§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last discussed the need for fast passenger and freight transport to the continent from Scotland after 1 January 1993 with representatives of the(a) Scottish business community and (b) British Rail.
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§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonOn a number of recent occasions my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State and my hon. Friend the Minister of State have discussed with the Scottish business community the provision of through passenger and freight services to the continent through the channel tunnel, and they have urged all Scottish businesses to make known now, to assist British Rail's planning, the full extent of the services to Europe they expect to require when the tunnel opens.
As part of our regular and useful contacts with British Rail, my right hon. and learned Friend and I discussed links to the channel tunnel and various other topics relating to rail transport when we met the former chairman of British Rail, Sir Robert Reid, and the former general manager of ScotRail, Mr. John Ellis, on 31 October 1989.