§ 11. Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparisons his Department has done between the London underground and the Paris metro.
§ The Minister for Transport in London (Mr. Steve Norris)My Department has not carried out any comparisons between the London underground and the Paris metro, but I have taken a close interest in the joint report produced by the London Research Centre and its French opposite number, and it is clear from their work that the two railway systems face very different problems and serve very different markets.
§ Mr. CohenIf the Minister has seen that report from the London Research Centre and the Ile de France regional council, he will have seen that 9 per cent. of French trains and 20 per cent. of London trains are overcrowded; that one in five trains in Paris and one in two in London are more than 22 years old; that fares are three times higher in London than in Paris, and that the city centre rail network in Paris is "overwhelmingly superior" to that in London. Does that not prove that socialist planning in public transport is far superior to capitalist neglect?
§ Mr. NorrisNo, Madam Speaker. The hon. Gentleman is extraordinarily selective in the little gems that he picks from the report because he thinks that they suit his case, and he completely ignores the £3.5 billion which is to be spent on the London underground in the next three years.