HL Deb 01 February 1994 vol 551 cc1186-7

2.48 p.m.

Lord Taylor of Gryfe asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their attitude to the reported plan to withdraw cut-price off-peak travel on British Rail prior to privatisation.

Viscount Goschen

My Lords, BR has no plans to withdraw cut-price off-peak travel.

Lord Taylor of Gryfe

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for giving that helpful Answer. Is he aware that the Question was prompted by an item in all national newspapers which said that plans to phase out off-peak fares which permit passengers to travel anywhere on the network were in the final stages of preparation? I welcome the Minister's assurance. Since more than 50 per cent. of BR's passengers enjoy the facilities of off-peak travel, have the Government any ideas about how that will operate when the network is fragmented, as I understand that franchisees will observe a network plan for full fares but not for off-peak fares? Will that not result in substantial additions to the cost of travel in this country?

Viscount Goschen

My Lords, we believe that it will be in the commercial interest of private operators to offer discount fares to attract passengers and thereby maximise off-peak revenue. Anxieties have been raised about the issue of inter-availability. However, the flexibility and convenience of commonly-priced inter-available tickets must be balanced against the wider choice of differently priced services.

Lord Clinton-Davis

My Lords, does the Minister agree or disagree with the statement made by Mr. Michael Beswick, when presenting a BR report about through ticketing, that the impression given that railway companies would honour each other's tickets was "a bit of a con" and that phasing out cheap fares was the best way of income-maximising for the railway industry as a whole? Will the Minister also comment on the effect that any such back-door fare increase will have on the travelling public, who were promised that rail privatisation would not involve increased rail fares?

Viscount Goschen

My Lords, we refute the contention of back-door fare rises. The document in question was prepared by BR for a working group. It had not been seen by Ministers and does not represent government policy. However, I believe that the British Rail manager concerned was making the point that a lot of people travel using discounted tickets.