission has said, and the Government will be giving their response to the Price Commission's report very shortly.