§ 54. Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Minister of Transport whether, in the interests of public safety, she will give a general direction for an inquiry to be held into the numbers of derailments on British Railways, which have increased in each of the past five years despite the reductions in track mileage.
§ Mr. John MorrisNo. The safety of operation of the railways is the statutory responsibility of the Railways Board. In any case my right hon. Friend does not think that a general inquiry into the causes of derailments would be justified even if she had the power to order one.