HL Deb 30 November 1955 vol 194 cc941-4

2.35 p.m.

VISCOUNT THURSO

My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a memorandum has been received from British European Airways Corporation suggesting a line of railway between Feltham and London Airport as a means of improving railway communications between London Airport and Waterloo and Victoria; what the cost of this scheme would be; and whether it is proposed to include it in the Government's general scheme of railway modernisation.]

LORD HAWKE

My Lords, I would remind the noble Viscount that the first attack on the problem of shortening the time taken to get from London to its Airport is now being made in the construction of the Cromwell Road extension. My right honourable friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation has received a joint memorandum from the Chairman of the British Transport Commission and the Chairman of the British European Airways Corporation. The possibility of providing a rail link between London Airport and one of the London stations has also been the subject of considerable discussion in the Department. The proposals of the British Transport Commission and the British European Airways Corporation are being studied in detail between officers of those bodies and the Department, and, as the noble Viscount will no doubt recognise, the problem is a complex one. The cost of the scheme has not yet been worked out in sufficient detail to enable me to answer the second part of the Question, but a very rough estimate points to a capital cost of the order of £10 million. The proposal is not included in the Commission's general scheme of railway modernisation.

VISCOUNT THURSO

My Lords, having regard not only to the great urgency of relieving the congestion on the roads from London going West and South-West, but also to the extraordinary slow rate of progress in going to and from London Airport—a rate of about 5 miles per hour by road compared with 500 miles per hour by air—would not the noble Lord agree that action is urgently required in this matter? Would it not be a great relief to the congestion on the roads around London if this traffic to and from London Airport could be taken off? Would the noble Lord push forward as fast as possible the proposal for the railway link which I raised as long ago as March of this year and again in July?

LORD LUCAS or CHILWORTH

My Lords, before the noble Lord replies to the noble Viscount, would he confirm to your Lordships' House the Government's interest—indeed, the Government's active support, which I hope it will be—in the project of constructing a mono-railway between London Airport and the centre of London, to achieve the same objective for which the noble Viscount has been pressing for some time? Would the noble Lord also convey to his right honourable friend the Minister our view that talk must at some time end and action begin? Much as we welcome the project of the Cromwell Road extension, it will not cure the very heavy demands which will be made upon London Airport communications within the next three years.

LORD SALTOUN

My Lords, arising out of the last part of the Question, may I ask whether it is the Government's intention to publish the general scheme of railway modernization in order that it may be debated before it is finally decided upon?

LORD HAWKE

My Lords, I would first answer the noble Viscount, Lord Thurso. The chief operators from London Airport agree that the Cromwell Road extension will provide considerable relief to the speed of their traffic in the early years. At the same time, it is generally recognised that in later years that will not be enough, and my right honourable friend is pushing along with the examination of the railway link as quickly as possible. I would remind the noble Viscount and the noble Lord, Lord Lucas of Chilworth, that the matter is most complicated, because there are not only two rival systems of railway but also no fewer than three different combinations of terminal involved, all of which require to be carefully dealt with. My noble friend, Lord Saltoun, asked me about publication of the railway modernisation scheme. I am afraid I am not briefed on that matter, and if the noble Lord wishes for an answer I think he should put down a separate Question.

LORD SALTOUN

May I ask the noble Lord whether he will consent to accepting this question as one Not for Oral Answer and publish it in Hansard in the ordinary way?

LORD HAWKE

I should be pleased if the noble Lord would put it down as a Question Not for Oral Answer, and I will see that he receives a written reply in due course.

LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTH

My Lords, with respect, would the noble Lord mind answering the very simple question I asked? Would he confirm the sympathetic interest of the Government in the project which is being studied now by a high-level investigation committee of the construction of a mono-rail between London Airport and the centre of the City of London?

LORD HAWKE

My Lords, the monorail is one of the two schemes of railway which are under consideration, and naturally both of them would have sympathetic consideration, their rival merits being weighed.

VISCOUNT THURSO

My Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for his Answer to-day, may I ask whether he thinks it will be possible to give me a clearer and more precise answer as to the choice between the different methods of dealing with this problem if I put down another Question before Christmas?

LORD HAWKE

My Lords, I am afraid I could not give the noble Viscount any undertaking on that score.

EARL WINTERTON

My Lords, the question of the examination of this matter has been constantly before your Lordships' House and another place for years past. May I ask the noble Lord when, after the process of exploring every avenue, leaving no stone unturned and all the rest of it has been completed, he is likely to reach any conclusion?

LORD HAWKE

I am afraid I cannot give the noble Earl any precise date for that. I would remind him that one scheme consists of a deep burrowing under the earth and the other the erection of steel pylons over the earth, so a certain number of stones must be turned.