HC Deb 18 March 1981 vol 1 cc288-9 3.35 pm
Mr. Tony Speller (Devon, North)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to empower the Secretary of State to waive sections 54 and 56 of the Transport Act 1962 upon specific application by British Railways naming the section of line to be re-opened on a trial basis. Section 54 of the Act instructs the British Railways Board to give the public notice of plans to discontinue any railway passenger or goods service. Section 56 established the Central Transport Consultative Committee for Great Britain. It gave certain powers to that committee. The committee's duty is to consider and to make recommendations on matters affecting services and facilities provided by the board. When it proposes to discontinue any service it must give notice, publish details, state objections and, in due course, work towards a public inquiry.

That full procedure is costly and time consuming, but reasonable in view of the local importance of any rail service. However, the procedure applies in every case, so that British Rail dare not experiment by reopening to passenger traffic lines such as the Barnstaple to Bideford line, in North Devon, because of the cost of reclosing it should the experiment fail.

What began as a small Ten-Minute Bill of local interest has grown to something serpentine in size. The National Council on Inland Transport mentioned specifically the future needs, in terms of passenger traffic, of the Bletchley to Oxford line, thinking especially of the growth of Milton Keynes. In the North, it referred to the Woodhead route on the Sheffield to Manchester line, and in the South-East to the Hoo peninsula for Medway town commuters. The transport users' consultative committee mentioned the Bristol to Portishead line and the Chippenham to Trowbridge line, via Melksham.

In my area I have already mentioned the Barnstaple to Bideford line. In the area of my hon. Friend the Member for Devon, West (Mr. Mills) there is the Exeter to Okehampton line. I understand that in the old Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales, the Bridgend to Barry line has a goods service but not a passenger service. That would be of use to commuters. In Scotland, there is the Alloa to Stirling line. In the North, the new Tyneside metro needs connection from rural areas to make even more use of that most valuable and sensible form of transport. It helps people from rural areas to reach the towns and relieves urban congestion.

I apologise for not informing every hon. Member whose constituency is traversed by one of the many lines that I have mentioned. As I said, I had thought to introduce a small minnow, but it has grown into a large fish. The sponsors for the Bill include four Opposition and four Government Members. Bodies outside the House support it, including the Association of District Councils, many individual councils and many interested railway and amenity groups.

Last year, in answer to a question on 3 April, the Secretary of State for Transport agreed that the experimental reopening of some passenger services merited consideration. He said that he had no power to waive the provisions of sections 54 and 56 of the Act. This minor and amending Bill seeks to provide those powers. It will cost nothing to implement, but the financial and environmental benefits can be substantial if we can induce more people out of cars and on to trains. If the experiment succeeds, British Rail and the country will gain. If it fails, we shall be no worse off than before. I am happy with the support that has come from all parts of the House for both public transport and the rail service. We envisage modernisation, electrification and all the good things that will come, especially to the urban areas.

I represent a more rural area. It is vital, especially with the rising cost of fuel and the virtual absence of public transport, that we should support everything that gets people out of the one-person-one-car system and into the one-railway-many-people system. It makes sense to me in terms of economy. It makes sense to many of us in terms of conservation. In this brief speech I ask for support for this minor and non-controversial measure.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Tony Speller, Mr. Robert Adley, Mr. Gordon A. T. Bagier, Mr. Jack Aspinwall, Mr. Walter Johnson, Mr. Iain Mills, Mr. Peter Mills, Mr. Ron Lewis and Mr. Peter Snape.