§ Mr. Beaneyasked the Minister of Transport approximately how many tons of traffic are carried in a year on all railway lines carrying less than 5,000 tons in a normal week; and how many 50W tons of traffic are carried in a year on the railway lines carrying 5,000 to 10,000 tons in a normal week.
§ Mr. MarplesI regret that the information asked for is not available. The British Transport Commission tells me that its study of freight carryings, which was summarised in maps showing routes which carried less than 5,000 tons and from 5,000 to 10,000 tons of freight per week, was based on studies of the flows of traffic during a normal week over individual sections of the railway system. Most consignments of freight pass over more than one section and the figures for the separate sections cannot, therefore, without duplication be added to obtain a total tonnage carried on all those sections.