British Railways Board (Hansard, 3 May 1978)

§ 3. Mr. Spriggs
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to meet the chairman of the British Railways Board.

§ 18. Mr. Rhodes James
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next intends to meet the chairman of the British Railways Board.

§ 33. Mr. Moate
asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he next intends to meet the chairman of the British Railways Board.

§ Mr. William Rodgers
Tomorrow.

§ Mr. Spriggs
When my right hon. Friend meets the chairman, will he discuss with him the problems of investment in public transport, and especially the day-to-day investment in replacement, maintenance and improvements? Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Railways Board has given figures which show that in 1977 there was a 5 per cent. level of improvement in railways compared with an 83 per cent. level of improvement in roads? Why is there this difference between investment for improving rail and that for improving roads?

§ Mr. Rodgers
Those comparisons are not entirely fair. On the whole I try to avoid them, and I like those most closely involved to avoid them, too. We have to consider the future of the railways. I want them to have a stable and central role. The chairman talks to me from time to time about this problem, which we have heard about often in the House.

§ Mr. Rhodes James
When the right hon. Gentleman sees Mr. Parker tomorrow will he remind him that for the first time since time immemorial it is now no longer possible to travel directly by rail from Kings Cross to Cambridge? Is he aware that this is a matter of extreme irritation to my constituents, and even to the hon. Member for Cambridge? When will direct services be revived?

§ Mr. Rodgers
I know that the chairman of British Rail follows questions and answers in the House very closely. He will be aware of the problems that the hon. Member mentions. This is an inconvenience for a number of people. Quite 212 a lot of people, however, are looking forward to the prospect of electrification the whole way.

§ Mr. Dalyell
The Government have accepted the main recommendations of the Leitch Report. What is being done about the recommendation that the railways should be helped where road and rail facilities exist?

§ Mr. Rodgers
It is most important that in making any decisions about major new trunk road schemes we should examine very carefully, in the light of what the Leitch Committee recommends, the alternative possibility of passengers and freight travelling by existing railway lines. A more sophisticated analysis is probably required than that available at present, but I understand the spirit of my hon. Friend's question.

§ Mr. Geraint Howells
Does the Secretary of State agree that too many railway lines were closed in Wales in the late 1950s and early 1960s? Will he now urge the chairman of British Rail to consider opening some of these lines, so that we may persuade industrialists to come to Mid-Wales and other parts of the Principality?

§ Mr. Rodgers
Many people would say that too many railway lines were closed in the 1950s and 1960s not only in Wales but elsewhere in the United Kingdom. That has caused problems since. I have made it clear that I do not want to see the present chairman, or any other, doing another Beeching to our railway system. I do not know whether it is realistic to expect a large number of lines to be reopened, but I am very pleased to know that a good deal of refurbishing is going on. I shall be going to the Midlands next Monday to open a refurbished urban railway line in the Birmingham area, which I hope will do a great deal for the city.

§ Mr. Powell
In view of the Secretary of State's interest in refurbishing, will he draw Mr. Parker's attention to, or remind him of, the potential value to British Rail and its operations of an improvement of communications between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, particularly through Stranraer, where there is room for reopening and refurbishment, and also at Holyhead?

§ Mr. Rodgers
I am sure that Mr. Parker is well aware of that and is most anxious that British Rail should get its fair share of growing freight traffic between this country and Northern Ireland.

§ Miss Boothroyd
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the chairman of the Board is so busy that it takes a Back Bencher two months to get an appointment with him? When my right hon. Friend sees the chairman tomorrow, will he tell him that it is high time that his so-called experiment on the quality and price of buffet foods was made permanent and was developed on a national basis in all regions? Will he tell him also that the defeatist gloom which exudes from the management of Travellers' Fare might have been dispelled had appointments been made with individuals from outside British Rail who have a more objective and progressive attitude towards the dreary, poor quality and expensive food that is on offer?

§ Mr. Rodgers
I am sure that the chairman of British Rail will take note of what my hon. Friend said. Opinions can differ about the quality of food on British Railways. Most of us have had a disastrous meal from time to time, but I can say that I have had some very good meals. I was delighted that the House responded so well last week to the speech of my hon. Friend, who suggested that to hand over British Rail catering to the motorway service area companies could be a disaster.

§ Mr. Gwynfor Evans
When the right hon. Gentleman meets the chairman of British Rail, will he ask him when the electrification of Welsh railways will begin? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is not even one mile of electrified railway in Wales, whereas there are more than 2,000 miles of electrified rail in England?

§ Mr. Rodgers
I hope that the chairman will not take too narrow a view of the question where electrification should first take place. His job is to consider the whole interest of the nation and to make recommendations to me on the most cost-effective projects for investment. He should continue to proceed on that basis.

§ Mr. Temple-Morris
When he meets the chairman, will the right hon. Gentle- 214 man remind him that last February the British Rail Pension Fund bought in Monte Carlo a clock for the sum of £87,448, no doubt much to the profit of Sotheby's, if not to the fund's pensioners? Will he remind him at the same time that there are many thousands of elderly employees and ex-employees who have no rights to widows' pensions? British Rail claims, through its chairman, that it is conducting an investigation into this. Will the Secretary of State undertake to speed up that investigation?

§ Mr. Rodgers
The House has previously discussed the question of the purchase of works of art by the British Rail Pension Fund. I do not think that we should make the connection that the hon. Gentleman suggests between the policy pursued by the trustees and the problem that individual pensioners may face. I shall, however, draw the matter to the attention of the chairman.