§ [The question was as follows:
§ "To ask His Majesty's Government how much they estimate the railway companies lose in annual net income owing to the existence of road competition, after allowance has been made for the following facts: (1) a large part of road transport is carried on by the railways themselves; (2) road transport has created a good deal of completely new traffic; (3) there has always been some traffic that has not used the railways at all.]
§ LORD WALKDENMy Lords, it is not possible to quantify the loss which the railways sustained in the past, are now sustaining, or might in future suffer, as a result of the development of road transport. It is, however, generally agreed that prior to the special and temporary conditions of war time, a substantial amount, more particularly in the higher class traffics, had been diverted from the railways to road transport, and the noble Lord will doubtless recall the campaign conducted by our railway companies on this subject immediately before the outbreak of war under the title of "A Square Deal for the Railways."
LORD MONKSWELLI am much obliged to the noble Lord, but I wish the information he had given us had been a little less vague.
§ LORD WALKDENIt was mentioned in this House yesterday that the road transport people destroy their records every three months, so we cannot obtain any information from them.