HC Deb 23 July 1974 vol 877 cc436-9W
Mr. Eldon Griffiths

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide a table for the 10-year period 1964–74 of the number of route miles of the British rail system, the annual number of passengers and tons of freight carried, the numbers of staff employed and their expected annual wages, together with most recent figures available to him under these or comparable headings for the railway systems of the other EEC countries.

Mr. Mulley

Following is the information for British Rail:

1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
Route miles 16,982 15,991 14,920 13,721 12,447 12,447 12,098 11,799 11,643 11,537 11,326
Passenger journeys (million) 938.4 927.6 865.1 835.0 837.4 831.1 805.2 823.9 815.5 753.6 728.3
Freight train traffic including estimates for NFC traffic from 1969 (million tons) 234.9 239.6 228.5 213.5 200.7 207.3 207.2 206.0 195.2 175.5 193.9
BR staff employed on rail operating services and workshops ('000) 439.6 399.0 365.0 339.0 318.1 296.3 253.6 250.8 237.0 229.6 223.3
BR staff employed on rail operating services and workshops—staff expenses (£ million) 344.4 345.4 348.6 351.4 341.9 340.2 307.9 338.5 359.2 416.7 455.9

Following are comparable statistics for EEC railway systems for the year 1971:

Route miles Passenger journeys Freight train traffic Railway operating staff (as at mid-year) Total staff on all operations (as at mid-year) Total staff's wages and salaries
(as at mid-year) (millions) (million tons) ('000) ('000) (£ million)
British Railways Board 11,722 816 195 204.7 268.6 426.0
Belgian National Railway Co. 2,586 201 66 55.4 58.8 111.7
Danish State Railway 1,461 115 8 20.2 23.5 56.2
French National Railway Co. 22,057 598 235 281.4 296.4 469.3
German Federal Railway 18,252 986 318 390.7 402.8 955.6
Irish Transport Co. 1,360 11 4 10.1 22.5 28.5
Italian State Railway 9,993 347 53 193.4 217.8 360.4
Luxemburg National Railway Co. 168 10 21 4.0 4.4 9.6
Netherlands Railway 1,955 188 23 27.7 27.7 54.1

Mr. Eldon Griffiths

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT for the 10-year period 1964–74 of the annual subsidy paid to British Railways in respect of unremunerative services, contributions to the London commuter network and other capital

(£ million)
1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69
Unremunerative railway passenger services
Commuter railway capital projects 0.2
Other (details below) 119.4 130.4 148.2 175.4 158.0
Total payment to BRB 119.4 130.4 148.2 175.4 158.2
OTHER
Revenue deficit 119.4 130.4 136.0 154.1 133.8
Surplus track
Research and development
Compensation in respect of price restraint
Cash flow shortfall
Level crossing modernisation
SET rebate and REP 12.2 21.3 24.2
119.4 130.4 148.2 175.4 158.0

1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74
Unremunerative railway passenger services 71.1 60.5 65.2 66.3 83.5
Commuter railway capital projects 0.4 0.3 1.3 11.1 14.3
Other (details below) 47.1 44.9 29.4 93.7 99.2
Total payment to BRB 118.6 105.7 95.9 171.1 197.0
OTHER
Revenue deficit 2.0
Surplus track 15.0 12.0 7.5 8.5 1.8
Research and development 0.5 1.1 1.6 1.4 1.8
Compensation in respect of price restraint 27.0
Cash flow shortfall 42.0 9.50
Level crossing modernisation 0.7 0.1
SET rebate and REP 29.6 31.1 20.2 14.8 0.6
47.1 44.9 29.4 93.7 99.2
Figures on a comparable basis for other railway systems are not available.