HC Deb 25 January 1979 vol 961 cc252-4W
Mr. Temple-Morris

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will publish a table for the latest available year for each national railway in the EEC, and the average for the EEC, showing (a) total combined passenger kms and freight-tonne kms carried per employee, (b) total passenger kms carried per employee, (c) total freight-tonne kms carried per employee, (d) total support from public funds, (e) passenger and freight-tonne kms carried per £1 support from public funds, (f) total support from public funds as a proportion of total railway revenue, (g) total support from public funds as a proportion of gross domestic product and (h) total route network in kms for each railway.

Mr. William Rodgers

The latest year for which information is available on all the items requested is 1975 and it is the basis for the attached table. There are wide differences between countries in the circumstances in which railways operate, in the basis on which data are collected and in accounting conventions. Great care is therefore necessary in interpreting international comparisons of this kind.

SNCB (a) DB (b) SNCF (c) BRB (d) DSB (e)(1) FS (f) CFL (g) NS (h) CIE (i) EEC (j)
Passenger km. and freight tonne km. per employee (thousands)(6) … … 253 238 427 266 291 235(7) 232 424 155 291
Passenger km. per employee (thousands)(6) … … 134 96 189 157 183(2) 167(7) 61 321 95 149
Freight tonne km. per employee (thousands)(6) … 119 142 238 109(4) 108(3)(2) 68(7) 171 103(5) 60 142
Total support from public funds (£m.)(9) … … 410 2,506(8) 1,083 502 63 813 41 135 26 620
Passenger km. and freight tonne km. per £1 support 35 36 105 102 84 63 22 83 55 61
Total support as a proportion of total railway revenue … .64 .50 .34 .34 .30 .61 .68 .28 .28 .45
Total support as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product(10) … … … .015 .013 .007 .005 .004 .011 .040 .004 .008 .009
Total route network (km.) 4,317 28,824 36,175 18,118 1,999 16,341 275 2,825 2,006 12,320
(a) Belgium.
(b) West Germany.
(c) France.
(d) United Kingdom.
(e) Denmark.
(f) Italy.
(g) Luxembourg.
(h) Netherlands.
(i) Eire.
(j) EEC average.
(1) Financial year April 1974 to March 1975.
(2) Includes shipping services in traffic.
(3) Includes freight traffic by road.
(4) Excluding traffic by coaching train and traffic forwarded by NCL Limited and Freightliners Limited.
(5) Full wagon load traffic only.
(6) Total staff belonging to the railway, working in general management and railway operations.
(7) Includes staff involved in new works, reconstruction etc. but excludes employees supplied by private firms, allocated to permanent way maintenance.
(8) Including capital write-offs.
(9) Converted to £ sterling by average 1975 exchange rates
(10) At market prices.