§ Mr. Alec Jonesasked the Minister of Transport what was the annual deficit of the passenger services on the Treherbert-Bridgend line in each year since 1964; and how much grant was requested 227W by the Railways Board to finance this service.
§ Mr. MarshI regret that no deficit figures are available for the years 1964–67; the method of calculating the deficit on an individual service for grant purposes, as recommended in 1967 by the Joint Steering Group, has only been in use since 1968.
The amount of grant required to retain the full rail service on the present level between Treherbert and Bridgend is estimated at £138,000 per year.
§ Mr. Alec Jonesasked the Minister of Transport whether, before approving the proposal to close the Treherbert-Bridgend line, he will ascertain what were the annual sums of money spent on maintenance and repair, respectively, of the Blaenrhondda Railway Tunnel over the past 10 years.
§ Mr. MarshI regret that the information is not readily available. The British Railways Board tells me, however, that it carried out all normal maintenance and repair work on the tunnel during this period. Its closure was made necessary by a considerable movement in the rock formation which could not have been foreseen.