§ 88 and 89. Mr. Walker-Smithasked the Minister of Transport (1) when any improvement in rolling stock and timings can be expected in the L.N.E.R. services to Broxbourne and Bishop's Stortford and in the Great Northern service from Kings Cross to Hertford North;
(2) whether he is aware of constant unpunctuality in the evening trains from Liverpool Street to Broxbourne, Bishop's Stortford, Hertford and Buntingford; and whether he will take steps to remedy this.
§ Mr. BarnesI am informed that the average late arrival of the evening trains from Liverpool Street to the places mentioned is between II and 12 minutes. The delays are caused almost entirely by poor locomotive performance resulting from lack of normal replacements during wartime and the difficulty of providing adequate maintenance under present conditions. Re-conditioning of rolling stock on these services from Liverpool Street and Kings Cross is being carried out as rapidly as possible but there are heavy arrears to be overtaken and the timings are the best that can be arranged with the limited number of locomotives available.